| abstract | - “Please, Kyan-kun. Show me how to be strong like you.” Hinata begged. But the raven-haired boy just sighed. “It’s not about strength or power... You have to be fluid.” The Hyuuga heiress gave him a perplexed look. “You have to be like water. Get it?” “Um...” A sigh. “That is what I thought. Follow me.” - - - - - - - - - - Kyan led her to the backyard of his family’s seafood restaurant, of all places! It was a small yard. Fenced in, with a gnarly bare tree and a stump that looked to be used for chopping wood. “Why are we in your back yard, Kyan-kun?” “This is where my father trained me. Now I shall demonstrate. Come at me.” Hinata gave the raven-haired boy an unsure look. “Trust me, Hyuuga. Come at me with a regular attack.” The Hyuuga heiress nodded and lowered into a Gentle Fist stance. She thrust a hand forward, her index and middle fingers outstretched to mimic a Gentle Fist strike, but she wasn’t planning on expelling any chakra. But the raven-haired boy just smoothly and effortlessly sidestepped the strike. With the force Hinata had applied in her strike, she was sent toppling forward and rolling onto her back. The raven-haired boy stood over her and looked down at her with his usual bored expression, his arms crossed. “How... How did you do that?” the Hyuuga heiress breathed. “You’re tense. I’m calm. You apply excessive force, I control that force through fluid motion. That means relaxing the whole body so that it could react instantly without resistance. You know, without thought. See? It means becoming like clear water.” “Um... Water?” A sigh. “Get up, Hyuuga.” Rather than helping the Hyuuga heiress up, Kyan went to sit down on the grass in a meditative position. Hinata got up and sat down next to him, trying to mimic the position. “Water can take any form. It drifts without effort one moment, then pounds down in a torrent the very next.” “Um...” “Water can be a calm pond, or a raging tsunami, changing without any warning.” The raven-haired boy brought his hands to his knees and closed his eyes in a meditative pose. Hinata tried to mimic it. “Imagine a river. Trees, boulders, even mountains may stand in its way. Yet the water continues to flow. Patient. Persistent. Water finds a way around, eventually wearing down any obstacles in its path... Until only the water remains.” “But... What does it...?” “Be the water. Go with the flow. Stay within yourself. Let your opponent expend his energy, then dish out what you were holding back. Understand?” “Um... I think so.” The raven-haired boy sighed sadly. “You’re lucky, Hyuuga. Your elemental alignment is water. I am sure mastering it will be even easier for you. If only I had been water. Instead I am...” he shuddered. “dirt.” “Don’t think of it like that, Kyan-kun. The soil gives birth to new life. And the rocks, mountains, and caves provide protection to those who seek shelter from enemies.” “Hm... I never thought of it like that, Hyuuga... But I am more concerned about keeping clean when my Jutsu pertains to the earth.” “Kyan-kun... Do you have an obsession with cleanliness?” The raven-haired boy blushed. “No! I mean... No, I do not. I just do not want to coat my clothing in dirt.” Hinata just gave her teammate a small smile.
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