The sun was barely shining or there was somebody on the training fields. Dressed in her jounin atire, Aiko was waiting for her student to come. Her hair was in a ponytail and the usual soft and friendly expression was now replaced by a more stern one. Her right foot was tapping against the ground, while she had both her hands on her back. On the grassfield, there were some dummies and other tools set up that they would use today for their training. It brought some memories back to how she had trained the first formation of Team 8. At least, it was in the similiar manner.
Katsu had woken up quite early, having gotten ready quickly after stepping out of bed. He quickly leapt out of the window, a rashly prepared breakfast in his hand, some tomato wrapped up in cheese. He quickly downed it as he ran past the jogging old man in front of his house. In just a few minutes, he found himself at the training fields, hoping to get there before the training would start, but alas, once more, he found that his teacher was there waiting. He stopped in front of her and straightened his back. "Good morning, Aiko-sensei!"
''Good morning Katsu. I want twenty laps, on the double.'' Aiko said. She looked less stern, but sounded quite serious as she then quickly glanced at the set up on the field. She had studied Katsu's profile once more and had an idea what she could do to train him and make him grow a bit. But the lion's part was up to him. Humming something, Aiko walked towards a dummy.
Katsu stood there for a moment, processing the command. After the moment passed, he nodded and jogged to the side of the field, starting to run around it at a steady yet quick pace. He regulated his breathing, looking forward as he ran; not at anything in particular, just ahead. He glanced at Aiko a few times but kept his concentration on his footing and the ground in front of him.
Waiting for Katsu to finish, Aiko checked the dummies and other equipment on the field. She had stop with the humming as she thought about what she would order her student to do next. Either practising his taijutsu on the dummies or train his stamina further. Rubbing her temple, Aiko tried also to focus on the present. Lately the past had been bothering her and she wasn't really sure why. Only one vague idea why she was so bothered with it.
After several minutes, Katsu was nearing the end of the last lap. Wanting to get over with it quickly, he sprinted at the last moment, finishing the 20th lap. He took deep breaths as he looked over at Aiko for the next command. He glanced at the dummies and equipment around her, trying to figure out what kind of training she had in store for him.
''Fourty push ups.'' Aiko said, not even turning around to look at her student. She had heard that he had stopped jogging, so that meant he was done with his laps. Turning around, she would watch over how he would do the push ups, but would say nothing. Not if he was doing it alright or bad. Or that he could do something to improve it. It was part of the training she was giving him now. Just like the first team training. He should think.
He dropped forward, barely yet easily keeping himself from colliding with the ground with his palms pressed onto the ground. He would keep his eyes locked on the ground between the two hands separated just as much as his shoulders. Thankfully, the previous exercise hadn't tired his arms. He lowered his body to the point where it looked like it would touch the ground and then raised it again. He repeated this action several times, the grass below him slowly getting soaked by the sweat. His visage never changed, ignoring the building up sore on his arms.
''After that, ten push ups with one arm. First left and then right.'' Aiko said, walking away from Katsu to further inspect the set up on the field. She was so far content with the performance of Katsu. But they were barely at the start of it. Already the next excersise was forming itself in the head of Aiko as she was needed to chose between either testing Katsu's knowledge or further pushing his limits with another excersise.
Once Katsu was done with the first set, he allowed himself a few seconds of rest to stop the shivering of his arms. He then put his right arm behind him, leaning his weight slightly to the left. He slowly lowered his upper body and raised it up again with caution. He shut his eyes tight and bit his lips, continuing with a slightly greater speed. At least once the left hand is done, my other arm'll be rested...
''Don't slow down. I am still watching over you. Pick up the pace, Katsu.'' Aiko said with a serious tone as she looked sideways at her student. Turning around to face his direction she thought about what was formed in her head. It wouldn't sound nice and maybe he wouldn't like it, but he should know that she couldn't be nice now. That would only make it seem easier and if there was something not true about the Exams, then it was that it was easy to get through them. ''If you want to be a possible candidate for becoming chuunin, you need to push your limits. Keep pushing them or else you can just sit down and give up. And with giving up, I mean back to the Academy. It is now do or die.''
Katsu gulped and nodded, pushing himself up once more. Now motivated by a mixture of fear and determination, he flicked his hand up and switched to his right arm in mid air, continuing with the same quick pace he'd left off with. He continued at the same pace, his eyes now open, air coming in through his nose and being thrown out of his mouth.
With Katsu now picking up the pace, Aiko waited till he was done. ''I want you to do eighty sit ups. While also naming each name of the past Hokages we had. With each name, I also want to hear a detail about them that you know. You have two minutes to finish this.'' Aiko instructed. Sitting down, she would sit down in a meditation sit, while watching over her student.
Katsu nodded hesitantly and started doing the sit ups quickly. "The first Hokage... Gakura Senju," he said after a moment's thought. "He started the modern Hidden Village system." As he continued, he took a breath to start talking once more. "The second Hokage was Daisuke Uchiha, who played a great part in the First Shinobi World War." He huffed as he continued doing the sit-ups. "The third Hokage was Zakito Hon. He gave the title up himself, instead of having died with it, unlike the other two Hokage that came before him," he stated. "And finally, the fourth Hokage is Hisoka Uchiha, nephew of the second. He was once the captain of Hokage's guard before being appointed as Zakito Hon's successor."
''Good. Now take a break to get yourself ready. We're going for a spar.'' Aiko said as she would get up. She would move her arms a bit as later stretch her limbs. ''During the spar, I want you to say every thought. Everything you are planning and are doing. Failing to do so, will result that you will need to do five push ups. With first only your left and then with only your right hand.'' Aiko calmly instructed.
Katsu leaned forward where he sat and thought on what she had said. "I... see," he said. "So if I were to swing my sword, I would announce this?" He thought of how he would have to speak quickly or move slowly so that he'd be able to speak fast enough to explain everything he would do.
''Everything. You just don't have to mention you're breathing, feeling pain or being tired. I want to hear you call up every action. I will explain only later why that is needed. You have ten seconds left of rest.'' Aiko said as she did some stretching exercise with her right arm, while looking with a neutral look towards Katsu. Maybe one he would recognize from somebody else. That look that didn't look or seem to care about how Katsu felt, but merely at how he was standing and moving around. One that revealed none thoughts or emotions.
Katsu quickly got up and pulled out his sword, pouring some of his converted wind chakra into it and creating a sharper coat, yet not very stable. He stared at her, waiting for the time to be over, correcting his footwork and raising the sword in front of him, ready to leap off the ground.
Without any warning, Aiko pulled out several kunai as she threw them towards Katsu. In a split second after it, the woman quickly leaped backwards to create more distance between her and Katsu as her hands were brought together. She didn't yet started to weave any handsignals. Just in order to be ready in defending herself in case Katsu would be able to react to the fast surprise attack.
Katsu's eyes opened wide as he clasped his hands together just as the kunai got close. As violent winds slowed and stopped the kunais. "Blocking with wind," he announced loudly, hoping that was enough. He raised his sword once more. He leapt forward, running towards Aiko. "Closing in to get into close combat," he announced once more.
She made a note to herself. Now she started to weave handsignals, on which she then raised her right hand into the air. A mist bank would roll into the field, covering the area with a thick mist. While Katsu could see Aiko, the woman still was standing on her spot, but if he paid attention, he would notice that she grabbed two kunai. Aiko wasn't planning to go full out on Katsu, as it would be a bit overdoing it on a mere genin, but she had her plan ready on what she wanted to teach Katsu with the tiring exercises and the sudden spar where he was needed to state his thoughts and actions.
A grin formed on Katsu's mouth. He hoped to use the mist to his advantage as much as he could. "Creating a clone for diversion," he yelled and a clone appeared in a puff of smoke in the mist. The clone clasped its palms together and yelled, "Clearing the mist," as the original threw two shuriken where the figure was. "Using the winds to speed up the shuriken."
Vanishing into the mist, the technique of Katsu worked. Only very briefly as the mist seemed to thicken. Aiko had her eyes closed as she silently moved towards another spot. She had already seen it coming he would try his wind nature to disable the mist advantage. A tactic she was well experienced with. Using her mastery and control, the mist was quite thick. Waiting with her next action, Aiko would wait and see if Katsu would try the same action again.
Katsu saw that the shuriken had missed. As the mist thickened, both he and the clone ran into it. One of the two made the seal again, trying to repel the mist around him. "Clearing the mist once more to get out into the open where I'd be visible," he announced. The other figure was nearby. The voice came from behind the figure using the technique. "Hiding for a surprise assault and ready to move." He quickly leapt away and hid near the slightly cleared area, hiding in the thick mist with his sword at the ready.
Again? Aiko wondered if he would do that. It would be a waste of chakra on his side. Forming a handsignal, she would keep the thick mist around. It had covered the whole trainingsfield by now. Moving around without making a sound, she managed to keep track of where Katsu and his clone were. It was only a bit annoying she couldn't be sure which was the real one, but for her next move it wouldn't matter that much. Throwing her kunai, Aiko aimed the weapon to hit a bark of a tree nearby Katsu's clone position. He could either pick that up as a warning or maybe that she wasn't completely able to aim accurate at him.
The winds stopped once Katsu realized that the technique wasn't working too well. He heard the thud of the kunai hitting the tree. With a quick glance, he saw where its back was pointing. He quickly swung his sword towards where its back was pointing, estimating that that was where Aiko would be. A vacuumed wave of air left the tip of the sword as he yelled. "Launching an attack."
She kept moving, but heard something moving through the air. Keeping away from it, Aiko silently moved towards the position of both Katsu and his clone. Weaving several handsignals, she would then softly blow out some mist. Something that was covered within the thick mistbank she had created earlier. Keeping herself hidden, Aiko would wait and see what Katsu would do now. It surprised only now that she had an Uchiha student that had an affinity for Wind instead of Fire. Not that it was important, but it was something that could be considered rare.
Katsu felt the air thickening. He gathered his chakra on his feet and pushed himself back, trying to find a less dense area. "Retreating," he announced as he continued moving. He kept his sword up, staying wary of his surroundings as much as he could as he moved around the field. But where he kept going, the mist was there. Aiko would move with him as she could keep up. Her only thoughts were about to keep up with the genin and his clone. Forming several handsignals, she would make it even harder for her student to move around. The genjutsu that she casted would make Katsu feel and see, so far he could, that he had entered a very dense forest.
Katsu suddenly found himself in a different environment. He tried to understand how he'd gotten there, unable to see the field nearby. This is... He cautiously looked around, his sword held up in front of him. He looked up to see if there was an opening he would be able to leap through to see the nearby area.
That moment was all she would need. The dangerous and concealed mist would catch up with Katsu and his clone as Aiko made sure it would spread more out. Katsu had shown some wit and Aiko wanted to be sure he wouldn't be able to escape the next illusion. Or rather, the next train of illusions. The real training was about to start. One to test out how willing Katsu was to push his limits. The mist slowly would fade away in front of Katsu's eyes as Aiko would come out of hiding. Holding only a kunai, she would say one word. ''Think.''
Katsu wasn't very familiar with genjutsu, other than the one time he'd attempted to use it, though that wasn't really an event possible to repeat at the moment. Although he hadn't encountered genjutsu users much, it wasn't hard to understand how improbable this was. The field was nowhere to be found and there was no way he could be transported to a place like this so quickly. He started to think quickly, trying to remember his teachings. He quickly made a handseal and waited for a moment, closing his eyes. He started converting his stamina into chakra in an effort to dispel the genjutsu.
Only to feel a kunai graze his right shoulder. Aiko already had picked out several shuriken as she aimed them now direct towards Katsu, throwing them all at the same time. The seven shuriken were traveling towards the chest of the genin while his sensei was slowly approaching him, while staying cautious of what he would do. Meanwhile, Aiko kept making notes to herself. For starters, Katsu had stopped to follow up the condition he had been given.
Katsu grited his teeth and clasped his hands together, expelling violent winds and repelling the shuriken. "Stopping the attack," he said, keeping his eyes locked on Aiko. He pulled out two explosive tags and leapt back, pushing them onto two different trees. "Preparing trap."
The shuriken were successfully repelled and when Katsu leaped back, Aiko seemed to run towards his left into cover. Only when he would land, he would be unable to move. The ground underneath him was different than the solid gras where he had stood on. It was quicksand that was trying to pull him down. Next to that, the explosive tags he had pulled out somehow were ignited, slowly starting to burn.
He quickly thought to himself, trying to find a way out of the situation. The quick sand would work like water pulling him underneath, dragging the more dense object under itself. He poured his chakra into his feet in an attempt to stay on the surface without sinking, just like he had been taught to do on water. Something started to move. While Katsu's manoeuvre would save him, the sand started to crawl up. It was forming around his feet, trying to grab him and pulling him down. More, it looked like it were hands that were trying to pull him down. ''I don't want to be dead...'' The whisper that seemed to come from nowhere was soon followed up more similar whispers, like a crowd that was trying to complain or say to Katsu how miserable they felt. If he would look down, there would be faces in the quicksand that stared towards the young genin. ''Why am I dead? Help me!'' The whispers started to become rather chaotic at this point.
Katsu could feel his heart pace getting faster, trying to break out of his chest. He quickly turned to the explosive tags and swung his sword, aiming his Vacuum Sword technique at the tip of the moving fire on it to stop it from igniting. After that, he didn't wait to see the result and clasped his hands together in an effort to blow the hands away with the wind. He ignored the voices and the faces quite easily, perhaps disturbingly so.
While it seemed that the boy finally gained some success, the scene would only turn more morbid by each second. The tags were stopped, but seemed to form into shapes. Arms, legs and more started to show. The two tags would turn into two people Katsu knew. Yukara and Koike. Both with a grave wound at their stomach as they looked with surprise towards Katsu. Then Koike fell on his stomach as Yukara started to shed tears while looking angry at Katsu. ''Murderer! Betrayer!'' The girl started to scream, but at some moments she had to recover as the pain seemed to take its toll on her.
The quicksand was blown away at first, but then it would just become worse. The faces and hands would just multiply as they would only move faster, trying to drag Katsu as the whispers would become now screams of agony. Screams that started to blame him for their agony.
Katsu's eyes opened wide when he saw the two figures appear. His resistance disappeared for a moment, letting himself get dragged until he realized he couldn't see the two anymore. His eyes opened wide and he reached up, his mouth open without any words flying out. Devoured by darkness, the voices were gone. Everything was gone as everything was now devoured by darkness. At least, for him. ''Interesting, isn't it?'' He would hear Aiko's voice behind him. Sitting on her rear as she looked at him. With the same neutral look she had stared at him at the begin of the spar. ''I always had a talent for this. To make things appear, that weren't there. I noticed that you soon picked up that you're now in a genjutsu. But, what have you done this whole time?'' Aiko asked, which would seem an odd question.
He didn't turn around to the voice at first, simply staying where he was and listening. "What I've done, sensei?" he repeated. He turned to her, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache he was trying to wish away. "I don't understand the question..."
''Then you have yet to learn the lesson. The very first lesson I gave you and the team. A lesson that you and Yukara seem to miss.''' Aiko calmly stated. Dropping the neutral look, she sighed and lowered her head. ''Not that it is your fault. It is okay. Just sit down and do what I always say to each of you.'' Aiko instructed him as she would then flash a warm smile towards Katsu.
He sat and looked up at her. "Think?" he asked. Without waiting for confirmation, he lowered his head and started doing exactly that. Thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to figure out what his teacher was demanding of him by asking that question. "All I've been doing was trying to follow the instructions I was given and during the moment of panic, to survive, sensei."
''To follow instructions and try to survive. Hhmmmm? Now, shall we put two and two together?'' Aiko asked. She raised herself from the pit darkness that seemed to be ground. It was actually strange he could see her, but nothing else. ''I keep telling you all to think. That means to use your head and smart, that is right, no?'' She said, raising her right hand to lift up her index finger. ''That means you need to think for yourself, trying to act and do what seems wise to you. Though,'' Lifting her middle finger up now as well, a smile crept on Aiko's lips. ''You also need to follow orders and instructions of your higher ups. This all together is conflicting and can create a chaos in what you should do or have to do. Like saying what you think and are about to do. Something you had forsaken several times to ''survive''. '' Aiko explained, hoping that he would catch a bit on what she was trying to tell him.
He looked down and nodded. "I understand," he said. He was tempted to say that he didn't speak because he was under extreme stress at the time but making up excuses wasn't really his favorite thing to do. He looked back up at her once more, this time a more serious look on his face. "I won't mix up my priorities again, sensei."
Aiko seemed not that content with the answer. She placed a hand on his head as she smiled, but it was a rather sad one. ''It is not only that. There is nothing wrong with something casting aside what you're supposed to do in order to survive. Everybody wants to live. And those who say they don't care... Are liars. Believe me on that.'' Removing her hand, she paused for a brief moment. ''The lesson that is behind this all is what you want to do. Thinking is the first step. Think about what you want to achieve. Then think on how you can achieve it. Also, think about how you can achieve it without needing to cast aside your duties. Thinking is the fundamental process that every true strong person needs to do. In order to become strong, you need to know what is strong. And sometimes, you just need to think about it.'' Aiko explained. She would wait and see how Katsu would react on that. In her opinion, she was maybe going a bit too far with how much thinking could change things, but in her experience, thinking was what matters. Thinking either about a decision or an action could tip the balance in the favour of the thinker.
Katsu simply nodded in response, showing that he understood what Aiko was trying to say, but he kept the visage unchanged. He watched her as she spoke and absorbed every word she said, thinking carefully about their meanings in order to better understand. Taking a step away, Aiko looked away. ''Lets try it one more time.'' She said. Slowly vanishing into the darkness, Katsu could probably see how there were cracks appearing into the darkness. Out of these cracks, there was some white light. Like somebody was trying to peel the darkness away so he could get out. The ground shook as more cracks would appear. Another time the ground trembled. Then it vanished. ''Move aside, worm.'' A man pushed Katsu away as he grumbled something. The scene around him wasn't no longer the trainingsfield nor that of a forest. But what seemed to be a military camp. Shinobi, dressed in the manners of Konohagakure nin, walked around. ''I can't think of something that is more scary than this.'' Aiko said as she would appear next to Katsu. ''What is your opinion on war, Katsu?'' Aiko asked as she gestured he should walk around a bit.
Katsu kept looking around. Even after the push he felt, he didn't spare the man a glance. He turned to Aiko as she appeared next to him. "I haven't been in one, of course, sensei, so my opinion would be quite worthless," he said calmly. "But if I were to state that opinion, I would simply say that war is filled with nothing but meaningless violence quelled by the rage of the rather weak-minded who think trying to destroy someone will somehow make them glorious and honourable."
''You think wrong. You say that your opinion is worthless?'' Aiko asked, as she gently patted his back to make him walk. The sounds of hammers ranging as they pounded on steel, horses and other activities made the place quite alive. ''But if it is worthless, why would I bother to ask it? Think, remember?'' She said the last sentence in a more playful manner as she looked around. ''And though I agree in a less detailed fashion that war isn't right, what would you do then? I have been in one and to be honest, I have killed a lot of people. Not that many I became infamous for it. But, what would you do then as a shinobi? Try to stop the enemy without killing them?''
"My opinion would tell quite a lot about me, wouldn't it?" he asked with a faint smile. "Of course I'm not talking about the people who are trying to stop a destructive force coming their way, rather than the force itself. But usually, that isn't the case, is it? There's never a bad side or a good side. In the end, whoever wins decides whether or not the attacker is a barbarian or a victorious warrior, or whether or not the defender is a justified faction protecting itself from aggressors or is a small rebellion or potential threat that needed to be crushed before they hurt innocents. I haven't read about a single war where either side is innocent."
''Hmmmhmm. Your opinion would indeed do that.'' Aiko calmly replied as she would walk next to Katsu. A patrol of Leaf shinobi passed them as they seemed to heading out. Aiko looked at them as she then would look back on where they were heading. ''A conflict always needs two. Like a fight does. But it is often the opinion that can change the whole look on it. If you would ask me about the latest war against Sunagakure, I would say that the alliance of the Leaf and Cloud were right in pushing the Sand's forces that far back. If you would however ask one of the Sand, you would most likely hear a reason why they conducted an attack on us and declared war. Though that wasn't what I was aiming at, though interesting on how you think on that.'' Aiko said, smiling a bit. It seemed like they were the only ones who were walking in a calm pace. Everybody seemed to have a goal or a purpose in the camp. Whether it was a chuunin that was ordered to do something or a jounin that was discussing the next operation with his team. ''What I was aiming at, was your thoughts on duties. You and Yukara were almost attacked by Koike. Did you never think why that was? Why a team member would consider even the thought of drawing his weapon against you?''
Katsu froze for a moment but shook himself and caught up. "If it was because he thought it was his duty, then I personally think that he didn't need to treat us like enemies," Katsu said. "I don't think one could ever excuse such an action but he doesn't seem to understand why his teammates would be frustrated after he did such a thing. Though I think we've already talked about that, sensei, haven't we?"
''So one couldn't excuse such an action, but yet what did you to do improve it? From what I know, neither you or Yukara seemed to want to understand Koike. That is something you should think about.'' Aiko said. She wasn't really planning on tutoring the boy like this, but it seemed there was no other way. Maybe she could teach once and for the lesson that would make Katsu look different instead of just what he just saw. ''And though we have talked about it, now you walk in the same footsteps as he did. Of course, I show different things as you both are vastly different. But even so, I can't easily let that first event go. As long as neither you nor Yukara have seen it that it wasn't Koike's fault, but mine, you will keep getting this lesson. It is the same with these soldiers. Would you claim that they act and willingly wage this war by themselves for themselves? Or would you see that they are led by how they were taught to fight? To survive? To obey the orders of those who are their superiors?'' Aiko calmly asked. But then she thought of something else. ''If that doesn't sound reasonable or something you could use to understand it, lets see it like this.''
Aiko paused as she would then ask the question in a more serious manner to Katsu. ''I asked you something what seemed quite simple, but yet you ignored it because of the pressure and wanting to keep fighting. Why would that be any different than what Koike did?'' She was really hoping that Katsu could understand the message she was trying to give. Else she would give up for now and wait until another time. But she wasn't sure if Katsu would be able to progress if he wouldn't understand how some people were motivated or why they would commit acts that would be looked on by others.
"Of course not," Katsu answered. "The soldiers have to follow their superiors' commands. Soldiers are just caught up in others' fight." The boy paused before continuing. "I'm not blaming anyone for what happened with Koike, Aiko-sensei. There's no reason to point fingers. That doesn't get anyone anywhere."
''It certainly will not, but there is no reason to kill another person cause one other say so, don't we agree? Yet people do and commit things that seem to have no reason, but if you ask them then they will have a reason for it.'' Aiko said as she kept casually walking with Katsu. ''Good, now that we have talked in a setting where we had talked about this setting, I will now also reveal why this had a reason.'' Aiko said. Slowly the image and surroundings seemed to mix with each other. They slowly replaced the day with night, the camp with shinobi for a forest. ''You need to understand what it means to be a shinobi. It isn't a profession where everything will go as planned, where you will live to see another day or sunrise. It isn't as poetic as some might tell you and certainly not glorious at all. Once you've both grown in skill and in knowledge, but also understand the knowledge, you have a chance at the Chuunin exams.'' Aiko paused as she would point to a place east of them. There was some smoke and light coming from there. Beckoning him to follow her, she would be silent to hear if he had anything to say about it.
Katsu simply nodded in response, showing he'd understood. He didn't have much to say this time. He could definitely agree with what Aiko had said without any objections worth wording. He looked over at where she pointed, seeing the smoke and light. He continued following her, his fingers intertwined behind him. He looked back once more, walking backwards as he did so, taking one last glance at the area before turning ahead one last time.
With Katsu not saying anything back in return, Aiko decided to be silent as well. She was curious if he had nodded to show that he understood it or because he wasn't sure what to say in return. Both were options she could understand and respect. If somebody would talk to her like this at her age, she would have been confused and kept asking questions. Somewhere, Aiko wished she had the chance instead of learning how the world worked as she had learned. Walking up the hill with Katsu, the smoke was closer than expected. ''When one would forsake their village and start to act on their own, not caring what happens to those that once dependent on them, this is one of the things that may follow.'' Aiko told him as they would reach the top. Below the hill, there was a village that was set on fire. People were running around, trying to stop the flames. ''Conflicts are born due to a lot of reasons. Some that make no sense at all. If you want to keep improving yourself as a shinobi, understand that sometimes, you can't evade conflicts. Even if they are your ''allies''.'' Aiko explained. She stared at the scene in front of them. The villagers were desperate in trying to fight the flames, but without any success. Catching sight of a child that was burning, Aiko wondered what Katsu would think of this. Maybe it was cruel to show him this, but he had wanted to become a chuunin. Meaning if there would be a conflict, this would be normal for him to see. And experience.
Upon seeing the disturbing scene, Katsu debated to shut his eyes but forced them to stay open as he watched the flames envelop the village. He watched like a boy seeing a man drown, paralyzed and unable to do anything. After a few moments, he snapped out of it and looked up at Aiko once more, glancing back at the burning village and restoring the horrified look on his face each time, becoming less and less affected. "I understand," he said rather quietly after a moment's hesitation. He turned his eyes back to the village, watching it with a plain visage, suppressing the horror by reminding himself repeatedly that it wasn't real.
''You think it is not real cause it is genjutsu, right?'' Aiko asked as she kept staring at the scene. ''Luckily it is, but I hope you also learn that if this ever happens in front of you, that you won't think that. Never give in to that thought.'' Aiko raised her right hand and snapped with her fingers. The scene would slowly vanish as they were standing in the trainingsfields again. ''I doubt you will understand everything I have shown you, but remember that it is important to know what you're going to become if you wish to further improve yourself as a shinobi. What you can expect and see in time to come.'' After saying that Aiko decided to wait until Katsu would recover from the genjutsu. She remembered those who were relieved one way or another from her special genjutsu mist. Most were often dizzy or very confused.
Katsu let himself fall, landing on his back, sitting upright. He put one hand to his face, his fingertips touching his forehead and cheeks and his palm blocking his view. He took a deep breath and exhaled, lowering his hand. He looked around to see where they were, only to notice that they were where they had started. The training fields. He squinted his eyes to make out the small details, trying to make sure he still wasn't under the effect of the genjutsu. After a moment of thinking, he looked up at Aiko and scurried to his feet, stumbling as he did so.
''Calm down. I have shown you more than I first planned to. Take it easy.'' Aiko told Katsu after seeing the boy trying to get fast up. She calmly sat down as she stared at the sky. There were a few clouds up in the blue skies and Aiko seemed to be pondering about something. ''I think you might have a shot at the Chuunin exam. If you will keep up training to keep your stamina and skills honed, next to preparing to accept some things, I think you have a shot.'' Looking back at Katsu, the warm smile on her lips would show that her words were genuine. ''For now, you need to learn that taking a rest after a training is important. If you don't rest, you won't have any energy left to improve yourself the next day. Right?''
A wide yet weak smile curled up on Katsu's lips. He sat back down in order to re-calibrate his balance and rest his mind a bit. He crossed his legs and straightened his back as he sat. "Right," he confirmed, nodding with the same wide smile on his face, slowly growing warmer and more lively. After a few moments, he looked up at her and spoke hesitantly. "If I may be so bold to ask... What's next, sensei?"
A question she had expected. ''Repeating. First training your body and then your mind. Your body to become stronger and your mind to endure more situations. A lot of people forget that a strong body could use a strong mind. That and it helps against some genjutsu.'' Aiko giggled briefly of the slight joke that was hidden in her sentence. But she actually did mean it. ''I have set this field in a way that you can use it tomorrow and will try to keep it like this for some time. That having said, I want you to train your stamina in order to improve your taijutsu. The longer your stamina goes, the longer you fight. And in some cases it is wise to be in a better condition than your opponent.''
"Strengthen my mind?" He hoped this wasn't another quiz. Not that he had much of a problem with the questions but they weren't going to actually help him dispel genjutsu under any circumstances. He could understand how he would be able to strengthen his body, even alone. Simply by pushing it to its limits by training hard, he could do that. He got up once more, now balanced perfectly. "I'm all rested up, sensei!"
''Yes, like knowing how to make decisions and how to figure out several things without instantly deciding something. Something I keep repeating to all of you, to think.'' Aiko explained in a calm manner. With Katsu saying he was all rested up, there grew a frown on Aiko's forehead. ''Are you? I highly doubt it. Just take it easy. Rushing things often lead that you end up hurt, failling or worse. When you rest, take it easy. Just stay at ease.'' She couldn't however help it to smile a bit at the attitude of her student. It really reminded her of one of her past students. Or maybe she just liked students who were full of ambition of wanting to become stronger. ''Katsu, may I ask you what your real life goal is?''
The boy had a determined look that said he wasn't going to sit back down. The next question, however, caught him off guard. "My life goal?" He stroked his chin and thought about it. Well that's... He opened his mouth as if to speak but words didn't come to his mind. After the moment of silence, he spoke. "W-well, I don't have one just yet," he said. "A life goal would have to be something nearly impossible to achieve for it to have any meaning and I can't think of anything like that."
''Something impossible, huh?'' Aiko mumbled. Her smile vanished for a second before it came back. ''So my life goal to become part of a happy family and be happy is impossible to achieve?'' The woman asked back, wanting to make Katsu think again about his previous words. ''A life goal can also be simple, you know.'' She said, looking at the grass as she would pull a single blade of grass and keeping it in her hand.
"Huh?" Katsu looked at her dumbfounded. "No! What I meant was, if you achieve your 'life goal', then what's left? Something like that doesn't have to be your life goal. People lose a sense of purpose when they achieve what they have determined as their 'life goal'. I want to build a family when I grow up as well but if that's all I aim to do, I wouldn't know what to do once I had succeeded." He sighed looked at the blade of grass she'd picked up. "What I'm trying to say, sensei, that to me, a life goal is something that would challenge me and push me to the edge for a long time. For several, several years while I try to achieve it. The definition might be different for everyone."
Aiko thought about how she would answer that. She knew a good answer, but the difficulty was on to formulate the answer so that it would be clear what she meant and that it wouldn't be too hard for Katsu to understand it. ''It is true that people need a sense of purpose to keep on going. But people often seem to see it the wrong way. What is wrong with a simple purpose? Like protecting your family? Or just doing what is best for your village?'' Aiko asked. She would open the palm of her hand, as a light breeze would be blown over the field. Watching the grass be blown away from her hand, Aiko continued. ''And it might sound childish, but if you truly plan on building up a family, then have patience. I think you will know what to do once you have achieved your goal. Not that there is a problem with having no goal. You're young after all.'' After this, Aiko leaned a bit back as she would lean on her elbows. A laugh escaped her lips as she thought about it. ''Fun thing that you actually say that you want to build up a family later. When I was your age, I thought boys were stupid, dumb and smelly.''
"N-Nothing! Nothing's wrong with having a simple purpose like that," Katsu answered. "My point is, sensei, everyone wants to protect people they love. If that becomes everyone's ultimate goal, then there wouldn't be much variation, would there? I'm not saying people shouldn't give themselves the job to protect their loved ones but that doesn't necessarily have to become the one thing the person does." When he heard that she used to think that "boys were smelly", he couldn't help but stifle a laugh. He quickly suppressed it and recomposed himself. "S-Sorry..."
The words just made Aiko keep on smiling as she shook her head lightly. Certainly after he said sorry. ''Sorry for what? It is not like it was that much of a pain. It was just a phase, I think.'' Deciding to not indulge further into her young years as she kind of considered herself not that old yet, Aiko would respond on what he had said before he made his apologies to her. ''And do we need variation then? I think it would make the world a better place if we would take more care of those we love. There are more people that don't even have a person they can consider like that. Or lost them.'' Pausing for a moment, she continued. ''But you're entitled to what think is right. Just remember that it also counts for other people.'' Finding that they had talked enough about such wisdom, Aiko started to think about how they could conclude today's training.
Katsu nodded in agreement. His mind drifted off for a moment, imagining Aiko as a child, running from the boys in her class at the academy. He shuddered and snapped back to reality, looking up at her, observing her to see what was next for his training. He took a glance at the preparations she'd made earlier, guessing some things she might have in mind for the rest of the day.
''I think I know a good way how to concludes today training. We have tried a bit out how your stamina is, fighting abilities and also explained more about the past, how the general shinobi in Konoha thinks and also about future goals. At least, that is about it. Now what we can do is one more little thing.'' Aiko told Katsu. The last thing that would conclude their today's training would be something that she would pass on Katsu. ''Just take the meditation sit, like this.'' Taking a meditation sit, Aiko would also form a handsignal. That of the Bird. ''This is a kind of chakra control training. It is also good to clear your mind a bit, so that you can focus better on what you're going to do next. Well, that is at least for me. I am not sure if you find it calming.'' She told him. Waiting for him to take the meditation sit and also hold the Bird handsignal, she would wait before explaining what he would need to do next.
Meditation...? Even if he had skeptical thoughts about it, he copied her movements and formed the Bird handsign. He listened to her carefully and calmed himself, relaxing his body and mind. He found it hard to resist the temptation of opening his eyes but the temptation disappeared over a few seconds as he focused on doing what he was instructed to do.
''Good. Now relax and slowly mould your chakra. Keep moulding it like you're about to use it, but not yet. It will make it make your chakra system in motion in a faster way than before. Though stay calm and focused, cause if you make a mistake.'' Pausing, Aiko wanted to add some more dramatic effect as she would adjust her tone to emphasis it. ''Or you're going to feel quite some pain.'' Briefly she laughed, finding her joke quite amusing. Though knowing it was quite serious as this kind of training wasn't really for those who chakra control was bad, had low willpower or not the patience for it. But she thought it was something Katsu could probably handle. She would also keep a close eye in case that he would mess up and suffer the pain that would come if one would make a mistake in this training.
Katsu decided knowing just how much pain it would cause wouldn't help him at all. Even though he found it disturbing, he thought it would be better for his health if he never got to find out. Katsu's rather insufficient stamina had gotten him to practice chakra control quite a bit. He stayed in the same pose, molding the chakra required for the training and distributing it around his body. He could feel his stamina dropping but he continued to keep his posture.
Aiko was simply waiting. Keeping an eye on her student, she slowly formed the same handsignal to perform the same. But instead of closing her eyes, she kept them half open to keep watch of Katsu. Maybe she should wait five minutes until a break? The point was to give Katsu an idea on how he could train his control better and the theory of how to perform this particular kind of chakra control training was easy. It was the practice that made it however hard to grasp.
Katsu kept the chakra flowing, thinking everything was going well until his peace was interrupted by seering pain radiating from inside his body. He let out a brief shriek as his eyelids flew open. He found himself unable to concentrate on anything, limping forward, still seated. He clutched his stomach, digging his head into the grass, muffling his brief cries of agony.
Though she had been watching him, Aiko was still surprised. Calming down her own chakra, knowing that rushing would be a bad plan, Aiko couldn't react instantly. Once she was done, she quickly placed both hands on Katsu. Pouring chakra into the body, trying to calm down the chakra that had turn rampant, Aiko focused as good as she could. Within a few moments, the pain would fade away as she had managed to calm it down. Though it wasn't that hard, Aiko raised her right arm to whip some sweat drops on her forehead. ''Seems like it is something that we will work on. Keep breathing in a slow pace.'' She instructed Katsu, trying to get him lay on his side in order to make it easier for him to recover from the pain.
As the pain faded away, his mind raced, only remembering what had just happened without any concept at all. When he heard Aiko's voice, his memories returned to him quickly and he calmed his breathing. Slowly sitting up once more, he wiped the sweat from his brows. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it once again, simply nodding. He hesitantly formed the Bird seal and closed his eyes once more, concentrating on his training.
Sighing, Aiko wondered what he hadn't understood from either the pain or her words. Taking her position again, she left her hands on her lap as she would pay watch over Katsu again. It made her wonder why the boy was striving so much of becoming stronger, but not wanting to bring him out of his focus, Aiko kept silently waiting and watching.
For the next few minutes, Katsu continued to circulate his chakra, calm and composed. Learning from his mistakes, especially when the mistake has consequences like this one, was one of Katsu's virtues.