Post by Naotaka Reiji on Jan 17, 2006 5:39:34 GMT -5
Orika had gone down... Reiji only knew that because of two things; the thick veil the girl had managed to put around them was slowly fading, and Riichi had let out a scream like none that the teen had ever heard before. It was one of those screams that could tear a heart out if a mind dwelled upon it too long... The kind where the sound of it will ring over and over again in your head the more you think about it, the more you focus on that terrific pain and heartbreak it brings to life. That's how Reiji knew... it was over. They were going down.
He'd been thinking, screaming at the top of his lungs inside his head, to break the deafening silence that followed Orika's slow fall. He'd watched those gentle brown eyes go so dull, after so many years of trying to put a spark back in them, to put life back in them. He'd watched as she finally came to rest, honey-brown hair spilled over features that had slowly softened, matured, into the very face of kindness, of friendship.
Now those features were bloodied, bruised... and lifeless. It had been the hardest blow Reiji had taken in the fight, up to that point, though it'd been harder for Riichi. After such a long time spent together, all the hard, painful days of training, it was no surprise that the group had grown close. Painfully close it seemed now... Perhaps they should have gone about things differently, the way they'd tried to go at first... Don't make friends, and they wouldn't get hurt...
Emotions ruled in the deadly game they'd been learning to play, step by step learning the rules, the guidelines, tricks and manuevers to bring them to the top. If you got attached, those strings would be severed almost as surely as the sun would rise... But emotions came with the best of teamwork, there was no avoiding it. And they... they were they best they had...
Even the best will fall, though, and when they do, they fall hard.
Riichi's once sensible nature had completely deserted him the second Orika had been killed. All the strategies the young man had ever put to use were gone, wiped clean from his memory at the death of his teammate. It wasn't supposed to happen like this! They were only genin, not even halfway through their teachings! Genin were meant to become Chuunin, not the memory of friends... Not yet.
Feelings of desperation suddenly began to overshadow all the pains leaking through Reiji's senses. Even he was beginning to lose his hold... His feet and hands had grown numb, as if his own heart had stopped pumping in shock to see Orika go down. They moved slowly now, as if they were weighted down with stone and lead. He couldn't think, he couldn't hardly move... He kept wanting to look to Orika, to see her pick herself up and fall into place beside Riichi and him... But if he looked, it would only bring him up close... and leave Riichi on his own.
They could be together again that way... All he needed to do was look to her, run to her to see if she was all right. He knew she wasn't... But if he just looked... Maybe. No! It was ridiculous! There was still Riichi to think about, to worry about. His best friend, almost his brother. He couldn't sacrifice that... Not even to be a team again.
A dark shadow had fallen over the two young men, faces and limbs weary, bodies broken and bleeding... Even their spirits were shattering.. Fine, hair-pin cracks settled on the surfaces of objects that had once been made of steel. They had been tough, uncrackable, until now.. The loss of a teammate will do that to even the strongest though... Death finds the weakest points in a person's being and attacks them silently, discreetly, until they shatter and give way beneath it...
The shadow moved, breaking Reiji out of his dulled thoughts in time to remember the pain his body was still in. It took form before his eyes, and it was a long moment before Reiji realized he was on the ground, legs too weak to hold him up any longer, arms too weary to push himself back up. Even still, he'd tried... He'd tried so hard to get back up on his feet. If he was going to die, it would be standing. No man would kill him on his knees...
It didn't matter this time though, even if he had been able to rise one last time, there would have been no point. A command had been shouted at him, working its way through his traumatized thoughts that had fogged his mind. A command from his sensei... To stay.
At first, his mind could not decide whether to be relieved or horrified at Daichi sensei's appearance. Relief flooded through him at first... They were saved. No one could beat Daichi, at least, no one had ever seen it be done before. But then again, no one had ever seen one man go against this many others... And through the relief had been strong enough to bring new life to his limbs, it was the horror, the terrible fear that had Reiji to his feet in an instant.
"Rei! I said stay!" The command came again, authorative and demanding... And though at that very moment, Reiji had all the respect in the world for his sensei, more than he'd ever had for any man before, not even his father, he did not listen. He disobeyed...
"No!" Was the only word the boy could manage to choke out as his drained legs carried him with a stumbling, uncooridnated gait to Daichi's side. Tears managed to leak from the boy's eyes as he neared the man, all awareness of the danger around them forgotten, and threw his arms about Daichi's own forearm. "You'll be killed! Daichi sensei, don't!"
At that moment, a very strange pause had been put on every moving thing, it seemed. There was a brief moment in which nothing moved, for both the pupil and his teacher. But Daichi moved, eyes shifting from those of unimaginable danger, to the eyes a father saves for a son... A small, saddened grin was the only thing that Reiji could see on his sensei's face save for those kind eyes.
"Mamotte ageru, Reiji."
Reiji stared down from his position on the bluff wall, hands folded comfortably behind his back, two-tone gray eyes unmoving, locked on one place below him. In the moonlight, he could see the steel of Daichi's blade glint, marking the place where it had been driven into the soil to mark the Jounin's grave. It stood in perfect line with the place the man had fallen, taking with him the last of the shinobi to threaten his pupils, the grave itself positioned with great care against the high sandstone walls.
He'd been there for the ceremonies, all of them, the burial, and then the visits... Both for Orika and Daichi... Riichi had been there with him. Through everything. The deaths of teammates can do that to people... For them...
Hands still folded behind his back, Reiji fell back away from the edge he'd come down to. His eyes were thoughtful as he slowly made his way up the winding path to the top of the bluffs. Where was he going? What was he striving for? He was a Jounin now, with a team of his own to train, and many more to follow, should he prove able.
He was out to honor the memory of his sensei, of his lost teammate... But a life could not be run on, or founded by memories of friends... No... He was striving to be as honorable a man as Daichi had been, to put all the love he had, all the knowledge, into teaching his students. He had responsibilities now, to guide those three Genin of his toward being better, stronger, and honorable fighters that their village could count on, that everyone could count on.
And they counted on him... Just as he and Riichi had counted on Daichi. They counted on him to guide them, to teach them, to help them, to respect them... and to protect them. And all of that he had done when a situation called for it...
Mismatched eyes brightened slightly as he came back into the camp the team had set up not too long before night had fallen, taking in the sight before him with an immeasurable amount of pride. The fire was burning down to the last embers, giving off a warm, orange glow upon the three peaceful faces of his Genin. They were all fast asleep, huddled comfortably within their bedrolls for the night.
But what about such a scene could make a harsh old man like him, be proud? Krail, Seishuku, and Miura. It was a simple enough answer, with the most complex of meanings behind it. It was the perfect answer to him, needing no further explanation. Three names simply said it all... Explained why his old gruff ways had softened, why he worked them so hard, why his heart swelled with pride every time one of them managed to succeed in training and when the three of them actually managed to work together...
Moving to an open space left for him, Reiji gave a soft snort of amusement at the sight before him. His own bedroll laid out neatly, carefully, everything set properly as it should be. Sometimes they surprised him, with how well they cared for him in turn... Glancing around at each of their still slumbering forms, the Jounin sighed. They'd come so far since that first day they'd been assigned to him... His team. His Genins. His kids...
Only they weren't quite 'kids' anymore. Brow furrowing slightly, Reiji lowered himself into his bed and managed to get comfortable on the rocky, sandy ground. No, they certainly weren't kids anymore, but part of him wouldn't let him accept that. They were -his- kids... They still needed him as much as he needed them...
Mamotte ageru... Reiji's eyes closed at the memory of those words, still spoken in the hauntingly familiar voice of his sensei. Daichi had stood by his word, had done all that he could... And there was only so much Reiji could do for these three, this new generation for Suna...
"I'll protect you..."
He'd been thinking, screaming at the top of his lungs inside his head, to break the deafening silence that followed Orika's slow fall. He'd watched those gentle brown eyes go so dull, after so many years of trying to put a spark back in them, to put life back in them. He'd watched as she finally came to rest, honey-brown hair spilled over features that had slowly softened, matured, into the very face of kindness, of friendship.
Now those features were bloodied, bruised... and lifeless. It had been the hardest blow Reiji had taken in the fight, up to that point, though it'd been harder for Riichi. After such a long time spent together, all the hard, painful days of training, it was no surprise that the group had grown close. Painfully close it seemed now... Perhaps they should have gone about things differently, the way they'd tried to go at first... Don't make friends, and they wouldn't get hurt...
Emotions ruled in the deadly game they'd been learning to play, step by step learning the rules, the guidelines, tricks and manuevers to bring them to the top. If you got attached, those strings would be severed almost as surely as the sun would rise... But emotions came with the best of teamwork, there was no avoiding it. And they... they were they best they had...
Even the best will fall, though, and when they do, they fall hard.
Riichi's once sensible nature had completely deserted him the second Orika had been killed. All the strategies the young man had ever put to use were gone, wiped clean from his memory at the death of his teammate. It wasn't supposed to happen like this! They were only genin, not even halfway through their teachings! Genin were meant to become Chuunin, not the memory of friends... Not yet.
Feelings of desperation suddenly began to overshadow all the pains leaking through Reiji's senses. Even he was beginning to lose his hold... His feet and hands had grown numb, as if his own heart had stopped pumping in shock to see Orika go down. They moved slowly now, as if they were weighted down with stone and lead. He couldn't think, he couldn't hardly move... He kept wanting to look to Orika, to see her pick herself up and fall into place beside Riichi and him... But if he looked, it would only bring him up close... and leave Riichi on his own.
They could be together again that way... All he needed to do was look to her, run to her to see if she was all right. He knew she wasn't... But if he just looked... Maybe. No! It was ridiculous! There was still Riichi to think about, to worry about. His best friend, almost his brother. He couldn't sacrifice that... Not even to be a team again.
A dark shadow had fallen over the two young men, faces and limbs weary, bodies broken and bleeding... Even their spirits were shattering.. Fine, hair-pin cracks settled on the surfaces of objects that had once been made of steel. They had been tough, uncrackable, until now.. The loss of a teammate will do that to even the strongest though... Death finds the weakest points in a person's being and attacks them silently, discreetly, until they shatter and give way beneath it...
The shadow moved, breaking Reiji out of his dulled thoughts in time to remember the pain his body was still in. It took form before his eyes, and it was a long moment before Reiji realized he was on the ground, legs too weak to hold him up any longer, arms too weary to push himself back up. Even still, he'd tried... He'd tried so hard to get back up on his feet. If he was going to die, it would be standing. No man would kill him on his knees...
It didn't matter this time though, even if he had been able to rise one last time, there would have been no point. A command had been shouted at him, working its way through his traumatized thoughts that had fogged his mind. A command from his sensei... To stay.
At first, his mind could not decide whether to be relieved or horrified at Daichi sensei's appearance. Relief flooded through him at first... They were saved. No one could beat Daichi, at least, no one had ever seen it be done before. But then again, no one had ever seen one man go against this many others... And through the relief had been strong enough to bring new life to his limbs, it was the horror, the terrible fear that had Reiji to his feet in an instant.
"Rei! I said stay!" The command came again, authorative and demanding... And though at that very moment, Reiji had all the respect in the world for his sensei, more than he'd ever had for any man before, not even his father, he did not listen. He disobeyed...
"No!" Was the only word the boy could manage to choke out as his drained legs carried him with a stumbling, uncooridnated gait to Daichi's side. Tears managed to leak from the boy's eyes as he neared the man, all awareness of the danger around them forgotten, and threw his arms about Daichi's own forearm. "You'll be killed! Daichi sensei, don't!"
At that moment, a very strange pause had been put on every moving thing, it seemed. There was a brief moment in which nothing moved, for both the pupil and his teacher. But Daichi moved, eyes shifting from those of unimaginable danger, to the eyes a father saves for a son... A small, saddened grin was the only thing that Reiji could see on his sensei's face save for those kind eyes.
"Mamotte ageru, Reiji."
Reiji stared down from his position on the bluff wall, hands folded comfortably behind his back, two-tone gray eyes unmoving, locked on one place below him. In the moonlight, he could see the steel of Daichi's blade glint, marking the place where it had been driven into the soil to mark the Jounin's grave. It stood in perfect line with the place the man had fallen, taking with him the last of the shinobi to threaten his pupils, the grave itself positioned with great care against the high sandstone walls.
He'd been there for the ceremonies, all of them, the burial, and then the visits... Both for Orika and Daichi... Riichi had been there with him. Through everything. The deaths of teammates can do that to people... For them...
Hands still folded behind his back, Reiji fell back away from the edge he'd come down to. His eyes were thoughtful as he slowly made his way up the winding path to the top of the bluffs. Where was he going? What was he striving for? He was a Jounin now, with a team of his own to train, and many more to follow, should he prove able.
He was out to honor the memory of his sensei, of his lost teammate... But a life could not be run on, or founded by memories of friends... No... He was striving to be as honorable a man as Daichi had been, to put all the love he had, all the knowledge, into teaching his students. He had responsibilities now, to guide those three Genin of his toward being better, stronger, and honorable fighters that their village could count on, that everyone could count on.
And they counted on him... Just as he and Riichi had counted on Daichi. They counted on him to guide them, to teach them, to help them, to respect them... and to protect them. And all of that he had done when a situation called for it...
Mismatched eyes brightened slightly as he came back into the camp the team had set up not too long before night had fallen, taking in the sight before him with an immeasurable amount of pride. The fire was burning down to the last embers, giving off a warm, orange glow upon the three peaceful faces of his Genin. They were all fast asleep, huddled comfortably within their bedrolls for the night.
But what about such a scene could make a harsh old man like him, be proud? Krail, Seishuku, and Miura. It was a simple enough answer, with the most complex of meanings behind it. It was the perfect answer to him, needing no further explanation. Three names simply said it all... Explained why his old gruff ways had softened, why he worked them so hard, why his heart swelled with pride every time one of them managed to succeed in training and when the three of them actually managed to work together...
Moving to an open space left for him, Reiji gave a soft snort of amusement at the sight before him. His own bedroll laid out neatly, carefully, everything set properly as it should be. Sometimes they surprised him, with how well they cared for him in turn... Glancing around at each of their still slumbering forms, the Jounin sighed. They'd come so far since that first day they'd been assigned to him... His team. His Genins. His kids...
Only they weren't quite 'kids' anymore. Brow furrowing slightly, Reiji lowered himself into his bed and managed to get comfortable on the rocky, sandy ground. No, they certainly weren't kids anymore, but part of him wouldn't let him accept that. They were -his- kids... They still needed him as much as he needed them...
Mamotte ageru... Reiji's eyes closed at the memory of those words, still spoken in the hauntingly familiar voice of his sensei. Daichi had stood by his word, had done all that he could... And there was only so much Reiji could do for these three, this new generation for Suna...
"I'll protect you..."
Papa Bear |:.
