Angst Level In Maximum Overdrive [Haji]

[Tanuki Rinko]

Tomo grumbled at his hand as his brother watched him. "This is ridiculous. How is this any different from lightning?" Takama gave his younger sibling a smack on the head with his paper fan. "Plasma is completely different. It is a mixture of fire and lightning. It is pure, heated energy." Tomo scowled through pouted lips. "Lightning is a hotter than the sun. That's extremely scorching energy already." The elder Mochizuki crossed his arms sharply. "Be that as it may, it's the concept of the elements. Stop overthinking so much and just DO IT!" Takama flexed his arms downward to emphasis his new favorite catchphrase. He continued. "Don't let your dreams be dreams!" Tomo rolled his eyes. "Can't we do this another time?" Takama gave his brother another smack. "No! Yesterday, you said tomorrow, so just DO IT!" Tomo grumbled again as he concentrated on his hand. "I don't know what's worse, the desert, or this ludicrous training."

Truly focusing on his chakra now, Tomo thrust his palms outward, shooting a spray of purple lightning through the training room. Takama struck once more. "No! Fire! You're forgetting the fire!" The redhead sighed loudly. "Why is this so hard for you to grasp?" Tomo grimaced. "Because fire doesn't come naturally to me. I got the affinity from Aitouka." Takama shook his head slowly. "How long are you going to go on about that? It's time to wake up Tomo! You don't have voices in your head! You just fabricated them due to trauma. The ability to control fire is yours, not some imaginary friend's." Tomo approached his brother, getting right in his face. "Shut up! You don't know anything about what goes on in my head! You've never understood anything about me, nor do you know what's best for me! You threw me in a damn desert! And how did that go? Oh, that's right, I NEARLY WENT INSANE!!!" The mood intensified as Takama grabbed his brother by the shirt and slammed him against a wall. "EXCUSE ME?! I fixed you! When that started, you could barely walk! Now you won't be a pussy if someone flicks sand at you! You should be thanking me!"

Tomo's body pulsed with rage, and he felt his chakra swirl about him. The black from his hair drained, grafting to his arms and back in the form of ink. His torso was encased in white clay, causing Takama to pull his hand away before it was swallowed up. Tomo's eyes burned green as he seized his brother by the neck with an ink tendril and lifted him up. His voice was like a loud whisper. "Do not pretend you did me any favors brother. I did not ask you to fix me. I cannot get back that time you took from me. You should be glad I don't throw you into a cellar and lock you there for the rest of your life." Tomo tossed Takama to the ground, glowering down at him. "Well Takama? Would you like that?" His brother was still for a moment as he met Tomo's gaze. The middle-aged man's body shuddered before he bolted out of the training room door. Tomo bent his legs to give chase, before freezing. The recent memory of Takama's eyes, and the fear they held, caused the younger Mochizuki to fall to his knees. "What am I doing?" He looked down at his inky claws and trembled. "What is this?" His gaze lowered to the clay coating his body. "Get off me!" He scraped at his torso, white chunks clattering to the ground with each swipe. Blood seeped through his shirt as he dug too deep. The pain and fear he felt was enough to dispel his Avatar of Divinity, and he returned to his usual form.

His body was strained from the jutsu, and he fell to his side. It took the rest of his strength to roll onto his back. He held onto consciousness, but his body refused to move. He stared at the ceiling as he digested the last fifteen minutes. Regardless of whether Tomo or Takama were in the right, one thing was clear. "That sucked."

 

[Yamanaka Utano]

“Fuck me”

From the stands came the sound of meager applause, three pairs of hands giving a pitiful and lazy effort of congrats.
“Huh” Haji grunted from his seat in the stands of the large coliseum “You’re kinda fucked up aren’t you?” Obviously not one for formality. Haji hopped down from the stands and used his hands to slow his decent along the tall wall to the ground below. He walked over to Tomo, and looked over his body sprawled out along the ground.

“Man, I thought I looked kinda weird, but whatever that fuckin thing was” Haji whistled low “THAT was intense”. Haji walked in a leisurely circle around Tomo as he lay there. “You looked pretty fuckin strong though, that’s for sure, and strength I can admire” He stopped by Tomo’s head and then leaned over him so he could look him in the face from above.

“You need to do stuff like that more often” Haji grinned, his missing tooth leaving a gap in an otherwise perfect smile. “You see, my whole mantra, is that if I’m stronger than somebody, they can’t push me around, no matter WHO they are” He began circling Tomo again. “In fact, that’s kinda my whole reason for BEING a shinobi in the first place” Haji spit. “To be able to tell people to fuck themselves whenever they try to make me do stuff. Power gives you the freedom to do that sort of thing”

“So? Why do you let that guy push you ‘round?” He squatted next to Tomo, letting his arms rest on top of his knees. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you kicked his ass” He laughed “but just because you couldn’t do a little fire jutsu? Er, Phasma? Plama? Whatever I’ve never been great with ninjutsu.” Haji waved it off with one hand.

Haji offered a hand to Tomo “That’s kinda lame dude”

“But that weird demon form shit, that was AWESOME!” he said with a chuckle of bewilderment. "If you can do something like that, then what do you need that sparkly jutsu crap for anyway? Just beat 'em to death with whatever that was, and you're golden" Haji gave a wink and a thumbs up.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Tomo watched the young man circle him, remaining silent as Haji gave his view on life. It was certainly one of the common opinions for shinobi. In an existence filled with mostly violence, it was no wonder the men and women of the village choose to focus on strength so they could live another day. But Tomo wasn't like most, at least not yet anyway. The Mochizuki wasn't surprised that his own way of life was considered 'lame' in the eyes of this stranger. He had heard that many times from his family, comrades, and acquaintances. The part he was most conflicted about was this spidery man's idea to beat the shit out of his brother. Still feeling the after effects of his ultimate Chimera form, all Tomo could do was speak. "I have lived a long time under the heel of my siblings. I have forever been the butt of their jokes, the weak link in our genes. It didn't help I never really wanted to fight in the first place. I still don't really. But I reached a point in my life where remaining passive was no longer an option. I was forced into conflict, and that unknowingly made me stronger I suppose." Tomo reached out a hand, shielding his eyes from the lights above. "Apparently stronger than even my brother...and maybe..." He trailed off. That scares me...

Tomo closed his eyes and forced himself into a sitting position. With his back hunched, he eyed the six-armed man with a weak smile. "You may see a man pushing another around, but my brother sees an act of kindness." The Mochizuki had to shake his head to avoid drudging up the negative feelings from earlier. "He wants to make me strong, and he doesn't know how to do it kindly." He chuckled quietly. "He's about as bad of a teacher as I am." On wobbly legs, Tomo was able to finally stand. "While physical strength is important for some, others are far stronger with elements." Tomo's dependence on jutsu had grown with him over the years, and it was possible he relied on it a bit too much. Shrugging at the thought, the Mochizuki met the wacky, bearded man's eyes. "Mochizuki Tomo by the way. Were you waiting to train here?"

 

[Yamanaka Utano]

Haji listened intently, he had to admit he was interested in this weirdly strong guy. He snorted when Tomo spoke about people’s differing strengths. “I don’t know what your brother thinks, but I think you’re plenty strong… But, I guess improvements can always be made” He shrugged. Tomo made eye contact with Haji which caught him a bit off guard with how fiercely grey they were. Like a deadly storm in the dead of winter atop the great mountains of Lightning country.

“Hachiashi Haji” He finally spoke losing a bit of his cocky edge in his voice “Good to meet you Mochizuki-san” Haji said surprising even himself with his formality. “I guess, yeah, I was coming to get some uh… practice in on a jutsu I’ve been studying” Haji said one of his hands rubbing the back of his head. Haji averted staring into the piercing grey eyes of Tomo, for some reason he felt like they saw more than they were supposed to. Plus, Haji was a bit distracted by Tomo’s appearance; The dude was too pretty for a guy.

Haji inwardly scolded himself for being so self-conscious about his own training all of a sudden. He locked eyes with Tomo defiantly “Know anything about Taijutsu?” He smirked. This would have come off as overly self-confident if Haji’s face wasn’t tomato red.

[MFT]
[WC 223]

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

The mountain man's poise faltered bit as he turn his gaze away. Tomo gave a small nod and smile. "A pleasure Hachiashi-san." Haji's confidences returned as he questioned the Mochizuki's knowledge of Taijutsu. Tomo placed a hand on his hip. "I would say so, though I certainly have my strengths and weaknesses. Before I got the hang of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, Taijutsu was the only real thing I was good at, specifically with my bow and arrow." Tomo pulled out his trusted weapon. With a few flicks and tweaks, the weapon transformed into a spear, and the man slammed the butt of the weapon on the ground with a spin. "I also have a bit of skill with a spear, though I use it more defensively than offensively." He leaned the spear against a wall and produced a scroll from his thigh pouch. "For the rest of my Taijutsu, I must admit I cheat." He unfurled the scroll and out popped three ink creatures. One was a blue goat with a large cannon, another was a red mushroom with a funky tuba, the last was a purple sheep with an oversized greatshield. "Using my ink jutsu, I was able to create these guys to wield weaponry in my stead, though I find it difficult to wield them at the same time as my bow or spear." Don't forget us Trap!!! We can whack-a-smack with the best of them with some sweet sweet explooooosions! Tomo looked down at his mouthed hands and clenched them into fists. His hands were his last resort, and even then he didn't feel comfortable using them.

Tomo returned his attention to Haji and lifted his eyebrows. "And what of you? I am sure you are eager to enlighten me to your strengths." He gave a faint smirk. "With so many arms, it is no wonder you would favor Taijutsu." The Mochizuki relaxed his hands a bit. With him looking like that, maybe I shouldn't feel quite so self-conscious. Thinking of his hands, Tomo recalled his ability to absorb the traits of other shinobi, and gave a shudder. Six hands? No thank you... I can barely handle two. Regardless, Tomo was curious of this man's fighting style, and thought that perhaps they could benefit from each other.

 

[Yamanaka Utano]

Haji was a bit overwhelmed. “You’ve… you’ve got little guys that do stuff!” He exclaimed excitedly poking the mushroom with the tuba. They’re… adorable... I-I want one Haji thought to himself as the little tuba mushroom dooted away from his pokes.

Haji’s eyes returned to the bow-spear against the wall and he smiled. “You know that is much more practical than the bow I use” Haji said with a smirk. He reached into his mouth and pulled out a long golden strand similar to a piece of taffy. He pulled out the great bunch of it in a grand arc that began to take shape as his other hands molded it. After a moment the mucus hardened into a miraculous golden bow, it was beautiful in a horrible kind of way.

“I’d let you hold it, but my mucus is naturally poisonous to others besides my own blood” Haji said hefting the great-bow with all of his arms. “Plus…hurgh… the thing is damn heavy… kinda helps to have six arms to use it” He tossed it onto the ground with a great thud.

Haji thought about what Tomo had said about ninjutsu “I guess not all ninjutsu is useless” he said scratching the back of his head “I do dabble in poisonous jutsu, I have a knack for it. Poisons are kinda my other thing besides punching the snot out of stuff” Haji grinned his holey grin.

“But other than that I don’t have too much up my sleaves…” Haji trailed off a moment. Best not to share his studies quite yet. That was one thing Haji knew to keep his mouth shut about until he knew he could really rely on it. The eight inner gates were not something to brag about, they were dangerous and risky, nothing like most of his other abilities.

“You impress me even further Tomo” Haji grinned “I would enjoy one day getting to test myself against your abilities. Although I fear that you would win, your little friends are too adorable for me to fight against” Haji tried to poke the little mushroom again, and once more it dooted away.

[MFT]
[WC 357]