[Sora Minami]

There were some people who, if Sora had her way, would be hoisted up on a pole and kicked off of their arrogant, selfish, unbearably pompous pedestal down into the muck and mire of reality where the rest of the world lived, loved, laughed, and died. Among that long (and ever growing) list of people where the vast majority of the Kuronmeru clan, the Black-blooded medics of Kirigakure that, somehow, managed to be more smug than a Yuki in the middle of a snowstorm and infuriatingly competent to boot. That one of the more… notorious Kuronmeru Genin had been assigned to her squad was, in her own words, a bad idea. She had said this to the Hanchou. Repeatedly. With great passion and vociferousness.

Kuronmeru Enyo was still on her squad.

Just relax. She thought, lips pursed in a tight, thin line as she leaned back against a particularly tall tree in the training grounds she reserved for Genin Team 1, arms crossed beneath her breasts; a large field bordered by towering evergreen trees, with a small stream through the middle, it was one of the training ground usually reserved for the Academy alone, but she had… discussed things with the Chuunin on duty and made certain it would be free for the day. Free and utterly isolated from any prying Academy Students who might want to peek in on their old sensei.

Because her charge was late. It was 7:30am by her reckoning, a good hour and a half past when the Genin was supposed have shown up- this wasn’t a proper training session, that was later in the day with the entire team, but she had wanted to meet with him, personally, as she had with the other members of Team 1. With them, it had been to get a measure of who they were beyond what their file said, to establish a connection that went beyond merely being their village-appointed Sensei. With Enyo, though…

"If that little shit doesn’t show up in the next ten minutes…” Sora growled, uncrossing her arms as she pushed off of the tree and strolled towards the center of the field. The boy had been well known for his tardiness even in the Academy, but she had thought becoming a Genin and being assigned an actual Sensei would temper that attitude of his. Or at least give him pause before he decided to act like the spoiled, smart-mouthed brat he had been during his time at the Academy.

Apparently, it had not.

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

Enyo had fallen into a deep sleep, his dreams littered with a myriad of quiet scenes and scenes that could only be described as horrific. None, however, woke him up. He was used to these encounters, these fitful sleeps. It had become normal for him, a nightly occurrence for his otherwise delicate lifestyle. After all, he was no orphan, and did not want for food. He had a cushioned life, at least in terms of basic comforts that some shinobi of Kirigakure no Sato could not afford. Enyo was spoiled, he knew it and he did not care - because he carried demons in his head that some in the world could not imagine even existing.

Another day, another sensei. He had at least one other before this one was assigned to him, so he did not take their meeting with any great degree of seriousness. She could wait, everyone could wait. The world was on Enyo's schedule, not the schedule of others who were beneath him, beneath the dirt he walked upon. So he woke up when he felt like it, stretched leisurely, washed himself and brushed his hair and teeth. Then he donned his clothes with a slow meticulous care, humming a folk song quietly to himself as he did, quietly to not disturb the household - though the majority of the family had already departed for the day.

He had plucked a cold onigiri from the kitchen stuffed with pork on his way out the door, announcing the halls that he was departing though no response came in return. He walked leisurely to his meeting spot, not a hint of rush in his freshly awakened muscles as he wandered nibbling on his breakfast as he did.

It was a decently long walk to get to the academy, at least from the Kuronmeru compound and soon he was walking upon the woman that would be his new sensei, standing in the middle of the field. She didn't look all too happy, but that didn't seem to bother Enyo either. He just wandered up, having finished his rice ball contentedly, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Ah yes, this woman, he knew her. She had been a sensei at the academy when he had been attending. They had quite a few words that had been shared between the two of them, and he had a feeling that now that she was his sensei once more that would hardly change.

"Morning, so humid." He complained, waving a hand in his direction to blow some cold air towards himself.

Sora Minami

aeron at thq

[Sora Minami]

"You are over ninety minutes late, Enyo.” Sora said as the boy finally, finally walked onto the training ground, rice still stuck to the side of his mouth. He had that same shit-eating grin plastered on his face as well, the smug "I’m better than you because of my blood” smile that every damn member of his clan seemed to perfect the moment they got out of the womb. It was enough to set the Jounin’s teeth on edge- but not enough to make her react the way the boy clearly wanted.

Not yet, anyway.

"In the future, you will be on time to meetings.” Her words came out quick, skipping past her usual patient tone and into the frustration and seething annoyance that so often accompanied this boy. Because he was just a boy- a boy who lived in an awful home with terrible siblings and even worse parents, raised to be a killer from the day he could breathe with no concept that such a life wasn’t even remotely normal. She would have pitied him if he hadn’t so clearly enjoyed being what he was.

As it stood, she found it hard not to pity him anyway.

"Is that understood, Genin?”

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

Enyo was unimpressed and it was clear as day on his expression as he stared at the woman who announced to him that he was over ninety minutes late. So what? She couldn't have waited a little longer, maybe she could have taken the time this morning to actually fix her hair, instead she went with *that* style? He wasn't really listening either, there was a stray piece of fiber that he had noticed on his sleeve that was now fiddling with, silly little thing, he would have to mend it when he returned home. It was what he got for dressing up nicely for these outing sessions that often turned into training.

His last sensei, though quite incompetent, had at least tried to feed him. Even if Enyo did not like to eat, he actually really enjoyed keeping to a beautiful petite figure. He was very mindful of what he put in his body, that onigiri would likely tide him over for the rest of the day, and if not definitely until the later evening where he could have a hot tea and fall fast asleep before repeating everything all over again.

The genin was staring at the woman the whole time, unimpressed yet with a hint of that smile still, slowly faltering with a lack of desire to keep on smiling. He was not his older brother who seemed to mask himself behind an eerie smile.

It was the last bit that Sora had said that brought Enyo back into the moment.

"Mm, yes. But my name is Kuronmeru, Enyo. Not Genin. I understand though at your age it must be hard to remember things."

Sora Minami

aeron at thq

[Sora Minami]

I am going to murder this boy. Sora thought as Enyo replied with his usual uncaring attitude, disrespect radiating off of him like heat from a fire. It was the way of his clan, and more particularly the way of his family, to view everyone and everything that wasn’t a Kuronmeru as lesser. They were the worst of the worst when it came to clans in Kirigakure, the most arrogant and prideful bunch of Shinobi and Kunoichi that she’d ever had the displeasure of meeting…

And this one was on her Genin squad.

"Your name, Genin, is irrelevant.” Sora said, looking down on the small boy as she crossed her arms in front of her. He wanted to play games with her? Well, two could do that- and, as the boy was about to find out, there was a world of difference between what an Academy Instructor and a Jounin sensei were allowed to do when disciplining one of their students. Especially and insubordinate and unruly one such as Enyo.

"You are not in the Academy any more, boy. I expect my orders to be obeyed and due respect given to your superiors. Which includes me.” She paused, knowing the boy wouldn’t like that. Knowing how he would react, but giving him the chance to accept that things would be different now. That they had to be, for him to learn anything. "If you refuse to do so, I have… ways of making you cooperate. Do not make me use them, Enyo.”

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

Enyo could not help but to tilt his head off to the side as the woman spoke to him. His legs and arms were in a very neutral position as he did this. The woman was demanding respect, but it was not something he was at liberty to give. His parents would unlikely care if he gave the woman any respect, but Enyo wasn't stupid. He knew that to poke the proverbial bear was a bad idea, this woman was a higher rank than him and could nark on him. It was a huge inconvenience.

"Perhaps I will. Perhaps you should prove to me why I should respect you. Obey orders? I can do that. But I see no reason to respect you." He shrugged blandly, in his mind all of these people would eventually disappear. They always did, whether it was because he was just too hard to deal with, or if they were just too weak. They all left, all got reassigned, or got promoted.

Taru got promoted recently. So she had moved on. His last sensei had given him a few lessons before disappearing. People who were simply undeserving of his respect. Well, Taru at least got a drop of it. She had listened to his outfit advice and she had been respectful to him first. That was an interesting twist, one that he actually really liked. It had almost compelled him to be kinder towards her. But nobody else had acted like this so they deserved what the rest deserved.

Sora Minami

aeron at thq

[Sora Minami]

Enyo’s answer was not what she expected of the boy. It was disrespectful, full of his typical disdain and dismissive attitude, but there was something else mixed in as well; a grudging acceptance and, perhaps, a path forward. He was still a horrible little shit, but what he said, demanding that she earn the respect she asked for… It made sense, in a way. If you thought you were better than everyone else then of course you’d want someone to prove they were worth respecting. Worth bothering to connect with, even.

"Alright.” Sora said, taking a slow, steadying breath, uncrossing her arms as the boy looked at her, head tilted in the annoyingly innocent way, as if he weren’t intentionally trying to get under her skin. She could do this. She had approached Ikana on the girl’s terms, had forged a connection (however tentative) at the girl’s own pace. The least she could do was offer Enyo the same courtesy. Even if it grated.

"You’ve had a fair few Sensei’s since you left the Academy. Their reports on your progress have been… less than thorough.” That was an understatement; his file was full of notes, but very little had anything to do with his actual abilities or training. She’d had to dig through a dozen pages of citations and rants about his mouth just to find anything even remotely useful, and even that had been an accident.

"I need to know what you can do. What you want to do.” If only to figure out what to bloody teach the kid. Or try to, anyway. If he’d shut up long enough to let her.

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

It came as a bit of a surprise to Enyo that the woman had agreed to his terms even if it was through clenched teeth and no desire to actually be of any assistance. Very few wanted to help him, most just wanted to beat him up. He knew that, he was almost too cognitive of it and yet he had no desire in his head nor his stomach or heart to change that bitter fact. His mind was simply lacking in any kind of interest for such a thing. So her acceptance was interesting, though that one small olive branch would not make Enyo any more friendly the words that his new sensei had spoken to him only moments ago with all her wrath and frustration would be soon forgotten, remnants of the past.

But she wanted to know what he could do, so he was going to tell her. No longer was there vitriol dripping from her lips and he was more willing to give way to a more neutral conversation even though his own tone was the same as before.

"I've been working on my medical skills recently, that is what my parents want of me. Otherwise," He paused before giving an indeterminant shrug. He had an affinity for swords, but above all else he loved his bloodline, it was something that made him better than the rest and he was unsurprisingly in favor of its use. Still what was the point of sharing such things with the woman? It was not as if she could help him perfect his bloodline, she was not blessed with God's ichor after all.

Sora Minami

aeron at thq

[Sora Minami]

"...I see.” Sora said when the boy shrugged, frowning as she thought about his time as her student. He had been arrogant even before activating his bloodline, but there was one subject that had forced her to deal with him more than any of the other instructors combined. The one subject she truly excelled at, beyond a basic level of competence. Kenjutsu.

It had been a favorite of his in the Academy and, even though he had driven her up the walls every time he had come to class, he had been good. Not perfect, not a genius, but talented in his own right and more than capable of holding his own even with his Kekkei Genkai. It wasn’t much to go off of, as it had been a few years since she had last seen him, but it was a start.

"I assume you still practice Kenjutsu with Inei.” It wasn’t a question, and she slid her left hand up to rest on Samidare’s hilt as she spoke, thinking. Because he would have had to practice with his brother to keep his skills sharp; Team 1 had been in too much flux for him to get any regular training there. Yes, that was a fine place to begin.

"Alright, Enyo.” Sora paused, taking a half step back from Enyo, thumb pressing against the back of Samidare’s tsuba until a glimmer of polished metal stuck out from between the saya and the hilt, waiting. Because this part… oh, this part was going to be fun.

"Try and hit me.”

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

Despite popular belief, Enyo was just full of himself but he was not an idiot. Everything he did or said was pretty well calculated, at least in terms of desire. He was not one to filter unless he was trying to get what he wanted. There was nothing he wanted from the situation and the woman was now making claims. Sure, he practiced with Inei. He practiced with his entire family, and clan. It was customary, it was how the leader of a clan was chosen with their ilk. The strongest received the honor, and the old were ousted quickly. But Inei did not take great pleasure in practicing with the genin, nor his twin brother so such encounters were few and far in between. The majority of the time it was just Enyo trying to kill Inei - literally.

His head did not stop tilting as he stared at the woman who was now telling him to try and hit her. This was where Enyo was not stupid enough to think he could. Part of being a violent manipulative elitist person, also meant knowing how to preserve oneself to be violent, manipulative, and elitist one more day.

"You're funny." He responded, sapphire eyes flickering towards the hilt of the woman's own sword as she started to unsheathe it. He had no chance in shinobi Hell to hit her, unless she let him. Plus from the looks of it her blade was forged in something special, and he had nothing more than a regular katana on him, it could fracture. Sure, he could buy a new one, but it would have been a waste to do so when he had a functioning one as it were.

"I have no chance, so why should I?"

Sora Minami

aeron at thq

[Sora Minami]

And we were doing so well up until this point. The thought sent a wave of disappointment through Sora, Not in herself, but in the boy before her. Because he was just a boy; a young, brash child who had no reason to think beyond his own interests or desires, who had been given every advantage and raised in a house that thrived on cruelty and violence, in a world that affirmed those traits as good and right and better than any other way.

And yet, here he was, still a fucking idiot.

"That was not a request, Genin.” Sora said once the boy stopped speaking, looking down at him with cold, quiet contempt. Did he really not understand what she was trying to do here? Or was his own arrogance so great that it blinded him to any ideas beyond those his own limited experience could create? "It has been two years since I have seen you fight. I cannot work with such out of date information, and since your file lacks the requisite evaluations for me to come up with a proper training regime, I need to evaluate where you are at.”

Really, it wasn’t a difficult concept to get. Every Jounin Sensei was supposed to do an evaluation of their students once they got them; some did it as a whole, others individually, but all were supposed to do one. And yet. Enyo had never gotten a proper one. Not by her standards anyway.

"Now. I will not tell you again. Do your level best to hit me you disgraceful little shit.”

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

"Tsk, then why not just say you are wishing to evaluate me?" He spat back, his nose scrunching a little bit in his clear disdain at the situation. Speak clearly, that's what he had always been taught. But that clarity had gotten him in trouble, so he learned how to twist his words around his clanmates, men and women who could beat him to a pulp. Not with those outside of his clan though, they did not deserve that clarity. They deserved judgment and contempt. They deserved a lack of honesty that bit into them, at away until they broke down as people. It was manipulation for all who were not Kuronmeru.

Enyo stood there unmoving, and uncaring until the woman called him something. Something that made a part of his mask crack, that sociopathic little stare twitch with raw humanity. Black poison dripping into his beating heart, reminding him how much he was willing to kill those that spoke against him. She had said the magic word, without even knowing it.

The genin stood there, as if frozen in ice for a moment longer before his hand pressed down against the hilt of his katana to draw it. The light blue of his eyes changing to something dark and dangerous. And he was not hiding it, it was noticeable that something had shifted in his demeanor. In a way it was similar to how he acted in the academy during spars, that Sora had likely seen, where he absolutely bloodied his sparring partners into unconscious rag dolls. That feeling, that desire was there now.

So he attacked, he ran at the woman head on, until he was just within reach to shift his body off to the right, with intent to bring the sharp side of his katana down against her shoulder and arm.

Sora Minami

aeron at thq

[Sora Minami]

Well it’s about damn time. Sora thought as the boy froze in place at her words, his mask of calm serenity cracking. He had not enjoyed her insult, not even a little bit. The look in his eye was familiar, the stance and silence cold enough to make a Yuki shiver… but she didn’t blink. The boy didn’t respect her, didn’t respect anyone who didn’t have black blood. But if there was one thing the Kuronmeru respected even more than the color of a person’s blood, it was power. Strength. Cruelty.

It was time Enyo learned just who it was he was dealing with.

"Finally decided to drop the sweet boy act?” She said as she drew Samidare, mirroring the boy’s motion until the blade was fully out, transitioning into a low-guard, one handed. Enyo charged, silent as the grave, his own weapon flashing in a classic yokogiri, slashing from (her) left to right against her arm and shoulder. A disabling strike, if it landed, and deadly too, if it nicked an artery.

It wouldn’t.

Sora moved without thought, her blade flicking up to meet Enyo’s, body shifting to the left, out of the arc of the cut as his steel met Samidare, screeching down its surface. A simple redirection, combined with a flowing block, and already she had him. She could see it in her mind's eye; rotate the blade down, grab the hilt with both hands and chop at his exposed side, punishing the overextension and, if the blow is placed right, kill him. She could have done it. It would have been easy. And as she looked down at the boy, full of murderous rage, she made sure he knew it, too.

Then, without blinking an eye, she lifted her left leg up and slammed it forwards in a textbook but perfectly executed front-kick to the boy’s gut that, if it landed, would be enough to knock the wind out of him. And maybe his breakfast, too.

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

The words had fallen upon deaf ears, clearly as the boy had rushed the woman blinded by the insult that sunk itself like teeth upon bone into his body. There was nothing that would make him stop now, nothing short of him being unconscious or death. Enyo knew not when to stop, even if it was against his own good. There were some in the Kuronmeru clan that could be considered 'good' by some merit. Enyo was not one of them, he acted good when it was purely in his favor. Whimsical mockery was within that line of goodness even if some might not agree.

His sword was redirected, a horrible screeching side of the metal colliding against metal. He twisted his wrists slightly against the hold he had on the handle, stiffening himself as if to help cease the redirection, if only for a split second. It did not do much, doubling down, but he did not care. He was going to double down if it meant even the slightest hint of victory.

There was no hint of victory, and he knew better in spite of his rage.

Their blades were locked for a split second, and their gazes leveled. He could see the intent in the woman's eyes, but that did not make him fearful against his better judgment. It was a look he was used to, accustomed to. He knew it, remembered it, and simply did not care.

The second passed and Enyo found himself flying backwards, the air slammed out of his lungs as he collided with the ground unable to breathe, his entire body tense, shaken. Then when he could breathe, it came as a suffocated gasp, desperate for air, before his body was overcome with the need to relieve himself so he did. Turning himself over to puke, though all there was, was the onigiri from before. He turned his sights back on Sora moments later, the menacing look still there as he stood with a slight waver and resolved to rush her again as if he had not just puked.

Anger carrying him with no small amount of resolve, as he approached Sora once more his blade would brush up hard against the ground to throw dirt, grass and dust up into the air and preferably into her eyes, before switching directions to cut at her midsection.

Sora Minami

aeron at thq

[Sora Minami]

Sora gave the boy credit where credit was due: he could take a hit. Her kick landed clean, launching Enyo back with enough force to send him tumbling through the dirt, ruining his nice clothes. And then he actually vomited, spewing his breakfast -it looked like onigiri- out in heaving retches, only to stand, silent as the grave, that murderous look still in his eyes. It might have been intimidating against someone his own size, but with the gap between them and the flecks of bile that still clung to the Kuronmeru’s face… well, she couldn’t help herself.

So she chuckled. Loudly.

The boy came at her again, his shoulders drooping ever so slightly as he lowered his blade into the dirt- and twenty years of training simply took over as she circle-stepped to her left, upper body swaying back as Enyo hurled a cloud of dirt and mud up towards her eyes… or rather, where her eyes had been but a moment before. She brought Samidare up again, catching the boy’s horizontal cut on its edge and, with a flick of her wrist, knocked it skyward, transferring the sideways motion into vertical. He might still be able to hold onto the sword, if he was careful.

Then, without so much as a blink, the Jounin pivoted, stepping into Enyo’s space and slamming Samidare’s kashira into the side of his face, below the eye. Not hard enough to cause any serious damage, but enough to snap his head to the side and, maybe, wake him up to just how far apart the two of them were. That he might want to actually start thinking through these little exchanges. Because if he didn’t…

Well. She would do her best not to hurt him too badly.