Starring:
Fulgur (Emitter as Fujitara), Eremi
Date: Novermber 1, 2011
Summary:
Eremi previously putting in a request to study under someone who has already mastered most of the chakra gates, he was finally summoned by a Red haired, Jounin by the name of Fujitara. Upon arriving he had expected a more physical regime and instead was put on the task of mental exercises.
"Initial Gate Zen"
Zen Gardens
Today was a quiet day. The perfect kind of day for what work was to be done for this morning. Dew still rested on the flowers, grass and trees while a thick mist lay over the village on this cold day in the Zen Gardens. A small space was reserved for meditation, to give rest to the body and instead stimulate the mind. Inhaling deeply, a female shinobi sits atop a rock specially designated for the occasion and beside her was one of equal size ready to be taken up by the one who was to join her in this experience.
He was to leave his belongings and bring only his body in the most loose of garments. He was to endure what the environment had for him and use his mind to make up for what his body could not. This was the first step to unlocking the first gate.
Waking up this morning and climbing out of bed, Eremi had half expected the day to be like any other day only with the slight twist from what his sensei had tacked on to his already strenuous training regime. Though after stepping outside and preparing to strap the boulder almost his size, he was greeted with a messenger that quickly dropped off a letter and headed off.
Eremi held the letter in his hands with a wary look, undecided whether or not to open. Eventually he would have to and eventually he did. However as he read what the contents held within, his eyes widened with excitement and without a moments notice he was off in a mad sprint leaving the letter to slowly fall until reaching the ground.
As fast as he could Eremi made his way through the forests of the land of fire, avoiding the path most taken and choosing the shortcuts he'd travel most often while he made his way to this destination point. It was approaching fast, so the boy began to slow his pace until he could just barely make out ahead the Zen Gardens.
Suddenly he began to realize he had no clue who this person was and panic started to set in. Clenching his hands tightly he took a few deep breaths before pushing ahead and making his entrance. With a bow and a greeting to the woman ahead, "Hello. I'm Satonezu Eremi. You wanted to see me? I have come as you requested."
The woman hand a head of flaming hair, long with a soft sheen in the peeking light of the sun. Her features were quite friendly in nature, round, bright orange eyes, small nose and lips. She seemed to be a jounin, but she wasn't wearing anything to indicate such. "Hello, Satonezu Eremi! And yes, I did want to see you. Seeing as you're here, I see you received my letter. Excellent! We should get started right away. You're going to be sitting here…" Her features darkened, "Forever." She let that hang in the air for a few moments before laughing it off. "No, you won't be here that long, but it'll be close enough. If you meditate well enough, it'll pass by real fast."
Eremi straightened up, but kept his head lowered some while his eyes looked over the woman. He wasn't sure what to make of her, if she was going to be the friendly type or something else. Slowly he approached the rock that was awaiting him, gesturing that this is the one for him. "Wait, forever?" His head shot up and a sad look filled his face. Eremi wanted to say no, that such a request was ridiculous, but he could never mutter such a thing. However when the laugh filled the air, he raised his eyebrow in confusion and followed it with a sigh of relief to hear that it was only a joke. A cruel joke, but one nonetheless. "So I'd have to be still?" Something that isn't easy for someone that is always on edge, worried about being attack. He'd take in a deep breath before climbing up the rock and crossing his legs underneath him to sit, then looking once again at the woman, "Now what?"
"That's right~." Fujita inflected. Yes, Fujita is her name. Once he settled onto the rock, she inhaled deeply once again and sighed the breath back out. "You're going to sit there and meditate." She raises her hand and gestures to herself, drawing it across her midsection in emphasis. "Like me." She inhaled once again and released the breath. "This is to help you to calm down and focus only on your mind. The Initial Gate is located in the mind, thus you need to utilize it if you hope to unlock it. Meditation will help with that." She offers. "So, sit and focus. It will grow more difficult as time goes on and that's the time you need to use your mind the most in order to counter the difficulty."
Tilting his head, Eremi could only stare in confusion as Fujita spoke about what was expected of him to complete this exercise. For others he imagined it might be an easy task. For him not so much. He thought about asking for a second if there was another way, if he could simply do sprints or pushups, anything else, but that didn't sound like a good idea. The red headed woman seemed intent on this being the way. "Ok, meditate, breathe like you, remain calm and focus only on my mind." The boy would nod after saying his own mental checklist outloud. His eyes took a quick sweep of the area before the lids closed over them and he began to breath in what he thought was the same way showed. Though he wasn't calm one bit. This being most apparent from the movement under his lids in response to his eyes wanting to bulge out and recheck his surroundings.
Fujita didn't pay much mind to the wound up Eremi and instead continued to focus on her meditation. She inhaled once more and exhaled the breath back out, making sure to take deep breaths to fill her lungs. She's been out here for a while now and as a result, has become acclimated to the weather and environment. She's not sure if the same could be said for him. It's pretty cold out here and he'll be feeling it soon. He'd either have to crank down the energy or freeze out here. The more he burned trying to think, the less that went to his body to protect him from the cold.
As time continued on, with the sitting on the rock without a word said between the two, Eremi was starting to grow a bit more comfortable with the situation. It allowed for him to calm himself to a point where he was more then when he showed, but the weather was indeed starting to take effect on him as his breathing was becoming somewhat stuttered and every now and then he'd let out a shiver. The movement from his eyes had completely stopped though, no longer thinking about if others are in the area and instead thinking about how much warmer his bed was this morning.
Fujita took notice of this and opened a single eye to look at Eremi. She heard his breathing, which was enough for her to know that he was cold. She was fine, though. She wondered if she should say something or just leave him there. At this rate, he might just sit there. At least he's calmer than he was initially. "Focus…" She stated softly before closing her eye and allowing herself to return to her meditation.
The sun, by now, has risen over the horizon and is now providing some warmth to the village. The problem is it has to be gathered as the environment is still very much cold. "Place your thoughts on the sun and focus on its warmth. Once you have, maintain it. Before long, you won't even feel it…"
It didn't seem like Eremi was going to be able to accomplish what was set before him anytime soon. The cold of the morning mixed with his own doubts of his ability to succeed were a bit much for him to carry by himself, all alone. Then he was startled, jerked out of his subconscious from the voice of the woman that sat beside him. Watching the boy and guiding him so he can succeed. Then he realized he wasn't alone, she was here by his side to help him along the way. For a moment it made him feel wanted. Soon, he felt the light of the sun on his face and Eremi would close his eyes in response. He heard what Fujita had said, about focus on the warmth of the sun and began to do so. Breathing in a steady fashing as he did so.
She chuckled openly, feeling amused at his attempts to keep up. He was trying and Fujita definitely approved. With them starting off in this fashion, she thinks he'll be opening the initial gate quicker than she thought. She can see his progress and see that his shivering has reduced and was now replaced with focus and as a benefit, warmth. "Doing better now?" She asked. "Good, because it's going to get harder from here on." She states. "So, what made you want to learn the gates?" She asks, starting up a conversation, a more unusual test.
The shivering was slowly fading away with each second that passed while Eremi continued to remain focused on the warmth of the sun. His breathing had also started to go into a normal rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. All of this was only made slightly harder with the woman trying to speak with him. Was he supposed to answer? It was perplexing to think so, but if he thought about it, it did make sense. To be able to remain calm and focused while still dealing with others. "I guess for selfish reasons really." He'd frown, though his eyes would remain closed. "Even though I can't say there are many. I want to be able to protect those I care about, because they care about me in turn. I no longer want to be looked upon as the handicap, but as the crutch for others who need help." It was an honest answer, but it forced his mind off the task of focusing on specifics.
