Starring:
Luna (emitter), Tobikuma
Date: August 21, 2012
Summary:
Uchiha Tobikuma and his new sensei, Oirichi Soyu, are half-way through the 'field' week. The Jounin has been teaching the Genin the basics of kenjutsu while performing a simple mission given to him by the Hokage, though, something unexpected occurs.
"Shinobi's Excalibur - The Death of a Sensei"
Outskirts of the Land of Fire; Close to the Land of Earth
Tobikuma would be moving along the outskirts of the Land of Fire, touching close to the land of earth as they began to tread from gracious forests to rocky tall mountains, grassy yet still elevated. The trip wasn't without a word however, there had been a lot of interest from the jounin to give Tobikuma many tips on Kenjutsu, his blade rested along his shoulder blade, glistening.. It was hilt-less, purely refined and sharp as any other katana blade out there, there were a few cutting groves however, perhaps areas in which the chakra metal best merged with the users chakra. " There are many elements to Kenjutsu… knowing how to utilize them in conjunction with your elemental affinity is the best way to get the jist of both worlds… It makes you an even more capable fighter…" His voice was soft and soothing, and not even breaking much of a sweat as he continued to trail up the mountain, it was already about noon…
Tobikuma is following alongside the Jounin, though, falling a bit behind him as the older shinobi is more capable than himself. As they traveled, he absorbed all the information his sensei has given him, bookmarking it in his mind, so he can bring it to the surface when needed. The young boy nods at the man's newest piece of advice, a diligent and determined expression on his cute face, as he replies, "I understand, Oirichi-sensei." His voice is attentive and quick to respond as he adds, "The style my ancestor created uses fire chakra to heat up the blade to make it easier to cut through the target and also to wrap actual flames around the blade too." Or, at least, this is what he read in the archives about the style.
Oirichi nodded his head for a moment, listening intently to Tobikuma as he continued to explain his main goal. "It will take some time and practice… Even before you know how to focus fire into a blade, which I must tell you its a rather difficult procss much like any other element…You must know how to move and manipulate a blade," Oirichi responded back, pulling a little higher along the mountain side. Every now and then he pulled out a scroll, its contents looked like a map of course, after all this wasn't just an adventure trip, for Oirichi this was also a mission. " We should be reaching our destination soon… How about we take a break and see if you can channel any of that chakra?"
Tobikuma nods and follows his sensei, mulling over all the advice in his mind as they travel, but then they become closer to the destination and a break is offered; causing the young boy to nod. "Sounds good, sensei." A smile would touch his lips as he nods toward the older male, his dark blue eyes staring at the chakra blade, though. Thoughts of how he can make the fire chakra run through the blade move through his mind, wondering just how it is possible, but realizing the Jounin will most likely give him hints and teach him how. "You're going to let me try to channel it through your blade," he excitedly asks.
"I think that would be for the best… A way to make sure you know exactly what it is you are getting into," The man smirked plainly and with a single thrust, slammed the sword into the ground, it penetrated pretty far, burrowing down until it had reached with half of the blade stuck into the rock below. " But first…You need to pull this out of the ground if you can… If you can pull this blade out then you should be able to learn how to focus your chakra into it…" It seemed easy enough, or at least how he spoke about it. With a slight nod he moved away leaning against the rock, for now curious to see if Tobikuma could actually pull up the blade.
Tobikuma nods. "I'll give it a try, sensei." When the blade is thrust into the ground, his dark blue eyes blink a few times, and then the idea behind it all is explaining…causing the young boy to sweat drop. How hard could it be to pull it out of the ground? As he steps up to it, he notices just how deep it is in the ground, and takes a deep breathe of hair before gripping his hands around the hilt. A look is given toward the older man before looking down toward the ground and pulling on the blade with all of his might, but to no avail. He posts off the ground with his legs, his arms tensing as he continues to pull and sweat begins to bead on his face, but still, he cannot do it. "There has to be some kind of trick to it, sensei! How is it so hard to pull from the ground," he asks with surprise.
"Perhaps you aren't as strong as I thought you were… It would be best to perhaps… " His voice trailed off for a moment, his ears slightly twitched to a few sounds, foot steps in the distance. " If you do not have the strength to pull the blade, you need to focus within yourself to pull it out to achieve that strength…" There was a slight hint in his wording but finally he began to push off the mountain, "Give me a moment and I will be right back…" He continues speaking, It was obvious he was meeting up with someone or even something…
Tobikuma nervously laughs, scratching the back of his head, but then notices the man's voice trailing off. After the advice is given, he watches his sensei get up and say 'give him a moment' before heading off somewhere. The young boy is no slouch and takes this chance to get the blade out of the ground, so here it goes, he thinks. The Genin begins to focus chakra through his body, just as he does using the body flicker technique, but then it is channeled into his arms before pulling hard on the chakra blade lodged in the ground. After a few seconds of pulling, the blade begins to inch slowly from the ground, clearly moving to come loose, but painstakingly slow.
Success was finally beginning to show itself but very slowly. The blade slightly began to edge out of the groun, slightly… it would appear that Tobikuma was on the right path now rather than relaying on his natural strength. Tobikuma would need to keep going, just to see how far along he could move the blade until reaching the next mile stone… Up ahead Oirichi could be seen speaking with a duo of individuals, one of them seemed like a peddling merchant, the other man was some sort of bodyguard of a sort, or so it seemed…
Tobikuma would continue to pull hard on the blade, feeling it inch ever so slowly out of the ground, but still it is taking awhile. All the mean while, his sensei is off talking to two individuals, most likely getting information about the mission or something, and the Genin does glance over in that direction to examine the two people. Though, his attention returns to the task at hand, continuing to pull ever so hard on the chakra blade. The Uchiha's chakra continues to flood into his arms in an attempt to fuel his overall strength and it seemed to be working moments ago….and behold! It is still working, the blade still slowly inching out from the ground it is lodged in.
"Tobikuma!" Oirichi suddenly shouts, followed by another voice… "Doton! Doryuudan!" apart of the mountain began to sludge and move causing a rifting river of mud between the two, and from the mud risen a earth dragon spewing bullets of blood at Oirichi, some of them hit, slamming into his back, catching him completely off guard. The merchant and his bodyguard seemed to had this all planned out, "Get out of here!" The bodyguard and Oirichi began to fight it out, balls of fire being launched and slaming into a wall of earth… The merchant however began to slip away, his attention had turned the Uchiha…Slowly coming on the approach… " You think you are going to be going anywhere? We can't have any witnesses…"The merchant hissed, he was older and cloaked, and definitely seemed a little worse for wear, but capable…
As the Genin continues to pull on the blade, he hears his name being yelled and this alone causes him to look up, however, the voice announcing an earth ninjutsu catches his attention now. The river of mud is seen and then the muddy dragon shooting bullets at his sensei…this causing a frown to spread downward on his face. The orders to flee ring through his ears, though, he was not going to do so… and it seems the cloaked merchant is not going to let him either way. His dark blue eyes look over to his sensei, watching him fight with the bodyguard, but feeling it would be a whole lot easier if the chakra blade was with him, so, he continues to pull on the blade while keeping an eye on the approaching merchant.
The blade inched once again, slowly but surely the tip was beginning to reach the end to completely pull it out, however the merchant was intent on helping out his comrade as the two battles it out, destroying the terror and the constant earth tremors shaking the mountain in which they remained upon. "You aren't going anywhere…" The merchant taunts to the Uchiha, suddenly bullets of water began to form, attempting to pelt and slam into the Uchiha… The merchant was determined to keep him away… At least for now.
Tobikuma continues to pull on the lodged blade, but the forming of water bullets is seen out the corner of his eyes, and this causes him to prepare himself for what is to come. Focusing the chakra already being manipulated inside him, he lets go of the blade's hilt, forming a single seal soon after. As the pair of water bullets rush toward him, the Uchiha is engulfed in a gust of leaves which cover his escape, and once they fade he is not standing there anymore. With a flurry of hand-seals, he inhales deeply as he reappears near the chakra blade, and then quickly exhales as flames ignite to form into a large ball; rolling toward the merchant who attacked him. "Gokakyu no jutsu," the boy yells. Shortly after releasing the katon ninjuts, his attention turns back to the blade as he wraps his hands around the hilt, attempting once again to pull it from the earth.
"Not good enough boy," The merchant soon taunts, the fire ball slams right into the man, only for him to poof in a puff of smoke, and more water began to crack from the earth below and finally a violent wave of water erupted, attempting to slam him down against the rocks and lug the genin along the mountain, Oirchi still seemed to be pretty occupied, though it was obvious he was quickly becoming worn out… He couldn't even focus on Tobikuma at the moment with so much going on… For now the battle was between the "merchant" and the young Uchiha.
Tobikuma continues to pull on the blade, though, his attention is brought to his fireball missing and the 'merchant' showing up off in another area…forming hand-seals and taunting him. The young boy looks over his shoulder, only to see waves of water coming from the ground toward him and as he lets go of the chakra blade, he is too slow in forming a hand-seal as the waves crashed against him. A loud yell can be heard over the rushing water as the Genin slammed against the ground and pushed toward the mountain wall as he is forcefully pushed against it. The feeling of pain rushes through his entire body, tingling at him as a reminder of what can happen if this attack is not stopped, causing his chakra to flood through his body and up to his head now. Behind his eyes, a bunch of pressure is felt, and almost as if being enlightened something begins to occur. The pain is ignored for now as his eyes snap wide open from being shut tightly and the once dark blue color of his eyes is now stained blood red with a single black tomoe floating beside each pupil. The water finally ceases and the boy slumps down from the wall to land in a seated position on the ground, panting from the pain, but with a surprised look on his face. 'What is this,' he thinks.
The Uchiha's blood-red eyes is allowing him to see subtle details around him; the tensing of his enemy's muscles, the expressions on the said enemy's face…among other things. Standing to his feet, he regains his composure while realizing his clan's blood-line limit has awakened in him. With a stern and serious look, the young boy becomes entirely serious in contrast to his usual demeanor, releasing two shuriken toward the 'merchant' before body flickering from sight and reappearing near the chakra blade. His hands quickly wrap around the hilt and he pull with all his effort in hopes of getting it out and to his sensei; feeling his sensei could be doing a lot better with the blade.
Tobikuma's sudden transformation brought life to what more was going on, he would find that it was going to become easier to figure out what the merchant was going to do, and even more clarity. Still, Tobikuma's eyes wouldn't be the answer to everything, he would need to still have the fortitude to bring out his attacks. Barely the merchant dodges from the first attack while once again turning into a puff of smoke, he reappeared not to far away, the same water began to torrent and move once again, attempting to lash at Tobikuma "An Uchiha? Perhaps this is my lucky day…" the merchant whispered as his jutsu continued to manifest… The battle began to tone down on the other side, Oirichi send a final bursting flame towards the bodyguard, burning him into a crisp along the mountain side…
Tobikuma watches as his sensei defeats the bodyguard, causing him to realize the older man did not need the blade after, which in turn, allows him to focus on the fight at hand. As the merchant begins to speak, the young boy simply shoots a death gaze his way, completely pissed off at the comment about his clan; knowing full well what the cloaked man is suggesting. "You're not getting these eyes," he says coldly. The movement of water is seen with his sharingan and thanks to this, it allows him to prepare more properly, watching the lance of water close in on him in almost 'slow-motion'. Without even a seal, his body flickers from sight and he reappears over the enemy as if moving in an arch, breathing out a stream of fire once again that forms into a large fireball; landing on the ground shortly after its execution. If his sensei or even the enemy would look his way they would see a serious expression along with an under-lying silent rage.
Tobikuma was faster, easier to pick up on the merchants movements and easy dodging a spiral of water, the man reacted with his normal Clone technique, reappearing a few meters away from the Uchiha with a gleaming expression. Suddenly though his expression turned cold, his cheeks blue as suddenly the edge of a blade appeared along the other side of him, blood dripping from his chest.. The Jounin was settled in a kneeling position, his blade had become picked up wedged into their merchant's heart… he didn't look as if he was in a good condition, it was actually quite awful, his body was drenched with his own blood, and the wound didn't seem to be letting up, he just slumped along on the ground his eyes glancing toward Tobikuma… He was expressionless but it was almost like he was beaconing the Uchiha to come forward…
Tobikuma was preparing to continue the fight, but the look on the merchant's face said it all, and then seeing the chakra blade through the chest only cemented what just happened. The young boy's serious expression fades to one of concern when looking at the Jounin's condition, but the expressionless stare seemed to be almost calling him toward his sensei. He quickly ran to him, sliding down into a kneel beside the older man as he goes to bring his hand under the man's head. "Oirichi-sensei…" he mutters. The blood-red eyes known as the Sharingan stare down at his sensei, a worried and solemn expression on his youthful face, scared of what might be happening right now. "..I'm here. We need to get you to a hospital," he quickly suggests.
"We won't find a …a hospital for miles…" The man whispered exhausted, fatigue spelled out in his breath and coughing up blood from his lungs, "You… you need to return back to Konoha…" Oirichi quickly suggested, his hand began to disappear into his jacket and finally revealing a small scroll for Tobikuma, " Give this…to Hokage-sama, and tell her that this was a trap…She will understand what this meant…" he smirked lightly and finally began to lean back, hand resting along his blade to keep him sitting up straight. " Such a simple mission… I didn't think… It would turn out this way…"
Tobikuma knows the man is right….there really is no hospital for miles, but the young boy just wanted to try instead of letting his sensei die effortlessly. When the scroll is pulled out and he is told to return to the village, solemn nod is given, and he replies, "I understand, Oirichi-sensei…" The boy takes hold of the scroll and holds onto it tight, listening to the Jounin speak some more, and he says, "I'm sorry, sensei…" The Uchiha's sharingan fades from view, the dark blue color of his eyes returning, all the while a few tears rolling down his cheeks. "If I was stronger…I could've helped more…." he blames himself. Despite not knowing his sensei for that long, he cannot help himself from shedding tears and feeling upset, knowing that an ally who sought out to aid him is dying right in front of him…
"This would have happened…Regardless if you were here or not…But still…" He cringes once more, his vision was becoming hazed, blinking his eyes as if he was trying to keep himself awake. " My blade… " He whispered softly, his hand finally letting go of it while his body slumps forward. " Take care of it… And get back to Konoha as quick as you can… They need to at least know what has happened here…" he let out a single tired sigh, literally beginning to die right before the Uchiha's eyes. "This is what it means… to be a shinobi…"
Tobikuma can do nothing but listen to his sensei, watching him slowly die before his eyes, but then the blade is offered to him. A firm nod is given and the blade is picked up by the younger shinobi before standing to his feet. "Thank you, Oirichi-sensei…." A deep bow is delivered and he adds, "I'll never forget what you have done for me." Once the man has passed away, he kneels down and closes the eyes of the deceased before standing to his feet and forcing the sharingan to awaken in his eyes; flickering from sight as he heads back to Konoha with a heavy heart and an objective.
