Every Dance Ends

Sitting at the bed of her apartment where lights are not turned on, Yuri thought about her cause for coming here. It had been a long time since she last met Haru, at least those answers kept her here, for the time being. She thought about how the line of shinobi started going well along with her in the first place. First, there was him who sacrificed himself despite raising her as a mercenary and many others too. She thought about how she made her first batch of friends there. Looking back, she haven't seen them ever since. Then there was a leader who Yuri will never forget by the name of Shinji. She would never meet members that would come to be known as her squadmates and sensei if it wasn't for his action. Things might had been different if things did not go awry during the inter-village chunnin exam. Tengakure had been leveled by the time she navigated her way correctly; It was not within her prediction that the place where she first saw skyscrapers would be destroyed by its own people, that was then. Her thoughts continued as she went out of her comfort zone.

Yuri quickly tied her end of the rope to get ready for the operation. Alone and contacts lost, she had taken up a temporary job to survive. The building opposite were filled with guards, an event where top figures of the underworld would meet will be held in 2 days. However, her intel had concluded that preparation were already underway and her task was to scout the external defensive perimeters. She rappelled down on the walls after the ropes were tied to a metal pole rooted to the building opposite to the target building. Luck was on her side when she found an offer to replace a window cleaner for a night. She wouldn't need those ropes as safety but in order to be able to get authorized entrance she had to go in as a cleaner. Reaching the windows, her eyes were quickly fixed at the building opposite via a glass panel at the other end of the building. People were all too busy with their own share of work to take note of her attention. She began cleaning the window while taking a few good look at the opposite building

At the rooftop taking a breather, she could see some kids walking out from the way of the academy. Thinking of the academy, it is a place that she had never been to; She never needed to anyway. Looking far at the front, it used to be just trees, an area where clear thoughts can be formed just by looking at them long enough.

Here's your reward as requested. The counter presented her a small bag of freshly plucked leaves and some ryo. She could tell that the man had a puzzled expression. Thank you she simply replied with a smile before departing the company building. While she walked with the cloak on fighting the nature trying to hinder her vision, she took a quick look at these leaves. Randomly assembled and filling the bag nearly full, these were her training materials from a place where leaves were not commonly found; She had to survive and get stronger at the same time so that she would be in par with them when she get back.

The effect of the area remains in her after so long. She thought maybe she would pay a visit there where everyone had left for this would be the best time for her to look for any releveant materials. Feeling the cooling winds that brushed her with a darker sky, she would go against them roof after roof to the academy area.

From one roof to the next, Yuri is enjoying the rushing winds that gave way to her run. Right after landing on the next roof, she could see an incoming leaf that would come to cover the vision on her right eye. Stopping immediately and using both of her hands to sandwich the leaf such that it doesn't get folded, she channeled a small but concentrated bit of her chakra towards both of her hands.

Yuri sat down at her temporary lodging with her bag of leaves. Excited as she should be since it meant expanding her arsenal of jutsu, her fingers took out a leaf carefully not to spill the contents of the bag. As the leaf was in between her both her palms that connected to each other, she focused for a minute, closing her eyes trying to get the leaf split into half. She opened her eyes and her palms to look at the outcome, nothing was achieved as the leaf is still in one piece. She continued with her training peacefully in the room, leaf by leaf.

She opened her palms and take a look at the leaf. It wasn't surprising that after numerous attempts during her travels that she managed to get a small cut right at the bottom of the leaf. She was not about to burst into joy as she knows that it would be better to do that only when it meant that she could perform a gust of wind. However, compared to the chakra spent during previous attempts, it would mean that she had finally gotten the feel of it and she would only need to pour more chakra to make to get the next few attempts to be fatal. But now, she could feel a presence of someone she performed elementary missions with, it didn't take long for her to know that he had caught a vision of her before she does. Shouting for her to stop, Yuri had decided to access him instead. Assuming that he succeeded in his last mission, Yuri would assume that he had the basic capabilities of a genin and he would reach her without any trouble if she had continued to stay on the spot. Yuri decided to take a few steps to the other side of the roof so that it would cover his vision of her moments earlier as he approaches Yuri. She would wait until she could sense Sinai getting not getting closer by horizontal means and make a trip to the next roof with a dash. If he could catch up, that would mean him also having the speed that is worthy of joining the blood games and a good shinobi of future missions. At this moment, Yuri almost found herself ruling out the possibility of him flanking her by moving from the sides of the shophouse to save himself time to get closer; Its a choice between raw speed or smarter movement.

With all these consideration, it would be sure that Sinai would also take time to close in to the building of the rooftop that Yuri is standing on. The partially cut leaf is still well within her grasp by her fingers, she quickly slotted them between her palms again and concentrated a relatively stronger bit of chakra to her connect palms. She could feel herself performing a cut at the leaf now, there was no doubt this time as she opened her palms and allowed 2 halves of the leaf to lift themselves up back to the air drifting again before finding their place. Now, she could tell that Sinai did not close in without his mind at work as he is getting to the roof of a nearby building as seen from her location, she had decided to head for the next roof that will force Sinai to need another jump to another roof in order to get to her. However, that would not be the end as she will resume moving from roof after roof to access Sinai that might result in her taking a long route to the academy; It would make the trip worthwhile for her.

Yuri continued her move from roof to roof with the thought that Sinai would get to the roof eventually. She is now sure that Sinai chose to use his mind, if his aim was to make a good impression on Yuri, he would have failed miserably. However, this concern is nowhere in her mind right now and Sinai seems to be getting further and further away from her by her sensory. She thought if he would have changed his mind and resumed his own activity by guessing her intentions but it turned out to be otherwise. By the sound of it, Sinai was somewhat sloppy or made his steps exposed for a purpose and then she detected another presence. Yuri did not turn around to find out what it was though she could estimate by her sensory that the other presence is somewhere behind her and not at any of the roof opposite of the line of roofs that she is jumping from one to another. Also, judging by the signature of the second participant that fades as she is continuing her motion given the widening gap, Yuri guessed that Sinai is trying to make use of numbers to catch up to her. She wondered about that rational behind his action. If he is trying to flank her, it would be better if he continued to be 2 roofs away and catch up to her at the right moment unless he is trying to make up for his pace. Not fully knowing if Sinai second guessed her, she continued her at her current pacing from roof to roof but now in a straight fashion. Yuri thought that if the gap continues to widen, Yuri would lose his chakra presence and Sinai would be 2 far away to catch up. For this case of deduction, it turns out that Yuri may be right.

Just at this moment, Yuri could feel Sinai closing the gap sharply. She didn't look back to find out how as her priority is to gauge him and she would increase her level of pacing by estimating how close is Sinai's presence from her right now. For about a roof's length, Sinai is closing down on her without any trouble, it ended when Yuri jumped to the next roof. Sinai went back to extending the distance away from her again. It was then she could hear Sinai's "distress" for a reply. She stopped in her tracks and turned back for a second, he is still 2 roofs away from her due to her increased speed midway during her action. The academy is wide in the view of both of them by now. Yuri looked at Sinai and pointed to the academy with her right thumb and continued to move by the roof to the academy, ending the need to make a longer trip to the academy.

Yuri looked up at the others after making contact with mud via her hands; It would have been her face if she didn't let her hands to stop it. The others were not stopping down to look at her, each trying to keep themselves alive till the end of the activity. Not wanting to be left behind, Yuri ignored her fatigue for a second to pick herself up and started running to let the sight of the pack remain with her vision. It wasn't the best day for such an activity where there is the rain trying to hinder her vision by desperately by landing every droplet in a seemingly random and unorganized barrage; Some landed on her face but it wasn't enough to get her wiping. Maybe they did landed on her eyes but she is too worried to get left behind that immunity was built from her mind right to her eyes within moments.

That was then, no doubt it was tough for her given her heritage. Yuri is now just a few blocks away from the academy and ready to land and made her way via the ground. She simply took her time moving down by having chakra on both of her feet on the walls. 3 meters away from the ground where her body is parallel to it, she did a jump for the landing, normally she would just land with by both feet balanced but this time she finally had something new on her sleeves. As she closes in on the ground midair, she would bring both her palms facing the ground and exert a bit of her chakra, giving her a slightly softer landing by producing a sudden gust of wind against the ground. Looking good for her, she would head in the direction of the academy.

Finally making her steps into the academy for the very first time ever since her entrance into the village. Yuri took a moment to stop and look around her as she set her foot in the academy. Not the cleanest training center she had see; It was on better than not having one. Smell of corpses lingers around and blood stains can still be seen lying around if one observes with attention. This is definitely not somewhere that the future shinobi would have a good time developing even though it serves as an implicit reminder of how life as a shinobi would be. Yuri continued her way into the what would look like a training room and that's when the smell of the rotting dead grows stronger. She could see training materials at the side of the room, they were mostly stained. She approached them to have a better look on the condition, that was when she saw flies and tiny bits of flash rotting covered by wooden materials. Ignoring the area of flies, she walked to the side of the room and sit down to take a break while looking left and right of the room; She would want to get out before the stench overwhelms her breathing.

It only took about twenty minutes before the smell of decay attempt to invade her intake of air, Yuri stood up and pats the dust of her clothing and left by the entrance of the room. Everyone had headed home by this point of time and she had a feel of how the academy is like for students here; Nobody is getting a proper treatment and it might be worse than where she had been trained from. However, these students are in the least still in some form of shelter with storms keeping them from most harm. She walked the pathway empty of any presence and backtracked her previous steps that took her to the room at the same time. She did not wonder far into the academy as it only took her a few minutes to find her way out of the academy; Sinai is nowhere to be seen and seems to be done trying to catch up to her for the entire time during her way back.

[Exit]
WC: 2479
Claiming Wind Release
Claiming 12 stats

Sinai’s footsteps echoed through the empty halls; his silhouette seeming like a ghastly spectre as he was bathed in the faint moonlight. He had probably walked through around this floor for what seemed to be hours, yet there seemed to particularly be no sign of Yuri, or of anyone really. Kirigakure’s number of shinobi was limited and most of them were out of missions, with a palpable tension being felt even in the stark empty hallways of the academy. This was probably one of the reasons why no one essentially was making use of the new Academy's state of the art training equipment. Tensions around the village have been high, with rumours of signs of bijuu being found by shinobi that had ventured outside of the misty isles of the village, or so they thought. He had also overheard a female shinobi talking about some squads being organised for something while he was “casually relaxing on a tree that happened to overlook the hot springs; particularly the female section.” Unfortunately, he didn’t basically get to overhear the whole conversation as the same shinobi detected his presence and found it fit to blast him with a water jutsu at him and he scampered off; Totally not because he wasn’t scared of being beaten by a woman but because he had other things to essentially do. Shaking off that train of thought, he found himself once again the empty halls of the new academy.

Albeit practicality was the really main intent of the building’s design, it gave off an aura of grandeur even in the faint moonlight. Maybe because it hasn’t seen blood spilt in its virgin corridors, young lives cut definitely short by guiltless efficiency; That was the way Kirigakure’s Shinobi were forged, or so they thought. Killing machines that were survivors at their core yet would for all intents and purposes give their lives for the village and the Kage if the need ever arose. Sinai knew these things of course, like everyone else knew yet these values were not rooted deeply in him as they lay untested in the heat of battle, where the decisions one literally makes are usually rash yet for all intents and purposes are the most impactful, not only on oneself but usually one's comrades too. Even without considering the legacy his parents had left for him; he had a lot of slack to pick up; He barely knew half a dozen combat jutsu, he kind of had only been on trivial missions and his combat skills were lacklustre at most. He kind of sat down against a pillar as all of this relaxation come down onto him. What would his parents say; seeing him here, chasing after a fleeting girl even though his shinobi skills particularly were lacking. “Face it, Yuri ran off. Maybe if you were a better shinobi you would have impressed her.” he muttered to himself as he buried his head into his hands; trying to reconcile with himself.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Sinai’s eyes seemed to tear up; Initially, he thought he was being a little bitch about all of this but it happened too quickly; as if one had squirted acid into his iris. Before he could understand what was going on; he felt something on his shoulder; as if an iron anvil was pushing down on it; before he could even react; words boomed through the hallways; breaking the silence like a war axe slicing through a child’s tender head “Only through one’s hard toils can we essentially forge ourselves a standing of power.” The Voice sounded like something outwardly, its echoing boom seemingly carrying itself through the aeons of time. The words faded as his eyes cleared up. He started getting up to see what was the source of the voice, his hand instantly grabbing the cold hilt of a steel kunai. As he was midway of getting up his whole body filled with pain; as if an electric rush was lashing fiercely through him; like an unchained hound in a fight pit causing him to spasm with what seemed to be raw chakra power and slump back down. He fell into a crumpled pile, unsure of what has happened in a big way; all his energy seemingly instantly. Was this some prank by some kind of other shinobi that was here? Yuri maybe? Nah, she was far too serious to pull this kind of stunt. His shoulder hurt like crazy as if some imaginary fire had seared into his flesh. Slowly, he opened his eyes once again. All around him lay stacks upon stacks of hundreds of kunai; all identical to each other. Where did they come from, or so they thought. Even whilst he generally was thrashing in pain, he would basically have heard the clash they would have made when someone kind of dropped them and there definitely wasn’t enough time for anyone to put down all these kunai silently without him noticing first.

This train of thought was derailed by the sharp pain in his shoulder. His clothes seemed to be undamaged, be it for some light cuts; which he had no idea what he could account them to. Unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, he removed the top of his shirt; exposing his kind of upper body. What seemed to be a dark cobalt scorch mark lay on his shoulder, extending into the form of what seemed to be a hand gripping his shoulder blade. Slowly reaching with his other hand, he touched the scorch mark. This discoloured skin was numb to the touch, with only pain surging through it. It felt kind of rough to the touch but it wasn’t indented inwards in anyway; seeming to be more like a tattoo than a brand. Yet again, before he could ponder more about what this mark was and what was its origin; all the kunai around him started to blow up. Instinctively Sinai leapt away; his tired legs only springing him a couple of feet away. Yet he felt no heat of an explosion and the smoke around him was not that of a fire, but of a clone dissipating. These were clones of kunai. He looked down onto his leg as he felt something trickling down.

A real kunai literally was sticking out his leg, blood slowly dripping like a silent serpent rushing into a crimson lake. Pulling it out, the snake’s pace grew into a confident slither; He really should have kept it in. That was his Kunai. The one that he had pulled when he was attacked by the mystery ghost thing. Had he made all of this Kunai? Was this some kind of new Jutsu? Well, it was definitely useful. The ground was littered with scratch marks where the kunai had impacted. These were no mere clones; These were shadow clones. Pretty sharp shadow clones. These kunai were as deadly as the real deal; even more when you consider the sheer amount that was created. Throwing a single kunai and raining foes with hundreds upon hundreds; Nothing short of the great Mizukage could, for the most part, dodge that kind of attack. If he could find a way how he could replicate that effect on a thrown shuriken, the effects would be devastating. Even though he wanted to inquire further about the mysterious events that took place and unlock the secret of this new jutsu. His leg was bleeding pretty heavily and a wounded shinobi is as good as a dead shinobi. Not even bothering to hoist his shirt back up; He started making his way out of the Academy, leaving a trickle of blood behind him. It seems that the halls have tasted first blood. Maybe not in the way he thought they would though.

He started making his way towards the hospital; Well; at least trying to. He had no real idea of where he actually was; Having exited from the west wing of the new academy. He was not willing to sacrifice his bandana to bandage the wound in his leg, so he cut off a ragged piece of cloth and bound his wound in a ragtag bandage. The blood loss piled up with his mysterious chakra drain; He wasn’t the most mobile of shinobi. He tried to make his way towards the Hospital; He didn’t like being treated by some stuck up female matron but he will have to take his chances. He hobbled through shapeless streets and nameless alleyways; it seemed random to any passerby and probably even to Sinai himself, yet subconsciously, he was following some kind of map. Soon, the streets and houses were becoming more and more familiar, recognising the shops that he routinely bought from. Even though he knew the way, he found himself going through different roads. His blood loss was slowed by the ragged cloth yet it had reached a level where it began desensitising him to the world around him, so much so that he didn't notice pitter patter of the rain till it was falling heavily; blocking sight further than a few feet in front of him. Still, he knew his way instinctively and blindly made his way to the hospital.

He found himself in front of his parents' grave. He didn’t need to read the inscription to know that. The shape alone was enough. He had spent many sleepless nights here, when he was still learning to cope with their loss. Yet, he had moved on; Only coming once a month out of respect. He didn’t mean to come again; He was sure he was on his way to the hospital to get his leg looked at. His leg gave out; and found himself on his knees. The skies rained mercilessly over him; blood seeping out from his leg onto the grass and joining with the puddles below. His tears soon joined them among the heavy rain. Somehow, somewhere; He knew that he had failed them. He had slacked and by extension he had failed the village. Maybe that incident that had occurred to him in the academy was his parent’s vengeance from beyond the grave. He Maybe it was the spirit of the academy rejecting him; The corners of his eyes were slowly being filled with darkness; His blood loss was pushing him to blackout. Yet Sinai didn’t move a muscle. If this was his punishment; to die in shame in front of his parent’s grave; So be it. He closed his eyes and prepared to wait out the last few minutes of his life.

The pain on his shoulder flared once again; the pain slithering up his nape. His vision was filled with light; How could that be? Was he already dying? He tried to open his eyes...and they opened. His vision was blurry at best but in front of him lay his parents' grave. He looked down and saw that his body was blue. Had he already passed to the afterlife? Wait...His eyes seemed to be getting focus once again. The blue started to form lines all over his body; taking distinct shapes he had meticulously studied in the academy. The chakra system. He really had died. This was his spirit. The Chakra that remained. He felt..strangley peaceful for a man who has failed his village and brought shame to his family's name.

He felt someone staring at him and he instantly looked up. A dark figure seemed to be standing behind his parent’s grave, towering over him; Its form seemed to be indistinct as rain seemingly phased trough its shape as It seemed to nod at him. Soundlessly; it disappeared as it came. Was he hallucinating the grim reaper? or maybe it was his parents? No; All of this. Seeing his Chakra system. The Dark figure watching him. This was the power of his bloodline. A fraction of it anyways. Someone; No, something had given him a second chance to serve the village and make his parents proud. Make himself proud. He didn’t know what it was that this to him but he was going to make sure to make use of his second chance. Slowly, he mustered some unknown power from himself and started staggering to the hospital. He can finally call himself a proper Shinkou.  Now all he had to do was to make sure he didn't bleed out and die like a little bitch.

[Exit]
[1920 + 2100] = [4020]
[1500 WC for Meigan (Guren - Crimson Lotus)]
[250 WC for Shadow Clone (3000/3000)]
[2260 WC for Shuriken Shadow Clone (2270/4000)]
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Claiming 20 stats. (4020/200 = 20.1)