[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world yamaguchi daichi

The winner's name echoed through the arena of mist and fire, met with an equal amount of support and disdain. It had been difficult to determine what had happened in the arena for the fog had clung to it with a vengeance - the fire that Yamori cast the audiences only reprieve. It had been a long, drawn out battle, that pushed both competitors mentally and physically but it had been the girl who had been announced the victor in the end. The announcement made that abundantly clear.

The results coiled themselves like a serpent around Toru's ragged lungs that felt like fire had erupted and blistered them thoroughly, as if he had inhaled ash. The genin was staring at his opponent now through the rolling fog that was dissipating between them like the effervescent smoke of a flame slowly going out. Each inhale burned, dirtied fingers loosely held onto the hilt of his katana, the tip of it touching the frosted ground of the torn up battleground. He might have raised it to use it again, in spite of his fatigue the strength would have come if he could have been given just a little longer to fight this foe. A child of Konohagakure did not deserve to live, it was drilled into him, a whisper at the back of his mind that he should have done his duty.

Alas, there was a time limit and his limbs were failing him more than he would ever dare admit.

Both pairs of feet turned and disappeared into respective bunkers, clearing from the arena so that the organizers could perform a rapid clean-up and repair, but this was not what hung upon Toru's shoulders. What hung upon him, what was clear in the red of his eyes was the resolution of his desire to annihilate. The intent was an aura, a blanket of decision that followed him into the safety of the bunker where he dared to lift his arm to sheathe his blade though it took a great deal of effort to do so.

Toru had never been a muscular youth, and had only recently come across enough food to fill out in a way that had not put him at a disadvantage in comparison to those that had come here with contented bellies. His loss, though bitter upon his tongue, was victory for any who knew his origin and what was possible if one fought hard enough. If only such a victory could be recognized by the scrutiny of Toru's mind that pushed him to such great extents that he would have died trying to kill, if given the chance.

The newly minted Kaguya paused upon the threshold of the bunker as the chute started to shut behind him, he glanced over his shoulder as the light became a silver sliver upon his features, a brush of pale daylight. It was the last glimpse for now, the final moment before he drew calmer breath and moved further into the space. A straight shot down a dim corridor, and a turn left to duck into the locker rooms where a few others from his side were milling around, the majority of the others intently watching their opponents in a room to the right - they only wanted a peek of what they might face in the coming rounds.

Toru desired no such thing, only to rest a weary body that became only more so with each step he took, it echoed in the cement block chambers. The sound of his footfall prickled Toru in a way that would seem impossible to another, and he made every extra effort to dampen them.

Soon he sat on one of the wooden benches in the locker room, it was warm in here from the steam of the showers and his body craved such a soak. He leaned forward, his elbows buried into his thighs just above his knees, each inhale pronounced along the delicate curve of his back. Bloodied, dirtied fingers danced across the face of his skin, wiping at the sweat that had formed like dew along his forehead, dripping down his cheeks, clinging to the white wisps of his hair. He flicked the moisture off of himself, before glancing down idly at his palms.

There, he saw the result of his power and all of his effort and hard work. Palms hardened with callouses, that could only be attributed to the repeated and consistent use of a katana. The pattern was there, it belonged to Toru, and many passionate swordsmen like him. It was the pride of Kirigakure no Sato. But he felt no such pride now, for he had not proven himself best, and once again that venomous beast ruptured through him, his jaw tightening so hard he felt his teeth might break. But they did not, instead he stared at his palms just a while longer.

A puff of air left him, a choice made then that he would use this as a moment to learn, and to become frightfully better until the entire very earth beneath him would tremble. It would never be enough, not until he was could positively show that Kirigakure, and Mizu no Kuni were the best of them all. He shifted, tilting his head back feeling the stretch of his aching muscles there too. He closed his eyes for the first time, just allowing himself to breathe as another fight was announced somewhere in the background and a few boys in the locker room skittered out to go watch the next round.

Once silence spread like his fog in the room, Toru pulled at the top of his winter coat, shifting it off of his body and letting it fall from his torso, he really did want that shower.

OWL

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Daichi was exhausted. The exams thus far has pushed him to the absolute limit of his capabilities, and he was getting absolutely destroyed in the combat round—it felt like every other genin here was leagues beyond him in physical capability, to the point where he was starting to doubt why he was even here at all. He was exhausted, but he still watched as many matches as he could, attention rapt and focused on the skill and prowess of his fellow combatants. Kaguya Toru, he thought, was the one to watch. The bout concluded, timed out, and Daichi receded from the observer’s box to the locker room as the arena went through its turnover phase before the next bout. He barely heard who the next combatants were; he didn’t especially care. This was the fight he had really wanted to see. He sat slouched and cross-legged on a bench as the rest of the boys wandered back into the observer’s box, quiet discussion and arguments and teasing flying back and forth as the next pair of combatants prepared for their match. Cutting through the noise and laughter and steam: Kaguya Toru. Daichi watched quietly as he sat down on on a different bench, staring down at his hands. His gaze darted away as the other boy too koff his winter coat, instead returning his attention to the deep gash on his thigh that he’d been trying and failing to wrap for the past fifteen minutes, as entranced by the fight as he had been. They’d been in the academy together, he thought, had been genin for probably the same amount of time, but… Daichi had always kept to himself. He had to. Pathfinder’s orders. He knew better than to change anything about that now. This was the price he had to pay in order to be a shinobi; he’d agreed long before the Pathfinder had ever let him leave for Kirigakure. In the end, though, he just couldn’t leave it alone. He got up, holding the bandage awkwardly in place around his leg as he shuffled over to sit beside Toru, and busied himself with trying, again, to wrap up the wound. "That was a bad call,” he said softly, glancing sidelong at Toru. "You were amazing out there. It should’ve been your win.”

Kaguya Toru -- 386

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world yamaguchi daichi

The distracted gaze never ceased, Toru rubbed his shoulder until the pale skin there turned a light pink with irritation. It was clear that the next fight had started and it would continue on for at least an hour - the maximum limit of these fights. Exhaustion was in his body like a venom, but it was a venom that Toru was fighting - as he fought anything. Life had a way of throwing punches and Toru was scarcely the type of boy, the type of person to give it just because it punched him a few times more than another. Exhaustion was just part of this, he learned that quickly. Even being a shinobi was exhausting, he wondered what it must be like for the shinobi at the top who must do it all or watch their village, and country crumble all around.

A voice drifted from the laughter and steam, and the genin glanced up to find a much taller, more built, darker-haired boy there. He knew him. Daichi was a year older though, and Toru up until recently had been certainly a great deal worse in his lot in life than Daichi. The other boy was also almost a recluse, preferring to stick to himself. This was something Toru could appreciate, stretches of silence never harmed anyone. It soothed the mind and if not, it certainly soothed a weary body.

"It is someone's opinion," He responded in his ever-bland, ever-uninspired, ever-disinterested tone. But it was clear by the way his gaze pierced through the air between himself and Daichi that he was not at all disinterested, or felt as if the call were justified. Perhaps it was a lesson in humility for Toru, but he would have much preferred to teach his opponent that same lesson. He might have said more, might have felt the need to do so in the past when his mouth was less restrained by a dozen lessons of being the Daimyo's child now. But now, now he chose to not make an extra comment perhaps the intensity of his red eyes would be enough.

Soon enough Toru noticed that Daichi was fiddling awkwardly with a bandage around his thigh.

"Why have you not seen the medics about this?" It was a stern inquiry, into why anyone would do something so absurd as to not immediately be fixed up by capable medics that were available at all times around here.

OWL

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Toru’s response was flat, disaffected, enough that someone might assume he didn’t care one way or the other. Everything else about him told a different story. Daichi shook his head. "It’s a wrong opinion,” he said, smiling ruefully. He paused, taking a moment to choose his words—he didn’t want to impose on someone’s well-earned downtime, and he knew better than to spend too much time socializing. Getting permission from the Pathfinder to go to the exams had been a fight and a half, since it was so widely publicized, and Minori didn’t think the risk was worth it. But Daichi was stubborn, and after hours of arguing, Minori relented with a laundry list of terms and conditions. Eyepatch on. Stay in your room except to attend proctored and supervised exam events. Don’t socialize. Keep to yourself. No unnecessary risks. (Striking up a conversation with the Mizukage’s son was absolutely an unnecessary risk, but the Pathfinder didn’t need to know about a short conversation in a locker room. Right?) It was an awkward silence punctuated by a stern question that made Daichi flinch; so forcefully worded that he felt like it was his sensei asking, not a fellow genin. He looked down at the slowly weeping wound, the deep bruising that surrounded the gash, and shrugged. "It’s not a big deal,” he said. He stretched and reached and contorted to grab the rag he’d been using at his prior seat, and wiped away the blood trickling from the open wound. "The medics have enough on their plate, I can patch this up myself.” Probably. Usually he just staunched a wound until the bleeding stopped and then left it alone until it healed, but he needed it to wrapped in time for the next round, so he’d have to actually wrap it. Medics definitely weren’t an option, though; any kind of medical imaging, or even just a thorough physician, would realize what he was hiding right away. No unnecessary risks. Change the topic. He didn’t need Toru to press the issue. "I’m not really a weapons expert,” Daichi said quickly, "but from what I could tell you had a solid handle on that fight. Like, it didn’t really seem like you were pushing yourself that hard—not that you weren’t trying, but the other girl looked like she was really exhausting her bag of tricks, you know? If there wasn’t a time limit you absolutely would have won. Bad call, wrong opinions, but I’m no proctor.”

Kaguya Toru -- 413

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world yamaguchi daichi

The genin watched how the dark-haired boy flinched at his comment, though he had no idea as to why the other had such a reaction. It was a comment, perhaps it had been his tone the way it had cut through the air like a kunai flying towards its target. There was an acknowledgment inside of Toru, a realization that he had been too swift and cutting with his words. Instead of adjusting though, he sat there awkwardly, the air between them tense and heavy before Daichi swiftly changed the topic. Undoubtedly for the better.

"The time limit is to simulate a mission." If he had failed at the time limit he failed the mission. Though, in some regard perhaps the girl too would have failed since neither she or he had been able to put the other down within the hour. That only drove his fury more, he had to get exponentially better until there was no doubt that he was the superior shinobi - whatever that meant. Toru would find a way.

Toru found himself staring at Daichi, not for any purpose, just staring. He leaned forward, the curve of his back punctuated with lean sore muscles as he stared in silence. They had not spoken much in the past, but they had always been within reach like phantoms in each other's lives. Toru had never been the most talkative and it was clear that Daichi too was not one for socializing either it was what contributed to their palpably awkward conversation.

His gaze ran the gamut of Daichi's figure, from the tips of his black hair, down his stern profile, the covered eye, over his torso that seemed fairly muscular underneath the winter garments. Back down to his thigh where the trouser was soaked with garnet blood, an equally soaked bandage sat against it in an attempt to get it to stop flowing. It was in Toru's mind a stupid thing to not go to a medic and get attention, stubborn and stupid. It was something Toru would do, though he would never admit it. The young man preferred to think of himself as sensible instead of stubborn to a fault. It seemed Daichi was truly more of the latter.

He kept staring at him unrelenting until finally with an almost uncharacteristic sigh the Kaguya stood and slid over to Daichi his hands firmly grabbing onto the bandage. First to inspect the wound, then with determination he would begin to wrap it having a superior angle to do so.

OWL

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Toru’s observation that the time limit was to simulate a mission scenario made some sense, but Daichi wasn’t fully convinced—if the time limit was meant to imply something being lost, or reinforcements arriving, shouldn’t there have been a structure of external factors to protect or pursue? In a real-world scenario, a fight kept going until one person went down or escaped or got backup. Privately he thought that the examiners probably just didn’t want the matches to go on for too long, and tried to spin some kind of practical justification for it to immerse the participants. He kept that thought to himself, though. Toru was staring intently at him, crimson gaze raking down his profile and coming to a standstill on his thigh. Daichi shifted in place, unused to being so closely scrutinized and distinctly uncomfortable, something spiky and warm rolling around in his gut. Toru sighed, and then— "Oh,” Daichi squeaked, his voice breaking in what was maybe the most poorly-timed instance of his life. He shifted again, angling away from Toru, but his movement was largely halted by Toru’s firm grip on the bandage and the quiet dedication with which he started wrapping the wound. "No, really, it’s okay, you don’t have to do that,” he protested, hands awkwardly hovering over where Toru was tending to him—not quite bold enough to stop him, grateful for the assistance, but furiously flushed and incredibly embarrassed by everything that was happening. This was the Daimyo’s son. "I don’t think we have that much time left before the next set of matches, right, you need to focus on yourself, I’m really fine—”

Kaguya Toru -- 273

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world yamaguchi daichi

The uncharacteristic voice crack did not make Toru stray from his desire to fix the bleeding leg. If the other participant did not wish to see a medic then he would at least not pass out of blood loss going into the next few rounds because he did not bind his thigh appropriately.

Toru's fingers were swiftly covered in blood as he worked the cloth around Daichi's leg - which Toru quickly ascertained as being much thicker than his own legs. It might have been more accurate to say that two of Toru's legs made up one of Daichi's. It was not something the Kaguya was particularly bothered by, but he had never been so close to another individuals leg long enough to realize this. But it was not a thought he wished to linger on. It was cast away to an ocean of thoughts and memories. He did not seek to return the thought either, he wanted it gone as he firmly finished the wrap giving it a proper tie and tucking it away so it did not appear too cumbersome. It was not the most aesthetically pleasing thing but it was far superior to nothing at all.

Slowly, almost agonizingly so, Toru's palms trailed down, fingertips brushing against the rest of Daichi's leg before they dropped at his sides. There was a brief moment as he quietly scrutinized his handy work before he looked up towards Daichi staring at him in silence. A palpable thick silence stretched between them before Toru finally stood and went back to sitting in his spot where his jacket had fallen defeated upon the ground.

"The next match is tomorrow." The response was curt, and his lips were pressed taught against each other grimly. He gave Daichi a side-glance.

"It would have been my burden had I not helped, to know that you went out there injured, not at your best to represent our village."

OWL

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Locked in place, absolutely paralyzed by embarrassment, Daichi found himself fixating on how thin Toru was—powerful, sure, he’d just seen him in action, but skinny and bony and practically half Daichi’s size. A childhood of farm work wasn’t enough to account for the difference, and he wondered what Toru’s life had been like before he was the Daimyo’s son. —the Daimyo’s son, kneeling in front of him, holding his gaze as steady and certain as iron, fingertips electric on his thigh— Daichi cleared his throat, his cheeks and ears burning as Toru reclaimed his seat. "R-right,” he said. "Thanks.” He’d sincerely forgotten the timetable; everything was happening so fast, it felt like he barely had a moment to rest before it was time to get back out there again. He took a deep breath, carding his fingers through his unruly hair. Whatever Toru’s life had been before, he sounded like the picture-perfect Mizukage’s son now: stern, noble, village-first. Shouldering the burden of a complete stranger because it was the right thing to do. "I’ll do my best,” he said earnestly, keeping his gaze fixed forward. He didn’t dare look over at Toru until his palms stopped sweating. "I have a lot riding on this—I need to pass.” Not just for his own pride, but to prove this wasn’t a waste of time: that the Pathfinder was right to trust him. He had to keep working, keep improving, prove that he could carve a place for himself in his village and in his clan. That he could do it all. But even all of that dimmed in comparison to the weight that Toru had to be carrying. "If I’m feeling the pressure, then I can’t imagine what you’re dealing with,” he said, his hand sliding up to rest on the fresh bandage. "I’m amazed that you can think of anyone else at all. Thank you, really.”

Kaguya Toru -- 315

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world yamaguchi daichi

Toru was steadfast, he sat without flinching or fidgeting. There was a hot iron to his gaze that could burn a hole through the most durable material. An unyielding nature even on the heels of the loss that he had just experienced. He had been a nobody months ago, no noble clan to carry upon his shoulders nor the pseudo-title of a Daimyo's son. He was not of her blood, he could never claim it the way the sibling she had born recently carried it. She would grow up and carry that title, not Toru. But the once orphan was proud to have what he did now. Yet still, Kirigakure no Sato came first in his mind.

"I feel nothing," He admitted with an even cadence, neither too fast nor too slow. It was the truth. He felt a passion to prove Kirigakure superior, but he felt no real pressure to appease his mother, nor to show anything other than his villages superiority. Something he felt he was doing already. He knew with what he had done, it would be he who lingers on everyone's lips, a name that hung upon the tip of observers tongues.

He would who would make certain that Kirigakure and Mizu no Kuni were forces to fear once more. For too long they had been disregarded for their internal fighting and corrupt leaders. A new age would come and this was only the first in the chapter of him doing so.

"Then pass. It's simple isn't it? Show the proctors that you are nothing short of worthy of receiving a promotion. Think like an elite shinobi because you are one. You were trained by the finest in the world, no? Kirigakure no Sato has the finest shinobi in the world. Act like it and show it."

It was more than Toru often spoke, but he felt particularly strong about this situation.

In the brief pause after he spoke he started to pull up his top to cover his torso once more.

OWL

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Whatever he thought about himself, his fate, his own future, Toru looked to Daichi in this moment: regal, steadfast, composed. Certain. Unflinching. He was, Daichi thought, perhaps the most qualified of all the Kirigakure genin who had made this long, cold journey—he spoke with a clarity of purpose and of mind that Daichi, eternally struggling against the confines of his role, envied with a passion. It didn’t matter that he was only fourteen—Toru might as well have already been an elite shinobi, the finest in the world, just as he said. From someone else’s lips it might have sounded arrogant. From Toru, it just sounded right. Admiration was clear on Daichi’s face, a surprised kind of smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he felt—not rejuvenated, exactly, he was exhausted, but… centered. Like the fog had been wiped clean from a window pane, and he was able to see clearly again. "You’re…” Really something, his mind filled in, but he course-corrected from this embarrassing confession to, instead: "right. I’ll pass, then. We’re the finest in the world.” (For a moment, as skin was covered up by cloth once more, Daichi felt as if they were the only two people in the world at all—the background noise of the arena outside and the distant conversation from the observation box fading away like it had never been there.) "D’you want to get something to eat, after this?” The question was out of his mouth before he could think better of it—before the echo of the Pathfinder’s stern warnings could remind him of what he had promised. He grinned crookedly. "I can pay you back for helping me out.”

Kaguya Toru -- 278

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world yamaguchi daichi

The genin had not at all expected, not for one second, that his words would have worked so simply into Daichi's mind enough for the other to exclaim that he was right. That he would do exactly as Toru had implied, that they were the best. In the past, he had been with a great deal of resistance when he had such things. There had always been a swelling pride in Toru's mind about Kirigakure and Mizu no Kuni - though he had reservations about the elite within the nation itself - and it seemed that he had been among the few who had felt this way. So to sway a fellow genin's mind felt empowering, if only for a split second before the feeling faded like ink being washed away on the shores of time.

"Eat?"

Toru knew what the word meant, but there was some mixture of shock and suspicion in his gaze as it leveled against Daichi. They had not been good friends to this extent, in fact they had only truly had time to talk or interact during these exams, so why now would the boy ask for them to go out and eat? Because he had done the bare minimum?

The boy felt saliva building in his mouth with a palpable confusion, and anticipation for an answer he did not know he was even allowed to give.

"I did not help you enough for you to treat me to a meal-" It came out somewhere between the tonal quality of a question and a statement. Toru felt what he said to be true, and still that confusion was there enough to tint what he was saying with the quality of a question.

OWL

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

It made sense that Toru would be off-put by Daichi’s request; he was starting to regret it himself now that it was out of his mouth, the kind of slow-burning realization that he’d just made himself intensely vulnerable and was potentially about to suffer rejection. It was hard to tell if Toru was trying to politely refuse the offer or if he was genuinely just confused. Daichi wasn’t exactly the most socialized of the genin present, and he’d always had a hard time reading people. Even with the Pathfinder’s lectures running on repeat in the back of his mind, Daichi decided to err on the side of assuming that Toru wasn’t turning him down yet, and persisted. "You helped me more than you realize, honestly.” Not just in saving him from his own botched attempt at first aid, or from a fraught visit to the med-nin, but from his own spiraling thoughts; he felt more confident about his chances in the next day’s bouts than he had thirty minutes ago, that was for sure. "It’s okay if you don’t want to, you can say no, I just—I want to.” Embarrassingly earnest, incredibly forthright, and flying utterly in the face of all the rules he had been raised with: all because Toru had, quite simply, been kind to him.

Kaguya Toru -- 218

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world yamaguchi daichi

Toru was frankly unsure of how to take any of this, he had - in his mind - barely done a thing for Daichi. But it seemed in Daichi's mind it was quite the opposite. He had been a saving grace in a moment of dire need. Not just his leg, from the way Daichi had spoken. Toru was not empathetic enough to be able to tell what the other teen was feeling though, and aside from the awkward round of his shoulders slouching forward there was little he was able to tell aside from the fact that Daichi clearly felt some amount of discomfort.

The genin shrugged in response.

"I would have already said no." He was forthcoming in this way, brutally honest to such a severe extent that people often found themselves blindsided by Toru's very existence. He did not often mince words, and even now he found himself being honest though perhaps not as brutally as he often were. Daichi had a softness to him for all of that bulk and muscle, one would expect for him to be less soft. Toru thought it strange, but did not judge beyond this fact.

"After this is all over, we can go."

It was a yes, a yes for the future. Whatever it held for them. For now though, he was standing and stretching and starting to move away so that he could spectate the rest of the battles before the day ended.

OWL