A/N – We're getting closer to Sage Mode, folks.
Hinata sat cross-legged, on top of a (kind of spiky) cold rock in the Aoi Shizukesa. Katsumi was next to her, on the same rock, sitting upright and alert.
Shiori was on a rock higher up, right under the hole in the rock ceiling (most likely because the cave was cold and she wanted to sun herself).
"Natural energy is the energy that flows throughout the world. Lakes, rocks, trees, the very ground beneath your feet, everything has natural energy." Shiori explained to them. "Melding this energy with your chakra creates Senjutsu chakra and allows one to enter Sage Mode."
Hinata nodded to show that she was internalising the information. After months of being here (3 weeks after her bonding with Katsumi), Isao had discussed her progress with Shiori, and they had eventually decided that they would teach Hinata Senjutsu.
Of course, whether she could actually take to it was something only the future would tell.
"However, natural energy is a fickle force. To harness it for Senjutsu, one must meld it with chakra perfectly. Too little natural energy and you cannot use the jutsu. Too much and you turn into stone."
'Turn into stone!?'
"The toads of Mount Myōboku have their toad oil, which makes gathering natural energy easier." Shiori continued, Katsumi's ear flicking a little disdainfully at the mention of the toads. "Because of this, they were able to create an easier way to enter Sage Mode."
'Well. That doesn't sound so bad.'
Hinata twitched a little, and shifted in place, readjusting herself. The cold was seeping through her clothes. It had been a pleasant reprieve from the heat 5 minutes ago, but that was changing quickly.
"The toads, and the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, generally only teach Senjutsu to individuals with high chakra levels. They have enough chakra that they do not immediately get overwhelmed, which further eases the way."
'Oh – '
"You do not have high chakra reserves."
' – No'
"However, this works in your favour."
"It does!?" Hinata nearly jumped in surprise. She thought Shiori was gearing up to nicely tell her that she couldn't learn Senjutsu (although she would have informed her beforehand, if that was the case. But anxiety doesn't care about things like that).
"Yes, really." Shiori agreed with barely concealed amusement. "Our Senjutsu is not like the toads or snakes, and we do not teach it in the same way either. You have low chakra reserves, but you have higher control, which means that once you get the hold of pulling the energy in, you will be able to constantly meld it more efficiently to use Senjutsu. Once you begin to store the Senjutsu chakra, your reserves will increase as well."
"So, here is what we shall do. You have already felt natural chakra around you in your meditation." Shiori flicked her tail once, some pebbles breaking off of a rock and falling into the lake. "You will attempt to pull the natural energy into yourself and meld it with your chakra. Once you can hold the Sage Mode for a respectable amount of time, we shall begin with the Senjutsu. Katsumi-chan, you will monitor her through your bond and ensure Hinata-san does not turn to stone."
"Understood, Shiori-sama." Katsumi nodded respectfully.
"Ano, Shiori-sama, I have a question, before we begin..." Hinata asked tentatively, resting her palms against the rock, leaning forward and stretching.
"Yes?"
"What is a 'respectable amount of time'?"
Shiori simply flicked an ear and closed her eyes in a smiling squint.
"That is for me to know and you to find out, Hinata-san."
_
Hinata flinched as she felt another hit on her arm. She looked down to see fur on the back of her hands, which immediately disappeared as she exited Sage Mode.
Hinata scratched at where the fur was. A pebble sat next to her, with three others scattered around it at varying distances. Of course, this was not nearly all the times she had to be snapped out of Sage Mode (the rest of the pebbles were somewhere at the bottom of the lake).
"You are absorbing energy unevenly." Shiori offered, unlike all the other times when Katsumi snapped her out and Shiori simply told them to continue. "Katsumi-chan?"
"The chakra around Hinata-sama's heart is resisting, Shiori-sama." Katsumi explained, stretching her back.
Hinata entered Sage Mode again, then, activating her Byakugan, looked down at her chest.
There was a roiling mass of chakra around her heart, and it was indeed, resisting melding with the natural chakra.
Hinata knew the reason for that.
"I was injured, some years ago, and my heart was weakened." She explained, and turned off her Byakugan. "It might be because of that?"
"I see," Shiori growled thoughtfully. "What was the extent of these injuries?"
"Well, it was a Jūken strike to the chest..." Hinata explained hesitantly, looking between Shiori's impassive face and Katsumi's upset one.
Even though the injury had come from Neji, she did not hold it against him (mostly because she understood him, but also because she was aware she had given as good as he had). "I was hospitalized for a little over a month. A good part of my chest was injured, and I believed I coughed up a lot of blood for a while, as well. I had arrhythmia after that for a little over a year, which got better after Tsunade-sama's healing. I still have palpitations sometimes, though."
Katsumi growled indignantly and Shiori simply stared as she assimilated the information. After all the time they had spent together, Hinata was a lot more at ease when this happened than when she had newly fallen here.
"I see." Shiori stated, then moved on. "Feel inside yourself when you enter Sage Mode, and attempt to coax the chakra and energy together."
"Understood."
_
After 7 months of practice, Shiori had finally deemed Hinata proficient in holding Sage Mode (which apparently meant being in Sage Mode for 6 hours at a stretch!).
Hinata sat in Suisen Hall (where she had had her first audience with Shiori), drinking tea with Shiori, Isao, Katsumi, and another tiger that had been introduced to her as Takumi.
He was a jovial old tiger, with nearly golden yellow fur, midnight blue stripes and green eyes. Along with the seals, he had a bracelet on each paw, and a nose ring.
During her stay, Hinata had learned that the metal all of this jewellery was made from was mined from somewhere in the mountains (which were far off to the North), and this jewellery was used to augment Sage Mode with the help of seals.
Of course, when Hinata had asked why she'd had to learn Sage Mode without them, Isao had said that if she could do it the hard way, it would become second nature with the help. And, if she ever lost the jewellery, or had it taken away, she would not be entirely helpless.
Hinata was not proud to admit that she had been unbelievably peeved at that, even though the reasoning made sense.
"Takumi will be here to help you with the jewellery." Shiori explained to her. "You will go with him and Katsumi-chan to the Ōtenburēka-dake and mine the metal you will require. Then you will pour as much Senjutsu chakra into it as you can for a week. Once that is done, Takumi will smelt and shape it, and after that you will place the seals upon them."
"Do you know what jewellery you will choose, Hinata-san?" Isao asked.
"A-Ano, I am... unsure, Isao-san." Hinata stumbled a little, touching her ears self-consciously. "I thought earrings, maybe, but..." She shrugged.
Hinata had always thought about getting her ears pierced, but somehow never got around to doing it.
"That is not an issue, Hinata-sama!" Takumi roared, taking a sip of his tea (most of his words were roars, he was a very outspoken tiger). "I can pierce your ears for you!"
"I would be very grateful, Takumi-san!" Hinata smiled at him appreciatively.
_
Early the next morning, Hinata and Katsumi left with Takumi to the mines close to the mountains, and they reached close to noon.
The mountain reached up into the sky, splitting the fog at the top in a way that made it seem like it was splitting the sky itself.
The side they were on was covered in trees with bluish-green leaves. The scent they emanated was crisp, but not in a way that was offensively sharp to the nose. Flowers grew in bunches on the trees, pink on the outside, and fading into yellow on the inside. The same flowers sparsely carpeted the forest floor as well.
They moved along the side for a few minutes, till they reached the entrance of the mines, which was very well hidden in a part of the base that seemed almost naturally inconspicuous.
"Now, Hinata-sama, here is what you will do." Takumi explained as he handed her a pickaxe. Hinata held it unsurely, trying to get a firmer grip on the handle. "When you go in there, you will enter Sage Mode and feel the ore around you. You will feel it when you reach the piece that resonates with you. You will remove it, and carry it back with you."
"Should I start infusing it with chakra right away?" Hinata asked, starting to feel a little excited.
"It would be preferable, yes. Although if you are too tired, you can begin tomorrow!" Takumi answered, then gestured to the entrance. "Here you go, Hinata-sama, Katsumi-chan! May your endeavour be successful!"
"Thank you, Takumi-san." Hinata breathed deep, then looked down at Katsumi, who nodded back at her.
They both entered the mines.
The tunnel was dark, the only light was a bluish-white glow coming from luminescent strings that fell from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, Hinata saw the that the strings came from worm-like creatures stuck to the roof.
Hinata pulled natural energy in, and expanded her senses.
She had been sceptical initially, when Shiori and Takumi said that she had to feel the ore around her, but now that she was doing it herself, she understood what they meant.
The ore seemed to have a life of its own, almost. She could feel the natural energy running through it in veins, and she was almost tempted to activate her Byakugan and see if that revealed something more about it.
But something about it was... not right, entirely.
Some of the ore gave her a buzzy feeling, that made her nauseous the more she focused on it. Some of it she simply couldn't focus on, no matter how hard she tried.
'This is not it.'
Hinata continued in deeper, Katsumi following behind her. The ore here felt like wearing clothes that were a size small. Not entirely uncomfortable, but it could definitely be better.
Hinata walked farther and farther, until she felt what she could only describe as a 'Yes!'.
Hinata turned and swung the pickaxe.
A chunk of rock fell from the wall, revealing a silvery-blackish ore inside.
Hinata grinned at Katsumi in excitement, while Katsumi closed her eyes and smiled at her.
"Let us get this out, Katsumi-chan!"
_
After a week of pouring Senjutsu chakra into the ore, Hinata was feeling... strange, was perhaps, the word for it.
She had used a lot of chakra, enough that she should've had a severe case of chakra exhaustion, but the natural energy itself was healing and replenishing her faster than normal rest would have.
This had the effect of making her feel like a bolt of lightning, jittery and restless.
Isao had offset the restlessness by increasing her Kenjutsu practice, telling her that the exhaustion that would hit her after the seals were carved would not leave her with enough energy to do anything.
Hinata sat with Katsumi and Takumi in his workshop, watching him pull out drafting materials.
"Now, Hinata-sama, have you decided what kind of earrings you want?" He asked, looking up at her curiously.
"I was thinking, maybe three for each ear?" Hinata offered, not entirely sure. "One for the lobe, one for the upper lobe, and perhaps one earcuff?"
"The earcuff is good." Takumi reassured her, sensing her hesitation. "The more surface area the better!"
They went back and forth like that for a while, and eventually came to a decision on what the jewellery would look like.
The earrings for the lobes would be rectangles, suspended from a stud by a short chain. The ones for the upper lobes would be small hoops, and the earcuffs would be a wide band that would go on the helix.
Once Hinata was satisfied, Takumi went to work smelting and refining the ore. It would take a day or so for the earrings to be made, and so Hinata and Katsumi decided to leave for more Kenjutsu practice.
_
The jewellery was ready the next day, and all that was left to do was carve the seals and pierce her ears.
One was easier than the other.
Hinata sat at a table in the workshop, with carving tools and the earrings in front of her.
"Now, Hinata-sama," Takumi instructed her. "You will need to make the seals as small as you can. There is a bit of working space here, so that's good. But still, it would be best if you took your time to be precise."
"Right, I understand." Hinata picked a graver, and got to work.
It was painstaking work, carving seals into every tiny centimetre, and hours later, Hinata straightened back up with a painful twinge in her back.
"Done?" Katsumi asked, peeking at the earrings.
"Yes." Hinata groaned, stretching her back to restore some flexibility.
"Looks good." Katsumi ran a measured eye over them. "Piercings next?"
"Piercings next."
Takumi came by, and pulled out a tray from an oven in the wall. He brought it close and set it down on the table before her. On it, was a thin metal needle, curved in the shape of a claw.
Hinata's eyes widened in concern unintentionally as she saw how wickedly sharp it was, even though she knew that sharper was better in this case. Seeing her concern, Takumi smiled at her to reassure her.
"The baking sterilizes it, so you won't get an infection." He put down four studs in front of her, two of them bigger than the others. "You will wear these for six weeks while your ears are healing. After that, you can wear your earrings."
"Could I not just use medical Ninjutsu to heal it faster?" Hinata asked, examining the studs. They were just normal metal studs, functional with not a lot of aesthetics to them.
"You could," Takumi allowed, spreading chakra on his paw and picking up the needle. "But I have found that it more often than not ends up closing the piercing itself unless you have tremendous control. Much easier to let it heal the normal way! Although you could wear the cuffs straight away, since they don't need a piercing."
"I see." Hinata shifted to face him, closing her eyes as he gently held her ear taut between two claws.
"How's your Kenjutsu coming along?"
She was immediately yanked back to the memory of trying to disarm Isao (and failing miserably). She was about to answer him (politely leaving out the very caustic thoughts that had formed when he had disarmed her for the fifth time!), when she heard two pops.
"Other ear."
Hinata stared blankly for a moment.
"What?"
She looked down to the table, and saw that there were only two studs left instead of the original four.
'That was so fast!'
Takumi winked at her. Hinata shifted to her other side in vague astonishment. Now that she knew it had happened, the pain was gradually increasing.
"I heard he tried to teach you the Stalking Five Fangs!"
This time, regardless of Takumi's attempts at distraction, she did feel the pain from both the piercings. She cringed and hissed, but gamely answered him.
"Yes, but so far it is just me getting hit with the bokken over and over again."
"That is just how that goes, learning something!" Takumi declared, putting the needle down. "There you go!"
He gave her care instructions and instructed her to clean it with salt water twice daily. Hinata put her sealed earrings into a box (with he exception of her cuffs, which she wore), and, after thanking him for his help, went on her way.
The exhaustion Isao had warned her about was about to hit and she would like to be on a futon when it eventually did.
A/N – 'Suisen Hall' is Daffodil hall. 'Ōtenburēka-dake' is supposed to be 'Great Sky splitter' (results may vary on what translation you get and what sense it makes).
That's the last training chapter. After this, we have some long awaited smut.