Decision...[Private]

[Moyamaru]

[legend="An unrested soul and it's confused sibling"]A messenger bird had already been dispatched into the night as Arashi stood before the large statue within Shinbatsu's Path. His eyes were attached to the statue with his mind focused intently on his thoughts about what Shinbatsu might have thought about the recent events within the village and how he would have handled them. While Arashi had been a recluse, his family had kept him up to date on everything from the former Raikage's funeral to the elections. While this had done nothing to sooth his own thoughts, it did cement some feelings which he was having at the time and definately played a factor in what he was choosing to do now.

Although the area was well lit, Arashi had chosen this place because of it's openness and because there were no inhibiting factors that would block his vision. This was refering to after a set time between the messenger bird's departure to the message receiver, his eyes would milk over as veins protruded along the edges of his face. What was once clear sight in all meaning of the words had become completely whitewashed as in the distance he could see various flickerings of chakra systems. None were close to the location however which was the point in all this, what he was planning to attain was something that would be kept between two people and only witnessed by two people. Closing his eyes slowly, the veins would receed and his eye color would revert back to normal before turning around towards whee he had last saw an encroaching chakra signature. It was one he was aware of from various jobs on the gates and truthfully the only person outside of his clan and family that he had a deep respect for.

Shifting his weight, Arashi's body blurred before appearing almost in the center of the combat grounds. His arms were crossed as he awaited to see if his unrested hopes and dreams would find a path to travel down, or if they would have to go down an alternate route..[/legend]

 

[Junan]

A request had arrived to his attention from a young man. He had been requested to meet the young man along Shinbatsu's path, before a statue of Akira's former master. It was odd for him to be requested outside of his office, especially by a youngster, but with the name of who it was the boy had caught Akira's interest. So Akira would turn up, instead of simply ignoring the request like he might have if it were someone else.

Arriving at the location it was easy to find the boy. There were very few people around, and only one standing before the image of his master.

Walking up behind him Akira stood and admired the carved image.

He was even more magnificent in the flesh. Akira said breaking the silence and announcing his presence.

 

[Moyamaru]

[legend="So it begins"]-He was even more magnificent in the flesh.-

The voice resounded calmly into his ears and he knew that Saito was on his way prior to hearing the voice, still it was reassuring to say the least. What Saito said about the statue made Arashi blink a few times as he re-established his gaze upon the gold monument to obviously a great man and shinobi, considering the grandeur and detail put into such a statue. Even the area was named after the man, something not bestowed upon ordinary men or even ordinary kage's.

"My father always spoke highly of the Sixth Raikage as a man of great strength but even greater mystery. He says what made him such a prominent figure was the fact that his rise was such an unknown event as far as details went and that Shinbatsu himself never bothered to indulge in his own legacy. Saito-Sensei, how does a shinobi get over loss?"

His question was sudden but it wasn't unethical as given Arashi's age he had lost two prominent figures in his life in one sweep. First was his older sister and would be the most obvious target of his question though he had also lost a respected figure in the Eight Raikage, Hayata Shin. Being only a young genin, Arashi was indoctrinated into the shinobi fold under the shadow of Hayata Shin and he had somewhat adopted some of the ideals of the former Raikage as his own codes to live by. Prior to Shin it was Kagetsu Kiyo whom had been the Raikage for the better part of his childhood up until Shin. The look in his eyes as Saito could see would be similar to an intense but distant stare towards the statue.

"My sister was killed and my Raikage assassinated...two people who meant a lot to me for two different reasons. My sister on a personal bond and the Raikage as a shinobi who served under his proud leadership...Without them both I feel hollow and I fear what my mind wants me to do about it..."

Arashi reached to his waistline, untying a red bandana that had Kumogakure's symbol etched into a steel plate which was also caked with dried blood. He held this item tightly as his gaze stared at it solely at this point..[/legend]

 

[Junan]

Akira nodded as the boy started speaking. It was good to know that people still spoke well of his sensei, looking up at the statue Akira's mind flashed back to some of the lesser known memories of their time together, and remember just how awkward it had been when his master had come out of his usually quiet and reserved shell. It had been then that Akira knew that the man, soon to be a god, was only human.

But he was then asked about how a shinobi gets over loss. This was a tough question to answer, there had been so much loss for Akira recently, and he hadn't indulged himself the luxury of time that he needed to get past it. There would be time after he had done what needed to be done for that. The boy went on to describe the sense of loss he felt due to Shin and Ejji, his sister, dying. Both in the same room, both at the same time. It would have been akin to Akira losing Daisuke and Shin, for Shin was like a brother to him, and Daisuke a friend.

Placing his comparatively massive hand on the boys shoulder Akira said what he felt would be the right thing to say. It was the thing his father had told him in his youth.

Being a shinobi means that we will lose those close to us almost inevitably. It is part of the path that we have chosen. But know that all that lose their lives along the way did so for a reason. They died to protect you and me, they died to protect the hundreds or thousands of people living in Cloud, just the same way as you or I would do in the same situation. This village is our family, the hundreds of shinobi here would die to protect it, they would kill to protect it, and it is those people that we need to be strong for. For Akira at the time it had been a humbling notion. That people he had never met died for him, killed for him, but not just him of course, but for everyone still living in the village. He had killed for everyone in the village, he had nearly died for everyone in the village tenfold, but his time had not yet come to pass. This boy before him if given the chance would do so as well.

That is why being a missing ninja means so much. Because it is when your brother or sister has chosen their own personal life over the life of a thousand others. That they have decided to live selfishly, and in so doing they endanger the population as a whole, for if they murder someone from another village that village might seek the life of someone from this village. Thus we must kill the missing ninja because otherwise they could set of a series of events which may mean in the loss of dozens of shinobi not only of Cloud but from other villages, other families, as well. So many missing nin had died by his hands. None of them with any regret. Not even his uncle.

In the end loss is like being stabbed. In time you will heal, but a scar will forever remain to remind you of it, and though you will never forget you should never want to because all your actions from that time will be to try and ensure it doesn't happen again for you or anyone else. That is what I focus on when I lose someone. I focus on what needs to be done to ensure the safety of the village, of my family.

He hoped the boy would understand, but perhaps he wouldn't, perhaps only over time would he begin to understand what Akira was trying to say. In the end Akira was walking the path that he felt was for the better of the village.

 

[Moyamaru]

[legend="A doubt and a blade..."]Saito's words truly made sense and resonated within Arashi creating a light on a dark situation within his mind however that only created shade for him to stand on. As Saito said, the village was also an extension of their family and every shinobi could be considered as a psuedo brother and sister. It was this thought that also clashed with a fleeting question which ran rampant through his mind. Gripping his sister's headband tightly, Arashi's muscles twitched a few times due to the strain his grip was putting on his own body.

"We Raitoningu are indoctrinated in a system our clan lives by known as the Holy Trinity. It's a simple teaching which we are constantly exposed to since birth; Family before Village, Village before Country, Country before Family. We're bred to be absolutely loyal to our families, our village and our country...yet that teaching within me has taken a flawed opinion. My sister was killed inside the village attending a meeting called by the Kage in representation of the Raitoningu Clan, yet despite the high profile nature of others who were undoubtedly invited...My clan were given no details in how she was killed."

Arashi's teeth clentched slightly as his tone seemed to become deeper as he was obviously questioning why his family were left out of the details regarding his sister's death. It was one of the things that plagued his mind with the other being her mementos. His pupils glanced towards Saito, the gaze held within being nothing short of screaming that a boy was lost.

"Saito-Sensei, I have kept myself from returning to active duty since her death because I was so depressed and upset at her loss. Even worse, i've questioned my ability to work at the gates and not have some vendetta against those refugees from Kirigakure since a known figure such as that Isaki was at the helm of her demise. Ever sense I touched my sister's blade, I could not shake off a feeling of seeded anger and distrust and while I could easily leave her blade within our Clan's memorial shrine keeping it makes me..."

He shook his head before he could finish the last statement, such personal feelings about his sibling weren't something he'd feel comfortable discussing at this point in his life. Breathing calmly he'd somewhat compose himself before addressing Saito.

"Saito-Sensei, if I cannot feel as though my duty at the gates can be performed without these side feelings then I have a request of you. Spar with me, here and now to see if I have the resolve to train with Anbu. My home is not a place where peace and relaxation can come of me while there. It is only sumbered memories now and my family thinks i've left for Kami no Yama in search of new beginnings. If I cannot impress you enough to be trained then that will be my next destination. Will you accept?"

Arashi was putting option one on the table and hoping Saito would accept and give him a chance to prove to him and himself that he could rise above his own encroaching darkness to rekindle the flames of the holy trinity and his belief in them.[/legend]

 

[Junan]

Akira could understand the issues that the boy had. The family hadn't been afforded the knowledge they needed to grieve properly, to be able to trust the village. They had been told that due to the nature of the attack they were only able to have limited information. It wouldn't be the first or the last time that this would happen, and it was something which had to be taken into consideration when dealing out the information.

A point of interest was that the boy knew something was wrong from the touch of the sword. Something of the spirit of his sister must remain flowing through it. It was strange that in many ways something so minor, something which could easily be ignored was something which Akira would accept as telling him he was on the right track. He understood that there were things beyond comprehension, and he had too often been shown that they were correct.

Still, he couldn't say anything at this time.

The last part was an interesting request. He wanted to spar. Akira hadn't brought his blade with him, but that was fine, he was still a Hyuuga after all.

Very well. If that is what you want to do then that is fine. Then lets see your resolve.

At the end of that statement the boy would have less than a split second to attempt to dodge an attack as Akira went to go on the offensive early. If it was resolve that the boy wanted tested then Akira would test it, he would drag it out of the boy and send him crashing into the walls to find it.

He wouldn't hold back, his Byakugan activated the boy would find that Akira would simply move with him if he attempted to fall back and get space. For now he was using basic attacks with the goal of sending him skidding around the arena. Everytime the boy would attack Akira would dodge, either using his speed and agility or using a jutsu, and everytime he would dodge the boy would find another attack coming at him.

There would be no emotion on the face of Akira except for the almost angry look that the Byakugan bestowed upon its users. This was not a spar, this was not a duel, it was going to be an S-Rank shinobi, a man who had fought a thousand battles, a Sennin, versus a Genin, and the Sennin was going to show the Genin what that meant.

[ooc: go for gold with your description on how the fight happens, I've outlined in my post how Akira's going to be fighting for this part of the combat anyway. You can do as you want with how your character reacts to it.]

 

[Moyamaru]

[legend="Test your might....Fight"]
-Very well. If that is what you want to do then that is fine. Then lets see your resolve.-

Saito-Sensei's statement was the abrupt end of verbal communication as far as personal verbal exchanges. Immediatedly out the gate Akira closed the distance between himself and Arashi, catching the boy in a state of unpreparedness in a way as he didn't have the time to withdraw one of the two blades sheathed on his backside. However sliding beneath his torso's long black sleeves would be a trio of specially crafted shuriken forged by the Raitoningu and given the monikor Shokkinguson. They were quickly dispensed between his fingertips thanks to a storage device most shinobi had access to for quick/or suprise distribution of projectile weapons and were fired outwards at Saito's forward progress. This action however took time and as they were locked tightly within his grasp, Arashi would feel a surge of pressure against his abdomen collasping his body inwards and it was at this point that Arashi would burst into smoke. Akira would find that the body switch technique had been utilized in a way that was not the norm, as once Arashi's form dispersed the smoke would bulge outwards in numerous places before shuriken pierced the veil and fired outwards striking the back wall. Though it was a reactionary counter, Saito had both experience and shear skill which allowed him to read the coming counter and avoid it completely.

Sliding across the ground away from the location he was previously attacked from Arashi's palm reached backwards towards his Hari's handle. Gritting his teeth slightly after grasping his blade, his eyes met with Saito's who had joined him suddenly upon the sparring grounds designated area for such encounters. This meeting however made Arashi's eyelids twitch in unison in coming face to face with Akira whos pupils had milked over and the side of his face had surfaced veins.

"Byakugan....shit"<i></i>

He knew then and well that this fight would not be something he could afford to rely on his defensive countering skills. Instead Arashi became bold and took the the fight to his target because afterall, he was going to prove himself one way or another. His blade was quickly drawn from it's sheath while arcs of lightning chakra surged around his body. The seemless transition between manipulating his chakra and drawing his blade was well practiced and trained by his clan. His follow-up was even more straight-forward as Arashi surged towards Saito with his Hari pointing straight forwards. "Clan Technique....". As he neared, five clones of himself would appear coming towards Saito from varied directions as well..."Lightning Moon Dance". They all made slashing motions towards Saito...[/legend]<i></i>

 

[Junan]

As Akira had made his first moves Arashi displayed his knowledge of the basic defensive techniques, but did so with a combination of projectiles, a method Akira had never trained in, but was none-the-less impressed with. Using the distraction the boy then took the time to move to a better area for the combat, Akira followed him seamlessly and pushed the attack, but before he could do so his opponent had drawn his weapon, lightning burst from his form and suddenly Akira found himself surrounded by clones.

His leg shifted outwards, his stance was practiced, natural, a clan technique would be met by a clan technique as they closed in on their target.

Kaiten he said quietly as suddenly his movement became a blur. Two of the clones instantly exploded as Akira's strikes hit them, the other two and the original made their attack, but it was easily deflected away. The rotation ended while Arashi still floated backwards, the recoil of attacking the Kaiten sending him flying as Akira used Shadow Dance to instantly step into the others shadow.

The coming attack was hidden from view, his opponent couldn't have any idea where Akira was as he empowered his fist with one of his many virtues. Temperence. Restraint, although probably not felt by the opponent was being used, the attack would come but despite the attack Akira wouldn't be visible, remaining in his opponents blind spot he would use another clan ability the Eight Trigrams Tenketsu Strikes.

What the boy would do to avoid the assault remained to be seen, but anyone watching would think that Akira was fighting to kill. The feeling to need to help the boy would wash over them, and then diminish as they'd feel something holding them back. Was it fear... or was it faith...

 

[Moyamaru]

[legend="A secret finally exposed..."]The almost instantanious dispersal of two clones did not register to Arashi's senses as his body was momentarily staggered by a sudden expansion of chakra. Hindered, he could feel his bodies muscles twitching for only a fleeting moment in time before his eyesight was turned upwards and his body sent flying backwards by the wall of chakra suddenly rotating rapidly. Time seemingly froze for Arashi in a theatrical sense as he mentally was recapping his experience so far against Saito.

Shit...he knows that rotation, he has the byakugan too....what the hell am I to do!?. Though it was at this moment that he had a memory of his sister, a facade of his mind as he saw her vividly praising him for his style after one of their usual training sessions.

Back to the world of time, Arashi while he was reeling backwards would grit his teeth and clentch his jaws. There was a time and a place for everything and some latent abilities were eventually meant to come out into the light under circumstance. For him this circumstance revolved around not being seen as uselss and weak when he had a clear goal in sight. Even if that meant seeing Akira as a full target. Crashing against the ground his body would roll a few times before his feet caught a grip onto the ground, skidding backwards as the force used to push him away was finally cancelling out. Though in the timeframe Akira had also never stopped pressing the attack and had disappeared without a trace....to someone who may have been watching.

Arashi's head finally rose and his feet planted firmly into the ground though Saito would instantly notice a stark change in his gaze. Veins stretched outwards from his eyes against his face as his pupils had milked over to become a pale white. While Saito was technically invisible, he could not hide his chakra signature and with his bloodline's ability just as Saito possessed he could see chakra in great detail. Taking the initiative, his body braced itself to endure the coming melee onslaught in two ways. Firstly he did not attempt to dodge the attack but solidified his position, ready to Endure the damage coming while the second would be something right from Saito's own playbook. Once within range, Saito would feel a sudden wall of chakra expelled from the boy's body followed by a quick rotational spin. The difference between the two's skill level was apparant however as although he was able to manuever his body in a way to dodge some of the strikes, a good majority of Saito's strikes would land precisely on his target's chakra points. (Also its completely up to you but with that lightning chakra style, melee contact has a chance to stun you)

With a portion of his chakra points sealed, the amount of chakra expelled from his body to generate the Kaiten waned with each point eventually leaving him pushed back slightly and holding onto his right shoulder while twin streaks of blood rested on either side of his lips. Sparks ran over his body still as his breathing was labored yet he still remained standing and capable of fighting. Adjusting the position of his blade "Hari", his byakugan eye's would narrow as he held the weapon between himself and Saito. Breathing somewhat labored, he had to think quickly or else he would be done from the next assault...and that's when he thought about -that- move...[/legend]

 

[Junan]

Ah, I see... Akira thought as he watched the chakra flow down the lines on Arashi's face, familiar to him as a Hyuuga user. With the activation taking place as Akira maneuvered into the boys shadow he knew he was likely to be known. Sure enough he barely had time to find his footing when the pressure waves of the same technique he'd only just used. The combination of the rotation and the pressure trying to force Akira back was enough to put off a large number of his attacks, even for Akira making strikes in that scenario was difficult, doubly so when you needed to hit pinpoint locations on the opponents body as he was attempting to do with the tenketsu.

Eventually he was forced to step back, the attack was going to be no-where near effective enough and he would simply be expelling chakra for no good reason. Against a stronger opponent that could have been the difference between victory and loss. As it was the boy in front of him would likely take forcing Akira backwards as a victory anyway. As he did so he could feel his muscles spasming from the electricity in the boys defence. It was a unique and clever option.

So Akira decided that he would show why such a thing was not good. For melee and Hyuuga techniques were not Akira's strong suit.

A few meters separated the two, and Akira could see the boy was beginning to tire, the few points he'd hit had made an impression and he shook his hands slightly to expel the residue electricity. Arashi had given better than most would probably have given him credit for, but Akira wasn't going to go on a physical assault at this point. His hands went back to forming seals, but slowly, and he spoke while he did so.

You fight well, I didn't know you were of a Hyuuga branch as well. The voice was deep, powerful, and images would begin flashing in Arashi's mind. Images that he would recognise, it was almost as though Akira was repeating the same attack, he'd disappeared from before him and he could feel him behind him. But the edges of his vision would be going black, like giant walls on either side of where Akira really stood, directly before him.

Let me show you the truth. He said, his voice was now taking on a different aspect, something even more powerful.

And suddenly the figure before Arashi would begin to take on different characteristics. The already monstrous form of Akira growing taller, a ghost image which at first Arashi couldn't make out behind the figure of Akira, even greater, a god, then he would realise that the figure behind Akira was none other than Shinbatsu. It was a walking, moving version of the statue, and Akira was not lying when he said that the real figure made the statue seem quaint. Shinbatsu's hand rested on Akira's shoulder, patting it and smiling down at Arashi. The truth that Akira wanted the boy to see, that Shinbatsu was always there, was always watching, and was always on Akira's side.

You see the truth now don't you? You understand that I carry my masters will?

Out of the boys control he'd find his hands shaking, barely able to form handseals even if he wanted to for it would seem like Akira was not attacking at all. He might realise that there was a good chance this was Genjutsu, the memories of the attacks that Akira had made earlier suddenly played back in his mind again, but this time it was the Akira standing before him, with Shinbatsu watching, the realization of the power that the pair would have brought to any combat they entered obvious.

This village is under our protection. And there are none beyond our judgement.

And then everything would go black.

 

[Moyamaru]

[legend="Overpowered yet Motivated"]Something was indeed off but he had yet to experience such a thing before so it was all a new experience. Normally he would have reacted at the very moment he saw that Akira's hand movement's had slowed, but when he began to his body froze up. Whether it was from the effects of having his chakra points sealed or a sudden bodily fear was unknown to him. What was taking over his nerves was drowned out of his mind by Akira's sudden words that breached the silence of battle.~You fight well, I didn't know you were of a Hyuuga branch as well~ His eyes widened slightly because the voice was not that of Akira's normal tone but something more. Arashi however wouldn't recognize the mind trick being played on him as the images forced his body to react real time as if he was suddenly bracing himself for an attack..nothing happened.

His byakugan's chakra flow receeded as his vision became subjected to the will of Akira. His eyes twitched with a nervous tick as he finally understood that he was trapped within a genjutsu of such a caliber that his willpower was neither strong enough nor matured enough to break. However, even while knowing what he was seeing was an illusion, his mind was so gullible that his body reacted as if the situation he was in was an actual reality. He was out of his league truthfully but it was not in a sense that he was being overpowered as much that he was being shown the light at the end of a dark tunnel. Before the encompassing figure of Shinbatsu and Akira, Arashi's fingertips felt numb and his body shook ever so slightly as if he was a newborn child subjected to it's first taste of winter. There was a mental playback, almost as if he was forced to watch in a third person sense that made his body muscle remember the actions taken yet all this strain on his body and mind did not have side effects.

Arashi's eyes would blacken in their gaze as his body slumped and loss muscle control, falling back onto the ground. His blade noticable was still tightly grasped in his hand as Arashi himself was for the moment incapacitated. Despite all of this something stirred within his heart, a new calling....[/legend]

 

[Junan]

Akira had moved to his genjutsu, overwhelming the boys senses, showing him what he wanted to show him. This was a test of the boys resolve, and resolve was not always simply of the flesh, in fact it almost always came down to the mind. Genjutsu was the true test of that, and Akira was as strong with Genjutsu as he was with Ninjutsu or Taijutsu.

Vision, touch, sound, taste, everything was being affected by Akira's onslaught, and the boy collapsed.

It was understandable, but the boy wasn't unconscious, he probably simply felt like he was. His senses feeling something they'd never felt. The thing that Akira was looking for was there for him to see however.

The boys hands still latched tightly to the blade, the willingness to fight on was there even if the body was incapacitated, even if there was no way to fight against what he was fighting against he wouldn't die wondering, he would die knowing he gave his all. It was true strength, it was proof to Akira and for the boy himself that he had what it took.

Releasing the jutsu's the boy would find his vision returning to Akira leaning over him, a hand outstretched offered to helping him stand up once more.

 

[Junan]

[Topic left - inactivity. Result of thread simply being that Arashi ends up being an AiT (agree'd to in Skype)]