[Okada Sakuraba]

Chakra.

A double-edged sword, mentally. It was like a gift that the Gobi left behind in him, a source of strength but also a constant fucking reminder of what used to be a huge responsibility that rested on his shoulders… and was taken away from him. Because he wasn’t it. He wasn’t the man, and where was this man he had to beat, huh?

As sweet as a huge reserve of chakra was, if it pained your heart as much as it did his, it’d end up far heavier than one would think. Pulling down on his shoulders, like lifting weights… but did he have any intention of staying in this crappy state of mind? Hell no, that was below what any Okada could allow themselves – his parents would be so sad, too, if he didn’t at least try to cheer himself up.

What cheered the young Okada up the most? Nothing more than the sweet fruits of training, to visualize his gains and put them to good use out in the shinobi world.

That was why he trained, and trained, and trained… but after meeting with big coz Taki again, he swallowed his stubbornness and actually returned to the Okada clan’s training hall. He remembered the notes from before… Raiton. He possessed plenty of chakra, and a violent Chakra Nature, but he’d have to become far better at using Raiton Jutsus. And right now… he’d have to start from scratch. There was no time to waste.

Lightning Release: Discharge, a simple Jutsu that sent currents through objects in the user’s hands and generates waves of electricity, definitely a great first step in escaping the accursed ‘Jobber’ role. If Sakuraba could just master more and more Raiton Jutsus faster…

In a cross-legged sit, he tried to sip from his water bottle in a loud fashion to deafen the sound of a few other Okadas commenting about his sudden return to the halls after so long. They probably expected him to be much stronger now, but fuck them. He had… things to do. He couldn’t get any stronger that fast, they ought to understand.

It was all mostly his own, negative thoughts rewriting reality around him… like a black hole pulling him in. "… Man, fuck this- any un’ wanna brawl?”

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goropost"]Goro’s hand rested on his belly as he walked. Just how long had it been since he’d heard a word from Kokuō? The beast was as silent as ever, and a part of him wondered if it had always been that way with its previous hosts as well. The silence was eerie. He’d spoken before, but only briefly, and never in response to any of Goro’s questions. The young boy was stricken with guilt, however. Goro felt indirectly responsible for the pain that the previous host, his cousin Sakuraba, had to endure. It wasn’t his fault, he knew that much, but indirectly he shared the pain of his cousin.

He often wondered how Sakuraba felt and even how he was doing. Most of the process had been kept rather hush and, on a need-to-know basis. New of the Gobi and its host was supposed to be kept a secret, and for good reason. Truthfully, Goro wasn’t even sure if Sakuraba would know whether or not Goro was the one that the Gobi was transferred to in the first place. Would he be able to feel the presence of the ominous chakra that lay within the boy? Would be hold it against Goro if he found out? The thoughts brought a sickening feeling to the Genin’s stomach. Would he lose his cousin over something like this? Afterall, he hadn’t had much choice. He could have rejected the offer to host the Gobi, but Goro didn’t want anyone else to have to shoulder that burden. He was glad he’d said yes, only because the isolation felt so cold.

Taki understood. She always had. She was one of the few who knew about the Five Tails being sealed inside Goro. He prayed that would never put her in danger, not that Taki ever needed saving from anything, but he’d hate to be the cause of someone else getting hurt. There was also the thought in the back of his head: what if I hurt someone? That was, without a doubt, Goro’s biggest fear—losing control over his emotions and the Gobi being set free. His entire family…his friends…his village…they could all be caught in the chaos that would follow.

Goro knew that he had full support from those who did know, and even several people who didn’t know about Kokuō that already he knew he could trust to protect him. He was a well-loved shithead, as some would dare to put it. He wouldn’t play helpless, though. No. He had to be strong. Not just for himself, but for all the people that stood to protect him. Their lives were worth more than his. Now, he was just a vessel, wasn’t he?

He had to train. He had to perfect his body. He had to learn to keep his emotions in check, something he wasn’t very well known for prior to the sealing. Any time he felt himself get heated, Goro was instantly filled with fear. Sometimes this was enough to bring him down, but what if it wasn’t always?

His steps weren’t as heavy as they had been months ago when the Gobi was initially sealed. He had since then sorted out a lot of his feelings. He made his way into the gym when a familiar voice raged out. Goro could feel his chest halt, his eyes locking with Sakuraba who sat down, water bottle in hand. Goro’s face turned pale, though he managed a smile.

"Maybe…he won’t notice."

However, even within, Goro could feel the beast’s chakra stirring as if awakening from a slumber. Kokuō could sense Sakuraba, but was this true the other way around? Goro’s face continued to become paler and paler as he slowly approached his cousin, keeping the façade of a smile well-written on his face. It wasn’t fully deceptive, though. He was truly glad to see that his cousin seemed to be in a healthy condition given everything he had gone through.

"Hey cuz…long time no see! Looks like yer feeling aight,” he said with a cheeky grin, pumping his fist, "Awready lookin’ to rough someone up, huh?” Again, the chakra stirred and Goro could feel his stomach twisting. He swallowed hard. There was a deep laugh that he could hear somewhere within him.

"How…interesting."

"Kok....uō?"

[Okada Sakuraba]

Make no fucking mistake.

Sakuraba was an Okada through and through. The blood of the shinobi world’s finest culinarians ran through his veins. He breathed with lungs that echoed centuries of pride, blood, struggle and spirit. His… depression, if he even had the balls to call it that paired with fear of drawing unwanted attention, would never be able to take that heritage away from him. These hands that he wielded were mighty strong hands, welded from gods above, who knew how to grab a foe and never let go.

That was right… as long as he held on to this path, a path he had to walk in solitude, then one day, he’d be able to walk into the halls of the Okada with a bright smile on his face again.

But for now-

"!”

Ever felt being chopped right in the back of your neck from a fork of lightning? As devastating as that feeling could be, if only dealt for the briefest of instants – an iota of a second, or even less – then one could quickly recover before any lasting damage would be left… but it felt similar to that. Someone, or something, chopped him real hard in the back of his neck – it felt damn menacing, threatening, like a distant growl from a mountain lion tracking you down through the dusty roads up in the mountains. Confronting you from a blind corner right when your guards were lowered, revealing all of its intents with flashing canines and drool dripping down. A clearly ill, devastating intent.

It shook him for a moment. His skin was crawling like the victim of electrocution, but that was when he turned around to see what that feeling was. He had… no clue, actually. It’d be damn poetic if he found out, but Sakuraba only saw that his younger cousin Goro had showed up. Given by the time and place, he figured only one thing – Goro was practicing for the Chūnin Exams already.

He… he just didn’t know how to slow down, that little one. What a strange feeling in his belly – it was sour, heavy, like jealously, but it was also ticklish, bubbly with pride. In the end, his face didn’t change much – it only raised a brow towards his cousin.

"… L… Likewaz.”

He was also glad to see that Goro was doing just fine, but… with the other Okadas around, this could very quickly turn into one of those brawls. And he, as the jobber, would be expected to job as always… it almost killed his mood.

But he wanted to change. He promised Taki, at least, that he’d spend more time here again. This was the least he could do.

"Ya think ya can take sum o’ deez new Jutsu I been workin’ on?” he replied with an exchange of cocky grins to the younger Okada, "Can’t rely on Taijutsu all da time, boi. Wanna bet on dat?” With that said, Sakuraba managed to spark some fire inside of his chest as he rose up from his seat and entered a large flat in the hall where people could spar against each other. Hopefully, Goro was stepping up to the challenge.

Sparks were already escaping Goro’s hands before he began weaving handseals. Raiton just felt so damn good to channel, and it was starting to get easier to do so after that day with Taki’s advice. Okadas had a knack for Raiton, after all… but his hands were already starting to release bolts. Small, insignificant ones to the eye, and no shell of chakra to coat those hands yet, but he felt that this Jutsu wouldn’t take as long to master as the last one. First, it was legs, and now, it was his hands… it just got easier.

"Bring it awn, lil’ coh!!!”

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goropost"]Goro scoffed at Sakuraba’s challenge, shrugging off the threat as if it were nothing. There was a cheeky smile on his face. The two of them could have easily been brothers instead of cousins. Their personalities were both that of firecrackers daring to go off before a party even started. When it came to a fight, it seemed like they both wanted a piece of the action and were quick to offer their hands.

In a case like this, Goro was admittedly a bit more cautious. He had no control over the Gobi, and was still ever cautious with the use of his chakra. Would being so near a previous host of the Five Tail cause there to be any issues with his ability to hold Kokuo back? Goro wasn’t given much intel on how all of this worked. If anything, he felt he was mostly made to roll with this huge change in his life.

He wasn’t able to worry about that too much now. A challenge was a challenge, and he was never one to back down. The scoff was enough to make his point. "Ya! You bet I can! ‘Fact, I bet cha I can woop you in a few seconds flat. What you wanna bet?!” Goro’s face was full of energy and life as compared to the faint fear he likely had when he had first seen Sakuraba enter the gym.

"You asked fer it.” Goro stretched a bit and cracked his knuckles, readying himself for the fight at hand with a giant grin on his face. He would wait for Sakuraba to also ready himself. Once it seemed as though the fight was fair to begin, he would surge forward at top speed, quickly aiming a side kick at his cousin's temple follow with a gorilla-tactic flurry of punches and kicks in order to off-balance Sakuraba and keep him from forming seals.

Jutsu Used:
Accelerate

[Okada Sakuraba]

Even with flickering chakra escaping his hands, Sakuraba wasn’t the fastest boy around. Therefore, not many thoughts passed by his brain when Goro decided to run up at him like that, if any – mostly just a sense of… y’know, not being taken for a fool and stuff. There was also a hint of pride in his face, pride for the younger boy in front of him who’d gotten so much further than himself at that age. Goro was somebody that nobody could talk shit about…

You know that feeling when life just felt so unfair that you’d want to literally punch life into a million pieces? Like you felt so enraged that your fists began to clench, stretching a few joints with popping sounds deep within the flesh, just raring to punch reality itself? Sakuraba felt like that for a moment, but quickly held his arms up to shield from Goro’s flurry of kicks and punches, each causing his muscles and skin to shake in aches but still holding up.

Fucker’s FAST, he thought to himself, not finding any openings to counter-strike… but not like he’d let Goro know. As a matter of fact, a little bluffing went a long way: "Ya pawnch’s weakuh dan befoh, mate! Whaddup wid dat?! Trah sum’n new!”

He was lying. He just hoped that Goro would at least take the bait and try out another move – Sakuraba waited for that opening to show Goro what it truly meant to be a shinobi before you were an Okada.

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goropost"]Something made Goro fight with fear. It wasn’t like him, not at all and it was painfully evident by the lowered brows. Normally furrowed forward aggressively, they were now laid back with a mix of emotions. The boy didn’t know what he was feeling, only that it hurt his throat and his gut the longer the fight seemed to continue. He didn’t have anything to compare the feeling to and thus didn’t have a name to give it. Sakuraba, however, seemed to show his strength and it didn’t look as though he had any quarrels about fighting his cousin. In the end, that could very well be Goro’s downfall.

Sakuraba’s words caused his chest to ache even more. Something about them made it knot and twist. It was a power essentially stolen from him, so then why was he weaker? He’d trained so hard…he wasn’t weaker, right? How could he be?

Goro could feel anxiety rising in his chest and felt his breathing become unsteady. His face was pale and his eyes shifty as he continued to wail upon his cousin. When it seemed as though no hits were getting through, the young boy performed a squat with a sweeping leg to try and take Sakuraba’s balance from him.

Despite whatever it was he was feeling inside, he wasn’t going to give up as easily as the world would have him.

Okada Sakuraba

[Okada Sakuraba]

Well damn, even Sakuraba noticed the change in Goro’s face upon hearing the older’s words. Had his distraction worked that well? And why… why did he look so shocked? Like, Goro wasn’t just take aback by the very idea of having grown weaker for one reason or another – he looked like he was having a panic attack.

But Goro changed his movement, after all – since Sakuraba was counting on that, he was ready to react to Goro’s squat and subsequent sweeping kick, leaping far up in the air until he realized that Goro’s lowered form made it difficult to aim for his chest with a Shooting Star Dropkick. Instead, Sakuraba used the momentum he had in the air to backflip and land further away from Goro once more, pondering over the younger boy’s facial expression.

Wha on earf… ya look laik ya saw ah ghost, Goro, Sakuraba worried, feeling a sour taste in the back of his throat that might resonate with what Goro was feeling at the same time. It didn’t feel like something that Sakuraba could captivate on to gain an edge in their spar… and it didn’t feel like Goro was having that good of a time, either. And Goro used to be so much brattier than this, what a shame… how could Sakuraba fix this? Status, positions, and levels of strength aside – Sakuraba still saw himself as Goro’s older brother. Shit meant that blood ran thickly in the Okada clan.

… Ah, wait! The Jutsu he was practicing today might have been able to lift Goro’s spirits. Forming a single handseal, Sakuraba’s hand appeared to gain a contour of bluish chakra as he jollily waved his hands up and down like swatting invisible flies. "Oi, Goro! I wuz just jokin’, ya goofbol – maybe ya nerves need sum’ oilin’ or sum’thin… bawt take one moar step at meh, and I’ll tickle ya to deaf! Uhuhuhuhuhuuuu!”

A little silly, but with good intentions.

Jutsu Being Trained:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Raiton: Kusuguri no Jutsu [Lightning Release: Tickling Technique]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Raiton
DESCRIPTION:
The user gathers a light charge of Raiton chakra in their hand and touches a few parts of the body of their opponent. The Raiton will create a tickling feeling, making it itch and uncomfortable, making the opponent laugh when well placed. It is mostly a distraction Jutsu and will end after a few moments.

[Okada Goro]

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[attr="class","goropost"]Goro shook off the feelings as he noticed Sakuraba was reading into them more easily than he anticipated. Apparently, he wasn’t as good at hiding it as he had originally hoped. "Tch, only you! Ya almost died didn’t ya? ‘Member?” Goro retained his stance, but noticed that Sakuraba was still approaching him, and this time utilizing some sort of jutsu before charging strangely at the ten year old.

"Da fuh kinda jutsu is dat!” Goro yelled skepticially, trying to dodge Sakuraba’s sudden change in disposition with his waving arms as he charged Goro. It looked silly, and made the young boy smile and lighten up a bit as he tried desperately to dodge his cousin’s foolish attacks. Goro managed to dodge one or two, but the next struck him, sending a shock through his body that made him giggle as if he was being tickled. His knees grew weak and they collapsed under him. Goro laughed uncontrollably as he fumbled around on the ground, rolling over and clutching his belly to protect it from Sakuraba’s attack. "I GIVE! I GIVE!” he giggled, praying that the relentless tickling jutsu would cease.

"Haha okay okay…ya got me. Guess I’m just beatin’ myself up a bit, ya know.” He let his eyes wander as he sat up on the ground. "If ya want…let’s try dis again…dis time…I’ll take it seriously.” Goro’s eyes reflected that seriousness. He couldn’t let Sakuraba in…not how he used to be able to…at least not yet. But he could promise him a good fight–a fight he deserved.

Okada Sakuraba

[Okada Sakuraba]

Really got the shook out of the boy this time. Sakuraba had been practicing the Tickling Technique prior to today, but he never got the chance to test if he could perform it in combat. Repeating the handseals here and there only meant so much if you didn’t have the proper combat experience with it – imagine if he practiced with a bow and arrow, and then all of a sudden, the stress of life-or-death battle made him forget all of his skills?! Nah, screw that.

Goro fully just lost balance… ayo, this Jutsu was sick! Holy crap, Sakuraba immediately saw the potential in this Tickling Technique – what could poor, little Goro do now, huh?! Sakuraba felt devious landing slaps after slaps, letting the electric surges trigger the younger shinobi’s nerves into fooling his brain to think that a feather was travelling all over his neck and armpits. Come to think of it… it was kind of grotesque, too – what fucking sadist invented this technique, again?

He gave Goro space, though – the boy ought to have almost peed himself in laughter, and that was a can of shit and worms that Sakuraba did not want to deal with later.

Goro finally decided to recollect himself. Maybe the idea of losing a match against Sakuraba made him panic – we were still talking about the damned holder of that godforsaken Jobber title, woe to whoever carried it. Either way, Sakuraba leapt up in the air this time – usually, such a technique as the Shooting Star Dropkick would be too obvious, too predictable and too trackable to land a hit for an initiative move, but Sakuraba… might’ve been sly enough to flick a few shuriken at Goro’s feet before leaping. Just to make the boy split his focus between the shuriken on the ground and the Sakuraba charging at him in the air.

SPOILER: Click to show

[NAME] Okada-ryū: Ryūsei Keri [Okada Style: Shooting Star Dropkick]
[RANK] D
[CHAKRA USAGE] Low
[CLASSIFICATION] Taijutsu
[ELEMENT] N/A
[PRE-REQUISITE]
[DESCRIPTION]

With this technique the user using their strength will leap into the air and raise up both feet and push forward into the opponents chest. This strike in particular has the potential to knock the wind out of the opponent as well as leave them short of breath for a few moments and could even knock them down. After performing the maneuver, if the strike successfully lands, the user kicks off of the chest of the opponent and is able to land on their feet.