If You have a character in this story, please send me the message about your characters special Jutsu, if you don't know what I'm talking about please read the authors note in the last chapter at the bottem of the chapter!
"Come on Urami, let's try it one more time!" Amai encouraged her sister, bitting her swollen red lip. They had come out to the training grounds early this moring, focusing mainly on Tai Jutsu. They weren't allowed to practice Nin Jutsu unless Raiden or a Jonnin was there to supervise. The sun rested high in the east, slowly raising past the mountains.
Urami struggled to stand up, shallow cuts decorating her pale skin with red lines, and bits of rock tangled in her hair. Amai sighed, walking over to her sister and assisted her, feeling Urami lean towards her slightly.
"We need to rest, sister. There is no point in exhausting ourselves before Raiden gets here. And I'm really tired; you're really hard to keep up with!" Urami whined, pretending to faint in Amai's arms, throwing a hand over her forehead dramatically. Snorting, Amai dropped her sister, a smile tugging at her lip as Urami fell, butt first onto the ground. The tan rocks of the mountains were hot and dry, dust rising at every small pressure applied. Lizards crawled far away from them, ignoring that obvious cause of their runaway meals were laughing girls.
"Alright, we can rest, but as soon as he shows up, we're going right back at it." Amai gave in; lying on her back and closing her eyes, letting the warmth of the morning sun heat her skin. Urami sat up, leaning back on her hands and smiled. This is how she loves to see her sister, so relaxed and happy, and the fact that she was only like that around Urami made her feel special.
The lizards scattered into cracks in the rocks, squeezing their bodies deeper to hide from a predator that did not want it's prey. Raiden materialized ten feet away from his teammates, grinning at their relaxed positions.
"You are late, Raiden." Amai flipped to her feet, making Urami frown at the change in her tone. They were back to the emotionless Amai, huh, too bad, Urami wanted to play with Secrete Amai just a bit longer.
"I know, but I had to stop by the Raikage's office." Raiden shrugged off a shoulder bag, metal brushing against each other as the bag hit the ground. Hopping up onto a large stone he crossed his legs under him, meditating with his eyes closed. Urami opened her mouth and closed it, sighing loudly before standing up to spar her sister again, only this time Jutsu was allowed.
I have to practice both of my Kekkei Genki today, no matter how I feel about it, the curse Orochimaru infected me with may one day save my life, or possibly even the village. I can't be unprepared, so this will be the first step of my training. Raiden thought, harsh wind slapping his body as Urami shot one of her Jutsu at Amai; he had to use chakra to stay in place.
"Alright, alright you win!" Urami laughed, waving her hands in front of her good naturedly. Amai frowned, frustrated by her sisters childishness, but at the same time comforted by it. "Raiden, you'll be sparing Amai this time."
"No," he stated bluntly, using his knee to push himself off, "I'll be fighting both of you. Don't hold back either."
"What? You're insane, you can't take us both on at…" Urami stopped when she felt the small pressure from her sister's hand as it rested on her shoulder. Amai gazed at Raiden silently, pink eyes gently reflecting the sun's light.
"He wants to practice his other Kekkei Genki," Amai didn't have to elaborate, Urami instantly nodding and stepping back a bit, kunai drawn. Raiden silently thanked them with a dip of his head, crossing his arms over his chest fingers spread out wide.
"Dance of the Camellia."
"Junki, stop hesitating, you're not helping anyone by holding back!" Shinku barked, red eyes scrutinizing his students from under the protective shade of an old tree. Hibiki sat by his side, eyebrows furrowed together as his finger made the Ram sign as he scouted out the chakra sources of passing strangers, categorizing them as civiallian or shinobi, including their possible level.
Itachi swung his leg down quickly, catching Junki in the arm. She jumped back, sweat glistening on her face and neck as she charged forward again, instantly performing 64 trigrams effortlessly. Sharingan spinning, Itachi stepped back with each attempt she made at hitting him. The attack ended, Itachi took the opportunity, flipping over Junki's head, grabbing the back of her shirt and throwing her across the field. Grass was torn from the ground in large chunks, leaving behind a brown path when she had landed, rubbing her arm.
"That's enough! Hibiki," Shinku yelled, standing up waiting for Hibiki to tilt his head in his direction to confirm he was listening, "You'll be sparing me now."
"Thank you, oh wonderful Shinku, master of the Illusionary arts! How merciful you are, only making us practice for thee hours straight before giving us a break, you are so noble, so very caring!" Junki threw herself at Shinku's feet, going on like a grateful mother addressing the man who had saved her children from bandits. Shinku grunted, stepping into the sun, Hibiki's footsteps crunching the grass nosily. Itachi passed him silently, sitting next to Junki.
Shinku stopped near the middle of the field, facing Hibiki with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Alright, it's safe to assume that at one point you will come into contact with a Gen Jutsu user, something you haven't had any prior experience to. Due to you blindness," Hibiki chuckled humorlessly at his teacher, that was one of the few things he liked about Shinku, his bluntness. "it will be harder for you to detect a Gen Jutsu that has been placed on you, your sensory abilities are always monitoring the outside world acting as your eyes, so you've never felt the need to monitor your own chakra. You're chakra control and sensing is unsurpassed, in fact if you were able to see, you'd be considered a geniues at Gen Jutsu or Medical ninjutsu."
"If I was able to see," Hibiki whispered, fist clenching at his sides. Noticing the change in his body language, Itachi motioned to Junki, studying Hibiki, confusion and concern laced in his black eyes.
"Now I'm going to relay a set of hand signs to you, this is called the Reflection Gen Jutsu, self explanatory. This will allow you to take a Gen Jutsu and throw it back at it's caster without knowing if you're one hundred percent in the Gen Jutsu. Now are you ready?" Shinku frowned when Hibiki didn't answer, "I asked you a question!"
"Yes," Hibiki answered quietly, "I'm ready."
"Good, now get ready," Shinku smirked slightly when he felt Hibiki's chakra concentrate in his hands and mind, searching for something it knew wasn't there, familiarizing itself with how it was supposed to feel when not invaded by another chakra. "Ox, Serpent, Dog, Tiger! You got that?"
"Yeah, I'm ready to try it out." Hibiki slid his feet farther apart, loving the feel of the prickly grass and damp ground under his bare feet.
"Alright, we'll spar a bit and in the middle of the battle I'll cast the Gen Jutsu. I'll start out with a basic Gen Jutsu, but that would have a major effect on you personally." Shinku fired himself at Hibiki, kicking the boy back into a tree on the other side of the clearing.
Groaning, Hibiki stood up and began scaling up the trunk of the tree as twelve kunai buried themselves in the loose bark. Flipping to the side, Hibiki fired three senbon at his teacher. Shinku jumped to the side, the senbon burying themselves in the ground, a huge cloud of black smoke rushing out of the orbs on the end. Covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve, Shinku disappeared in the haze, Hibiki jumping in soon after.
Itachi was on his feet instantly, eyes spinning into a dark red color, black commas scanning the smoke. "Junki," he saw her stand, Byakugan activated, out of the corner of his eyes. This was the same scenario of what happened in the cave, Hibiki trapping his prey in the smoke before torturing them. "And Shinku-sensei doesn't exactly acknowledge that Hibiki's sensitive about his blindness."
"Yeah, but Shinku isn't a push over." Junki relaxed a bit, comforted by her own words enough to deactivate her Byakugan. She sighed as Itachi refused to be comforted, his body tense and eyes filled with an emotion she didn't feel like describing.
"Stop the Jutsu now, Hibiki," Shinku's calm voice projected over the field, forcing Itachi to admit that that Junki was right and sit.
"See," Junki chuckled, "He just casted the Jutsu, and Hibiki probably managed to do it on the first try."
"What the devil? I told you to stop Hibiki!" Both teens tensed as Shinku's voice became angry, the smoke parting as a body launched from the smoke, bouncing across the ground, rocks and grass exploding under him. Hibiki landed head first into a tree, creating a crater in the stump.
Shinku stalked towards him, exiting the smoke easily. Junki yelped, drawing Shinku's attention, "You two go home, now!" he growled, reaching Hibiki finally, roughly grabbing him by the arm and hulling him to his feet. His feet struggled to balance on the earth, head spinning from hitting it against the tree.
"But," Junki began, eyes filling with pity and concern for her friend.
"Now!" Shinku roared, chakra attacking them. Itachi grabbed her hand, shaking his head and pulling her away. "And you," Shinku yanked Hibiki closer to him, "We're going to talk to Inoichi, now!"
Urami laid sprawled out next to her sister, chest rising and falling in a frenzied pace. Both girls had cuts filled with dirt and blood cloaking their skin. Raiden sat beside them, knees pulled up to his chest as his body quaked with the aftershocks of his forced Kekkei Genkai. Since the development wasn't natural to him, it caused him great pain afterwards, the reason why Orochimaru considered him a failure and didn't come after him when he escaped.
"Sorry," He breathed out, wincing as the chakra in his chest crackled, tightening around his lung painfully.
"Whatever," Urami hissed, glaring at him. It pained her to know that even when they were only sparing, he could beat them. They were going all out, and she didn't doubt for a minute that he was holding back the entire time. He was the perfect match for them, he could kill them in a moment but would protect them at all cost.
"It was good practice." Amai stated, slowly rising to sit up. Running her fingers though raven locks, she managed to untangle the rocks from her hair, thudding as they hit the ground.
"No, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have used that Jutsu on either of you, it was unacceptable." Raiden looked Amai dead in the eye, storm grey meeting salmon pink. Amai held his gaze, her body buzzing, before she looked away, the sky was so blue like the water back in her birthplace.
How she missed that wonderful place so much.
"Twins, don't go to far now! The water is much to deep for two little girls who just learned how to swim." An elderly women laughed, the wrinkles around her dark pink eyes becoming more prominate.
"We won't, Grandma!" The six year old girls said in sync, laughing as they splashed each other carelessly. Clear blue water surroned the girls as they relaxed in the small pond, koi fish swimming near them, darting away when the girls got close. The damp sand under their feet shifting with every step, tickling their feet, it was official, their lives were perfect.
"Lady Irai, Lady Irai come quickly! You're son he…" A frantic woman slammed the sliding back door open, stopping when she saw the two girls looking at her strangely. The old women's face darkened as she folded her arms in the sleeves of her dress, shuffling quickly past the messager giving her a firm order to stay with Urami and Amai.
"What's going on?" Amai questioned, large eyes wide as she cocked her head to the side, black hair dripping wet. The women stared at the two girls, flinching back from the question. Tears filled her eyes, and she fell to her knees.
"I'm so sorry Lady Amai and Urami, I'm so very sorry."
Amai wrapped her arms around her sister, holding her close to her chest as she sobbed. Their grandmother and mother sat before them, faces stoned into an emotionless mask. Applying a similar façade to her own face, Amai rubbed Urami's back, sniffling slightly, trying her hardest to be strong for her sister.
"You're father wouldn't want you to cry for him girls," Lady Irai stated, her own voice cracking, "Lady Amai you are now the matriarch of the Yoshida clan. Your mother and sisters are part of the side branch, you must step up to take your place and lead your clan. Of course, until you are fifteen I will guide you and rule the clan in place of you."
"Yes, but Urami must stay with me." Amai clutched onto her sister tighter. Their grandmother her old heart breaking, didn't dare separate the two girls.
"Alright, Amai, she can stay with you." Lady Irai sighed, glancing at their mother,Kensei, out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes were filled with emotions, hurt, betrayal, anger, and determination. Lady Irai shrugged it off, blaming it on the death of Kensei's husband, and the twin's father. How she would regret that in the near future.
Amai struggled to keep up with her Grandmother as they rushed through the trees, white smoke blowing in her face as she panted. The sounds of battle echoed behind them, only making Amai want to sit down and cry.
It seems that their mother was livid about being denounced to the side branch after her husband's death, feeling as if she had been cheated. Angered and hurt, she lashed out against the elders, gathering a few of the skilled branch members with promises to raise their rank if they helped her obtain the title of the matriarch.
Of course to do that, Amai had to die, along with her sister Urami who was second in line. Kensei had not problems with killing her daughters, entering their rooms late at night, kitchen knife held firmly in her hands.
Urami had woken up screaming, accidentally activating her Kekkei Genkei and throwing her mother back into the wall. One of the maids had burst into the room, gathering the two girls quickly and ushering them out the back door where their grandmother was waiting for them. The attack began soon after, clan members fighting clan members in a bloody battle for power.
"I'm taking you to a place where you'll be safe, this women will raise you, and when it is time, when the Yoshida clan is ready, I will come for you so you may take your rightful place as leader of the Yoshida." Their grandmother placed one hand on each of their shoulders, kneeling down. "Amai, you are the future of the clan, you must become strong, master your Kekkei Genki and improve it, make it your own. Urami, protect your sister with your life, you two are twins, you have a bond not even the closest of siblings could understand."
"Yes, Grandma," The two girls whimpered, looking at the beautiful middle-aged women who stepped out of the large house, her sapphire eyes scanning over them.
"Remember who you are girls, if I should fail, you must returen, and fight to take back what is your birth right. Always remember, trust no one but each other." Their grandmother stood up, giving them each one last kiss before running back into the undergrowth.
Hey, quick update huh? I still need those character moves from some of you, if you don't know what I'm talking about go look at my Author section in the last chapter.
Fun Fact: Urami and Amai are not originally from the Village hidden in the Cloud, but are from the Land of Lightning. Amai's stotic behavior is due to her mother's betrayal, and Urami's protectiveness is due to her grandmother's parting words. Sad story isn't it? Amai is part of the main branch since she was born first, and Urami was going to be sent to the side branch with her mother since their father was no longer alive.