Precipice [solo,nk]

Kozachi rushed into the clan compound after a day's worth of training. She hadn't seen Kenjiro around much lately, but at least she knew he wasn't off doing something crazy like last time. Thinking on it now, it had caused her a lot more stress than she had expected at the time. Since when had she become such a worrywart? There were other things in her life to distract her, as well. Apparently Anri had become quite ill, and had been so for a while. She was close to the girl, although not in the same was as she was with her brother.

She sank down into the sofa within her family's house. Ken was off powering up or doing who knew what, and her parents were out on official clan business, and wouldn't be back for a while, or at least so she'd been told. She wanted to just kind of lie down and take a nap, but there were so many other things to do. For instance, cleaning, cooking, normal maintenance... all kinds of stuff. Sometimes, she felt like she was trapped by her clan. As much as she supported it, it felt like it was guiding her destiny instead of her.

Well, let's be perfectly clear, here. Kozachi didn't believe that her entire life was already set out in front of her, only that whatever happened, through enough hard work and merit, she could very well shape her own damn future. The days to come were hers to seize, if she tried hard enough. Still, no matter how hard she seemed to work in the present, things didn't seem to be getting any better. Sure, her life was progressing onwards, and she was certainly becoming more powerful, but Kozachi didn't feel like she was in control of that.

Nevertheless, she couldn't really do anything about it, could she? Kozachi sank further into the couch, her countenance increasingly troubled. There was no way that she could see to break away from the control and still remain loyal to the clan and to the village. Perhaps it was because she still didn't know what to do with her life. Her future had always been to be a shining star of the clan, whether in front of or behind of her brother. But surely, there had to be more than that, right? Hadn't there been people who had broken away and been happy?

Come to think of it, she'd never heard of any. Was that because they didn't exist, or because the clan chose to cover up their existence in the first place? Kozachi caught herself before she could sink any further. What on earth was she doing? Questioning her family like this was.... seditious, even. The girl shuddered at the thought. Was it truly, though? Who was going to spy on her thoughts, here in her home? And if there was someone doing exactly that, what further reason did she have to stay here? Ahh, she was starting to grow paranoid. Not good.

It was at that point that her cell phone rang. Unlike many of her friends', hers wasn't really decorated at all, the only addition being a protective plastic sheet over the front. As it turned out, it was just a notification for text. Anri. Kozachi didn't really want to move, but this was important. Getting up, she threw off her uniform and threw on some casual clothes for the summer. No skirts of course, but some shorts would do. The weather was starting to warm up in Konoha, and it was just a little annoying for her.

At least, it only did for a little while. After she had been on the bus for a few minutes, Kozachi found herself lost in thought once more. What would she say to Anri when she got there? They'd been so close for so long, and now that there was a risk that it might end forever, Kozachi didn't know what on earth to say. How are you? No, of course she wasn't doing well. I hope you feel better? Clumsy, and hopelessly optimistic. Exactly the kind of person that they both knew she wasn't. Maybe it was just best to stay quiet, but that might make Anri even more upset.

Aaah, there was no use thinking about it. Sometimes, when it came to relationships, there was just no way to rationalize things sometimes. It didn't stop her from feeling really down about it though. Acceptance could come hard, and she knew that it could get much, much worse than this. Shit, curse the fucker who gave her a cynical personality. She was so morally suspicious at this point that nothing surprised her, even the prospect of someone close to her dying. Why couldn't she have been born with a normal sized heart, like... well, normal people?

The hospital building came up over the horizon, flanked by a variety of higher class eateries. This was a decent part of town, which was good. If Anri had been placed in a hospital for the indigent, Kozachi would have been pretty upset, at least more than she was right now. Those places were for people with no insurance whatsoever. The kind of place where the rotting went to have pieces of themselves cut away, to delay the end for another few months. The kind of place where you only worked if you were a saint, or just plain lazy.


No, that would never happen under her watch. Unlike some members of her family, she actually cared about the people close to her. She'd hurt Ken once, but she was over it now. Times moved on, it seemed that Ken had moved on without her. It doesn't matter, she thought as the bus neared its stop, she was pretty sure she was still ahead of him by quite a bit. The younger had surpassed the elder now, and nothing would hold her back. Maybe she didn't have the skills to save Anri, but she would be there for her, at least.


The bus hissed to a halt and Kozachi got out. It was evening, and the sky was relatively clear, allowing her a decent view of the now quickly approaching sunset. Not stopping to look at it for too long, she headed inside, keeping her head down and not bothering to give anyone the time of day or space of thought.The city was fading from the light of the day and sun to the light of neon and internal lighting. Now, that was the kind of feeling she liked. Sort of like a gentle let down into another part of the day.

She headed into the hospital and told the receptionist which room she was headed to. She'd been here a few times before during the previous few days, and they recognized each other, naturally. After filling out the sign in sheet, Kozachi headed to the elevator. The sixth floor, she thought, as she tapped the corresponding button. She turned around, and was rewarded by the sight of... well, nobody, which was a good thing. Assholes always rushing to a closing elevator instead of waiting for the next one kinda pissed her off. Shit, things that wasted her time like that made her day a little bit worse anyway.

With a small sound, the door to the elevator opened, and the girl exited onto the sixth floor. This was like any of the other floors above the first, sterile and close. To be fair, she thought to herself, that was probably a good thing for a hospital. Still, she could never imagine working here, either, despite the quality of the equipment and care. Firstly, she didn't really have the talent for it. In addition, she didn't like being in hallways like these for too long. They felt too fake. Kozachi frowned as she realized her criteria were a little bizarre.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she came near Anri's room. Within, she heard some panicked whispers, which got her curious. As she drew closer, she saw a doctor come out and shake his head. Slipping past him, she entered the room where Anri was, surrounded by a few family members. They parted for her, since they knew her by now, but Kozachi was more focused on Anri. The girl was in the bed, but she wasn't like she had been before. Prior to this, she had been much less active than usual, but today she was still.

Naturally, it took Kozachi a few seconds to realize she was dying.

She thought she'd been prepared for it, but the girl sure hadn't expected it to come so early. Maybe she thought they'd have more time, or that death waited at her convenience. No, of course not. That wasn't how real life worked. With that, naturally, what little of optimism that was left within the girl's heart shrunk still further. With this, of course, it took her a little longer than normal to realized that something was out of the ordinary, even here.

She looked at Anri's vitals and saw that they were normal, with the exception of her heart rate. If this was the case, what exactly was causing her to die? Something important pricked at the back of Kozachi's memory, and she took a step closer, her frown deepening. Of course, she didn't know anything about the whole medical science that went into diagnosing a disease, but she had seen something like this somewhere before. The girl was still breathing here, in real life, but the illness must've been in her mind.

Taking a few steps back and sitting down, Kozachi pretended to distract herself by picking up a magazine after greeting Anri's family members. After a few seconds, she looked up, her eyes now subtly colored red. The girl hadn't used her doujutsu in a while, now. No need to. But now, she was quite sure that she knew what was going on, and needed to make sure. The chakra vision expanded around her, enabling her to see the energy inside of every person in the room. Small sparks of power, of course, none quite as large as her own. However...

However, it seemed that Anri's chakra was being disturbed. Kozachi didn't learn about this type of effect until long after she'd graduated from the academy, where she'd crouched and cowered with her brother when Kirigakure attacked the Leaf. Certainly, she had never learned about this specific jutsu until even longer afterward. It was something known to her clan. Who would have reason to attack Anri like this, and why? Kozachi knew the truth, but she tried to think of other possible explanations. Anything to keep herself from blaming the people who had birthed her, raised her, and taken care of her and her brother.

Kozachi waited a few seconds, then backed quietly out of the room. She walked to the elevator, pressed the button for the ground floor, then waited again. Her demeanor on the outside appeared calm. Funny how, in times like these, a person's mind seemed to numb. This wasn't exactly the case for the girl, as she knew what was going on and what she was about to do. When she got out into the streets, she began to run, then realized that public transit was still running. Walking (a little embarrassed) back to the stop, she waited for the bus that took her back to her home.

She went in, and waited for her parents. What was she about to say to them, to actually do? Only the girl knew. Her eyes weren't filled with the blazing killing intent that she had had when Kenjiro was caught in the academy basement. Now, they were imbued with a sort of icy coldness that had never really been expressed there before. The anger that before was characterized by sarcasm or by hot bursts of emotion was now a different sort of rage. Contained, calculated, and far more powerful.

[WC 2000
10 stats
another 2000 toward next doujutsu stage]

Approved Kozachi <3