A/N: OOOOKAY! I'm late, I know. Don't kill me. No reverse death threats plz. It's a relatively short chapter too, just regardng Kiyowa's chakra control traning -as explained in the last chapter- and a little more tidbits. The real action is going to start picking up soon.
It had been four hours since Kakashi had left them alone to take up Kiyowa's training, and somehow, Sasuke felt as though he was the one getting the most training! His arms felt as though they were ready to fall apart at any moment, and his legs and abdomen were seriously feeling a burn too. What were they doing?
Well, Sasuke was atop the cliff currently, peering over the side and waiting for Kiyowa to choose her next rope. The ropes that dangled from the cliffside were placed evenly spaced away from each other, and set to reach all the way down to her current position. Her job was to choose which rope would support her, take hold of it, and try walking the cliff-wall using chakra. Scaling it manually using the rope would only be more work put on her, so it would be best for her to use chakra.
The moment she use too much or too little chakra, the rope was cut. Chances were that she wouldn't be too high by the time that happened. If she was, Sasuke was to pull her the rest of the way up. That was the idea, yeah, but Kakashi seemed to have wanted to keep Sasuke on his toes as well.
That was the purpose for incorporation two types of rope. The first was the sturdy rope, which would hold in place when Kiyowa made her attempt to hold her weight to it. The second was a loose rope, which would slip from its hold the moment she pulled onto it to begin her climbing. It would be wrong to just let her fall, right? So that was why Sasuke would be in charge of keeping the rope steady and holding her weight as she climbed. Strength training for the both of them!
'You can handle about 60 pounds, can't you?'
He remembered Kakashi asking him. He hadn't the slightest idea what kind of overexaggeration the Jonin sensei was using but... certainly it wasn't accurate. '60 pounds,' Sasuke thought with a bitter expression, 'Who the Hell lied to him..?'
The sudden sound of snapping registered loud and clear, snapping Sasuke back into his thoughts, "Another one?" He muttered, grabbing the rope. He would have thought that after chosing nearly four breakaway ropes in a row, that there wouldn't be any left or something! Clearly he had guessed wrong. His hands shot out, grasping onto the end of the rope. His numbing arms began their slow recoil, pulling the rope towards him at a gradually slowing pace compared to before. The material of the rope tightened, giving Kiyowa the support she needed to continue on.
"Another one..." Kiyowa had began to find herself getting discouraged. Four hours had passed, and sure, while she was making progress, she still hadn't made it to the top. It was like chakra control was a nightmarish concept for her, and quite frankly she would be surprised if she would even be ABLE to learn ninjutsu.
Now wasn't the time for pessimistic thoughts. She took to trying to balance the chakra in her soles. She hadn't exactly memorized the exact amount of chakra needed to accurately hold her against the vertical ledge without breaking it or slipping off, only because she hadn't really found it. It was like a continuous play of trial and error that so far seemed to be working against her.
Taking one foot up against the wall, she slowed. Something about the chakra configuration this time around seemed...comfortable. It was like an easy flow of chakra rippling around her soles in a way that it only seemed like a cycle. There was no overbearing sense of feeling or airy feeling of uncertainty. "Did I..." Bounding her lips in silence, she started a slow series of steps up the rocks. A feeling erupted in her chest of comfort, and she found that suddenly, she was able to release the grip on her lifeline.
The sense of relief was quickly felt by Sasuke, who looked over the side to see just what had transpired. He'd hoped she hadn't plummeted or anything, especially since that would have been a really difficult situation to explain to Kakashi.
"I got it.." She took a hesitant step forward, or rather up, and then another, seeming to hold her arms in a certain angle as though it would help with her balance, despite her being glued to the cliff by her soles. "I got it, I got it!" The top didn't seem too impossible to reach! Her pace increased out of the pure rush of adrenaline and excitement until her feet were moving steadily in sprint towards the top of the cliff ledge.
A slight smirk curved onto Sasuke's lips; one hidden by the distance away in which they stood. Truth of the matter was: even if she annoyed him, and even if it took her hours on end to master, he felt a certain sense of accomplishment on her behalf.
As she continued to run, and close the distance, making the long stretch become a mere foot away, her excitement seemed to get the best of her. Her foot crashed in, leaving a scar upon the vertical terrain, and more importantly, sending Kiyowa's form toppling into a straight fall towards the ground. "WAHH!"
"Grab the rope, you idiot!" Sasuke called from the top, holding tightly to the edge of the wound material he had just released.
In mid-fall, she could feel her body weighing down towards the ground, threatening to flip or topple, turning over as it went hurling under the intense weight of gravity. Lifting her hand, she managed to find the rope between her fingers, and with that sense of stability came the feeling of her feet slamming back against the earth that laid out vertically before her.
Breathing heavily, she turned her head hesitantly, noticing that through that horrific incident, she had come within a dangerous reach of the ground, maybe about two or three feet at most. She had become pale, and despite the burning sensation eminating from her palms, she couldn't seem to release the rope. So close she had come.
Abruptly, that distance from the ground she held was closed by the force behind the rope going limp, sending her crashing to the ground, "Uaaaghh!"
"Grab another one," Sasuke huffed. Harsh as it sounded, he too had released a sigh of relief at her safety. It was a sudden incident that could have gone badly quite quickly, and almost took a turn for the worst. Having one's life resting in his hands was mildly terrifying, but exhilirating and adrenaline inducing. Never would he express that sense of fear that coursed through him each time she picked a new rope, nor would he admit to the rush he got from holding something as fragile as life in his hands.
"Right..." Kiyowa trailed, struggling her aching body up to her feet. She shook her red and stinging palms, and bypassed the pain that had just presented itself to her after her buildup of adrenaline and firmed her resolve. Here she was to learn her chakra control so that she could make that stride to snatch ninjutsu to have under her belt as well. Whether she was beaten bloody or ready to drop from fatigue, failure was not an option! She took a new rope, and gave it a gentle tug, signaling to her teammate above that she would be claiming that as her next. Once the rope tightened, she began her trek up from the bottom yet again.
All the previous failures feeling more like conditioning, she couldn't help but notice that that last attempt was pretty stable... Much more controlled than the times she had before. In fact, each trial seemed to result in a bit more success. With that success, she came to realize, each attempt lead to her being the slightest bit more right when it came to controlling the amount of chakra she utilized in comparison to her bodyweight.
"The last time..." She trailed, feeling her feet start to pulse with the sensation of chakra coursing through her soles. She recalled what had occured in her fail attempt; what she had done wrong, "My foot crashed in..." Her mind flashed in a visual reminder of the way she had fallen and the scar she had left in her place. She had gotten so far now through this game of trial and error. It was time to move into the study and execution phase, "I used too much..." Slightly adjusting her chakra levels to her new findings, she turned her head down to oversee the dimming and withdrawing of some of the visible chakra that coursed around her stepping feet.
She took her time, walking the wall and occasionally passing glances North to Sasuke, who seemed to be having an easier time holding the rope. She was handling her own weight rather well, and the trek was seeming a lot more laxed than before. Still, the black haired male above kept his guard up and shoulders tensed to avoid a tear or break from the sudden jerk of her weight.
She didn't run. Never took off faster than the casual saunter she had leveled herself at, "Take your time..." She kept repeating in a whisper, attempting to keep herself in a rhythmic pace.
"She's got it..." Murmured her teammate, whose grip on the rope began to loosen.
As soon as her foot touched the top of that cliff, Kiyowa practically threw herself to the ground, sharp breaths and miniature, husky laughs chipperly falling out of her mouth. She wouldn't speak, not yet, rather she just kept her head down onto her wrists, which were against the ground.
"Not bad."
Looking up to Kakashi, the one that had uttered the compliment, both Sasuke and Kiyowa watched the silver haired Jonin hop down from the tree he had perched himself in to spectate.
"I'd say we could start that Ninjutsu training of yours tomorrow-"
"Kakashi-sensei," Kiyowa quickly interrupted, though finding the rudeness, bowed her head out of respect and apology, "I'm sorry... But I can't take any breaks."
"Hmm...?" A lazy look masked his curiosity, but a knowing look quickly took over. He had an idea of why; although he couldn't be completely sure, thus he posed the question, "Your matchup perhaps?"
Kiyowa seemed to grow silent, head drooping while her eyes took to watching the ground, "..." He was right; in fact, he couldn't be more right. Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Kiyowa had gotten a pretty -as she saw- unfortunate matchup. Pressurous one could say, "Yes..."
"Tashi Kioto," Kakashi hummed in thought, loosely gripping his chin in thought as he closed his eyes, "The one you and Asuma's niece fought during the.. Humm... The odds here are amazing..."
Such a positive outlook... Yet Kiyowa could hardly agree. 'Amazing odds... Really? This couldn't get any worse...'
'Tashi Kioto...' Sasuke furrowed a brow. Did he remember that from somewhere, or was he maybe imagining that feeling of nostalgia...?
"How rude.." Tashi trailed, making himself to the front, "I suppose it's only fair that I indulge you low levels with an introduction; "I'm Tashi Kioto, and as you can see.." He drew his pass, "I have already been accepted into the finals of the Chunin Exams.."
'That guy...' Sasuke thought with an inward scoff. He already had a strongly disgusting taste in his mouth towards him, but personal feelings aside, he was just another stepping stone in this tournament for the Uchiha to get to the top. There would be no time for him to exact personal vendettas on each person he had craved to fight.
"Alright," Kakashi finally answered, slicing his words through the silence, "We can pick up your Ninjutsu training now." He turned his head over to Sasuke whilst the blonde female made small gestures of happiness, "Sasuke. You can feel free to go...Or you can spectate," The Jonin's visible eye rose into an arch; his signature smile, "I know how much you like that," He slyly added as a reference to the past.
Merely rolling his eyes, the Uchiha lazily folded his arms, noting their heavy feel from all of that lifting and pulling as he stepped out of the way to provide more room for the training. Clearly he planned to spectate.
"Now then," Continued the Jonin, "After some checking around, I've found your chakra nature is a Water affinity." Quickly shifting this relayed nformation into a lesson for his student, he begged the question, "Tell me if you remember, but what's the significance of a chakra nature?"
"It... It determines what type of Jutsu I can use, right..?"
"Bingo. Now, if you can name any Water Jutsu you would be interested in learning, I think I would be able to teach it to you."
"Any..." Kiyowa trailed. She would repeat him, probably exclaim how amazing it was that he claimed to know practically any Water Justu her mind could come up with, but then... 'It isn't... too surprising... Zabuza called him the man that mastered 1000 jutsus...Wait...'
An invading memory severed her thoughts, drawing her mind into a resurfacing recollection of the past events from their mission to the land of waves. She had seen a Water Jutsu... She'd seen a great one! She perked up, clenching her fists eagerly, "I know... Exactly what I want to learn!"
A/N: You have no idea how excited I am to reveal all the secrets I've got planned for this, guys. :D! I know I've been keeping you on the edge with buildup a lot, but hopefully I can start all these great reveals then revel in your shock xD #AmazingPerson