[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Miroru  Yamanaka Itsuki

    "Daredemo of Konohagakure," Dare heard the words escaping the mouth of the Raikage. They were precisely the last words he heard escape her mouth. Even with the way this arena was designed, with the sound meant to be amplified louder and louder, Dare could hear nothing but the ringing in his ears as the world around him tuned out. And it was only after that when he began to hear a voice. A voice that wasn't really there, but one he always heard at his lowest moments. The voice of his father. A voice that filled him with dread, terror, anger. 

    "Your brother passed first try."

    It didn't seem to be entirely out of anger, it wasn't a moment of intentional disrespect. Yet, Dare rose from his position amongst the other genin, and began to walk away. He wasn't even entirely sure of where it was that he was headed, but it needed to be away from celebration. He was not deserving of the pomp and pageantry. His father had told him well before the exams started, all the way back in the leaf village. Daredemo didn't deserve to be here in the first place. This had been proof of that right? It's why his family didn't even bother to make the trip. 

    "You really thought you were ready?"

    Dare wasn't headed to a specific destination, but wherever he was going, it had to be far from the place he was. Whoever stood in front of him was victim of the frustration in the moment. Being handed the flashy, garish, yellow jacket with the Yanki logo simply saw a glare of death from Dare. Immediately digging into the jacket and ripping it to shreds, throwing the tattered remains to the ground as he continued to simply collapse under the pressure. 

     "You've never been good enough. Why would now be different"

    In the academy, he had never once failed a test. He never failed a piece of homework. He had aced his exit exam for the academy. He had honed his sword skills quickly. He had even succeeded at pushing for the clan to make him the fiance of Shinde. All of this to say... failure wasnt a concept he had much experience with. He had plenty of times failed to meet the expectations of his father. He was used to being degraded by him. But... that was different. When his father berated him, he had always been able to look at the results. Had always been able to ignore his fathers voice. 

    "You're a failure Dame."

    His father's voice wouldn't quiet anymore. 

OWL

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Itsuki would like to say that he stopped listening from his place in the crowd once Dare's name was called out, and truthfully most of his attention was diverted at that moment to where the other boy was. Part of him heard and registered the announcement, and if he was asked later he would be able to recite the list in its entirety, but he was focused on the person he had come to this event for. 

The sole reason he had wheedled his way into getting to go.

Locking on to Dare's chakra signature, Itsuki made a quick handseal to shunshin away, vanishing in a quiet blur as he stopped near one of the food stalls, sealing away his chuunin outfit in favour of his older kimono outfit that he wore in more casual situations. Now wasn't time to show off his rank, and he waved up at the Kumo shinobi staring at him from a nearby roof as a way to try and alleviate any tension the guards might have for his sudden movements.

Grabbing a large box of dango from the vendor with as much haste as he could, he reached out once more for Dare's chakra before vanishing in a second shunshin to a corner right near the other boy. Checking once more on Dare's mental state, he stepped out into the street into the other's eyesight well before it could startle him, an open but relatively neutral expression on his face and the box of dango held out in invitation.

There was no sign of pity, or false levity, or anything like that, and should the other boy walk past him he would simply take the same pace beside Dare, enough space to not crowd him but close enough that his presence was able to be felt. Itsuki would put every bit of the psychological training he had as a Yamanaka along with the advantages of his Kagura Shingan into making sure he properly read Dare's mood and reacted accordingly.

For the moment, he remained silent.

Word Count: 341
Tags: Uchiha Miroru , Daredemo

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Miroru  Yamanaka Itsuki

    His father's voice only ever grew louder in moments like this. An Uchiha with the burden of hatred, Yoshinobu's messaging was buried deep in Dare's mind, and that hatred would continue to fester. Right now, it manifested as a hatred of himself. He wasn't good enough, his father was right about him. His friends had graduated. His fiance had passed the exams he was just in. People he had fought, carried through the first round, where now standing on his level. Standing above him even. Looking down at him like he was lesser than them. Because these exams had proven that he was.

    The sight of Itsuki didn't seem to help things either. He still just felt like a failure. Like he had lived up to every negative expectation that had been set upon him in the past years of his life. How would he return to the village like this. With nothing but scars to show for his effort. 

    Dare simply limped past Itsuki. His leg still feeling the damage of his last two fights. He took the box of Dango, and began to tear into the food like it was the first meal he'd had in days. He tore into it like a wild animal picking at the carcass of it's prey. Like the Dango alone represented everything he had failed to reach.

    "He was right." the first words Daredemo spoke. It wasn't really like he was speaking to Itsuki. Though he said it clear enough for the boy to hear. "He'll never let me hear the end of just how right he was. I shouldn't have been here. I don't deserve to be here." 

OWL

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Itsuki didn't react as Dare took the whole box of dango, obviously needing some sort of outlet for his feelings and transferring it to the food. It wasn't a pleasant sensation, that roiling mass of self hatred that he could feel from the other boy, it was enough to churn Itsuki's stomach in all sorts of nasty ways, but he wasn't going to be able to just chase that away unfortunately.

The Yamanaka kept pace with Dare as he limped down the street, not saying anything for a moment even if he did want to get the other boy to go and see a medic, or at least sit down. It was only when Dare spoke up that he did any more than be near him as a quiet support.

"Fuck that."

Itsuki didn't swear. Ever. Miroru might say 'heck' or 'crumbs' but Itsuki never used anything cruder than a 'dang' once in a blue moon. But this was definitely a special occasion, a moment to break out the strongest of words.

"Fuck that, and fuck him"

A double whammy just to make sure the sentiment well and truly stuck in Daredemo's mind. Itsuki didn't elaborate, not straight away, he needed to see how the other boy reacted to his words before he could even begin to guess the right path, because this was a complex situation and not something that was standard material in his mental training.

Word Count: 238
Tags: Uchiha Miroru , Daredemo

[Hatake Shinde]

Shinde had just finished her particular hearing of results, but she had noticed her fellow ninja storming off in a huff. Where despite his efforts and hard work, he had failed by some margin. Taking the liberty to walk after him, still feeling somewhat tired form her match, she'd come to advance and hear the conversation breaking out between them. Though she was silent. Their father. The expectations. Shinde slowly steps a bit closer, and with it, adds into the conversation. Not meaning to intrude, but feeling it wasn't a bad thing. Not when she'd been in that dark pit just a while ago. Thinking to the advice that Kazui gave.

"You did splendidly." She declares. "And you made great strides and progress through your merits Dare-Kun. The expectations people set for you. Their destiny they envision. That isn't yours." She says, looking towards Itsuki. It took a moment or two. But she remembered him vaguely. Very vaguely considering the circumstances. He'd been there that day when Miroru had her breakdown. Yet, she didn't know what to make of them being here now. It seemed he was a popular guy or something, making lots of friends. Close ties that could last. Being there as the stone that people needed. Shinde couldn't say she had that level of experience yet. That kind of knowledge to be as soft as people needed to rely on.

"You do deserve to be here." She says softly. "We all do. And you can't let that feeling of despair consume you. If you can't do anything, and there's nothing you can do. Then do what you can." She says, trying to remember that old saying. "I've been where you were. And to be honest...I feel like I wouldn't have gotten as far as I had. In the right mindset, if it wasn't for you." An honest confession, as she tried to offer her empathy.

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Hatake Shinde Daredemo Yamanaka Itsuki | ### | notes

The fox made it to the trio before Miroru did.



As Dare took off after hearing his name, Itsuki went into play to try to get something together to help play damage control, and Shinde disengaged after the announcements, one of the discretely placed Bakenokawa- the tiny, squirrel-sized, masked foxes nearly always around Miroru- followed them along the rooftops, keeping an eye on Dare's position to relay back to Miroru.



The redhead had to wait to leave until after the announcement was finished, and promptly meandered "casually" to the closest out of sight place she could find. She immediately created a pair of clones on the spot, one to move to congratulate those with the pleasure of hearing their names called as a pass- Pervert-san deserved a congratulations, Kai was clan, and she'd helped train most of the other passing Leaves, from her direct lessons with Raika and Ataru to the more equal ground practice she'd shared with Shinde and Uriko. The other, she sent to try to find Tokaku, recognizing she likely wouldn't be much more pleased than Dare with the results.



And then she broke into a mad dash through the streets to try to catch up.

---

Miroru came to a choppy stop, leaning back as a few steps broke down her momentum to stop by the others. The fox had whispered Dare's words to her, but the others had spoken already. She wasn't sure the best thing to say. Itsuki usually seemed to be better at that.



As such, she arrived after the other two, letting them do the talking, and offering just a simple, subdued, "Hey." to announce her arrival. No pity, no questions, demanding nothing of him, just... making it clear she was here, for him.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

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[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Uchiha Miroru Yamanaka Itsuki  Hatake Shinde

    Dare simply stopped walking. He didn't know where he was heading in the first place, but apparently his body thought he'd arrived there. Somewhere safe. Somewhere far from the sight of his failure. The voice of Itsuki managing to dull his father's voice. The following speech from Shinde seemed to calm him further. It was... something different. A comfort he hadn't ever really been afforded since his brother passed away. Dare's legs faded out from beneath him before his brain could register it. He dropped to his rear where he stood, his head dropping into his hands as he finally allowed himself to cry. 

    "My bother succeeded his first try. My father succeeded his first try. Miroru, Itsuki, you both succeeded your first try. I... was supposed to succeed. I don't fail, I can't fail. I.... I can't fail." 

    He was almost trying to convince himself as he went. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be celebrating right now. He was supposed to come home and show himself as better than his father had ever thought. He was supposed to finally impress him, finally fix everything. But he hadn't. Why hadn't he been able to do this? It wasn't right. 

    "Thank you for trying..." Dare paused as he rose his head up again, trying to smile through the clear distress he was still under. "But... ask Miroru. She knows how he is. Anything less than perfection... it's not enough. And he's right. To do what I need to do, to surpass my brother... I need to be perfect."

OWL

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Chuunin

Daredemo Hatake Shinde Yamanaka Itsuki | ### | notes

The fox began to laugh.

Itsuki might even pick up on it. The amusement it put off a dark, sardonic thing. For a moment, it might even seem as if it was laughing at Daredemo- and not at what he'd just said, instead.

The Fox's thoughts, either way, emerged shortly, for they were closely in line with Miroru's.

"Demo-kun...

Perfect isn't enough for your father."

She spoke quietly, a tangled echo of sadness and anger in her tone.

"You could have entered the exams as two dozen shadow clones and every one of them could have finished perfectly- and your father would just have said that your brother could have done it with half that many. Or twice as fast. Or with one hand behind his back. You're not trying to reach a high standard set by your brother.

You're trying to reach an impossible one set by your father's bitterness."

She stepped forwards and crouched, right there with him. "Trying to be perfect is the fastest way to be anything but. If you really want to be perfect, just...

Be Daredemo. That's you, perfect." She glanced at the others, hoping for support. Thought a moment, then added a few more words.

"I'm proud of you. And you belong here. And I'll fight anyone that says otherwise- presuming present company doesn't beat me to it."

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

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COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE MISSIONS
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[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

It seemed that in the same breath that Itsuki properly reached out to Daredemo people came out of the woodwork, and the Yamanaka couldn't help but recoil a litle bit even if one of those others was just Miroru, feeling off balanced by the sudden deluge of conversation that occurred before he could even open his mouth further. His gaze slid from Shinde, who he knew better than she knew him he was sure considering the time he spent training with her father, to Miroru, mouth twitching a few times but ultimately staying silent as he waited for a chance to speak.

"Perfection is an illusion, devoid of substance," he muttered instead, looking up at the sky instead of any of the others, "if someone is perfect then there's no room for growth, for change, it's stagnation. Someone who claims perfection has lost any ability to get better, and will be overcome by those that keep trying. And they'd deserve it."

Itsuki wasn't some prodigy, not like other shinobi. Sure, he had made it into the top three in the last exams when he had literally graduated from the Academy the day before he left Konoha to attend, but that had been the result of an intense training regime to stimulate growth and change. Had he not done that, he would have graduated later, and probably gone on an unremarkable shinobi career. Growth, change, hard work.

He wasn't sure if Miroru's approach would get through to someone in a mindset like Dare right now. Both of the girls were trying to be kind, comforting, but... in the sort of bleakness that he could feel from Dare, perhaps the more cynical approach would reach better. It wasn't like Itsuki was making things up either, he was sharing a genuine belief, one that would hopefully help the other boy grasp what they were trying to do more effectively.

"And you've been trying a lot recently," he added, still not looking at any of the others, half feeling like running away himself.

Word Count: 339
Tags: Uchiha Miroru , Daredemo , Hatake Shinde

[Hatake Shinde]

Shinde had been in a similar pit of despair about a year ago, when she'd failed her own Chuunin Exam. Before she adds onto what Itsuki spoke of. "Pefection is a goal. Not a destination." She says, and with it, she didn't really have much more to contribute. Before looking out to both Miroru and Itsuki, and frankly, she thought back to her own distress about the situation. "We should stop. Stop to let Daredemo that as comrades, we're here for him in the event he needs us. But this is something they have to deal with on their own." That was her legitimate thought on the matter. Nobody needed to be lorded and told more than once that their thoughts were wrong. How they felt was wrong.

What they needed was a path to self discovery, but having people as options to fall back on. Shinde knew that she wasn't ready to talk about things until later on in her life, when her pit of despair had passed, and at the end of the day. Happiness was something that needed to be chosen and discovered for oneself. Daredemo had walked the path she did. Where they thought perfection, that goal, destiny, was something they could attain within one's grasp and hand. Yet, it just wasn't. So, that all considered? Shinde looks on with no pity, but an empathy for the younger Uchiha, before turning and walking off. Though, as she did, she would let them know. "I'm available any time." Though without much else to contribute, she'd take a deep sigh. Today's joviality hampered by the situation.