Realizing One's True Potential

For a long time he had been suppressing the inner demon, the part of him that was forever forced upon him and changed the very being that he had strived to become. No longer had the blood of dragons coursed through his veins, no now something entirely different sat within his core form. That of a demon. The monsters he had hunted throughout the land had become his kin and while the battle had been his he had become...keenly aware that there would come a time where he would be no longer able to fight it. The sun sat high inside the sky above them as high noon took into effect and he sat within the realm of the training grounds looking at a battered and beaten training dummy that he had been using to practice his sword techniques. He had been using a dull blade for the most part, but even with it being dull he had been putting deep cuts and gashes into it. His fighting style was no longer elegant or even refined, no it had became barbaric and full of rage with each swing. The monstrous strength he had obtained from becoming an Ushitora had caused him to change his battle approach. Even with the speed he had accumulated within his own fighting style, it did not work with the strength he had now. It was chaotic and unrefined to the point where when he tried to incorporate them both it backfired on him. He stuck the dull blade deep into the earth in front of him as he sighed and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. He had been at this since the sun and been rising into the sky, dawn gracing the village with its presence but he had not found that rhythm he was looking for. He would take a few breaths in before picking up the sword and looking at the dummy. A memory flowed into his mind of one of the Ushitora that had held him captive had used a technique with something as small as a dagger. He had unleashed a torrent of fire within it, pushing it to the surface before swinging the blade and incinerating whatever had been in front of him.

Pulling forward his blade from the earth he would hold it forward, the tip of the blade itself facing forward toward the dummy as he took in another breathe. He would attempt to ignite the blade with Katon, but as he did he could feel the influence of the Ushitora blood within in vying for control. Release it. Release me. Accept it and become whole. That was all that he had heard before he relinquished the technique and dropped the blade. What had been so simple for the voices had been difficult for him. Stabbing the blade back into the ground, he would rest his hands upon his head and his fingers would slowly intertwine into his hair rubbing the stubs of his horns before sighing," I cannot accept something that has perverted me...changed me....," what was supposed to be a thought turned out to be spoken aloud unknown to him.

527 WC
WC Needed: 1,500

A new dawn, a new day, a new experience to be had out in the world. A calm mindset was held by the old man feeling his age, his bones creaked when he rose from his bed hidden by the creaks from it being freed of his weight. Jecht lived in a modest home that was big enough for him to have the bare essentials and that was it. His mind wandered back to the days in the woods with his family, his old man even bigger than Jecht is now. The talks about how it was because of the hard work he put in tilling the land and chopping the lumber but Jecht knew that it was also because of their Clan. The Ushitora, The Ogres. His grandfather had raised him on stories of the past of legends of old who tore through enemies with their bare hands and barely a defense in sight. His hands rose to his head, there where he normally wore his bandana missing as he had just awoke, thick cut remains of horns that his clan seemed to all grow of various sizes and shapes.

Jecht wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed of his horns, if it wasn’t for the promise he made to his mother at a young age he would display them proudly. The image of his mother and the scent of lavender filled his thoughts and as quickly as it came it was gone. Jecht wore a somber smile and went about his daily routine, it was time to clean, stretch, dress and enjoy the day ahead. Tying his red bandana it its place, it was time to head to the training grounds and put his body to work. Even if his clan was known for their strength and durability his father had beat it into him that only through training could he ever fully realize his potential. More stories from what Jecht had heard about members being able to fight clothed in fire or lightning, becoming the very images of monsters. “The more I train and push myself the more I wonder if that was ever true.” Jecht muttered to himself as he entered the training area, which was empty, well mostly Jecht noticed a figure in the distance the thuds of wood against wood. Though some of the strikes sounded as if they were tearing wood to pieces with the strikes.

Jecht moved closer to see who it was as not many frequented the area this early in the morning with the sun barely high enough to shine on the village. A stab of a blade into the ground and the light revealed it to be Iscarot, a Shinobi that Jecht had been recently teamed up with on various missions. He could tell something was bothering the younger man but Jecht was no mind reader, he did not know if it was because of exhaustion of the training the man had been doing prior to Jecht’s arrival or something else in the man’s life. Regardless Jecht continued his approach not being silent as there was no reason to sneak or scare, though it seemed that the silver haired Shinobi hadn’t noticed his approach quite yet as he heard Iscarot speak of something changing or changed him.

“Iscarot, you alright boss?” Jecht said as he finally spoke up, “You seem distressed and while it is not my place to intrude as your senior in age, granted only a few years, maybe I can help?” He offered. The fellow Konoha resident was a helpful and hard-working comrade so this was the least Jecht could do or offer.
 
WC: 604

It took him a minute to register that someone had been talking to him. The inner peril had made him recognize that maybe he was not ready for this, but something had been wrong. Silence fell for just a moment before he realized someone had been beside him and it had been a familiar face. Looking over he would feign a smile as he chuckled and shook his head to the male," I would be lying if I said I was. Just a momentary lapse in mental fortitude it would seem," his eyes lingered on the blade that had still been lodged in the ground for a moment before standing up straight. He had rested a hand on the pommel of the busted up blade as he thought about the best way to approach this conversation with Ject. He didn't know much about the upbringing of the male or even his history, but for some reason he felt a common...well he felt a familiar aura about the male. Rolling his shoulders he would return to speaking with Ject moreso to answer his question," Maybe talking to someone about it might help me in the long run. I've mentioned to you before that I was not a native to this village as i have only been here for a while, relatively speaking. Before coming here I had been apart of a clan known only as the Pendragon. We come far from the shores of what is known to us as the Elemental Nations, from a place known as the Land of Avalon. To not bore you with a long history lesson, I was on a hunt of sorts when I was attacked and...defeated after a long stand. My captors instead of killing me decided to do something, in my opinion, far worse. They made me one of them," he'd push up the hair that had hid the horns that were cut down, jagged even as he continued," The experimented and played with me until I was one of them and no longer who I was once. I became one of them, an Oni. I have been dealing with this stigma for years as I've only tried to hide it...but a feeling deep in my very being no longer wants me to," he would release his hair and pull the sword from the earth slowly and raising it as he finished speaking.

He knew he had dropped a lot on the other male, but speaking about it made his burden...lighter in a sense. He didn't know much else to say about the situation, but he also felt bad for just dumping all of that on him. There wasn't a look of embarrassment that would come to his face as he spoke," My apologies if I had dropped a lot on you. Its...an odd feeling having someone to talk to moreso in the recent years but I digress. I need to find a way to control this...well this anyway that I can. If I could use a proper analogy its like a bundle of sticks trying to hold a raging stream back. It feels like it will hold but something tells you that maybe its better to let the stream flow and see what comes from it," maybe it would be for the best that he let the demon out and embrace it...but what would come of it however is what he feared would plague him.

573 WC
TWC 1,100
WC Needed 1,500

Jecht looked at Iscarot as the moment of confusion and recognition came across the younger man’s face, one that Jecht had seen on a many person’s face in the throes of internal struggle, with what Jecht would not know till the fellow told him. A look of shock and then of sadness passed across the dark-skinned man’s face, to have been tortured and changed from what you were to what you are against you will was something that no one wished to experience. Worse yet with the reveal of Iscarot’s horns, a very familiar sight for Jecht a pit in his stomach grew. How do you help someone who at some point in their life had one of the worst life experiences happen to them by someone of your own clan, granted its not like Jecht knew every single Ushitora in the wide world but that doesn’t help someone with possible trauma.

Rationality is not a friend of those in pain of the mental or physical sorts, Jecht looked Iscarot in his eyes and the younger man would be able to tell that there was sympathy and sadness held for the man. No sight of pity or thinking less of the man in front of him. “My fellow warrior there is nothing to apologize for, while we can train and fight everyday not being able to rely on those around you can cause your downfall just as easily as not treating a physical wound.” Jecht started slowly as he begun to unravel the cloth from his head. “I can not free you of your mental wounds from what has happened and what has been done to you by,” The cloth fell to the ground as the sight of cut horns could be seen on Jecht’s own head, “my own clansmen, I know not why they would do such a thing to you and I am sorry.” He finished with sorrowful eyes. “This demon inside is the Oni as we call it, we train our whole lives to learn how to use its bountiful energy to better our own strengths and lives. It is time for you to release it and learn to use it as your own power as it is apart of you.”

Jecht now understood why he had felt comradery from the younger man and it was because they were of the same blood granted one by force and not birth but still something inside had recognized the other. All Jecht could think of is what were these people thinking forcefully turning others into their kin, what point was it to do so. What great hatred was being born in lands so far away to cause this to happen? A deep seated anger bubbled and pulsed through the man at the thought of these wrongdoings, a disgust and desire for retribution for this act burned and threatened to consume the dark-skinned Ushitora. “We are not bound by the actions of those against us, if they wish to change you into something different then use it and show the world what happens when you spur your enemies.”

WC: 518
TWC: 1118

There had been many things in ones lifetime that scarred or even wounded oneself and their reason for being. This situation had been one of few that had robbed Iscarot of many things. As he listened to Ject, it felt satisfying to hear someone speak words of truth and clarity. Hell it felt great and relieving to hear them. The realization did not come until he had seen the same markings, those attributes unique to the Ushitora on the person of Ject did things come into full circle. The reason something about Ject felt familiar. They were both Oni. They were both Ushitora. As he explained further it was as if someone fed wood to the dying fire inside Iscarot. Why should he continue to harm himself and hold himself back because of this? What was the reason he was afraid to accept this calling and allow the voices to die down so that he accepted his new life and made it his? All of this time it only took speaking to someone of his ilk, his new kind, to finally understand that. The voices returned but this time he could navigate the storm. For the first time since his transformation he knew peace. He relinquished his hold on his sword as he sighed a sig of relief and then smiled what felt like a genuine one for so long," I never thought that I would meet another like me in the village. I resigned myself to solitude because i did not understand this power...i resented and hated it. But after talking to you today it made me realize that a Dragon cannot run from change...If I am an Oni now then I will embrace it...and make it mine," as he spoke his hand would grab the hilt of the blade and take it once more.

Feeling a new form of relief he would take in a deep breathe and take his stance once more. His right foot would slide back a few inches as his left remained in front. Pointing the sword at the dummy he would ignite the blade with Fire as he chuckled and released the full might of the flames through the blade and through the dummy itself. It was nothing impressive as it only did a small dent into the dummy, but the fact that it happened and he felt at peace, whole even made him happy," No longer will I hold myself back. If there was a reason this has been give to me. A reason I am an Oni now i will make it mine. I won't let the past define me, but i will make it mine instead. Thank you Ject," the silver haired male would give him a nod in thanks. Finally, he felt whole and now he would forge a new path to completion.

WC 474
TWC 1,547

Exit

claims:
3,000 Ryo +500 Genin bonus = 3,500
30 AP
50% off Red Oni, Blue Oni making it 1000

WC claims:
15 Stats
Claiming Red Oni, Blue Oni for 1,000 WC. Proof can be found in the links on Stat Page

Remaining WC from skill is 454 which i will put toward Shimi Daikon First Bloom
Putting 1,547 words toward Shimi Daikon making total wordcount 2,001/2,500

There was a visible change in the troubled youth in front of Jecht, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting as he had no clue what to do about helping someone with something that his own people did to them. Would Iscarot revolt and lash out against someone who looked like his captors or at the least shared the same blood as them? No it seemed that this discussion between the two has allowed Iscarot to find the path to recovery and acceptance of his life and who he was now. That was a wonderful thing to see happen in a person, Jecht had lived for over three decades and the chance to watch someone overcome a personal trauma that had been holding them back and come into themselves as a person they were now was an honor most people don’t get to see.
“I’m honored to have been allowed to know this information and even more so to have been of help of any sorts.” Jecht mentioned after listening to Iscarot and his confirmation that he would accept his new self and make it apart of him. This brought a smile to his face, and he watched as the new Ushitora took his blade up and ignite it with flame though it didn’t seem to be through the use of Ninjutsu it was like he was bringing the flames from in himself and all the stories from his grandfather started to make sense. Jecht had been brought up on accepting the Oni inside him, the Ogre and destruction but had he really done that? Had he truly been himself and all he could be? No he had been rejecting a part of him due to his past and seeing this youth’s own growth and change caused Jecht’s own as he looked to his hands and the flames began to cloak them, his feet lit as well. “When acceptance of oneself is true, then there is nothing you can’t do.” Jecht muttered to himself as he went through some forms of his martial arts the flames staying on his fists and feet but there was no pain no discomfort a joy filled the older man’s heart and with his last punch finishing his routine a burst of flame like Iscarot’s shot out.

“We have grown on many fronts and for that I also thank you Iscarot.” Jecht said with a  comforting smile.

[Exit]

WC: 402
TWC: 1520

Claiming 3000 Ryo and 30 AP

Claiming 25% discount on the following:
Gate of Life 0/750 > 750/750
Gate of Pain 0/750 > 750/750
Discarding the rest of the wc

Approved for both iscarot and jecht