The Hurt in my Soul: Azu's Past
17 years ago...Master Reigo looked at the devastation. The Tenryiu home was burnt to the ground, the dust in the wind blowing in multiple directions, as though all the air in the space where the home had once been was trying to escape the disgusting stench of burnt servants and dismembered pets. "Jenzu...you fool," Reigo said softly, falling to his knees.
The tears fell slowly down his rugged and wrinkled face, cleaving lines of dark brown in the soft covering of ash that was slowly settling on his kind face. He almost cried out, but the loud caterwauling of a small animal caught his attention. He shuffled to his feet, slowly moving towards the sound. He lifted the child, painted a dark grey by the ash of his ancestral home, his cries of fear and hunger slowly diminishing as he felt the safety radiating from the man who had saved him from the fate of eternal darkness, the man who would teach him to be good and strong and wise...
14 yeas ago...Renya glanced up at his opponent. He could see the sweat rolling down his skin. He saw his eyes twitch as he glanced at the rook that Renya had placed on the board instead of the queen that was taken out early in the match.
The man, Geriu, was the reigning Chess champ at the Genbanzo temple, and he realized he had been had. He saw no other moves. "Queen to A8." Almost as soon as he removed the captured rook did he realize the mistake he had made.
The Queen was the only thing holding the other Rook in place!! "Checkmate," Renya said, knocking the king over with the knight he had moved on his second to last turn.
He stood up and left. He had now beaten everyone but the master himself...
7 years ago...When the sun set behind the temple, light bent around it like water around a stone. The lights burned the sky with the intensity of flame, slowly changing as the source dipped into oblivion. Soon, the lights were gone completely, and Renya was staring at the dark silhouette of his home.
He heard the soft footfalls of Master Reigo, and knew he was in trouble. Reigo never moved with noise: He loved to sneak up on his pupils. Whether it be to test their awareness or just to tickle them until they laughed like a dolphin (Renya), he hardly made noise.
Renya turned to face his teacher, and was taken aback by the look of joy that creased his face into dozens of little smiles."I have good news, Renya." His smile, if possible, expanded. "You have been accepted into the Genin Academy at the Village Hidden in the Mist!"
The dumbfounded look on Renya's face slowly turned to joy, then to disappointment as he realized what that meant. His eyes glazed over as he pondered the idea. "I am...leaving?" he muttered.
His master's grin diminished little by little, until it looked more like a grimace when he finally said "Renya, you must leave the temple. All the other students have gone off to their respective villages in order to train with other Genin and Chunin. It is now your turn."
The disappointment turned to rage.
"You are kicking me out OF THE ONLY HOME I HAVE EVER KNOWN!!" His sparkling eyes leapt with flames, not unlike the ones that had only recently vanished behind the mountains.
"That is not fair!!" The master did not even flinch in the midst of the rage, regardless that he was the target. "It is the Genbanzo way. We all left at the age of ten years." "I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE GENBANZU WAY!! I WISH-"
"BE QUIET YOU FOOL!!" Reigo never yelled. But he just did. The shock of that simple, if loud, statement, the one before it, and the loneliness that had been building up in Renya over the last few years drove his rage away. Tears took the fire's place.
They rolled down his face, like the water down the edge of a glass of water. He almost cried out but the strong arms of Reigo embraced him, pulling the former against the thin and powerful form of his father, mother, mentor, and friend. The comfort let the tears fall faster, and, like the glass of water, the tears removed the misty coating on it, leaving a clear image behind, and the tears fell until the glass of water was pure...
3 years ago...Renya ran all the way to the temple. He was yelling his lungs off, screaming "I PASSED!! MASTER, I PASSED!!" He ran and ran, bottom to top, top to bottom, and only after three whole circuits did his excitement dull enough for him to realize that, if he had heard, Reigo would have ran out and yelled with all his might, along side his student.
"There is, nothing I can do, son." The doctor packed up his things and left, leaving Renya to his grief. He looked at the only thing he had cherished in his life, watched it slowly lose it's grasp and slip into the infinity that the man's hands had plucked a baby from all those years ago.
Those hands seemed so fragile now. They were so loose; the easy tension that Renya had grown to believe was the natural state of Master Reigo's muscles. That tension was gone now, and it would never return.
"Tell me, Renya." The eyes of Reigo were narrow slits, and his face was slack, his jaw hanging loose, but Renya's eyes found the ancient sparks of life in all men deep in the narrow eyes. "Did...did you...pass?" The soft voice was firm, regardless of its volume.
Renya wiped the tears from his face, smiling widely. "With flying colors," was all he had to say. Reigo slumped back, but it was not joy that caused his shoulders to slacken. Life was fleeing quickly.
"Renya, take the keys on my belt." His voice was even softer then before. "There is a drawer in my room, with an intricate carving of every hokage of the Mist village carved into it. There is a key that will open it, and there is a scroll. I wanted you to see it before...before...bef...be...b." He slept. "Yes master, I understand."
The tears fell again. They fell for hours before he finally managed to climb to his feet. He took the keys and left his Master's form on the ground where he had breathed his last breath. When the drawer was opened, air that was 14 years, almost to the date, rushed out, filling the room with a stagnant odor.
Renya reached in, and pulled out a piece of paper. The scroll was large, rolled around itself a dozen times and sealed with wax. Renya broke the seal and read his only family's last words...
2 years ago...Renya stared at the fires surrounding the Temple of Genbanzo. The sunlight still looked the same as it had that day several years ago. In looking at that sun, he remembered how he and Master Reigo had stared at it night after night. He had taught the young man how to be strong in a subtle manner. He had taught Renya how to appreciate beauty when he saw it.
He grinned wistfully as he remembered a face from his past, a face that had sat down the row from him in the classes that led to his Genin exam. Kara Nigichi had been his first love, even if she hadn't known it. She was the first living thing he had seen that had inspired a movement of the heart almost as great as the one he was experiencing now. He had never really appreciated the radiance of living things until he had come running to his master with stories about the girl he had seen at school. Every weekend he would return from the village to talk about his time at school.
The man had smiled at him, chuckled at his expression, and laughed when the boy sat back, out of breath. He had lectured the young man on the difference between love and infatuation, friendship and a relationship, but Renya was not listening. He was trying to think of a way to get her attention.
He was thinking the next weekend, too. And the one after that, and after that, until, finally, Reigo lectured Renya on missed opportunities. A lecture Renya wished he had listened to a little more carefully. That missed opportunity still haunts him to this day...
1 year ago...Renya heard a slight sound. Noises tend to carry in these mountains, so the slightest noise can sometimes be heard for miles around. This noise was...close...Renya listened intently. The noise he had heard was a splash, and he knew of only one place where water was in enough quantity for a splash of that size--Lake Hizura.
It was named after a feudal lord who had fallen into that lake, and in the few seconds he had been in it, fell in love with the lake's spirit. He had let himself drown to be with her for eternity. It is also said that if you and a lover look into the water, your reflections will be that of Hizura and the lake spirit. Renya had always wondered if it was true. He ran off into the darkness. He approached the lake silently. He had no idea of what would be in that water's when he arrived...He pushed a small amount of bushes aside to reveal the water. This place was truly magical; the moon glinted off the water, creating a perfect reflection of the terrain and skyline. It was this incredible phenomenon that made it impossible for him to view underneath the water's surface.
He could see ripples from where the...whatever...had dove into the water. Then he saw bubbles form, moving quickly from side to side, and then back down. Then the water rippled, and a form shot out of the disrupted water. It was a beautiful girl. She looked about 16, maybe a little younger, and her form was amazingly sculpted. In the few seconds she was in the air, he could see all her muscles, as well as imagine what the tight-fitting undergarments she wore hid.
Her hair was long and brown, glistening in the moonlight like the diamonds her eyes resembled. It was said that black diamonds could focus light in such away that it could burn through the toughest of armor, and Renya knew that these sparkling orbs could do the same. Now, though, the eyes glittered with a carefree joy that made Renya want to throw off his clothes and jump into the water with her.
After about a half-hour, the woman climbed from the water and started to dry herself off with a towel that she had brought with her. Azu could not take his eyes off the woman, and he suddenly recognized her. The missed opportunity he had been lectured on so thoroughly had come back. She was standing in front of him now! Make your move he thought to himself. Do it now!!...
A week passed, and she came again. She swam for an hour, then got out and left. Again, a week passed before her return. Each time, Renya was there to watch her dance throughout the water like a fish. A week passed again, and Renya did not talk to her...
Two weeks passed, and still Renya has not made a sound. This night would be different, though. He knew it. He was going to be there to meet her when she came. And he was. He leapt out of sight, though, when he heard her heavy footfalls and the sobbing.
Sobbing was not a good thing, he knew. She collapsed in front of the water, crying for a half-hour before Renya stepped into sight. "Excuse me, miss. Is everything all right," he asked quietly in a voice he hoped was comforting. She whipped around, and as those eyes focused on him, he felt the beams of her laser-intense stare crossing on his face.
He almost leapt away again, but then he saw her eyes flicker with recognition. Then the tears fell again, and she did not pull away when he pulled her into his arms, muttering into her soft hair that everything would be fine...Another hour passed before the sobbing slowed to a halt, and before the young woman looked up into his face. She spoke quietly, her voice hoarse from the loud wails, "I know you...Renya Tenryiu." He smiled and locked his gaze with hers; it did not falter as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her mouth against his...
2 weeks after the kiss with Kara...Kara lay on the small cot, twirling her hair with one finger and playing with the sheets with the other. "You still haven't told me why you stayed here instead of in school." she asked, her eyes following Renya's movements as he stretched.
He didn't answer right away; he finished up his stretches, and then stood up straight. He looked over at her, and his face was sad. He jerked his head, motioning towards the door. He walked towards the door and she stood up and followed. They entered Reigo's old rooms, and Renya retrieved the scroll from the drawer. "Read this." He said quietly, then handed her the scroll. The scroll said in long, flowing script:
"Dear Renya , if you are reading this, then I am dead, and you are, hopefully, a man. In this scroll, I have included the details of your family's death.
Jenzu Tenryiu, your father, was a minor noble of the Village hidden in the Mist. He was not the wealthiest, or the most powerful, but he was known for his generosity and trust. This is what led to his downfall. Jenzu donated a large sum of money to the Orphanage in The Village Hidden in the Mist, but he was not smart in this. He realized, too late to withdraw the funds, that he was just a tad short of what he needed to keep his family alive for the winter: He was broke.
He turned to the only thing he could; loans. He borrowed money from a man named Zukono. Jenzu was not aware that Zukono was a member of the Yakuza, and that borrowing from the Yakuza usually has deadly results. He was not able to pay off his debt in time. The Yakuza came, murdered him, his family, his servants, and even the pets. Then they burned down the house. I managed to retrieve you from the ruins, and I raised you.
I made you strong and wise, and trained you to be a shinobi, and taught you all there was too teach for you to be a real man. I wanted you to be strong in case the Yakuza decided to come for you. They do not like loose ends.
P.S. If you are not already a Genin, I want you to stay in school and become one. At least then, if you are Genin, the Yakuza will hesitate long enough for you to flee.
Be safe, my child. Master Minchi Reigo"
Kara looked at her lover, both fearing for him and loving him more for sharing this secret with her...
One week after Kara read the scroll...Kara sat bolt upright in the bed, yelling. Renya was bumped right off the bed and groaned, then sat up and almost snarled in anger, but the noise turned into a lump as he saw how Kara was acting.
"What is the matter, babe?" He asked quietly, climbing to his feet to pull her into his arms. She looked tearfully and fearfully into his face. "I...I remember something about my Ex-boyfriend, Konuzo. His father...he was called Zukono!!"
Renya blanched. He remembered that boy; He was the reason Kara had cried the way she did. He looked down at her, his face set into a grimace. "We need to leave," he said, then started to bustle around packing things for the trip. She stood up and started as well...
One hour after last entry...
Renya and Kara ran. They ran fast and strong for several days, stopping for food, water, and a few hours of sleep a day. They ran for two days before they detected signs of pursuit.
Renya was the first to see them. They were 25 feet on the bridge connected the island with he mainland. There were five of them; one large and half-naked man with a huge sword, and two regular-looking shinobi on either side.
"Renya Tenryiu!!" The large man howled. "You are to be put to death on order of the lord of the new Yakuza!! Master Zukono!!" Renya screamed in rage and leapt forward. His pain had a face now. He wanted to destroy that face.
The shinobi on both sides of the large man leapt forward, and Renya paid them no attention, not even caring that they gave him the same courtesy. He drew his katana, not even bothering with jutsu's. The large man yelled out and held his massive sword out in front of him.
Renya was close enough now, and he struck out, but the weapon clanged harmlessly off the sword. The man growled, then said "My turn," and started to swing his massive sword at the smaller man. Renya brought his weapon up, smacking the weapon hard. It did not even slow. He leapt back, and only after several feet was between them, did he realize that his arm had gone numb, and that the katana had slipped from his fingers.
He looked up at the man as he roared with laughter. "Time to die!" Renya's hands started to flash, his hand-signs powered with adrenaline. He funneled chakra into the symbols, and felt the flames licking his insides. He roared and leapt into the air, the force of his fire breath hurling him farther.
The man looked startled as the flames shot at him, but he did not flinch as they wrapped around him. Renya grinned as he landed. He had won. He had-NOOOO!! The man stepped from the flames, and even as he did so, the flames fizzled and vanished.
Renya was startled. "No..." he said quietly, and then he heard a scream, and turned quickly. He saw one of the men falling back out of the bushes, blood spurting from his chest. Kara leapt from the brush, closely pursued by the other one. She was grinning widely, finally given a chance to exercise her talents. Renya smiled at her, and then turned back to the battle he was fighting.
Renya examined his surroundings. He had an idea of how to counter this powerful mans fighting style, but it would be risky; one slip up and he would die. He started to make the hand-signs again, the hands flashing through the symbols, and he ran toward his opponent. He charged at the man, watching the man closely. He grinned to himself as the large man braced himself and started to move his mouth.
A vocally-triggered hidden jutsu, Renya thought. Those were rare, but not unheard of. It is a jutsu that is activated by voice and not hand-signs, making it useful in positions where your hands are tied. In theory, there is a vocal-sign for each hand-sign, but very few were known.
The fact that this muscle-head knew some of them threw the proverbial wrench into his plans. No matter... He was a few feet from the man, and he jumped at him, angling himself over the large mans head. The large sword followed him, which was exactly as he had planned. His blast of fire struck the ground directly behind the man,the blast focused into a jet; It cleaved a line in the concrete, just wide enough, say, for a large sword to get itself stuck.
Renya touched down and leapt away, but the massive sword was harder to stop, it struck the ground with a resounding crash; the man had turned at the same time as swung up, maintaining the momentum of his swing even as his grip had to change. As it struck the ground, it slid into the crack, but continued even deeper into the hot and soft concrete. Renya's next jutsu came right after the blade swung into the crack.
His hands flashed, and he knew he had little time. Ice shot out from his fingertips, hardening the concrete back into its original state, plus a massive sword embedded in it. Renya grinned as the man tugged; the blade did not budge. He snarled as he let go of the massive sword, and then raised his fists in preparation of hand-to-hand combat...
Directly after last entry…
Renya's mind raced. This massive man was not only stronger, but he was probably more experienced and had more chakra than himself. His gaze quickly took in his surroundings; searching, searching, searching for some sort of clue. He heard another yell from behind the large man. His eyes darted over the mercenary's shoulder and saw Kara wiping a kunai on her shirt.
The other man lay on the ground in front of her: he was gasping from the raged slice across hsi throat. He chuckled at the sight. "You all right, my darling?" he called to her, smiling. She shrugged and smiled back. "No problem. Can you wrap this up, please?"
He nodded and turned his attention to the man. "Shall we dance?" He asked, taking a fighting stance. The man roared and charged…
Renya dodged the man's attack. He was slow and unable to turn, but his skin was probably harder and a single hit would likely result in Renya's death. The man leapt at him again, and he dodged once more. I might be able to tire him out…
Wrong.
30 minutes later, Renya was still dancing around the large man, trying to strike at a vulnerable area. He had no weapon and this man would not let him draw out a Kunai, so he needed to think up a different tactic. A plan began to form, though. If he could trip up the man, he might be able to win this.
Renya took the lead. He was good at mental warfare, and he knew what he had to do to position the man. He fainted right, but the large amn struck at Renya's left anyway, so the faint turned into a full on roll. The muscle-head had seen right through the ruse...just as Renya wanted. Renya came up behind and to the right of the man, and he turned just in time to duck one swipe of those massive paws, then he skittered backwards to avoid the punch. He was moving closer to the area where the sword stuck out of the ground.
The large man followed, wading forward and striking at the fast moving Renya. Renya continued to back-pedal, moving past the impaled sword...and towards his own dropped one. The large man growled and came on more furiously, disregarding the sword as Renya leapt backwards, doing a backflip. His hand landed on the hilt of his sword and Renya scooped it up, then finished his flip, landing on his feet and with his sword ready.
He had underestimated the man's speed, though. He was in fron of Renya, and he could not dodge the powerful punch. It slammed him in the stomach and he dropped his sword, his breath gone. The next punch struck him in the chin and he went flying away, a good fifteen feet. He rolled to his elbows and knees, spitting blood and teeth onto the ground. He looked up as a shadow passed over him. It was Kara. He tried to tell her to run but he had no breath.
She shook her head defiantly, as though she had read his mind, though, and readied her kunai.
He came on ferociously. Renya could do nothing as he watched Kara battle the giant. They made their way up and down the 70 foot bridge, and she did magnificently.
She had dodged every attack and even countered a few, slashing his arms and hands with her kunai.
He got to his feet, his breath returned, as well as his confidence. Then his face fell and he screamed out a warning...but too late.
Kara tripped over the stuck sword, falling to land on her backside, hard, with an incredibly strong and violent man standing in fron of her.
She didn't stand a chance after that.
Renya screamed his rage and denial, charging back in at the man as he stood up from the battered and broken corpse that had been Kara Nigichi.
The man laughed and picked something up off the ground: Renya's Katana.
Renya growled, pumping out a jutsu. Nothing happened, apparently, but Renya started to work out another one. Then he stoppped running, growling angrily.
He reached for a kunai and readied it. Then he threw it. The man raised the Katana to block, but he looked curiously at Renya as he hurled the Kunai at the ground. Then he looked down...
Just in time to catch a kunai between the eyes. His head snapped backwards, and he took two steps back, the kunai embedded up to the thin handle in his forehead. He let out a faint gurgle before he collapsed to the ground, on top of the corpse of Kara.
Renya screamed, dispelled his two portals, and ran across the bridge. He left the two shinobi corpses, the one masive body, and the remains of his beloved, as well as all the equipment, behind him.