I'm Not Weak (Training)

Miyo had come to the conlcusion that she had to make an effort in getting along with the monster trapped inside of her body. So far he had managed to criticize her on every mistake she made, so in order to stop the judgement maybe she had to prove to him that she could do better. If she became a host that he could see was strong and able to take care of herself, maybe he wouldn't be so harsh. He had yet to respond to any of her inquiries about this, but this didn't stop her from wanting to go through with the plan. After all it wouldn't hurt to improve her skills as a ninja. She couldn't lie to herself and say she was the best ninja out there, especially after that incident of her falling from a tree or when she ran away from a simple snake. It was imperative for her to get better, and not just to improve her relationship with Isobu either.

The day was perfect for training according the Miyo. It was a warm temperature, and the sky was filled with clouds as if it were ready to unleash a torrent of rain at any second. Given her jutsu element, this was good news for her, as it could possibly increase her range if she played it right. She was currently focused on increasing her natural abilities first however. If she wanted to become a great ninja she was going to have to learn how to fight without all of the extra abilities. That being said, Miyo walked into the middle of the training field and dropped her supplies on the ground. Her supplies consisted of ninja tools (Kunai, Shuriken, and a wooden katana), blank scrolls, and a basket with her lunch inside. It was time to get to work.

First, Miyo would try and improve her strength by doing some exercises. She started off by doing sixty push ups on the ground in order to warm her muscles up. Then she made her way around the training grounds, running at an above average pace. Once she had finished she made her way back to the middle where she had started. Even though she was sweating, she knew that was the easy stuff. She walked her way over to the tree that she had grown to love and looked up it. "It'll be fun to see how you fail this time"The ever loving Isobu chimed in as she channeled chakra through her feet. A fairly simple task for a Genin. After a mental countdown from three in her head, Miyo took off up the tree at full speed, and then made her way back down at the same speed. She managed to avoid falling, even if there was a close call with a branch. Not content with her pace, she ran back up the tree at full speed again. This cycle continued until she had managed to do 25 sprints up and down the tree. Miyo was now dripping sweat, but she was proud of herself. Her speed had begun to improve, little by little. Her reflexes were also improving as well. She had managed to dodge every branch, and animal that got in her way by the end. Surprisingly, Isobu hadn't uttered a word about how she could've gone faster or how she ran like a stomping rhino.

Now it was time to improve on her strength. Honestly, Miyo wasn't strong at all. In fact it was one of her worst qualities. She was about as strong as a normal civillian, which is sad considering she had a lot more training than them. So to improve her strength, she wanted to start off light and at her own pace. Therefore, she decided to use the training dummy to throw punches at. It was an easy target, and she didn';t have to worry about retaliation. Miyo began slowly, just throwing straight jabs to the dummy's torso. Eventually she began to alternate her movements, adding in kicks and switching stances throughout. Once she felt her limbs becoming limp and tired, she pushed harder. She knew she had to truly push her self if she wanted to become strong. In order to be the best, she couldn't give up on herself. Especially not this early on. Finally, she had decided that she had done enough, and collapsed on the ground. Miyo lay there listening to her breathing, with her eyes closed.

"If you want to get strong, you need to learn more jutsu. Otherwise you're just a weakling who can barely punch a bag of sand."

Oddly enough, this was one of the most encouraging things he had ever said to her. He wouldn't directly say it, but it was almost as if he were trying to help her out. Was he actually giving her advice? This brought a huge smile to Miyo's sweaty face, and caused Isobu to grunt loudly in her head. With this new found "advice" she slowly lifted herself off the ground to continue training. This next part of the training was gonna consist of learning a new jutsu. It was a jutsu that she had been studying, but never got around to putting it into action. It was called Water Release: Wild Water Wave. The premise of the jutsu was to basically shoot a gushing waterfall of water out of ones mouth causing a good amount of blunt damage. It was a C-rank jutsu, so it would be a little more difficult than what she was used to, but she had hope.

The first step was to form the proper handseals for the jutsu. Miyo performed the dragon, tiger, and hare seals in that order. The next step was to focus her chakra and then release it from her mouth. Miyo did those steps exactly and directed herself towards the training dummy she was fighting earlier. Excitement rushed through her as she was about to shoot a strong stream of water at this inanimate object. As soon as she released her chakra through her mouth, all that came was a little bit of drool. "Hahaha" The laughter of Isobu was strong, but it didn't matter because she knew he wanted her to succeed. "I'm going to do this. You're going to see how strong I can be!" Isobu was silent. It was the first time that Miyo had ever addressed him directly, and in truth they were both kind of shocked at it. This had been a huge step in what was hopefully the right direction for her. She was actually beginning to see that maybe she could find some light in him. This thought brought back the memory of her father. Sometimes she really believed that Isobu held a remnant of her father inside. She knew this wasn't the case, but the beast always reminded her of her father. Maybe she would find the light in the demon that she never was able to find in her father. Or maybe she would have her hope dashed once more.

Miyo refused to let herself become frustrated over not completing this task. She knew that she would be able to do it, she just had to focus. The scroll which contained the jutsu was not in her possession at the moment, so she had to try and recall exactly what it had said from her memory alone. She was sure that she had gotten the handsigns right, and she knew exactly what the jutsu was supposed to do. It had to be something in the delivery. She just had to figure out what it was. It was obvious that she had to focus her chakra and then propel it through her mouth, but she did that last time and it wasn't working. As if some strange power was trying to tell her something, her stomach began to growl. It was a good thing she had brought food, cause she was starting to get hungry. "Idiot." As she started to walk over to her basket, she stopped. That was it. Her stomach was the key to this jutsu working. It was the missing piece that she had forgotten about, and somehow a few hours without food brought her the answers. It was strange how the world had a way of showing you things.

She knew what she needed to do now, so after taking one small bite of her ham sandwich, she stood back in the middle of the field. The thing that she messed up on the last time she attempted this was when she tried to focus her chakra. Instead of focusing her chakra where it needed to be, her stomach, she focused in her throat. The technicalities seemed small, but apparently they make the world of difference. Miyo closed her eyes and began to knead her chakra in her stomach. She focused on what the jutsu was going to accomplish and performed the handseals one more time. Dragon-Tiger-Hare. Once the signs were completed she raised two fingers in front of her mouth and faced the training dummy again. This time she could feel it. The jutsu was ready to explode with pressure from her stomach, and she was going to let it happen. With a quick inhale, Miyo released the chakra from her stomach. The result was exactly as she had hoped. A gushing waterfall had been released from her mouth and completely bowled over the training dummy that was situated on it's stand. After completing the jutsu, Miyo fell to the ground with joy.

It might not have seemed like much to an outsider, but to her it was the first step in the right direction in regards to a lot of things. Her relationship with Isobu seemed to be improving at an extremely slow rate, but any improvement was better than nothing. She liked to believe that he was super proud of her for learning that jutsu. She would most likely never know, because he wasn't the type to express his feelings. Regardless, it was a great moment for her. Now there was only one more thing left for her to do. She didn't know exactly how to ask this, but she knew it was something she needed.

"Isobu." This was another first. She had never called to the beast. He had always been the one to address her first. "I want to learn to use your power." It was silent for a moment. Almost as if the animals nearby had conferred with mother nature that no one was to make a sound until 3-tails spoke. "You can't. You're weak." There was that condescending tone she was used to. There was something different in it this time. Almost as if he was pondering the thought. Miyo wasn't going to let this go so easy however, she was going to learn to wield his power if it killed her. Hopefully it wouldn't. Closing her eyes, she began to feel out for the chakra of the beast within her. She knew it lay there, dormant within her, she just had to find a way to access it. "I am not weak." She said these words with such conviction that it caused Isobu to pause for a moment. He was taken for a even greater surprise when he felt her actually starting to access some of his chakra. Unfortunately, the power of a tailed beast was not an easy thing to control, and she would find that out soon enough.

Her heart began to race twice as fast as normal, and she could feel her body begin to heat up. Was this what the power felt like? There were no physical changes to her body at the moment, but she could tell that it was going to be the next step. She just had to push it. Just when she thought she was going to be able to access a portion of the power within her, she collapsed and it was gone.

The cold sensation of water woke her up from her six hour slumber. It had been raining for a while now, but the exhaustion caused by the tailed beasts power would not allow her to wake for a little while. When she did awaken, she immediately heard the voice of Isobu taunting her. "You got lucky I didn't completely take over. Your peaceful village would've been reverted to ash." It wasn't hard for her to imagine the creature wanting to destroy the village, after all they were the ones that tried to tame it. This comment did make Miyo realize the seriousness of the situation. Perhaps she should have someone watching over her in case she fails. No, she wouldn't fail. She knew that she had to learn to control this thing on her own. She had to prove to Isobu that she could do it and she didn't need to be saved by someone else. He would never accept her if she proved to be a weak host. She was going to try it again.

Miyo took a deep breath while standing in the middle of the field. Concentrating on the rain dripping down her skin, matting her hair, and cooling her down. She began to focus on her chakra and the one of the tailed beasts. Slowly they began to merge. She had to do this just right, for if she tried to use too much of the beasts chakra, she would surely be overwhelmed and could possibly release the beast on the whole village. She couldn't afford to tarnish the name of her family anymore than it already was. She couldn't let the Mitsu name carry another monster in their bloodline.

Similar to last time, her heart began to pound faster and her body began to heat up despite the rain. In fact if one looked close enough, it looked like the rain was slowly evaporating off of her body. It was becoming harder and harder to maintain this chakra, and just when she felt ready to quit the change happened. Her body started to become enveloped in a red wispy cloak of chakra. Her eyes changed to a lighter shade of magenta and she could feel her own power increase. For the first time in her life, she felt powerful. This was only a very small portion of the Bjiuu's power, but she was in control of it.

"I can't believe it."

Hearing the tone of shock in his voice made Miyo smile. Using this new found speed, Miyo sped over to one of the standing dummies' and delivered a punch stronger than she ever has before straight into it's head. The dummy went flying into the nearest tree. Quickly after she punched the dummy, she turned her attention to the final standing dummy and produced the handsigns Dragon-Tiger-Hare. Kneading her now doubled chakra in her stomach, she was prepared to use Water Release: Wild Water Wave. As opposed to the previous time she used this jutsu, the water came rushing out of her mouth at crazy speeds and when it made impact on the dummy, she could tell the difference in force. The dummy had sailed further down the field than the other two. Her smile didn't last long as she began to feel the power slowly draining from her. Just to be able to stay in this state was taxing on her body and chakra.

Miyo dropped to her knees as she felt the cloak slowly leaving her body. Her smile had returned to her face at this point. Despite the exhaustion that was overtaking her, she couldn't help but feel excited. She was going to show Isobu that she would not back down from him. That was how she was going to gain his trust. It was how she was going to show him that she was worthy of being his host. She could even be worthy of being his friend. As her eyes began to shut and her body fell to the ground, she thought of her father. Her fathers betrayal had broke her trust in a lot of people. She never wanted to put her hope into someone like that again, just to have it crushed. Yet, here she was willing to put hope into this powerful tailed-beast. Hope that he had the capability of doing good things. Perhaps that was her fathers true gift to her. Miyo made one last comment towards Isobu before she went unconcious.

"I'm not weak."

Total WC: 2,753

Gained Water Release: Wild Water Wave (-1000 words)
Gained Initial Jinchuriki Form (-1000 Words)
SP Gained - 1 Points
PP Gained - 37 points

Approved Nice Training

Round 2. It had been a week since Miyo's last serious training session in which she tested the limits she could go with Isobu, and even managed to improve on her other skills as well. Since then, she had made an effort to try and talk to the tailed beast within her and learn some more about him. It wasn't really a surprise when she received a less than pleasant answer or even no answer at all. The fact that she was making the effort was what truly mattered, and that was a big step for her seeing as how she didn't even want to acknowledge to beast previously. It was different now. She had hope that the beast could be her ally. There was nothing stating that they couldn't be friends. They were a team now, whether they liked it or not and Miyo was determined to try and like it.

Throughout the week, Miyo had been asking the Bjiuu questions and for the most part she was getting nowhere. It wasn't until she managed to strike a nerve with the beast that she got some answers that she could actually do something with. It had been a rather quiet day that consisted of Miyo picking fruit from some bushes just outside of the village. She would take them to a specialist later who would tell her whether or not they were poisonous. While she was accomplishing this task, she had found herself talking to Isobu internally. Most of the talk consisted of generic things like "How are you?", or "Weathers nice, huh?". All of these were met with a solid grunt from the bjiuu, who was in no mood to entertain childish questions. This caused frustration to build in Miyo who boldly asked "Why are you so entitled all the time? What makes you think you're so special!?" The question came off a little more aggressively than she would've liked, but it was all honest.

Isobu didn't seem to like his abilities to be put in question, because he responded with the longest dialogue he had ever used with Miyo. "What makes me so special!? Little girl, I am the Three Tail Bjiuu, Tormentor of the Seas, Destroyer of villages, Master of the secret Coral Style Jutsu! I have destroyed more villages than you can even fathom. The sheer magnitude of fear my name brings forth is enough to traumatize a man. Do not question what makes me special, for you will never arise to my level." The tone of his voice was enough to cause Miyo to shake alone, but with the added exaggerations the girl was frozen. Not for too long however, because there was one thing the beast had mentioned that stuck out to her like a sore thumb. He was the master of the Coral Style Jutsu. This wasn't a technique that she was familiar with at all. It struck her weird that someone could use something like Coral, which was a living organism in it's own right, as a jutsu release. All she knew was that she wanted to learn it as well. Now she just had to find a way to get him to teach her.

Back to present day, Miyo is standing at the training field where she had held her last session with Isobu. All things considered, that had gone over pretty well. She managed not to die or unleash the Bijuu onto the village which was pretty impressive in her book. Now she was onto a new challenge that might prove to be even more challenging. She had to convince Isobu to train her in the super top secret Coral style he was talking about. The possibilites of having the ability to command a living sea organism and use it as a jutsu were pretty limitless. If she could only learn the basics, she was sure her creative mind would be able to take this style to new heights. Who knows, maybe she would be the new master of this style. "That will never happen! You could barely manage a water jutsu last time, how do you expect to master an evolved for of the element?" A small smirk began to creep up the young girls face.

"So you're saying it's an evolved for of Water Release. Interesting. I'm guessing by using your chakra, you can transmute water into coral, and use it to your own will. Thanks Isobu!" The overgrown tortoise let out a small growl at the cleverness of the girl. The more he talked, the more she learned whether that was either of their intentions or not. With this knowledge of the new jutsu transformation in her head, Miyo walked out onto the lake by the training field using the water walking technique. This had to be a large enough water source to preform the move she was hoping to preform. If she could somehow manage to pull of this move, she would be able to claim her first original technique. There was a science to this whole jutsu thing, the handsigns all meant something and the way in which the chakra was utilized and released played a part. In order to create any jutsu, all pieces had to be in a precise order that made sense. Miyo focused her chakra into the palms of her hand. Immediately after that she began to perform the proper handsigns for a technique of this nature. There were only four signs in total, so it didn't take her too much time to do. After the signs were completed she moved onto the next step which consisted of her slamming both of her palms to the ground. What was supposed to happen next would include a row of numerous coral spikes shooting out of the water as if to impale the invisible enemy. As it always is on the first try, this did not happen. In fact, nothing happened. Not even a tiny bit of coral had been formed.

What was wrong, she had done everything she thought she needed to do. She even concentrated on changing the nature of the water into this new substance. Why wasn't this thing working for her. Frustrated with this failed attempt, Miyo kicked the water causing her to fall in. "Fool. Theres a reason only I know this technique. A special advantage of being what I am is that I can create coral with my own chakra. That's what makes me special." Miyo was really starting to love the way that Isobu helped her even when he wasn't trying to. He had yet again given her the answer she needed to complete this jutsu. If his chakra was the only thing that could create the coral, then she would just tap into it. It wouldn't be the first time she did it, and she assumed it would be much easier and much less dangerous than trying to increase her form like she did last time. After all, she was only going to tap into his unique chakra nature, not necessarily his pool of chakra. Remembering the way that she had accessed his chakra last time, Miyo began to focus. It was strange reaching out and feeling his presence. She almost felt like she was invading his personal space, until she realized he was the one inside of her. His unique chakra nature was hard to miss, and a little harder than she thought to latch on to. This was mainly due to the Bijuu's resistance. He hadn't liked the fact that she had figured him out twice.

Despite the slight resistance, Miyo managed to channel the chakra nature. After getting back on the surface of the water, she was ready to give this another try. There was little doubt in her mind this time around. She knew for certain that she was going to get it right. Again, she began to concentrate the flow of chakra to her hands. This time she infused the unique elemental chakra that she had obtained from the tailed beast into this move. She once more performed the necessary handsigns and slammed her two palms to the surface of the water. It came of no surprise to her, but a little of a shock to Isobu, when formed from the water came a long row of coral spikes jutting upwards as if attacking an invisible foe. The spikes looked pretty sharp, as if they were able to cause some serious damage to anyone caught in the path of them. Although it drained some of her chakra, she was still standing with a bright smile on her face. She had accomplished this task and she didn't even need the help of Isobu to do it. Well, not directly anyways.

That wasn't how she wanted to do things however. While it was good to prove that she could do things on her own, even when the turtle didn't agree, it was equally as good to accomplish things together with the tailed monster. They were meant to be a team, and teammates helped each other out when they needed it. Teamwork was going to be essential in what she wanted to do next. After walking back onto solid ground, Miyo sat down on the floor in a position of meditation. She was ready to learn to control more of the power that Isobu possessed. This time she wasn't going to try and snatch it from him, she was going to get him to cooperate. It was time to go inside the mind of the beast and have a little bonding time.

Honestly, Miyo had no idea this was going to work and was quite shocked when it did. It was almost like a gut feeling when she attempted to try it for the first time. By concentrating and taking the initial steps of meditation, and then focusing on connection with Isobu inside of her, she was able to enter a dream-like state. If it weren't for the shock that she was currently in, she would have let out the most blood curdling scream at the sight in front of her. Never before had she seen Isobu in person before. Sure she had the Bijuu transferred into her, but it was done from an object that had already contained the beast. She knew of his appearance only from the tales and stories that random villagers told. It was a whole other thing to witness it with her own eyes. Standing in front of her was the largest tortoise she had ever seen. No, it wasn't actually a turtle. It had the features of multiple sea creatures. It had the shell of a crustacean, with spikes covering the hard surface. It's famous three Bijuu tails were almost comically shaped like those of a shrimp. Underneath the hard exterior was a red muscle-like tissue. It's hands and arms were human-like, yet it possessed no hing legs. The face of the beast was concealed beneath a large forehead and a huge lower jaw, both of which had spikes protruding from them. It's eyes were one of the scariest parts, glaring red with crimson pupils. One thing that Miyo noticed about the creature was it's right eye. Everything about the creature seemed in good shape, albeit sometimes comical shape, but his right eye remained shut. Miyo couldn't help but think that this might be a vulnerability that the three tails might possess. Vulnerabilities were the last thing that the monster probably wanted to talk about. Regardless of the intimidating presence of Isobu, she wasn't going to let her fear overtake her. This was about bonding with him, and to do that she had to prove herself to be his equal. Considering his superiority complex, this was not going to be a simple task. The Bijuu was the first to speak.

"What do you want?" Isobu spoke in a deep voice that had an edge of pride attached to it. It was different actually seeing the three tails while he talked as opposed to just hearing him in her mind. It brought a lot of things into perspective. Like just how powerful the beast actually looked. Miyo noticed that the air around the Bjiuu was shimmering. She could only assume that this was the seal that kept the beast from escaping the body it was currently within. It didn't really put her at ease seeing that there was literally just air separating the two of them. "Isobu. Up until now we have been at conflict with each other. I've tried to live in denial, to ignore your presence at every turn. You've tried to undermine my abilities every chance you have gotten. Neither of these strategies have worked for any of us. I want to propose a change in approach. I want to work with you." Miyo was sure that he had already known what her goal was in coming here, seeing as how he could read her thoughts and emotions, but it was different hearing her say it aloud.

"What makes you think I have any interest in working with you? You managed to steal my chakra and perform a secret technique. Do you think that makes you the greatest to ever live?" It was obvious that he was going to need some more convincing in order to agree to her deal. Luckily, she had been preparing for this moment. By now, she had a pretty good idea of how the tailed beast would react to certain comments, and she was sure she knew what made him tick to an extent. "No, I'm not the greatest to ever live. I'm probably not even that a great of a ninja, but you see something in me. You know my potential, whether you want to admit it or not. I felt your surprise when I managed to unlock the first form with your chakra, and I felt that same surprise when I managed to access your secret Coral style jutsu. I may not look like much at first, but you should know by now. I'm full of surprises."

Miyo stood firm, staring at Isobu while he contemplated his answer. "Let's say you do have what it takes to team-up with me and use my power. How would that benefit me in anyway?" Of course. He wouldn't agree if he didn't see some way that this could ultimately help him in the end. The only problem was that his main goals were to do with chaos. "You would gain a powerful host. With that comes protection. I know you don't believe that peace will last long, and you know that the Bijuu are a force that many people would like to get their hands on in case of war. If you managed to get captured by someone else, no matter how powerful you are, the outcomes of how they would use you are erratic. At least with me, you know where my intentions stand. Plus, we both know you could beat me if you truly needed to." The last comment was to boost his ego, and Isobu knew this. He took the bait for what it was regardless.

"Hm. I'll work with you for now, but understand that I am not your friend Miyo Mitsu. I am an agent of chaos, necessary to keep balance within this world. If I ever manage to escape your body, my goal will line up with that of chaos and you will not be spared." That sounded an awful like the beginning of a beautiful friendship to Miyo. A bit intimidating and rough around the edges, but Miyo knew that what he said wasn't true. Miyo wasn't sure of the reason that he was created, but then again she wasn't even sure why she was created. It didn't matter the reason you were brought into this world or what you were told your destiny was. It mattered how you wanted to live. The choice was always there, you just had to see it. "No matter what you think you were created for, I'm not going to ignore what I see inside of you. I won't stop fighting until you can see the good that I see."

Isobu grunted and changed the topic to avoid discussing her opinion. It was obvious he wasn't ready to get too sentimental with her just yet. This was a great start for the both of them. "I'm going to feed you my chakra this time. It'll make it easier than trying to siphon it yourself, and will lessen the strain on your body. You need to contain it, and control it. If you lose control, there will be consequences." Obviously, he wasn't going to be the most nurturing teacher that ever lived. Still, he was going to help her and that brought a tear of joy to Miyo's eye. She began to feel the immense power of the Bijuu's chakra seep into her own pool of chakra. She was able to see from a different perspective as opposed to the last time she tried something like this. It was almost as if she was having an out of body experience, watching her body while in a meditative state. Despite still being in a dream-like state, she felt the phsyical effects that going into this state caused her. It was easier to control this time however, due to actual assistance from Isobu.

Once she was comfortably in the initial form where her red cloak was visible, she decided to push it to the next level. Isobu transferred more of his chakra into hers, and she began the balancing game. She had felt the battle for dominance almost immediately, and at first she was scared she would be overwhelmed. With a little extra focus, she began to gain control. Her cloak began to fill out and become thicker. The interesting thing to Miyo was the three tails that formed out of chakra that made up the Bjiuu cloak. They looked identical to Isobu's own tails, just in chakra form. She could tell the difference in her power pretty quickly. She felt like she could do so much more than before. Unfortunately, she didn't want to risk going overboard on her first try at this. Slowly, she let the chakra drain from her as she reverted to her normal state. This was such a big achievement for her and Isobu, even if he didn't see it that way. With the two of them working together, they could do incredible things!

Waking up from her dreamlike trance, Miyo stood up from her meditation position. There was one more thing that she had wanted to do. She had already proved that she could learn the secret Coral style of jutsu. Now she wanted to add to her arsenal of Coral jutsu. It was one thing to be able to do one fancy move, but to have a whole unique arsenal would definitely set her apart from the rest of the ninja in the world. Maybe one day she could have her own fancy nickname. Coral Queen? Sea Rock Princess? Lady of the Coral? The Coralnator? Surely someone would give her a better option as the time passed.

Currently, she was set on learning one more jutsu before she passed out from exhaustion. Luckily, it was a D-rank so it wouldn't take much time at all to learn. In fact, this could be the first time she did something correctly on the first try. The goal of this jutsu was to form senbon out of coral. It was simple enough, but the real kicker was the aftereffect. Due to the stinging cells that certain coral carry, she could damage the opponent even after they had already been hit by the coral. It was very clever if she did say so herself. Isobu even let out an inquisitive sound. Apparently he hadn't thought of utilizing it in this way. Already she was out thinking the master. The tailed beast scolded her for even thinking she had the one up on him.

Miyo walked to the middle of the lake where the jutsu would be performed. She was going to launch the senbon at the tree in her line of sight. As per usual, she began focusing her chakra into her hands while tapping into the tailed beasts chakra nature. Once she felt she had prepared properly, her hands took off at an impressive speed, performing the three handsigns (Boar-Bird-Dragon) in succession. Once her hands had came to a quick halt at the Dragon sign, three senbon shot from the water towards the tree. They were going at a fast pace, but Miyo could see the coral they were made out of. All three of them struck true, and Miyo leaped for joy before running over to examine her work. Sure enough, she could see the perfectly made coral and she knew that if the target was organic it would have been in some pain in a few more minutes.

"Isobu, I think we're in for an adventure." Miyo made her way towards the edge of the training field, ready to go home. She had accomplished a great amount of things today, and she was proud of both herself and her new friend that lived within her. "If you don't kill yourself first". Their friendship was a work in progress.

Total WC: 3,564

Gained Rising Coral Spikes (-1000 Words)
Gained Coral Release: Stinging Senbon (-500 Words)
Gained Jinchuriki Form Version 1(-2000 Words)

Approved Young One

It was a fresh and brand new day, the sun was just starting to peek it's head and signal the start of a new morning. Miyo was up bright and early, positioned in the middle of the training field, an area that she had grown to enjoy. When she had been in the academy, this was a place that she dreaded stepping foot on, and would make every excuse in the book in order to avoid it. As of late, she had started to look forward to coming here. It was a place that was starting to hold important memories for her. The place where she had started to actually bond with Isobu. They say you never forget your first, and there were a lot of firsts that happened in this very spot for Miyo and Isobu. She was here to make a few more memories. Already she had mastered the initial form of the tailed beasts, and then she went on to master the first version of the tailed beasts form. She managed to gain cooperation from it and even learn it's secret technique, the Coral Release. Now it was time to take it to the next level. She wanted to increase the amount of her Bijuu's chakra she could hold, which would in turn increase the level of her cloak. This was all in theory of course. Although, Isobu seemed to hint that she was more or less right on this theory.

This time, she wanted to do it a little differently. Yes, it was great to train in the designated training field, but it was so tame and unexciting. Miyo had decided that she wanted to add a little excitement to their training, and what better way to do that then a change of scenery? With a small pouch, Miyo made her way to the village gates, her golden jewelry clanging together as she ran. Usually no one bothered her as she left the gates, but this time she saw her mom standing nearby. The one person who would prohibit her from exploring. "You're really going to let your mother prohibit you from leaving the village?" Even though it was in a condescending tone, he was right. She couldn't let her mom stop her from living her life. Miyo was a shinobi now, which meant that she was pretty much an adult. Her mother wasn't going to tell her no this time. Okay, mainly because she managed to sneak past her, but still. Once she was passed her mom, she headed straight through the gate and into the fields beyond.

There was something refreshingly beautiful about the outskirts of the village. Not to say that Otogakure wasn't beautiful in it's own right, but the Land of Rice had a kind of untamed beauty that couldn't be matched by the busy streets of Otogakure. There were plenty of open fields, trees, and wild animals to be seen. That just wasn't something that Miyo could experience behind the walls of the Hidden Sound Village. The young Genin started to sprint out into the wild. Not sure where her legs were gonna take her, but knowing that wherever she went would hold a great journey for her and Isobu. Perhaps it was only right that she ended up stopping in an open field after an hour of sprinting. She was hoping to be somewhere a lot more exciting, but nature was beautiful to her with or without any strange oddities it sometimes possessed. Miyo laid her body down on the soft grass that was under her feet. She was lying down on her back, but it was as good a time as any to enter the depths of her mind in order to come face to face with Isobu for a conversation. Unlike last time, the giant demon turtle seemed to be sleeping.

That was definitely new. Miyo wasn't even aware that the beast could go to sleep. It made her wonder what else she didn't know about him. Could he dream like she could? What if he could see her dreams? That would be extremely embarrassing. No, if he could access her dreams, he definitely would've used some of that material against her by now. One good way to find out what exactly he could do was to ask. Isobu! Wake up! I want to talk to you about some stuff! Only one eye of the beast opened up, as per usual. For some reason he never seemed to open more than one eye. Perhaps she should ask him about it sometime. For now she had a few other questions that she wanted him to entertain. "Good morning, sleepyhead! I wanted to talk to you about doing some more training. I figured that I did really well the last time we tried it, so maybe this time we could go a little harder. I'm ready to push myself to the next limit. Soon, I know I'll be able to control the full extent of your power! What do you say, are you ready?" Miyo was extremely excited to train with the turtle, and it wasn't hard to tell by the jittery movements and high-pitched voice she was using. The girl was practically jumping off the non-existent walls in her mind.

"No." What? Was that all he was going to say? Just a simple no with no further explanation. He couldn't just do that, especially after all hard work she had been putting in lately, she knew she was ready to move on to the next level. Why wasn't he willing to help her. Had he rethought the deal they made about working together? Maybe she did something that he didn't like? No, he surely would've said something if she displease him given how vocal he usually was. "What do you mean? No!? Why not! You've seen the improvements I've been making lately! I'm ready to do this. I've put in extra work to be prepared for this! You can't just tell me no!" Isobu slowly stood up from his sitting position. His demeanor changed from a feeling of sleepiness, to a demon that meant business. He never really had a sense of humor to him, but this seemed to make that even less so. She was not looking forward to his response, but she still stood firm as to not show any sign of weakness to him.

"This is what's wrong with you, little girl. You ask for things that you have no concept of. Do you even know what the next step entails? Perhaps the next step is for you to give up your life. You would never know until I told you, yet here you are looking so eager to adventure into the unknown. If we go further, it's no longer a game. It start to become real, and it will get harder to control. You've managed to pass the previous tests, but this is far beyond anything you've done so far. Even if you manage to complete this step, which is unlikely, the step after will be almost impossible for you. That is to say, if you don't die here, you will die trying to fully master my power. Stop trying while you still have breath in your puny lungs."

That was definitely the most Isobu had ever spoken at once. He must either really care about Miyo, or he's just doesn't feel like being put into another host. She chose to believe the former reason. Their bond was growing, and she could feel it. At least she thought she could, it could've just been Isobu's anger towards her. His speech was most likely meant to discourage any attempts she made to continue training down this path. It didn't work on Miyo though, for she didn't care what the risks were. She had been determined from the very beginning to follow this through. She had even promised Isobu that she wouldn't stop until he saw the good in himself that she saw. It was obvious that he still only viewed himself as a being who brought death to others. If she could prove that she wouldn't let him kill her, maybe he would see himself as more than a grim reaper. With this thought in mind, Miyo took a few steps closer to Isobu. She never thought about getting closer to him until now. There wasn't much to fear with the shimmering air that was the seal preventing him from attacking her.

"There are a great many things that I may be afraid of in this world. Yes, death may even be one of them. However, through all of my fears I show true courage. It's in the face of that fear that I keep pushing to accomplish my goal. I was afraid of you for a long time Isobu. Afraid to even talk to you for fear that it would make you real. Well look at me now Isobu. I'm talking to you. So, if you think the threat of death or even pain is going to drive me away, you need to start paying closer attention. I can overcome anything that comes my way, especially if I have you on my side. I can do this. Let me do this."

[Isobu Perspective]

Isobu gave the young girl an inquisitive look. He wasn't really sure how to view this girl lately. She had definitely started to change from when he had initially been placed into this frail vessel. He viewed her as a waste of a host, and planned to break her within the first year. His constant insults and harsh critiques, while apart of his overbearing personality, were enhanced to test her. He wanted to be hosted by a true powerhouse, not some sniveling girl. Yet, as time passed he started to notice things in her that showed her true power. His insults, while obviously annoying to her, had managed to slide off her back. Even the more sensitive topics such as her father were able to be brushed of by the doe eyed girl. His constant discouraging of her abilities never once stopped her from pursuing her path as a ninja. She was definitely not a good shinobi, but it never stopped her or even caused her to falter from trying. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to take the spark from her eyes. The spark that held so much positivity and light. Now here she was trying to change him. Against the will of the universe, it was actually working. He was actually starting to feel a connection to this girl. He hadn't felt a connection to any living thing since the late Hagoromo, the man responsible for creating him. Yet, here he was actually worried about her safety.

The true reason he didn't want Miyo to continue with this training was due to the risks it held. While he knew she was becoming quite skilled in handling his power, the things she would experience next would make what she just learned seem like child play. She would be in intense pain, and the risk of death would increase by multitudes. If she managed to actually contain his power, but couldn't maintain control then he would take over and cause chaos as he had promised. It was the way of the world, and he could not change it no matter how much she wanted him to. The death toll would be too much for the innocent Miyo to understand, and it would drive her mad. Still, she was here begging him to have faith in her. Ultimately, if she wanted to go to the next stage, she would've attempted to do it with or without his permission. This would surely end in her demise, and he was not ready to see her die. Not that he would ever let her know that he was growing feelings for her. His mind was made up now, and he began to share his decision with Miyo.

[Miyo's Perspective]

"Fine. If you want to go through with this, I will not stop you. I'll lend you the chakra to do it, but know that I have warned you. This next step will see you in an immense amount of pain. If you can't contain my chakra, it will kill you. If you manage to contain my chakra, but can't maintain control then I will take over and destroy everything in my path. That includes Otogakure. Prepare yourself."

Miyo was happy to see that he was going to let her go through with it. Perhaps she should be a bit nervous with such a grave warning being given from Isobu, but she couldn't let her nerves get to her. Not in this moment. Miyo gave a quick nod to Isobu. "Thank you." She was ready to begin this, no matter how dangerous it might be. When she sought out something, she was known to get her way. This was something the turtle knew well by now.

Miyo had awakened out of the dream-like state in which she used to talk to Isobu. This time she was going to do this on the mortal plane. Taking a deep breath, Miyo was ready to start the process. The demons chakra began to slowly flow into Miyo's own chakra. This feeling had started to become very familiar for her at this point. The increased heart rate, and the rush of power flowing through her veins. When she first learned this, it had been a terrifying experience that left her exhausted and passed out in the woods for hours. Now she was maintaining a good control of the Initial form. The red chakra cloak that she had grown accustomed to had started to form around her body. Currently, it was taking on a thin bubbling appearance around her body. This was only the first step of the process, and usually she would progress through these stages quick, but this time she wanted to take it slow. Isobu's warning needed to be taken serious if she wanted to live through this.

Content that she had control over this form, more of the three tails chakra began to fill her up. Miyo gritted her teeth at the increased intensity of this form. It was like everything she experienced in the initial form had increased ten times. More of Isobu's presence could be felt, and she couldn't help but imagine what she was going to experience next. He had mentioned that she would have to fight for control next, and just by feeling his aura she could tell that would be no easy task. Her cloak began to advance, this time forming three tails made out of chakra. The tails were always cool to see, as they were a chakra replica of the three tails. They looked like the tails of a shrimp, yet they somehow managed to maintain the intimidation factor. Her cloak also started to get thicker. Something she just started to take notice of was her skin. She noticed a new found thickness to it. Almost as if it were made out of a shell-like material. Actually, it seemed like it was made out of shell. Isobu's shell to be precise. She even noticed small non-lethal spikes forming on her now shell like body.

Version 1 of the cloak had been fully formed, and she was able to hold it with relatively comfortable effort. The strain was worse than the initial form, but nothing she couldn't help. Now it was time to upgrade to Version 2 of the cloak. This is where she was told things would start to heat up. After all of the warnings she had just received from Isobu, she was ready to get started. With a mental nod to Isobu, and after a bit of hesitation on his part, she started to feel the increase of chakra being pushed into her body. Almost immediately, Miyo felt what Isobu was talking about. The pain had increased to an insane amount. Her body was being phsyically damaged at this point. Her heart was pumping at a unhealthy rate. "AGHHHHHHH" The young girl had let out a blood curdling scream that could surely be heard for miles out. The pain was so great, that she hadn't even been focusing on containing the chakra flowing into her. Her cloak was going wild at this point. Miyo fell to her knees, with her hand over her heart. She had to manage this pain long enough to maintain balance between the two chakras in her body. How could she though? Thats when she remembered a technique she had used for so long to ignore Isobu. It was all about changing your focus. She had to focus on something stronger than her pain. But, what was stronger than her pain at this point.

Her father. The last person she thought would help her through this, yet somehow he was the one thought that was strong enough to divert her attention. He evoked the strongest emotions from her. He evoked anger for what he had done to her, the betrayal he had displayed was unbearable even more so than the pain. However, he also gave her hope. She constantly sought out a glimpse of good in her father, and even believed she saw some in him. In the end he proved that maybe he never had good in him to begin with. Yet, even after his death Miyo felt as if he still could've been a good man. It was something Isobu had taught her unintentionally. Isobu gave her what she needed to believe in someone again. The way she believed in the tailed beast, was strikingly similar to how she had faith in her father. She could feel the light beneath the darkness.

Without realizing it, the pain had become manageable. It was still there, and it was still physically taking it's toll on her body, but she was able to focus now. Which was something she was going to need, because now came the battle for dominance. She felt herself losing control during the time she was in pain, but now she could actually comprehend it. In fact, her limbs were currently moving without her consent. Miyo, or at least her body, was heading straight for the village. If Miyo was reading this correctly, she wasn't going there with friendly intentions. She had to take control before she completely lost it, and then her mother and all her friends would be doomed. All the training she had done requiring her focus didn't seem to matter in this moment, because no matter what she tried she couldn't take back control. She began to flex her will even more, and even though she felt a little budge, she couldn't do it. To make matters worse, her body was slowly depleting in health. At the rate they were going, she would die before they even reached the village. She had to take control and revert back to her normal form, and she had to do it now.

It was starting to seem hopeless, and the added pain began to add to her despair. Miyo almost seemed resigned to her fate. Maybe she should've listened to Isobu. She wasn't ready for this like she thought she was, and now she was going to die due to her ignorance. Isobu had been right all along, she was pathetic. "Miyo, you need to take control or you will die." Miyo's body was running completely on it's own at this point, and it was going at an insane rate for Miyo. Despite the situation, she managed to listen to Isobu's voice and respond. "I can't, Isobu. You were right, I'm pathetic. I'm going to die, cause I wouldn't listen." Miyo responded internally, since she had no control of her body at this point. Isobu reacted with unexpected frustration. It was almost as if he wasn't really in control either. Was this really his nature and was it something he really couldn't control? "Dammit, Miyo! You are pathetic, but you aren't weak. You've proved that to both of us time and time again.  If I didn't think you could do this, I would've never cooperated with you from the beginning. The fact is, you know you can do this. I know you can do this. Take control!"

Miyo had never heard words of encouragement from Isobu from her. There were two important men in her life who had never gave her the love and encouragement she wanted and needed, and Isobu was one of them. He also represented the other one to her as well. Tears began to flood down her physical face. Her pace began to slow down, as did her heart rate. She was doing it! Control of her body was switching back over to her. Her emotions were enough to tip the balance into her fight, allowing her to win out in the end. The exhaustion and pain that started to overcome her as she slipped out of her Jinchuuriki form was insane. She couldn't do much but lay there, waiting as she slowly slipped from unconscious. In her mind, she could feel Isobu crack a smile. A smile that conveyed an unusual feeling for him, unless it was for him. Something he never showed towards anyone else. He was proud. Proud of Miyo.

Total WC: 3,616 words
Gained Jinchuuriki Cloak Version 2 (-2500 Words)
PP Gained - 55 (1,116/200*10 = 55)
SP Gained - 2 (1,116/500 = 2)

Approved Words were perfectly divided for PP, SP, and Tailed Beast