Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any places mentioned in the manga/anime/whatever other series. I own Rinkai and yeah. . .The plot? -ish?
A/N - Anywho, 'tis Word Bender as Rinkai! Since I loved this charrie so much my friend and I decided to make a fic about both our characters. If you haven't guessed, this other guy owns Hyun. So this is a co-op story, I don't write most of this stuff, I help out with the plot, edit the drafts and post the finished copy. Hope you enjoy this new installment in the marvolous collection of fanfiction!
One - The Fight - One
It started as a dull ache in the back of his head, right around the area where his neck joined his skull, and so he ignored it during the first half of practice. Around noon though, under the careful guidance and nurturing of his idiotic teammates, the dull ache had processed into a pulsating knot located somewhere in the upper right-hand region of his brain that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he counted to ten or how many times he vented his frustrations on said idiotic teammates were seemed to make sport out of his patience and personal agony. By the time their training started again, however, the searing pain was spread across the entire front of area of his skull and was doing a very nice job of putting him in a bad mood, thus prompting an early end to practice lest he draw blood and be forced to acquaint himself with yet another set of idiots.
Hyun sighed, fingers working at his scalp in a feverish attempt to exorcize the pounding heat locked behind his forehead, with the agitated rasp of someone whose patience was a thing of the past and whose hands were twitching to snap the head off of the nearest warm body. Luckily for the masses, though, Hyun was not currently walking the public streets as he had fled with alacrity to the cool depths of the forest the second his moronic cell members exited his line of sight. He snorted at the fact that he had waited before leaving their usual training area to study the paths they took just so that he didn't have to worry about bumping into them again, and thus bringing back on his headache--more of a migraine by this point--and bloodlust because it wasn't like him to linger behind for anything, but then again when the consequences of a hasty exit meant a chance of coming anywhere near Pye or Kail, he wasn't really willing to take the chance.
Mentally congratulating himself for the job well done in avoiding a potential slaughter, he spied a large oak with just enough branches above him, thick branches too, to provide ample coverage and shelter until his need to kill subsided and his blood cooled. Launching himself into the air, the slightly heavyset boy caught hold of a lower branch and swung himself on to it before leaping against the tree trunk for a base to kick himself off toward a higher perch upon which he settled with his back to the relatively smooth trunk as he cast one leg out in front of him while bringing the other to rest somewhat against his chest. The result was a lazy, semi-sprawl across a large tree branch that that towered about thirty or forty meters from the ground. True, he wasn't very high up but he was hidden amongst the canopy well enough that he wouldn't have to deal with any-"AAAAH! I LOVE IT!"
Hyun's expectations were cut short in that instant as a squeal so high-pitched that he thought he'd accidentally angered a bat on his way up. He started slightly, the unexpected noise slicing through his peace of mind like a hot knife sailing through butter. The hand holding said knife was going to receive a very thorough beating once Hyun found it, though, and in his haste to make sure on that promise–once he'd recovered from his heart attack and redeemed a few of the ten years shaved off his life by the banshee–he shifted into a crouch on the branch and began his search. Creative means of torture spewed out of his mouth followed by combinations of names not yet heard of to the outside world as his eyes darted across the trees for any sight of the source of that damned squeal or so he would have searched if that horrible buzzing sound didn't interfere. He stopped and adjusted his hearing somewhat toward that buzzing sound and that's when he realized that it wasn't a buzz, but more of a–Hiss.
Panting somewhat, Hyun stared at the kunai implanted in the trunk of the tree that he'd been leaning against a second earlier as he crouched on a lower limb. It'd come from behind, that much he discerned from that fact that he hadn't seen it coming, but judging by the positioning it's intent had been to test his reflexes because it was wedged too far to the right to have been too much a of threat. At best, it would have grazed his arm a little but he couldn't quite pick out the source of the odd weapon now locked in the oaken column. Warily, he turned his head to the side, from the direction he thought the kunai had originated from but the good it did him because dusk did not do kind things for his vision and the sun's zenith was long gone.
"Damn," Hyun cursed under his breath, breath that was suddenly caught in his throat as a chilling reply floated to him from above.
"That's not a very nice word to say, now is it?" Haunting and chilling to hear, it radiated humor and oozed with an easy-going confidence that made Hyun flinch mentally, one word forming in his mind: 'Lazy.'
"Neither is flinging kunai at strangers."
"Well, whoever said that I was nice?" the voice said again from above Hyun.
Hyun flicked his gaze suddenly upward and nearly snapped his neck as he shifted his body out of the way of a foot that seemed decidedly set on taking out his head. The problem with his speedy response was that he hadn't taken the time to adjust to the sudden change in footing and soon found himself stumbling ever so slightly backward, a brief break in his flood motion, and that seemed all the opportunity his attacker needed because after a quick naming of a jutsu, Hyun could hear the slight shift of wire on fabric. Almost like a – whist.
Once again his thoughts were interrupted as two burning lashes cut lengthwise and width-wise across his chest, cutting through the fabric of his clothing and wrenching a cry of surprised pain out of his mouth. Fast to recover however, he narrowed his eyes on the shadow suddenly moving backward but not fast enough to escape Hyun's speed as he focused chakra to his feet and launched himself forward, fury burning in his eyes.
The boy who had attacked Hyun smiled slightly as Hyun sailed by him, missing him by only an inch. Hyun landed on a tree branch opposite his opponent and glared at the ninja, now getting a good look at who he was facing.
The other boy was tall and thin, his high-collared red shirt clinging tightly to his body. There were bandages covering his forearms and his abdomen, all the way from just below his chest to low on his hips. His pants were baggy and badly cared for, quite unlike Hyun, whose own perfectionism strove for spotless clothes and an impeccable mix of taste and convenience.
Hyun surveyed the lithe boy quickly, noticing that the headband around his waist clearly showed the symbol of Konoha, his own village. The head and shoulders of Hyuns' attacker was still covered by shadows of the foliage but Hyun could tell that the other boy was smirking at him.
"What's your problem?" Hyun sneered, still looking over the boy, searching for the whip-like weapons he had felt only a few seconds before. There was a slight movement in the trees opposite Hyun and the face of his opponent came into clear view, making Hyun all the more annoyed.
The other boys face was bandaged, the gauze wrappings passing over his eyes, although his long black hair fell freely around his shoulders and down his back, a few bangs hanging in his attractive, although half-concealed, face.
"I don't have a problem." The boy said, his head tilting, his voice a drawl. "I'm just bored, I wanted a fight and you were here." he said, shrugging. "But you're turning out boring too." Shaking his head he sighed, his long hair shimmering. "Oh well, I though you would at least be decent."
Hyuns eyes narrowed as the other boy stood up and was about to jump away. He didn't bother announcing an attack, but like his opponent, was swift enough to react. Grabbing his wakizashi - a blade he carried across his back - he unsheathed the sword and jumped again at the boy. The raven haired boy twitched and quickly revealed his own weapons; wires attached to weights quickly came out of his gloves, and Hyuns eyes widened, realizing what had hit him before.
The boy swiftly sidestepped the wakizashi and then looked up into the foliage, ignoring his opponents' recovery and attack.
Up in the foliage Hyun glared. He had preformed the clone jutsu perfectly, switching himself out with a shadow clone at the last second, how could this boy possibly figure out that he wasn't there! Leaving no room for contemplation, most unlike the perfectionist that Hyun was, he jumped down from his perch, the clone disappearing.
The wires quickly came up and smacked against Hyun, battering him hard against the tree he had jumped down from. Hyuns feet swiftly attached themselves to the tree, chakra joining his sandals to the giant plant. He used the chakra to jump out at the other boy, his wakizashi pointed at the ninja's chest.
The bandaged boy performed a quick series of hand signs, indiscernible to Hyuns eyes, and suddenly the three wires were in his mouth and had seemed to catch fire. Hyun's narrowed eyes glared at the boy as he jumped out of the range of the whips swinging his wakizashi to hit the weights, deflecting them away from his body. A small hissing noise passing over the area he had just been. The whips fell softly but the boy controlled the chakra in the wires and brought the weights up and into his right palm, the wires still blazing freely across the thin metal.
The boy smiled at Hyun. "Not bad, you're pretty fast with that blade."
Hyun's eyes where narrowed with disbelief. The boys eyes were bandaged! "How the hell can you tell what I'm doing?" Hyun growled, adjusting his position on the bough of the tree, only about twenty meters away from his opponent.
"I'm a Tokage." the boy answered smugly, his head tilted, the wires flashing as he shifted the weights through his fingers. "Our eyes are too sensitive to see the light, so the entire clan has to cover our vision. We can still see though, it's a very convenient blood limit." the boy said, smiling. Suddenly Hyuns eyes flashed and he jumped at the raven-haired boy again, making sure to add extra chakra into his feet for added support.
The whips came up again, but this time Hyun was ready and ducked under the fiery wires slashing out at the boy. He quickly came up to the boys side and slashed at the boy, jumping away quickly, before the boy could react again with his whips.
The boy smiled and Hyuns eyes narrowed again. The other boy hadn't moved other than to send his wires at Hyun, and yet there he stood, completely untouched. Wait, Hyun looked closer at his opponent, jumping higher as the wires came up and tore the foliage off his hiding place. There! His bandages were slightly ripped, revealing the threadbare wires that had been woven into the covering.
Hyun spat as he was forced to jump again, the Tokage following his actions with a wicked precision. Hyun jumped again and hid behind a tree, ducked as the whips came flying around the trunk and then launched himself at the boy, his wakizashi clutched tightly in his hands. The Tokage grunted as the blade missed him, but Hyun crashed into him instead, sending both boys flying into open air. Hyun twisted to kick at the raven haired boy but his opponent quickly blocked the attack and sent the same kick at Hyun, only slightly slower that the other boy. Hyun blocked the kick and they shot off as they touched ground, chakra in their feet and legs cushioning the blow.
Standing at opposite ends of a large clearing the two boys panted slightly, Hyun clutching his wakizashi tightly while the boy across from him re-torched the whips, which had gone out during the fall.
The Tokage winced and put his free hand on his side, where Hyun had tackled him. "You have a really hard head, you know that?"
Hyun smirked, "You're just lucky your bandages are reinforced or I would have broken all the ribs in your body."
The other boy laughed. "I doubt that." he said, his head tilting. "I'm Rinkai, by the way. Who are you?"
Hyun raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "A little late for introductions, don't you think?" His opponent, Rinkai, smiled and shrugged, an instant later only a few feet away from Hyun, his whips blazing around only to get caught on Hyun's blade, which had come quickly up to block the attack.
"I don't think." Rinkai said, pulling Hyun's blade closer to him, dragging the boy along with it. Hyun stumbled forward until he could see Rinkai's breath misting up his blade. Before Rinkai could sense his movements Hyun dropped to the ground and spun his leg up, his foot connecting solidly with Rinkai's chest, sending the other boy up into the air, his whips trailing behind him, the wakizashi untangling from the wires. Rinkai quickly recovered, and turned over in the air, landing on his feet.
As he landed, Hyun was there to meet him, his retrieved blade hot in his hand. Rinkai's face drew tight as he evaded the swift slashes to his legs and chest. Suddenly, Rinkai saw an opening in Hyun's defenses and was able to jump away, his body shimmering into focus behind Hyun. "Tanagokoro Kagerou no Jutsu!"
Hyun spun around, the temperature dropping rapidly despite the sun shining down on the two fighting boys. Hyun gathered chakra in his legs, preparing for another attack, but Rinkai was quicker, performing hand signs, four wires now in his mouth. Inhaling through his nose, Rinkai quickly released his Katon, sending sparks flying down the wires.
Hyuns' eyes widened, already too far into his Goken attack to stop. He crossed his arms over his chest, fully realizing just how cold the area was becoming. Rinkai smirked.
Hyun gasped and his eyes widened in pain as Rinkai's whips burned into his sides and arms, the drop in temperature severely affecting how Hyun felt the lashes. The burning wires seemed five times hotter than they should be, and Rinkai didn't seem to be loosing energy.
He dropped to the ground, his wakizashi limply in his right hand. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw he had three deep gashes on his chest, near his lungs and across his abdomen. He also had a bleeding wound on his shoulder, a large deep scratch that ran across his upper forearm and almost halfway around the back of his shoulder blade. He winced and looked up and Rinkai, not a second too soon, for the boy had begun another series of whip attacks.
Rinkai's arms and whips lashed out as one, across Hyuns chest and again on his shoulders and on his thighs. He didn't target the vital points, but it was all Hyun could do to evade the attacks non the less. Hyun winced each time the whips found their mark, constantly jumping out of the way, as if in a dance with the Tokage around the small clearing.
Suddenly, Hyuns eyes widened and as he jumped again he realized that this was not the best situation for him. Rinkai was too fast and too well trained to leave Hyun any room to attack, Rinkai's relentless offence completely blocking all chanced Hyun had with his wakizashi. Glaring, Hyun evaded another round of the fire-whips, one of the weights tracing his shin before burning through his ankle.
Putting an obscene amount of chakra into his legs, Hyun jumped up again, this time away from Rinkai's whips. As Hyun continued to ascent the Tokage alighted on the ground and glared up at Hyun through his bandages.
Up in the air Hyun quickly stowed his wakizashi across his back and produced three shadow clones, each perfect in their replication of Hyuns clothes and weapons. Rinkai looked up at the clones and shook his head.
As the clones came down, each of the Hyun's holding kunai and shuriken, Rinkai twitched and instantly wires shot up and skewered the two shadow clones, each of the copies vanishing in a small puff of smoke. Hyun blanced and quickly jumped away from Rinkai, glaring at the boy across from him.
Breathing hard, Hyun yelled to Rinkai from across the field. "How do you do that? My clones where perfect and you saw through them as if they where painted red! What the hell are you doing to me?"
Rinkai smiled and laughed, his whips returning to his glove, the temperature no longer rising but staying at a steady cool area. "I'm a Tokage. It's my blood limit."
"To see through genjutsu! That's only a watered down Byakugaan you have under those bandages! You're not anything, just a bastard Hyuuga child with a weak Byakuugan that can't even be called a blood limit!"
In an instant Hyun was against a tree, a kunai at his throat, Rinkai's hand holding him to the bark of the tree. "I am the heir to the Chimetsuki! The blood eyes of the Lizard clan of Konoha! I don't even see your genjutsu it's so weak. No my proud opponent," Rinkai growled, leaning closer down to Hyun's ear, his voice now sounding so different than the lazy drawl Hyun had fist heard. "I see you, your heat, your strength, your heart, your brain. I see you, your weapons, and everything you do. You cannot fool me with your tricks." Rinkai spat, his normally attractive face creased and his voice hoarse and gritty.
Suddenly Rinkai threw Hyun away from him, his kunai burying itself next to the boys side, only an inch from his heart. Hyun glared at Rinkai, slightly subdued, but not beaten.
"Go away." Rinkai said, standing over Hyun, sending his opponent a glare that could be felt even through his thick bandages. "You're swiftly boring me."
Hyun snarled at Rinkai as the other boy turned away. "I'm not done!" he said, standing again and rushing the taller boy. He was swiftly knocked again to the ground, another mark across his thigh. Hyun grimaced and as he fell, realized just how injured he was. Rinkai stood over Hyun again, watching as the boy struggled to even sit up.
"Are you ready to die, now?" He asked, his whips hovering in the air.
"I have no regrets." Hyun said, breathing hard from his position on the ground. Rinkai counld't help keeping the surprise from his voice.
"You're not even going to defend yourself? Not that you could, but you're not going to try?" He asked, his head to one side, the whips still suspended.
Hyun glared at Rinkai "I've tried everything."
"Pathetic."
"It's called dying with honor!" Hyun said, glaring at the annoyingly superior sounding boy.
Rinkai rolled his eyes, not that Hyun or anyone else could see the action. "Stupidity is more like it."
"You wouldn't understand." Hyun said crossing his arms tightly across his chest. This boy was much more trouble that the fight had been, and Hyun was regretting not running away when he had the chance.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rinkai said, his head tilted to one side, his black hair passing over his left eye, obscuring over half his face.
Hyun raised an eyebrow, curious about Rinkai despite himself. " Exactly what I said."
"Are you implying something?" Rinkai asked, the nonchalant expression replaced by a frown, the drooping wires tightened and began to hum, the weights pointing at Hyuns throat threateningly.
Hyun eyed the weights warily. "No, I'm waiting to die...Now if you don't mind?"
The Tokage glared at Hyun. "You have no choice in the matter! Dying is too good for you!"
"Death at your hands would hardly be honorable anyway."
Rinkai frowned and then smirked, his superior tone returning. "You speak of this honor! Ha! It is nothing but the talk of losers."
The boy on the ground glared at Rinkai, twitched and then spat at the Tokages foot, his eyes narrow slits. "You are revolting."
Rinkai moved his foot slightly; two of the wires reeling themselves back into his glove, leaving only one pointing at Hyun. He smiled and looked at Hyun again, re-examining his former opponent. "Am I? You find me so revolting?" The Tokage grinned even wider, revealing a smile that although attractive, wasn't entirely pleasant. "I know just what I'm going to do with you now."
Hyun, although slightly disturbed, held his glare, staring up at Rinkai. "That so? Care to enlighten me before my wounds crust?"
Rinkai smirked. "You're going to," He paused and tilted his head to the side, as if determining a suitable punishment for Hyun, "Eat dinner with me!"
Hyun blinked. "You are not serious."
"Unfortunately for you, I am very serious. Dinner every night for three months or else." Rinkai said smiling, his face taking on a rather threatening shadow.
Hyun cringed slightly from his position on the ground. "I'd rather take the or else..."
Rinkai, now fully enjoying his superior position over Hyun, milked the moment for all it was worth. He slowly reeled in the final weight-whip and smirked. "I know, which is why I'm giving you no choice in the matter."
Alright! So that's the first chapter, edits sure to come. The next chapter will be up shortly, so if you like what you read, keep up with us!
Much Love (and cramped fingers)
-Hyun and Rinkai