Between Light and Dark

[King of Cats]

With the moon hanging in full Shiroyasha laid in his bed asleep. The green sheets were sprawled out over him covering all but his bare feet. The genin was lost somewhere deep in the dream world. He had spent the day chasing cats out of trees and he was pretty exhausted. Nothing wore on someones nerves more than waiting for a cat to jump into your arms. Shiroyasha was laying still for most of the night but then his dream took a turn for the worst.

In this dream Shiroyasha was delivering a parcel on a mission and he had been traveling fast through the village. Shiroyasha was known for being light on his feet and in this dream it was no different. Shiro ran with the medium sized parcel in his armpit and as he ran he had a suddenly growing feeling of despair. He suddenly realized he was in a dream and without any control over the scenario all he could do was watch from a first person viewpoint. The feeling was growing deeper and Shiro knew something was coming. When he arrived on the other side of the village to deliver the mysterious parcel the feeling of despair had become all encompassing. He couldn't believe his body was moving, he felt like puking. Shiroyasha was terrified for no reason. He knew it was a dream but he couldn't stop himself from what was next.

Shiroyasha handed the parcel to an old woman and he knew what was next. He tried to close his eyes to keep his soul clean from what he was about to do but it was no use. Shiroyasha drew a kunai from his pocket and plunged it into the woman. She screamed and blood splurted all over the place. Shiroyasha couldn't believe he had just killed someone in his own village. In the dream he must have been given a mission. Shiroyasha was in a panic and was helpless as he kicked the dead woman over on the ground.

Kicking his bare naked feet in his dream Shiroyasha was fighting to awaken from the nightmare, it was getting worse and worse by the second. Shiroyasha suddenly leapt up in his bed with his yellow eyes wide open. He finally pulled himself from the throes of sleep and was out of the nightmare. He was sweeating ad noticed that his crucifix was sitting backwards on his neck. He reached his hand around his back and fixed it, Shiroyasha didn't like the feeling of his cross pressing on his back. He wondered if that was what caused his horrible nightmare. Sitting up he tried to forget the dream and focused on the day. According to his clock it was one thirty in the morning, the day had just turned it was the Paper Lantern Festival today. He was officially fasting and could only drink warm water. Shiro didn't mind, he was a devoted Nara and practiced Eiketsu: Unnatural Shadows which meant the yearly ritual to allign his soul with darkness was necessary for his techniques. Shiro got up from his bed and poured a glass of warm water. He spent a long time drinking it at the sink.

When morning came Shiroyasha had already been meditating for a a few hours. He wasn't able to rest his eyes after the nightmare, and with such a big day ahead he figured it was better to just be ready. When the sun came up he had his blindfold on and was dedicated to melding his soul with the ternal darkness found within shadows. Shiroyasha had excellent chakra control and was focusing of the flow of his chakra while he pondered the darkness. Hours went by and he didn't move, meditating solely on the eternal darkness of the Nara clan. Eventually it was sunset and he was free to take off his blindfold. Shiroyasha was respectful of the Nara clan traditions, but his true passion was in the Awai family tradition of the Paper Lantern Festival. He rushed out of the door as soon as he had the chance and headed into the village of Konohagakure.

The skies were lits up with thousands of paper lanterns and the sky was dark blue. People were rushing through the streets celebrating by eating festival food and watching Light Release shows. It was truly beautiful to behold. As an Awai by blood Shiroyasha was incredibly to see his clan moving so many peoples hearts. It was time to let free the light inside of him. Shiroyasha ran to his friend Kirito's house, a fellow Awai. Kirito greeted him at the door and the two boys headed out to celebrate. They bought a bunch of paper lanterns with their ninja earnings and let them loose high in the sky, powered by a little flare of light the Hiton adepts created with ninjutsu. As they were letting their lanterns fly off they attracted a crowd of young kids, about 7 or eight. They were regular civillians and fascinated with the Awai lightshow so Shiro and Kirito decided to put on a greater one.

Standing on the ground Shiroyasha focused chakra into his eyes and channeled his jutsu above the heads of the children. A small explosion of light filled the air above them and the warmth was heart warming. The kids cheered. Shiroyasha had been practicing with his Raitogan a lot lately, in fact it was his main focus. Unlike his Will of Light power, which was an innate instinct, he had to practice to use his dojutsu. Shiroyasha certainly had his work cut out for him as far as being a ninja went. He was studying Fuuinjutsu, Ninpou, Hiton, Eiketsu, and even the basics of Jikukan. He was a smart kid but he certainly had more than he could handle. Using his Raitogan exhausted the Genin but he didn't let it show. Shiroyasha smiled wildly in front of the kids, his forehead dripping with sweat. Eager to make the kids night though, Shiroyasha had another spectacular display to show them.

The Will of Light was a unique ability to Shiroyasha that worked with Light Release techniques. When Shiroyasha used Light Release the light that shone on his body was absorbed into his cells. With a twitch of an invisible muscle Shiroyasha could explode with the light he had collected. He wanted to show the kids this but first he needed to perform a Hiton technique. Shiroyasha held out his bladless kunai in his hand and said, "Watch this." The kunai handle began glowing with golden light. Shiroyasha chucked it into the air and as it got a far enough distance away from the kids he exploded the Light Release chakra inside of it. The light shone from high above and sparkled in the dark blue sky. Shiroyasha caught the kunai handle in his hand smiling.

"Okay, now stand back kids." Shiroyasha waited for the kids to get back and exploded with lgiht. The shining was immaculate and warm even at a distance. Shiroyasha danced as the light shone giving off a funny silhouette. The kids were truly mytified and even Kirito was impressed. When the kids walked away Kirito said to Shiroyasha. "That Will of Light is truly amazing, and it never ceases to amaze me Shiroyasha. You know, we haven't sparred in awhile. Tomorrow, crack of dawn, you wanna?" Shiroyasha was excited to be challenged and grinned devilishly. "You know it." The two agreed on a battle and set offf for their respective homes. They had to get to bed soon to get a good rest.

When he got home Shiroyasha greeted his parents. They had gone out for the festival as a couple but had gotten home earlier than Shiroyasha. They were cuddling up in bed watching the village light work from their window and were pleasantly greeted by their son. He explained what he had done for the night. Shiroyasha had a strong desire for satisfaction from his parents and wanted them to have the chance to tell him good job, which they did. Shiroyasha was grinning when he told them about the Shiroyasha vesus Kirito match up. They were both excited for their son too and wished him luck then sent him to bed. The two adults were having a sweet romantic night and their son was always a welcomed sight but at that moment they were having different kind of thoughts. The two were actually talking about having a child again. Shiroyasha didn't know it though and went to bed excited for his sparring match.

Shiroyasha was a fighter at heart. He loved the thrill of throwing a kunai at his enemy, or bind them with his shadow, or blinding them with a blast of light. If it was good, honest fighting Shiroyasha was all about, though that not to say he didn't have a killing bone in his body. He just hadn't matured to that stage in his life yet. Thinking about his strategy against Kirito Shiroyasha crawled into bed with a blindfold on, that's how he liked to sleep. He rested for just a moment before the days exhaustion put him to sleep. Fortunately for him he did not have any nightmares on this night.

When he woke up Shiroyasha was primed and ready already. He had contrived a plan to use shadow paralysis against the light bender and was excited to have the chance to fight someone stronger than him. Shiroyasha was a more technical fighter but his Awai opponent had more powerful techniques at his disposal. He was incredibly adept with some C-Rank Light Release techniques and Shiroyasha knew that would be his greatest danger. If Shiroyasha was blinded by Hiton it was basically over. Along with that edge Kirito was was a skilled taijutsu artist. Shiroyasha certainly had his work cut out for him. He woke up and poured a cup of coffee with cream in it, brewing over his strategy. He of course had some advantages over Kirito and he planned on capitalizing on them. Shiroyasha firstly had the power of the shadows at his disposal and his first method of attack was to bind his opponent using Eiketsu. Shiroyasha also was greatly skilled with ninpou which gave him a more well rounded base of attack than Kirito had. Shiroyasha was going to be put through the ringer but he knew he was ready for the challenge. He sipped his coffee liesurely in the morning darkness. It was cold outside but he had a window open to let in a cool breeze.

Once his coffee was digesting Shiroyasha rushed back upstairs to his room so that he could get ready for his match. Shiroyasha slipped on his long sleeve black shirt with nothing underneath it and buttoned up to the lst button. He wanted to look appropriate for his opponent and showing chest hair wasn't saying the right kind of message. With his red jacket overtop he walked over to his weapon stand. Shiroyasha had a holder of almost two dozen kunai in it and he put them into his jacket. The pockets had special clips to secure kunai in it and it could hold a lot of the little knives. Shiroyasha loaded up with his tools and was nearly ready. He strapped his Konoha headband onto his forehead and was feeling extra proud. He was ready to bring the pain. His parents were still sleeping, off duty from a long mission on their team, so Shiroyasha just slipped past their room and headed downstairs. He grabbed an apple and rushed out the door to the village sparring grounds.

The village sparring grounds was a wide expanse of cleared forest land in the village. There was enough room for two people to have a go to moderately restrained combat and Shiroyasha felt at home there. The ground was covered in snow from the falling precipitation and the whole forest surrounding the training grounds was covered in white frost. Shiroyasha was cold but he didn't let it bother him. It was about thirty degrees out so he was comfortable in his long sleeve and jacket. With his headband glistening in the daybreak Shiroyasha waited for Kirito. It wasn't a long wait and soon the Awai rolled up onto the scene. Sihiroyasha was literally glowing, a side effect of the Will of Light, with excitement. "Hey there bro. Good morning." Shiroyasha greeted his friend. Kirito sneezed in the distance.

"Hey brother.. I caught a cold but I'm still ready to kick your ass." Kirito had a disgusting trail of snot running from his red nose to his barely hairy mustache. Shiroyasha averted his eyes and replied, "Don't think I'm going to go easy on you just because you're filthy and disgusting." Shiroyasha let out a laugh and started walking over to the middle of the training grounds. "I'm going to beat your ass into the ground." Shiroyasha called out to his opponent who was slowly readying up.

Kirito stood with both of his hands up high by his face and his elbows tucked in protecting his ribs. Shiroyasha knew his style of fighting, it was a street fighting style. He smirked. The Awai wouldn't have to worry about any punches to his midsection. Shiroyasha was strictly a ranged fighter and he used razor sharp projectiles as a means of attack. Shiroyasha pulled a kunai from his coat pocket and held it in reverse. He was ready for anything and expected Kirito to attack him at close range. The stance he saw proved Kirito was going to do just that and Shiroyasha was ready. Kirito lunged forward after the two counted down simultaneously, the Awai making the first move as anticipated. Shiroyasha was ready and began channeling chakra into his kunai. He threw it and Kirito moved to dodge it, as he did the kunai poofed and a second appeared underneath it head in the new direction of Kirito. The Awai drew a kunai from his pouch and quickly deflected it but he was put off balance.

Shiroyasha had the edge and he knew just what to do. Shiroyasha drew a shuriken from his pocket and his hand began glowing blue with chakra as he channeled his energy into the weapon. He threw it with a quick flick of the wrist and it spun through the air. The way Shiroyasha threw it it curved and Kirito simply ignored it as it seemed to be a miss, but the shurike plunged it's way in Kirito's shadow on the ground and bound him. The ninja couldn't more and Shiroyasha was grinning wildly.

"Looks like I win." Shiroyasha released his jutsu and Kirito was freed from the binding. "You got me this time bro." Kirito congratulated Shiroyasha and the two performed the unity symbol. They were both Konoha shinobi through and through so they honored the traditions set before them. After the match Shiroyasha was invited by the loser to cheeseburger and the Konoholic and he went along with his friend. He was a bit tired from using his techniques but it was nothing a good meal wouldn't fix. Shiroyasha ordered a reuben and Kirito ordered a mushroom steak burger. The two boys chowed down happily, not really talking as they ate. Once the meal was over they parted ways. Shiroyasha had ninja work to do and so did Kirito. Kirito was assigned a team and he was already late so the two didn't spend much time together after they ate, simply munching down and parting ways.

[King of Cats]

After getting some work done as a genin for Konoha Shiroyasha headed home to tell his parents about the epic sparring match between him and Kirito. He raced home and made it before the sun set. The birds were chirping in the mid winter snow, nestling into their nests rightfully. Shiroyasha noticed that there were a lot of birds in the bush nearby his front door but didn't think much of it. He was a mostly carefree guy and simple things like that didn't draw much attention from him. Shiroyasha barged into the door cheerfully, it was unlocked.

Shiroyasha's mother was standing at the door with a cake and the teenager rushed into her. The cake went flying into the air and splattered on the wall. Shiro's mother let out a squeel and threw her hands up into the air. Shiroyasha pressed himself into her chest and knocked them both over. They were laying on the floor together laughing. "I heard about your victory." She said and giggled before getting up. Shiroyasha was laying on the floor still, he was hysterical. His mother was a jonin, you'd think her reflexes would be better than that and that had Shiroyasha absolutely cracking up. He was rolling on the floor.

Hearing the commotion Shiro's father came out from hiding with a big smile on his face. He was going to surprise Shiroyasha using camouflage but the boy had done enough on his own. The older man, Shiro's dad was fifty seven, helped his son up from the ground and the family walked into the kitchen. Shiro's mom left the cake on the wall for now, they had big news for Shiroyasha.

"Well honey," Shiro's mom began as the family all sat down at the table. "Your father and I have done a lot of consideration, and we want you to know we love you as our first born son." The woman was tearing up. "It's just, I'm not getting any older and your father is past the halfway mark. You see Shiro," She was fully crying now. "You see we are going to have another child. We've been working on it and the doctors say I'm healthy enough for it. We want a baby girl." Shiro was completely dumbfounded. He never imagined his parents would be telling him this. In fact Shiroyasha never imagined having a brother or sister. He was always content as a single child, happy playing by himself and training alone. He certainly wasn't smiling but he had a look of satisfaction on his face. Shiroyasha wanted his parents to be happy and if this made them happy he was glad to accompany them on their journey.

He sat there for a minute and there was total silence. His mother was crying and he was just sitting there trying not to think about his parent having sex. It was a disturbing minute for everyone. Shiroyasha's smile slowly faded and it seemed like his father understood what was going on in his sons mind. He said to his son, "Well, that's all about that for now.. congratulations on your victory over Kirito son." Shikayasha, Shiro's dad, got up from the table and his mother followed. They walked off into their room and closed the door. Shiroyasha couldn't help but wonder what they were doing but he didn't let the thought wander too far. Instead he got up and grabbed an orange. He peeled it absent mindedly into the garbage can and it seemed like it took forever. When he was done he walked into his room to eat the fruit alone.