Mystery of a Shadow [p,nk,Haru]

Ah, of course there was a caveat here. Firstly, the clone technique. He already knew how to do it, so he performed the handseals at a moderate speed. This wasn't a particularly hard technique, and he wanted to show the kage that he was having an easy time of it. With a mere expenditure of chakra, and finely formed handseals, a couple of clones would pop into existence. How boring, he thought to himself. Still, he knew that things like this were the foundation to greater powers. The cultivators of old called this "creating a cultivation base", one that he could rotate throughout his chakra network, and would bring him power beyond imagining. Still, he was quite a ways away from that stage. For now, he had to endure the scrutiny of his kage, and strive to reach the martial peak.

Raising his arm, the clones would copy his motion. This was, of course, to show that he could create clear, definite clones, and that the control he exerted over the jutsu was perfect. Lowering his arm, he would dispel the clones. Easy enough, he thought to himself. The hardest part of this was over, as the next jutsu would be even easier to perform.

"Now for the transformation technique, I suppose."

He would weave the handseals for this one as well, and layer the chakra over himself as he was accustomed to do. This was a lot easier for him than the clone technique was, though he had struggled a tad with both. Chakra just didn't come easily to him. Still, he had to try his hardest. After this, he could study taijutsu and body strenghtening techniques. Eventually, he was sure, he would be able to find some kind of method that would allow him to use chakra normally. However, until then... the life of an external cultivator would be his. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad; as a ninja, he had to make the most of it. 

At any rate, his new form that he took with the jutsu was basically identical to one of the pieces of rubble located around the area. Hmph, not bad, he thought to himself. However, what he thought about it didn't matter. What was important was how it looked to the kage's experienced eyes. Could he impress his leader, or not, he thought to himself, as he transformed back into his normal form.

"Well, there you have it, Lord Kage."

[TWC 2464, was asked to ignore anything about the substitution tech]

Haru watched the boy preform the clone technique, noting that the clones followed his movement, nodding slowly in approval. The boy appeared to have a good grasp of the technique. He continued watching as the boy transformed into a bit of rubble from what remained of Xyxer's statue. Haru felt weirdly annoyed with this, though he would not show it. He'd never before felt the need to punt a genin into the ocean, but seeing this one take the guise of a part of Xyxer's likeness was a point that generated something close to malice in Haru, lingering there for only a moment, then gone the next. 

He didn't look too closely on the boy's form. He could tell it was convincing, that wasn't an issue. Still, looking upon it was not something Haru enjoyed, so he averted his eyes quickly, staring out to where he kicked the statue's head, deep in thought. When the boy returned to his native form, Haru would speak to him. 

"Impressive." He said simply. "You've demonstrated a good understanding of the academy basics." He said, beckoning for the boy to walk with him. "Walk with me." He said, waving casually for the boy to follow his lead.

Haru made his way back to the Mizukage offices, whispering something to the secretary, who looked much healthier and much happier then she did under Xyxer's rule. Haru always hated the way Xyxer had treated the staff, though he'd never have made his thoughts known. He would not question his leaders, but now, he wondered, what he would do now that he had no leader. Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Haru produced a headband from the back room, stepping back out to meet the boy, holding the forehead protecter out to the boy.

"I don't see any point in putting you through examinations, since you've shown me you have a strong grasp of the subject matter already." He said, waiting for the boy to claim it. "So, I'll be promoting you directly to Genin." He said, the secretary nodding quickly. "Train hard, and I may just have your first mission ready soon." He said knowingly.

While he didn't exactly realize or understand the significance of the rubble trick, he did understand that he had just been promoted to genin. Well, that was most unexpected. This meant that he didn't need to go to the genin exams on his assigned date, which left more time for training. If anything, this saved him quite a bit of time, which he was happy with. Even though the Mizukage had said "impressive", though, that didn't mean he had just done a good job. After all, the man could have said that just to be nice. Still, he had a long way to go.

Taking the headband from the kage, Kozurou put it on. Other boys of this age might have done it with ceremony and pride, but Kozurou had a utilitarian aura about his motions, as if the headband's practical uses meant more to him than what it represented. Whether this was true or not, no one could tell save himself. 

Train hard, huh? He had already planned to, so this was rather redundant, though understandably so. 

"Indeed, Lord Kage, I shall do so." He remembered that the man had something in the form of guidance waiting for him somewhere. Someone who was familiar with his bloodline? Not wanting to be too forward, Kozurou decided to wait.

"In the meantime, might you have any pointers for me?"

[WC 2692, requesting a mid-thread approval for
genin rankup (15 stats, free techs, tai spec)
and 9 stats for the WC]

Odd how the secretary couldn't stop nodding, wasn't it? At first, Kozurou thought it had something to do with the music that could be heard outside (The choice is yours/The choice is yours/Whatever you choose to be), but he realized that her nodding was off time. 
Should the Mizukage continue to stand there indefinitely, Kozurou would start to become afraid. There the kage was, with a scary disposition, and his secretary was nodding away as he went. No, but of course. The kage... must have been trying to test him again. Was Kozurou really ready for Shikotsumyaku's secrets? The boy wasn't even sure himself, and this test was to scare him in an effort to build his confidence. How draconian... but then again, this was Kiri. There were no soft training methods here.
Should the kage continue to stand there, Kozai would nod. Secrets were not free, here. Not just secrets, information. Ideas weren't free, and nor were they cheap. He'd already earned the right to be a genin, and now he'd have to earn the right to know the limits of his bloodline. 
"I understand, then." He'd murmur to himself. 
Sequentially, Kozai would step forward, seizing a kunai from the kage's right weapon pouch. Circle stepping with his right foot posteriorly, Kozai would then aim the kunai directly at the kage's oral orifice, he would attempt to penetrate the kage's face with the kunai's tip. 
Of course, all these actions would only begin if the kage would just stand there as he'd been doing for some time.

[>: post post post post post]

Haru did not speak. He could not explain why, at least, not if he was asked. A revelation dawned over him as the boy spoke, and as his own train of thought was completed. As he told the boy of his new promotion, the action harkened his mind back to his own promotion to Genin. He remembered his own excitement, a foil to this boy's utilitarianism, and yet, a parallel to the new Haru Hyuuga. It was almost as if he were a different person entirely. His still-living friends were few, so he had no idea if anyone had observed the change, as nobody had vocalized it to him. 

He wondered idly, then, lost in his mindscape, what exactly had brought about that change. His mother and father inspired him to become a ninja. Rin, Yozora, Haruna and Matsu's lost had dealt a blow and instilled his will for protection, brought about his focus on the medical field and his own subjective immortality. The final blow, then...

The final blow had been Xyxer. Not Xyxer's vanishing trick, but the impact the man had had on him. The loss of his family had hardened him, and yet, his sister tethered him still to this place, forced him to call it home. The death of the first Haru Hyuuga, and his wife Kuni Hyuuga, had shaken Haru to the core, and had thrust upon him a sudden, forceful change. He was stronger now, but his innocence was lost. He couldn't turn back if he wanted to. Now, he lived only to serve those who retained what he did not possess. He lived to uphold the law, the order he had always idealized. 

He wondered now about Xyxer's old regime. It had been chaotic, brutal, and most definitely, evil... But effective. He would never agree with the man's methods, but he could not deny the results he achieved. Perhaps he could learn from him, perfect this Kirigakure that Xyxer had left him. Remove the tumor that was the lawlessness and wanton brutality of its ninja, and you would have a perfect society, peaceful when unharmed, but deadly when the rules were not followed. For the greater good.

Haru Hyuuga, the Second Mizukage, who had only just now began to think of himself as such, was pulled back out of his mind's eye by his senses, which told him that the boy had just began to make a move on him. He watched Kozourou(who had inadvertently began referring to himself as Kozai within his own mind for some reason) curiously, as if he were moving in slow motion. The boy's clothing ruffled as he stepped forwards, his skin folding as he reached out. How easy it would be to rip him apart. How easy it would be to tear off the limb that was not being extended towards his belt. But Haru still had little taste for spilling Kirigakure blood. 

He noted the boy's form, surprisingly tough for a genin, but frail, all the same. He could not hope to survive a direct strike. Lucky for the boy, there would be time for him to be toughened up. Haru would be his mentor, and he knew from experience that this was a lesson to be taught in the form of pain. As the boy began to move, he betrayed his intent, and Haru knew what he was trying to do. A bold move, one he did not expect of one who had been an academy student just moments ago. This one, it seemed, was full of surprises. 

Still, Haru did not see the necessity of moving. His own emotions were flaring already, his inner mind racing at his hatred for Xyxer dissolving into a sense of self-purpose, a sense of righteous empowerment. His frustration at being pulled from this state of thought had caused his aura to take form. A huge bear, fur matted and teeth dripping with blood, leered down at the boy, daring him to strike with the kunai he had stolen, daring him to make a move. The power of the aura would waft over him, immobilizing him.

"Drop it." Haru would speak coldly, and the bear would roar with rage. The boy, no doubt, would succumb to his fear, but if he managed to resist, Haru would be impressed indeed, and would instead simply sidestep the blow to his left.

"Drop it."

With those words, the power would overwhelm Kozurou's mind. It wasn't primal fear that seared into his brain, but rather, what he knew to be artificially inspired terror. However, fear was fear, and Kozai dropped the kunai, taking a step back unable to move. However, that didn't mean he was unable to think clearly. Why had the Mizukage chosen that moment to react? Surely, this wasn't ANOTHER test? The boy knew that any good, powerful ninja would have reacted when he had moved for the kunai, not afterward. Or maybe it was some kind of mental dysfunction?... Probably not. Mentally deficient people didn't make good kage (kind of like the last one, hehe).

When he found his voice, Kozurou could express his only conclusion.

"So, it wasn't a test after all...?" Could the kage really have just had a random mental blankout? No way, right? Certainly, it was within the realm of possibility, but maybe... a 4% chance? Either way, Kozurou found it quite hard to believe. Regardless it was good to confirm with the kage. If it had been a test, well then... he'd certainly failed. At the very least, he'd been willing to go as far as he needed to in order to attain the power he wanted so badly.

[o3o]

"That was pretty ballsy. Especially after I've just promoted you to genin." Haru chuckled, noticing now that the inhabitants of the office were all staring. "Taking my own knife and trying to stick me with it... I've never had anyone attempt that on me, much less a genin." Haru said, laughing now. In sheer guts, this boy was easily on par of some of the genin he had just promoted. 

"That said, you just attempted assault on the Mizukage. So..." He continued, his tone becoming much more stern. "Certain repercussions are in order." He continued, and then the boy would be struck in the chest, hard. If he could not evade the attack, he would be hurled through the doors of the building, causing the wood to snap and splinter around him as he sailed right onto the cold stone paved streets of Kirigakure, hard enough to crack the stones. Haru had made sure to pull his punch enough not to seriously injure the boy.

Haru followed him out, noting that this was the second door he had destroyed during his time as Mizukage, stepping down the steps onto the street level.
"And I'll ask that you never try that again, or I might have to take more drastic measures." Haru continued, still casually, as if he had not just belted the boy out of the building.

Present day. Present time. Kozurou was getting his ass kicked.

Of course, he should have expected this from the beginning. Still, to be fair, nothing could have really prepared him. No doubt if the kage wanted to kill him, he would have done so already, so this wasn't anywhere near his full power. What was most interesting was that Kozurou realized that had he not been a Kaguya, this attack would have killed him. Since the kage knew with just how much force his attack should have so as to not kill, this meant that Haru had a good measure of the boy's durability.

... How?

Naturally, the boy already realized Haru knew that he was a Kaguya. Did this mean that the kage was the one with the knowledge of his bloodline? Perhaps. He'd give it a solid 50-50. At least now he knew that it was probable, or at least somewhat possible. He'd fine out soon enough, would he not?

As Kozurou landed, he'd note the pain and other uncomfortable feelings, and grit his teeth slightly in a reflexive response. After all, it was just pain. Just his nerves telling him that these conditions were poor, indeed. Nothing really to worry about yet.

At least his spine wasn't broken, right? Impact force like that could snap the bones of a lesser being. Speaking of which, if he could devise a training method for the body that played off of factors like these... Kozurou filed that thought away for later. At the moment, though, he was lying on his back in the middle of the road, looking up at the kage towering over him.

"You're asking me? How considerate of you." A simple observation, with a bit of sarcasm added to it. Appropriate, Kozurou thought to himself. This might actually ache tomorrow.

A soft mist appears near the Mizukage only to have a masked individual garbed in black robes appear before it. No words are heard as if it is mental. Haru looks towards Kozurou, his voice stern. " Something has just come up, I have to go." With his final parting words both him and the new person vanish in a thin mist that replaces their forms and fades away.