A New Beginning [P,NK]

Nero, after finishing off the two clones with ease, would realise that Itami wanted him to get the clones done so easily. "Why ?" he thought to himself, "Why did he let me disperse the two clones so easily ? Is he finally going easy on me and letting me loosen up a bit too, or is he planning something even more complicated ? With the two clones gone, the obvious thought would be that the one left is the real Itami... Is he there for real this time, did he finally decide to get into a head-to-head battle with me ? Or is that another clone, and is he hiding ?". Nero would have been distracted when attacking the last clone.

When the clone jumped over him, Nero would have clashed his kunai with the one the clone was holding and would have slashed him with a katana. Nero would have let the clone slip away. He would also be bluffing, meaning he was watching the clone (who he thought could be the real Itami or not) as he was also checking the environment for a clue of if the one standing in front of him was a clone or not. The clone would get to the back of Nero, as he would track its movement and turn to where he moved. Nero would have been facing the clone when it ran towards him an aimed a punch. Nero would have slashed the clone that gave way too many openings (when the amount of openings he gave made Nero sure that it was not the real Itami, but an "unnecesarry" clone like the first two, since they were all so easily dispersed.).

With the puff of smoke that came out with the clone being dispersed (which covered Nero's body for a short time), Nero would have also used Body Flicker to get out of the open field, and hide behind a certain tree, that Itami wouldn't have known. Nero would look out to the field that he was facing (the opposite direction of the open field he was in, before using the technique), and realise that Itami wasn't there. It meant that the blind point he used the Body Flicker Technique to get to wasn't a point that would have made Nero able to see Itami, though he wasn't sure if Itami has been able to see him or not. He had the disadvantage, seeing as Itami could have been anywhere.

Itami wrote:He would then jump out of his hiding place and throw three senbon after the ball, which would be almost invisible in the glimmer of the ball's wind chakra.

Running towards Nero, he would add a kick at his hips.

[The thing is, this part wouldn't have occured if i used Body flicker before it, which i did. I mean, you assumed Nero would have been in the field, and your assumption was wrong, Now Itami can decide to not get out of his hiding spot, after seeing Nero flee (since he would have gotten out IF Nero was there. Anyway. Waiting for a reply. PM me if you have a problem with this, but I believe this is valid.]


[Nero's total WC so far: 4418]

Itami watched from his hidding place as Nero faced his clone. He wasn't sure if the other figured out his deception but it would soon be clear. He watched as Nero slashed at the clone with his katana, but not strong enough to disperse it. That seemed odd to Itami.
A few seconds later however, he aimed a punch and another slash at the clone, a seemingly determined look on his face, and Itami figured that Nero probably knew the third Itami was a clone.

As the now useless clone dispersed in a puff of smoke, Itami stared at the spot to determine what Nero would do next but as soon as the smoke cleared he realized Nero wasn't there.
His eyes widened as he scanned the area. Nero was nowhere to be seen.
'Clever trick' he thought and smirked slightly. In the short time that they sparred, he had started to respect the other a lot more. At the beginning, he didn't give the impression that he was that good at sparring.

The situation amused Itami. The spar just got a lot more interesting.
He contemplated his options. Not knowing where Nero was, proved a challenge but Itami could assume he wasn't anywhere in the 10m range of him, as his ears were focused enough to pick up on small sounds in that radius. That meant Nero was probably on the other side, among the trees, or on the left or right among the bushes, but those covered little of the ground which made Itami suspect Nero was across from him.

He pulled out 8 senbon and bit his lip. There was a good chance this wasn't going to work and would possibly reveal his own location (though there was only 50 percent a chance - since the senbon were thin and hardly visibe). He put each senbon between the individual gaps between his fingers, meaning he held 4 in each hand. He raised himself a little higher but watched to still be concealed by the leaves, and crossed his hands on his chest. Then, moving them away from his body, each arm going their own way, he threw the senbon so that each had it's own direction to travel to. The 8 senbon would cover the span of 16 meters, each landing on their own part of the tree concealed area which would give each senbon fifty percent of possibility to hit Nero, and reveal his location.

If that worked and Itami knew where Nero was, he would breathe chakra into his palm and send a spiralling wind ball his way, hoping for a hit at the startled boy, but if it didn't work, he would (as silently as possible) try to move to the left to hide his position once more, and wait for more opportunities.

None of the 8 blindly-thrown senbon hit Nero, but it also did not cause Itami's spot to be revealed to him, since the one thrown to his direction hit one of the trees between the one Nero was laying his back to, and the spot Itami was standing when he threw that senbon. Also since Nero did not have any kind of technique that increased his senses, there was no way for him to hear the senbon hitting that tree that was meters away from him. He DID hear the other senbons hitting the ground, but he didn't see where they hit, where they were, or where they came from; so he couldn't tell where Itami was. Anyway, since this being the case, Nero himself needed a plan to spot Itami.

"It has been a while now..." Nero thought to himself, "He either does not know my location, or he is planning such an attack, it took this much of a time to prepare for it... Should I move, or should I change my location ? The choices are so far from each other, if I guess what's going on wrong, it may cost me a battle. Meh, who am I kidding ? I obviously don't have any chance to win this battle... I'll just try to survive the battle I guess, since he is taking this way too seriously... He even threw senbon... Those are not like katanas, or kunais, those aren't made for fighting, those are made for killing, and killing only. Anyway... I need a plan to survive this case. Now, sounds I heard were coming both from my right and my left, and the sound coming from the left and right sides of mine were evenly loud... I will assume he's either in my back, or my front...".

[OOC Info: Nero's back is facing you, as he was laying his back to the tree that was between you and him, if that was not clear from before.]

Nero would smile with the little amusement he got by coming up with a plan. He did the necessary handseals and created two illusionary clones. He then used transformation technique to transform himself into a grey kitten, its color being a tone lighter than the color of the ground in the training ground they were in. The two clones of Nero would move to opposite directions, towards the two locations Nero thought Itami could have been in. One would have went omewhat towards Itami, the other going the opposite direction, Nero thought, hoped and believed that Itami would have seen one of them, since from Itami's point (in his opinion), the trees would have been between the second clone (the one further from him), so that clone wouldn't be seen so easily, especially when he thought Itami would have been distracted by the other clone, and focused on that one.

And if the boy realised the other clone after realising the first was a clone, he might have thought that IT was the real Nero. Anyway, this wasn't a way for Nero to win the battle, he was just trying to survive it. In his cat form, Nero would have listened carefully, to sense which clone would have been attacked. (He hoped that even if Itami saw the cat after that point, he wouldn't kill a poor innocent little kitten) "I wish he isn't a satanist or something..." Nero thought to himself. Once he found Itami, he would let go of his transformation, and surrender to the grey haired boy saying these words: "Enough with this "warming-up" battle already, Itami, you see I'm not any challenge for you, are we going to train or not ?".

[WC: 5032]

Noting the lack of response from the area Itami threw the senbon at, he sunk back into his thoughts, trying to come up with a better plan to find Nero. Despite being focused mostly on his thoughts, his eyes still scanned the area in fron of him, hoping for a clue as to where the other boy was hiding.

All of a sudden, a figure jumped from behind a tree somewhere in front of Itami, much closer than he expected. Startled, he lost his balance (he was crouching on his tiptoes) and fell back but managed to catch himself on his arms that he put behind his body.
Cursing mentally, he grabbed a kunai and threw it at Nero's form, fully expecting him to divert it or catch it. He jumped out of his hidding place and ran towards the other, preparing a diverse range of up close attacks, but stopped as he saw the kunai fly through the image of Nero.
It seemed to be just an illusion clone.

Prepared for a hidden attack from Nero, Itami pulled out another kunai and turned around. The real Nero was still nowhere to be seen.

He spotted a cat however, a bit further away and that was the only sign of movement close and far. Frowning Itami regretted comming out of his hidding place so recklessly, knowing that he now had no choice but to watch intently for Nero, and wait.

Suddenly the cat was enveloped in a puff of smoke and the next second Nero was standing in front of him, instead of it. Itami laughed: "Clever plan!"
The next moment he went serious again: "What do you mean, not a challenge? I'd say this spar was pretty challenging, and right before you transformed, you had the advantage! But as you wish, we can train now." he said and then smiled at the other boy.

Suddenly the cat was enveloped in a puff of smoke and the next second Nero was standing in front of him, instead of it. Itami laughed: "Clever plan!"
The next moment he went serious again: "What do you mean, not a challenge? I'd say this spar was pretty challenging, and right before you transformed, you had the advantage! But as you wish, we can train now." he said and then smiled at the other boy.

"Thanks." Nero would have said to the silver haired boy, as a response to his compliment. "Well, you may or may not be right, but I surely disagree with your opinion, if you really mean what you have said, that is. I believe that I couldn't have attacked you and landed a hit anyway... I mean, I am not as experienced as you are, I might have lasted this far in the spar, but yet, I did not have any single idea on what to do next, how to turn this advantage into a greater one, or something that might have been the right thing to do... So, I guess I will go ahead and ask you, since you seem and sound to be experienced and elite enough to teach me... What would you have done if you were in my place ? Also, what do you suggest that we should do next ? I believe you said you could race with me or something ? Well, this short spar was enough for me to learn some things about you, one of which was that you were much much faster than me... But the goal of the race wouldn't be winning, but becoming faster, so I'm in if that is what it is in your mind.".

Nero would, while waiting for an answer or a plan, spend the spare time training for a little more bit, probably only enough for him to warm up for the trainings the two were going to do. he would take out 2 kunai from his ninja pouch that was black, and was tied around his waist much like a belt, and was hidden under his long, black cloak (or a "hoodie" as another person may have called it). His red eyes would have once again been looking alive, paying full attention. He would have carefully watched over the part of the training grounds that the two Genin were in. He would have spotted few training dummies...

Some brown leathers shaped as humans (much like scarecrows) that were filled with cotton, and were "spiked" to the ground, being bound to the earth each one with another piece of wood, each shaped as a perfect cylinder (this piece of wood, or "log", could have been rendered "thin", considering they were merely centimeters in diameter). He would have chosen the third one from the left as the target he was going to strike, and his eyes would have been locked on its brown, damaged leather. Then he would have closed his eyes, feeling the wind on his skin once again. He would have been training his senses, so he would have been able to keep fighting even if he was blinded by the enemy. He would have been imagining the area in his mind, and would hold the kunai stronger now. He would have opened his arms aside from each other, holding them away from his body, so the two kunais would have been held in opposite sides of Nero now. He would then move his arms towards his front, both will meet right in front of the chest of the Koutaishi clan member with the red eyes. Before his hands would meet each other, he would have let go of both of the kunais, so the kunais would have been thrown forward.

Then he would have opened his eyes to see the results of his strike. His shiny red eyes would have glanced through the field towards the target he had chosen before closing eyes in the first place. He would look carefully, and only then he would see the two kunai that were pierced into the giant grey wall of stone behind the training dummy he had targeted. The one he threw away with his left hand (or so he assumed) would have missed the training dummy merely by centimeters, and would have been stuck on the part of the wall that was in the left side of the leather dummy. The one he threw with his left hand would have hit the wall in the opposite direction of the first one (according to the point the training dummy was). The Koutaishi clan member would have been both disappointed and frustrated. "I couldn't even do such an easy thing." he thought to himself, "I mean, what is the point of becoming strong, and knowing lots of strong jutsu, if you're not experienced, or if you don't know how to do things, and maybe even what to do... I don't know... I guess hard work will bring victory...". Nero would have then walked towards the dummy, and once he reached to it, he would have realised the scratches that the kunai he had thrown just now had left on the brown leather of the poorly made training dummy. A small grin would have appeared on Nero's face. "At least not as bad as I thought, it seems..." he would have thought to himself, taking the two kunais from the walls, after trying it for a few times and failing.

He would once again disappear into his own realm of thoughts, "I need a teacher... Someone that will teach me... Not basic stuff that can be learned from anyone, but methods... Methods and ways of thinking... I mean, basic stuff can be learned easily, and even by yourself, but methods, and ways of thinking are thing that will teach me how to learn, how to improvise according to the situation... I guess that is what's missing with the basic system... There are just countless situations... Not every move can be taught, not every opponent can be taught how to fight against, or how to kill them... On the other hand, if I learn not how to act, but how to think, that will give me ability to improvise according to the current situation, it will grant me the knowledge, the capability to figure out what to do, and maybe even figure out what my opponent is going to do... Anyway, it is not time for such pathetic, idiotic philosophies, but it is time to pass the phase of thinking, and enter the next phase, that is, acting. I will have to stand up and train now... To become worthy to be trained, taught by someone like I wish to become...".

He would then put the two kunai back to his ninja pouch, that was still bound the same way around his waist. "So..." he would then say, talking to the other Genin with the red eyes that could have even be scarier, more terrifying, or just more "different" than Nero's. He would then turn around to face the other Genin, who would have been standing at the direction Nero was just a few minutes ago, as he would have then started walking towards the same direction. (If Itami moved to change his spot, on the other hand, Nero would have first turned around to face Itami, and then he would have walked towards where the grey haired Genin was, instead of still going to where Nero himself stood a while ago.) He would keep talking. "So..." he would repeat, as there had been a great amount of time between his arrival and when he said the word (and also, there was a slight chance Itami might have not heard him from that distance, since the dummies were a little far from the point they were standing), "What do you suggest we do next ? Did you make up your mind ?". Nero would have then just stood there, waiting for an answer to be given by the boy with the silver hair.

[WC: 6302]

[Skipping to at least take advantage of this delay on your post, and add some more WC]

Seeing as no answer was given to him by the boy with the grey-ish hair and red eyes, Nero would have assumed he did not yet make up his mind, so while waiting for the more experienced Genin between the two of them to decide on what they were going to do next, nero would have decided to use even this little gap of time to train, so he would be taking advantage of all the time he had for training himself.

Nero would have talked to the boy once again. "Well, I will be waiting for you to make up your mind just here..." he would have said, taking a few steps away from the boy to get closer to the training dummies. The Koutaishi clan member with the long blak hair and red eyes would have then stopped when he would be merely 5 meters or so away from the training dummies. He would then take out his katana from its sheathe with his right hand, shortly after that, leaping forwards, and sprinting towards the two training dummies, both (exactly like the other ones Nero has stroke before, again while waiting for Itami) looking like dolls that consisted of stuffed leather crations that had somewhat a human-like shape and appearance.

When he had arrived at the point that was right in the middle of the two training dummies that were already evenly distanced from him even before he had started sprinting; Nero would have swinged the katana, making an arc-shape with the blade at first to remove the head from the one that was left in his right side, after which the katana would keep its move to seemingly continuing to create a shape of a circle, during which occasion Nero would have put his head down, seemingly bowing down with just his head, so the katana did not remove his own head too. Anyway, while the katana was doing this movement, it would also remove the head off of the other training dummy, that was now left in Nero's left/behind, due to nero keeping his acceleration even after stepping on the point mentioned before, the one that was right in the middle of the two dummies...

Nero wouldn't have wasted any more time on that spot, without (or before) he even turned back, he would put the katana back to its sheathe with his right hand. And only then would he have turned back, to face Itami once again. After taking a few steps away from two beheaded traininig dummies, and many others next to them, Nero would take out 1 kunai from his ninja pouch with each of his hand, each of his hands holding 1 weapon. He would then open his arms widely, as his arms would then do a move towards the opposite direction, his left hand that was holding the hold of one of the kunai standing in front of his right shoulder; his right hand that was holding the hold of the other kunai in front of his left shoulder. With his speed and strength combined, he would then open his arms as fast as he could, letting go of both of the kunais, once he has opened both of his arms widely enough. The kunais would have been thrown away from Nero, towards the two closest training dummies that still had heads; the two closest to the two beheaded ones, one of them in their left, and one in their right.

Nero would have, after a few seconds, turned to his back to see the outcome of this strike. He would grin slightly after seeing what was standing in front of him. His face; his gesture and mymics would have made it clear that he was satisfied with the results of the current attack he has done with the two kunai he had taken out of his ninja pouch. The two kunai would have both hit their targets in the heads... Or what would have been their heads, if they were in fact alive creatures.

This short period of training would have satisfied Nero for now, so he would stop this little training with the only purpose of making better usage of the time. He would once again walk towards Itami to see if he had made up his mind. "So..." he would have said to the boy with the grey hair and red eyes, "Have you made up your mind ? What is your final decision ?".

[WC: 7065]

[O.K. If you ever log in, know that I am sorry but it's been months since my last post, and more than a month since your last login. I will not kill your character and steal your stuff, but if you're in fact gone, I will have them. Your character will be in a hospital waiting for you if you ever return, in a coma. And your items that were on your person will be safe with me.]

"Come on now, Itami. Are we ever going to start this training or ?... I guess I agree to do another spar once again then... But just please, say something; or at least nod. God... I guess I will start the fight !" Nero shouted, jumping over to Itami, and aiming a punch at his face.

[Waiting another 48 hours for Itami to post, as a formality. After that, I will skip him once again and end the topic.]

[O.K. Another 48 Hours have passed and hereby I am skipping Itami for the last time in this topic

Edit: I heard from Zero that you were in fact not leaving the site, and had RL stuff. I understand. Sorry for being impatient. I hope we can rp again in the future (the fact that the actual training didn't even start :D)]

Nero did not expect the boy to be hit by that simple punch. He did not even try moving. perhaps it was a trap. Perhaps this was another shadow clone. All Nero knew was that no matter it was the real Itami or not, he managed to land a punch directly on his face. The boy with the red eyes and grey hair then fell down to the ground towards his back. Oh no. Right where his head was going to fall down to and land on, there was a rock. A rock not too small to enter his head or his spine, but also not one too big to cause only little damage. When the boy fell down, his neck would have been damaged. His eyes were closed. Not a single sound of pain came out from the boy's mouth. "Oh no." Nero thought, "What have I done ?".

He fell down to the ground too, on his knees, so he was now somewhat sitting on the floor. "Is he... Dead ?" Nero has thought to himself. He was shocked and was not sure what to do. All he knew was that the boy was on the ground... Unconcious. Nero jumped to the side of the boy. Tears came out of his eyes. He was almost starting to cry. He put his right hand on the left side of the boy's chest, where his hearth would have been, as any human's. He realised that the hearth of the boy was not beating. He merely jumped back from the points he was sitting. "Oh no..." he thought, "I-I... I killed him...".

Nero was not sure what to do now, instead of one thing; bringing him back to the hospital. Nero the calmed down. Yes, the shock only lasted that long. He was not too close with Itami anyway, and Nero was not the "too caring" type either. The Koutaishi then looted any item or weapon on Itami; as he had then left the area with the body, bringing him to the hospital. He was carrying the body in his arms, in front of his chest, like a mother carrying his sleeping baby. "Rest in peace, Itami... And forgive me..." he said to the dead body of Itami mentally, since the boy was not going to hear him even if he said it out loud.

"What a shame..." Nero thought to himself on the way to the hospital, "I never thought my first kill to be like this, neither did I ever imagine that the first victim of my execution to be a village ninja. And even a ninja from my own village... I feel guilty, but I shouldn't... It was his fault. Why didn'y he dodge my punch, when he could have easily done it ? And it seems like it wasn't a trap or anything either... God damn it Itami... You have thrown your own life to trash just like that... Adn perhaps mine too...". Nero kept walking towards the hospital, thinking about what was going to happen to him after this event...

But on the walk.. He would have realised something... Something that made his day. He felt... He felt warmness across his chest. And... A beat ? A hearbeat ? Nero was now once again excited all of a sudden. He smiled, and once again his eyes were filled with tear. He felt the boy's heart beating. He could feel it on his chest, that now the boy's neck was touching. "Itami..." he would have thought, smiling. "I am going to make sure you live. A rock can't... Won't stop you... Friend.". Nero made his way to th hospital as quick as possible. He wanted to make sure that his friend lived. He would have left the boy's unconcious body to the nurses that came by. "Please take care of him..." Nero could only say, politely, silently and perhaps a little.. Emotionally ? That was not Nero at all. Perhaps this experience has changed something in him.

Nero would leave a note on a paper, next to Itami's bed, where he would have been treated. Nero hoped that the boy would wake up, and wasn't in a coma, and also that he could find this ntoe when he woke up. The note was as following; "Hey Itami. It is Nero. Nero Koutaishi, from the training ground. I am sorry, for your reason to enter the hospital was probably me. I shouldn't have jumped up on you like that. I just knew that you were a ninja too experienced and developed to get hurt from an attack like that. But I should have been more cautious. Now, if you don't remember how you have ended up in there. I was waiting for you to decide what to do for a training, after the spar we had, and i grew tired and bored of waiting, and attacked you with a punch. You didn't, or perhaps couldn't dodge the punch for some reason I didn't know. And unfortunately, you fell down... And there was a rock right below where your head was falling. I couldn't realise that until it was too late... I am sorry Itami. I hope you are not mad at me, and that you can forgive me. I wish you health, and wish that you come out of that hospital as soon as possible. See you later, friend.".

Nero would then leave the hospital. He would have gone through a lot for the day, and he didn't need any more training for the day. "Perhaps I should head to the ramen shop..." Nero thought to himself, "May be I will meet someone, and perhaps talk this feeling of guilt and soredom out... I believe I need to clear my mind after what has happened... Perhaps I need to think... That was not very much like me... In fact, it was not like me at all... I never thought I would cry over the death of someone I have newly met; and that I would get so emotional and so happy to realise that they are in fact not dead that I would start crying again... Perhaps I have changed... And perhaps something was just wrong with me today... Something I didn't know.". He would have been long away from the hospital now.

"Now..." he thought, "I better decide where to go... To my house to sleep and perhaps try forgetting this event, or think more about it ? Or to the ramen shop or something ?". He looked around, to the two streets that was facing him. "Which road to take, which destination to lead to ? Am I going to think about this or blindly walk... And only walk...". He then remembered about a suggestion of the Jounin that has thought him many things back at the academy. "Allright..." he thought, taking out a single coin from his pocket. He remembered his old sensei's words; "Whenever I can not decide between two things, Nero; no matter how important the thing is, I toss a coin. Of course I do not leave the choice of something that important to chance; but let me tell you a secret: In those long seconds you face, the ones that you feel are as long and slow as minutes, or perhaps hours according to the importance of the decision; that time when the coin is mid-air, falling down to your hand or doing the opposite move, you just know... You know which side of the coin you wish to come on top... That is a big relief for me every time.".

Nero tossed the coin. "The ramen shop it is... I hope they sell alcohol..." he has thought to himself, first taking a step towards the street on his right, then turning backwards, remembering the road to the ramen shop was in the opposite direction and walking slowly, looking at the ground "I hope he doesn't end up dead." he would have thought on the way, "Not today... Not like this... Not because of a stupid training mistake...".

[EXIT, WC: 8438 => 42 Stats and 84 JP, Brought Itami to the hospital. Take your character from there once you return :DSee you.]

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