The sun rose low and slow, casting long shadows over the training grounds.
Reiji was already there, alone, kneeling in the dirt with his hands pressed flat to the ground. His breath was steady, his mind measured quieter than usual, but never silent.
Focus.
The word echoed endlessly in his thoughts.
Calm. Control. Power.
He could feel the familiar tingling beneath his skin, the restless pulse of lightning chakra waiting to be shaped.
But every time he reached out for it, it slipped away like water through his fingers.
"Why won't it flow?" he asked himself, voice barely more than a whisper.
He closed his eyes, recalling the moments when the lightning had first flared, sudden, explosive, uncontrollable. That raw power had terrified him, yet at the same time, it had been the only certainty in this new life.
Reiji's thoughts shifted. The other students had their easy camaraderie, their loud jokes. To him, they were unpredictable variables, always watching, judging.
Do they know? Can they see the thoughts behind my eyes?
He felt their stares sometimes, sharp and prying. It made him uneasy, like shadows gathering just beyond his vision; Truth be told Reiji wasn't an idiot, he understood that he didn't really approach a lot of people, any of them really; only talking to Koji when he needed a spar.
Trust no one. Not yet.
His training was his anchor. Day after day, he pushed himself harder than anyone else, practicing lightning release until his arms burned and his legs shook. He mastered the regular clones early, creating dozens at once, sometimes more than a hundred, each a mirror of his soul, transparent.
As he prepared to start another exercise, a voice rang out across the empty training ground.
"Hey. You're here early."