Itsuko
Posts : 63
Join date : 2015-10-27
 | Subject: Cooling the Flames - Private - Training  Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:15 am | |
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“There must.. be peace. You are fire, wild and consuming. We must be as water.”
Itsuko was atop a tree, the night sky above her and fury burning in her heart. There was no single reason for her to be upset, it was simply her nature to rage. Life, though it had been short thus far, had not been kind to her. Others ran about with their families, others knew at least surface peace, but Itsuko had always been out cast. On the cold voice of Instinct had been her solace through her years. Her teeth ground together as she sat there, still in neither mind, nor body. Instinct was a voice she had always resisted. It never agreed with her, but whispered of how special she was.
Ko's hands were still balled into tight fists, her knuckles white with the pressure on her joints. If there was something living to thrash, she wouldn't be so still. All she wanted was someone to pick a fight with. She draws in a very slow breath, her lips curling into a silent snarl as she holds it. As she releases it there is no peace. Instead her chakra flares with anger, and burns like a wildfire through her heart. The center of her being, the heart, had never known peace. Itsuko never spoke to Instinct. It was a part of her, it was set upon her heart like shadows sit upon the wall; neither separate, nor one. It knew her mind and heart as well as Itsuko did.
“Get back on your feet, girl, we must continue until you get it right.”
There was hesitation at first, but she was lacking the will to continue bickering. Once she stands she can feel the rough bark of the limb beneath her feet, and see the sky above the canopy. “Once more.. just as we have practiced. Breathe in past your lungs, and feel it fill your belly. Bring your mind to your chakra, and feel it boiling inside of you.”
Itsuko does as she is instructed. Her eyes fall shut, her body falls still for the moment, and she breathes in. It is a deep breath taken in slowly through the nose, one that takes long moments to complete before it is again held. Sensing her own chakra was second nature to her, she could feel it welling inside of her as she brought her mind too it. Her chakra was as it always was, an inferno of pent up anger and hostility. It was no wonder to her, the black mark on her left breast was evidence of the influence holding sway over her heart. It was toxic and deadly, and colored her every action.
She exhales, and oddly enough the flames of her inner fire dim and wane. The exhaltion is as long and tediously slow as the breath in, but it was calming. No sooner had it ended, however, than the coals of her frustration were stoked once more.
“Again.” comes the voice of instinct, not her own instinct, just what she preferred to call the lingering consciousness gripping her heart.
She repeats the same process, though the voice in her mind continues as she does, feeding her instructions, and knowledge. Instinct was a spider, a demon, a monster. It was a force that had been bound tightly within her when she was still an infant, and she knew of no times when its voice was not in her mind. As she breaths in it speaks to her, not words in her ears, but a voice in her head and feelings in her heart.
“Water does not move, but it is moved. Water does not struggle, it finds the easy path. Water collects, it gathers, it concentrates until its depths reach the heart of the earth itself. We must be as the water, and our power must run deep, and sure. … Again. Spread your legs, and bend your knees. Put your hands at your side, and be still."
She continues with the same slow breaths. Horse stance was one easily mastered, but slowly perfected. It was the source from which all she would learn would come. One did not simply move through horse stands, but instead stood in it. Her feet part as instructed, her knees bending and letting her body crouch down. Both hands come to rest at her hips, and ball into loose fists. She breaths out, feeling the flames of her fury diminish.
"That is your chakra, that is where it sleeps. From your center it flows to fill your body as naturally as mountain snow feeds a river, or that river feeds a lake. Chakra is always in motion, always circulating within you. Breathe in. You must know your own heart, to know your own chakra. We do not need to see it with our eyes, but know it with our heart."
Itsuko's temper spiked as the voice droned on, and her chakra seethed along with it. She grits her teeth and breathes out slowly once more. This wisdom it was speaking of was not something new. Many in the land of Tea held similar views, more leaning towards spirituality than they did the physical world. Itsuko, however, held no memories of her life in the land of Tea, and only had the words of Instinct t guide her.
“From your chakra all power flows. You wish to be powerful, I know, but you are still young. You are still fire, burning and consuming. Fire exists for conflict, both inner and outer, however you will never master yourself, and master your heart if you only permit it to burn and never let it know stillness. Stillness of mind is not stillness of body, for when at peace your chakra flows faster than when it is burning hot. It moves more freely, goes where we need it, and responds instantly. Bring your chakra up, let if fill your chest. Breathe.”
It was not a single lesson, but a nightly practice. Atop a tree, beside a river, even standing atop lakes she took her lessons as they came. Each night was filled with this, leading up to sleep. At first she'd made no progress, weeks and months bleeding into a year before her chakra responded as it should, but it had been leading up to her present ability. Her chakra was still wild, but with will and effort she had learned to tame it.
Her body moved as she focused, matching her desire to move her chakra inside of her. Both hands sweep in low in front of her, cupping together between her thighs with both hands flat and parallel to the ground. She breaths in slowly while drawing her hands slowly upwards, dragging them up her body. She visualizes as she does, her chakra responding in turn and bubbling up inside her. When calm the motion was easy, the chakra would flood her system, and rise higher and higher until a great mass rest in her chest. This would be the start to a jutsu, for some, perhaps one resulting in a great burst of pressurized air or billowing flames. For Itsuko, however, this was only the middle. There was no beginning nor end to the motion of chakra circulating in the system.
Her hands lower straight down, flipping over to push her palms towards the ground and force her chakra to concentrate once more in the lowest regions of her abdomen. She exhales as she does, not the breath out does not release her chakra, or incite any images of anger in her mind.
“Again” comes the voice of Instinct.
Her hands rise once more, the upwelling of chakra inside her body growing stronger and deeper, pulling a larger amount of chakra upwards and concentrating it in her chest. In reptative fashion she holds the position with her breath, then once more forces her chakra downwards as she exhales. Her motions are not a waste. Even though there is nothing but thin air between her and the ground, it takes her a great deal of effort to move her arms, and her muscles strain as she pushes. Without needing to be told she inhales again, drawing her hands once more upwards.
This odd practice, this bizarre form of meditation, was not something that was overly common in the shinobi villages. Few understood the techniques, and those that did almost exclusively lived in the land of Tea. Itsuko, however, had learned from the creator. The spiders, who used the superb body control and mental focus from kung fu and used it to perfect the use of their numerous limbs. Itsuko might master even that some day, but nothing could be built without a solid foundation.
With the last drawing of her hands, her mind was finally at peace. Her fires tempered and a soothing sense of inner balance overcame her. She stood for a moment, exhaling her breath without moving her chakra, and slowly opened her eyes.
“Very good, Itsuko. You must remember this feeling. Now let us begin again.”
1514wc
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