Hasten thy Bottom! [Solo,nk]

Kozai didn't quite like how things had been turning out as of late. He really needed to get back into the swing of things, but not all of the old approaches were working. Well, what to do about it? He supposed that it could very well just be a day to try out what the millennials did. What on Earth did the new kids on the block do to train their chakra? Kozai certainly had no idea, it was all about physical exertion and back breaking work in his day. However, as one of the greatest singers on the planet once said, "old folks talking 'bout 'back in my day'?/  But homie, this is my day". Kozai loved that line, but hated it so much. He supposed that it had something to do with those weird blocks that he'd put in his mind.
Either way, he headed out of his squalid residence (to save money) and vanished, appearing near a bookstore. He walked in, nodding a begrudging hello to the lady at the counter. Probably around mid 40s, starting to understand that her life wouldn't last forever, and in maybe another 40 years, she'd be dead or senile. Ah, mankind. What a fucking mess.
At least you'll live forever, right?
[1/5]

He walked over to the self help area (feeling a little ashamed of himself) and selected the book he was looking for. Well, he could just read it here, but as a high ranking shinobi, he could just tab it to his expense account. So, without further ado, he purchased the book and gave the counter lady a demure wave as he sidled out of the store. Promptly, he vanished, returning to the comfort of his own home.
Ah, shit. If he'd remembered to buy groceries... Well, there was naught to do about it now. The man popped some leftovers (ground beef from last night) into the microwave along with some white rice and booted it up while he leafed through the book. Jesus, this was some weird shit. "Find the center of your pandimensional energy field"? Sounded like something out of a nursing paradigm training class... Yeah, Kozai had had field medic training, then professional healthcare training at some point in the past. He could dance around Kumogakure United Insurance all fucking day, though he wouldn't recommend it.
Either way, he decided to pick up meditation as a way to train chakra. Why not? The body needed a refresh and recuperate now and then.

He 'found his center', even though he kinda knew where it was already, and began to sync the ebb and flow of the chakra in his network to his heartbeat. It seemed like useless bullshit to him, but he had the time to experiment. After all, there must be some kind of merit to this damn book, even if it wasn't as effective as all the younglings were raving about these days. This new age stuff never really fit him, but he could change, with some effort. Scratch that, a lot of effort. Nevertheless, if they helped him in any way, who was he to complain? Like they said, never look a damn gift horse in the mouth.
He began to sink into a sort of strange state where his senses began to fail him. Kind of like falling asleep, he thought curiously, but he was still conscious and very aware still. His various thoughts floated to him like small bubbles, colored in various ways. Memories (which explained why some of the bubbles we're empty or... clad in steel??), behaviors, assumptions, emotions... These all floated around him, ripe for reordering. That was until, of course, he realized that he wasn't their only focus.
[3/5]

There was only one explanation, of course. The truth that he'd been trying to hide from himself all along. The ultimate denial of a fractured man.

"Hi there, mister."
"..."
"Haha! Ignore the kid, he's being a little shit again. Anyways, I like this meditation crap. It makes sense, you know."
"Hey, I'm not being a little... Whatever you said!"
"A little shit!! Enunciate it, kid. Let it out to the world! This isn't the kind of place that'll accept innocence, ya know. It takes lil' twinky fucks like you and chews 'em up and spits 'em out and then it sticks it's long, beefy c-"
"Enough."

Old Kozai finally spoke. None of these were pieces of him so much as they were just him. Three persons, one being. Amen, halle fucking luyah. They didn't really talk unless he gave them the chance to. That was good. That meant he had control. For now, at least. The small boy didn't really pose a threat, Kozai had known that for a while. The young man, on the other hand... Kozai knew he'd seen this younger version of himself in a different light before, but he couldn't quite remember how or where at all.
[4/5]

The worst thing on Earth would be to be stuck in a room with these three fuckers, right?

A child who didn't have a clue in the world what was going on. Truly, a juvenile who was innocent of the workings of the people around him, yet at the same time, judged them as if he knew morality well. In essence, a centennial. A pure hearted child who had not yet been seared by the rod of the school of hard knocks. Real.

An old, old man, burdened down by the weight of the unknown on his shoulders. While his judgements had the weight of decades to validate them, his propensity to inaction and intentional avoidance of what haunted him so made him no better than the child. A fake.

And the young man. The man with the raven-black hair and sickening yellow eyes. The one with the confident grin, and calm posture. Deeply intelligent, incalculably cruel. A true path to the future... Or would be if not held back by a long list of grudges. Terrifying hatred, seasoned and aged by the passing years of stale inaction. The essential asshole. Oh, so real. When he finally begins to pick items off of that list, the firmament itself will tremble.
[5/5]