Starring:
Date: Unknown (log received November 19, 2010)
Summary:
The time has finally arrive! Kureno and Tosai are due to meet in the ring!! But, what is going with Tosai. He seems quite reluctant to face this ninja. Is it fear? Or something more?
"First World Ninja Tournament - The Power of “No”, or Resolve vs. Revenge: Tosai vs. Kureno"
Peach Pit Stadium Arena 1 Ring [Kusagakure]
Peach Pit Stadium Arena 1 Ring [Kusagakure]
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TEMPORARY DESC! This is a fairly standard ninja fighting arena, plenty of space to run around in, a few things to hide behind, you know the drill. The main unique feature is the intricate line of seals drawn around the edges of the arena. When activated by a team of ninja technicians, these seals create a barrier which keeps the combatants (and any attacks they may fire off) contained, and an energy field within which protects them from serious injury. Rock out with your best attacks, you're in the ninja equivalent of a bouncy playpen!
*OOC*: look stands to see who's currently watching.
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He never thought that he'd actually see Itami. She who was there to see him fall from grace.. most brutally and very nearly fataly. She to whom he had opened his heart and whined, subconsciously seeking absolution through a one-way trip to the graveyard. Well, that failed. Spectacularly. And the irony of it all struck him only after he had seen Itami again and fought her. Maybe they connected on some level, or maybe it was just the whole memory of it that made him realize one simple fact.
He /had/ to fight Tosai. To put old demons to rest.. or to revive them entirely.
So, on that ocassion, Kureno found himself in the arena again where he no doubt has made a name for himself as one of the fighters who has won so many times that he would be safe to bet on, and he only lost.. once.. or twice. People tend to forget the 'lose' details once someone's on a winning streak.
He had already sent word to Tosai and the 'exhibition' match is official so to speak, if not a real tourny match.
And just like before, Kureno sits on top of his self-made Dais waiting for his opponent.
Did he have to go through with this? Really? Apparently so, since the oaf did make the challenge in the first place. Yeah, Kureno's need to visit him, and the nerve to show his face, did actually annoy Tosai and to a high degree actually. And when it didn't stop there, he had the nerve to insult the student for which he had taken charge of. Tosai, didn't want retribution, and yet, the chance seemed to come to him, as temptation on a silver platter. Tosai would look to the stadium, though even now, he seemed to make it late.
Their battle field, had seemed to be the recreated remnants of old. Ruins, old as time, and seeming only liken to that of some ancient tropical civilization, would be surrounded by dense jungle, the center of it all, being a large decrepit temple, roofless, and open for all spectators to see. He would be seen, entering from the jungle and moving to what had been the temple grounds, stepping unusually light upon red dirt and looking to just who had been his current opponent. "So… You /were/ waiting.. ", would be said rather smuggly, before he would then began his stretch, rather nonchalantly. "I don't have time for something long stretching, so either go hard, or go crying back to Rain… I got no time for a tear jerker."
Kureno glanced at the ruins. The temple actually. Something about this stirred memories. Though, nevertheless, at the sound of footsteps over the temple once-holy grounds, Kureno kept his head bowed, gaze fixed at the floor below where grass had seemed to be stomped into death, waiting to raise again.
Though, when Tosai spoke, Kureno immediatly knew who it was. Of course, he expected Tosai, but Tosai could've sent his student. Or it could've been the Proctor, since they way lacking one.
He took a long moment before replying. "You're late." Says Kureno, eyes still fixed at the patch of dead grass. "It's only a matter of time before you see the severity of my rage."
He slowly began to raise from the dais and began turning his head as he continued, "And as for Rain. He is behind me. Or better yet, I think he left me behind in Konoha." Kureno may not know the irony of his statement, yet. "But you can rest assured that tears spilt today won't be mine, Tosai."
Looking to Kureno, a chuckle would emit from his lips at being told of his tardiness. He would then look to the comments, and then sigh.. "Whoa-whoa-whoa!!! Rage? Shouldn't I be the one mad right now? What in the hell do /you/ have to be angry about?? And why in the hell should /I/, be made to cry? You are the one who helped a mad man, come right into my home! You are the one who helped hurt my comrad! I never did /any/ thing to you, out of ill will, nor anger, and yet, your mad?? Then, you come into my hospital room, expecting things to be fine, calling my student out of his name, and then expecting me to /sympathize/ with you! Do you even realize what you're saying?? You've got a screw loose!!"
Tosai would sigh, as he would pace about a moment, his hands on his sides, just trying to figure out what in the hell was going through Kureno's mind. "I have to say one thing.. You, just like many of the scared, and under confident little boys, have made wrong kinds of mistakes, just to find out your identity… and where you belong." Tosai would seem to think a moment, a face of regret coming on his face before he would then say, "That.. I can sympathize with.. however.. I got news for you, Kureno… Life moves on!! You will go about greiving, and expecting people to try and believe you, mourning as if you lost something, and people, will care /less/! Words mean nothing!!! Even now, I don't have the option, the will nor the time to exercise how angry I am!!!" Tosai would seem to grow ever the more furious before then a roar would fill the area, his chakra surging as he would shout, "I could have consumed you in that room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", in a baratone voice that would echo through out the ring. His chakra would flare only a moment before he would stare at Kureno, stoicly, without an ounce of feeling.
After a moment, Tosai would say, "But thats where being an example comes in now.."
It had taken a while for the proctor to officially appear, and the reasons why may come easy to some. As Rain made his way to proctor again for another match, he seemed to be quite satisfied with how… negotiations went. Smirking at Tosai, he would state, "I want a good, clean fight from you. There is little need to assassinate him as you have done to others in the past. Though you probably don't have the power to do so any more any how…" And before he could say a word, he moved to Kureno. "Large targets can be easier to hit. Experienced targets however… as you well know, are a different story regardless." Raising his hand in to the air as he walked back to the center of the arena, he wouldn't even bother speaking their names as he'd say, "Begin." with aresonating tone before being consumed by an invisible flame.
Kureno was silent for a long moment. He didn't seem angry. There was no trace of the rage he spoke of. But silence from Kureno is as long lasted as a goldfish's memory.
He smirked than. And than laughed, pulling his head back to fill the roofless temple with laughter to answer Tosai's roar of rage. "I have many reasons." He paused, "And I don't think you can 'consume' me any longer. I've become something else since the last time we met, prior to the hospital room. And to be honest, your student started it. I should have skewered him, but I hurt enough of your friends already." He growls, "But you just make me feel like I haven't hurt enough of them."
And just as Kureno maintained his calm, something happened that made him look like a scared little girl. Rain. Here. Proctoring.
He turns to regard him as if he has seen a deity in flesh, something he'd think was impossible. "R-Rain?" He managed to mutter out just as he seemed to have.. gone somewhere. Safety probably. Was it a hallucination? He seemed real.
Turning back to Tosai, Kureno balled his hands into fists. "Seems ghosts of old come to haunt us every day, no Tosai? Well, let them be the witness of me releasing this pain in my heart." He paused as he clapped his hands together, focusing chakra. "You may start to understand why you're it's target!"
Tosai would turn to the voice, only to then look even more disconcerted.. Rain.. Just what the hell was he doing here? Looking to the comment, Tosai would only offer, "…", as he would look to the Uchiha, and then Kureno his eyes switching back and forth. He didn't trust either one of them. They were both nuts, and delusional. However, under the circumstances, this duel, in the end was not about him, neither was this tournament about his feelings. Tosai would only stand up to his full height, and look to the Uchiha with a rather casual smile.
"This a tournament of good will.. I may have not abided by the rules once…", would be said before he would then bow to Rain, suprisingly deep, smiling. "But with appologies for my previous actions in the stands, Lord Uchiha, I will be sure to not make any mistakes from the past, again." These words would be said, rather cheerfully, and seeming to reference much more.
The words from Kureno, prompt little reaction.. That does not mean that there was no reaction. "You are right, Kureno.. I am not the eater of men that used to roam the Clan Wars.. I don't doubt that in some sort of way, you have improved in skill. However.. I feel sorry for you.. That talk of skewering, and the like.. You've become darker.. A knife welded blindly.. If you feel like you haven't hurt enough, then feel free to descend into the depths of blood and gore.. Then when you have had your fill, be tortured the way I was, when you wake up and realize it has profited nothing." Kureno's reaction, seemed to betray his speech even more than help it. The words of ghost would hold nothing of humor. "Ghosts… To imply that means that there is haunting. You may tremble at the presence, but thats only because you actually have something to fear. Fear.. Pain… You won't release these in this fight." Being a target for Kureno seemed to be much more than something he'd like… but maybe.. just maybe… Tosai might can change this.
Kureno lowered his head a bit at Tosai's last words, and than his eyes slowly raised from that position towards Tosai and Kureno just chuckled. "I feel fine walking the fine line in between descending down there and being a stuck-up administrator with a rod up my butt. Or a delusional nin who jumps when told to jump." He places his hands together again, "Following.. you know who.. I tasted freedom. I was given a vantage point to see through all the manipulations back home. How can you blame me? I fought for something while my home was dying out to the selfishness of some Administrator. Sure, he threw in left-overs to secure loyalty. Now, Missetsu is free. And yet I still find myself carrying the headband of the ones I despised not so long ago." He begins performing handseals now. "Did I do wrong? I don't know. I am scared to walk to the other side to see if this is true. But the reason I am here today is that I owe you something."
Bull, Ram, handseals continue to be prepared. "The rage I feel is mostly towards myself, and in some turn of events I feel let down by you. So, let's just finish this so I can put the old ghosts to rest."
And than the last handseal was made as Kureno uttered the words.
"Shoton: Ascending the fields of Crystal."
And following those words the air seemed to crystallize into tiny petals surrounding the two fighters like a ring that when stared into gave the impression that they stretch out into infinity. And than the ring starts to rotate counter-clockwise, making it difficult to predict an attack, if indeed, an attack could be directed from there.
Sighing, Tosai would shake his head, as he would then look to the boy, who had now been all over the page mentally, and say, "Well… I don't know what to say.. You pretty much seemed to have covered all of the bases when it comes to being the worst mental case in the Ninja World." He wouldn't say it, but even now, Tosai thought that Kureno had Rain beat. He would see the handseals, a long string of which had been proceeding of something big happening in the area. Though some how, this set of events seemed to heighten Tosai's curiousity, prompting him with the temptation to face a potential strength unlike anything he had faced up until now.
But there was a sad truth to this bout. Tosai hadn't wanted, after much thought, to fight Kureno. Not like this.. This was un-sportsmen-like. This had been a fight that would be feeled with hate. Tosai would look to the boy as he would ask all these questions. He was as indecisive as the leaves of petals that seemed to drift about them. Tosai would then, in reply to the words said by Kureno, look to Kureno, and stare with eyes.. One word would seem to explain exactly what was going through his mind, simultaneously answering ever single question, and request, as well as comment and emotion emitted by Kureno…
"….No….."
Tosai would look to the boy, and then say, "This fight.. It makes no sense.. Sorry I let you down, though I have no idea of the reason, but to save both you honor, and mine…. I can't go through with this.." Tosai would look to Rain, and say, "I forfeit…." And began walking off, turning around slowly, and then moving to the jungle, seeming un-perturbed by petals of crystal that seemed to now surround them.
Kureno's breath stopped when Tosai said the word 'no'. His eyes flickered with a moment of rage before returning to their calm. This was a official match. Forfeiting means it's the end. The energy shield might lower at any moment.
But this was the moment Kureno wanted. The chance. And Tosai wants to rob this of him? Tosai wants to give Kureno more reasons to hate him? Deny him peace?
"…. No…."
Kureno uttered the words as he performed handseals. Oh boy, is he gonna get in trouble for this. "I won't let you get away, no matter who tries to stop us. This is a fight I'll see through, and so should you!" And to get his point across, he stomps the ground to send an spire of earth towards Tosai, but from the front side, and possibly easily predictable, so he can't say later that it was a sneak attack or backstab.
Tosai's decision to forfeit would be heard by the "official" proctor of this match, though that doesn't mean he has to necessariyl act upon hearing it. Where ever Rain is, he could simply ignore it all. Though as Kureno makes his attack towards Tosai's back, another, exactly similair attack would collide with the spire, causing it to stop in place and shatter slightly against it's exact opposite. Flickering on to the rubble itself, Rain would reappear again. Can't say he's not one for the spectacle of things. "It is unfortunate, but Tosai has decided that he would rather lose without a fight than provide you with closure. As short sighted as it may be…" Rain woudl say as he glanced towards Tosai with his crimson orbs, "… it is his decision to make. Seishukuni Kureno is the winner of this match by default due to the forfeit of Akimichi Tosai." Rain would state to the large uproaring boo of the crowd. Sliding his glance towards Kureno, he would wait, as if expecting something from the boy.
Looking to the collision of attack versus attack, Tosai would look on to the instance, knowing full well, it had been to close for comfort. Tosai would not be upsetted by the boo's as he would look to the comment of Rain, and then to the eyes of Kureno. Soon he would stop in one place, seeming to ponder something deeply, before he would then look to Kureno, and Rain, with a huge smile on his face, cheerful and hauntingly sincere. He would look to the crowd as they would be in an uproar at this decision, and then look to the two. His words would then would be said with unrelenting conviction, directionless, though seeming to have way towards any willing to accepting them.
"You are selfish."
He would then seem to grow, and keep growing, and before long, the man that had once been only eight inches above six feet, had now been ove seventeen feet taller. He would look upon the crowd, shouting, "What did you want to see this day?? Blood???? The fighting of those for entertainment?? Sport?" His voice would seem to eminated amongst the crowd, before he would look to the two below him. "If so, then why not join me in times of war, instead of the confines of competition? Why not fight amongst yourselves in the crowd?? Would you be satisfied then?? Huh???"
Looking in the eyes of all those, ninja, civilian, and all, Tosai would cry out, "For years, ninja have been an expendable use of what has been /your/ struggle, your /entertainment, /your/ safety, and /your/ freedom!! Are we not human? Do we not bleed? Do we not feel pain??" Tosai would look to Kureno and then Rain, saying, "This fight, was going to be no different from that which had been fought by myself for over two thirds of my life!! One filled with hate, output of rage, and in the end, nothing will be solved.. You all will be entertained, but in the end, who will have been victor?" He would look to Kureno, even as he spoke to the crowd saying, "I have been down that road… I am still on that road. I have did my share of murder, and hate.. for both purposes of keeping the peace, and for my own reasons… One man asked me once.. if I know what I follow, and whether I am so blind as to follow it with conviction and yet nothing of a sense of knowledge.. Well.. I did /not/ know, why I followed.. I only did because of the vague sense of good that I felt from doing so. That false unrighteousness that seemed to appease the hurt I felt for being that murderer." Tosai would take a deep breathe, before then saying, "Since then… I have searched for what has been the reason for this fighting.. Well, in the end.. I am a Taijutsuist of the Akimichi Clan!!! I am a ninja! I can not stop death, for causing it in my everyday life. However… I can avoid it."
Looking to the crowd yet again, he would say, "No one dies physically within the confines of this barrier. However.. the honor of a man will if this fight continues.. Hate, and rage have no place at a tournament meant for peace. I refuse to carry such for any opponent I face, and I will not allow such in this ring, as long as I face it. These things, are what push war on. This Tournament is not war."
Kureno glared at his technique being met by a mimicked technique. He heard tales of the Sharingan, from people that fought against it. His head immediatly turned to Rain, carrying the glare with it.
But was it not enough already that he attacked someone that forfeited? Should he attack Rain as well? He found himself wondering what Rain ever did for Kureno. And the answer came quickly and sharply like a slap. Rain had set Kureno free. In some way. Probably even on accident. Unintended. But the emptiness of freedom was quickly filled with hate and rage.
He looked towards Tosai as he delivered his speech. It was moving. Kureno had wanted to believe every word he said, bow down and beg for forgiveness. But the heavy feeling pulled underneath the surface, paralyzing him on the spot.
He stepped forwards, "I will deliver what you seek. I will deliver blood to you. Pain. Fear." The words somehow soothed Kureno, it made him feel lighter, "I have shown nothing but mercy in my previous fights. And that is a luxury no longer provided. A well run dry. I have found what I seek." Than turning towards Tosai, "He is a coward who thought he'd deny me peace! But he is wrong, I've found it. I've found it in conflict and bloodshed!" A physical battle seemed to have turned into a verbal contest now.
Turning to Tosai, Kureno had said emotionlessly as he looked up, "You call me a lunatic, Tosai. But I feel sane. This whole thing feels natural. To be honest, I came to prove myself worthy of forgiveness. But it didn't go as intended." He almost whispered, "This is probably the last time you'll see me this peaceful. For what it's worth, I had a great time while we were friends." He said the last part as if it was a insult.
And than he turned his back to Tosai, and slowly started walking away from him, nodding to Rain in passing, as if acknowledging him as something more than a 'Proctor'. "It's been a while Rain. Can I travel with you again?"
Rain seemed rather amused at this whole thing. "Such passion Tosai… yet reservation in action. At the very least, you have finally given meaning to your current state of being." He would say to him first, seeming to calm his chuckling. "Without the ability to choose, we are lost in all things, randomly donig for others without a real purpose. A man cannot live like that, it is the life of a child. During the chaos of a lack of choice, you effect others with your misconcieved actions and yet hold no accountability because you do not even understand how it effects the rest of the world. Every ripple in water has a purpose, even the ripples that move against other ripples. It is when a ripple cannot decide where it is going, that it causes imbalance for the rest of the water you see." Rain would shrug a bit then. "Perhaps now you understand my purpose as well as my goal. I am here… to allow everyone an even playing field from which to make their own choices."
Kureno's words would be addressed next as Rain would step down from the rubble. "Do not worry about what i seek. You are not ready to understand that yet, most are not. Focus on what it is you desire. What i will do, is see that it occurs to the best of my ability. If you are satisfied by that, then you are welcome to join me, as are all others who have folowed me since the begining. I will point you towards your destiny, but i make no promises as to it being fortunate for you, nor myself in the end." Rain would begin to walk towards where Kureno was designated to exit. "Do you both see the ripples? Water reacts to force exactly as it is applied. Is it possible to walk on the surface of the water without disturbing the rest? I don't believe so. I do however believe… that i can choose where i step, and thus what is effected. Behold the power of humanity."
The compliment by Rain, while observed, mattered very little for to him. The fact that even now, his enemy had been to blame for a good lesson to be learned, Tosai had yet still not been as forgiving of Rain for his actions. But with every thing, there was a time, and a place. Rain would get his. The words, while true even now, would recieve no form of agreeance, no form reaction. The only thing Tosai focused on was the fact that he spoke them, and that was all that mattered. He would look to the man and his choice of wanting to keep things 'balanced', and look upon such with a completely skeptical regard. The balance of power was what he was concerned about.. Typical.
Kureno's words, however, seemed to cause Tosai to feel nothing but sorrow.. He had pushed some one away, in his need to make a stand against what had been an endless cycle of fighting for the worst of natures. Kureno was gone it seemed. Tosai would look to the boy as he would seem to salute Rain, and look on as Rain, despite this Kureno's obvious lack of choice, be just as accepting. Kureno was going to get used. Tosai knew that. "I never called you a lunatic, Kureno-san. If anything, I had forgiven you before even arriving to this ring. What you see as a denial of peace, was only my efforts to avoid the disruption of it. You won't find peace in simple conflict and bloodshed.. That isn't even what the word means!!" As Kureno would seem to be determined that he and Tosai would not meet under more peaceful conditions, Tosai would say, "A pity.. Because now, you /are/ a friend to me. If anything, I would have liked to face you as a brother, rather than as simply an opponent. Thus was what this Tournament was for. Perhaps if I hope lone enough.. It may just come to be."
With that, Tosai would then come to turn around not saying anything, but thinking it all.. If Rain, or Kureno ever were to be against the peace for which his village stands for, he would choose to face them, and do what he must, whether death be involved or not.. However, while peace yet abide, and such was not fleeting, his anger and rage, would be kept intact, and the time and place would not be here, in this Tournament.
Kureno stopped than, and looked back towards Tosai at the last words. His lips curved into a thoughtful frown, pressed together. Tosai considered him his friend? "It certainly didn't look like that in the hospital. Hope can be a fickle thing, Tosai, so who knows?" Kureno said as he turned towards the exit once again and told Rain, "I can see the ripples now. And there are a few of my own that I'd like to add." Kureno than chuckled, "I shall follow you just like before. Loyalty above everything. All else can burn for all I care, as long as Missetsu is fine, I guess."
