[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goro"]Nothing seemed to be going how he expected. One moment he felt like he was so far behind, struggling to keep up in the know-how of general shinobi life, and then he felt like he was doing something right only to be brought back down a peg yet again. Then, there were moments like this, where someone he knew was strong could just go out so quickly.

Goro sat at the side of the infirmary bed, his forearms resting at his knees as he hunched over, peeling an apple slowly as he remained lost in thought. The skin fell to a bowl held between his legs. He snuck a piece for himself but left the rest to the side on a plate for Kojirou. The apples he had cut earlier were already rusting and brown, fresh ones now taking their place. He took one up and ate it, replacing it with the fresh apple for the boy when he awoke.

Blue eyes furrowed, one would think Goro was irritated if they didn’t know him better. If anything, he was just lost within himself, searching for an answer that no young boy such as himself could ever hope to answer.

It sounded like Kojirou would make it just fine, and at this point, the damage wasn’t really known. Goro had always done his best to not intentionally harm someone, which may have been obvious. He pulled back last second to try and lift some of the damage from Kojirou’s neck…something that likely saved the Kusagakure boy’s life. Goro had never had to use that technique on anything but a dummy before…could he really use that on someone when the time required it…without pulling back?

Blue eyes fluttered as he cut through the last piece of the apple and placed it on the table, dropping the core of the apple into the bowl after nibbling what he missed. They shifted over to the boy who had been out for what felt like hours now.

He could have killed him…

The thought made Goro’s stomach weak and knotted. The boy felt like he could choke. He quivered in his seat.

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou was of a pure heart.

He rarely held grudges against anyone. Quarrels were quickly dampened by him, and anger was swiftly taken away from him. He had lived a short but heated life, and he was sure that his clan would be proud of him. A Honō, above all, was a man of honor, but in times of danger, something primal would always begin to bubble up inside of him. A desperate need to survive… no, a fear.

Images flying around the void, corpses of shinobi littering the rocky grounds. Burned grass. Lava flowing down cliffs, starting huge fires. The sound of blades cutting through live flesh. The sensation of an artery bursting in half. The hiss of blood spraying everywhere. This was war, right? This was what war brought, right?

Kojirou knew that something was up between his village and Goro’s. Maybe, they were destined to be enemies… which only made the sickening feeling in his stomach grow. What Ahma said resurfaced, and it almost threw him into a hysteric fit-

…

His eyes had opened. His breath was heavy, as if he just woke up from a nightmare, but he was very well conscious now. Bandages covered his scalp, with strands of his wild hair sticking out, and his left shoulder held a strange pad that was pressing on his collar a lot… probably for re-locating.

But Goro was sitting right next to him. His breath began to calm down again, just like Kizumi-sama had taught him. He didn’t know if the young Iwa-nin had noticed his awakening, but there were freshly cut apple slices on the desk next to him. And, as if everything was back to normal, Kojirou couldn’t help but speak up with a tired voice:

"… Ohhhh, apples.”

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goro"]His blue eyes shifted as the older boy began to stir. He could hear a weak whisper, barely catching the word ‘apple’ escaping his lips. Goro was actually quite surprised he was awake so quickly. Maybe he had judged his opponent wrong. It seemed like a pretty good hit, so maybe he was tougher than he looked.

The Okadan boy shifted his metal chair over, scraping at the floor of the infirmary and causing an obnoxious echo to hit the walls. He winced, "Sorry. Bet dat don’t sound too great right about now…”

He reached over and grabbed the plate of apples, holding it close enough to Kojirou that he could grab it with his good arm. It looked as though perhaps one was either broken or healing from a dislocation. He wasn’t going to offer to feed it to him, but he knew to at least be cordial.

"My folks always said gettin’ somethin’ in ya as soon as possible helped ya heal faster…so…I dunno…thought I’d bring ya something…” It was his fault, after all, and he knew it.

He imagined Taki’s face and how furious she might have been for aiding the enemy, so to speak, but he was allowed to hate from afar, right? Goro hated Kusagakure and Konohagakure just as much as the rest of his clan probably did, but it seemed …different…dealing with an individual rather than the lot of them. Their villages had history, but Goro and Kojirou did not, at least not until now.

"Ya took a good hit to da head,” he wrinkled his nose with a small sniff, likely dust bothering him leftover from being in the mountains of Round 1 and within the caves of Round 2. He thought he’d be used to the dirt and rocks by now, but maybe not. "Doc said you’d heal up pretty good though at least…no permanent damage–if ya weren’t already broken I mean.” Goro recalled the oddities they faced in the first portion of the second round.

"How ya feelin…”

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou’s head vibrated at the sharp sound of the chair grinding against the floor. It even made his eyeballs bounce a little, albeit quite comically. After he recovered from that, he glanced over at Goro’s expression with a question mark over his own face. How long had he been out of commission?!

… He’d still munch on the apple slices. He was understandably hungry.

"Mum tells me the same thing,” Kojirou remarked on Goro’s advice about getting food into your system as soon as possible, "Otherwise, you grow slobby… or something.” Realizing the implication that Goro was helping him out madly made Kojirou smile brightly, though, with a flare of light contouring his entire face. The bandaged injuries couldn’t prevent him from smiling so widely. "Thank you!”

Empty of arrogance, the swordsman thanked the better fighter for treating him to these apple slices. ‘Cuz why not?

"Uh, wait… what happened, again? I thought- wait, did the Exams end? Is… is Atagi sad? What about Koume?” he’d begin to ask in worry, knowing that those two would be all over him in a moment or two, "I didn’t get to show them my Jutsus… they must be pretty cranky.”

Yeah… that was sad. He didn’t really impress anyone… so very likely, he wouldn’t pass this Exam. It did make him look down on his scarred hands for a bit, thinking about how his clan and friends back at home would feel. And Ahma… damn it, someone like her would find him again. He should visit her again.

But… what was his answer? Wait, that was what he wanted to figure out! What would he say to her?! Almost, almost, his breath would go out of spin if not for Goro’s words… for despite the history between Iwa and Kusa, Goro sounded genuinely worried.

It made Kojirou’s eyes widen. It felt as if decades of history could be blown away by the wind between his eyes. "I…” Thinking about it, and the scenery, made Kojirou grin, "I feel great! We Honō shinobi can take a beating just fine… but I’ve never fought anyone who could kick as hard as you could! Where’d you learn to move so fast?”

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goropost"]Seemed like even though they were from such different upbringings–and apparently taught to hate one another–that their parents would still tell them the same things. Goro wondered if Kojirou’s parents worked just as hard, as well. Did Kojirou feel the same struggles of needing to prove himself as Goro did? For a moment the boy lost himself in that thought. How different were they from flesh and bone?

He shook his head, sharp golden strands swaying. "Pft. Don’t worry about it,” he said with a pout, continuing to hold the plate if Kojirou decided he wanted another piece.

It didn’t seem like he remembered the fight much at all, though it wasn’t a very long battle to be truthful. The boy seemed upset, a feeling that was palpable and tore at Goro’s heart a little. What if he had to go home to Taki and tell her that he’d failed…that he’d not been able to show just how powerful the Okada and Iwa could be…could he even do it?

"It’s not your fault, ya know,” Goro wouldn’t explain it further. Truthfully, Kojirou had drawn the short end of the stick, not that he would have known it. Eight Gates was an uncommon technique to learn, and even more so for someone Goro’s age. That coupled with the chakra of the Five Tails made him a powerhouse of an opponent…Goro HAD to end the fight quickly…if he didn’t…people could have died. Of course, he couldn't tell him about the Gobi, so the meaning behind his words was left quite vague.

"That was da Gate of Opening…” his eyes fluttered a bit, his free hand gripping his shoulder. "It takes a big toll on da body, but it’s a pretty powerful technique…I’ve trained hard to get to where I am,” he said this though he didn’t mean for it to sound as though Kojirou hadn’t put his own time into training as well. It was a lot of pain...

After a moment he would set the plate down, then offer Kojirou a glass of water. "You’re not gonna give up are ya? Like…dere’s always next year and special cases for Chuunin, right?” He said this with a bit of a knot in his throat. He thought of himself and the promise he’d made to his parents. If he ever failed hard enough…he would have had to give up…what if Kojirou had the same promise? What if being a Shinobi was his dream as well…and what if Goro had just taken that away from him?

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou, obviously, took another apple piece. These were really fresh, not unlike the rare bamboo fruits that only sprout once every handful of years, and it kept his soul at ease with all the injuries still aching inside and out. He… briefly remembered the view. The view from all the way up in the air – yes, his eyes opened for a brief moment, taking in how close the ceiling was at that point. It was scary.

"Man… any higher, and I would’ve flown through the opening on top,” he commented concerning the arena and the moonlight that was able to shine through from the round opening on the ceiling. Now, from Kojirou’s perspective, a 9-year old kid was way faster and way stronger than him… obviously, it made him question a lot at first. Goro, however, tried to explain what his source of power was… for Kojirou did remember. He was looking at him the entire time, and Goro appeared to exhale real hard before disappearing.

Something called the Gate of Opening… hey, he’d heard that name before. Although, he had no clue why this thing called Gate of Opening could result in such an explosive force. Goro explained, in a very short version, what the Technique actually did, and Kojirou listened with twitching ears. Something that took a big toll on the body in return for power…

It sounded like-

"Like… like my Nekketsukan,” he uttered loudly, "Huh… no, wait, Nekketsukan doesn’t make me that much stronger and faster.” His Jutsu, Hot-Blooded Man, generated heat from within his body to power his physique and even coat his skin in a thin layer of magma, and while it had the same drawbacks, the increase in results – based on experience using the Jutsu himself – was still subpar with what Goro showcased. He realized that, had he got the time to weave the handseals, the result… would’ve still been the same, in the end.

Goro’s body didn’t emit any visible elements or bursts of chakra, not from Kojirou’s perspective. It was likely easier to maintain. If anything, it made Kojirou desire to learn that Jutsu himself, but… was it called for? Was it a good time to-

Nevermind. He couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Taking the glass of water and downing half of it in one go, Kojirou cupped his chin. Goro suggested that he could try again on the next year’s Chūnin Exams, so in that regard, Kojirou would have a whole year to prepare – of course, granted he didn’t graduate due to some miraculous circumstances. "…” But what would Ahma think? This path of a shinobi… a path she hated deeply. And here he was, not exactly with great results from his Exams. She would likely tell him to quit it for his own good, and instead go out and seek a better life. She would likely never believe that he got on good terms with an Iwa-nin… wait…

"Goro,” Kojirou suddenly spoke his name, clearly and without backlashes from his injuries, "…” The atmosphere grew thicker by the second, and Kojirou’s eyes… were darkening. Whatever he had to say was…

"… Uh, what was it again? I thought of something…” he mumbled out, losing the thread in his head as to what he had to say to him, "… Ah, forget it. Can’t remember. Uh, hey, I’m still alive… just realized. Were you holding baaaaack?~” As if whatever serious tone he had moments ago turned to dust and scattered in the wind, Kojirou decided to be a little playful. "You sure that was a good idea? Kusa and Iwa aren’t on good terms, that much I know… maybe they’ll scold you, or something. I don’t want that.”

As weird as it all sounded, if you were to glare into Kojirou’s honey-brown eyes, there’d be no doubt. Those were eyes ready to kill for what they believed in. But it was still a good point – what was Goro’s stance? Why was he so friendly? If anything, Atagi was wary of Iwa, and Koume likely had her reasons too.

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goro"]Goro recalled the fight. He had actually played it over and over again in his head since the moment it had ended. Something about it felt wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He was used to, quite literally, getting his ass beat up by Taki and Yo and quite literally everyone else. Granted, they were all Chuunin or Jounin, but he hated the feeling–whatever it was. It wasn’t a fight. A part of him craved a rematch, but there was no way for Kojirou to do that in his current state. Maybe it just felt…incomplete.

The boy’s head would tilt at the mention of the Kusa boy’s own technique. "Nekketsukan?” he questioned with a lifted voice. He wasn’t at all familiar with the technique, though assumed it was perhaps some sort of Kekkei Genkai or personal technique.

Kojirou grew rather serious after accepting the offer and drinking the water. His eyes furrowed, waiting for something else to be said, but he was only met with a faded look and a change of topic.

Weird. Goro wondered if he was just going to leave it at that, or did he really forget? He didn’t press the issue. If it was important to Kojirou, then he would have said it. Obviously, it wasn’t that important if he just skipped over it like it was nothing.

His blue eyes shifted and he bit his bottom lip. "You would have died…” he said solemnly. "Kusa and Iwa are on bad terms…but it’s the head of Konoha I’m after…not you.” He paused, letting the silence digest the words. "Aghhh! Let em’ scold me. I dun care.” He scratched the back of his neck and offered Kojirou a cheeky smile that quickly faded into something more serious. "You owe me a rematch, though.” It grew even more serious. "Let’s just hope it’s not on the battlefield...”

He wouldn’t hold back then.

He changed the subject, not wanting to stir up trouble between villages in an event that was supposed to be friendly and sportsmanlike. Goro could hate Kusa and Konoha all they wanted, but at this moment they were just two Shinobi who has sparred. There was no war in Kuwana and no blood to be spilled. Goro knew that sooner rather than later, he would have to take a life if the circumstance came up. He didn’t want to really think about it, but he knew that was how life was. The Chuunin Exams wasn’t the place to do it, though–at least not in his eyes.

"So…tell me ‘bout this Nekketsukan technique. Some kinda ace up ya sleeve?”

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

It was strange for the young swordsman to hear about this Head of Konoha whom Goro definitely had a problem with, given that this person was singled out from the crowds of enemies in the younger shinobi’s book. Very strange, indeed… but Kojirou had never met the head- maybe he meant the Hokage… but again, Kojirou had never met them before. Maybe he was wrong.

… What intrigued him even more was the promise of a rematch with the young Iwa-nin. That would give Kojirou a second chance to, at least, show Goro what this swordsman of the Grass was capable of, or at least what could’ve occurred otherwise during their bout in the preliminaries. "Sure! I’d love to battle you again, Goro… but I promise you! I’ll be way stronger by then, so if you don’t grow too, I won’t have it. Capisch!”

It was almost as if Kojirou was gaining more and more strength just by sitting on the bed here. His strength gradually returned… but what shocked many of the attenders was just how he got out of the situation without permanent injuries. He was set for a full recovery, and that was incredible. Maybe it was his heritage that just made him more resilient, or maybe it was some other unknown power deep inside of him…

"Yup! Or, actually, it’s one of two aces I have…” Kojirou corrected Goro without a shed of fear to reveal too much, "I’m still a swordsman, so I can do something similar with my katana too… but Nekketsukan is a sort of body-boosting Jutsu I’ve mastered. Makes me way faster than before, but it makes me sweat a lot… it also burns a lot, but I don’t always notice that.” Kojirou was still a boy surrounded in pink, old scar tissue on his arms, legs, chest and forehead, and many of those scars were visible despite the bandages trying to cover them up. "Then again, all Yōton Jutsus burn… b-but I’m tougher than most, y’know! Gotta be!”

Goro had the privilege to know about it now. Kojirou possessed a Kekkei Genkai that allowed him to utilize Yōton, also known as Lava Release. This tidbit of information implied that there were many other Techniques in the swordsman’s arsenal tailored to that Kekkei Genkai that he hadn’t disclosed with the blonde Iwa-nin.

"I wouldn’t exactly say it makes me as fast as you were, back then… how do you even do that? That’d be such a cool ability to have – or… is it also a Kekkei Genkai? This Gate of… Opening, was it? Weird name, if you ask me – all gates open at one point.”

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goropost"]By this time, the peeled apples were nearly gone. Goro had, admittedly, snuck a few for himself here and there as the two boys had talked humbly about their abilities and the potential futures that were destined to clash. Fierce-eyed, though somehow distantly set and staring off at neither past, present, nor future, Goro found himself locked in his mind–a world he had recently grown to fear. The promise of a fight, as enticing as it always sounded, also echoed with blood. It would spill from one of them. In the end, it was either him…or Kojirou.

Blue hues lifted at the thought. Goro set the empty plate to the side, managing a subtle nod and half smile. "Won’t be an issue, heh.” He was reminded that he had the backing of his entire clan and village, though he wasn’t sure what all Kojirou had back home. Goro knew luck had clearly been on his side throughout the years and that others may not always have that. His family had never coddled him–that much was very clear. He’d lucked out yet again with finding someone to train him in the Eight Celestial Gates. It was a rare gift and one in which he had somehow shown great promise. Granted, a lot of effort was put into training.

Then, again, he drew in more power with the sealing of the Gobi. Whether or not that could be called luck or a curse could be left for interpretation, however. Kokou was mostly silent, speaking very little. Goro could tell when he was listening…or watching. Light-blue eyes–even lighter than his own–would seer into the back of his mind, and an eerie breath behind his neck was almost so real he could feel it. His hand lifted, touching the back of his neck as if the Gobi were standing right behind him and staring him down. It was a strength that the Gobi wanted to see, wasn’t it? Was Goro’s fight with Kojirou enough to prove his worth at all?

"Well, with two aces, you have all the power you need, right?” He stood up from his seat, unable to sit still any longer. "Yoton, huh? That’s uhh lava, right? That your clan’s abilities or somethin’?” Goro asked a tad rhetorically, though with hinted interest in the subject. He’d never seen actual lava before. "Wouldn’t mind actually seeing that someday. Sounds neat.” The boy gave a cheeky smile. "Sucks that it hurts ya though…would think that you guys would be immune to it or whatever…”

He didn’t question it, but also preferred not to directly pry at Kojirou’s clan abilities. It was often considered rude. It was different with the Okada as it was quite clear where their specialties were, but if Kojirou had not mentioned Yoton, Goro would have never known given how quickly their fight had ended.

"Not a Kekkei Genkai, no. It’s part of the Eight Gates. The Gate of Opening is only the first Gate,” he said as he held up his pointer finger. "Takes a lot of practice, but basically I can open up my chakra pathways entirely, letting it flow into my muscles. Gets rid of the restriction on my muscles placed by the brain so I can use everything I got in a fight. It’s the Gate of Opening because it unlocks the potential to even do what the rest of the Gates require.”

Goro paused, letting Kojirou digest the information. He was well aware it wasn’t a typical ability seen throughout the world. "I’m working on the next gate now: The Gate of Healing. Opening this one will let me fight longer with these abilities activated. Kinda…resets the clock…I guess,” he shrugged as he did his best to explain hoping it didn’t just confuse the Kusa boy more.

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou didn’t have the right mindset to be a shinobi… if you were to ask anyone other than Kojirou himself. He wasn’t the most opportunistic. He wasn’t the most bloodthirsty. He wasn’t the most nihilistic. He wasn’t the most impatient. He wasn’t the most battle-hardened, and he wasn’t the most experienced. Many of these traits were often tailored to skilled shinobi of today’s ninja world, and since he stood out from such a circle, would that ruin his chances of ever becoming a great shinobi?

Well, if you’d ask him directly, he’d say that it was exactly because of these traits that he’d make it big, one day. There was no hatred in his heart, he held no grudges, no inferiority complexes and no traumas. His mind was always clear as glass… and maybe Ahma saw it, too. She was able to get through his skin, one way or another, but it made him remember- was this the ’shinobi world’ that she hated so much?

Or was she just paranoid that maybe, he’d be just as unlucky as her?

"… Well, many shinobi have more than 100 aces up their sleeves. I’m still a long way from that,” he mumbled while shoveling a last peeled apple slice into his maw. The young boy had taken his time with these, so Kojirou promised himself to eat all of them in one sitting.

"Yup! Yōton, lava stuff,” he replied with a grin. It was fun to respond to people’s growing interest in any of your capabilities, and he was sure that Goro knew how that felt. Like butterflies in your belly, or a rushing sense of pride. "Oh… about… about that, yes… uh… e-everyone else I know are immune to their Yōton Techniques. It’s two others, but I just… ignore it. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

Kojirou was the only member in the clan who showed physical injuries directly resulting from his own Yōton Techniques. He’d long ago learned to minimize that, and he rarely ever notices the burning now, but he got those scars on his forehead and limbs from somewhere.

"… OH! Like chakra checkpoints in your body, correct?” Kojirou suddenly exclaimed, a visible lightbulb turning on above his skull, "You’re able to open those? How long did that take you to learn? T-That sounds so awesome! I wanna try that!”

Like, Goro mentioned that there was a Gate of Healing, so Kojirou immediately crossed his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes. He kind of just… stood like this for a solid amount of moments, heavily focusing on his chakra as if what he was doing actually mattered.

"… Hnnnnnnnn…”

He-he was really trying.

"Hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggg…!”

Goro did something like this right before the world turned into a grey blur, so clearly he must’ve been doing the right thing.

"HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG- … wait, am I doing it right?”