[Kuronmeru Yosei]

Yosei had been...avoiding Enyo lately. Ever since the incident. Commenting on his scars had definitely created a schism that hadn't existed before, tension. Tension that Enyo relieved by bashing his skull repeatedly, and Yosei wasn't trying to give him another excuse to do that again. The red eyed boy mindlessly rubbed where his head had been slammed into a wall more times than he could remember, though after after the first hit was pretty fuzzy. He wasn't even sure how he'd gotten home. Enyo wasn't exactly the sentimental type, so he doubted it was him, especially after what Yosei had said. All Yosei could think of was that he'd managed to stumble home in that daze. And while some time had passed, and his head was healed up, he still wasn't trying to poke the bear that was Enyo, at least not a second time.

It had been stupid to do it the first time, but the way Enyo had disregarded his scars, disregarded the young boys ability to harness the black blood that was within them, it had managed to get under the pale boys skin. But he didn't have to worry about that here, in the Academy training grounds. At least for now, since he was alone. The boy sighed, playing with his bandana-styled-scarf, cleaned and washed after getting stained, returning to it's bright crimson hue. While he didnt get too worked up over his shirt or pants getting dirty, his finely silken scarf was different, the extravagance showing that the Kuronmeru weren't just the strongest clan in the village. They had wealth, influence, and they were the greatest clan in all of Kirigakure.

And Yosei wasn't going to simply lie idle after getting so thoroughly defeated by Enyo. His punch had failed to stagger Enyo, his strength had failed him in his time of need. And he wasn't going to let that happen a second time. And so he began punching one of the dummies, hit after hit. And it was here that Yosei felt the euphoria of pain, the sting against his knuckles only encouraging him to hit harder, faster, fiercer, spots of black appearing on the training dummy causing the boy to only smile as he was lost in the moment. 

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

Enyo had been blase about the entire encounter and what happened after. Clearly Yosei had not died a gruesome death because he had seen him around even if the academy student had been diligently avoiding him and talking to him. It made sense, to some extent. Enyo hardly avoided his brothers after a beating, but he had a different kind of resolve than most. The fear that had been there had been submerged, feeling fear was a distant thing that no longer cropped up in his stomach. He felt a lot of things, but they mostly ranged from the desire to kill to small amounts of pleasure.

Then one day, Yosei made himself known, practicing hard - too hard - in one of the training spots in the compound punching a dummy repeatedly until his blood spilled from his knuckles and ran down his forearm with gravity into the green lush summer grass.

Enyo raised a brow at this, unable to understand why someone would do such a stupid thing. Injuring oneself in training was normal, but to punch until skin broke? It seemed idiotic, unless Yosei was not functioning with a sound mind.

The older of the two perched up on a roof nearby, swinging his feet back and forth. But he wasn't trying to be stealthy, he picked up a loose rock from the rooftop and tossed it at Yosei's head from behind.

"Wasting all that precious blood, what for? You're as dumb as the dummy."

Kuronmeru Yosei

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[Kuronmeru Yosei]

It wasn't a person, there was no pain, there were no reactions to his hits, there wasn't even a face to focus on. But the stinging in his knuckles and the reactions to his hits were enough, the adrenaline pumping through his pitch black blood as he threw punch after punch, bloodlust setting in. Not a lust for someone else's blood, but his own. But this trance would be broken soon enough, by a rock to the back of the boys head. It wouldn't draw blood, but when he let out a yelp and raised his hand to his head he felt a fresh bump, sore and tender, and still hurting from before. And he'd turn, rage now mixing with the adrenaline and bloodlust. Enyo would see it, if only for a moment. The look of someone wanting to watch someone in immense pain. Until Yosei looked into Enyo's eyes, realizing just who's thrown the rock. And just like that, the look in the students eyes disappeared, replaced with an uncomfortable looking away. Yosei had blinked first, and it was a sign of what was too come.

He did return Enyo's gaze after the brief, involuntary glance away. But the look was gone, the look of aggression and bloodlust. Now, it was filled with annoyance, frustration, and strangely passivity. The lesson from before had been learned, and Yosei was still cowed. For now, at least. He had to wait until he was stronger. But if Enyo looked close, he'd see the signs of the boys frustration, his bleeding knuckles twitching, the boy constantly curling and uncurling his fingers, unable to stop the adrenaline still rushing through him, fighting the need to continue hitting something. To hit Enyo for what he did too him.

What do you want Enyo... The question was passive, almost resigned. He wasn't upset that he'd lost to Enyo, but he didn't want to lose again. To get beaten again when he still wasn't strong enough to win. Though as Enyo called him a dummy for training the way he was, he did show he wasn't going to completely lie down and roll over. It makes your fists stronger, break them down and build them back up. Besides, when has a Kuronmeru ever flinched at spilling blood? Before, he'd have said that with a smile, a relaxed look, his usual look. And if this had happened a month from now, he probably would have done it then too. But, so soon since the incident. Instead, Yosei simply said it with annoyance, not disrespectful but it was clear the boy would rather Enyo not be here right now.

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

The rage and what Yosei showed would only spur amusement from Enyo who had certainly learned to mask such feelings and instead channel them into action. There were few times where he would glaze over, and truly only one word brought him to a place where he felt others needed to learn a lesson. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. In the case of Yosei, it had worked splendidly.

There was a question and it came with a boring tone of voice, that didn't really match the anger that had been there in a flash in Yosei's eyes. Enyo was already approaching, his step was casual, he wasn't trying to hide his approach, and was just looking at Yosei as if he were a bit of meat and he were a cat, pawing at his meal.

The question was answered with a shrug. He didn't really want anything. He was just bored, and wanted to see if he could bother the boy and get under his skin. It was working, a little bit.

"The blood of others, not our own... Especially not so carelessly." Kuronmeru were not born with huge reserves, they ate specific diets, they took care of their bodies, their blood was special and sacred - they had to replenish it and keep it healthy. To be so wasteful with it... It was almost a carnal sin in Enyo's eyes.

"You should learn to control it, what is the purpose of it there? Dripping from your knuckles like an angry ape?"

Kuronmeru Yosei

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[Kuronmeru Yosei]

The hairs on Yosei's neck bristled when Enyo made his approach, the twitches of his fingers becoming more as his mouth twitched into a frown. But only momentarily, the boy taking a breath before it returned to more annoyed than outright displeasure. He was trying to remain neutral about his presence. He couldn't get his fingers to stop twitching though, each movement causing a little bit of blackness to drop onto the ground. And if was clear that Enyo was here solely to pick fun at him, a shrug given when asked why he was here. It was the same response he'd gotten last time, when he asked him why he'd been visiting the clan memorial. Though last time the weak and dead had been the butt of their jokes, and it'd been fun. Now he was the punchline, and the young boy wasn't laughing as much now.

So cautious with a weapon. That's not like you. Yosei hadn't realized it before, this difference in opinion between them. For that is how Yosei saw the black ink running in his veins, as a weapon first and foremost. The greatest weapon. A weapon where the more of it was on the battlefield, the stronger he was. There didn't need to be caution in a fight, he didn't need to consider where to place the blood. He would simply overwhelm and drown anyone before him in a black ocean. All he had to do was learn to truely harness it's powers, then no one could stop him. And after a few days of rest, a few days to let his blood replenish, he could do it again. And again. The ultimate weapon.

Just thinking about these things was enough to calm him down some, the promise that he was going to bring out inside him, literally. But Enyo continued to criticize, and he felt an impulse. An impulse to ask who'd learned to control the blood first. An impulse to ask which one of them had managed to get the entire clan whispering behind their back when they couldn't live up to what was expected. An impulse he had to swallow, his face visibly twitching in annoyance at the disgust, disgust at swallowing his pride of being a Kuronmeru. Because Enyo had surpassed him in the end.

But when he was asked the purpose of it all, the purpose of the black gold dripping from his fingers, the red eyed boy simply wiped the back of his hand against the training dummy. Leaving a visible black smear. To be a weapon. Like it's meant to be. What would you have me do? Wait for them to stab me to get blood on them?

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

Yosei was an idiot to believe it was caution, it was reverence, for what Enyo believed to be the greatest weapon in the world. To let it drip callously onto the ground, unused, it was barbaric. This was not even battle where it could not be helped, Yosei was punching something so hard that he was spending his precious blood. It was not something that Enyo fundamentally agreed with, and he was certain that his family would not agree with any of it either - but he did not respond to Yosei's statement. Not because he couldn't, or did not want to. But because he chose not to, everything was about choice. Enyo did things out of desire, and precedent of whether or not his family would approve. Speaking now would be a waste of air.

"If we are to bleed ourselves like idiots, we would all be dead." There was a reason not one Kuronmeru was born with a huge supply of chakra, everything was about control. Precision.

"Our blood and all techniques with our blood are about control, surely someone has already told you as much." There was a reason too, that they ate specific diets and kept themselves in such particular shape. They could not eat or do whatever they wanted, and it was to maintain the quality of their blood unlike the rest of the world. It was like sharpening a weapon, if the weapon was every blood vessel and vein.

"You are dribbling it everywhere, as if it matters not. It is disrespectful..." Enyo finally cracked a smirk towards Yosei. "But I understand, you don't know any of our techniques yet. So how would you know?"

Kuronmeru Yosei

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[Kuronmeru Yosei]

The red eyed boy was being quiet himself, while he was upfront on his beliefs and feelings he also wasn't unnecessarily running his mouth, though he wasn't budging on his beliefs. Blood was replenishable by its very nature, they even had pills to do so, to treat with such delicacy was like fighting with one arm tied behind ones back while claiming it was taking the high road. Which is why he let out a snort of derision when Enyo pointed out the risks of bleeding out. At such a point the battle would already be won, with so much blood to use. A canvas, using black ink to paint a bloody picture with the poor sap in such a scenario. The mere idea of so much black blood, an ocean of blackness, caused him to blush a little, sending mixed signals about the conversation they were having since it was still clear he was annoyed to even be having this conversation.

And to control blood you need blood. You act like the moment it touches the ground it turns to dust, useless, when instead it turns any battlefield into one completely under our control. And that is the greatest respect there is, using it for overwhelming victory. For Yosei control didn't mean precision, it meant domination, domination over the blood and domination over the fight. One didn't need to be precise with overwhelming force. And the black blood offered just that. Which is why Enyo's remarks on not knowing techniques using the blood irked him in all the wrong ways. His fingers started twitching again, more blood spilling onto the ground with each movement. And a genin like you is a master? It wasn't what he wanted to say, but he couldn't say what he really wanted to say.

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

The snort made Enyo pause and raise an eyebrow. It was clear to him that Yosei was not interested in listening, or respecting the truth of the matter. Their blood was precious, and was to not be over utilized. But rather used carefully to decide the tide and flow of battle. They recovered blood faster than others, they could use their entire bodies blood was a weapon. But without blood they would die, like any other mortal being. It was this lack of understanding, a reckless foolishness of believing that he had an eternal amount of blood to replenish and to use.

"Blood dries quickly once it touches the ground, you cannot use what is dried and gone." It would take an overwhelming amount of blood to soak a battlefield enough to utilize again and again. There were not enough Kuronmeru either.

Enyo was not a master, and he had never claimed to be. But he smiled towards Yosei.

"More of a master than you." He hummed before turning and beginning to walk away. The biggest insult would be to simply leave now, Yosei wanted to talk big about what the Kuronmeru were or were not. Yet he could not use what was given to him by birth. And Enyo would not be the one to teach him, not with the disrespect he was showing to a superior.

Kuronmeru Yosei

aeron at thq

[Kuronmeru Yosei]

Yosei was a little surprised by the conversation, not by its content or the fact they were debating, but more by it's...cordiality. Or, at least the lack on insults, threats, or carried out threats. Instead it was just a genuine debate over the usage of blood. But it was still perhaps getting more heated than most good faith arguments, Yosei noticing Enyo's raised eyebrow after his own dismissive attitude. He didn't regret his attitude though, it wasn't like the well dressed boy before him had came with good intentions, they'd simply settled into a mostly calm atmosphere. But that didn't mean something couldn't top the balance, and create a potential storm. Carelessness could get dangerous.

But for now, things were relatively stable, Enyo still pointing out how the earth soaks up the black ink beneath their skin. But the scarf wearing boy shook his head, not as mean spirited as his snort had been, this time simply showing his disagreement with the sentiment. And yet there are techniques designed to use spilled blood. It's just as valuable an asset as the blood running through us, maybe moreso since it's usefulness is so easily forgotten. A careless foe could easily dismiss blood spilled on the ground, spilled on them. And that was a dangerous mistake.

But I the end the conversation seemed to end just as quickly as it began, his cousin walking away with one last taunt, an insult that caused his fingers to twitch one last time. But he didn't yell out, didn't insult back, he simply turned shaking his head. He didn't like how easily Enyo could get under his skin, both from fear and annoyance, and then almost get along just as easily. It was emotional whiplash. Geez... It was the only word, muttered under his breath. He threw one last punch at the training dummy, felt the solidness beneath his knuckles, the mix of pleasure and pain. And then he just found himself looking at the dummy, the blood smear on its head, drops along it's body and on ground. If he could control them all he could've shown Enyo here and now. More of a master then you. The words rang in his head and he let out a sigh staring at his works. He hated feeling like this. Agitated.

[Kuronmeru Enyo]

blood as black as the ocean

Indeed Enyo walked off, with no intention of turning back around. If Yosei wanted to learn something, he would need to ask nicely or at the very least show some modicum of respect to those above him. Enyo had no respect for those outside of his own clan, naturally, or at least, very little. But he knew when to shut up, especially when it came to the superiors in the clan. His father had made certain of that. His brothers were no less volatile than his father when it came to dishing out punishments towards the genin (and his twin) when they spoke out.

Perhaps Yosei would never learn, but it would only serve to ostracize him further from the clan that valued kinship and power more than almost any other clan in the village - if not the world. Mold, and become one with the rest or learn what it was to be a pariah unlike anyone else.

Enyo did not wish such a fate on himself, and so he was careful to tiptoe around those he deemed better... Even if he did occasionally challenge his older brothers to battle, to the death. It was only to prove his strength, not to show disrespect.

[end]

Kuronmeru Yosei

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