The Art of War I [Training] [Flashback]

Qilin entered the dojo. Each step as reminiscent as the last time he had been here and the time before that. As he ascended the steps to the training session, he gave the complex a sweeping glance. He was here to develop his open palm abilities and give flavor to his bare fisted technique. Inside the complex was one of his many eels waiting for his emergence. Shinbou waited patiently in the center, clicking its tongue as Qilin entered. It had been notified of what to expect. Its eyes focused on Qilin as he approached. Standing on its tail, it levitated its body to Qilin's height. The training was another bout of wit and manipulation of the opponent’s perception. For this technique, he wanted to make his fists almost undetectable to the untrained eye. 

Qilin didn't say anything. Nothing was needed to be said. As randomly and unpredicatable as he wanted to achieve for his fists, he began. He did not attack Shinbou over even approach him. As if an unseen enemy existed between the Fushinkou, he struck the air. As if testing the water, the punch was slow, but signified the training's start. A second later and he punched again, this time faster. Every swing went faster as the last. His punches soon became sporadic and static, swatting at the air. The more speed he kept up, Shinbou found itself having difficulty locking on. His display of force swiped the air over and over, repeatedly utilizing the same movement, but trying to remain some show of unpredictability here and there.

Qilin's movements and motion began to deteriorate to the eels vision. It wasn't long before the strikes blurred and marred with what was real. A left jab turned to the right. The air distorted and Qilin pushed his strength past its limits to create the desired effect. He shot out, allowing for the eel to analyze the movement or rather, its lack of analysis. Soon after hours of training, he was beginning to empower the technique with fast motions that exceeded normal human vision.

It wasn't long, well, as far as hours went. The speed of his jabs increased and their motion became almost impossible to note, at least in the mind of the eel. It would take impressive perceptions to analyze his strike. When Qilin was satisfied, he halted, ceasing to swipe the air. He had to harden his strikes now. The way of the master was to strike a block of steel more than 10,000 times per day. He would begin doing so. Empowered strikes hitting the cold surface over and over, he had flash back of being a young chuunin and his fists bleeding against the metallic block. The pain he felt surge through his body and the many days of recovery it took to use his hands again all to master a singular technique. He had punched the steel once before until tendons were visible and his fingers had all broken. Yet in the end it was all worth it....the grueling punishment had perfected a fist that very few could match. Now it only served the purpose of polishing his skills and increasing his chakra reserves before exiting. 

-532 Words-

It was just after dusk and as the sun was still peeking over the horizon Qilin set off for the forest even though the night was as clear as day to Qilin he still had the feeling of ominous dread knowing he was surrounded by darkness. The trip was short and uneventful barely anyone stayed on the street at this time of night people were either busy at home or socializing in tea houses after a long day of work toiling away.
 
Reaching his spot Qilin untied his ribbon he had left tied around a tree branch so he could find his way back to the spot where he had left is gear at lunch time. The surroundings weren't all that varied in a forest and Qilin was known for getting lost, unrolling his bedroll he sat on the floor away from any nearby trees as his training sessions sometimes did end up going awry and while he wanted his name to go down in history he didn't want it to be as the absent minded Qilin who burned down Otogakure's forest.
 
Stretching out his legs out in front of him Qilin lay for a moment and simply was, clearing his mind of all but the present he closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing and his pulse starting with a deep breath in through the nose and holding it for a second before letting it out all while repeating the words of his mother in his mind A deep breath in to restore and activate yourself and your breath out takes with it toxins, mental blocks and that which you do not need he had never held much stock in his mother's words on meditation of her practice of it but there wasn't much denying it's effects at the moment.
 
Concentrating on his chakra he began to mould it fusing the raiton nature and katon nature together to create the signature fire that his clan was known for and then slowly Qilin began to open his eyes and reach his arms out upwards slowly cupping his hands together. Closing his eyes again and focusing Qilin began to picture his body firstly his bones, the very building blocks of what made him who and what he was his mental picture began to add layer after layer onto it first the heart and blood vessels as he became aware of his own heart beat and then nerves and organs and then the mental picture of Qilin began to illuminate as the last layer was his chakra network.
 
The mental picture began to change as Qilin began to channel chakra into his cupped hands and then again Qilin began to slowly open his eyes as large stream of fire began to escape from the cracks between his fingers and there it was a jutsu he had perfected and would continue to polish. That glowed like a candle, that tiny ball no bigger than his eye that gre immensely was to be his training today. It was a simple technique or at the very least a simple sounding technique imparted onto him by his father, the theory was that in order to hone his control over the chakra he needed to master his control over his body as a whole while being a fusion to his element because of the nature of the the Uchiha clan's relationship with it the theory sounded much more easier than manipulating a flame or wind.
 
"Take the ball his father began "and assert your control over it, it's all well and good creating a flash of fiery light, flashes are easy they are simply huge amounts of energy being released. You know what's hard? The question was obviously rhetorical seeing as there wasn't a long enough pause to allow Qilin to voice his opinion but his mind instantly went to My …. and a small snicker gave his thought away to his father earning him a clip around the ear "What is hard is taking all that energy and holding it, taking that same bright flame and instead harnessing it into a slow burn, once you've mastered the slow burn all other techniques will seem like child's play in comparison".
 

The speech rang true as soon as Qilin attempted to manipulate the ball, making the ball brighter was simple as brighter simply meant to release it's limitations and allow it to burn through faster like knocking down a dam and letting the flood waters through however the opposite seemed exponentially more difficult to build the dam back up and make the ball dimmer grew harder the dimmer it got so much so that he struggled to get it back to it's original brightness at which point he scrapped that ball and opted to make another.

-794 words-

Qilin woke up early on a very beautiful day. His morning jog went well and he even had a decent meal to eat to fuel him for the intense day of training he had in mind. His goal for the day way to work on perfecting a new style he was trying to learn to control. It was known as the Shock Fist. Finally learning of his ability to manipulate fire with his chakra affinity, he knew his arsenal needed to be worked on. This would be a very difficult task since he would remember learning from the jounin of Otogakure that to control this style one must focus on their control and manipulation of chakra.

 
He finally reached a secluded area surrounded by desert and rock formations. To begin he of course continued his warm up doing some cardio drills. This ranged from jumping jacks, squats, push ups, and eight count body builders. After this he would then cool his mind with about one minute of meditation to begin controlling his breathing. Doing so will be only the first way he would start focusing on his chakra control.
 
After feeling the realization in his chest and muscles he would begin to stand and start practicing his strikes on a near by dummy he dragged out to the area beforehand. This was in fact a normal training area around Otogakure for Qilin. The vast desert created the many training grounds accessible to him. He would become frustrated that through multiple hours he could not seem to pulse the chakra and manipulate it the way it should be to prove the technique to be a success.
 
Taking another break to begin meditating for another straight minute would breath in deep hold it and breath out a small stream of air. In his mind he visualized the air he was breathing out to be negative energy in his body. The mind was his most powerful weapon and he knew this to be true. Realizing that he was back to his calm state of mind he would continue working on the technique.
 
Qilin started focusing chakra to pulse through his body. He then would begin to imagine the image of lighting and extreme power surging throughout his body. He then began to strike the dummy he had hit before but it seemed that only natural strength would be behind his strikes instead of the elemental effects. Unsure of the reason for his failure to comprehend what he was doing wrong, he continued through the entire day to perfect this style.
 
His determination was undeniable as he worked himself to the point where he could barely feel his body anymore. The constant use of chakra also took a toll on him so he would have to call it a day and relax for an entire day now to make sure he fully heals properly. He was always smart about healing his wounds. Sometimes his ego does get the better of him, but that's a typical for most shinobi his age.
 
After he is fully rested he goes straight to the training ground he started at. He would see nothing had been moved except a sand storm that must have brewed, because the dummy had specs that would glisten with the shining sun. The Uchiha would begin focusing his chakra to pulse through his body yet again.
 
He felt that it was now his duty to perfect this skill with a passion for the martial style using his favorite style of fighting with his chakra affinity. Knowing these very details of this and the possible results of this training only drove him to push himself to his limits. This was rare because Qilin had been already pushing himself and this would be his relaxing workout day. Growing up he was raised to stick to a strict way of living such as eating at certain times. Making sure the portions of food are not too much and not too little. These are just some of the standards of living within his family.
 
Making his intervals of exercise longer and almost no rest is what he felt was necessary to push the bodies limits. A shinobi must be well prepared for many situations in battle. Knowing this, the body should be kept to its highest standards. This is what Qilin lived by. He would begin to feel the strain in his muscles as he pushed harder and harder. His face would cringe as only motivation would be what seemed to be keeping him going.
 
After allowing a longer rest period he knew it was now time to focus on the technique itself rather then be conditioned to use it. This was the way of the knowledgeable fighter, which Qilin hopes to understand in his lifetime. Slowly going over how he positioned his body for his strikes and realizing his sense of range was his intention. He allowed what was left of the dummy, which was basically just a plank in the sand, to be his target.
 
He would control his breathing making sure to exhale when he made contact. After doing it a few times he would then begin to focus chakra into his strikes. Combining the technique of his strikes and the controlled breathing allowed him maximum efficiency in his training. Taking his time, Qilin would begin to close his eyes and begin to feel his surrounding target making contact with his chakra still flowing. He opened his eyes as sweat began to pour down calling it a day for his chakra training.

-918 words- 

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 Qilin 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 fields 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 doujutsu, the 3 tomoe sharingan, 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.

Qilin 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, Qilin 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 Fields and I will become strong, and I will make them all proud of me, especially Ai. With a deep breath Qilin 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 Qilin 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 Qilin 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 Qilin sat once more upon the dunes, gazing out at the endless sea of fields as the wind began to pick up, whipping up small eddies in the fields 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 fields 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.

Qilin was nervous. That was the first word that came to mind as he stood on the outskirts of Otogakuregakure no sato, waiting for his classmate, Amen, 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 Qilin'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 Qilin hope for about half a second. ”ACHOO!” Amen let out a violent sneeze and then... nothing for a moment before the boy finally spoke. ”Uh... Qilin? Was that what you were going for? Was I supposed to sneeze like that?” Qilin 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 Qilin took a deep breath and performed the seals again, focusing on exactly what he wanted this jutsu to do.

1161

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 Qilin 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?” Qilin 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.”
 
Qilin 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. Qilin 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 Qilin 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 Qilin. 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 Qilin a moment before speaking. ”Yeah... for a moment there my eyes felt really dry, like I'd been out in the fields all day, it was really irritating, I kept blinking but they just wouldn't stop. It was kind of irritating man.”
 
Qilin 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 Oto fields. Sweat dripped from the end of Qilin 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, Qilin? 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.” Qilin 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 Qilin 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 Qilin?! 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 Qilin 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.
 
Thud! There it was, that sound again; it infuriated Qilin 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 Qilin 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. Qilin 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. Qilin 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.
 
Qilin 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, Qilin 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 Qilin 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...
 
Qilin 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. Qilin 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.
 
Qilin 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.
 

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