Starring:
Kiyoshi, Sei
Date: September 18, 2013
Summary:
An attempt to work off stress through training results in a confrontation between two of Kirigakure's genin finest.
"Birth Of A Rivalry"
Thick Woods - Land of Water
Thick Woods [Land of Water]
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This is one of the more heavily wooded areas of the Hidden Tropical Oasis. Trees of all sizes are seen, some slightly in early stages and some stretching toward the skies. This is an ideal ground for those used to living in forest areas. While not as large as a normal forest, it does provide a large enough area to allow for stealth and mid-air combat atop the trees. There doesn't seem to be any sort of path made through the trees, unmarked due to the area being uninhabited for quite some time.
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Kiyoshi cared not about the distance he traveled. He cared not about the fact that if he had waited another hour or so for the sun to rise, the path before him would be that much easier to see; especially given how cloudy the skies are this early morning. Lastly, he cared not about chill in the air, though the overcoat he wore certainly helped to keep such a concern far from mind. No. The only thing that did honestly mattered to the youth was training away from prying eyes, but not in any places that Meruin was likely to pop-up in unexpectedly. Kiyoshi still harbored ill feelings for the man-spider after what was done back during the last promotion exams.
A shake of the head dispels the troubling line of thoughts; but in doing so, the boy nearly crashed head long into a tree. A quick back peddle saves him from injury this time. It also provides enough distance to survey his surroundings and realize in that moment that he's reached the edge of the thick woods surrounding one of the Land of Water's Hidden Tropical Oasis.
What Kiyoshi may not be aware of was that he was being watched. Yes, as soon as he reached the edge of that wood, he was being watched. Spiders here.. or there. The brood of Sei's spread out over his area of rest. The kid happen to come near where Sei's nest is hidden. Within the mists, within the thickness of the trees, that massive cocoon of silk, black and white, was threaded almost expertly into the shadows of the trees, avoiding it easily been seen from the camo pattern. As Kiyoshi stopped, Sei would leap. Arching out and down, Sei landed about 15' away from Kiyoshi, on hands and toes. Black eyes looked around, before he stood up, faching Kiyoshi directly. Slow steps brought him closer, those black on black eyes seeming focused entirely on Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi has long since grown accustomed to eyes always being upon him no matter where he went, so he paid little heed to the tingle in the back of his neck that forewarned of being watched. So long as the MIzukage's lackeys did not interfer with what he hand intended for training today, the boy would not be opposed to their presence… At least for now. Then came a sound. The sound of something… falling? A trap! Instinctively, Kiyoshi drops his satchel to free up a hand and use it to grip the handle of giant cleaver at his backside. When nothing is spotted within the first few seconds, nor pain from a succesful suprise attack, something within began to stir.
It urges him to charge…
"No," He emitted softly before gripping the handle of his weapon harder to reaffirm his resolve.
Patience.
Caution.
Calm.
Black, soulless (from Kiyoshi's perspective) eyes attached the body of a paleskin youth grabs Kiyoshi attention. "What do you want?" The questions comes out more of a command, even a threat if one is paranoid enough. There is no beating around the bush with this mask bearing genin.
Sei stared at him for a long moment. The feel of being watched intensified. The brood approached. Sei stepped closer, stopping about 5' away to pull the pad out from the small of his back. Unfolding it, he'd hold it out towards Kiyoshi as the spiders would come dancing out of Sei's sleeve. They settled across the pad, spiders tucking their legs in to turn into dots. Dots turn into lines and lines flow into words. ~You are in my home. I watched you almost hit the tree my nest is in. I do not know you. I am Okumo Sei. Who are you?~
'Disturbing' is the first word to pop up in Kiyoshi's head upon witnessing the display. And while Sei would not be able read this line of thought from his expression, the way the sword bearing tilted his head to the side and shifted a step back slightly would hint at it if Sei's senses are keen enough. "Moto, Kiyoshi." He stated dryly, hoping that those black pits for eyes and lack of speech on Sei's part did not mean that the boy could not hear. If so, Kiyoshi had not intention of sticking around for much longer in which case, since standing around for this long was already agitating enough as it is. "Your home is this forest…" He trails off and examines the area more closely. "Did your kin kick you out?"
~Moto.~ The spiders shifted, rearranging where they sat to form those lines. Sei clicked his tongue with a shake of his head, watching Kiyoshi again. Another step taken forward as Kiyoshi took a step back. Pushing. Oh you better believe Sei saw it.. from all around, that brood giving him plenty of contact. On the pad itself, the spiders would move once more, rearranging into a longer line. ~My home is here as I create my own nest. I do not need another to create my nest. It is the same as if you lived without your mommy. I guess this has not happen yet?~ Something about how Kiyoshi was responding to Sei was making him irritated. It was as if the kid just expected hostility, even if there had been none.. now there is. Obviously.
Kiyoshi holds his ground as Sei takes another step, realzing the intent behind it. A rumbling of amusment echoes in the back of his mind. Kiyoshi shuts it out by focusing on the new message scrawled on the Okumo's note pad. He reads it over twice just to be certain his eyes were not deceiving him. This spider-boy was irritating him more and more with every passing second. "Tch! At least I do not need to make excuses for being kicked out and friendless," Is Kiyoshi scathing reply, for this spider-boy deserved nothing less in his eyes at this point. Regret briefly flickers in his eyes for what was said, though it last but a moment.
Sei's eyes narrowed as he'd stare at Kiyoshi. The spiders, all around them, on the pad and even a larger one that just crawled up on Sei's head all stared at Kiyoshi and hissed. In perfect sync. Sei took another step forward anyways, the spiders shifting about on the pad once more. ~There is no excuse. Okumo do not kick out. They either pass the experiment or it fails. If it fails it is destroyed. I refuse to be destroyed. Now that your ignorance has been temporarily rectified, take it back.~
It seems the Moto struck a nerve. Perfect. Kiyoshi mirrors Sei's step forward with one of his own. Albiet a shallower one just in case the boy tries to spring his spiders upon him without warning. The Okumo did tend to be sneaky that way. "I would… but you admitted to being a failure. An experiment they intended to destroyed." He stated boldly. Then began to stroke his chin thoughtfully. "In fact, it even sounds like your a missing-nin no less as well." The stroking hand falls to the wayside and balled into a fist. "A coward."
Why did this boy's very presence continue to agitate him…?
Sei snarled. In complete silence. There was no voice from the child, but the spiders made up for it with a harsh hissing once again from all around. Then the leaping began, the mas sof spiders seeking to land on Kiyoshi, biting, injecting poison. It was all a prelude, trying to force him into a movement, get his attention off his feet as the earth about him suddenly erupted upwards in a massive webbed net. This net had spiders all over it, twisting about him, wrapping him up to suspend him above the ground, spider and the fly. Now.. time to feed the brood..
Kiyoshi clenched both hands into tight fists in preparation. Then silence fell upon the duo. When spiders fly Kiyoshi's response is instantaneous as it is instinctive. Unfortunately, fear found its way into his heart, slowing the charge and weakening the Gobi's influence well before he makes it beyond the first step. As a result, the boy stumbles back, growling, flailing, and yanking up spiders too slow to evade his hands after piercing his flesh until the trap is sprung. After that the boy is without a doubt furious… but helpless to do more than to struggle to try and break the web cocoon.
Sei glared at the boy, the spiders leaving him stuck in that cocoon as he'd flail about. Sei gathered power, sharpening his focus, the spiders getting that chakra charge as well, making them move even faster as he'd shift his feet. He waited. With Kiyoshi flailing around as he is, the web would break. But Sei wasn't backing down. He'd wait for Kiyoshi to hit the ground, rather it was on his feet or not, as that pad was held out, the spiders moving across it. ~I am NOT a failed experiment. If I was, I would not of just completely shut you down. Now. Take it back!~
Kiyoshi is not the graceful sort, so once again he ended up landing on head first. The impact is painful, enraging, but overall easily shrugged off within the first few seconds that follow. Unfortunately, there's no escaping the dizziness that followed. "Enough." Kiyoshi stated pointedly as he cupped his hands over his ears to try and closed his eyes in a effort to dispel the ringing noise. "If you have something to say, then say it." Wounds sizzle as they close. Mud brown eyes stare angrily into Sei's black pits. Kiyoshi was being pushed to the brink…
Sei barred his teeth at Kiyoshi, the spiders would start swarming over him, even as he saught to heal, they would bite, they would attack him, to hurt him, to caus epain. Sei moved closer, the spiders on the pad re-arranging as he'd point at it with that glare at Kiyoshi. ~I have no voice. That is the experiment. Can I survive without it! I survive, I thrive. That is why you need to take back what you said! Otherwise I will show you how a failed experiment is destroyed.~
Kiyoshi's simply dismisses the pad and the spiders still gnawing at places he couldn't quite reach without embarrassing himself. His arms have been torn out of their sockets, fingers dipped in acid, ankles twisted, skull smashed, eyes stabbed — Overall, Kiyoshi has endured worse then a couple of 'bug' bites over the course of his short life. Unexpectedly, he finds himself mentally thanking Meruin for a few of those incidents. A mental vow is made to never speak of it.
A shake of the head before mud brown eyes focus back only on Sei's own is Kiyoshi's response to the pad. That, plus silence and his arms being folded across his chest resolutely.
And so it was, glare met glare. Black on black eyes twinkling within that glare. The spiders would hiss again, even from the pad. He wasn't reading. He was refusing to understand! Sei stepped closer to Kiyoshi, the spiders retreating into his sleeve as he'd fold the pad up, putting it away oh so calmly. Then he'd haul off and try to deck Kiyoshi. That of course was for him not reading the words on the pad!
Kiyoshi lofted a brow. Did Sei see since and decided to call off all hostility? Whatever hope there was of that happening is ruined within the next few seconds by a punch. Without flinching, Kiyoshi deflected with a back fist and stepped in, reducing the space between them to the point that fist, knee strikes, and kicks would be useless. But a headbutt on the otherhand is a different store. Even should it fail, Kiyoshi refused to let distances, bugs, or anything else stand between him and decking Sei. "Are you down yet?" Is his calm response should he succeed in the strike, but if not, there is only more silence and sulking.
Well, maybe Kiyoshi thought he'd be able to interrupt the bugs. The thing about the spiders is they were everywhere around them. A mass of sticky webbing would hit his head, planting and being jerked back at the same time as he'd go to headbutt forward, pulling it short, making him miss. Much as the fist would do the same thing, having a mass of webs hit it from all around, pulling it short. Sei casually eyed it, then looked back at Kiyoshi with a glare. Suddenly there was another Sei, this one would full on body check Kiyoshi, seeking to knock him down, the spiders within the clone spreading immediately across Kiyoshi to bite, injecting poison as that heavy mass of sticky webbing stuck to him, clinging worse than glue.
Shock and fear for the first time register in Kiyoshi's eyes as each blow is diverted by web of strings. Anger and Pride focuses his mind during the short span of time that follows. Granting him the strength to break from the webbings and to try and meet the second Sei's charge's headlong. It is a mistake. One that he pays dearly for by way of spiders bursting out of the clones being, injecting him with poison and restricting his movements to the point that he mine as well be standing still. Even so, he struggled, gnawing, clawing, stretching, straining, until the mass of webbing is loose enough to break through. The sweet taste of freedom does little to ease his heart, for the spiderling still mocked him with that arrogant stance of his. If only…
Rather drawn out by the danger to its host or their feelings for once being aligned, a surge of chakra erupts from Kiyoshi's being; burning what spiders and webbing remain and resealing the wounds inflicted by them once some of the venom is purged. Soon after it retreats, bubbling just beneath the surface of his skin."Your gonna pay for making a mockery out of me." A promise, not a threat.
Sei shook his head. He'd eye Kiyoshi once, then turned his back on him. Not that he didn't see Kiyoshi, the brood made sure of that fact. Sei walked away. Getting to a tree, he'd reach out, grabbing onto something and get lifted smoothly up into the foilage. Looking up, it'd be easy to see why Sei said this area was his home. The trees were coated in white. it'd be snow! if it wasn't dotted with black things. All of them glaring at Kiyoshi in that wild, untamed way that an animal can glare at a human. It was everywhere, the brood around where Kiyoshi stood making sure he knew. He was not welcome. As for Sei, he vanished up into the silk, leaving Kiyoshi to stew.
Kiyoshi gives chase at first but was far too sluggish to respond in time to keep Sei from slipping into the trees. Every nerve in his body demanded that he keep up the chase no matter where his prey chose to run off too. Sanity kept the impulse in cheek, if only this time, allowing the boy to look before leaping headlong into a trap. He stomped his foot and snorted. Nothing. Not a single sign of Sei! Only a bunch of those spiders of Okumo and webbing that adorned the forest canopy were of anything to note.
He knew — Kiyoshi fought down the rage that threatened to consume him.
He should've charged…
"…. I don't have time for cowards." A bold statement comming for someone who was strung up, gut checked, and tripped up by his better. But nevertheless it is said, if but to keep Kiyoshi's now fragile ego intact a while longer. Once that is said and unless hindered by Sei, Kiyoshi grudgingly picks up his satchel in passing and sets his sights on returning to Kirigakure. He'll mull over reporting Sei out of spite later… Perhaps.
