The Victorious Opposition Comes Home (Natsume thread)

[Anastasia]

"Your ki is your lifeforce, Natsume. Like a spring it wells out from you, flowing and cascading down your entire being.

Like a single, unified stream of life. You have felt your ki in tune, have you not?"

[Midnight Sun]

"Yes, I have sensei," she replies. Though the way he described it made answering the question difficult. "I am aware of my ki, I can feel it working all the time at some level, moreso when I use it to fight."

[Anastasia]

A single nod. "Yet, as you can see, pieces of it can be broken off. If it were a true streaming whole, this would not be possible.

Natsume, your ki comes from every bit of your body. You must fully utilize every bit of it, down to the smallest bit from your toes. When you understand this, you will be closer to learning the secrets of our school."

[Midnight Sun]

'Utilize every bit of it....,' Natsume thinks. 'Hm, I thought I was...there must be something more to it that I'm not understanding...'

"Sensei, what exactly do you mean?" Natsume asks. "Are you saying there's more ki inside my body than I'm aware of?"

[Anastasia]

"What I am saying is, Natsume, is that can a single stream manage to accoplish the swings of thousands in a moment?" With that single question, he moves to leave the dojo. "Meditate on it, act on it, become it."

[Midnight Sun]

"Can a single stream accomplish a thousand swings in a moment...," she thinks outloud after he grandfather leaves. "He does love all these philosophical riddles doesn't he...."

To strike someone a thousand times in a second requires incredible physical speed, moreso than what any normal human should be capable. Such a technique must be designed to completely overwhelm the opponent from multiple directions...

"If a river is powerful enough, it can overrun anything that gets in its path," she mumbles. "I've heard stories of rivers flooding entire regions..."

Rivers are not necessarily whole either, more often than not they break off into many smaller streams that flow off into all directions.

"He did mention it not being a true streaming whole...," she says. "If I compare the main river to something like the spinal cord, than the smaller streams that break off are like the nerves that spread out through the entire body from the spine. Could ki work something like that...?"

As she thought, she rubbed her temples steadily. Was she even thinking in the right direction?

[Anastasia]

Lost in your own thoughts, you are slightly surprised when, "Natsume-chan," Kurumi asks, holding a small thermos, steaming hot. "Grandfather asked me to bring you some tea so you wouldn't need to break from your work out here."

[Midnight Sun]

"Oh, Kurumi, thank you," she says as she gets up a graciously accepts the tea. "Seems grandfather knew quite well that I'd be in here for a long time."

[Anastasia]

A nod there, Kurumi sighing. "Probably, and I'll bring you lunch if it goes on awhile longer." Once handing it to you, "He made a big deal about not distracting you, so..." With that, your sister leaves you back to your own devices.

[Midnight Sun]

"Argh, what am I missing?" Natsume fumes as she lays sprawled out on the dojo floor. "Being able to draw out every ounce of my ki...I have to be able to use every single little bit..."

When she used her ki, she could feel it radiating from all over her body, but was there more to it than that? Perhaps she was not drawing on everything she possibly could? If that were case, were her apparent limits on how much ki she could use before exhausting herself all imaginary....?

"Who knows," she said as she stood up. "But considering thats the only part of grandfather's monologue that I can even vaguely understand, I'll try that first...and see where it leads me..."

[Anastasia]

OOC-  Um, talk to me. I'm honestly not quite sure what you're meaning to do here.

[Anastasia]

Thus, Natsume slowly extends her ki energy. Letting the vibrant life force flow from her, it's like a spigot is leaking water out of your body, soaking everything around...

....

....You begin to feel faint, as you feel droplets, each a bit more of your vitality, work out from your body. Single, shining droplets, each of them.

[Midnight Sun]

'I...I've almost reached my limit,' Natsume thinks through the haze of exhaustion. 'But I'm not feeling anything different, and I'm pretty sure I'm reaching for all the ki I can muster...'

[Anastasia]

Even as you stand, more perfect shards of your aura splinter off and are sent forth, as desired. Small parts continue to fly off, wearing away and going off at your behest...

[Midnight Sun]

'Pieces of my aura...breaking off?' Natsume thinks as she watches the luminous splinters. 'Just as grandfather said...there must be some connection...'

While maintaining her aura, she tries to reach out and grab one of the pieces...