I Just Wanted Some Steak [IO]

Yurei closed his eyes as wind rushed against his face. The rapidly moving air swelled his eyes, recalling water to his temples and Kogarashi, the Illusionary Owl cut through the clouds in the skys. Yurei struggled to keep his eyes open, but could not help but gaze at the sky around him. It appeared as he did, cyan and white in tandem, working together. Yurei extended his hand, feeling the cloud as Kogarashi flew through it. It was as if a thick fog or cotton candy, disintegrating with moisture. The pale Uchiha coughed lightly, inhaling the water within the clouds.

“Ok?” Kogarashi asked in his deep, yet comforting voice.

“Yeah,” Yurei replied. He tightened his grip on the owl as the pair traversed through the sky, weaving in, out, and between the clouds. It was colder up here, and the air was thinner. The scene reminded Yurei of that night with Kenshin, the frigid air, and the thinness of it. It had been exhausting, and now the alabaster Uchiha felt as if he could not breathe. It was too similar, even with the beating sun on his white skin.


“Kogarashi,” Yurei yelled, leaning forward to the owl’s ears. “Can you descend?”


“Of course,” the owl replied, slowly dipping toward the ground.

Yurei sat in silence for a moment, shifting chakra to his hands as the two flew down. Adhering to the owl in the same way one might use chakra in their feet, the Uchiha held on, clinging to the owl as he thought. The day he was to earn his position as a jounin was slowly coming closer and closer, but, for the first time in his life, he almost didn’t want to rise in the ranks. This village – it disgusted him. Every breath he took within its borders angered him.

Imagine dedicating one’s life to something – only to have it betray you when you need it the most.

Rising through the ranks here meant one thing – he was closure to Kenshin and those like him. Where the cynicism would take root, the emotionlessness. Yurei retracted one of his hands from the owl, clenching it into a fist. This village was evil, and it wanted to use the Uchiha.

The young man huffed. To think he wanted to save this place with a uniting genjutsu. No, that was no longer an option. Too much was a risk with that plan, and the aftereffects were not in his control. No, he needed something else. Something more real. Something practical.

Yurei grimaced, the owl now reaching the City Blessed by the Stars. In order for him to gain this power he desired, he’d have to become Jounin. Even if it meant beating Damon.

The dark-haired Chuunin was the only man Yurei truly trusted, but his goal to become famous was a petty desire that, while Yurei strove to help him achieve, could not compare to the white-haired Uchiha’s goals. They were far too vital, and the prospect of him losing to a man desiring fame appalled the young man.

I won’t ask for you to go easy on me if we end up fighting, Damon. I’ll win if I have to. If that’s what it takes to fix this world.
Yurei stopped, gritting his teeth. No, that was selfish. Or was it? The young man truly cared for Damon’s goals, but this… this was just too important. And if he needed to train even harder to succeed, then so be it.

Kogorashi, his massive wings like a shadow over the city, flew to the section of Hoshigakure adjacent to the center of the village. He flapped his wings once, landing in a road with no one around.

“That will be all, Kogarashi,” Yurei would say, climbing off of the owl’s back. “Thank you.”


The owl nodded, disappearing into a cloud of whirling smoke.

Yurei closed his eyes once more, relieving them of the stinging caused by the wind. He sat alone for a moment, allowing them to adjust as he leaned against a building. This section of the city was relatively quiet, but the pale Uchiha could hear the sounds of yelling customers are the nearby market. The Uchiha took a deep breath, the very thought of the villagers irritating him. He clenched his teeth, his cheeks protruding as he seethed in his anger.

All of them trampling over one another for scraps… Not a single one helping another.


Yurei opened his eyes, glaring at his hands before him. He stood, opening himself up with chakra. For a moment, he felt something. The mark seal he had placed on Damon, and his chakra signature. He must be up and about.

The Uchiha thought of that night, if not only briefly. He touched his eyes for a moment, thinking to flare his chakra within them. The Mangekyou Sharingan… This was the price of his emotions, his attachments. But there was strength in that. His sharingan was manifested proof that Kenshin was wrong to abandon his feelings.

Though now Yurei wished he could abandon his. The pain was great, and simply thinking of Damon reminded him of Akio’s passing and the circumstances of it. However, as he said before, that emotion made him stronger. Yurei’s fire burned brighter – hotter. His power was growing, and, if Damon had unlocked more power with his Mangekyou Sharingan, perhaps Yurei would, too.

Yurei picked himself up and began to walk, now headed for the marketplace where Damon’s chakra signature was located. The Uchiha weaved himself throughout the traffic of the many villagers, headed for the restaurant Damon had stopped to go to. Before he entered, however, Damon had spotted him through the glass. The Uchiha stopped, met with a flood of memorized as people passed between he and Damon. He extended his hand and waved with a light smile, offering what warmth was left inside of himself.

The Uchiha could feel the tears swelling in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed them. He knew then what he had to do. If it came down to it, he had to beat Damon. But even so, he had to make sure Damon was a jounin too. That’s what friends do. They were in this together.

Until the end.

Yurei stepped inside, waving at the cook behind the counter. “Hey, Mr. Agumishi,” Yurei said, smiling. “I’d like a roll of sushi after you’re done, please.”

The boy sat down next to Damon and rested his hand on his brother’s back, gripping his shoulder. “How are you holding up, Damon?” he said, his voice hushed.

 
WC: 1094

“So, I take it you’ve been here before?” Damon asked as Yurei maneuvered to comfortably in his chair.
Yurei nodded, giving a thin smile. “Yeah, my family and I used to come here every week. I haven’t been since, well, it’s been a while.” The white haired Uchiha’s smile quickly faded, but was rekindled when he looked at his Uchiha clansman. He nodded in response to Damon’s feelings, and gave a small huff of hot air from his nose at the eating remark. Yurei hadn’t eaten either. The very thought of food had been sickening for quick some time now. “Yeah… I know.”
As the food came to the counter, Yurei bowed his head for a moment in thanks. He took a pair of wrapped chopsticks and punched them through their small package, revealing the wooden tools. Taking them in hand, Yurei took up his first slice of sushi, popping the seaweed wrapped delight into his mouth. It appeared as though he were a chipmunk, his cheeks protruding with food. He looked over at Damon and chuckled, trying to chew his meal before swallowing. He smiled in laughter before nodding at Damon’s assertion. “Yeah, but you know me. I’ve always looked like this. Physical strength isn’t really my strong suite.”

Yurei was of course very skinny, almost skeletal in his appearance, but he was healthier than he gave himself credit for. It just never really seemed to show, no matter how much he ate, but a meal in the belly did make chakra manipulation somewhat easier. No one wanted to spit fireballs on an empty stomach.

WC: 1340

Yurei smiled thinly, blowing hot air from his nose at Damon’s remark. He popped another bit of sushi into his mouth before speaking, this time chewing it quickly. “Listen, Damon,” he said, quietly. He eyed the cook, waiting for him to go in the back before speaking. “About this tournament… listen, if we end up fighting one another, and I hope we don’t, I won’t hold back. I want to help you achieve your goal, I do, but I can’t give up on mine. I want you to try your hardest if it comes to it because I will be too. And if I can’t beat you, then I wasn’t strong enough to change this world.”
The Uchiha sighed, taking in a deep breath. “I hope we both get to fulfill our dreams. I th- no, I know we’ll be able to.” The Uchiha gave a thin smile then returned to his food, taking another slice of sushi and placing it onto his tongue.

He paused, sighing. Fighting Damon wasn’t ideal, but neither could afford to go easy on the other. That would only serve to weaken them, and Yurei’s plans required they both be strong. As did Damon’s.

WC: 1541

“I don’t plan to lose, no matter who I have to face. It can be you, or any other chuunin in this village.”
Yurei gave a thin smile, resting his elbows on the counter. He placed one hand over the other and pressed them parallel against his lips. His eyes seemingly drifted off, watching the wall before him.
“If there’s only one winner of this tournament, it’ll be me.”
The Uchiha looked down, gazing at the hazy image of his hands, his eyes trying to adjust to focus on them.
“I have to do this.  I need to get strong so I can honor Akio’s memory, fulfil my own dream, and help you realize yours. So I’ll go ahead and apologize in advance for kicking your ass.” Damon finished, brimming with confidence.
Yurei gave a huff of air through his nose in another smile, but it quickly subsided. Damon was always more competitive than Yurei, but the Uchiha was not the same boy who fought against Damon on the rooftop. There was a change, and it was more than a simple power boost. There was something else – something in his eyes.
I’m sorry, Damon. But my dream comes first. You can be famous when this world doesn’t kill anymore of my friends.
Yurei shifted his eyes to Damon, looking up at the boy from his resting hands. “Are you sure about that?” he’d ask smiling behind his hands. This smile quickly faded too, and Yurei continued looking at the wall before him, but his mind was elsewhere.
Ambition, emotion. These things drive the Uchiha. Which of us is willing to go farther?  Yurei felt the urge to tightening his hands, but he resisted it. I want you to achieve your goal, Damon. I do. Yurei looked down at the floor behind the counter, his eyes softly narrowing. But you won’t take mine from me. No matter how long I’d have to wait. It’s too important.
Yurei placed the final slice of sushi in his mouth before standing up. The Uchiha reached into his pocket, placing some ryo onto the counter.
“We need to go, Damon,” Yurei said, his tone shifting from somewhat playful to a somber, quiet voice. “I know your excited, and you want to prepare for the tournament, but this needs to come first. We need to do something for Akio. At the cemetery.”
Yurei’s hands tensed, knowing that his friend would never be given the burial his deserved. But anything was better than the hell Kenshin put his body through. He deserved more, some closure. Some respect.
The alabaster Uchiha clenched his teeth, glancing away from Damon if only for a moment. Anger boiled within him, and his stare became cold. With each passing day, it seemed pieces of the bright, white-haired boy were stripped away, leaving something else in his wake.
That’s what this world does to people. That’s what it did to Kenshin. But there was a question not being asked here. Was the world doing this to Yurei?

Or was Yurei doing it to himself?

WC: 2052