It's strange the things that come to define you. Thinking about a person, certain items or practices become associated with their very name. When I think of Chojii, I can't help but think of a red coat that is in my cupboard and the sound of munching potato chips. I think of his chakra before I even think of his face. (Then again, I think that is a general trend, if chakra is a sense like touch, sound, and sight. Then there are auditory, visual, and kinetic learners. There must be chakra learners. I'm pretty sure I'm that.)
When I think of Keiri, I think of the taste of warm milk with honey, and the smell of cut grass and cinnamon, and when I picture her face, it is one of fond exasperation.
Kanpu makes me think of books, soft old paper worn over years and inky hand prints. I think of his hand in my hair messing it up (as adults are so fond of doing).
When I think of Yota, I think of the weather, all of the weather. I think of a Cheshire grin and a high-pitched voice.
As the summer began in earnest, Ami and I were not bored. We had plenty of things to do with our sudden surge of free time. (Even if part of me was bitter, we weren't able to spend it with the group) Keeping occupied was not only the best way to get my skills to improve faster, but it was also the best way to keep my mind off things. (Like how I had to watch what I said with Ami since her memories of the past few weeks before the Akimichi compound were foggy)
Ami has her hands full with her garden, something that I am starting to associate with her, that and poisons as well as dramatic hair flips (I caught her practicing them in front of the mirror). ANYWAY, her garden was now 'matured,' meaning it was ready for her to start harvesting things from it. I was all for the fresh herbs and vegetables (as few vegetables as there were), but her 'you don't want to know' pot worries me.
"I'm not going accidentally to poison myself!" Ami shouts as she brings in different clips of plants, and I feel the urge to inch away from the poisonous ingredients that are too close for comfort on the dining room table. We are BOTH working at the table. Next to me, my box of tools (to which I have added two sets of tweezers and a butter knife to.) sits as I move, to try to fix my current project/product. It's a small mechanical fan. To be honest this one I think I'll keep, but it is still a challenge to assemble. It's missing some parts, and so I have to improvise as I go. The trouble is that each time I test it, it starts to smoke and shocks me!
"Ouch!" I say, quickly, pulling my hand back and unplugging the stubborn device, sighing before starting again.
Maintenance Proficiency Level has risen X2
At least I know I am getting better at this, and I think it's showing… but I have to remember there's a difference between skill and the application of a skill.
"Maybe I should be the one worried that YOU will burn the house down," Ami says and smirks at me in a cocky fashion, very clearly happy that her own project is going much better than my own.
"Shut up…" I mumble, I need to learn more about this stuff, maybe traps and electrical devices? I could probably find it in the library with the help of Hazuki. I tiredly rub my temples, choosing to put it aside for now. "I'm going to take a break…." I tell her, getting up, and her smirk becomes even more infuriating to look at.
"Giving up already, googly-eyes? Didn't think you were a quitter…." Ami states offhandedly, and I take a deep breath. Unfortunately, like how I know Ami, she knows me, and so she is beginning to figure out just how to push my buttons.
"I'm not quitting. I'm… regrouping," I state, and she looks like she's ready to retort back, so I get out of there so that she can't, slamming the door behind me as I waltz into my room. Dramatically I fall back onto my bed. I'm not quitting. No way, no how. I will fix that stupid fan. I just can't ignore my other training. I haven't even gotten to try my yin-yang abilities yet!
I pull myself up, sitting cross-legged, quickly entering my meditative state but not entering my mindscape. The first thing I do is a sense around. I instantly latch onto Ami's chakra signature but let it go. I can feel the familiar civilian signatures in the street below belonging to store owners the the buzz of their buyers too. I try to sort out the civilian from shinobi signatures and do so with relative ease, really. However, I am wary that someone might hide their signature to make it seem civilian. However, I don't have the skill yet to be able to deal with that. I can feel a few, maybe… chunnin level, potentially a jonin as well, but no one else and there is nothing… suspicious? Would I really know if they were suspicious, though?
I shake off the thoughts and get out of my little trance, covering the window the best I can with the curtains. Hopefully, that is enough to give me some level of privacy.
Yin and Yang are different than elements. They ARE (contrary to popular opinion) chakra of their own type. However, when using them, they aren't so much an affinity as what is referred to as a 'shift.' Everyone has both types of chakra, which are equally useable in ANY jutsu or technique.
It's like caramel. (It's almost lunchtime, and I haven't eaten since breakfast (curtsy of Yataka), so I am thinking about this in terms of food… ) caramel is basically butter/milk and sugar. If the jutsu is the type of caramel (soft, chewy, hard, crunchy, man, I want some caramel!) I shake my head, focusing on myself. When I have some extra money, I will start making desserts. But either way! Yes, with any type of sugar, you can theoretically make any type of caramel, but they turn out a little differently, like how the use of more yin or yang makes the jutsu turn out a little differently.
Some people are really heavily on one type of shift over and one specialty over another to work better, but they can be used with any kind of chakra.
Regular chakra doesn't exist. It's unique for each person how much they shift towards yin or yang. However, ninjutsu or genjutsu users can distinguish both types of chakra and utilize the right amounts, therefore, affecting to a higher degree the jutsu. Genjutsu uses mainly the yin components. If they forced yang along with yin, they would waste chakra. It's for this reasons only ninjutsu users use both types readily, and therefore develops a good control of both. When someone is able to control both chakras, to a high degree… they can create some semblance of equilibrium in their jutsu where the chakra doesn't shift one way or another. These masters (I'm pretty sure that only the sage of six paths has really mastered it) are said to be able to create anything.
Yin and Yang are not elements. They are not affinities, but like with the Ino-Shika-Cho, they can access some jutsus that have their own abilities. These are the Justus that are classified as yin or yang release.
Either way, Yin and Yang are powerful, and I am certainly not going to waste it.
Settling back down to meditate, I focus internally again but not on my mind but on my chakra. The beautiful northern light-like energy flows through my body. I read that people tend to shift 10-15% in one way or another as the most common shift and almost always become ninjutsu specialists since ninjutsu requires (in general) a pretty even flow between the two so that there is little waste. That's why that specialty is the most common. (That and everyone want to perform flashy ninjutsu) Those who shift between 15-25% tend to specialize. If they shift towards yin, they become genjutsu specialists. If shifts towards yang, they become taijutsu specialists since, unlike yin, yang being a physical component of chakra without yin cannot be controlled outside the body (the exception being the Uzumaki clan who actually HAVE a bloodline allowing them to). 25-35% is where we get into clan territory (those that don't have a 'blood limit' but have EVOLVED to use their shift in a new way, Yamanaka and Akimichi clans are key examples).
Beyond that, though? People say it ends in deformity and usually death. I, however, have other theories. I spend a lot of time reading about the Uzumaki clan. (It may one day look suspicious, but I kind of have a considerable hero thing with Kushina and Mito. Not that I ever really get anything on Kushina.) They have a bloodline. Some people say yes, and others say no. But I am pretty sure it's a yes. They, (from what I figured out) probably have a shift of 35% yang and are a fine ninja. Impossible to kill, but fine (really it's a bonus). So who says it doesn't manifest the other way too?
But I am not from a clan (as far as I know), so most likely, I have a shift between 10-15%. But I can't quite be sure. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to test my shift, but apparently, I should be able to separate the two types of chakra. The question is, though… how? I mean, a person CAN do a lot of things, but whether they know how to do them, well, that's the real question, isn't it?
My chakra feels as if it is always has, a near indescribable river of energy, a mist in the air. I could move it and mould it… but how do I break it apart?
I focus on my chakra, nudging it from all sides, twisting and turning it with a mere thought. That's how I mould it. I must be able to separate it with a thought as well. I focus on my chakra and try to imagine what I want it to do, separate like water and oil. I think about it, and it occurs. One heavy and thicker… yang, I think, and one lighter, softer, definitely yin. They flow through me, spiral next to each other in a spiral but definitely distinct. Both a beautiful blue only difference is their different thickness and properties.
At first, I nudge the yin part through my body, pushing it to pull away from the yang component in the only place it can go, the rest of my cells being flooded with fast-moving yin chakra. I felt a strange feeling, and as I made the chakra move a little faster, like most things new in chakra, it failed stupendously, rushing like a raging river instead of the gentle stream I want, and I felt my face begin to burn as beads of sweat formed on my brow.
New skill!
Yin Temperature Control Proficiency Level 1
The ability to use yin chakra flowing through the body to cause heat or expel it from the body. Increases ability to regulate body temperature per level. Increases control of individual yin chakra 5% per level. Chakra cost varies. Overall decrease in chakra cost 0.01% per level. Overall ability -0.01% chakra cost, yin chakra control 5%.
Feeling like my body is on fire, I rush out of my room, and run towards the bathroom, throwing myself in a cold shower with my clothes still on. Coming out sopping wet, I feel Ami's inquisitive eyes on me.
"Don't ask." I tell her firmly, glaring now, feeling cold, but unwilling to try that again just yet.
"Wasn't going to." Ami says with a smirk, and I huff. "After all, I'm used to your weirdness Googly-eyes." She says but that last bit she says in a slightly teasing and fond voice.
I go back into my room, this time sitting on the ground by my bed so as not to get it wet.
Getting back into a meditative stance and separating the yin and Yang chakras, I nudge the yang, this time through my body.
This time I don't feel a heat but a strength… it fluctuates through my body, and I force myself to sit completely still. If yin chakra moving fast made me feeling like I was being cooked alive, then I don't want to know what I could do with this…
New skill!
Yang Muscle Enhancement Proficiency Level 1
The ability to use yang chakra flowing through the body to strengthen the speed and strength of your muscles. Increases ability to control the increased enhancement per level. Increases control of individual yang chakra 5%. Chakra cost varies. Overall decrease in chakra cost 0.01% per level. Overall ability -0.01% chakra cost, yang chakra control 5%.
I am not the character in some freaking movie-breaking door handles. Nope, I am staying perfectly still. Yep, not moving… still I can't help but think how cool this skill will be when I get it under control.