Do you hear whispers? [P]

The once great statue, that was rumoured to scrape the very peak of heaven from those who had witnessed it, now littered the pedestal that once proudly hosted it. Chunks of marble from the statue remained, mildly eroded by the constant rain within the region, with bars of rebar that once aided in it's stance now jutting from the ground. It was an interesting story to the Mizukage, one that reminded him of his pride. His nature. He could have had the area cleaned up a long time ago, since it happened, but it served as a constant reminder to him

Standing at the base of the statue,  Xyxer ran his left hand through his blue mane while his grey eyes stared into the dark sky above him. Is that where the deceased would rest? Staring down at his village from the comfort of the clouds that drifted so aimlessly? In all truth, he didn't care about where they would be, as their deaths were preventable. If they had became stronger, they wouldn't have died.. there was no place in this unforgiving village for those that failed themselves through lack of diligence. A brutal tradition that created warriors during times of peace.. because peace was a foreign concept to Xyxer. Friends killed those your other friends, leaders lied to you outright, and animals had started to seem like the only living thing with true intentions.. they made no illusion of their savagery, nor did the Mizukage.

Wrapped in a sky-blue cloak that hung down towards his ankles, almost brushing the floor with each step. Underneath that, he wore a simple black tee with loose, grey pants. It allowed for the best mobility, and Xyxer loved his freedom of movement granted that he was a melee fighter through and through. The better half of Xyxer was strapped securely to his back via the sash that he'd reaved from the corpse of Kisame, stretching from his left shoulder down to his right hip. The sword was quiet today, it must have been content after the scent of so much death, although Xyxer was not sure on whether the blade could even smell.. but surely, it could have tasted the blood. A wet splatter struck Xyxer's feature, followed by another and a few more until it became obvious.

The heavens were weeping.

It was raining on this weary day. Water feel from the sky and onto this mortal world, did the Heaven's know of the Uchiha's sorrow? Or perhaps it was the tears of God, showing his grief at the death of the holy man, Dol Harvard. Or maybe.... it belong to the Angels  of heaven, reveling their or depression at the death of so many young soldiers. Of the 8 genin that entered into that hell hole of an arena, only two made their way out with their lives intact, Angel, and her best friend Aryll. Heck... Angel is the only person who came out with her own life intact that lost the exam, a sign of failure that she did not appreciate having, surely she and Aryll weren't the only 2 of the 8 that deserved to live.

Azure Phenoix.... Dol Harvard..... Riku Shinkou..... Jayce Uzumaki..... Shadowfax....... Areistal.....

Angel Burr hadn't met most of the shinobi listed above, but all of them gave their lives in order to give her life. As such, their names were forever etched into her brain.

However... The blonde haired girl wasn't underneath the Mizukage Monument to pay her respects, no... she was here under orders. She had been called here by the THE Mizukage, requiring an audience with the young girl.

Wrapped in her new Chunin Jacket, the young girl made her way to the base of the statue, where she saw the blue haired demon waiting for her. She made her way down until she was about 10 meters away from the Kage, before kneeling before him, head bowed in reverence.

"Angel...." Angel what? what should Angel supposed to give her name as? Burr, or Uchiha? She didn't want to lie to the Mizukage... but at the same time she identified her self as Burr....  Debating it for a second, the girl decided that it would be best if Angel identified herself as her proper last name, seeing that she had given her real name when she put her name into the record book to become a shinobi. "Uchiha.... I have come as you ordered, Lord Mizukage."

The creature was almost too enthralled in his own thoughts to hear the movement behind him.. after all, nobody inside of the village were brazen nor stupid enough to assault him. Yet the beast that lurked inside covered him even when his own guard was faltering.. and it's voice boomed from within like a whip of thunder through the midnight sky, "The child's here, don't be disrespectful." The horned demon sneered, causing the Mizukage to look over his shoulder. Sure enough, he was not being misled.. a girl was approaching him and it seemed to match the description of the one in the games.

Twisting his body around, he replanted his feet so that he could watch her comfortably as she closed the distance.. and then proceeded to kneel. That was good, she seemed to remember the courtesy after the failed display at the games. She even started to speak, and then it became apparent that there was hesitation.. had she lost her nerve around the monster? Did the stories of a bloodthirsty demon that punished insolent children frighten her to her core?

A faint smirk fell upon his lips as she continued once more, although truth be told, he did not care for her name nor her clan. Both of those were irrelevant to him at the current time, as only the Hozuki and Tadashi bore any value to him now; The Gyojin were long dead, and he only honoured them by name. A collected, calm voice soon filled the air, "You may rise." He ordered once more, nodding his head towards himself while gesturing with a single wide armed swoop for her to come beside him.. yet he saw something about her. A sense of unease.. misunderstanding.. perhaps just genuine hatred, he wasn't sure, but he was going to find out. "You should be beaming with pride on this day, Angel. Why aren't you?" He'd pause for a little while, and if she didn't offer a response he'd jab her verbally, much like he used to do with Haru, "Do the dead keep murmuring?"

'Pride? Angel asked to herself at first as she stood up, trying to figure out what the man meant, Pride in what? Pride that the she killed a boy who had mental issues? Proud that the she had been choked out by a cripple? Proud that she had been the only person in this event that didn't win, yet she was still allowed to live.

As she was about to ask the Blue haired demon about that, she would readjust the chunnin jacket on her... trying to get it to fit properly since it was a little bit big on her, before she realized that was probably what the Kage meant.



"No.. I am proud, I have survived something that very few have, I survived the Blood games, perhaps the bloodiest games in history, if what I heard from Ren at the academy is correct at least. I am proud to be able to represent our fine nation as a solider." Angel would explain.

"It is just...." just what? All the shinobi who no longer walked this earth died a glorious death on the battle field. They did their duty, and because they gave their life in that hell hole of an arena, Angel herself got to walk out of that arena with her own life intact. In Kiri, these men were heroes. Then why... why couldn't Angel get these reluctant heroes out of her mind?

"Do the dead keep murmuring?"

The way the man said this.... he was just jabbing at her, this wasn't meant to be taken seriously... however....

"Prehaps.... its just... Dol Harvard," Angel would lie, not as much to the Mizukage as it was to herself, "The elderly gentleman who was killed very early in the finale, he was a mentor and a close friend of mine. He showed honor in his death, despite his age and being horribly out classed didn't even try to run, and stood his ground until he was killed. He... showed honor in his death. But at the same time... I will miss having debates with that man."

While what she said was true.... it wasn't just the death of the woman's former mentor that bothered her, but the death of every last shinobi in the blood games that bothered her.

Throughout the entirety of Angel's actions the neon demon could only think of one thing.. Is she going to actually move? Perhaps the girl was a bit distracted from the reality of the situation when death was mentioned. Xyxer could only imagine that she was contemplating the plethora of deaths that she had witnessed, even participated in.. her hands were not clean and that was the primary reason he had allowed her to live through the onslaught. Many warm bodies had found themselves cold during that event, put away into their final slumber.. and yet the girl before him had been cheated of that liberty. There'd be no eternal rest for her, not yet at least.

Continuing to wait, he started to contemplate whether he'd have to verbally elaborate on what the gesture had been suggesting.. but interrupting the girl when she was just beginning to speak would be rude. Xyxer was many things to people: A boogeyman to warn the children about, a cursed soldier to rally the shinobi, hell, even a cruel leader that allowed no oversight when it came to his village.. but he wouldn't be called rude by his own people. 

She went on to explain how someone she cared deeply for, a man by the name of Dol Harvard, had perished during the aforementioned event.. perhaps she felt like she had stolen his place in this world. To live while your friend did not had been the cause of many poor people's anguish.. he believed it was called survivor's guilt.

Rubbing his jawline momentarily as he considered the next move in this scenario, he'd refocus his gaze onto the girl to see if she was beginning to cry from the memories.. but he'd be unable to tell. The rain would do a good enough job of obscuring that detail from him. She didn't seem to understand the purpose of this entire debacle.. she hadn't come to grips with why it had all happened, at least from what Xyxer could tell. "I'm sure your loss has had a great impact on you, and that's not a bad thing. The dead can guide us in ways the living were never able to." Xyxer started to speak, pausing momentarily as a splash of rain struck him square on the nose, "His death, however, was a needed event. The experience will shape you forever into the person you'll become, for better or worse is up to you. I can't tell you that I'm sorry for your loss, Angel, although I can certainly understand it."

Xyxer at this point reached up towards his hairline, scratching lazily at one of his brows, feeling the moisture gather underneath his fingernail, "If he was to live, as great a man as he was, I'm sure he would have done all he could to keep people safe. Most of the people in this village would; Selfishness is a trait I loathe." He continued on, taking only a small pause so that the girl could digest everything that was being spoken, "Although what we intend to do is not always what we will do. If he was to live, he may have saved hundreds of people.. but he would have inevitably caused the deaths of many more. He was a kind person, but he wasn't strong enough to protect the people and the village. We function as a cohesive unit. If I'm standing side by side with my shinobi, I expect them all to be able to hold their own. People who pass the blood games prove their worth in that respect because they have the drive and the willingness to push themselves far more than the average shinobi does. If Dol stood beside me, how long would it be until he was cut down by the enemy.. then I was swarmed by many more simply because he could not hold his own?" At this point, the Mizukage took a longer break to let the girl deliberate on his words some more. It wasn't the kindest point of view, but the Kage wasn't growing a garden, "We don't feign strength.. we don't need to. Through the blood games.. we're all baptised by the blood of others into becoming the shinobi we need to be. It's a cruel practice, but it allows my people to never worry about who fights alongside them.. to be prepared for the horrors of war." Xyxer would finish up with, before gesturing towards himself once more. This ceremony would take an awful long time if she refused to move.

Standing up... (This is what happens when one post so late at night.) The Chunin would listen to the Mizukage's words of advice, how those who would died would be used to help make those who survived stronger.

That being said.... of the eight shinobi that went in, only two survived.... meaning that 6 people gave up their lives for Aryll and Angel. Was that really a necessary percent?

The blonde started to open her mouth, to ask the Mizukage about these very same words, but then stopped herself, Thinking back to what she read about the deaths of the shinobi in the blood games, The blue haired demon only actually ordered the death of the shinobi who had attempted to flee the games instead of standing and fighting. The Kage hadn't ordered any other death in the arena, on the contrary, the only person who hadn't run from the games and he had been given the option of whether they were to live or to die was Angel herself.. and the Kage's mercy had been proven by the fact that she still drew breath.

Angel wanted to cry, but after the instruction the Mizukage gave the girl, she felt like showing weakness like that would be a dishonor to the dead. However... she had another question... she wanted to here the Kage's response to. "But Lord Mizukage, if we are truly weeding out the weak in these games, then how come we require all genin to participate? Surely... you wouldn't expect a mere genin such as Dol or Azure to charge in to battle by your side?" As the girl spoke these words, the Uchiha would reach behind her and into her weapons pouch and pull out a tool from leather bag. The tool she pulled out however wasn't a tool meant to be used to kill, but a tool of learning. In the girl's hand, she held a small old leather bound book, page's yellowed by age, cover long faded a way and the name of the book was long forgotten by time.

"This book here is a gift from my mentor, and the only thing I have left to remember him by. It is a collection of notes and thoughts of various different unnamed authors. I have read this book every night since the blood games have passed, memorizing the book Dol cared about so much. But there is an interesting metaphor in this book, which explains why the god these men worships allow Sinner's to live. Basically, to make sure that their deity doesn't accidentally kill any innocents, he waits until the end of their life in order to make sure if they are sinners, and from their decides who lives and who dies.

"Basically, to get to my point, we have these blood games to determine who is weak, and who is strong, but how do we know if someone is strong, if we force them to fight before they are ready? If we let the genin participate in the exams when they are ready, rather than forcing them to before they are, then we could probably get a better understanding of how strong that person is, and from that, build a strong Kirigakure for us all."


Once Angel had finished talking, she would wait to here the Mizukage's response. With all honesty, the girl didn't expect to change the Mizukage's mind, but Jayce, Shadowfax, and Ariestal all felt like they weren't ready for the games to the point that they attempted to flee from the anbu rather then fighting. For their sake, Angel had to know why they were not allowed to be given more time to hone their skills, and was instead forced to their death in the games.

Once again it seemed that movement was proving difficult for the Uchiha. The demon put it down to shellshock from the deaths she had witnessed.. after all, it was probably quite shocking to witness your friends die in front of you. Xyxer had witnessed the death of his mentor directly ahead of him by the hands of his Kage.. and in all fairness, he had struck that Kage. He hadn't killed him, and that was a memory that haunted the shinobi to this day. Somewhere in the vast world of ninja.. Shinji was breathing. A right that he had stolen from his friend.. and he didn't even make an attempt on his life.

Was he to be loyal to his village, or his friends?

The two did not go hand in hand very often, that was a sad reality the boy had realised not too long into his ANBU career, yet he forced these children to experience that before they'd matured to that point. They'd enter the world knowing full well the terrible life of a shinobi.. it was not a role to aspire towards to become a hero. It required sacrifices of the greatest kind, a self sacrifice. This event served a great purpose in that it showed that being a ninja is about death and pain. Suffering and perseverance. That was what Xyxer had picked up at least.

He listened to what the girl had to say, despite being irked that she did not move throughout the entirety of it other than to stand. He even looked at her memento, a precious keepsake of Dol, which allegedly contained many scribblings of passages belonging to a multitude of authors. Reading it nightly seemed like a strange thing to do, but people handle mourning differently and this was simply her way of dealing with it. 

It was an innocent question that she proposed with genuine curiosity, and perhaps a legitimate care for the village she was being raised in. As such, it deserved a proper response from the Mizukage rather than derogatory comments, "Fear." The demon stated boldly before it continued in the next breath, "If people are too afraid to enter the Blood Games, then they're incapable of being shinobi within the village. They're afraid of what might happen to them, a selfish thought. How can we trust someone to protect us when they refuse to have themselves tested before the masses? Rogue shinobi won't ask them if they're ready to fight. They'll ambush them, then they'll slaughter them as well as any civilians that were unfortunate enough to be under their supervision."

The notion of allowing shinobi to choose when they're ready to take the test seemed trivial, even laughable. This poor girl didn't truly understand the world of shinobi and the distinct lack of honour outside of the village.. but she'd learn. "The Blood Games isn't simply about showing off how potent one's jutsu is, nor how precise one can cut. It tells us a lot about a person. Dol entered the Games and showed great conviction throughout, his name will be respected by Kirigakure because he was noble enough to enter the Games of his own accord.. he didn't die a coward's death, but he held his head up high, just as he should have. Just like you should right now" The demon talked gently, shrugging his shoulders a little, "A kid entered those games once, quite a while ago. He couldn't stand still at all, couldn't stop shaking from fear; it was deep rooted. He walked in.. tears streaming down his face and staining his cheeks.. he was scared of what was to come. He'd heard many stories about the event, even taunted by his peers in the academy. He knew.. he thought he was going to die on that day. Yet he stood there: Knees trembling, jaw chattering, hell, I think he may have even wet himself but I can't remember too much. That detail is irrelevant, as all that mattered was that he showed his ability to overcome his fear. His body may not have caught up, but he defiantly stood in the jaws of death. That's how Kirigakure remembers him."

At this point, if Angel had decided not to walk over to him, Xyxer would simply throw Samehada at her legs with full intent to break both of them so that she had a valid excuse to not come beside him as he requested. If she did decide to walk over to him however, he wouldn't break her legs, so it seems like a no brainer in all honesty.

Given how the girl did not come beside him, the full force of Samehada was felt on the tiny legs of the Uchiha girl; The equivalent of a concrete post being thrown by a jacked bodybuilder at the legs of a school child. Of course, her legs would give way into the might of the living sword that had gave her knees a clothesline from hell, forcing them to buckle, and inevitably break backwards. As the girls kneecaps popped and her legs started to bend at an awkward angle, her body would soon fall down o top of her broken lower half. Quite obviously it was mangled from the strength of the shot as Samehada found itself skidding behind her a few feet (Masterfully thrown if I might add)

With the girl's badly broken legs, soon would come the words of the Mizukage which might scathe her even more.. although it was doubtful, not being able to walk was pretty shitty, "You're demoted back to Genin. If you can't follow a simple gesture, then perhaps you should invest in optical solutions." Xyxer quipped, a lil' joke and jibe at the girl's doujutsu. Regardless, he'd walk off from the girl after collecting Samehada, informing the hospital to not heal her legs with the usage of any chakra. She could suffer for now.

[Exit]

You get the same treatment Denkiteki got when he tried to Denkiteki me

Claiming Angel's broken legs and inability to get the hospital to heal them insta

Oh, and that she's Genin again

As Xy lashed out and, the girl was in so much shock that she didn't have time to react. The Masterful blade made contact with her legs, breaking them instantly, as she fell to the ground, she screamed out in anguish, as the Kage came over and demoted her and walked away. Leaving Angel's legs broken and alone. With out a way to continue on.

[exit]

Confiriming rank down and broken legs.

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