Sometimes, I feel like my characters aren't vivid enough... :L
Anything new I should try?
Konoha has an impressive will of fire.
Its flares are bright and vivid.
This flame will cast an enormous shadow upon its village,
its people...
one day,
it will devour them all.
-Ten tails
Hisui's Weird Tastes
"That's it!" Asuka banged her fists on the wooden table, denting it. Her arms were clearly shaking with madness. "I waited so long, just to find another useless ninja? What's worse, he's expected to guide me?"
Firming his posture suddenly, Hisui narrowed his eyes at the raging Asuka. His eyes met hers. His were calm as ice, hers as violent as a thunderstorm.
"Never judge your opponent by first impression, you'll never see beneath the surface. First lesson for you, young lady." Hisui breathed while retrieving his piercing vision. The reckless smile on his face clearly dropped to a grave frown. The atmosphere instantly warped into a spine-chilling strain. Sweat broke down Asuka's small cheeks as she sensed an enormous chakra rising near the door way where their new teacher stood. She felt like he was wearing a warm orange mask before, now crumbled to the ground, revealing his bitter soul.
"H-ha ha… nice to meet you, sensei… my name is Seisa…" Seisa shrugged, afraid to break the ice.
Miraculously, the freezing atmosphere shattered like glass and the warmth of sunlight suddenly filled the room. The daunting sensation on Hisui's face was now nowhere to be seen.
He put on his harmless smile. "Well, well, well, aren't you a heart-warming one, Seisa. Much more approachable than those other two…" Hisui replied, clearly implying something.
"Now then, let's make proper introductions this time. I am Sarutobi Hisui, your teacher. A Jounin, yes, it was my childhood dream and is already accomplished. Your turn."
Silence.
"Ok, shy kids, speak up. Tell me your names and your dream for the future or something. I'll start with you, young lady."
Asuka stood up clutching her fits tightly and biting her lips. Her straight shoulder length hair settled calmly on top of her right eye. It was a byakugan that she hid. She was only born with one, for some weird reason and it's almost become a humiliation for her reputation in the Hyuuga family.
"Uzumaki Asuka." She said, with her ordinary eye shut. "My dream is far beyond yours. I want to join the Anbu and protect the village from the inside out."
"Wow…" gasped Hisui. "I totally imagined you being more like your father, outgoing and less preserved. Guess I was wrong." He studied Asuka's appearance carefully. She had a small structure, yet stood steadily on the floor, not showing a trace of weakness.
"Next." That's all he said, as there was another person that held his interest; the boy who sat at the furthest side that remained silent through the whole time.
Seisa shot out of his seat energetically, forgetting all the fear on his body just a minute ago. "Good-day sir! I'm Seisa, as I said before. My dream is to make better ramen than the ichiraku!" Seisa shared merrily.
Hisui rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Ok, good luck studying ninjutsu, Seisa," he laughed. "Let's move on."
Kuroi stood up slowly. His head was down, clearly exposing the tip of a black mark at the side of his neck. "H-hello… my name is Kuroi. I'm not sure about my dreams. Guess I just want to be normal…" he broke off in the middle of the sentence, swallowing back the rest of his words.
Ah… so this is the kid who became a vessel for the ten tailed beast. He IS different from your average kid. Hisui thought to himself. Just an hour ago, the Hokage summoned him suddenly and entrusted him with this top-secret. He was to make this child into a great shinobi who could protect himself.
"Um… now that we all kind of know about each other, I have a simple test for you. If all of you pass, congratulations, you are officially my underling. If any one of you fails, too bad, you all shoo back to the ninja academy. Understand?"
"So this is a test of teamwork? So you got us to introduce ourselves so we can trust each other in battle?" Asuka analysed big-headedly, folding her arms in from of her chest.
"Hm… good idea, but not quite close, girl. It is purely based on individual performances." Hisui responded tilting his head and letting his neat hair drift off his face.
"Listen carefully to your task." Hisui went on. "Because these days, ninja all rely on special abilities to thrive in the world, I will need each one of you to perform a special skill that you possess. If I'm impressed, you pass. If I'm not, you fail. Understand?"
"That's just absurd." Asuka shouted. "What is the point of this? Sounds to me like whoever you like gets to pass."
"Have fun preparing, kids~" Hisui ignored her questing and slipped out of the door. His last sentence echoed along the door way. "Same place, same time tomorrow morning…"
The afternoon sun shone on three small shadows walking in a line along a muddy trail. Seisa's bright creamy hair stood out the most in the middle between Asuka and Kuroi who both had dark hair. They were walking silently, thinking hard with frowning foreheads. They couldn't abandon each other because Hisui will only pass them if they all impress him, so Seisa pulled them together to share 'impressive' things.
"Y'know, however I think about it, you're the only one holding us down at the moment, Seisa." Asuka grumbled. "Unlike you, who waste your time eating ramen, Kuroi and I actually worked hard and mastered a lot of ninjutsu. Come to think of it, how'd you pass anyway?"
"Hey! Don't look down on me just because I'm not a top scholar! Tell you what, I have a very impressive trick up my sleeve that's better than all of yours added together." Seisa argued, eyeing Asuka and Kuroi.
They arrived at a clear ground in the woods where some students from ninja academy trained their accuracy skills. The ground there was bumpy with dagger holes on the ground and random kunai and throwing stars scattered all over the place.
Asuka picked up a four-point star. "Kuroi. How many stars can you throw at once? Sure you passed the Genin exam with full credit." she asked, handing him a stack of stars just picked up from the ground.
"Not sure… I… only threw how many ever they gave me." Kuroi reflected nervously. "I think six…?"
"Hah! How many ever they gave you, sounds tough enough." Seisa mocked. "Bet you can't do more than six."
"Let me try!" Kuroi spoke back, taking the offence completely. He snatched over the stack of throwing stars from Asuka.
Seisa widened his eyes in shock. He never thought that quiet, fragile kid even had the energy to be provoked. Asuka however, was quietly observing Kuroi. Her conscience was at a debate with her gut feeling. There's something odd with the kid, she thought. He looked pale and exhausted, but almost beat her in the Genin rankings, meaning he couldn't have been bad at all. Something else about him was off too… his chakra… she could grasp with her byakugan that underneath his natural, rich chakra, there was a blob of pitch black.
"Uh… do you really think sensei would be pleased with me just chucking a few throwing stars?" Kuroi doubted.
"Well that all depends on the number." Asuka added. "Now hurry up and show us!"
Kuroi took a wide step into his throwing stance and closed his eyes. He did this every time before aiming at a target. It felt like another pair of eyes was open in place of his, and it would draw out a familiar touch, like he'd done it before. On his fingertips were ten throwing stars all together, he crossed his arms and let his hands rest on either side of his face. Taking a deep breath, he swung his arms out, letting out the ten rotating metal stars. They spun outwards, then covered an arc in mid-air and landed closely against one another lined on one piece of log.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG
Asuka and Seisa stared with disbelief. Not only were the ten stars lined neatly in a row, but only three unsteady sounds were heard from the log due to the steadiness. Kuroi froze in his striking position, unable to move. A stinging pain arose from his head as his senses blurred. He had to drive chakra into the stars to direct their route. Perhaps he'd drawn too much?
Just as his vision turned to pitch black, he heard a heavy voice calling… "Kuroi… come to me…"
