Dimensions 2
Chapter 37: Kochou Moves and Memories...
Konohagakure
After the death of Sarutobi, everyone continued to go on with life in the village. Everyone would wonder who would be the next Hokage. Everyone waited for the next Hokage to appear out of no where, and hoped their village wouldn't be in devastation again. Everyone doubted it.
Konohagakure Lake
Sanomi had taken out her new upgrade of the Kochou Destiny Blade. She swished it a couple of times and could feel that it was more heavier. She was dressed in her regular outfit and had her Leaf headband on her upper right arm. Chikako was summoned from the flute and was watching her carefully. She had to teach her new moves soon. She knew that the Kochou Demon might be doing the same and getting more strength. Chikako wondered if sealing the Kochou Demon would be good. Sanomi was unable to fight her since some of her strength was lost. Now would be a good time for Sanomi to train more. Chikako started to remember the color changes of Sanomi's eyes. Now that she created the new sword, she wouldn't have to deal with so many eye colors like blue, green, or gold. She just had to be cautious with red or crimson. Sanomi reached a whole new level and must fight to survive.
"Sanomi." Chikako said. Sanomi stopped her sword playing and turned to see Chikako sitting on a large rock.
"Hai?"
"This will be a test of chakra control for you." Chikako jumped off the rock and went up to the samurai. "Walk on the lake and train with the sword at the same time. This will help master the sword more easily if you control your chakra." Chikako responded.
"You barely walk on the water. There will probably be a time when you have to fight with the sword AND walk on water. Just getting you ready." Chikako smirked. Sanomi rolled her eyes and stared at the huge lake before her. Looking at the lake made Sanomi think more about Akemi.
"Chikako, Akemi-sama told me that I have to master a taijutsu move. When will it come?" She asked. Chikako thought for a moment.
/Oh...that move.../ Chikako thought.
"Once I teach the blade exercise, you can learn taijutsu afterwards." Chikako responded.
"All right." Sanomi stood by the edge of the lake and wasn't sure she was ready for this. Chikako said a couple of important things.
"Remember, you have two chakras. Control your regular chakra to walk on the lake first. You'll be able to reveal the Kochou chakra more faster. Once you're satisfied that the chakra is good, you're able to have the Kochou chakra in your sword and fight. It'll be hard to master, but you'll get it just fine." Chikako snapped her fingers and Sanomi saw some objects coming to the surface. They were large peridot colored lilypads. Each of them had a number from one to six.
"Nani?" She asked.
"Those lilypads will help you. Everytime you have the Kochou chakra in your sword, I want you to jump and slash at the same time and land on a lilypad. But here's the catch. I have to call out a number and that number must be the number in the lilypad that you have to jump on."
Sanomi eyed the six lilypads and she noticed that number six was the farthest one out. The formation of the lilypads looked like a towering castle floating in the lake.
6
4 5
1 2 3
Starting Point
xOx
(Not the exact format...spread the numbers a couple of more lol)
"Are you ready?" Chikako asked. Sanomi gulped.
"Hai."
/Sakura gave me tips on how to walk on water earlier in the world. I feel confident./ Sanomi controlled her regular chakra and with one step, she was able to walk in front of the formation of lilypads.
She was standing on the water and controlling the Kochou chakra to arrive in her body. She unleashed her sword and closed her eyes. Energy was flowing and pink chakra was visual. Sanomi and Chikako both waited for the right timing. Chikako knew when Sanomi's Kochou chakra would spread through and she had to be sensing it each time. Inside Sanomi's body pink chakra replaced the regular blue chakra and burst through the body.
"NOW!" Chikako shouted and Sanomi opened her eyes.
/Yes./ Sanomi's Kochou chakra was in control on the sword and was able to walk on the water easily.
"TWO!" Chikako called out a number. Sanomi jumped high in the air and slashed safely in Lilypad number two. She almost lost her balance while trying to stand on the water. The lilypads were very thin to stand on that it was like standing on mushy paper.
"SIX!"
"FOUR!"
THREE!"
Sanomi continued to jump on every number Chikako commanded; she made great improvement on the new sword. After Sanomi passed through one through six she was getting tired. Her chakra was starting to run out and Chikako noticed this. Chikako smirked and put more lilypads on the water. Now there were ten lilypads in all.
/Aw, kuso!/ Sanomi leaped through each of them like a frog and as her Kochou chakra started to run out...
"STOP!" The lilypads disappeared and without knowing, Sanomi completely made a splash on the water. Chikako sweat dropped.
/So that's how tired she is.../
Sanomi popped up in the surface of the lake and was soaking wet.
"You should've warned me when the lilypads would be gone!" Sanomi called out.
"Gomen." Chikako giggled and Sanomi was out of the lake. She was shivering as a small wind hit her face.
"Get dried and you'll learn taijutsu." Chikako called out. Sanomi walked over to her bag and took out a towel to dry up.
/Dang. Chikako's transformation messed with her head. I knew I should've named her 'Etsuko.'/ She thought sadly.
/I HEARD THAT!/ Chikako messed with Sanomi's mind. Sanomi sighed. She returned the towel in the bag and snapped her fingers twice to put her Kochou Destiny Blade away.
"Taijutsu. Akemi wanted to teach this to you." Chikako opened one eye and noticed someone behind Sanomi.
"Sanomi. I think someone wants you." Chikako whispered. Sanomi had a confused look on her face, but once she turned around she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Kariko Sanomi, am I correct?" Sanomi was looking at Kutoro Ayame and she looked different. She had bandages covering her forehead and the Sound headband wasn't there anymore. It was gone. The Hikari Spear was placed behind her back and her mask was taken off. Her face looked so pretty that it resembled a soft clean blanket. At one point, Sanomi didn't recognized her.
"Ayame." Sanomi wasn't too sure to trust the girl, but ever since the end of the Chuunin Exams, she was sure that her memory of Orochimaru was gone.
"Forgive me for hurting you."
"W-What do you mean?" Sanomi was puzzled.
"After I exit the hospital, memories flood back in my head. But all I remember is your name and I figured you'd still be around after that battle we had. I feel like a puppet somehow for someone but I don't know who. Do you?" Sanomi shook her head.
"Not that I know of." Sanomi eyed Ayame's large bag and wondered what was in it.
"Are you going somewhere?" Ayame stared at her bag.
"Well, I'm going to be a kunoichi at the Mist Village."
"You don't like Konohagakure?" Sanomi asked.
"No, no. That's not why I'm leaving. I want to be in different villages and travel. Besides...I used to be in that village..." She smirked. Sanomi could only stay silent.
"I'm glad that you are traveling. If you want to fight... I'll be ready if we ever do meet again." Sanomi put a thumbs-up. Ayame shook her hand.
"Yeah. Ja mata...Kariko Sanomi." Ayame disappeared as leaves fluttered through the ground.
/Things change so quickly./ Sanomi could only make a smile and eyed Chikako once more.
"Let's continue. The Kochou Taijutsu: Hanauta Tsubasa."
/Humming Wings?/ Sanomi thought in her head the English translations.
"Think about a humming bird. How it flies from flower to flower to get nectar. The wings support it. A butterfly's wings are elegant and beautiful when they fly. The idea is to resemble a humming bird and a butterfly mixed together. Beautiful and fast." Chikako snapped her fingers and Sanomi's wings appeared swiftly behind her back, "Your wings support the jutsu."
"How does it go?" Sanomi asked.
"This taijutsu deals with hitting at a fast rate of the opponent. Some of the hits will hurt the pressure points of the body and could be a disadvantage for the opponent. You summon your Kochou chakra and pass the chakra through your wings. Once the wings start to flutter at a fast rate, you're able to dash off straight to the opponent and hit them as quick as you could. It might able to crack a defense move if the opponent has one. Overall, if you master this taijutsu, you're able to defeat a large number of ninjas. More than five at a time. Remember that."
Chikako showed the hand signs to Sanomi.
Horse, Tiger, Horse, Tiger, Dog, Bird, Dog, Bird
Sanomi copied the hand signs slowly so she'll be able to practice them a bit more. Once she got the hang of it she made the hand signs.
/Wow...who knew I master the ninja world so fast.../ Sanomi smirked. She was pretty proud of herself as she thought about it. She felt grateful.
"Horse, Tiger, Horse, Tiger, Dog, Bird, Dog, Bird." Sanomi did them soon, the wings start to flutter slowly.
"Okay." Chikako let a log post in the middle of the grass they were standing on.
"This log post will determine how hard you work each day with the jutsu. Imagine this as an opponent. You imagine hitting the pressure points of the body and the log might make at least a small crack. That crack will resemble the opponent's pressure point was hit and they flinch. That's when you start to attack more with powerful hand to hand combat. Avoid distractions while doing this jutsu." Chikako sat on a rock and saw Sanomi's wings starting to flutter more and more faster.
"It's getting close. You have to sense wings when they are ready to fly. Remember, you dash quickly up to the opponent. You might be at a disadvantage if you go straight at them so think of good tactics. It would be difficult for you to control the wings and get them faster because of the amount of chakra you put into it. The Kochou chakra can be gone easily so you have to think more about this jutsu when you use it." The wings behind Sanomi's back started to flutter more like a hummingbird.
"Ready...GO!" Sanomi lifted her head.
"Kochou: Hanauta Tsubasa jutsu!" Sanomi wings fluttered at a fast rate and dashed toward the log post.
"Think of it as a real opponent!" Chikako shouted. Sanomi did a hand sign and a substitution jutsu she did. A log replaced her and made a thud in the ground. Sanomi appeared behind the original log post and started to hit the log furiously. Punches and kicks were thrown at the log and Sanomi was puzzled. Nothing was cracking.
"The pressure points!" Chikako called out. Sanomi saw red marks that made her think those were the pressure points. Sanomi elbowed one of them and the log cracked a bit.
Sanomi dashed from side to side hitting everything that she got. One low kick, one high kick, high punch, and low punch. This jutsu could be done in a flash and the wings on Sanomi's back started to fade away. Sanomi kneeled down with exhaustion and her wings disappeared.
"Well done." Chikako clapped her hands. Sanomi panted roughly and started to lay down on the grass.
"Better than I expected. Look at the log." Sanomi opened her eyes and saw that the log looked torn apart.
/It wasn't like that before.../ Sanomi thought in her head.
"One thing I haven't told you. Did you notice that every time you hit the log, you don't feel pain? That's because every time you hit, the hit is inflicted by the wings. That's why the wings fade easily with every hit you have."
/She's right. I don't feel pain in my hands.../ Sanomi looked at her fist and noticed that they were a bit red, but no blood was bursting out.
"Very good. More practice and you'll be good to go. Not bad for a novice." Chikako winked. Sanomi laughed sheepishly.
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Sanomi rested in a small shady tree up on a hill of the lake and began to eat some lunch in a bento. Sakura's mother made the lunch for her and she was very grateful to have some food in front of her. Sakura was busy doing errands with Kakashi and who knew where Naruto and Sasuke were. Probably roaming around the village doing nothing. But knowing Sasuke, he was possibly training. Naruto might be training with Jiraiya, or more than that Sanomi thought. She muched on a couple of rice balls that were still warm and it was delicious. It was jelly filled just the way she liked them.
"I'm tired..." Sanomi moaned and closed her eyes for a bit.
"That's called training Sanomi-chan." Chikako said up on a tree branch.
"I know. But never this hard! At one point, I thought you're going to kill me with this training!"
"Well it's too bad isn't it?" Chikako stuck out her tongue.
Sanomi laid her head on the tree trunk of the tree and eyes the beautiful blue sky. Clouds drifted so slowly that it reminded Sanomi about her world, how wonderful it looked.
"Thinking about home?" Chikako asked suddenly.
"Yeah." Sanomi saw a couple of birds flying by, "It'll be difficult to go back when your parents would be angry at you."
"You know I don't have parents right?" Chikako responded. Sanomi stared at her with shock.
"Oh..."
"No, no. Gomenasai. You never knew." Chikako responded.
"Demo, I think Akemi is your parent." Sanomi suggested, "You know, for creating you and all."
"Probably." Chikako felt the wind so gently to her hair. "It would be nice to have someone you care about look after you. That's love."
Both of them were silent until Sanomi thought of something to cheer her up.
"Love is everywhere sometimes. You might have a tough time looking for it, but it'll be right in front of you at the end." Chikako looked below her feet to stare at Sanomi.
"Yeah. Maybe you're right."
"I know I'm right." Sanomi smirked. Chikako scoffed.
"Look who's smart today." Chikako muttered to herself.
"Chikako," Chikako opened her eyes to stare at Sanomi again. "Mirai...what was she like?"
Chikako never knew that Sanomi could ask such a question. Tokino Mirai, the first Kochou Samurai that ever lived but abandoned her purpose. Why on earth would Sanomi want to know about her?
"Is...there something on her mind about her?" Chikako asked softly. Sanomi made a small grimace.
"Well...you barely tell anything about her. I heard you were her guardian also. Please tell me." Chikako sighed.
"Hmm. Tokino Mirai. Yeah, I was her guardian when she was the samurai; she was a sweet girl. She kinda reminded me of you sometimes, but age seventeen. She wasn't a kunoichi like you, only then she was only a blacksmith owner in the village. Tended to be silent most of time, but everyone loved her shop. Children from any age would buy special shuriken and kunai from her. She raised a good business, honoring the Tokino family that passed away from a terrible incident. Demo, when she started to hail the Kochou Sword in her hand, only then she started to change. She started to train a lot even though she wasn't a ninja. She started to fight ninjas when she wasn't supposed to be one herself. She closed down the shop unexpectedly that everyone was puzzled. Yet, no matter how many times I tried to stop her, she continued to train. But something happened..." Chikako turned her head away. Sanomi shook her head with sorrow.
"You don't need to say anything else." Sanomi whispered.
"Well, I'll tell you one thing. She wasted most of her Kochou chakra while doing intense training. Unlike you, she ignored my pleads and commands to stop training. She took it too far and almost destroyed a village. People shunned her in the ninja life and grew weaker and weaker; she could not hold it in any longer. She placed the sword in the forest to where you found it and disappeared. She passed away at the age of 43."
"Oh...how did you know what age she died?" Sanomi asked curiously. Chikako slowly went down the tree branch and walked over to Sanomi in a gentle manner.
"Remember Sanomi, I keep an eye on current samurai and previous samurai. They may need me." Chikako winked. Sanomi blushed and turned her head away to stare at the pretty flowers next to her.
"If my purpose here is complete soon...would you still keep an eye on me?" Chikako gaped at the comment, but made a small grimace.
"Of course."
A/N: Okay, I have one more filler and it will be the fluff filler with SasukexSanomi. Stay tuned for it. And I promise to get on with the storyline very soon.