[Shouki Kumori]

Kirigakure no Sato… the Village Hidden In The Mist… it wasn’t defined by strong, clashing waves of sea and foam beating against the rocks of the beach.

Neither was it defined by the blood of outsiders, each fighting for survival, might, territory or grudge.

What made his village stand out was its independence from the rest of the world. Its pride like that of a solitary donkey, knowing very well how docile it can be, and yet a harbinger of death and destruction to any hound approaching its area. Ask the foam in the seas around the Land of Water – they had a lot of stories to tell.

Kumori had returned home to Kirigakure after years of service in the secret operations intertwined with the raging fires of war on the mainland so far, far away. A mere young age of 32, not exactly senile but not exactly green… far from green. War shed away the remaining softness on his facial features, transforming the once weak Bukijutsu specialist into a walking murder machine.

…

"Ohhh! Wait, he’s from out there! I know him – Inmaru told me about him-"
"SHH! Mum told me not to talk to them…”

A couple of kids pulled back a rather curious one. It seemed that it was no secret to the populace that their shinobi were, in one way or another, affiliated with the war. Kumori had even garnered himself a bit of a reputation, since a lot of Kiri-nin were referred to world-wide as ‘retreat on sight’ by enemy nations.

This made many people back at home be wary of him. They were just afraid of the power he possessed… or so he thought. Bear it no mind, Kumori. Soon, fear would turn into pride. For now, occupy yourself with finding an open teahouse.

"Is… is that one of them?”
"I know him! He’s from the Shouki clan- SHHH! Don’t get close to him…”
"Wait, why? I met him at the Academy – he lectured us in Bukijutsu that one tim-"
"What if he accidently poisons you? I said come back here!”
"Haven’t their numbers began to dwindle lately? What’s up with that? I rarely see Shoukis around nowadays…”
"Beats me. You reckon they accidently poison themselves to death?”
"H-Hey! He can hear you…!”

Civilians had no business talking this much shit about his clan, okay? The innocence of kids, he could handle – paranoia? Fuck off. A mere glance from him emptied the street of nosey people… but some were braver than most.

[Kuronmeru Yuuto]

Yuuto was already in a terrible mood.

He was walking in the business district, his outer robe floating behind him as he had his stereotypical disgruntled look on his face. He was tired of the treatment his team was getting, only receiving supply missions or something simplistic - and all of that was incredibly below his skills and his name. After his third supply mission, he had thrown an absolute fit and had to be hauled back to the village by his mentor. He still wasn't speaking to him.

As he was walking past, not with a particular direction in mind, his unfocused eyes caught sight of someone he remembered briefly from his academy time. He'd spoken on bukijutsu, and he had a particular look to him.

Yuuto had no fear. His mood was turned suddenly with the idea of actually being able to speak to someone that had seen real time, real battles, real enemies to their village and to the Kuronmeru clan.

"Shinobi." He called, looking right at him with that blank stare as he started walking right towards him.

"Shinobi. Did you come from from war?" He knew that their best were sent out far and away to defend the village, so it sounded like. But he wanted to do more. He wanted to know more, so he could argue for his better use.

[Shouki Kumori]

Given how empty the street was, when one particular voice called out to a ‘shinobi’, it had to be addressing Kumori. But it was direct and demanding, a bit too demanding, especially with a voice still on its way to adulthood- oh, it was a Genin who addressed him. He saw the headband, he saw the lack of a flak jacket, and he saw the youth ebbing away from the boy’s eyes-

Huh… what a peculiar gaze. He looked like he had a problem, either with Kumori for just existing or with existence in general… but not in the self-harming sort of way, but in the more ‘I expected more than this’ type of way. He even withstood Kumori’s Tōki without any issues – special kid.

It was a known fact that shinobi were returning from warfare, so Kumori didn’t have any special confidentiality orders on that fact. "… Yes,” he replied, "Curious, if I may guess? What kid's not curious about war?” He was once a Genin too – now a Chūnin of 14 years, but most of that time was spent internationally, and the Second Mizukage appeared to value the advancements of his Chūnin assets.

So what was this young man curious about? The flames of war? The butchering? The sense of dread and danger at every corner, or the inevitability of death lingering all around you? Or was he a kid who just wanted to become a war hero and be hailed by the masses…?

[Kuronmeru Yuuto]

He looked him over without changing his face, with those strong eyes that were determined to get the answers he needed. He didn't care that he was seen as just some genin, too young and inexperienced to be able to do anything more than run child's errands in his mind.

"I need to know how to get there." He meant less the physically finding where they had been, he meant more of what he needed to do. His hands were in fists underneath his sleeves, his lips were thin and pulled beyond their usual dull tone to the tenseness in his cheeks.

"I am more than well equipped to be helpful to the cause. The council is less than interested in speaking to me, and my mentor will not listen to my plans. How were you chosen to go to the front lines over someone as useful as myself?" He didn't speak to the man like he was clearly his senior in more ways than one. He saw himself as higher on the food chain regardless of age or status within the village. He didn't know how his words might be rude to another, or especially a stranger in truth.

[Shouki Kumori]

Huh… an awfully eager one. Listen, war might’ve still sounded cool and awesome to young kids like him, but… the lad was clearly in his teens. He wasn’t a toddler in grandeur – he was a shinobi, too. At the same time, nothing in his eyes spoke of grandeur – looking at Yuuto’s pupils brought nothing but a gritting sense of animosity. He looked ready to fight at any moment.

Sharp kid…

Still, a very weird question – why the Chūnin and not the Genin? The boy thought himself useful compared to the Shouki in front of him, and that was barefooted retardation. Kumori couldn’t sugar-coat it in his head – that was just a dumb take. Wherever this kid came from, disrespect like that was lethal.

… Yeah, sure, whatever Kumori, beat up the next kid you see, huh? Soooooooooo helpful for mighty Kirigakure, eh? You were the adult, idiot – that meant you knew better ways to straighten lost kids out. Let’s cut to the case – this kid thought himself better than him? Only one way to clarify that.

"How were you chosen to go to the front lines over someone as useful as myself?"

"Because you haven’t mastered Sekken.”

A rather… random answer from Kumori. Sekken was an ancient Taijutsu school originating from this here haven of killing arts. The Severing Fist meant that Kumori carrying a sword was meant to lead enemies into a false hope in knowing his skillset, and he’d honestly taken pleasure in surprising them with a sword they didn’t expect.

"… Pft, obviously there are other issues you may need to work with, brat,” he decided to lay things clear for the confused Genin, "But if you master Sekken, then maybe that’ll be your argument against the council.” He was testing the boy’s patience first – would he show interest in a whole school of martial arts, or would he just throw another worthless tantrum and maybe sob and sulk a little more?

What was Yuuto really made of?

[Kuronmeru Yuuto]

Yuuto wasn't used to this kind of response from anyone. Did he not know who he was? He was a beacon of the exact look of their clan. To suggest a Kuronmeru learn something as lowbrow as a taijutsu, when their kekkei genkai was far superior to any other jutsu within the village. His eyes narrowed as he stood his ground, realizing that he was being looked down on again, just like everyone else in power had been looking down on him because of his age, because of his standing in the village, when he knew without fail that he could be highly useful on the front.

"I have no use for something like that. My kekkei genkai is much more useful on a front than another taijutsu. Do you not know anything about Kuronmeru skills, shinobi? Brat isn't the word you should use for someone such as myself." He made sure to sound almost affronted, that he wasn't being treated with the respect necessary for his kind. They were still burgeoning, but they were in higher standing than this man was treating him in his mind.

[Shouki Kumori]

Seriously? Kumori gave them the swiftest way out of a problem, a self-imposed problem to be exact, that required little time for a self-absorbed, self-proclaimed prodigy such as the utter brat in front of him. His blood was treated like a damn pacifier – as if he couldn’t last a second without it… as if he… as if he was powerless without the gift of Kuronmeru heritage.

"Your Kekkei Genkai is useful on the front, but… are you?” Kumori retorted at the younger shinobi, "From my standing, you’d be killed in a month. Then the higher-ups would have to go fetch a far more skilled member of your clan to continue where the Genin failed… but that’s not what you want, is it?”

This guy… he could boast of his Kekkei Genkai all day – he wasn’t the only member of the Kuronmeru clan, and he likely wasn’t even the most skilled of their peers. "Black blood… the callsign of any Kuronmeru. You may find it insulting – I bet you do – but our clans, the Kuronmeru and the Shouki, have more in common than meets the eye.” He wasn’t waffling – manipulating the blood liquids in your body as a tool, and manipulating stores of poison in your vessel, could both perform the same tasks. It gave Yuuto insight that Kumori had either experienced that Kekkei Genkai himself, or that he'd gathered intel.

"You can’t… possibly be satisfied with the bare minimum? Would Kirigakure still stand, should every clan stick to only what they deemed their own creations? Their own pride and work? Willingly handicapping yourself when all the skills and techniques in the world are open to you… it sounds like hell for any self-respecting shinobi. Whether you’re some snob, a generational prodigy, or Lord Mizukage himself. Are you sure that thought process isn’t what’s prevented you from becoming a Chūnin yet?”

[Kuronmeru Yuuto]

His words felt like a direct disrespect to Yuuto's skill. To suggest he wasn't worthy. How would this brute know his skill, his capabilities, just from a conversation in the street? He knew he could fight circles around their enemy, that his skills were sharper than most shinobi that lived. His clan was created for this, made for the purpose of fighting without anything but what they had in their bodies.

But the end of his commentary... though Yuuto was very set in his ways, proud of his kind, his people, his own heavily trained skill, the way Kumori had worded his thoughts made him think further on how to better himself. But he'd never, never admit that. Never to another soul, especially not this man.

"What did you do to complete your exam, shinobi. How did you become a Chūnin." Change the subject. Take the information and make it something he could use. Every exam was different, but they had different expectations.

"If they will not send me to war now, I will show them my use and convince them otherwise. If they will not send a Genin, I will make myself a Chūnin now."

[Shouki Kumori]

Kumori sure had to walk on eggs with this kid. It was a bit of a surprise to be asked about his exam at this particular moment – he thought he’d have been asked a bit earlier – but if he wanted some good pointers, then who was he to deny him that?

It required thinking back… Kumori was a physically imposing 18-year old Genin. Kunais and shuriken were second-nature to his steel hands, which were able to wield a myriad of different weapons. He’d watched many of his weapons break at the hands of a Kaguya Genin’s own bone creations – all harder than steel, which left Kumori with only his katana at the end. His intellect had allowed him to wear the opponent’s chakra down, since he was growing bone weapons out of his body for several minutes straight. Kumori’s great offense, not leaving any openings, and figuring out the opponent’s lack of expertise with Genjutsu…

He wore the Genin down, despite only having one weapon left. Kumori’s chakra proved higher than his, but… Kumori had sustained a cut down his chest. His blood… was his last resort. He rubbed it onto his blade, and then he slashed out… killing the Genin.

…

"I treated my Hijutsu… as a last option,” Kumori explained, "I was angry… my life’s worth had been determined by how much poison was in my body. In a way, I was like you – my sheer, stubborn pride was just aimed at myself, and not my clan. I was more than just a poison bomb – I wanted to show them that no matter what clan I could’ve ever been born into, I would win. I will… always win. A Shouki will have nothing left once they lose their blood, but if you take my blood away, I still have a thousand other ways to kill you.”

Kumori began walking, but his body language prompted and invited Yuuto to follow, should the boy be able to swallow his pride OR still be curious enough about Kumori’s methods. "I used my Hijutsu at the right moment. It was easy reading my opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and I exploited it all ‘till the last drop. And then… he died. They liked my expansive arsenal, and my prior leadership with my Genin team. I proved to be a shinobi who could be entrusted with many secrets and valuables…”