Noboru woke up in the dead of night unable to sleep. In just a few hours he'd have to activate his doujutsu. He thought back to when he was younger, and when he watched his sister do the same.

"Mikan, do not stop now; I will not accept failure!" Sejin yelled.

Mikan was on her knees struggling to catch her breath. She looked up at Sejin with disdain, and hatred in her eyes. She tried to get up, but she fell again coughing, and wheezing for air. She looked at her little brother Noboru and smiled. He was on the sidelines watching her attempt to awaken the Kiidogan.

The lead Jonin Rubin was also interested in the Kosutta clan's visual prowess. As expected of every member of the Kosutta clan Mikan had to endure a grueling sparring match with the head of the clan on her 13th birthday. On the other side of the building watching the bout was Noboru's sensei Minaka, Minori and Natsuki were present as well. The three of them were Kosutta genin that had already undergone the Mock Exams, and unlocked their Kiidogan.

Sejin would push her to the breaking point physically, and mentally, at which point her body will have one of two options. Either it will awaken the Kiidogan as a last resort... or it won't.

Noboru, and Mikan being the heirs in the clan, desperately needed to awaken the doujutsu. Noboru watched his sister Mikan with content as she stood back up. She looked back at Sejin before charging at him as fast as she could.

She sent a few kunai flying towards his chest.

"Infinite Rotation!" Sejin yelled, and his hand began to twist chaotically. Every kunai that encountered Sejin was deflected spiraling through the room destroying wood, and cracking the ceiling.

"Air Current Dance: Quiet Step," Sejin stepped forward, and in an instant he'd closed the distance between himself and Mikan.

The quiet step allowed the user to close small distances between themselves, and their opponent by shrouding them in a thick black mist, and briefly enhancing the body allowing for a single quick step toward an enemy.

With his rotation still active he brought his fist straight into Mikan's stomach.

"Too easy." He muttered before hearing his own bones crack as Mikan's knuckles crushed into his face. Sejin flew hard to the other side of the room...it took him a second to catch his breath before standing back up.

'I see.' Sejin thought. 'She used the kunai as a distraction while I focused my attention on them. She used a shadow clone to charge me while the real Mikan hid behind it waiting for an opportunity to strike.'

"I've underestimated you Mikan," he said glaring at her.

Sejin took out two smoke bombs from his pocket. He threw them up and used wind style to break them.

"Ninja Art, Wind Nature Rotation!" He yelled.

Instead of completely dispersing, the smoke from both bombs remained confined in two finite spheres spinning incredibly fast. Sejin's chakra control was so developed that not only was he capable of spinning the spheres, but he was also capable of moving them.

Rubin the lead Jonin began to worry... he thought about calling out to Sejin to stop before he felt a tug on his leg.

"Don't worry Rubin. He's not trying to kill my sister... You see that smoke?" Noboru said pointing at the white spheres, "if he was he wouldn't have used smoke bombs in his rotation. The whole point of the smoke is to make them easier for Mikan to see."

After hearing Noboru's explanation Rubin was relieved, but a bit embarrassed he couldn't figure that out for himself.

'This kid.' He thought. 'Is something else.'

Rubin focused his eyes back onto the fight. Sejin slammed his foot into the ground and threw his arms forward, and without hesitation the deadly spheres of smoke went flying towards Mikan.

Mikan ran avoiding the spheres the best she could; jumping, and gliding through the air as often as possible. Both the spheres of smoke, although guided by Sejin, worked interchangeably together creating a devastatingly challenging opponent. Sejin focused his chakra, and the spheres moved even faster.

Mikan felt the skin on her back twist into a knot before being ripped off her body. She screamed in horror, but it didn't stop her. She put her hands together and managed to wield the proper hand signs.

"Wind Style: Retrieving Wind Technique!" A gust of wind beneath her feet appeared, and propelled her far from the white sphere of smoke. Mikan was incapable of slowing herself down; she looked ahead, and saw she was flying into the second white sphere.

Noboru watched his sister maintain a collected look as she was right between both of Sejin's destructive weapons; one in front, and one in back. Regardless she wielded more hand signs.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She yelled.

A perfect clone appeared in the air beside Mikan, and without hesitation it grabbed her and threw her out of the way of the sphere leaving the clone to take the impact. Mikan flew into a nearby wall, and both spheres collided sending sharp gusts of wind all over the room.

"Ninja Art: Earth Style, Mud Wall" Rubin yelled as a giant stone slab erupted from the ground protecting both Noboru, and himself.

He looked at Noboru with concern as concentrated wind decimated the entire building. After the spheres disappeared, Rubin receded his mud wall. He studied the room waiting for the smoke to clear. Waiting to see what happened.

'There's no way she got out of that unscathed. The impact from hitting the wall alone should have decimated her body...Unless.'

The smoke cleared and on one end Sejin was bent on one knee gasping for air. On the other end Mikan was standing straight... but something was different about her. She had a blue aura channeling through her body. It was wicked, and intense...It wasn't entirely chakra...

"A lightning shield?!" Sejin yelled, "Rubin, what exactly have you been teaching her?"

'Fire, Wind, Lightning, Water, Earth.' Noboru thought to himself. "Every chakra nature has an opposing counterpart. Earth will always beat Water, and Water will always beat Fire; the same concept should apply here; wind always beats Lightning... but then how did she...?"

Noboru crossed his arms quizzically for a moment. Rubin watched the boy struggle to figure it out.

"Oh...so there is something you don't know huh?" Rubin asked with a sarcastic grin on his face, "Noboru, it is true that Lightning release is mostly inefficient against Wind release... that's because wind is a natural electrical insulator. At the same time however, lightning can potentially surpass the penetrative force of wind by increasing its vibration frequency high enough. This allows for lightning to oust wind to some degree... it's likely your sister was saving this jutsu for this very moment as it was the only defensive technique at her disposal that could've deflected the blast."

"To be gifted in two chakra natures, and at such a young age, " Sejin said. "Your defense is ingenious Mikan. I'm quite surprised, however you can only maintain your lightning release at such a frequency for so long..."

Mikan ignored him, and charged across the room, and tried to punch Sejin in the jaw, but he was too fast. He was already sending sharp gusts of wind through his palms at Mikan's body.

Sparks of lightning, and wind flew with each matching strike. Multiple Kunai in Sejin's pouch then erupted in a flurry of chaos, and began to spin wildly around the two combatants. Sejin used them like coordinated drones launching them at Mikan one after the other.

Mikan took out her own kunai, as well as some wire strings, and danced through the air managing to counter every kunai thrown at her all the while fending off Sejin with his own taijutsu attacks.

"Her taijutsu is incredible!" Rubin said, looking down at Noboru, "even I didn't teach her how to do that."

Noboru, and Rubin continued to watch Mikan as she flipped through the air, overpowering Sejin. Eventually the kunai weren't spinning anymore. Confused, Sejin jumped back a few feet and tried to launch all the kunai directly at Mikan, but they wouldn't budge.

He looked up and saw that he no longer had control over them. They were suspended in mid- air loosely attached to wire strings, and the worst part is they had paper bombs attached to them. There was a long-winded silence as both combatants stared at each other. Noboru began to wonder if his father was still going easy on her.

He began to imagine... the best of the clan... outsmarted by a mere 13-year-old girl. Mikan launched all the exploding kunai at Sejin, and she wielded the right hand-sign signaling all of them to explode.

"Kiidogan!" Sejin yelled, awakening his doujutsu. Noboru looked on as the explosions from the paper bombs began to collapse on themselves. Sejin was moving his hands back and forth again containing the explosion into a finite sphere of white spinning wildly -just like he did with the smoke spheres earlier.

"Enough of this!" Sejin yelled, "Wind Style, Retrieving Wind Technique!"

Out of nowhere Noboru felt a gust of wind beneath his feet. Rubin tried to reach out, but Rubin himself felt a gust of wind hit his chest sending him against the wall. As he had been lifted up, and thrown high into the center of the room between the two combatants. Again, Sejin stomped on the floor and threw his arms out forcing the exploding sphere towards Mikan's little brother.

"Wait!" Mikan yelled as the spinning flash of light began to consume him.

The last thing Noboru saw was Mikan's eyes...They were purple...'Those eyes' He thought. "I guess that's good." He said as everything faded to black.

'I wonder if he'll do the same thing today' Noboru sat up in his bed, and clenched his fists grabbing the pendant Chocho had given him.

'But I guess it's Mikan. If she's there watching me, and if she's the one Sejin puts in danger then-then I'll be okay. If he endangers Mikan there's no way I won't unlock my Kiidogan.'

Squeezing the pendant one last time in his hand, he removed the necklace, and hid it in his nightstand next to his bed. He slipped out, and got ready for the day. He bathed, and ate even though he was too nervous to, and he stretched. Due to today's event the Kosutta complex was more lively than usual with clan members preparing to watch the big fight.

Noboru found himself outside pacing the courtyard thinking everything through.

It wasn't long before he was approached by one of the Kosutta jonin.

"Young master," Natsuki said with a bow, "If it pleases you I will not be offended if you saw me in place of your lord father during your battle today."

Noboru grimaced at the thought. "I don't like you, but my disdain for you does not exceed my hatred for Sejin."

Noboru stopped pacing, and looked up at Natsuki.

"After all, he's the one who ordered you to bring me back."

"That's what loyalty means young master, I will gladly do it again if need be."

Natsuki was a tall man at 6ft'10 and built like a gorilla. He always did what Sejin asked of him no matter the cost, and as a jonin he'd completed more A ranked missions than both Minori, and Minaka when she was still active in Amegakure.

"Where is Minaka?" Noboru asked bluntly.

"I'm unaware, and if I was I would not tell you without your lord fathers consent."

After a brief pause Natsuki continued.

"Good luck today young master; please do not forget your place, and remember to be grateful to have a seat at the table - there are many who would love to pull it out from under you."

Natsuki left making his way toward the sacred training compound at the edge of Kosutta territory.

Noboru swallowed hard, and was about to follow him. It was about time for their fight after all. It was time for him to use everything Mikan, and Minaka taught him. He needed to awaken his Kiidogan, participate in the Mock Exams, and marry Chocho. That's what his sister wanted for him, and so that's what he would do.

Before Noboru began his walk alone Minori placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't pay that pansy ass any mind Noboru. You got this."

The two started their walk toward the compound.

Noboru was not close enough to Minori to consider him a brother, but he was close enough to be considered a friend or at the very least an ally. Minori's presence calmed him down a bit.

"Any advice?" Noboru asked, staring straight ahead.

"Yeah, " Minori said, "don't overthink it. Remember to go all out - fight as though your life depends on it. If you do that, the Kiidogan will awaken naturally."

Noboru had another question, but he hesitated to ask it.

"Mikan."

Minori flinched at hearing the name.

"She's here today... Right?"

The Kosutta chunin averted Noboru's gaze, and looked straight ahead at the compound.

"I-I see."

As the two entered they parted ways. The building was large, and in the center was a giant field of sand, and rock. On the sidelines were long wooden rows of seats, and every single one of them was full.

'There are more people here than there were at Mikan's ceremony.'

Though Noboru didn't recognize any of them except for Rubin who was seated toward the front, and the Ito brothers toward the back. One of the brothers looked to be giving him a thumbs up, Noboru grinned at that.

But his smile soon faded as he entered the center of the arena. The laughter, the casual conversations all drew to a deathly silent stop. Noboru could hear his own heartbeat and the sound of someone else walking into the arena from the opposite entrance. It was his lord father Sejin Kosutta, head of the clan.

Noboru scanned the sidelines once more looking for Mikan trying to find her amongst the crowd, but she wasn't there - she wasn't anywhere to be found.

'I'm alone.'

Noboru walked until he was about ten meters away from his father. Sejin looked at his son with contempt, and expectation.

No announcement was needed, and no words had to be said. Everyone knew what they were there for.

"You don't need me to tell you what will happen if you don't succeed do you?" Sejin asked.

"I'm going to Point Break, and I'm going to fight in the Mock Exams!"

His voice had cracked.

'At least I hope I will.'

Even Noboru knew there was no conviction in his words, but despite that Noboru pressed on.

Noboru slowly revealed a handful of smoke bombs from the pouch on his waste.

'Here goes nothing.'

He threw the smoke bombs on the ground, and the instant they exploded smoke began to fill the room.

Sejin did his best to peer through the smoke. He carefully awaited Noboru's next move, but a full minute had passed and still nothing came.

"You're relying on subterfuge instead of facing me directly?!" Sejin yelled. "How cowardly, even Mikan had the courage to fight me head on-"

Wham!

A section of the smoke was broken through. An invisible fist smashed into Sejin's face.

"What?" Rubin called out clearly surprised. The audience wasn't quite sure what was happening. How did Noboru land a hit?

Sejin stepped backwards in an attempt to recover. He brought a hand to his red cheek, and looked around in a panic, and it happened again. Sejin felt his body twist, and contort as he fell to one knee holding his stomach. Noboru had landed yet another blow.

Even Natsuki was surprised at Noboru's move. What exactly did he do to gain the upper hand?

"You can thank Minaka for that." Minori said studying Natsuki's reaction.

"Thanks to her Noboru is able to cast ninjutsu with only one hand. A feat that you and I are still incapable of doing."

"O-One hand?! T-Then that means!"

"Exactly Natsuki, it means Noboru doesn't need to say the words to cast jutsu. He used the smoke bombs to buy himself some time, and within the smoke he cast the 'Air Current Dance' with one hand. Since Sejin-"

"Lord Sejin, Minori."

"...Since Lord Sejin didn't hear the words he wasn't expecting any kind of ninjutsu. That's why Noboru was able to catch him off guard."

"But I've seen him train with Lord Sejin; his 'Air Current Dance' is in a miserable state."

"You've seen him cast the jutsu with two hands. Not one Natsuki. It's possible Noboru has been practicing casting the jutsu with one hand in his free time picking up where Minaka left off."

"Hmph."

Sejin was the strongest Kosutta to come out of the clan in decades. Now that he'd adjusted to the situation he was easily able to predict Noboru's next move.

He raised his arm, and caught Noboru's invisible hand.

"Your moves have always been the same boy," Sejin pulled Noboru in, raised his elbow, and slammed it down onto the nape of his neck.

For a brief instant Noboru was visible again. Everyone could see Noboru's eyes bulging, his mouth open, and they could hear the spit hit the sand beneath him but then like a candle in a rainstorm he was gone again. Sejin, still holding Noboru's arm, threw his invisible son across the arena.

The audience could see the path his body made as it skirted across the sand, and they could see the smoke from his bombs swallow him whole as he moved through them.

Without hesitating Sejin started to walk toward his son. He raised his hands, and cast "Wind Style: Air Current Dance" He said, and just like that Sejin too was gone.

Watching from the sidelines both Natsuki, and Minori smiled.

"This is where the fun begins," Minori remarked.

Both chunin knew that despite Noboru's disdain for Sejin they still trained together often, and they were both now engaged in what was considered the "Kosutta Dance" When two Kosutta clan shinobi cast the 'Air Current Dance' jutsu, and fought hand to hand it was a dual of sorts.

'I remember when Minaka and I used to do this all the time.' Minori reminisced.

Because of how often they trained together both combatants knew each other's moves or at least they thought they did.

"In a way this will reveal who knows more about the other. The young master or Lord Sejin," Natsuki remarked.

And then they clashed. No one could see anything clearly through the smoke but it was clear the two were extending blows. The exchanges were so tough that smoke from the bombs blew through the audience as if they were powerful gusts of wind.

Sand flew up due to kicks, and trips and falls, and at one point one of the fighters had clearly thrown sand in the other's face. They couldn't see each other, and the audience couldn't see them, but they were captivated nonetheless.

"I would've loved to see Mikan do this during her fight with Sejin," Natsuki remarked.

After another minute of bouts, and exchanging blows Noboru's invisibility began to waver fluctuating between visible, and non-visible. As his body became clearer, and clearer it was evident that he was not doing well.

He was bruised, and bleeding, and limping, but despite that he pushed onward.

"While I'm disappointed you did not share this improvement of yours with me - it is commendable," Sejin remarked. "While Your 'Air Current Dance' is remarkable Noboru; however it is not a Kiidogan."

Noboru ignored his father, and leapt back into the smoke.

Seeing no need for it, Sejin undid his 'Air Current Dance' becoming visible once again. He was standing in the center of the arena, and while he was dripping with sweat the Kosutta head had sustained hardly any injuries.

"No more smoke!" Sejin yelled. "Wind Style: Wind Retort!"

He slammed his fist into the ground, and in doing so a gust of wind emitted from his palm sending all the smoke in the room up, and out the various windows. As the smoke cleared the audience began to look around, murmuring about the fight. It seemed no one could find Noboru. Everyone looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he run away?" A voice asked.

The voices grew louder in confusion as everyone was talking about what was going on. Even Sejin himself seemed unsure of what to do.

Minori on the other hand was lost in thought. Noboru had gone through a lot this last year. Had he finally had enough? Did Sejin break him? Not only has he been abused, but he's been kept in the dark about Mikan's plans for him. He's supposed to marry a girl he doesn't know, and Sejin wants him to lead a clan he doesn't love. If Noboru did run away would Minori chase after him or would he let him go? In the end the young chunin shook his head.

'I made a promise to Mikan.'

He turned to leave the compound.

'He couldn't have gone far' Minori thought.

But just before he could make another move someone yelled.

"THERE HE IS!"

Someone in the audience pointed at the ceiling, and sure enough there he was. Noboru was standing upside down from the ceiling with his arms crossed looking down at his father with cold, calculating eyes.

And then like an angel - he fell.

Sejin had just caught onto what the audience was looking at, and raised his head up. With a smirk on his face he started to wield hand signs. "Ninja Art, Wind Nature Rotation!"

The man extended both hands, and just above them were large concentrations of wind style chakra energy. The man looked up at Noboru, and leaned his left arm back, and then in an instant he launched one of the balls of energy from his hand straight up toward Noboru's face.

"He can't dodge in midair." Natsuki said. "The young master should've attacked sooner, he would've had the element of surprise."

Natsuki recalled when Mikan used a shadow clone to push her real body out of the air. In fact Natsuki himself had done a similar move when he was in the process of awakening his Kiidogan. But still, looking at Noboru and the rate at which he's falling he wouldn't have the time to cast a jutsu like that even if he was castling it one handed.

As Noboru fell his mind was racing through every possible scenario carefully trying to construct a win out of an equation designed to generate loss.

'These are smaller than the ones he used on Mikan. But considering their density they're probably worse.'

Noboru took a deep breath in the air.

"Well, here goes nothing."

The ball was inches from his face when with all the force he could muster Noboru flipped backwards causing the ball of force to sling passed his body, but Noboru wasn't done. As it torpedoed passed his torso the boy extended his legs, and then focusing all the chakra he could in that spot he slammed his legs shut capturing the ball of raw wind energy between them

A loud cry could be heard through the arena as Noboru screamed, and screamed. He was barely able to handle the pain, but all the adrenaline in his body pushed him onward; every cell in his body told him to keep fighting.

"How about another one?" Sejin leaned back, and then with all the power he's amassed over the many years of being a shinobi, he launched the second mass of energy at his son. It tore through the air like a missile crackling, and whirling as it traveled.

'W-What n-ow?'

Seeing no other options Noboru raised his hands, and grabbed onto the second mass of chakra. His screams were even worse than they were before - bloodcurdling, and maniacal. The young Kosutta could feel his body on the verge of exploding as his legs, and arms shook with the veracity of an earthquake. It felt as though he was melting from the inside out, as if he was being churned like butter, or emulsified into jello.

'Come on Noboru push through this!'

If any of the other Mock Exams candidates had attempted to do what Noboru just did they'd be on the floor, and in pieces. Minori knew that to be a fact. Due to the intense nature of the 'Air Current Dance' Kosutta shinobi have always demonstrated immaculate chakra control. The chakra control of a single Kosutta genin was often better than that of jonin level ninja, and that was the truth. However, while that was the case Noboru was no genin, and at this point he could hardly pass for a ninja.

As Noboru plummeted toward the ground in agony he couldn't help but think:

"I should just die."

Sejin simply stepped out of the way as Noboru crashed into the center of the sandy arena, the balls of chakra dissipating into the sand unable to detonate. Noboru was on his hands and knees staring at the ground. Wet tears of blood started to flow out his eyes, and into the sand beneath him.

'If Mikan was here t-this wouldn't have happened. If she was here I-I"

Sejin kicked his son in the mouth, cracking teeth, and bone, sending his body flying back and into the sand.

"Get up."

But Noboru did not move.

Sejin kicked his son again, but this time in his ribs.

Another cry for help as the boy wriggled in pain, and helplessness. He barely looked up seeing the exit to the compound. Extending his right arm he began to crawl toward it.

"GET UP!" Sejin yelled his voice booming throughout the arena.

But Noboru did not get up. Instead he continued to crawl toward the exit like a bug trying to escape the boot.

Sejin's face was red with fury, veins bulging, eyes popping. Everyone in the arena could hear his anger, could feel his frustration, could taste his fury. Sejin raised his foot, and began to slam it down on the boy's skull intending to turn it into mush.

But a hand had caught his leg before he could deal the fatal blow, before he could execute his son in front of the entire clan.

Sejin looked up at the man who'd stopped him.

"That's enough Sejin." Rubin said.

Sejin stopped, and looked around at the audience, their faces full of disgust, and anguish though others were smiling with anticipation. Without saying another word Sejin pulled his foot away, and left the arena.

"Such a shameful disgrace," Natsuki said, turning to follow him out.

"Noboru. You did well," Rubin said

But Noboru knew he was lying. He had to be. Why didn't he let Sejin finish him off? Why was he spared?

He had not shown resolve. He had not awoken the Kiidogan, and therefore he would not be participating in the Mock Exams, he would not get to marry Chocho. He'd live the rest of his life as a failure, and in seclusion. Mikan probably hated him, and that's why she didn't come to see him. It's because she knew he would've failed anyway.

Noboru closed his eyes allowing his consciousness to fade, and as he did he hoped to never wake up again.