You brought shame

It was the day after the first round of the Chunnin exams. Some advanced to the next round, while other would have to sit and watch. Even those who worked so hard to make it this far. But at the end of the day, only the strong survive. Kyson at the moment was checking into a Hospital to visit someone. He took a good hit during his fight so he just wanted to go check up on him. It was his best friend's student so he felt it was needed. His room was in the second floor, so the young Hozuki made his way up there. This village was a lot more.. brighter than Kumo. The people here seemed peaceful and the energy here was a lot different. Though it wasn't exactly the same when Kyson last visited here, it was a bit more lively before it was taken over. He tends to suppress his chakra whenever in another village, he doesn't want to be the center of attention everywhere he went.

Reaching the second floor, Kyson made his way to the right room number. Passing multiple rooms down the hallway. He would finally reach the room he was looking for. 

*Knock Knock*

Waiting for a response to come in. He isn't sure of the boy was sleeping or if any doctors are checking up on him. So he waited to see if it was okay to enter.

Zyxis sat up in his bed, staring out the window, the citizens bustling about their town. His eyes went down to his stomach/chest; a scar was prominent. Those medical shinobi worked fast. Disgrace. He should've been left for dead after he failed. He jumped out of bed, the only thing that he wore now was plain gray pants. He walked over to get some water from the sink. The pouring of the water was the only sound that echoed throughout the room. Zyxis was silent, morbid.

Once the cold liquid began to run on his hands from the overflow of the cup, he turned the sink off and brought the cup up to drink it. A sudden influx of memories popped up, the water in the arena, the fight, his loss. His hand slacked, and the cup fell to the ground, spilling everywhere. The Uchiha looked down at it with disgust. White-Hot burning anger boiled within his gut, right where his scar was.

"FUCK!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, slamming his fist into the drywall. The chakra-reinforced walls sent Zyxis back, and he went to make hand seals, determined to hit something. The knock of the door caused him to stop. Was it Kyson? A friend? A foe? He couldn't open that door. The world around him became utterly silent, and he faded into a black abyss, floating there.

The door stood in front of him, the only other thing in this place except for him. Each footstep he took seemed to scream; a high pitch ringing entered his ears. Hell itself roared as he reached and touched the knob of the door and turned it. Everything came back to what it was before, back in the hospital, the door was open. With bags underneath his eyes, he looked up at Kyson and his heart felt like it would come to a stop. 

This couldn't be happening. Why did he have to come now? Of course, Zyxis was aware that it had to happen, but this wasn't what he imagined when he came to Konoha with a smile on his face. He was supposed to win and they were supposed to throw a party for their village's victory. Now he was sullen and depressed, in a hospital, with his Kage looking down upon him.

"Come in." His voice was weak, but he didn't care, he couldn't muster any sort of energy right now. He left the door open for him to come in and went and sat back down on the bed, crisscrossing his legs. 

...

"I'm sorry." Zyxis didn't look at him. How could he? The white-haired boy stared at the ground and clenched the sheets to the point where his knuckles turned white."I messed up. I was close, but close isn't good enough." He began to tremble in his wake, his Sharingan activating instinctively. His head shot up at Kyson, "I don't deserve my headband," The intensity at which he talked spiked up for a bit, but at the mention of his lifetime job, he stopped.

Letting go of the sheets, he looked to the wall, "I don't deserve to be a shinobi."

He looked back at Kyson, "What point is there for me to be alive anymore? I failed the village, made a joke out of us. I don't know how the others did, but I," it would be conceding to say they weren't as strong as him, "I was the best hope for our village to make it through."

Standing outside his room door, he heard the loud angry yell coming from the inside. But this didn't surprise him, he's young and learning what true defeat feels like. As the door opened slowly, it was obvious the young genin wasn't taking his fight too well. "Yo.." He would say casually as he was welcomed inside. As Zyxis went back to his hospital bed, Kyson would just lean his right shoulder against the wall with his arms crossed as he took a look around the hospital. The first words that came out Zyxis mouth, Kyson didn't speak. He'd let him finish everything he had to say before he would speak. All he heard was talk about not being worthy of a shinobi and letting the village down. This was the stuff Kyson was already expecting to hear, but it hit a nerve when he asked what was the point of being alive. At that point Kyson would speak.

"Zyxis..." He said as he interrupted the young genin after hearing 'What point is there for me to be alive anymore?'  Kyson having a casual but serious facial expression. It was an expression that didn't show much emotion, but you could still feel the pressure from it. Without yelling, or even speaking with an angry tone in his voice. "If I hear you say that one more time, I'll end your life right now..." Kyson said calmly, not making eye contact with the boy. Going from leaning his shoulder against the wall to leaning back against the wall. "Because if what you are saying is true, you were never meant to be a shinobi way before these exams even started. Hell, the moment you even put that Kumogakure headband on.." He said to the genin.


"What point is there for you to be alive, huh?" Kyson said with a chuckle as he mocked the boys words. He truly found those words hilarious, especially coming from him. "You talk as if you seen it all.. You talk as if you seen your comrades die in front of you. You talk as if you seen everything you love taken from you. You talk as if you seen the world turn against you." He knows the boy was young, but throwing death around so easily just tends to hit a nerve with Kyson. "You said in your written exam... on what the code of a shinobi was. Your words were 'Do everything in your power to protect your village, and you live to serve it.' So what your telling me is, those words held no weight to you and they were only said so you can pass the exam. Which means you took being a shinobi as a joke this entire time. Is that what your telling me?" Kyson stated as he waited for an answer.

The boy felt nothing from Kyson's politely delivered threat. He only looked up at him. The next words that had come out of his mouth made his heart jump. He went to speak, but the current Raikage continued. Each word seemed to hit him like a kunai, each one a stab to his pride, and his mission in life. After everything was said and done, Zyxis took a deep breath and brought up both of his hands to wipe his face.

"I haven't seen it all, sir," He would say, "Nor do I believe that these Chuunin Exams were all that mattered. It was the way that I represented our village. The fact that I can't get stronger because of this roadblock."

The boy looked him in the eyes, "I do live to serve my village. But how does it look when I mess up in front of everyone. Our weakness? The reason I'm so upset is that this isn't a joke," He jumped out of bed and continued to stare at Kyson, "I know I shouldn't say that I should die... maybe I'm hitting too close to home with Kumogakure's old way of life."

"I shouldn't be emotional right now, Raikage. Of course, I would never give up my headband. I would fight to my dying breath for it. I apologize," Zyxis let out a deep breath as he let out his insecurities and thoughts.

The white-haired boy looked away, his Sharingan deactivating, "What now? Do we head home with our heads hung low?"

Hearing the boy's reply, even after stating all the things he said. Kyson understood how he felt and had no problem with him feeling that way. Everyone gets emotional, its one of the things that makes us human. But to give up so easily just makes his blood boil. But he understood why Kyson said the things he said and he apologized for it. "Look Zyxis, I don't mind you feeling the way you do. You can be pissed about losing. But, giving up and showing true defeat after one loss is unacceptable. Those qualities are definitely not one of a Chunnin." He would say as his eyes made its way towards the genin. 


"You have the weapons, you just don't understand how to use them. And no, you didn't make a fool out of our village. You gave it your all out there, I can't be mad at that. You didn't quit before the match started like Ryuka did." Kyson would say as he shook his head in frustration. If there was anything that made Kumo look weak, it was that. But he would be dealt with after the exams are over.

"I will say this though, you are definitely Roy's student. Y'all both look alike, you both grew up with both your parents.. and you both lose in the both round of exams." Kyson would say with a smirk on his face. It was funny how things turned out so similar between the two. He probably didn't know that fact about Royalty. It was like the two were made to be student and teacher. "But Kumo isn't lost yet, Hato is advancing too the next round. So she still has a chance to advance" He said as he informed the genin about what was going on the exams.

The boy continued to tell himself deep breaths, deep breaths. Kyson was right; it wasn't as if the whole world was coming apart. A lesson in being a shinobi is that you have to accept the loss. His young side had come out, and he wondered if he should even become a shinobi. It was hard for Zyxis to remind himself that he wasn't an adult, but he was only trying to be one. The boy looked back up at Kyson as he continued to speak, and his gaze shifted back down once he claimed that these weren't Chuunin-like tendencies.

"I agree," He said with a sigh, "I'll try better next time." Zyxis took mental notes as Kyson kept explaining, and it honestly made him feel a bit better; until he reached the part about Ryuka. In his mind a record stopped playing, creating a horrible screeching sound. His eyes narrowed, and a sour taste entered his mouth, "Ryuka quit his match before it began?"

There must've been a reason. Ryuka was a talented ninja. He still had never gotten a hit on him, which was something the boy probably prided over. He was smart, fast, and had a good head on him. So then why did he quit the match before it began? Zyxis felt about ready to explode. If he thought what he did was disrespectful, his view of Ryuka dropped a bunch. If there was no good reason for this, Zyxis wasn't sure what he would do.

Currently was not the time nor the place to blow up right now, so the white-haired boy kept on a calm head and would do so until Kyson left.

Zyxis grinned as Kyson mentioned Royalty, the man who taught him a lot about fighting and Taijutsu when he still specialized in it. It seemed that they had more in common than he believed, "Thanks for the pep talk Kyson. I don't know what I would've done if I were to sit here and think about it any longer. It's nice to know that someone was here."

He gave him a quick nod and hopped out of bed and began to put a shirt on, "Then we should go cheer on Hato, right?"

It seemed he was slowly turning back to original self, at least a little. Kyson wasn't no fool, he knows deep down inside there is still some doubt in the young genin. But experiences like these is what either makes or breaks a shinobi. Either he gets back up and bounce back, or let himself drown in his own flood of doubt. But the decision was for him to make, not Kyson. "Well, glad you understand." 

He was surprised to hear the news about Ryuka. "You want to see someone embarrass the village, that's how you do it.." He'd say as he shook his head as he was still frustrated about the his actions. It was the fact someone with his talent just left without a reason and gave up in front of hundreds of people. On top of that, the 4 great nations all witnessed it first-hand. It almost embarrasses Kyson to wear the symbol of Kumo while walking through this village.

"Yeah her fight should be starting pretty soon." He would say in response. The next round was going to be a 3 way free for all. It was an interesting match up and Kyson was eager to see how it will turn out. As Zyxis was getting ready Kyson would slowly make his way towards the door. "And take notes from these exams, use it as a lesson. Your still young, so you still have time to grow....." Time was a valuable thing, it can either work with you or against you. "Even though at your age I was already Jounin but that's beside the point, welp lets go...." He said real fast as he walked out the door.

Zyxis nodded as Kyson continued to talk about Ryuka's decision to flee the fight. He grits his teeth, not needing to get upset once again in front of their Kage. He jumped out of bed and slipped his shirt on, before walking into the bathroom and putting on his proper attire. As he looked in the mirror, he frowned. On his way to the Chuunin Exams he looked like a decent ninja, but now he was back to his essentials, his equipment destroyed. Shaking his head, he got rid of those thoughts. When he got back to the village, he would create better armor to wear, this time not so flashy, and only something needed. He took a look at his headband once more and grinned, wrapping it around his neck.

"Let's go, Kyson," Zyxis said as he walked out of the restroom. "After Hato's match, if she fails, I'm gonna have a talk with Mara and see how she's doing and also a, uh, meeting with Ryuka to check up on him." The two would head out together to watch the Chuunin Exams, Kyson's job done. 


TWC: 1,400

Claims:
- 14 AP

As the two were on their way out to watch Hato's match. It was a good idea for him to catch up with his fellow comrades who didn't make it past the first part of the exams. Especially Ryuka, since him and Zyxis were close. It would be better for those two to speak to each other first. "Sounds good, I'll meet you there."


He said as he exited the hospital and made his way back to the arena. Hopefully they didn't start the second round yet and he still had time to see the entire thing. So far the matches had been interesting, some good and some bad. It was a learning experience for most if not all of them. 

(TWC: 1411)

(EXIT)

Claims:
- 600 words towards Liquid Inventory (-25%)

Approved