[Deleted]

Hands flat to a rocky surface, Hotarubi was trying to concentrate his chakra - pulling the rock into him. It was a more active exercise in the Yamakira directory that they had to learn about, pulling rocks and dirt and all manner of nastiness into themselves and their superior bodies. There was movement here and there, as well as the occasional grunt from Hotarubi as he was trying to forcibly "will" more chakra to move around and attract and gravitate the rock into him. Hotarubi wanted it all: wanted to absorb the lot. Forcing it down into his frame was trying to compress a spring further than it wanted to go, and he had to break the barrier and get heavier. Heavier would mean stronger, and stronger would mean power. The sky was the limit and he didn't want to be kept a poor mistake of a shinobi forever. Who even knew what his brother was up to today? Hotarubi hadn't seen him, but him being in the Yamakira's compound (obviously having a rock centric theme) he knew he'd run into him, or someone more important sooner or later to help out. If not even help out, then at least he could hide away and get some work done. That in itself was good enough.

[Nageku]

Control was not something you would expect from the rowdy and violent bunch that made up the stone bodied people, but they did show some level of skill when it came to earth. It was their heritage that gave them a deeper understanding of rock and dirt, compacting the world into a solid living form that called itself human. It was quite astounding for how little the Yamakira did not care for intricacies, and it showed in how crude their hijutsu truly was. Hefting a massive nine foot tall boulder with him to where his brother should of been, Nageku struggled a bit under the weight of the stone. This would be his last statue for a time as he needed to actually focus for once on a seperate matter. Stomping his way through the compound had gotten him a few jeers from older members, and a bit of an agitated mood as his brother played hard to find. "Rubi! Where are ya you moron!" Nageku would yell as he reached one of the higher areas of the compound. He had searched their normal spots, but found nothing. Why was his brother already in a new place without mentioning it? He didn't actually know. Eventually coming to one of the oddly flat areas of the compound he finally found the bastard working on something. A grumble would sound his appearance, but he would keep himself restrained. Nageku had better things to do than lose his temper at his idiot brother. Like digging into this massive boulder for the glorious statue of him that laid in waiting... perhaps he could push chakra into it during creation? He would have to see.

[Deleted]

It was hard to describe the way compacting his body even more while also remaining in a shape functional to life worked. Some of it was natural, and yet - a full workout as he kept his hands to the the wall. Such was the function of his efforts and use of chakra, compressing everything between him and ... well. Him. He took his hands off, and where he had - the imprints had been left, but little bits of splintered rock would come flying from his hands, as the shape was not taking to his body and his form. All in all, just another day's work. Hotarubi followed the source of the noise vaguely moving around the area and past the - ah. There he was. There his brother was, likeness and all mirrored with a boulder bigger than he. God, he loved being a Yamakira. Stone - what a powerful element. "What." Hotarubi crossed his arms. This looked like it was about to be another sculpting session. "Nah, I'm not - fuck out of here. Go get a mirror if you want to admire yourself in rock form again." as he spoke his monotonous voice rasped with some intonation, displeasure evident on his face. Why should he have to waste his own potential in favour of his brothers? Hotarubi couldn't be there to babysit him.

[Nageku]

"Oi, Gravel-Brain did I say I needed your ugly ass to help me out? No, no I didn't. You just happen to know the best spots to not get bothered, and I will damn well intrude as I damn well please. Got it?" Nageku would immediately insert towards his brother with rather obscene gestures to match his already agitated speech. He didn't care if his brother wanted him present, his brother was not the important one here. That was entirely Naga, and only Naga. "Focus on your training shithead, I'm just here cause I know you won't bitch at my for the entire duration of my working. Unless your going to, then I will gladly make sure you understand why you absolutely shouldn't do that, yeah?" The older of the twins would follow up in a calm voice, with the end having a glint of battle lust in it as it was a very thinly veiled provocation. If Hotarubi knew well enough though, Naga was not actually looking for a fight. Turning his back to Rubs entirely the Yamakira would begin to really observe the stone in front of him. He had figured out the reason for his previous mistake in breaking the statue he had made last time had been purely due to his lack of distribution... despite the fact that that was entirely an excuse and he had gladly used it as a reason to break it over someone's head. It was just an observation over all. Honestly he wasn't entirely sure about the usage of these statues would be as he wanted, but if he could move his own body of stone, then he could make other stone move to his will. He was almost sure of it.

[Deleted]

Good, good. Hotarubi was pleased that he had at least stood up for himself, in spite of Nageku's rather obscene gestures he did not do it back, he didn't fancy fighting and didn't fancy sitting there having to regenerate at this point in time, lest he lost all of his progress. His body was tight, the work was working - he felt like a spring of rock, every movement in him seemed to produce sound of screeching, rock against rock and pebble against pebble. "Alright then," at least they were in agreeance for once, working around one another. Hotarubi didn't actually mind being around Nageku - they were brothers and when they did get on, it was like a house on fire riffing off one another. "Mmh." He grunted in response, deferring to Nageku. He turned his back to the brother - trying to focus once again. But it was broken, and he huffed in rejection of the training. He could reset himself in due course, but at least he could get the low down from his brother in the mean time. "What's new?" He asked the brother, if anything had gone on. Hotarubi finally took the time to admire the boulder that Nageku was using. "Nice boulder." he regarded about the boulder. It had a good frame, and even they as bone heads (or earth heads?) could appreciate the raw nature of earth. Hotarubi would go over to it, inspecting it. "Good boulder."

[Nageku]

Nageku would resist the strong urge to grind his eyes by rolling them in their granite sockets. He had obviously disturbed his brother enough for the boy to think that bothering him was worth the consequences... of which admittedly there actually weren't any. The teenager physically cracking his neck like he still had a crick in his neck before it slowly started to heal closed again. Glanciing with an odd level of calm for Naga he would reply, "I figured out part of the issue I had last time in the actual sculpting that I had. I may not be able to do anything really usable for the time being though. Get yer ass back to your own practicing... I have to get this right before they'll let me start doing the final courses to graduate unlike you. And I refuse to let you get that far ahead." Nage would swing a backhanded fist with the intention of slaming his brother in the chesh and knocking the heavy dirtbag backwards to rest on his own side of the spot he had found. Taking his hammer and chisel he would start to dig into the actual boulder. He didn't need his brother distracting him just like his brother didn't need him to distract him. The proximity sparked competitive spirits that Naga hated to admit were extremely effective in getting him off his own ass and training. For all that he preferred the kingly life style... nay, emperor's life style Naga needed to grow before he had the kind of ability that others feared in such a manner and his brother was likely the only person he could stomach working with. He needed to catch up soon.

[Deleted]

"You fuck," Hotarubi growled at his brother. "Do that again and I'll break yer hand off." Hotarubi did turn, putting a hand out to stop him from crumpling; Nageku was incredibly powerful on account of their all superior Kekkai Genkai, and he would do well not to forget that - Hotarubi thought to himself about the possibility, but they were there to train, not to fight. "Mm. What was it?" Hotarubi did turn, but kept talking about the issue he was facing - was he going to make a statue of Hotarubi again? Both palms placed against the rocky material, and the change was instant as he began to try and use his doton chakra, with his body making a horrible gritty gravel sound as he tried absorbing the earthen material. Hotarubi wanted to do better than Nageku and what better opportunity than to sit there and prove it to them? Hotarubi could have easily gained size when taking in the material, but no, this was to keep it all contained within the same form. The sound pleased Hotarubi, in their element (quite literally!) "How are you doing with the homework from Matsuda-sensei? It's so fucking boring I could die." They had both been assigned (among the classroom) a three page essay on the merit of chakra in feudal battle scenarios. Why write about a battle? Who wrote about a battle? Hotarubi would much rather battle. "Shitty fucking academics," he ran with his own thoughts as he worked.

[Nageku]

Naga would flip off his brother in short order before he would move to once more digging into the boulder with astonishing speed for all that it was worth. A worth that was nothing now, but sool it would be his granduer, and what was worth more than a priceless statue of a mountain god... or his brother the god of hills or something else. Yeah that was fitting for Hotarubi, god of the Hills, and Naga would rule the mountains. Where he could look down on his brother and his brother could still reasonably look down on the peasants that were worth nothing. As his statue quickly started to take the rough shape of a man towards the topside Rubi would bring up talk on school work of all things. Naga had not needed to taste food for a good time now, but he still got a sour taste in his mouth at the sound of school anything. He was ready for the field and he damn well knew it! He just needed to school to give him the go ahead that was all, "Matsuda is a dick yeah. I plan on breaking this one over his head if its not up to snuff. If he's in the hospital we don't have to turn in homework right?

[Deleted]

He couldn't see his brother - but that didn't mean he couldn't hear him. The sound of rock being scratched against was unlike any other. Rock against rock - it was like trying to carve out the ancient arrowheads made out of flint. "The substitute will take it." It was the logical conclusion, that it would be thrust upon them to have the work done no matter what, even if it included the rest of the class. They were old enough for the field and the academy knew it, they were just making it difficult for the brothers to graduate - why else would they still be stuck there in the academy? Obviously, that didn't make sense. But even still - Hotarubi tried to keep his focus up when coralling the earth around him, and he was growing a bit larger, a bit heavier by the second. It wasn't just one single event; thousands of little events, as small as the pebbles being ground in his being, that would cause him to become the single greatest cataclysmic event the Shinobi nations had ever seen, so much so that he would outshine his brother by the scale of the world. He would become the world. Eventually. "Whatcha makin?" Hotarubi made some conversation as he worked.

[Nageku]

"Your replacement if you don't learn to shut the fuck up and mind your own business soon Rubi," Nageku would threaten as he went back to his work actually needing to concentrate more then he was. His brother was motivation for the soul when he needed him to be, but not in the supportive structuring one would expect from twins. It was competitive rage and motivated push for Naga to perfect what he was on. He was behind and that needed to be changed sooner rather then later if he was honest with himself. The god could not fall beneath the king, the puppeteer below the puppet. If the two wished to take over this land, then they would need to fight Ryo, and he was no ruler that ruled in peace. The old man would never croak if they waited. In responsive fashion, the older Yamakira twin was not allowed weakness, he never had. His ego did not allow, his brother did not allow, his family did not allow, the pride of his people did not allow. Letting out what sounded like rubbing gravel for an exhale the young man went back to chiseling at the stone. Breaking it in the smallest chips in such an oddly quick manner. Precision was not a Yamakira's forte and being able to simply slide the unwanted stone to smooth away the reflection of himself before him. Nage had no issue with actually functionally making something that looked like him with the statue, but the weight needed to be precise, stone was heavy and hard to work with when it was just as brittle as it was maliable. Soon he would manage to complete his stone visage.

[Deleted]

"Yup." Hotarubi shut up. He wasn't sure if Nageku was joking or not. But - he had something to work on. He had barely passed a couple of hundred lbs. It was frustrating to say the least how slow things seemed to be progressing. Though - his thoughts were similar to Nageku's - a power dynamic, a history of power and power that they would rule. Ryu was no different: he ruled as the strongest. There was no alternative: any Kage who won on their virtues that were not power were weak, and needed to be dethroned. This arbitrary thinking was no different to some clans: but mostly different to many clans and it made it so that their way of life was harsher than most. It was their defining characteristic. He did wonder, though, how Nageku's visionary puppet was taking place. Obviously, he knew what it would look like - the more handsome of the two. Hotarubi himself. Though, Nageku would deface it with the horrible lines that separated the two of them. A noise was beginning to be fashioned though as by this point Hotarubi was full on snarling at the wall and gritting his earthen teeth between one another. It was like he had hit a flint deposit: because something was making noise and it was scratchy. "Come on..." The man spoke through gritted teeth.

[Nageku]

The very tattoos Nageku wore were a cause of his brother. Back when Hotarubi was weaker Nageku had at one point saught individualism, but that was simply an excuse out of his lazy logic. He could not abandon half of his power, nor would Hotarubi leave him behind even if Nageku was slower to pick up an entirely new craft. One he thought would benefit them both, even if neither would ever officially say something so cooperative to the other. Using his hand like sand paper to smoothly grind the stone down the half of a face and body of his creation Nageku would grin over at his self... but a thought would hit. Why let a puppet, an unliving lesser version of him and his brother exist. Carving once more into a side of the stone with just his hand, turning the rough stone into a sort of half mask, a warped cold monstrosity taking half the face with a flat stone mask. Looking it over again, he went to try and connect chakra into the creation, something inside of his own body clogging the connection. Probably his own body if he had to guess... an insufferable issue. Opening his mouth he would look over to make a smart remark only to find his brother hard at whatever the hell training he was doint while looking like he was taking a dump in his clothes. Nage probably should of laughed, but something about it pissed him off. Oddly, he would not bother his brother further. Taking his statue he would walk away leaving Hotarubi alone in the alleyway courtyard. He needed to do more.