Reo walked through Kiri, pondering his next move. He had said he wants to go on a long trip, but he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant for him. What was the point of the trip if not to get stronger? He knew what had caused him to want to do this.
The ninja of other villages were so powerful. Konoha had Shao, Kyle, and Mari and each possessed their own unique strengths. Mari’s use of water and earth chakra was beyond anything Reo had ever assumed possible. Kyle…Kyle was kyle! Shao…shao may have lost to Reo but he showed a tactical fighting style that Reo was extremely jealous of. That tornado jutsu almost caught him – and that would have been terrible if that had happened.
Reo couldn’t imagine a situation in which he would have won that fight if he hadn’t managed to nick the Hyuuga’s chin with his foot before the tornado completely took effect. No, Reo won but he wasn’t the better Shinobi. He was lucky and powerful but didn’t they always tell them in the academy that power and luck were but the weakest tools a shinobi possessed? There was the Kiri kunoichi with her mastery of ice which – much like Fuu’s Scorching heat was one of the most impressive things Reo had witnessed. Finally, there was the Lightning Shinobi from Kumo. He..he seemed terrifying but he didn’t put up much of a fight against Fuu.
Of course, neither did Reo.
If that’s all Reo could rely on, then what did he have left? He would like to think that he had fought that ghost well, but he had failed at an important task of his clan -sealing creatures like that one and never letting their evil permeate the light of day again. Besides, he had been fighting a creature of pure malice and energy. It wasn’t in the best position for analytical thinking.
“You look familiar to me, young one.” An Elderly woman said as she moved her arms through a large pool of water. The water within was crystal clear and a white and a black fish swam within. Reo turned to the woman and gave a polite bow due to her status as an elder.
“I’m not sure how you recognize me, Ma’am. I suppose you could have seen me if you attended the recent Chuunin Exams about a week ago? I participated in them and made it to the second round.” Reo said politely as he watched the woman move her arms through the water. It swirled in a mesmerizing pattern.
“No. I’m afraid I don’t get out much these days and events like that are simply too eventful for my old blood.” The woman said with a chuckle and a smile. Reo felt his heart warm at the way the woman presented herself. The way she turned her head seemed very nice to Reo, though he couldn’t quite explain why.
“Oh. Then I’m afraid I do not know why I look familiar to you. Perhaps you know someone that looks like me?” Reo asked, again being as polite as possible. His eyes were drawn to the way she moved her arms through the water. She didn’t go against the current of the water. Curious.
“Oh, no. You’re a distinctive looking lad. I think I would know if I knew someone who looked like you.” The woman said laughing again. Reo couldn’t be mad at the comment due to its accuracy. He was a darker skinned monk whose hair was beginning to grow in slightly – so that he had stubble on top. He hadn’t shaved or waxed his head since the Chuunin Exams. Part of that was simply because he was tired and didn’t want to. Another part was that he was on his own for the first time in his life. He had never decided to shave his head and hadn’t truly seen the reasoning behind it. Though, he had to admit that the stubble on his head was beginning to grow itchy and irritating. He may shave it just because of that.
“I think I saw you in my dreams.” The woman said simply. She didn’t turn her head towards him and Reo couldn’t hear any other noises being made. So, he waited for a minute. A statement like that one required elaboration.
Yet, none was forthcoming. So, Reo eventually spoke up.
“What do you mean you saw me in your dreams?” The monk said, moving towards the water. There was a slight chill emanating from the pool. Reo could feel it despite not touching the water yet. The old woman continued to move her arms through the water, following the current.
“I mean what I said, young man. I saw you in my dreams. Yes, it is coming back to me. This meeting was not by pure chance.” The old woman seemed to gain strength as she talked. “No, this was fated. You are seeking something, are you not?”
“Yes. I am seeking…I don’t know what, to be honest. I want power but…” Reo trailed off. Did he want power? He wanted power to protect the world from Dragons and ghosts and every other baddie that could be threatening it, but why didn’t he just entrust the task to someone more worthy than himself.
“but power for power’s sake is worthless.” The old woman said, seemingly reading Reo’s mind. It was. But, why did he have to be the one who did these things. There was an entire clan of people dedicated to protecting the world from these things. Shouldn’t he just accept his lot in life? “Yes, young man. You would be right to thin that power for the sake of power is pointless. Power is only truly strong when it is used for a good reason. You have one of those, yes?”
“Yes.” Reo said reluctantly. “But, why does it have to be me? I feel this urge to continue forward and not let anything get in my way but that makes no sense. I’ve failed time and time again. Shouldn’t I just entrust this task to someone else and be done with it?”
“Young man, I believe you have found the crux of the problem.” The woman said with a sigh as she finally moved her arms out of the water. A drop of water was accidentally flicked onto Reo’s arm and he felt the cold within. Keeping your arms in the pool for as long as the old woman did would be difficult.
“The crux of the problem? That I should just give the scroll and everything I know about it to someone stronger like Fuu?” reo asked. It made sense. Maybe she was right.
“No, child. The problem is that you think you can’t succeed. That pull you keep feeling? That’s destiny, young one. It’s the same pull that drew you into talking to an old woman like myself.” She spoke calmly and turned to face Reo. Her face was wrinkled and the snow-white hair on her head seemed an indicator of her age. Most important of all was that she held a smile on her face.
“Destiny?” Reo muttered, trying to figure out why destiny would bring him to talk to this woman. Sure, she was providing some tantalizing discussion, but she wasn’t the most powerful person in the world. What could he learn from her?
“Yes. There are a few things I feel you are lacking that I can teach you. You came here to learn the ways of Kiri and to become stronger, right?” The old woman asked. Reo felt goosebumps raise on his arms at the accuracy of the statement. “Then come with me.”
The old woman began to walk off, towards a small little shed on the side of the lake. She entered first and Reo followed behind shortly. Inside the shed, there were mounds upon mounds of element paper. Chakra paper? Whatever the proper term was, Reo had last seen these when he was but an Academy Student. He had been trying to learn his element back then and it had split. What would she bring him here for? He already knew how to perform Wind Chakra attacks – which were the attacks of his element.
“Well? What’re you waiting for? Grab a piece of paper and channel your chakra into it.” The old woman said - though she didn’t sound as irritated as the words would have led Reo to believe she was. Reo hesitantly reached out and grabbed one of the papers.
“I’m a Fuuton user, ma’am. I already know this.” Reo said hesitantly, not channeling any chakra into it.
“I know that. I also know that you have more than Fuuton locked inside that body of yours. The greatest of shinobis can learn jutsu of many different elements. Here in Kiri, Suiton is the most common – just as Fuuton is in your native land of Suna.” The woman began an explanation of elements, though Reo didn’t need it. He knew about the five elements and what they did. “I told you I had a dream of you. I think you are one of those rare individuals who can learn all five of the basic elements. Of course, it wouldn’t be as easy as me throwing all these papers here at you. No, I think you will need to go to each village and find someone willing to help you unlock the element.”
“So…how do I make it not just split like it did when I learned I was a Fuuton user?” Reo asked, hardly believing his ears. She thought he was special? That didn’t seem right.
He wasn’t, no matter what she said. Still, it would be rude for him to walk away at this point so he would humor her.
“Oh? Well, I suppose that would be difficult for someone who is just learning their second element. Focus the chakra into the paper and focus on not channeling Fuuton. The next element should surface on its own.” The old woman said with a chuckle. Reo glanced around and had to wonder why she kept so many of these papers in the room. It seemed strange.
Still, Reo did as she said. He poured chakra into the paper and focused as intently as he could on not making the chakra Fuuton. Lo and behold, the paper got wet.
“Wet? HA! I knew I was right. Suiton. Good. Now, you can try to use your suiton in the future.” The woman sighed and walked out of the room. Her body seemed to weigh ten times more – as if shouting ha had taken that much energy out of her.
“Thank you, Ma’am.” Reo said with a bow as they exited the building. He began to leave.
“Hold on. I’m not done with you, young man.” The woman said, stopping Reo in the tracks with her voice.
Reo turned around to look at the woman, who was standing by the water she had previously been moving her arms in. “This pool. You see, to use Suiton, you must understand how water works. This pool will teach you. I saw you watching me before, so you already know the mechanics. Go with the flow. If you go against, the fish will alert you by splashing you. If you can make eight full circles without being splashed, then and only then will you be ready for Suiton.”
The woman stepped away and Reo reluctantly stepped forward. She was right before, would she be now? Still, this seemed rather easy. Reo plunged his arms into the water, only to find the currents far different than he had thought they were. They didn’t follow any particular pattern and seemed to be switching at random intervals.
Reo worked at this for hours, receiving numerous splashes in the process. When he was done, his face was actually sore from the number of times he had been splashed. He walked away, with many ideas in his head.
“Don’t forget these ideas that the water taught you, Reo Gojisou.” The old woman said. Reo turned around, only to find that she was no longer there. Confused, he walked away and began walking back down Kiri once more. As he walked, Reo planned. The water had taught him many principles which could be used in combat. The best was the idea of going with the flow. Until now, Reo had always focused on punching through things, but that wasn’t always the best route, and this had taught him that. Furthermore, he had come up with two new Jutsu ideas. Well, one. The other was an idea of how to seal while hitting. So, eventually, Reo made his way into the forest where he had been training the day before.
A light fog was rolling in, which was perfect to test one of Reo’s ideas. The water had moved and he had to follow its direction. Everything goes with the flow of something. Even direct hits did damage by causing the flow of someone else to change.
What if he used wind to change the flow of wind in the atmosphere? Reo charged wind chakra into his hands and clapped the together. It wasn’t a loud or extremely powerful concussion, but wind shot forth from his hands and dispersed the slight fog around them.
“Well, that worked” Reo said as he focused on his seals and taijutsu. This one he didn’t need to practice just yet. He would need to practice it in a spar.
[Tired so Speed Rushing the quest. Half AP and experience for this post. 2,246 Words. Quest: Fluid of Motion. Trained a style and my wind clap mist dispersion. Unlocked Suiton (3 TP) and trained Endurance X 5
