Embers of the will part 1 [open]

[Legacy]

After being struck hard on the head or perhaps falling too steep trying to defend himself, Takanobu lost consciousness. In the depths of seemingly eternal darkness the voices of an unknown adversary tormented him.

I don't believe it, he's done already. Are you Leaf ninja always so weak ?

Something, a shout perhaps, escaped Takanobu though he couldn't make noise of it. Strangely enough, he could no longer feel his body within the shroud and believed with a frightening calm that his life had been stolen and that this place, dark and taunting, were to be his final resting place for all eternity. That is until...

A vibrant light shines abruptly in the darkness bringing warmth and...a voice.

"Taka-kun! Taka! Takanobu! You HAVE to wake up."

Heat permeates the dark and cold is driven out by the light. Instinctively, Takanobu follows both sound and light unknowingly pulling himself back into a state of consciousness; back from the divide, returning through force of will to breath once more among those who live. At first, the sensory input of white from what is recognized as a room, blinds him. There's a window to his right but Takanobu can't - doesn't look over to it, the light is too much. A second later, he quickly realizes that the warmth he'd felt was his own blood stirred to flow again.

Another moment and his body begins to twitch. Both voluntary and involuntary movements from having spent the last three weeks in an unconscious state; though to him, every moment exists on a single axis, a blur of events. "I..." Takanobu makes out, barely above a whisper. "Am I alive? Is this the world of the passed over?" He asks, feeling a vaguely familiar sensation wash over him but remains stooped in confusion. Just where was he?

He'd have no time to gain his bearings before the arms of someone, a person he couldn't see suddenly wrapped around him so tight that his body began to ache. Though it were unpleasant at first, the sensation immediately gave the youthful Senju joy. He were not dead...no, far from it.

"TAKA! YOU'RE AWAKE!" There could be no mistaking that voice, Takanobu remembered. It was Kaoru, his mother's auntie. An elder and more senior kunoichi of the village and also Senju, Takanobu imagined that she must've come to see him through recovery. Though, if he were being honest, all that he could remember were shouting after two Leaf ninja back in Aroma country. Embracing his relative weakly within both arms, Takanobu let the memories of that time flow freely and took in each detail with calm deliberation.

What happened to those two?Are they okay? Both Yukari and Noeru had led a charge against the powerful island ninja and while Takanobu could not recall their names (no one had the time to introduce themselves to each other before the battle) their acts of courage were deeply etched into his memory. Just as well, so too was the formidable might of the enemy. I'd never encountered anyone like them before...

They were still out there somewhere. Growing stronger with each new day, amassing power and using it to inflict great despair upon the world. Meanwhile, Takanobu could barely even move; confined to a bed and forced into submission, he felt helplessness for the first time. "Karagata...Vorashu..." An image of crimson blood had been burned into Takanobu's memory and the sequence of lacquering tendrils brought about dread as though he were reliving that moment all over again.

"Taka-kun...are you alright?" Chosatsuyō questioned, worried. When she didn't get an answer she'd placed a hand upon Takanobu's shoulder to comfort him. You've been through much in your time away from the village. Just how formidable were your opponents, Takanobu?

When she'd first come in to see him, around three weeks ago, the doctor and supervising nurses had stressed that his injuries while not immediately life threatening had been severe enough to warrant multiple doses of medication and several sutures to keep everything functioning properly. As luck would have it, Takanobu's Senju bloodline had been the only reason for his accelerated recovery. He of course couldn't have known being a fresh Genin graduate gearing up for an experimental chunin exam but the cells within him, dormant as they were, would one day become active and bestow upon Takanobu the power to shape history. Chosatsuyō had been advised to keep this knowledge to herself but found quickly that his parents were already well aware of Takanobu's potential; taking an immediate notice of the child's ability, even for an inkling, well before enrolling him into Konoha's ninja academy. Their concern was that neither could simply bring attention to his dormant power by lecturing Takanobu, he would have to discover his strength by himself.

"Vorashu? No. Was that the name of your opponent in the exams this year?" Chosatsuyō didn't want to believe it; hoped with every part of her being, that what she were about to hear and had heard were just some coincidence. When Takanobu took more than a moment to respond, she realized that the subject was troubling for him.

"At any rate, you should try and put those thoughts aside for now. You need to focus on recovering all of your strength. Its already been three weeks since you were brought here and you've only just regained consciousness. Before devoting any amount of energy to who or what got you here you'll need to heal first. These should do the trick when you begin to gain an appetite..."

Reaching behind her, Chosatsuyō retrieved a white plastic bag filled with an assortment of Apples, peaches, Bananas, Berries, Peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches; several bottles of water, imported from Mizuno village and a scroll who's contents remained unknown as it were bound by a yellow string. Takanobu beamed with happiness and despite his aching body, he hugged Chosatsuyō with all the power he could muster. "Thank you, Ba-san. I'll do my best to recover!" Takanobu and Chosatsuyō spoke for a while longer about the events that had happened while he'd been unconscious and when he were informed to a capacity that wouldn't induce stress, she left him to the room's warmth and quiet.



There's no use in trying to downplay my failure; against two ninja from another village I'd been completely out classed. I thought that I might've been able to become a chunin without relying upon others but now I see things differently. I can't say for certain but...something about the way that enemy did battle felt, off. I can't put a finger on it but maybe if I can be placed on a squad and learn under a Jounin, I might find the answer. Like Ba-san said though, I won't be able to do anything until I've recovered enough strength.

Takanobu took in a long, deep inhale and held the air within him for several moments. In the quiet before his exhale, he could distinctly here the noise of an active village beyond his room. For all the time that he'd spent enjoying the moment as it were Takanobu had completely forgotten to notice that his cloth mask were gone. So used to wearing the item, when he turned to find it resting on the small dresser near his bedside the youthful Genin smiled and acknowledged that Chosatsuyō had seen his face when no one else were able to do so. Quietly, he donned the mask before laying back In his bed to gaze up at a blank ceiling.

[hobnob]

A loud sigh escaped the boys lips as he strolled down an alleyway. There was nothing of significance about this alleyway, only that it was unusually narrow. Not wide enough for the locals to place their bins in, and as a result it was a nice and easy walk through. The best thing about it was the fact that it cut the journey to the center of the village in half. With no need to jump from roof to roof, or walk or run along the designated routes. It was great, Noeru thought as he took a deep drag on his cigarette. With the cooler weather setting in, and the lack of wind, the smoke remained in place after losing it's momentum and heat. As a result, the alleyway was filled with smoke and if one looked from the either end, visibility would be very limited. Noeru stopped and looked back at the way he came, and a small chuckle escaped his lips as he could not see more than a few feet. This sight brought back memories of the Chuunin exams, from which he returned a few weeks ago, and had been busy ever since with training. It was obvious that he required improvement, although he did not come at the bottom of the league tables, he did not do his family proud and got scolded upon arrival. The chuckle turned into a frown at the memory, only then for his facial expression to completely change from the annoyed frown to one of sadness as the lack of visibility brought back the memories of lack of vision, during the same period but just before the exams had actually began.

The shinobi from Kirigakure whom he fought alongside Yukari and his cousin Takanobu. It was Takanobu that suffered the most out of all of them, and for all he knew was still in hospital. His stillness turned into motion as he now knew where he was heading. With his life becoming so busy ever since returning to the village, he had no time to go and visit Takanobu. He knew of his whereabouts as his family had mentioned visiting him and explained his situation, but it had not seemed very real up until now, until he had a moment to process his feelings. They were all lucky the battle ended the way it did. It should have ended sooner, it should have never happened. Noeru's thoughts and memories were all over. Anger pulsated through his veins as he thought about how weak and insignificant he was against those shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Mist. They were on a completely other level, knowing this did not bring him comfort as weakness was not an excuse and the reason behind his family grilling him so to improve physically and spiritually, so next time he is faced with such a foe, he would be ready. A part of him was afraid that the training he was placed under would not be enough. Frustration mixed in with the anger, and his pace quickened as he pressed hard with his thighs, pushing himself off the ground and into the air, dashing out of the alleyway and onto the rooftops like a blurring bullet. His gaze was fixated on the building that was located at the center of the village, the hospital, where he was heading.

When he arrived, he did not bother going to the reception like any other person would. Already knowing where his cousin was located meant he could just dash along and up the wall and get to him quicker through the window. And when he arrived, by using his chakra to grip onto the side of the wall, he looked in through the window and noticed that Takanobu was in fact moving. A smile returned to the youths face as he realized that his cousin was improving. More chakra pulsated through his body, this time to his index finger. It suddenly began to burn a blue flame of chakra and he placed it against the window to allow for grip, just like his feet against the wall, and he gently slid the window open; 'Yo Taka...' he let out as he slid to the window sill and perched on it, flicking what was left of his cigarette towards the busy street.

[Legacy]

Long before he'd laid eyes upon the stranger, Takanobu had smelled them. An arid, pungent odor of the kind not welcomed within most house holds assaulted Takanobu's nostrils and served to alarm him of another's presence within his vicinity. Instinctively, Takanobu reached for a Kunai which normally would have been accessible near his left thigh but forgot that he'd been in the infirmary and that for reasons of security, safety and peace of mind, staff had removed him of all equipment. What rotten luck, Takanobu thought to himself, defeated. Unwilling to concede entirely to helplessness Takanobu Senju reached for and took hold of an apple from within the bag brought by Chosatsuyō deciding to use it as a weapon instead.

Takanobu could hear the stranger approaching now as dull thuds upon a tough concrete and wooden surface were like sirens to his ears. Whether to Takanobu's credit or to the embarrassment of the stranger, the person seemed to lack knowledge in several basic fundamentals of stealth. If their intention had been to peek in at Takanobu while he slept any hope of that were dashed from the moment an odor was discovered. Between the time that Takanobu first smelled the scent of burning ash or perhaps some other toxin, and when he could hear thudding footsteps outside his window, he'd enjoyed several long moments of preparation and used each minute wisely.

Injured or not Takanobu was still Senju and would not be caught unawares so easily. When the stranger peered through Takanobu's window, they would find him immobile, ignorant to the chakra nurtured fruit residing within his left hand beneath white blankets. In his current state there was little that Takanobu could do but creating a Bakuhatsu seed within the apple proved to be a manageable task. On his command, the seed would detonate and deal damage to the stranger but more than that, it would serve to alert staff to the presence of someone uninvited, to Takanobu's room.

A little bit longer...Now! In the moment just when the stranger had used his arm to fully lift the window, Takanobu sat up abruptly and cast the apple rightward toward the window and the stranger center mass with enough strength to see it hurl across the short distance quickly (7) despite a sharp pain that had come as a result. Mid - flight and around twelve inches away from where the stranger had been perched vulnerably within the crevice of the window, Takanobu used his throwing hand to form a single hand seal; extending both index and middle fingers skyward while folding all the others downward, the Half Ram hand sign.

"Kai!"

In an instant what had once been a calm and quiet room designed for rest were turned into a staging area for defensive ninja arts. Because of his injuries, Takanobu were not able to extensively rely upon the reserves of his chakra pool and subsequently, control over the detonation suffered to such degree that where under perfect conditions he might've been able to obliterate the stranger, at present, he'd only been able to create a moderate detonation (8 strength). This of course, were still string enough to completely blast out the glass window to his room and that in and of itself may have done additional damage to the stranger had the detonation itself not been enough. Satisfied with the fact that the bang created from the explosion were loud enough to be heard from at least three village blocks, Takanobu rolled off of his bed and on to the floor where the smoke was less concentrated for him to breathe. He didn't talk, at least not yet, he needed to know who would have had access to his room if not an immediate family member or friend; and for that matter, why they hadn't come through the front door.

Whether or not his actions were truly justified Takanobu could not say. Thinking only of preserving his own safety and potentially, the safety of other residents of the hospital , he truly believed that there were something amiss about someone showing up unannounced at his window. Call it a ninja's paranoia but fresh from a firm demonstration of what could go wrong when a Shinobi went unprepared, he'd taken an oath never to be caught off guard again. Ability, strength, speed, chakra presence, all of these things were a mystery to Takanobu regarding the stranger but he'd been able to detect them from their own habits - coincidence or not.

Now, he needed to delay them so that in order for the medical ninja on duty or other senior Shinobi could apprehend him. Something easier said than done in his current state...

Mokuton • Bakuhatsu Nut
D-Rank Ninjutsu
By closing their palm and performing the correct hand seals with the other, the user can create 1 seed closely resembling a walnut with a 2-inch diameter. This seed is filled with chakra and has enough energy to detonate with a force of a D-Rank Explosion. The user can detonate seed via kai, but if not detonated within 3 posts, it loses it's potency.

[hobnob]

As Noeru slid down the wall to perch on the window sill, there was movement under hospital white duvet around the area of Takanobus torso. Not making much of it, Noeru carried on with his flick, turning away to face the street as he sat with one leg in the hospital room, and one leg dangling above the ground a few stories down. With one firm flick Noeru sent the butt of his cigarette pelting forwards onto the empty street of Konoha, his gaze returned back to look at his cousin and to continue what he had already began saying. To his surprise, he saw an apple moving towards him reasonable speeds. The initial response was slight confusion. Thanks to his perceptive vision, he was able to see the movements in the background, how his cousins, or someone who looked like his cousin begin to formulate single-handed ram seal which is one used to perform one of the fundamental techniques he was taught in the academy, along with everybody else who is a shinobi. His pupils adjusted and the apple came into focus on again. Unsure of what was going on, his instincts took over. His right foot burned with the blue flame of chakra and moved against the wall as the rest of his body pivoted away from the incoming apple. Suddenly, the apple was replaced with an explosion that sent a shock-wave in all directions. Breaking any weak constructs that came in its way such as glass, furniture and anything else that was not a structural part of the building. The immense speeds which Noeru was the host of came in handy when avoiding the brunt of the shock-wave. Unfortunately, he was not able to get away unharmed. The blast generated enough force to penetrate through his skin, damaging his left leg and causing minor internal bleeding. It was not enough to immobilize it, but he did feel it and it would take him a moment to recover his mindset. The debris created by the blast consisted of glass, shrapnel, splinters, all of which had ended up penetrating the left side of Noerus face. The pain was intense, but due to the rapid burst of adrenaline pumping through his system he was able to overcome it along with the pain which pulsated from his leg.

Noeru was perched against the wall via the use of chakra. Te heavy breathing caused by the adrenaline rush was quickly subsiding as the youth employed the military training he was put through not so long ago. Within moments after the blast Noeru was ready to counter aggressor in the room. With the image of Takanobu in his mind, the youth could have sworn that the person in the room was in fact Takanobu, so why did he attack a member of his family and village? the thought of the young shinobi rushed through his mind as he prepared a counter attack. Quickly he waved a string of hand seals and gathered chakra in both his hands, and his mouth. 'All guns blazing...' he mumbled upon finishing the seal sequence and grabbing onto the ledge.

In a smooth motion, the youth launched himself into the room, and his feet planted firmly on the floor. Without hesitation, at maximum speed, the youth dashed around the room, running along the walls searching the the smoke for the aggressor who now appeared to be led on the floor. Both his hands were put into a pistol-like formation. Thumb straight up, index finger extended, and the three remaining fingers were tucked neatly against his palm. As he still moved at full speed, the distance between them was covered in less than a second. Left index finger pressed firmly against the base of the individuals skull. Right index finger was pressed against the individuals back, the back of the heart to be precise. The chakra that filled his mouth was just a back up, if something unexpected happened. Noeru knew that by now someone would be on their way to investigate what had happened, and he would not allow the aggressor to flee from the scene of the crime.

'If you want to live, don't move?' The youth voice took on a deep and serious tone. This was the real deal, this was not a joke, if Noeru had to he would activate his technique and end this person in that very moment.

JutsuShow

Mokuton: Splinter (Left Hand: [Str: 40] [Spd: 12])
D-Rank Ninjutsu
Description: The user will either perform a series of hand seals, or they will channel chakra into their hand/s, or mouth, and will be able to shoot out a splinter that is five inches long, and a quarter of an inch in girth; both the ends of the splinter are needle-sharp. The splinters speed and strength is based on the users [Control]. The amount of splinters the user can shoot out a maximum of ten, one at a time. Jutsu lasts a maximum of 3 rotations. Multi-Projectile rules apply. Ninjutsu range rules apply.

Mokuton: Splinter (Right Hand: [Str: 40] [Spd: 12])
D-Rank Ninjutsu
Description: The user will either perform a series of hand seals, or they will channel chakra into their hand/s, or mouth, and will be able to shoot out a splinter that is five inches long, and a quarter of an inch in girth; both the ends of the splinter are needle-sharp. The splinters speed and strength is based on the users [Control]. The amount of splinters the user can shoot out a maximum of ten, one at a time. Jutsu lasts a maximum of 3 rotations. Multi-Projectile rules apply. Ninjutsu range rules apply.

Mokuton: Splinter (Mouth: [Str: 26] [Spd: 26])
D-Rank Ninjutsu
Description: The user will either perform a series of hand seals, or they will channel chakra into their hand/s, or mouth, and will be able to shoot out a splinter that is five inches long, and a quarter of an inch in girth; both the ends of the splinter are needle-sharp. The splinters speed and strength is based on the users [Control]. The amount of splinters the user can shoot out a maximum of ten, one at a time. Jutsu lasts a maximum of 3 rotations. Multi-Projectile rules apply. Ninjutsu range rules apply.

[Legacy]

In the moment that Takanobu's window had been raised, encroached upon by a stranger, his Bakuhatsu seed were about to complete its travel. Just like he'd planned the object infused with chakra would be detonated using Kai potentially finding purchase and raising enough of an alarm that hospital staff would find their way to him. Conscious for less than an hour, Takanobu knew that he were in no shape to take on a fight. Although, he thought it strange that someone would have attempted to break into his room for there were no valuables on him. All of his equipment had been kept in storage within his family's dwelling and any personal specs such as books or notable informational pieces weren't typically kept by the Genin to begin with.

In other words, if the stranger were hoping to gain something by sneaking up on a ninja, they'd chosen poorly. Incidentally, Takanobu found neither the time nor the will to consider who besides close relatives and professional colleagues would visit him; and all of those names, wouldn't have minded using the front door. Perhaps he'd still been wound up from the encounter with those of the Mist but Takanobu could not find any scenario now in which allowing his guard to drop were helpful. Instead, with each passing moment he seemed only to grow more concerned, and being unable to come to a definitive answer only further stressed his nerves.

Thrown by the blast at least two or so meters West, Takanobu crashed side ways into the wall before collapsing weakly to the floor. Facing East, he watched from the ground as smoke poured out of the window and faintly made out a sillohette. "So...it wasn't enough," coughed the Senju youth. He'd expected nothing else in his current state, but then...

"Alright. Why don't you two explain yourselves? Now." Takanobu couldn't for the life of him say when it had happened but somehow, he were back in his bed and the window which were definitely shattered to all damnation, were entirely restored like nothing had happened. The only difference was that the stranger, who before could not have been identified, now could be found in the center of the room while someone else, an older, bald-headed man dressed in Konoha's known military attire, leaned against a closed door. Takanobu's door.

"But I was...when did you-" Takanobu were cut off by the Jounin, abruptly. "Aht!Aht! I'm the one asking questions here. Why were you two fighting and in a hospital no less? Don't you have any shame?"

The Jounin, known as Genryujīn folded both arms over one another and exhaled a long tiresome breath. Nothing else was said by him afterward as he waited to hear what both sides had to say.

[Legacy]

Ooc noticeShow

Less of a retcon and more dousing to flames, the introduction of Genryujīn was to halt further fighting. It should be assumed by each Author and contributor thence forth that space time Ninjutsu were used to amend damages and disturbances. In game and between characters, this is best translated as a lapse of memory where both shall remain unknowledgeable to Genryujīn's actions. Both having assumed a state of awareness only upon hearing him speak. This allows other players to enter the scene without worrying about tension, in as natural a way that their characters would normally.