A gently flowing brook cast shimmering reflections of light around the clearing. The trees, smattered with the dancing patterns projected by the water, sheltered the soft grass with their shade. Against one of the powerful trunks leaned Takara Sayuri. A calm smile rested on her delicate face, as always, and her sparkling eyes, the color of a mirror, soaked up the scenic woods area. Around her head, four carefree Angel Feathers floated, their innate beauty complemented nicely by the stunning effects of nature. "I can't even believe this!" Sayuri sighed contentedly. "I've been visiting these woods for months, and I have never found this clearing... It's absolutely perfect"
The aspiring kunoichi's eyes glimmered with fascination and overwhelming joy. Of course, most people could appreciate the beauty of a forest, but to Takara Sayuri, this area may as well have been the Elysian Fields. Nothing in the world was more important to her than nature, and everything about this spot in the Konoha forest sang personally to her: the babbling stream, the great, strong trees, the bright, colorful flower that speckled the lush sylvan carpeting. The entire experience just wrapped around her and enveloped her in a soothing feeling. And, of course, there was no better way for Takara Sayuri to celebrate serenity than by using her favorite jutsu.
She had formed her Angel Feathers with her Ninpo: Tenshi no Hane technique, and they now drifted around her body softly, as free-spirited as their creator. They gave off a celestial blue glow, the beauty of which always managed to lull Sayuri into a peaceful state of mind. Fortunately for the quirky young girl, and her allies, her Angel Feather techniques would function much more effectively when performed by a calm ninja with a relaxed chakra flow. The feathers, made fully of pure chakra, required very, very precise chakra control, and they would not do any good for a user who was unable to fulfill that requirement. If a flow of chakra used for the jutsu was too quick or too much, a feather would burst in its creation, but if the flow of chakra used for the jutsu was too slow or meager, a feather would not even form to begin with. Either error would result in a waste of chakra. Luckily, Sayuri had mastered the art of creating the Angel Feather long ago.
Now, it was time for Takara Sayuri to hone the subtleties involved in a new technique: Tenshi Ninpo: Ametsuchi no Hane [Angel Ninja Art: Natural Feather]. Using her chakra, she pulled the feathers she had created out of the air and into the space between her two hands. Currently, she had control over Wind Feathers, Lightning Feathers, and Fire Feathers, but Water and Earth had been left alone until now. She pursed her lips in thought, eyeing the flurry in her palms ponderously. "I believe that the Kumemimoma Elves want me to train my feathers with the Earth, now!" She chirped, bowing her head quickly in reverence to the elves that apparently guided her life.
She released the feathers and knelt down to the ground, allowing them to remain in a cloud over her head, and whipped her arms out. This motion allowed the two knives hidden in her silk jacket sleeves to slide out into her hands. Theatrically, she swung her the weapons around her body before plunging them into the ground. They pierced the earth, then she dragged them out of it, leaving two small holes, side by side. She stabbed the holes again, twisting the knives to loosen the soil and dig a larger hole. She twisted and stabbed and slashed at the ground with her weapons diligently, pulling up dirt and rocks. Soon, Sayuri had created an circular opening in the ground, about one foot in diameter, which was surrounded by loose dirt.
"Alright! Now here's the hard part!"
[Training: Serene Power]
[Training: Serene Power]
[Special Jounin • Kumogakure no Sato • Masuyo Akimi • Points Achieved: 17]
[Genin • Konohagakure no Sato • Takara Sayuri • Points Achieved: 18]
[Training: Serene Power]
After creating a hole in the earth, Sayuri stood back up. "This should be perfect!" She cheered, clapping her hands together, proud of what she had accomplished. She bowed her head and closed her eyes and muttered, "Thank you, Emperor Makalaki, for allowing me to come here." If there had been a bystander who had seen the girl saying thanks to things that did not exist, he or she would have sweatdropped. Unfortunately, there was no such person! After her pseudo-prayer, Sayuri spread her hands apart again, placing them on either side of the cloud of Angel Feathers she had created earlier.
Concentrating her chakra, the ninja girl pushed her flurry of Angel Feathers down. Because they were directly in her grasp, her chakra was very dense around them. Thanks to this, she was able to control their motion on a finer level than she would be able to from a distance, and she placed them in the hole she had made. "Yay!" She cried after every feather was in the small crater. "They all fit! Emperor Makalaki, you never cease to amaze me!" Following this action, Sayuri swept the loose dirt over the ethereal plumes. She pat down on the soil, surrounding her Angel Feathers completely with earth.
"Okay," she said, letting loose a breath as she performed five hand seal, "here it goes! Gnomes of the Earth, grant your spirit to my feathers! Tenchi Ninpo: Ametsuchi no Hane!" The kunoichi performed a final seal, the Snake seal, then pressed her palms onto the ground where the feathers were buried. She molded her chakra to her hands, connecting it with the feathers beneath the earth's surface.
Sayuri's chakra flowed through the earth, channelled into the feathers which were made of the same chakra. However, the natural chakra of the earth itself was also surrounding them, and had its own flow, as all things in natural do. Because of the abundance of chakra around the feathers, they took on the attributes of both kinds of spiritual energy: the flow and attraction for Sayuri's chakra, and the earth element of the ground's chakra. The feathers, that had previous glowed with a blue-white aura, were now soaked with earth chakra, and glowed with a hearty, soulful, brown light.
"It feels like it worked," Sayuri whispered hopefully. She pressed her hands harder against the ground and reached for the Angel Feathers with her chakra. Then, she lifted them away, pulling the feathers through the earth and into the air. Indeed, they had been successfully imbued with earth chakra; that wasn't the difficult part, though. Yes, the feathers were now of the earth element, which was a very important step, but now was the aspect of the Natural Feather Jutsu that made it useful.
Her face was still peaceful, but it was no longer gentle and soft. Instead, her serenity seemed steadier, sturdier; her emotions and being were perfectly calm, but in the way of fortitude and unwavering strength. "The earth is the root of everything around me," Sayuri murmured. "Without the earth, there is nowhere for the water to flow... There is nothing over which the wind soars... There are targets neither for fire to burn, nor lightning to strike... Bountiful, nurturing, earth, let me invoke your power."
At this moment, it became clear that Takara Sayuri is no fool. Though it may have seemed as though she was an absent-minded idiot, satisfied by any pretty thing put before her face, watching her train would eradicate that thought. She was a gifted individual; she was one of the few people who truly saw the beauty and wonder in everything around her. Sayuri harbored more than appreciation for nature and life. She respected it. She respected everything around her, which brought her so close to it all throughout her life. She bowed her head in reverence to the planet, and performed three handseals.
"Tenshi Ninpo: Tenchi no Hane [Angel Ninja Art: Earth Feather]."
The four Earth Feathers, which had been drifting in the air freely, stopped their motion completely and remained unmoving in their present locations. Their brown light spread, converging into one glowing mass. The soft auras began to become more dense, shifting from a glow to a shine. Unfortunately, the brand new jutsu was still imperfect, and shattered then and there, leaving the four earth feathers drifting as they had been before.
Despite the fact that the technique had failed, Sayuri's mouth hung open in wonder. Her head tilted slightly to one side, and goosebumps blanketed her skin. She tried to speak, but failed to actually say the words "That was incredible." Instead, she quickly repeated the jutsu, trying again. The results were similar to those of the initial attempt, but the shining light lasted a bit longer this time. Another trial yielded little more success.
By this attempt, the fourth one, the aspiring kunoichi had learned the finer aspects of this new jutsu. As opposed to the necessary method of chakra molding for Wind Feathers, Lightning Feathers, and Fire Feathers, which required her to provide a flow of chakra for the feathers that was free and uninhibited, Earth Feathers functioned more effectively with a steadier flow. With clearer understanding, Sayuri performed the hand seals and cried, "Tenshi Ninpo: [Tenchi no Hane [Angel Ninja Art: Earth Feather]!"
This time, the feathers halted completely and instantly; the quadrilateral they formed was shaped like a rhombus, each feather being one vertex. The brown light shone almost immediately, connecting the feathers and physically forming the rhombus shape. After a moment, the light's color faded, leaving a clear wall between the four feathers.
Sayuri walked towards the diamond-shaped structure and placed a hand on it. The wall had the feel of cool glass. She used her chakra to push it and pull it. It moved in the same manner as the feathers would, by manipulating the chakra that created it, but it was much easier to direct, because the free-moving feathers were locked in a definite shape. She threw a weak palm strike at the rhombus, only to find her hand bounce right off of it. She pulled out a senbon needle, walked back a few feet and tossed it at the glass-like wall, only to find it easily repelled, and watch it fall to the ground.
Grinning wide, Sayuri leaned back and fell onto the soft grass. Watching the sunlight dance on the barrier, she let loose a contented sigh. She had succeeded in mastering an art of the Earth.
Concentrating her chakra, the ninja girl pushed her flurry of Angel Feathers down. Because they were directly in her grasp, her chakra was very dense around them. Thanks to this, she was able to control their motion on a finer level than she would be able to from a distance, and she placed them in the hole she had made. "Yay!" She cried after every feather was in the small crater. "They all fit! Emperor Makalaki, you never cease to amaze me!" Following this action, Sayuri swept the loose dirt over the ethereal plumes. She pat down on the soil, surrounding her Angel Feathers completely with earth.
"Okay," she said, letting loose a breath as she performed five hand seal, "here it goes! Gnomes of the Earth, grant your spirit to my feathers! Tenchi Ninpo: Ametsuchi no Hane!" The kunoichi performed a final seal, the Snake seal, then pressed her palms onto the ground where the feathers were buried. She molded her chakra to her hands, connecting it with the feathers beneath the earth's surface.
Sayuri's chakra flowed through the earth, channelled into the feathers which were made of the same chakra. However, the natural chakra of the earth itself was also surrounding them, and had its own flow, as all things in natural do. Because of the abundance of chakra around the feathers, they took on the attributes of both kinds of spiritual energy: the flow and attraction for Sayuri's chakra, and the earth element of the ground's chakra. The feathers, that had previous glowed with a blue-white aura, were now soaked with earth chakra, and glowed with a hearty, soulful, brown light.
"It feels like it worked," Sayuri whispered hopefully. She pressed her hands harder against the ground and reached for the Angel Feathers with her chakra. Then, she lifted them away, pulling the feathers through the earth and into the air. Indeed, they had been successfully imbued with earth chakra; that wasn't the difficult part, though. Yes, the feathers were now of the earth element, which was a very important step, but now was the aspect of the Natural Feather Jutsu that made it useful.
Her face was still peaceful, but it was no longer gentle and soft. Instead, her serenity seemed steadier, sturdier; her emotions and being were perfectly calm, but in the way of fortitude and unwavering strength. "The earth is the root of everything around me," Sayuri murmured. "Without the earth, there is nowhere for the water to flow... There is nothing over which the wind soars... There are targets neither for fire to burn, nor lightning to strike... Bountiful, nurturing, earth, let me invoke your power."
At this moment, it became clear that Takara Sayuri is no fool. Though it may have seemed as though she was an absent-minded idiot, satisfied by any pretty thing put before her face, watching her train would eradicate that thought. She was a gifted individual; she was one of the few people who truly saw the beauty and wonder in everything around her. Sayuri harbored more than appreciation for nature and life. She respected it. She respected everything around her, which brought her so close to it all throughout her life. She bowed her head in reverence to the planet, and performed three handseals.
"Tenshi Ninpo: Tenchi no Hane [Angel Ninja Art: Earth Feather]."
The four Earth Feathers, which had been drifting in the air freely, stopped their motion completely and remained unmoving in their present locations. Their brown light spread, converging into one glowing mass. The soft auras began to become more dense, shifting from a glow to a shine. Unfortunately, the brand new jutsu was still imperfect, and shattered then and there, leaving the four earth feathers drifting as they had been before.
Despite the fact that the technique had failed, Sayuri's mouth hung open in wonder. Her head tilted slightly to one side, and goosebumps blanketed her skin. She tried to speak, but failed to actually say the words "That was incredible." Instead, she quickly repeated the jutsu, trying again. The results were similar to those of the initial attempt, but the shining light lasted a bit longer this time. Another trial yielded little more success.
By this attempt, the fourth one, the aspiring kunoichi had learned the finer aspects of this new jutsu. As opposed to the necessary method of chakra molding for Wind Feathers, Lightning Feathers, and Fire Feathers, which required her to provide a flow of chakra for the feathers that was free and uninhibited, Earth Feathers functioned more effectively with a steadier flow. With clearer understanding, Sayuri performed the hand seals and cried, "Tenshi Ninpo: [Tenchi no Hane [Angel Ninja Art: Earth Feather]!"
This time, the feathers halted completely and instantly; the quadrilateral they formed was shaped like a rhombus, each feather being one vertex. The brown light shone almost immediately, connecting the feathers and physically forming the rhombus shape. After a moment, the light's color faded, leaving a clear wall between the four feathers.
Sayuri walked towards the diamond-shaped structure and placed a hand on it. The wall had the feel of cool glass. She used her chakra to push it and pull it. It moved in the same manner as the feathers would, by manipulating the chakra that created it, but it was much easier to direct, because the free-moving feathers were locked in a definite shape. She threw a weak palm strike at the rhombus, only to find her hand bounce right off of it. She pulled out a senbon needle, walked back a few feet and tossed it at the glass-like wall, only to find it easily repelled, and watch it fall to the ground.
Grinning wide, Sayuri leaned back and fell onto the soft grass. Watching the sunlight dance on the barrier, she let loose a contented sigh. She had succeeded in mastering an art of the Earth.
[Special Jounin • Kumogakure no Sato • Masuyo Akimi • Points Achieved: 17]
[Genin • Konohagakure no Sato • Takara Sayuri • Points Achieved: 18]
[Training: Serene Power]
Having succeeded in learning to work with her feathers in their earth element, Sayuri hopped back up to her feet and found the shield fading. "I guess that it doesn't last forever," She said with a shrug. Suddenly, she began to giggle. "That's what she said!" After the glass-like barrier faded, she swiftly performed the sequence of hand seals again. "Ninpou: Tenshi no Hane!"
Four beads of white light slowly flickered into existence around her head. Pure and fluid, the small concentrations of chakra began to stretch and grow into the familiar shapes of Angel Feathers. Light and airy, they soon took their definite forms and fell into their usual pattern of floating in the air, carefree and weightless. As always, Sayuri could not resist the soothing feeling of their presence.
There was only one element that the young woman had not yet used with her Angel Feathers. Ironically, aside from the free, uninhibited wind, it was the element that best suited one as gentle and lucid as Takara Sayuri. Her mind wandered, painting up all of the marvelous possible abilities that her feathers might demonstrate when imbued with the adaptability and therapeutic qualities of water.
In the clearing, a small brook babbled along, tossing light off its reflective surface and spitting droplets of cool water onto the land. Sayuri, guiding her feathers along with her, danced over to the stream. She knelt down by its side, gazing in wonder as it rushed by as swiftly as… As swiftly as running water!
“Cousin Biddyroo, would you mind if I tried this?” She asked. She remained silent for a few moments, biting her lip in anticipation of this cousin’s answer. Suddenly, she sighed in relief. “Oh, thank you so much, Biddyroo-san! You won't be disappointed!” Clapping her hands in delight, she bowed her head in gratitude, and then reached out with her hands to push and pull the feathers into a small cluster in front of her face.
Sparkly grey eyes tracing every movement of the little group of down, Sayuri guided it downward and submerged every Angel Feather in the cool, clear water. Holding them beneath the surface, she soon came to realize the predicament: if she were to release her hands from the flurry, it would release her hold on them, and the water would carry them away. Thinking on the problem for a few minutes while the feathers soaked in the stream, Sayuri worked up a plan. “This will take careful timing,” She muttered, squinting her eyes at the daunting task ahead of her.
She plunged her feet into the water to hold the feathers in place and performed the hand seals. Yes, Sayuri, that was quite the difficult task.
“I hope that I’m in the Sirens’ favor today! Tenshi Ninpo: Ametsuchi no Hane!” She shouted, focusing her chakra on the Angel Feathers. Her Natural Feather Jutsu activated, and the quartet of plumes began to glow, emitting a powerful blue light from beneath the water’s surface. Just like it worked with the Earth Feathers, the process was completed by reaching out with chakra through the flowing water and into the feathers. Sayuri’s own chakra would enter the Angel Feathers, while the natural chakra of the water, surrounding them, would fall into the same flow and pour into the feathers as well.
Still dangling her feet in the water from the brook’s edge, Sayuri leaned forward to watch the feathers undergo their minor transformation. However, the difference between Angel Feathers and Water Feathers proved to be much less notable, at least in terms of appearance. The normally faint light blue aura of a basic Angel Feather merely brightened. The powder blue color was enriched into a deeper, fuller blue, reminiscent of the depths of the sea.
Clapping her hands together, Sayuri bounced a bit in her excitement over the successfully imbuement of her Angel Feathers with the water element. She then placed both hands over the stream, parallel to the water, and pulled upwards. This motion lifted the Water Feathers from beneath the liquid surface, brought them into full sight for the kunoichi, and stood up.
The plumes, glowing with bright blue radiance, moved much more easily in their water element; just as water follows the curves of a river, they fluidly followed the flow of Sayuri’s chakra. “Now,” she chirped, “it’s time to see what water element does for me!” She performed a series of hand seals, ending on the seal for bird, the one which is most often used in Suiton.
“Tenshi Ninpou: Mizu no Hane!”
Then, the strangest thing happened. Instead of the brightening of aura that accompanied most of the elemental feather techniques, the new Water Feathers began to circle Sayuri’s head, tracing her eyes, forehead, hair, nose, and ears. She giggled at the tickling sensation she felt, but suddenly, the four chakra manifestations vanished. A confused expression took over her face, but only for a moment, as she then looked around the area.
All around her, colorful lights moved in trained patterns. There was vivid cerulean light flowing with the water in the brook. Deep browns vibrated in the earth and rocks, while the winds carried gentle greens. Then there were the trees, which were filled with streaks of brown and blue, blended into to the veins of the wood. Looking at her own body, Sayuri saw a familiar powder blue color, accented with a tinge of green, running through her own circulatory system. She tried molding her chakra, and found that the light in her body intensified where she focused her energy. Even a small squirrel that had entered the clearing had its own yellowish color.
The world had always appeared beautiful to Takara Sayuri, but this was different. She was able to see everything as she normally could, but it all glowed with amazing halos of so many different colors. It did not take her a very long time to understand that the lights she was seeing were chakra. “This is incredible,” She murmured, looking around in amazement at the new world. “I can see the flow of chakra in everything…”
Indeed, she could. As water flows, chakra does the same, and her Water Feathers granted her the ability to see the flow of chakra with clarity, as well as identify its nature. Gazing at the new things she saw, Takara Sayuri danced along back to the Village. Her training for the day had been a success.
Four beads of white light slowly flickered into existence around her head. Pure and fluid, the small concentrations of chakra began to stretch and grow into the familiar shapes of Angel Feathers. Light and airy, they soon took their definite forms and fell into their usual pattern of floating in the air, carefree and weightless. As always, Sayuri could not resist the soothing feeling of their presence.
There was only one element that the young woman had not yet used with her Angel Feathers. Ironically, aside from the free, uninhibited wind, it was the element that best suited one as gentle and lucid as Takara Sayuri. Her mind wandered, painting up all of the marvelous possible abilities that her feathers might demonstrate when imbued with the adaptability and therapeutic qualities of water.
In the clearing, a small brook babbled along, tossing light off its reflective surface and spitting droplets of cool water onto the land. Sayuri, guiding her feathers along with her, danced over to the stream. She knelt down by its side, gazing in wonder as it rushed by as swiftly as… As swiftly as running water!
“Cousin Biddyroo, would you mind if I tried this?” She asked. She remained silent for a few moments, biting her lip in anticipation of this cousin’s answer. Suddenly, she sighed in relief. “Oh, thank you so much, Biddyroo-san! You won't be disappointed!” Clapping her hands in delight, she bowed her head in gratitude, and then reached out with her hands to push and pull the feathers into a small cluster in front of her face.
Sparkly grey eyes tracing every movement of the little group of down, Sayuri guided it downward and submerged every Angel Feather in the cool, clear water. Holding them beneath the surface, she soon came to realize the predicament: if she were to release her hands from the flurry, it would release her hold on them, and the water would carry them away. Thinking on the problem for a few minutes while the feathers soaked in the stream, Sayuri worked up a plan. “This will take careful timing,” She muttered, squinting her eyes at the daunting task ahead of her.
She plunged her feet into the water to hold the feathers in place and performed the hand seals. Yes, Sayuri, that was quite the difficult task.
“I hope that I’m in the Sirens’ favor today! Tenshi Ninpo: Ametsuchi no Hane!” She shouted, focusing her chakra on the Angel Feathers. Her Natural Feather Jutsu activated, and the quartet of plumes began to glow, emitting a powerful blue light from beneath the water’s surface. Just like it worked with the Earth Feathers, the process was completed by reaching out with chakra through the flowing water and into the feathers. Sayuri’s own chakra would enter the Angel Feathers, while the natural chakra of the water, surrounding them, would fall into the same flow and pour into the feathers as well.
Still dangling her feet in the water from the brook’s edge, Sayuri leaned forward to watch the feathers undergo their minor transformation. However, the difference between Angel Feathers and Water Feathers proved to be much less notable, at least in terms of appearance. The normally faint light blue aura of a basic Angel Feather merely brightened. The powder blue color was enriched into a deeper, fuller blue, reminiscent of the depths of the sea.
Clapping her hands together, Sayuri bounced a bit in her excitement over the successfully imbuement of her Angel Feathers with the water element. She then placed both hands over the stream, parallel to the water, and pulled upwards. This motion lifted the Water Feathers from beneath the liquid surface, brought them into full sight for the kunoichi, and stood up.
The plumes, glowing with bright blue radiance, moved much more easily in their water element; just as water follows the curves of a river, they fluidly followed the flow of Sayuri’s chakra. “Now,” she chirped, “it’s time to see what water element does for me!” She performed a series of hand seals, ending on the seal for bird, the one which is most often used in Suiton.
“Tenshi Ninpou: Mizu no Hane!”
Then, the strangest thing happened. Instead of the brightening of aura that accompanied most of the elemental feather techniques, the new Water Feathers began to circle Sayuri’s head, tracing her eyes, forehead, hair, nose, and ears. She giggled at the tickling sensation she felt, but suddenly, the four chakra manifestations vanished. A confused expression took over her face, but only for a moment, as she then looked around the area.
All around her, colorful lights moved in trained patterns. There was vivid cerulean light flowing with the water in the brook. Deep browns vibrated in the earth and rocks, while the winds carried gentle greens. Then there were the trees, which were filled with streaks of brown and blue, blended into to the veins of the wood. Looking at her own body, Sayuri saw a familiar powder blue color, accented with a tinge of green, running through her own circulatory system. She tried molding her chakra, and found that the light in her body intensified where she focused her energy. Even a small squirrel that had entered the clearing had its own yellowish color.
The world had always appeared beautiful to Takara Sayuri, but this was different. She was able to see everything as she normally could, but it all glowed with amazing halos of so many different colors. It did not take her a very long time to understand that the lights she was seeing were chakra. “This is incredible,” She murmured, looking around in amazement at the new world. “I can see the flow of chakra in everything…”
Indeed, she could. As water flows, chakra does the same, and her Water Feathers granted her the ability to see the flow of chakra with clarity, as well as identify its nature. Gazing at the new things she saw, Takara Sayuri danced along back to the Village. Her training for the day had been a success.
[Special Jounin • Kumogakure no Sato • Masuyo Akimi • Points Achieved: 17]
[Genin • Konohagakure no Sato • Takara Sayuri • Points Achieved: 18]
[Training: Serene Power]
The result of the last mission that Takara Sayuri had taken, a mission that involved the retrieval of zoo animals, included more than just practice with the ninja way. Thanks to the experience she gathered during the time she worked to save the unruly boar, the rambunctious parrot, and the young tiger cub, the Genin was able to add a new jutsu to her arsenal: Tenshi Ninpou: Onibi [Angel Ninja Art: Will-o'-the-Wisp]. Very quickly after Takara Sayuri had learned the ninja technique, it became clearly apparent to anybody who had ever seen her that no minute would ever go by again where she was not entertained.
Ever since she obtained the Onibi ninjutsu technique, the always serene young lady was always seen with an orb of hypnotic, lavender light, about the size of a soccer ball, floating around her person like a very slow electron around a nucleus. Today was certainly no different from every other day, and the hovering sphere of chakra was orbiting Takara Sayuri’s head and body as usual. Concentrating closely, one could see that the ball of the same color as fresh lilacs was based around a feather; the core of the will - o’- the - wisp was the slightest bit denser, but still fluttery and light. Whenever the technique was active, Sayuri’s attention was always completely drawn to it, and she was practically enchanted by its ghostly glow.
As the eager Genin sat on the soft ground of the usual clearing where she trained in the ninja arts, she focused on the orb that was making revolutions around her. The sun had just set about two hours ago, leaving the sylvan area shadowy and mysterious. The moon hung in inky black sky, a lone crescent of illumination. The stars were scarce to be seen due to slightly overcast weather, leaving lunar light as the only source of brightness. “It’s so lovely!” She chirped merrily, crooking her dainty fingers to swing the glowing, spherical mass of chakra around her. The Onibi followed the movements of its creator’s fingers, darting here and there and to and fro and back and forth and hither and thither, only made more captivating by the fact that its lavender glow was the only spark in the darkness of the clearing, aside from small patch on the ground that was exposed by the moonlight.
While it may have appeared that this was all just play, Takara Sayuri knew that controlling the orb was a key step in the creation of her new jutsu. Moving the globe involved manipulating the chakra that radiated from the feather at the sphere’s core, which was the basis of the technique that she was currently in the process of developing. The jutsu first entered her creative, receptive mind when she absentmindedly reached into her weapons pouch. As if inspired by divinity, she realized that her supply of exploding tags was, and forever would be, limited. They were such useful ninja tools, but Sayuri had no way of creating them! The idea came to her then: maybe she did! If she had the ability to make her feathers attack, defend, heal, alter, and glow, why wouldn’t she be able to make them explode?!
“I hope the favor of the Asobibi is with me! ” Sayuri wished aloud, folding her hands together in a quick, sincere prayer. “This should work; if my Onibi technique works by letting the chakra out of my feathers slowly, then this new technique will work by letting my chakra out of the feathers quickly!” She pulled the lavender colored ball of light into the space right before her sparkling, light grey eyes and concentrated her mind and energy onto it. She felt the density of her chakra throughout the will – o’ – the wisp, and noticed the area in its core where it was clearly more intense. This was the result of the fact that the feather had not yet completely broken down into chakra; if it had, then the sphere would have dispersed.
Using painstaking care to mold the remaining chakra in the remnants of the feather, Takara Sayuri got ready to unleash the rest of her energy from the glowing, floating globe. After forming the very basic one handed seal of the index finger and middle finger pointed up, the hopeful young lady willed the last of the chakra in the flickering plume to surge outward in all directions. The lavender light that had just been so neatly contained in the perfect sphere first became much brighter, then expanded before dimming away into the dark, hazy, night time air. Though the result was not exactly what she had desired, Sayuri did not expect to achieve success on the first trial. She performed a series of hand seals and whispered into the night, “Ninpou: Tenshi no Hane!
Expecting a necessity for multiple tries, she created four Angel Feathers, which came into existence around her head. The quartet of mystical plumes drifted softly in the air, each with a faint lilac aura about it (part of the reason the Onibi technique was created was to enhance the very, very dim light that Angel Feathers normally let off from themselves). Taking just a moment to admire the innocence and purity of her Angel Feathers in their most basic form, Sayuri sighed while she performed the basic chakra molding seal. “Tenshi Ninpou: Onibi!” She murmured. Slowly, one of four of the plumes began to flutter more wildly, and its radiant aura grew. However, as the brightness grew and formed into a sphere, the solidity of the feather deteriorated; the latter gave way to the former.
Now, with one will – o’ – the – wisp held a few feet from her body, Sayuri focused as she did before on the chakra in the glowing sphere. Because the energy in the Onibi was her own, she felt that she did not need to perform any hand seals, but she decided to form the one handed chakra molding seal to make the process easier. Again, she concentrated on the core of the Onibi and applied the strength of her mind to force the chakra out of it. Because she now had more of a feel for the needed speed at which the energy needed to released, the Genin was much more successful. The floating ball exploded right in front of her body! Unfortunately, success hurts. The force of the explosion threw the weightless young lady backwards, tossing her along the ground like a rag doll. She stood up rather quickly, though she was panting and wiping a trickle of blood from her cheek. What!? Sayuri can feel pain?! Yes, she can. Of course, she was smiling ear to ear about it. Leave it to Takara Sayuri to find the positives of being blown halfway across a forest clearing. “Yay! It works! That must be at least as strong as an exploding tag!” She cheered, pumping a fist towards the inky sky exuberantly. Unbeknownst to her, the blast that she was hit with had about twice the force of an exploding tag; if she hadn’t been keeping a distance from it, the power could have led to injuries much more serious than a cheek cut on a sharp rock.
Giggling delightedly at the success of her technique, she brought the next feather in front of her. Keeping it further away from her body than the last one, she began again. To make the technique more practical, the girl decided to keep this one as an Angel Feather, not changing it into an Onibi. Doing so would allow the technique to be used more stealthily and suddenly. Beginning again, she focused on the chakra. It did not take long for her to realize how much more difficult it would be than it had been with the feather in the form of an orb. The chakra was now densely packed into the shape of a feather, which made it much harder to control. When it had been spread out into a sphere, the energy was already loose, and she just had to detonate the core. Now, she had to force the entire mass of chakra outward.
Concentrating much more intently, she built up her strength with her eyes closed. Once she felt that she had sufficient will stored, Sayuri sharply opened her beautiful eyes with a pointed glare to the feather. It burst instantly. Thankfully, the chakra source was far away from the girl, enough so that the shockwave she felt only caused her to stagger a bit, not completely fly away as she did last time. Because the chakra was so much denser in the feather form, the explosion was that much more intense; its force was approximately equal to three times that of an exploding tag. Sayuri couldn’t help herself by leap in glee, clapping her hands in jubilation of the wonderfully successful technique. Of course, she would eventually expand the technique to better suit her needs, but for now, Takara Sayuri was simply overwhelmed with excitement that she was able to create a new jutsu for her feathers: Tenshi Ninpou: Hekihane no Jutsu!
~~~~~
Word Count: 1522
Ever since she obtained the Onibi ninjutsu technique, the always serene young lady was always seen with an orb of hypnotic, lavender light, about the size of a soccer ball, floating around her person like a very slow electron around a nucleus. Today was certainly no different from every other day, and the hovering sphere of chakra was orbiting Takara Sayuri’s head and body as usual. Concentrating closely, one could see that the ball of the same color as fresh lilacs was based around a feather; the core of the will - o’- the - wisp was the slightest bit denser, but still fluttery and light. Whenever the technique was active, Sayuri’s attention was always completely drawn to it, and she was practically enchanted by its ghostly glow.
As the eager Genin sat on the soft ground of the usual clearing where she trained in the ninja arts, she focused on the orb that was making revolutions around her. The sun had just set about two hours ago, leaving the sylvan area shadowy and mysterious. The moon hung in inky black sky, a lone crescent of illumination. The stars were scarce to be seen due to slightly overcast weather, leaving lunar light as the only source of brightness. “It’s so lovely!” She chirped merrily, crooking her dainty fingers to swing the glowing, spherical mass of chakra around her. The Onibi followed the movements of its creator’s fingers, darting here and there and to and fro and back and forth and hither and thither, only made more captivating by the fact that its lavender glow was the only spark in the darkness of the clearing, aside from small patch on the ground that was exposed by the moonlight.
While it may have appeared that this was all just play, Takara Sayuri knew that controlling the orb was a key step in the creation of her new jutsu. Moving the globe involved manipulating the chakra that radiated from the feather at the sphere’s core, which was the basis of the technique that she was currently in the process of developing. The jutsu first entered her creative, receptive mind when she absentmindedly reached into her weapons pouch. As if inspired by divinity, she realized that her supply of exploding tags was, and forever would be, limited. They were such useful ninja tools, but Sayuri had no way of creating them! The idea came to her then: maybe she did! If she had the ability to make her feathers attack, defend, heal, alter, and glow, why wouldn’t she be able to make them explode?!
“I hope the favor of the Asobibi is with me! ” Sayuri wished aloud, folding her hands together in a quick, sincere prayer. “This should work; if my Onibi technique works by letting the chakra out of my feathers slowly, then this new technique will work by letting my chakra out of the feathers quickly!” She pulled the lavender colored ball of light into the space right before her sparkling, light grey eyes and concentrated her mind and energy onto it. She felt the density of her chakra throughout the will – o’ – the wisp, and noticed the area in its core where it was clearly more intense. This was the result of the fact that the feather had not yet completely broken down into chakra; if it had, then the sphere would have dispersed.
Using painstaking care to mold the remaining chakra in the remnants of the feather, Takara Sayuri got ready to unleash the rest of her energy from the glowing, floating globe. After forming the very basic one handed seal of the index finger and middle finger pointed up, the hopeful young lady willed the last of the chakra in the flickering plume to surge outward in all directions. The lavender light that had just been so neatly contained in the perfect sphere first became much brighter, then expanded before dimming away into the dark, hazy, night time air. Though the result was not exactly what she had desired, Sayuri did not expect to achieve success on the first trial. She performed a series of hand seals and whispered into the night, “Ninpou: Tenshi no Hane!
Expecting a necessity for multiple tries, she created four Angel Feathers, which came into existence around her head. The quartet of mystical plumes drifted softly in the air, each with a faint lilac aura about it (part of the reason the Onibi technique was created was to enhance the very, very dim light that Angel Feathers normally let off from themselves). Taking just a moment to admire the innocence and purity of her Angel Feathers in their most basic form, Sayuri sighed while she performed the basic chakra molding seal. “Tenshi Ninpou: Onibi!” She murmured. Slowly, one of four of the plumes began to flutter more wildly, and its radiant aura grew. However, as the brightness grew and formed into a sphere, the solidity of the feather deteriorated; the latter gave way to the former.
Now, with one will – o’ – the – wisp held a few feet from her body, Sayuri focused as she did before on the chakra in the glowing sphere. Because the energy in the Onibi was her own, she felt that she did not need to perform any hand seals, but she decided to form the one handed chakra molding seal to make the process easier. Again, she concentrated on the core of the Onibi and applied the strength of her mind to force the chakra out of it. Because she now had more of a feel for the needed speed at which the energy needed to released, the Genin was much more successful. The floating ball exploded right in front of her body! Unfortunately, success hurts. The force of the explosion threw the weightless young lady backwards, tossing her along the ground like a rag doll. She stood up rather quickly, though she was panting and wiping a trickle of blood from her cheek. What!? Sayuri can feel pain?! Yes, she can. Of course, she was smiling ear to ear about it. Leave it to Takara Sayuri to find the positives of being blown halfway across a forest clearing. “Yay! It works! That must be at least as strong as an exploding tag!” She cheered, pumping a fist towards the inky sky exuberantly. Unbeknownst to her, the blast that she was hit with had about twice the force of an exploding tag; if she hadn’t been keeping a distance from it, the power could have led to injuries much more serious than a cheek cut on a sharp rock.
Giggling delightedly at the success of her technique, she brought the next feather in front of her. Keeping it further away from her body than the last one, she began again. To make the technique more practical, the girl decided to keep this one as an Angel Feather, not changing it into an Onibi. Doing so would allow the technique to be used more stealthily and suddenly. Beginning again, she focused on the chakra. It did not take long for her to realize how much more difficult it would be than it had been with the feather in the form of an orb. The chakra was now densely packed into the shape of a feather, which made it much harder to control. When it had been spread out into a sphere, the energy was already loose, and she just had to detonate the core. Now, she had to force the entire mass of chakra outward.
Concentrating much more intently, she built up her strength with her eyes closed. Once she felt that she had sufficient will stored, Sayuri sharply opened her beautiful eyes with a pointed glare to the feather. It burst instantly. Thankfully, the chakra source was far away from the girl, enough so that the shockwave she felt only caused her to stagger a bit, not completely fly away as she did last time. Because the chakra was so much denser in the feather form, the explosion was that much more intense; its force was approximately equal to three times that of an exploding tag. Sayuri couldn’t help herself by leap in glee, clapping her hands in jubilation of the wonderfully successful technique. Of course, she would eventually expand the technique to better suit her needs, but for now, Takara Sayuri was simply overwhelmed with excitement that she was able to create a new jutsu for her feathers: Tenshi Ninpou: Hekihane no Jutsu!
~~~~~
Word Count: 1522
[Special Jounin • Kumogakure no Sato • Masuyo Akimi • Points Achieved: 17]
[Genin • Konohagakure no Sato • Takara Sayuri • Points Achieved: 18]
[Training: Serene Power]
It had now been one week since Takara Sayuri had successfully created her new jutsu: Tenshi Hane: Hekihane no Jutsu [Angel Ninja Art: Bursting Feather Jutsu]. The ability of her feathers to explode had granted the young lady not only quite a large number of opportunities for amusement, but it also imbued within her a strong sense of confidence and assurance that she was more versatile and, bluntly put, useful on the field of battle. However, with this newly found feeling of self worth came something else: zeal. The obvious power of the Bursting Feather Jutsu allowed Sayuri to realize that she had the potential to be quite a valuable asset to her country, and that made her want to live up to that potential. To do so, she would expand the versatility of her jutsu even further.
For this reason, the eccentric young lady had made her way back to the clearing –dancing and humming and twirling all the way, mind you— in order to train. The last time Takara Sayuri had visited the private little space in the forest was seven days ago, when she was first learning to use the Hekihane no Jutsu. It was night time then, but today, she decided to come during the afternoon. One really would not be able to tell, though, because the day was cloudy. In fact, most of the forest was quiet and still, anticipating a vicious thunder storm. Foul weather was very rare in the sunny Land of Fire, but the scarce storms that its citizens did experience were certainly brutal ones. It was two in the afternoon, and the sky was blank, gray, and heavy. The reason Sayuri had decided to come out to train on such a day would, of course, only be understood to her.
“Oh, it is just such a lovely thing to be in the forest at the time before a storm! Everything is so peaceful and reverent!” The young girl sighed tranquilly as she sat at the edge of the creek that ran through the clearing, tapping her feet on the surface of the water. “It is like every creature around me is just sitting on the edge of its seat, eagerly awaiting the Sky to break free and drop her children upon us!” Predictably enough, Sayuri was right. Sayuri usually was right when it came to reading the nature that surrounded her. She was never one for “book smarts”, but the skills of observance and intuition had always been easily accessible to her.
As she herself awaited the beginning of the storm, the young lady performed a series of hand seals to bring a single Angel Feather to life. The white droplet of life energy flicked into existence like a star flicks into sight in the night sky, and then it twisted and stretched itself into the familiar form of a feather. A moment after it assumed its shape, the plume began to give off its signature aura of faint lavender, which managed to coax a smile and a sigh from its creator. As quickly as she formed the ghostly feather, Sayuri focused her chakra with the basic one handed seal, sent the feather fluttering away a few yards, then whispered, “Tenshi Ninpou: Hekihane no Jutsu!”
Though forcing the poor feather to explode may have seemed cruel to some, Takara Sayuri viewed it as a beautiful thing, just short of sacred. As the manifestation of chakra burst, it let off visible waves of chakra in all directions, the same lilac color as the original aura of the feather, but with wandering sparkles throughout them. She giggled as she felt the residual shockwave of the blast tickle her face, as well as heard the chiming ring of the explosion. In her own eyes, she was not forcing the feather to die, or cease to exist; she was merely expanding its life force – yes, she considered each feather to be a life, and the chakra she used to create it to be its spirit – into a form not restricted to a feather. It gave her a feeling of liberation; it was practically therapeutic.
Now that she was able to easily use the Hekihane no Jutsu, though, it was Sayuri’s desire to take it a step further. Over the week, she had thought about ways to improve the jutsu, and reflected on the idea that she was able to imbue her feathers with elemental chakra. History shows that jutsu become greatly strengthened when they are combined with Nature Transformation, and those that were created by Takara Sayuri were no exception.
The enthusiastic kunoichi decided to try a new variation on the technique; it did not seem like it would be extremely complicated, or at all different from the basic from of the Bursting Feather Jutsu, and she was certainly excited to try it. Sayuri began by performing the needed hand seals and bringing another Tenshi no Hane into existence. This would be the first trial for this new technique. She began a series of hand seals. “Tatsu. Saru. Hebi. Tori. Tora. Tatsu,” She muttered with the completion of each hand formation. Of course, this was only to aid in concentration. After the final hand seal, the Angel Feather she had created began to glow with a light green aura, and its physical form changed. It seemed lighter, with its barbs becoming lighter and fluffier, more closely resembling the after feather.
In her initial training of the Hekihane no Jutsu, Sayuri found out that the only difference between detonating an Angel Feather in its basic form and detonating an Angel Feather that had been transformed with the Tenshi Ninpou: Onibi technique was the amount of effort required, she executed the hand seals to alter the feather into a will – o’ – the – wisp. She had played around with changing the element of her feathers before converting them into the glowing orbs of Onibi, and discovered that they were practically identical, but the light that was shed by the sphere was of a different color, corresponding to the element. Because the feather was charged with Sayuri’s natural wind element, it was currently giving off a soft green glow.
Because Takara Sayuri’s natural elemental affinity was wind, there was almost no difference between the basic Bursting Feather Jutsu and using the technique on a wind-elemental feather. Focusing her chakra was simple and fluid and the globe exploded without much extra effort required. When the sphere burst, it let out the same wave of chakra in all directions, only light teal instead of the gentle mauve that it did without an element. Sayuri also noticed that the energy seemed to have a sharp quality; the waves of chakra sliced what they came in contact with, as demonstrated by a gash along the ground and a severed branch. The kunoichi’s clapping hands and squeals of delight indicated that this was the result she had desired.
The wind elemental explosion was very similar to the basic explosion, but with two major differences. In her week of experience with the non-elemental burst, she noticed that, though the blast had approximately three times the strength of an exploding tag, it was never able to harm the structure of anything. It would carry concussive force, which packed quite a punch, but it would not actually break anything. This was because the explosion had merely consisted of blunt force. Now, however, the burst had been altered in two ways.
The wind feather, when burst, carried the same quality that it carried when it was used by itself: it cut down on the power of that which it touched. The wind-elemental feather worked by taking advantage of the nature of wind chakra to cut; it would, in a way, sever the chakra flow of that which it touched, which would drop the stat attributes of victims. The wind explosion took advantage of both the cutting trait, and the stat-lowering trait. The wind chakra would first lower a stat, and then it would cut. As evidenced by the slice in the ground, this particular explosion had lowered the strength of the ground, which weakened it enough for the chakra wave to carve right into it.
“Fascinating! It seems like an elemental Hekihane no Jutsu will just carry over the quality that my elemental feathers have,” Sayuri realized aloud, “but with the attribute associated with each element added!” She brought her hands together to pray her gratitude towards her faery-gnome-troll-princess-Goddess-dwarf-pixy-siren-deity-whatever-the-fuck, then willed another Angel Feather into existence with some hand seals.
She submerged the fluttering feather in the babbling brook, keenly focusing her chakra to prevent it from being taken away with the flow of the water. As she had to when she first trained her Angel Feathers in this same creek, Sayuri plunged her feet right into the current to prevent the little plume from slipping away, and began the hand seals, murmuring, “Tori. Tora. Tatsu. Saru. Hebi. Tori.” The feather’s aura darkened into a deep, soulful blue, and the feather itself became sleeker, its barbs gaining a notable sheen as they smoothed out.
The Genin pulled the water elemental feather out of the flowing stream, converted it into an Onibi, and allowed it to float in the air a few yards away, inadvertently on the other side of the small river. Focusing her chakra in this feather proved to be much more difficult. Because her natural affinity is for wind chakra, the previous feather was imbued solely with Sayuri’s own spiritual energy. This time around, however, the technique drew chakra not only from her, but from the water in which it had been submersed. It took much sharper focus to differentiate between the two energies in the glowing orb. Sayuri had to concentrate only on her own chakra and push it outwards. Unfortunately, she failed to do so successfully on her first try; the orb merely fizzled out of existence with barely a crackling sound. She was required to start again with a new feather; she imbued it with water chakra, changed it to a will – o’ – the – wisp, and sent it drifting a safe distance away.
This time, more familiar with the chakra patterns in the globe, Sayuri successfully used the Hekihane no Jutsu on the water elemental Onibi. The waves of chakra that burst in every direction were of a bottomless cerulean color; because the ball had been floating near the center of the clearing, the waves did not touch any trees, only grass and some bushes. Sayuri predicted that, unless she touched the waves of chakra that spread out from the explosion, she would not gain the ability to see the flow of chakra like she did with the regular Mizu no Hane technique, and she was correct. However, she surmised that the effect of the water elemental burst would somehow affect chakra, so she formed another water feather to gain sight of chakra.
Blinking a few time to adjust to the new colors and lights that showed her chakra, Sayuri looked over to the place where the Onibi had burst. The result was clearly shown by the fact that there was an area of grass and shrubbery that was much dimmer, much less rich in energy. The water-element Bursting Feather Jutsu influenced the flow of chakra; because water chakra naturally has the quality of flowing, the waves of the explosion pushed the chakra out of what they touched.
Delighted by this new effect, the excited young woman moved right onto the next element: earth. Coincidentally, it began raining at this point as well. She slipped the two knives out of her sleeves—which, on a side note, were green today—and began to dig a hole in the ground. Luckily, the falling rain made the soil a bit more pliable, and she was able to dig the hole with relative ease. She formed another Angel Feather, placed it in the hole, covered it with dirt, and began the sequence of hand seals. “Hebi. Tori. Tora. Tatsu. Saru. Hebi.
Inches beneath the earth’s surface, the dirt charged the feather with earth chakra; it gained a nurturing brown aura, its rachis thickened, and its barb seemed to become more solid. Sayuri pulled the plume up through the loose soil, performing the jutsu to pull its form out into a brown Onibi. She sent it hovering yards away as she had before, keeping it a bit closer to the ground this time, and focused to explode it. Though the method was slightly different from what it had been with the water element, because of the differences between water and earth, she managed to cause it to burst on her first try. The result shocked her.
It was hardly an explosion; it was more like the orb just stretched out. The brown chakra quickly faded into a clear, colorless, shining kind of chakra that looked like glass as it grew. Whatever it touched was either grinded into dust or thrown back by the crushing nature of the earth chakra, but the amazing aspect was that the glass-like energy did not fade. It remained where it was once it stopped growing, a stable fixture. Sayuri approached it and tapped it with one of her knives, only to find that it truly was a strong structure. The earth elemental Bursting Feather Jutsu caused the feather to form into a spherical barrier, but the interesting part was that, before it settled into its definite shape, it seemed to grind away at whatever it touched.
Out of curiosity, the Genin tried to the jutsu again but with numerous Earth Feathers, and she had them surround her body; in this formation, the feathers seemed to synchronize to form a dome around her.
Now, it was time for the lightning element. This was why Sayuri had chosen a stormy day to try this out. It was only raining now, but soon, there would be bolts of lightning. And she hadn’t though about it until now, but she realized that she could use basic earth elemental feathers to attract those bolts towards her. By forming two more earth feathers and having them create a long barrier with each other, Takara Sayuri created a lightning rod of sorts! Now, she prepared a feather to imbue with the lightning element, placed it on the top of the pseudo-lightning rod, and waited…
She needed the break, honestly. Splashing some creek water on her face to cool off, she took a quick breather, staying alert for lightning. Within half an hour, thunder cracked, and a sharp electric bolt of light came crashing down onto the earth elemental structure, shattering it instantly. Sayuri quickly performed the hand seals why the electricity remained in her feather. “Saru. Hebi. Tori. Tora. Tatsu. Saru. The now lightning feather came back to Sayuri’s location; it now radiated with vibrant golden light, its barbs now sharper, as well as its rachis and calamus. She formed it into an Onibi and kept it relatively close to herself, a very dangerous move.
It was relatively simple to burst the lightning elemental orb, as she was now familiar with working around the foreign chakra and getting right to her own. She winced as she braced for the impact of the explosion. She surely felt the impact, but it was not painful; it was invigorating! There was definitely an increase in speed involved in the explosion, but it was intense! It was like the chakra had gotten right down to her very core! The piercing quality of lightning chakra merely enhanced the stat-boosting aspect of her Lightning Feathers.
Now, it was time for Sayuri’s final element: fire. It would be difficult to do considering the fact that it was raining, but there were trees all around that kept the ground dry. She went under one of those trees and began to collect the dead leaves that it had dropped onto the ground. Once a sufficient pile of kindling had been gathered, she took out a senbon needle and picked up a rock. Striking one against the other, she formed a spark that developed into a small fire. She created a feather and imbued it with the fire element. “Tora. Tatsu. Saru. Hebi. Tori. Tora.”
The feather gave off a fiery red glow. Its barb gained a wavy look to it that resembled a flame, its calamus sharpening a bit as well. She then transformed it into an Onibi; it was now a bright red will – o’ – the – wisp. Knowing that the fire element would be a very destructive explosion, Sayuri took care to keep it very far away from herself. Upon detonation, the orb showed that it was stronger than the non-elemental burst, and that it had a searing quality.
Exhausted and proud, Takara Sayuri collapsed right there on the forest floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Word Count: 2,804
For this reason, the eccentric young lady had made her way back to the clearing –dancing and humming and twirling all the way, mind you— in order to train. The last time Takara Sayuri had visited the private little space in the forest was seven days ago, when she was first learning to use the Hekihane no Jutsu. It was night time then, but today, she decided to come during the afternoon. One really would not be able to tell, though, because the day was cloudy. In fact, most of the forest was quiet and still, anticipating a vicious thunder storm. Foul weather was very rare in the sunny Land of Fire, but the scarce storms that its citizens did experience were certainly brutal ones. It was two in the afternoon, and the sky was blank, gray, and heavy. The reason Sayuri had decided to come out to train on such a day would, of course, only be understood to her.
“Oh, it is just such a lovely thing to be in the forest at the time before a storm! Everything is so peaceful and reverent!” The young girl sighed tranquilly as she sat at the edge of the creek that ran through the clearing, tapping her feet on the surface of the water. “It is like every creature around me is just sitting on the edge of its seat, eagerly awaiting the Sky to break free and drop her children upon us!” Predictably enough, Sayuri was right. Sayuri usually was right when it came to reading the nature that surrounded her. She was never one for “book smarts”, but the skills of observance and intuition had always been easily accessible to her.
As she herself awaited the beginning of the storm, the young lady performed a series of hand seals to bring a single Angel Feather to life. The white droplet of life energy flicked into existence like a star flicks into sight in the night sky, and then it twisted and stretched itself into the familiar form of a feather. A moment after it assumed its shape, the plume began to give off its signature aura of faint lavender, which managed to coax a smile and a sigh from its creator. As quickly as she formed the ghostly feather, Sayuri focused her chakra with the basic one handed seal, sent the feather fluttering away a few yards, then whispered, “Tenshi Ninpou: Hekihane no Jutsu!”
Though forcing the poor feather to explode may have seemed cruel to some, Takara Sayuri viewed it as a beautiful thing, just short of sacred. As the manifestation of chakra burst, it let off visible waves of chakra in all directions, the same lilac color as the original aura of the feather, but with wandering sparkles throughout them. She giggled as she felt the residual shockwave of the blast tickle her face, as well as heard the chiming ring of the explosion. In her own eyes, she was not forcing the feather to die, or cease to exist; she was merely expanding its life force – yes, she considered each feather to be a life, and the chakra she used to create it to be its spirit – into a form not restricted to a feather. It gave her a feeling of liberation; it was practically therapeutic.
Now that she was able to easily use the Hekihane no Jutsu, though, it was Sayuri’s desire to take it a step further. Over the week, she had thought about ways to improve the jutsu, and reflected on the idea that she was able to imbue her feathers with elemental chakra. History shows that jutsu become greatly strengthened when they are combined with Nature Transformation, and those that were created by Takara Sayuri were no exception.
The enthusiastic kunoichi decided to try a new variation on the technique; it did not seem like it would be extremely complicated, or at all different from the basic from of the Bursting Feather Jutsu, and she was certainly excited to try it. Sayuri began by performing the needed hand seals and bringing another Tenshi no Hane into existence. This would be the first trial for this new technique. She began a series of hand seals. “Tatsu. Saru. Hebi. Tori. Tora. Tatsu,” She muttered with the completion of each hand formation. Of course, this was only to aid in concentration. After the final hand seal, the Angel Feather she had created began to glow with a light green aura, and its physical form changed. It seemed lighter, with its barbs becoming lighter and fluffier, more closely resembling the after feather.
In her initial training of the Hekihane no Jutsu, Sayuri found out that the only difference between detonating an Angel Feather in its basic form and detonating an Angel Feather that had been transformed with the Tenshi Ninpou: Onibi technique was the amount of effort required, she executed the hand seals to alter the feather into a will – o’ – the – wisp. She had played around with changing the element of her feathers before converting them into the glowing orbs of Onibi, and discovered that they were practically identical, but the light that was shed by the sphere was of a different color, corresponding to the element. Because the feather was charged with Sayuri’s natural wind element, it was currently giving off a soft green glow.
Because Takara Sayuri’s natural elemental affinity was wind, there was almost no difference between the basic Bursting Feather Jutsu and using the technique on a wind-elemental feather. Focusing her chakra was simple and fluid and the globe exploded without much extra effort required. When the sphere burst, it let out the same wave of chakra in all directions, only light teal instead of the gentle mauve that it did without an element. Sayuri also noticed that the energy seemed to have a sharp quality; the waves of chakra sliced what they came in contact with, as demonstrated by a gash along the ground and a severed branch. The kunoichi’s clapping hands and squeals of delight indicated that this was the result she had desired.
The wind elemental explosion was very similar to the basic explosion, but with two major differences. In her week of experience with the non-elemental burst, she noticed that, though the blast had approximately three times the strength of an exploding tag, it was never able to harm the structure of anything. It would carry concussive force, which packed quite a punch, but it would not actually break anything. This was because the explosion had merely consisted of blunt force. Now, however, the burst had been altered in two ways.
The wind feather, when burst, carried the same quality that it carried when it was used by itself: it cut down on the power of that which it touched. The wind-elemental feather worked by taking advantage of the nature of wind chakra to cut; it would, in a way, sever the chakra flow of that which it touched, which would drop the stat attributes of victims. The wind explosion took advantage of both the cutting trait, and the stat-lowering trait. The wind chakra would first lower a stat, and then it would cut. As evidenced by the slice in the ground, this particular explosion had lowered the strength of the ground, which weakened it enough for the chakra wave to carve right into it.
“Fascinating! It seems like an elemental Hekihane no Jutsu will just carry over the quality that my elemental feathers have,” Sayuri realized aloud, “but with the attribute associated with each element added!” She brought her hands together to pray her gratitude towards her faery-gnome-troll-princess-Goddess-dwarf-pixy-siren-deity-whatever-the-fuck, then willed another Angel Feather into existence with some hand seals.
She submerged the fluttering feather in the babbling brook, keenly focusing her chakra to prevent it from being taken away with the flow of the water. As she had to when she first trained her Angel Feathers in this same creek, Sayuri plunged her feet right into the current to prevent the little plume from slipping away, and began the hand seals, murmuring, “Tori. Tora. Tatsu. Saru. Hebi. Tori.” The feather’s aura darkened into a deep, soulful blue, and the feather itself became sleeker, its barbs gaining a notable sheen as they smoothed out.
The Genin pulled the water elemental feather out of the flowing stream, converted it into an Onibi, and allowed it to float in the air a few yards away, inadvertently on the other side of the small river. Focusing her chakra in this feather proved to be much more difficult. Because her natural affinity is for wind chakra, the previous feather was imbued solely with Sayuri’s own spiritual energy. This time around, however, the technique drew chakra not only from her, but from the water in which it had been submersed. It took much sharper focus to differentiate between the two energies in the glowing orb. Sayuri had to concentrate only on her own chakra and push it outwards. Unfortunately, she failed to do so successfully on her first try; the orb merely fizzled out of existence with barely a crackling sound. She was required to start again with a new feather; she imbued it with water chakra, changed it to a will – o’ – the – wisp, and sent it drifting a safe distance away.
This time, more familiar with the chakra patterns in the globe, Sayuri successfully used the Hekihane no Jutsu on the water elemental Onibi. The waves of chakra that burst in every direction were of a bottomless cerulean color; because the ball had been floating near the center of the clearing, the waves did not touch any trees, only grass and some bushes. Sayuri predicted that, unless she touched the waves of chakra that spread out from the explosion, she would not gain the ability to see the flow of chakra like she did with the regular Mizu no Hane technique, and she was correct. However, she surmised that the effect of the water elemental burst would somehow affect chakra, so she formed another water feather to gain sight of chakra.
Blinking a few time to adjust to the new colors and lights that showed her chakra, Sayuri looked over to the place where the Onibi had burst. The result was clearly shown by the fact that there was an area of grass and shrubbery that was much dimmer, much less rich in energy. The water-element Bursting Feather Jutsu influenced the flow of chakra; because water chakra naturally has the quality of flowing, the waves of the explosion pushed the chakra out of what they touched.
Delighted by this new effect, the excited young woman moved right onto the next element: earth. Coincidentally, it began raining at this point as well. She slipped the two knives out of her sleeves—which, on a side note, were green today—and began to dig a hole in the ground. Luckily, the falling rain made the soil a bit more pliable, and she was able to dig the hole with relative ease. She formed another Angel Feather, placed it in the hole, covered it with dirt, and began the sequence of hand seals. “Hebi. Tori. Tora. Tatsu. Saru. Hebi.
Inches beneath the earth’s surface, the dirt charged the feather with earth chakra; it gained a nurturing brown aura, its rachis thickened, and its barb seemed to become more solid. Sayuri pulled the plume up through the loose soil, performing the jutsu to pull its form out into a brown Onibi. She sent it hovering yards away as she had before, keeping it a bit closer to the ground this time, and focused to explode it. Though the method was slightly different from what it had been with the water element, because of the differences between water and earth, she managed to cause it to burst on her first try. The result shocked her.
It was hardly an explosion; it was more like the orb just stretched out. The brown chakra quickly faded into a clear, colorless, shining kind of chakra that looked like glass as it grew. Whatever it touched was either grinded into dust or thrown back by the crushing nature of the earth chakra, but the amazing aspect was that the glass-like energy did not fade. It remained where it was once it stopped growing, a stable fixture. Sayuri approached it and tapped it with one of her knives, only to find that it truly was a strong structure. The earth elemental Bursting Feather Jutsu caused the feather to form into a spherical barrier, but the interesting part was that, before it settled into its definite shape, it seemed to grind away at whatever it touched.
Out of curiosity, the Genin tried to the jutsu again but with numerous Earth Feathers, and she had them surround her body; in this formation, the feathers seemed to synchronize to form a dome around her.
Now, it was time for the lightning element. This was why Sayuri had chosen a stormy day to try this out. It was only raining now, but soon, there would be bolts of lightning. And she hadn’t though about it until now, but she realized that she could use basic earth elemental feathers to attract those bolts towards her. By forming two more earth feathers and having them create a long barrier with each other, Takara Sayuri created a lightning rod of sorts! Now, she prepared a feather to imbue with the lightning element, placed it on the top of the pseudo-lightning rod, and waited…
She needed the break, honestly. Splashing some creek water on her face to cool off, she took a quick breather, staying alert for lightning. Within half an hour, thunder cracked, and a sharp electric bolt of light came crashing down onto the earth elemental structure, shattering it instantly. Sayuri quickly performed the hand seals why the electricity remained in her feather. “Saru. Hebi. Tori. Tora. Tatsu. Saru. The now lightning feather came back to Sayuri’s location; it now radiated with vibrant golden light, its barbs now sharper, as well as its rachis and calamus. She formed it into an Onibi and kept it relatively close to herself, a very dangerous move.
It was relatively simple to burst the lightning elemental orb, as she was now familiar with working around the foreign chakra and getting right to her own. She winced as she braced for the impact of the explosion. She surely felt the impact, but it was not painful; it was invigorating! There was definitely an increase in speed involved in the explosion, but it was intense! It was like the chakra had gotten right down to her very core! The piercing quality of lightning chakra merely enhanced the stat-boosting aspect of her Lightning Feathers.
Now, it was time for Sayuri’s final element: fire. It would be difficult to do considering the fact that it was raining, but there were trees all around that kept the ground dry. She went under one of those trees and began to collect the dead leaves that it had dropped onto the ground. Once a sufficient pile of kindling had been gathered, she took out a senbon needle and picked up a rock. Striking one against the other, she formed a spark that developed into a small fire. She created a feather and imbued it with the fire element. “Tora. Tatsu. Saru. Hebi. Tori. Tora.”
The feather gave off a fiery red glow. Its barb gained a wavy look to it that resembled a flame, its calamus sharpening a bit as well. She then transformed it into an Onibi; it was now a bright red will – o’ – the – wisp. Knowing that the fire element would be a very destructive explosion, Sayuri took care to keep it very far away from herself. Upon detonation, the orb showed that it was stronger than the non-elemental burst, and that it had a searing quality.
Exhausted and proud, Takara Sayuri collapsed right there on the forest floor.
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Word Count: 2,804
[Special Jounin • Kumogakure no Sato • Masuyo Akimi • Points Achieved: 17]
[Genin • Konohagakure no Sato • Takara Sayuri • Points Achieved: 18]