Memories of Flame [Flashbacks/Training]

4 Years Ago

“Keid! Get your lazy ass out here!”

The bellowing voice of Keid’s father echoed out across their yard, penetrating into the small but well-kept home that housed the members of his immediate family. For a moment, there was silence, and then several crashes and bangs echoed from within the house as the ten-year old Keid scrambled to extricate himself from his favorite chair as quickly as possible. A minute later, Keid stood before his father and cousin, inclining his head in apology. “I’m sorry father, I lost track of time and didn’t hear your first call.” The elder Mishura simply grunted, gesturing for the gaggle of pre-teens to follow him towards a training ground, which they did.

“Today, we are going to begin something you all have been training for years at this point: the Art of Fire Release.” Ken began, his voice somber, only to be interrupted by giggles and the low buzz of chatter. “Quiet! This is not a game, these jutsu can be extremely dangerous if not controlled with care!” Ken said severely, glaring at the worst offenders until they quieted down.

“Unlike some of the other elemental releases, you will find that setting your chakra ablaze is not nearly as difficult as focusing Wind Chakra or enforcing your will upon the Earth. In fact, it is actually quite a simple thing to do.” Ken continued, flicking his wrist and summoning a small gout of flame above his palm, “The trick to it is focus, and control. Each one of you have been training to develop your chakra networks and chakra control over the preceding months in preparation for this day, but I will warn you now that it may not be enough. If you lose control of the chakra shaping and guiding your flames in usable jutsu, you may very well injure yourself quite badly.  Start slow, begin with little flames, and I promise the higher-level Fire jutsu will come with time.”

However, as the children broke off into their groups with each of their instructors, it was inevitable that some would begin with flames far beyond their capability to handle, channeling their entire chakra supply into one massive fireball that blew up in their face, requiring the standing team of medics to intervene.

Keid, for his part, decided to start with something a little less extreme. The prospective Shinobi activated his newly awakened Kyougan, shivering as the feeling of rightness settled over him, the world seeming to come into focus as if placed under a great lens. The Mishura’s blue eyes examined his father’s hand seals closely as he demonstrated a small jutsu to another group. Even now, months after first awakening the dojutsu, Keid still found it amazing the sheer level of detail his new eyes afforded him: he could practically see the muscles in the man’s fingers flex and twitch, feel the precise movements of his hands that would summon forth the mighty blaze.

Copying the movements, Keid soon found himself with a small gout of flames that danced upon his fingertips, growing to the size of a fingertip before the Mishura cut off its chakra supply and it withered to nothing. Over the next few months Keid would learn to shape the flame into various forms: fireballs that scorched the earth, sparks that could be used as a signal flare, pure heat that could vaporzize most conventional materials. All of them, while not especially powerful jutsu, would be his foundation in a few years when he truly stepped into the world of shinobi. But for Keid right now, the dancing fire on his fingertips and the approving glance of his father were more than enough.

Jutsu Trained:

Approved

Training:

4 years ago

"Fight!"

The booming voice of the proctor rang out across the small field, only slightly faster than the two Mishura children launched thesmelves at each other. Keid watched them intently as they traded punches, kicks, and small gouts of flame, making note of their preferred tactics and attacks. After all, in the Mishura Rookie Tournament, there was no telling just who he would have to face. Although the tournament was carefully observed to ensure nobody got too hurt,  Keid knew the ranking one recieved was still incredibly important. Not only would it bring you glory and prestige among your peers, but it also determined the amount of focus you recieved from the clan higher-ups. After all, as powerful as the Mishura were, they were still a clan with limited resources, and the best training and materials had to be given to the best seedlings in order to maximize the chance of producing powerful Shinobi. Hence, these kinds of compeititions. In the past, Keid hadn't made it past the second round, unable to overcome the immature Kyoguans wielded by some of his more talented family members. This year, however, was different.

Onstage, Katsu, a cousin on his mother's side, had finally pushed his opponent into a corner with clever usage of his Kenjutsu. While his opponent was quick, the broad sweeping strokes of the katana simply left nowhere for the younger boy to run. With one final *crack*, the wooden blade smashed into the side of the younger boy's head, knocking him cleanly unconscious.

"Katsu wins, advancing the quarter-finals of the third division! Next match, Keid vs Atsushi! Boys, please come on stage."

Grinning, Katsu stepped off the stage and walked towards Keid, raising a hand. Keid grinned back, giving him five, "Nice work, you certainly proved if you fail around enough with that huge stick of yours you're bound to hit something." The Mishura teased, nudging his cousin's weapon with his toe. Katsu rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, just cause you like using chopsticks instead of a real weapon doesn't mean you get to pick on mine." The boy said, before his expression turned serious, "Watch for Atsushi, he has a mean streak. Nearly burned his opponent face off last year apparently, he won't go down easy." Keid's grin, however, only widened, "Thanks Katsu, but don't worry, I'm nothing like I was last year."

Mounting the stage, Keid moved to his corner, going through his standard pre-battle ritual and stretches. His wooden swords slid cleanly in and out of their hostlers, the wooden balls they had been given in place of kunai and shuriken came easy to hand, if a bit awkwardly due to their shape. The Mishura inhaled deeply, and let out the breath gustily, tightening his eyes to slits and falling into a half-crouch with his weight on the balls of his feet. He was ready.

However, when Keid looked over at his opponent, he found himself even more suprised. Unlike the majority of his age group, which mainly used katanas and other types of swords, this "Atsushi" used twin war fans. While they weren't as overtly threatening as blades, every Mishura child grew up hearing legends of Angel Mishura's prowess with the weapons. On top of this, Atsushi was almost a full year older than himself, old enough to gain a much deepr understanding of hte mysteries of the Kyougan. Atushi absolutely could not be taken lightly, he would need to aim for the incapacitation from the start.

"Both combatanats are ready? Begin!"

The two boys launched thesmelves at each other the second the word left the procotor's mouth, Kyougan spinning and weapons brandished. Keid immediately closed to short range, launching a flurry of strokes with both of his wooden blades. While he still wasn't all that proficient with the dual-wielding path due to his age, Keid was still very confident in his attack speed. After all, his ambidextrousness gave him double the amount of attacks that a single-weapon wielder did, at least when their relative speeds were comparable. However, Atsushi was also a wielder of two weapons.

Every attack Keid made on his foe was smoothly diverted out of the way by a war fan, shoved just far enough out of the way to avoid a hit and no further. Keid's expression turned gloomy as he barely dodged out of the way of Atsushi's ripostes, one nearly cracking headlong into his shoulder. Atsushi just chuckled, "Fast little thing aren't you. You would be a threat, if only you had the strength!"

With a surge of power, Atsushi fans compeletely sheared completely through the hickory of Keid's left Wakashi, rendering the weapon useless. That, and the following knee to his stomach sent Keid stumbling backward, desprately trying to regain his momentum. Relentless, Atsushi followed, unleashing strike after strike, targeting Keid's joints as to bring him to heel. This isn't working, I need to disarm him before he can land a blow. If he disables either one of my arms, there's no way I can continue to parry his attacks. Keid thought, a vague plan coming to mind. It was crazy, perhaps dangerously foolhardy, but it was the only plan he had.

Sheating his sword and pouring everything he had into the Kyougan, Keid shot backwards in a blur of motion, trying to gain as much distance as he could. Atsushi's eyes narrowed as Keid began weaving handseals as fast as he could. "Idiot. There's no way you can complete that before I catch you." And, indeed, Atsushi wasn't wrong. As a pure-blood Mishura who had unlocked his Kyougan far earlier than Keid, he posssessed the speed to quickly catch up and begin his frontal assault once more, landing a series of quick strikes on Keid that the boy managed to tank through gritted teeth. It was only seconds before Atsushi landed his "killing" stroke that Keid finished the string of handseals. A gout of flame flew out between Keid's lips, striking the two wooden fans as they fell. Anticipating this, the proctors had slathered the fans with fire retardent, enough to smother the flames of any ten year old Mishura. However, Keid was not trying to incinerate the fans: he was simply trying to heat them up.

Atsushi screamed in agony as the flesh of his palms curled back, dropping his weapons and to his knees. Bruised, and beaten, Keid surged forward with a final effort, striking Atsushi full across the temple with an audible crack that knocked his opponent out. Although heavy, Keid knew that that blow was not enough to kill: not with the medics rushing fowarrd even now. Raising his blade in victory, all the Mishura could hear was the words of the proctor.

"Keid Mishura! Victory! He advances to the semifinals!"

Approved