Every spring, a test was hosted in the home of the Hayate clan.
They brought the young students of the Wind, and put to flourish all the progress they had accumulated in honing their essence.
It was an awakening ceremony, one that stirred awake the potential within practitioners of the Wind.
People gathered by the entrance of the Hall Of First Trial, parents holding children no older than ten. A line formed across the entire dirt path as each awaited their turn, anxiety burning at their heart. This was the day that sealed the fate of their offspring.
Those who succeed greatly would become Wind Artists and be granted opportunities and resources that the commonfolk could never dream of.
And those who failed… Nobody failed. It was a matter of how well you pass, not an if. The volume and quality of your Ki is the deciding factor.
Practitioners with poor Ki quality were often brushed away, given cheap work and often settled with normal jobs.
The ones with average Ki were handed resources that aided them in their journey, allowing them to cultivate and walk a path. Their quality was called Normal Essence.
Those who held an incredible volume and quality of Essence, were like a goldmine to the eyes of the clan. They were extremely rare, but when one was awakened, they promised the clan a bright future. Their phenomenon was titled High Essence.
Ki was the fuel that powered the Manipulators of Element. Without the fuel, the engine cannot run, the same rule applies here. The techniques and abilities all fed on a person's Ki, also known as essence. And the effectiveness of both depended on the quality of someone's Ki.
Not only could somebody with High Ki use more technique without having to recharge, their techniques also had more depth to them, and proved much more successful than the usual.
In this ceremony, people expected a revelation of such talent and potential. It had been decades since the clan had last seen an individual with High Essence, who happened to be the son of the patriarch. But now, the Elder's hearts were filled with hope, and it all laid on one prodigy.
Machi Akihito.
He stood between his father and mother, glancing around as bystanders and the people in queue eyed him alike. Their gazes appraised, envied and questioned all at the same time.
The pressure that settled on his shoulder wasn't great, it only weighed on his heart and never did it push him to train harder. However, it brought one luxury he couldn't downplay. Respect and love.
His family was originally poor, but once the Clan Elders noticed the Ki volume radiating off Aki, they had showered the family with resources and given them better housing. All to boost the growth of Aki and secure his loyalty and affection for the clan.
What was once a small bamboo house that Aki shared with his mother, father and two siblings, became a large housing complex.
His turn finally arrived, his relatives wished him well and he was guided inside by an Elder.
The room was strangely dark, a few candles in the corner that allowed him to see the silhouettes of the Elders. He let the motion of the Elder guide him, until he stood face to face with the Patriarch, a table between them.
A small glass cup lay atop, an autumn leaf inside. Akihito gulped, noticing the eyes of the Elders fixed on him.
Excitement beamed on their faces, as so did nervousness. For a second there he would've believed they were more anxious than he was, if not for his shaking hands as he hoovered each on next to the cup.
"Direct your Ki into the leaf." The First Elder ordered.
Akihito closed his eyes and concentrated. He imagined his core; a colourless orb an inch or two below his navel. His Essence, an azure liquid, filled approximately 10% of it.
He visualised the liquid leaving the ball and surging through the complex network of his body, dividing and heading down both his arms, and finally, shooting out from the middle of his palm and into the leaf.
The leaf shook, then its once green colour turned blow rather quickly.
The patriarch cupped his chin, eyeing the results. He then plucked a vial from beside the table, and handed it to Akihito.
He drank it without hesitation, gulping down the Essence enhancer. Suddenly, he felt as though a Riptide had struck his core, and clutched his abdomen.
"It worked. Don't worry, the pain will subside." The Clan Chief said.
The sea inside his core seethed, and then shot skyward, as though an ocean had been dumped inside of it. It was filled, vibrating and threatening to burst.
The blue liquid turned white, like a drop of ink in water, the new Essence invaded his core, the Wind Ki. Students would learn to produce Essence of Wind on their own after the test, but during it, they were given an elixir of Wind to improvise.
The elders had clearly sensed the change as a smile spread on the face of many. Akihito took that positively as one formed on his face as well.
"Do not lose your focus." The Patriarch's voice rang in the room, heavy and low. The joy was evident on his face, but his tone was masked with indifference.
Akihito nodded.
"Now, fill the void in the glass with your Ki, and…"
The instructions of the Clan Chief were nothing new to Aki. Like every other child, he was prepared for the test since his childhood, taught how to not lose his grip on his Essence and what mistakes to avoid. This was the turning point for everyone in the clan, and the simplest accident could ruin a luxurious future.
Just like his parents had taught him, he concentrated the Essence into glass, and imagined the Wind aura swirling inside, causing a spiral. He almost cracked an eye to see if the leaf had moved, but he resisted the urge.
Silence filled the room.
Suppressing the urge grew harder with each passing second, and eventually, he succumbed.
He'd expected disappointment on the faces of the Elders, and even the patriarch, but instead, what he saw was worse.
It was fear.
"Try again! Close your eyes!"
Terror had struck the Elders as they paced around. The first Elder's face contorted as his gaze remained fixed on Aki.
Panic began to settle in his gut as he shut his eyes tightly, clenching his teeth and attempting the same again. He never heard of somebody failing the test, but clearly he was doing something wrong.
Nothing happened. The leaf stayed in its place, unmoved. Wind aura almost cracked the glass, so why did it not work?
The Elders were praying, and the news clearly reached the outside as noise began to erupt. Seeing the state of the situation, he improvised. "I think it's moving—"
The Patriarch rose, and shouted. "Prepare a sacrificial ceremony. The Hayate clan had birthed a Disgraced."
***
Throughout the history of the Five Nations, there has only been a few Disgraced witnessed.
But every time one emerged, they brought a great tragedy with them.
The Unohana clan, the most famous case, found their land invaded by wild beasts. Their bloodline has ceased to exist and the only proof of their existence was ancient scripts.
Many cases like this happened with the Disgraced, some weren't as severe while others changed history.
And so, the Hayate clan was lost. They didn't know what to do in the face of certain tragedy. Killing Aki would've brought nothing but shame for them in the eyes of the other clans, and the Wind nation would've punished them for it.
Nothing could reverse what a Disgraced brought, in fact, getting rid of them had only made matters worse, as clans who killed the Disgraced or exiled them were met with a worse fate.
And so, they settled for the next best thing. They isolated him.
His family had abandoned him, Machi Akihito became just Akihito. They gave him a house in the outskirts of the village, far from the lively areas but not outside of clan territory.
He was prohibited from attending festivals or group activities in general, and having him roam around the village was considered generosity by them
They banned him from practicing the Wind arts, which was deemed useless anyways, as he couldn't use them regardless.
He had the Ki of a Clan Chief, but the ability of a cripple. He was a cripple. The cause of his inability was a deformity, he could direct Ki, he simply couldn't manipulate it or bend it to his will.
His network of aura was tangled, simply a mess. As though incorrect wiring in a machine, attempting to use techniques only threatened to fry his core.
***
8 Years passed in a blur, and Akihito, now 18, had already settled into tolerating his circumstances. It was simply being numb to a phenomenon you've experienced daily.
Akihito wrenched his spear out of the beast's eye, and wiped the blood on the grass.
He heaved a sigh, rolling the wooden spear and strapping it to the rig on his back.
The beast had the size of an elephant, the shape of a tiger and the head of a wolf. A red carapace shielded its back, cracks had formed in it from the battle, but no scars lay etched on Akihito.
The sound of flesh tearing hung in the air as Akihito gutted the beast, plunging his hand deep into its insides and pulling out something coated with blood.
"There it is."
After being dried, the steel surface of the bowl caught the sunlight, a ray almost striking him in the eye.
"Greedy bastard, ate my lunch and the bowl, too."
A voice spoke from behind the crouching Aki.
"How marvelous. The Disgraced is capable of taking down Accursed beasts?" Emerging from the forest, Renji of the Mikazuki family brushed leaves off his shoulder.
He was met with Aki's indifferent expression, and answered with silence. The boy looked at him once, then continued with his business.
He was no stranger to his best friend.
Or rather, his ex-bestfriend.
Before Aki was found to be a Disgraced, Renji always stuck by his side since they were very young.
Aki had always dreamed of practicing the Wind arts with his friend, but that didn't seem to be happening.
Because aside from the unfortunate event, today, Renji was here to collect something. Rent.
"Ah, ignoring me? Hm?" The sound of grass being crushed grew closer. "The first Elder had been expecting a payment for a week, and yet, there was nothing from you. Have you perhaps forgot?"
Aki rose, bowl in hand, and offered it to Renji. "Would this cover it?"
Renji's muscle tensed, as the insult almost caused his leg to explode forward and strike both the bowl and Aki. But he thought better.
"Am I sensing a refusal to pay?"
"Sensing? I'm confirming it. I've already paid the Elder last week. I'm not stupid, Renji."
"How dare you utter my name!" Renji found his excuse, and he slapped him across the face.
Aki caught the wrist before Renji's palm could connect. "Renji, let's not."
A smirk spread upon Renji's lips. He got what he wanted. Wind aura condensed around his palm, crowning his hand in a glow of white.
And an invisible force flung Aki in the face, the world whirling around as his head ached with pain.
He heard the gasps of the audience despite his ears ringing, and knew what Renji had schemed.
Like always, he was here to duel him, and punish him for the fate he was yet to bring upon the clan. To honour the people and bring them joy through his suffering.
Maybe today, Aki would manage to defeat him.