[IC] Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

[Hillan]

Theme for the post.

Sebaru Markor

Sebaru had changed his clothes as the funeral would start. He had moved down to the ceremony, standing at the little stage, in the middle of the two open coffins, showing the faces of the two fallen heroes. Hirorama having a few cuts on his face, and Rei was burned on her neck. Sebaru didn't want to look at them, they were both broken. Defeated, and their essence was gone. It saddened Sebaru greatly to see his oldest friends like that, as he knew them very well as strong and beautiful people. They had helped him find the way to greatness so many times before.

People had gathered at the ceremony. Virtually every shinobi and every civilian were gathered. The ANBU were patrolling the borders of the village, keeping their eyes out for anything out of the ordinary. Sebaru wore a dim-Grey formal kimono, with a black band on his left arm. He didn't wear his forehead protector, but just a black-bandanna on his forehead. He looked tired. His eyes looked a bit red, and he had black spots under his eyes, as if he had been crying. The people were all in shock, everyone had red eyes from crying and looked incredibly tired. The people of the village were all hit by the tragedy.

Today, the people of the Hidden Rock didn't forget the first rule of being a shinobi, they ignored it. Today was a day of emotion, a day of loss and grief.
The rain gently drizzled over them as he walked over to the speaker-booth. Using a simple Ninjutsu, he increased the volume of his voice, so that everyone could hear him as he would start to speak.

” We.. Are here today to pay our last respects to two of our greatest heroes. Rei and Hirorama, the oldest of our Guardians, and my best friends. They gave this village everything, they sacrificed everything, and in the end they also sacrificed their lives. ..” Sebaru began as he cleared his throat. ” They are the martyrs of all the loss this village have ever, and will have to endure. They are the monument of the pain that our village has suffered. All the lives lost to battle and to chaos. They lost their lives saving innocent lives in an enemy country. They died protecting people who, given the chance, wouldn't have hesitated for a second to stab them in the back. That is what I believe is what puts us, Iwagakure Shinobi apart from the rest of the world. We are willing to help anyone in need, regardless of the marking on their headband, or where they are born or raised.” Sebaru finished as he took a breath. A single tear rolling down his chin.

“ For. Even in all this pain and loss, there is always light. As all nights, this night will have a dawn. And that dawn is the beginning of the legend of the new Granite Guard. There are new genin who each have been handpicked by myself to be trained by the remaining members of the Granite Guard, to bring forth the new generation of this village.” Sebaru said as he turned to the caskets, inside of which the Guardians rested. “ Rei, Hirorama. May you rest in peace.” He said as he gently pulled down the open parts of the coffins, covering them as he stomped his feet and two monuments made out of earth shot up from the ground, enclosing around both of them. Sebaru took two steps backwards, as he made two more handseals, getting out from the middle of them, and with one swipe of his hand, the two monuments became one.

“ This monument stands for Hirorama's and Rei's love not only for each other, but for the village and all the people in it. This monument stands here to remind us that even in darkness, there will be light. Go forth, proud people of Iwagakure. We will get back up onto our feet, no matter what happens, we are the people who never give up, who never back down!”He said as he bowed before the monument, and as he did, so did everyone else in the crowd. He dispelled the ninjutsu, and the ceremony would be over. He had a village to run.

***

Hiruzen Dartan

Along with the other Granite Guardians, he carried the caskets of his fallen comrades, Hiruzen wore a black shirt under his brown coat, he did not wear his forehead protector, instead he wore a simple cap on his head, the front of the cap covering his eyes. Like all the others he had the black band around his arm. He helped carry Rei's casket, as he had the strongest connection to her. She had always been like a big sister to Hiruzen, helped him understand people, and always forced him to live his life, instead of just sit around and read his books. She was hard on him, but she only had kindness in her heart.

Hiruzen put down the casket along with his fellow Guards on the podium where their funeral was taking place, putting the picture with Rei's beautiful face onto her casket, for the entire world to see. Flowers and the like being put around them. Hiruzen let out a sigh as the rain started to fall. He had to be strong, for Rei and for the people. He was the one so many Shinobi counted on to be able to handle their problems, he couldn't show that he was just as crushed as everyone else.

As Sebaru walked out of his areas, towards the ceremony, Hiruzen took his place on the back of the podium, with all of the other Guardians, facing the people and standing behind their leader. As Sebaru started his speech, Hiruzen kept looking out, keeping himself calm, breaking down every emotional feeling he had into what he knew, science. He explained to himself how the feelings he felt was nothing more but electrical impulses that he could control, and harness. That his mind was the master of his feelings, and that he had to be strong. He thought over what parts of the brain it was that were active right now, why people connects crying to sadness, and sadness to death, while still listening to the speech.

Right, the genin.. We're supposed to teach them, just like Sebaru, Rei and Hirorama did us.. Hiruzen thought to himself, and before he was done with his thought proccess, Sebaru had finished his speech, and Hiruzen found himself drying a couple of tears off of his cheeks, after all.

***

Hayashi Junnimaru.

Hayashi had been at the ceremony. Even if he hadn't been in the crowd. He sat up on a branch, he leaned against the tree as he watched the ceremony and listened to Sebaru's words. And he felt for Sebaru. For all of the villagers. He knew Rei and Hirorama. Hirorama had helped him practice his transformation technique, and even helped him better understand how chakra works back when Hayashi were in the academy and just a brat.

He were older now, stronger. More mature. He looked at Sebaru, and at the open caskets. He didn't cry, he didn't even feel sad. But then he caught sight of the tear running down Sebaru's face, leaving the Tsuchikage's chin, and falling down to the ground. As the tear hit the cold ground in between the caskets, it all came down on Hayashi. He began crying like a baby, tears running down his cheeks, he felt as if he had gotten sucker-punched as the void in his stomach grew. He sobbed as the tears kept running down his cheeks.

Even if the two Guardsmen hadn't been his friends, even if he only really knew them by what he had heard, it was the sorrow overall that got him. To see the strongest man Hayashi knew or had ever heard of cry as he buried his best friends, there were something that got even this proud and cocky shinobi to break down and feel sorry. Hayashi kept on sobbing as he looked over at the black band around his arm. They really were gone.

Yet, a light lit inside of him. I'll bring honor to their deaths.. I will become a member of the guard, for sure.

[Res]

Kariru Tsuyo

The sunlight gently caressed Kariru’s face, reminding her that today she didn’t have time to be moping around in a drunken stupor, no today she had to go put her friends in the ground. She put on the nicest clothes she had, packed a small canister in her jacket pocket, Rei had given it to her to make her drinking problems more easily managed. She placed it gently in the inside pocket of her jacket and tightened her headband around her thigh and left her house.

Kariru was the medical ninja on point on the mission with Rei and Hiromara and she had failed. Kariru liked funerals like a fish liked dry land. She was one of the casket carriers as a member of the Granite Guard, the oldest living member, now. She looked out towards the crowd, at each man and woman, some smaller children, Kariru recognized most of them as the new academy graduates that they were to begin to teach. Kariru, along with the other guards gentle placed each coffin down; Kariru shot Kami a sympathetic gaze as she knew with his social anxiety this must’ve been even worse for him. She took out her flask that Rei had given her, lightly placing it upon Rei’s lapel, returning it.

“Thank you, Rei.” Kariru said forcing the words through her rough throat. She stood respectfully afterwards behind the caskets, first row of the audience as the Tsuchikage said his peace about his two old friends. Kariru sat, very properly, something she never did. She had the utmost respect for the two Shinobi that had passed here today and there was nothing anyone was going to tell her that would change her mind. She felt a small wetness streaking down her cheek, but she didn’t move it. She let the entire village see, because this wasn’t what the first rule of Shinobi was about. You don’t let your opponent find out you’re human, you make them think you’re a tool for killing. But there was no opponent today, there was hardly even a war, there was just sadness.

******

Ayumi Hozuki

Ayumi sat as far forward as she could manage to get in the funeral. She wanted the utmost image of what this village had lost, because for her, it was her new home. She listened passionately to the Tsuchikage’s speech. Finally, the remaining members of the Granite Guard entered carrying the coffin’s with their deceased partners. The Granite Guard that she would one day be a part of all looked solemn. She could recognize individual members, but today, they weren’t Kariru Tsuyo of the Granite Guard or Hiruzen Dartan, they were just: The Granite Guard. For today was not a day of individuality, or self-recognition. Today was a day for the entirety of the village, a day within which we put two of our finest Shinobi in the ground and heavily evaluate our actions.

Ayumi felt someone looking at her through the crowd and noticed she was one of the few people not shedding a tear, simple enough. Ayumi felt a familiar wetness crawl down the side of her face as she glanced down and it fell to her leg. This was her Hydrification Technique. Not the most humble use of it, mind you, but she did it to keep up appearances. She continued to allow herself to lightly cry for the remainder of the funeral, every once in a while wiping her tears from her cheek. But all she could think of was: “I will end this war, as a member of the Granite Guard.”

[Partisan]

Kami Suucho

---

Kami slowly buttoned up the traditional, very dark-black button up kimono styled top. The only thing that was more dark than the top was the black band around his arm, covering his shinobi forehead protector. He turned around and made himself ready to carry the casket to the front, telling himself that his fallen colleagues had earned the right to be avenged. They didn't deserve this. None of them. He glanced at Kariru, a feeling of empathy creeping over him as he realized that she had been the medical shinobi on duty during that mission. She must feel awful.

Kami had offered to go, as well, but was required elsewhere for more pressing matters. But now it seemed like none of that had mattered, as if nothing was more pressing than the death of his fellow Granite Guardsmen. Slowly and subtly he positioned himself next to Hirorama's casket, though the rest of the Guardsmen seemed to be so far into their own world that they barely noticed him. On command, the caskets were lifted and carried into the ceremonial area. A large crowd had gathered to remember these fallen heroes. Kami realized now that he hadn't even dared to look at Hirorama in his casket. He wasn't sure he dared to.

But he did. Death looks terrifying if it's someone you knew, someone that you cared for. His body seemed stiff, white, cold. Kami looked to the front again, trying to surpress the tears. But he wasn't Hiruzen or Saisho -- Shinobi that seemed uncapable of human emotions to Kami, always analyzing their fellow shinobi or fighting them. But it seemed that today even Hiruzen felt some.. remorse for the loss of their companions. Perhaps not shown in tears, but Kami could read it from his face. He was clearly thinking about things that didn't usually trouble him.

The caskets were placed on a podium and Kami took some distance, as he didn't feel like saying or giving the deceased anything. It would've been wrong of him to do so -- there were others more hurt by their loss. Again he glanced at Kariru, who was now obviously shedding tears. And he glanced at Hiruzen, whom was also shedding a tear or two. A moment long, or perhaps a moment too long, Kami contemplated who was the real victim here. The fallen heroes, who shall be forever remembered. Or those that they left behind, such as Saberu, Kariru and Hiruzen. He shook away the thoughts. It was obvious to everyone that they were both victims, the ones left behind forced to feel like they were supposed to have made it better. Again, he glanced at Kariru. Maybe those feelings were the worst for her.

Saberu's monument turned out to be a beautiful symbolism, something Kami could appreciate. He finished his speech, and bowed before the monument, and as if someone had given the order, everyone bowed at the exact same time, for the exact same length of time it seemed. Almost. Because Kami bowed for a moment longer as he mumbled his thanks to the fallen soldiers of Iwagakure. True sacrifice lies in death, he muttered finally, before finally straightening himself back up again.

After all, nothing else was more valuable than life.

Kanajiro Hanamoto

---

Kanajiro stood amongst the others of his clan -- silent, respectful, mourning. Many had red eyes from the crying, including Kanajiro. As the caskets passed, many bowed their heads and said a few last words for the fallen. Kanajiro spoke softly, stating that the Gods favor those who protect others. He straightened his head and watched the caskets being put on the podium. Somehow, it seemed peaceful, as if they were finally resting from a life of death, blood and murder. Perhaps they were. Only they themselves would know.

The Tsuchikage spoke words of people that would stab the two Granite Guardsmen in the back, of them being Martyrs of everything the village would endure. And none could deny that the Tsuchikage was right when he said this -- Hirorama and Rei were truly amazing Shinobi who had given all they had to the village and expected nothing back. Kanajiro had had the opportunity to train with Hirorama once, and had spoken with Rei at another point in time. From both those moments it became clear that they were a class above most shinobi, something better and more pure.

And yet, they lay here, in a casket, in a monument. Slain by the enemy, nothing to do about it. Word of the mission had spread through the village quickly. They were dead, lost to the blade of some no-name foe, a lucky shinobi who would be perceived as a hero by their village. It was funny that whenever a hero dies, another rises somewhere else. Likely they had a ceremony right now, too, in the name of 'the Granite Killer.' A war hero they'd call him, while here Iwagakure stood -- burying their sister and brother, their companions and friends, their heroes.

He bowed like the others when the Tsuchikage did, then left for home once the ceremony was over. His body ached, and he wanted to be alone. The group of Hanamoto's dispersed, leaving at the same time together, but heading for different directions after that.

[Enarr]

Minoru Maki

Watching the funeral processions from atop a nearby stone, Minoru let out a puff from deep within his lungs. Just a deep breath. Despite the fact that he knew next to nothing about the departed, he felt his bones grow cold when he thought about their sacrifice. Of course it's the honorable thing to do, laying down your life for others, but he was forced to wonder what they were like when they were among the living. Too late to find out now, he confessed inwardly.

He felt like he'd missed a grand opportunity. Now, even if he wanted to, he could never know this pair of heroes. He held an arrowhead in his hand, not to harm anyone on an occasion already so grim, but just to make himself not feel empty. Watching the tears stream down the faces of others was touching, and a bit inspiring. He looked at the other genin scattered around the area. Some were crying, some were stoic, and others simply seemed a bit lost.

"I promise..," he muttered, "I promise.. that I will value every shinobi I meet in my lifetime." Who knows if one day I'll be the one carrying that casket, and it's one of my friends who have gone cold.

[World Traveler]

Yeohaeng Byeog
It was a widely known fact that funerals made people uncomfortable doubly so when the person who died was loved by many. The sober atmosphere was matched by Yeo's body language. The mournful look he held was more out of respect then personal loss. Unlike most in the village Yeo was a relatively new member. Having only arrived in the village six months ago. He had found the sense of calm surrounding the village welcoming and the fact that its ninja academy had welcomed him made the decision to remain an easy one to make. With the village being called home for such a short period of time he knew little about those being laid to rest this solemn day.

Yeo had positioned himself near the back of the crowd to let those more affected by the shinobi deaths to get closer. Since the procession had only just started he knew it would be some time before the caskets crossed his gaze. Instead he found his eyes wandering this way and that like they often do when he is confronted with waiting. As he looked over the crowd Yeo spotted a classmate of his, Minoru Maki, was perched above the road on a large rock giving him wide view. The self awareness of the advantageous spot was a well known trait of Maki's. It took three flicker steps for Yeo to arrive on the rock next to his schoolmate just as he heard the words in my lifetime.

"Hopefully it will be a long one." Yep said casually. He felt more comfortable next to Maki, as the two were both newcomers to the village. As such the feeling of being outsiders was more pronounced then normal. Maki's distance from the procession seemed more of an example of normal behaviour then respect like Yeo's. He looked over at the bow that rested on the back of Maki's back and felt the urge to strum the string. He fought through this and instead looked down at the arrowhead in the boys hand. The silence had been expected down by the crowd, but with it only being him and Maki it seemed more damning than anything.

"Seems the whole village is in a state of stupor." Yeo mused aloud. It wasn't meant to draw a conversation or even a response. Just an observation of the stage below the two. "They said they are going to be posting the teams from our class later. Any idea where your going to be placed?" This question was meant as a conversation starter. During their time at academy Maki and Yeo had been paired off for several practice assignments as well as after school training outside of school regulated practice. The two got along well enough and had other people in the class been asked most would have likely partnered the two together. Still Yeo didn't really see that as his history had him constantly seeing him as the outsider in any community.

[Masaki Haruna]

Kyou Hasegawa

Always fashionably late for such dramatic and important occasions, a funeral of all things, all due to respect Kyou attended 10 minutes late having to work extra at a flower shop, at the same time she brought set of flowers for the honorable fallen Shinobis. What's not to give an excuse for being late? Kyou understood the meaning of passing on, today's feeling is akin/similar to how her mother died but with even more sadness, what's sad is countless strangers are willing to sacrifice themselves for their country. It felt sad despite not knowing them, she shed a tear and walked away. Then she noticed a girl just finishing her quote, a quote that feels like a child's pipe dream but a dream that every ninja wishes to accomplish.

She approached that girl, not so familiar with her but she could feel. "The feeling is mutual, Blondie. I too want to end this war."

[Enarr]

Minoru Maki

Feeling himself choke a little bit on his own words, Minoru cleared his throat and scooted over a little when he was joined by Yeo. The chills he'd been feeling subsided as he felt the emotional warmth of companionship. Despite the fact that he hadn't known Yeo too long at all, nor any of the others for that matter, he felt a special connection to Yeo. Despite their vast differences in background and ability, Min considered Yeo his equal. The two shared very little common ground on paper, but in practice they evidently meshed quite well. It was that common ground that Min dependably chose to look for.

"Hmm.." Minoru grumbled, taking one hand away from his arrowhead to scratch the back of his neck. "I honestly have no idea who I'll end up with. Who knows? I might get lucky and get Kyou. As long as it isn't Mitsuru, I'll be fine. The last thing I need is to be ignored while we're fighting an enemy ninja or retrieving a stolen valuable." Honestly, the first time he saw her, Minoru thought thay Mitsuru was adorable, but it took all of five seconds for him to get over that. "I dunno, though. Who do you think you'll end up with?"

Still with a hushed tone, respectful of the ceremony in progress, Minoru said, "Speak of the devil. It's Kyou. She's got flowers." He raised his hand with the arrowhead and pointed it's tip in her direction, "See? Right over there." Min smiled intensely, flashing a grin and looking to the sky as if daring it to rain on his parade. But then he remembered where he was, hiding away his smile and stuffing the arrowhead into one of his pockets.

[Double]

The Funeral

Yep, this day was pretty crappy alright. Hiroto, at the beginning of the ceremony, had stood alongside his teacher and mentor, Master Satsuma. For a ninja, Satsuma was awfully brutish in appearance, being a man of fairly large size and arms like pythons. The man stood there in stoic silence, arms crossed and eyes closed tight. No one knew why he was seemingly refusing to open his eyes, but Hiroto had a theory. The boy was convinced that the reason his mentor wouldn't open his eyes was because if he did, Master Satsuma would reveal the tears in his eyes, and for a man who is supposed to represent the sheer strength of Iwagakure, showing his tears might lower morale or something. Of course, that was just a theory, and one Hiroto dared not suggest aloud, not when he knew his master would likely beat the snot out of him for it. As the funeral progressed, and the Tsuchikage spoke his words, Hiroto began rubbing the muscles in his arms. They were pretty sore from the morning's training session. Yes, even on the day of the funeral, Master Satsuma made him train. In fact, Hiroto had to wear his bandages to the funeral, to hide the cuts and bruises that commonly formed when routinely punching training dummies made of wood, straw or (in Hiroto's case) stone. So yeah, this day sucked. The funeral was somber and depressing, and Hiroto's body felt like it was made of jelly.

Early Morning

"Hmph, at last some improvement. Again!" barked Satsuma at Hiroto at their morning training. For this session, Hiroto was practicing against hanging dummies that were swinging at him from all directions at random intervals. Generally, the boy would last a few precious moments before one of the dummies caught him off guard and knocked him square on the ground, but he was managing to last a little bit longer with each attempt.

"Geez, only you would keep training even on the funeral day." complained Hiroto. It was true. Most, if not all, the other ninja in the village, had been given the day off for the sake of the funeral that would take place later. Not Hiroto. Nooooo, Master Satsuma basically dragged him out of bed before sunrise as usual and out onto the training ground. They were literally the only ninja using it that morning, or likely for the whole day for that matter. When Satsuma only raised an eyebrow and glared as a response, Hiroto immediately shut up and resumed his exercises.

"Hmm, recite the creed." said Satsuma bluntly, having had enough experience with Hiroto to not let the boy's behavior get under his skin too much.

Hiroto sighed, "Everything it takes, everything's a thre-" Satsuma's sudden kick into Hiroto's side caught him off guard, the man's strength literally sent him flying a few feet before hitting the ground. Hiroto, seemingly unfazed by this, staggered to his feet and glared at Satsuma, "What the hell was that for?"

"A reminder that the second half of the creed is just as important as the first. Anything overlooked can turn out to be your undoing. Comrades, too, can become a threat given the right circumstances, and you have to be prepared to deal with that, unless dying happens to be on your to-do list. Now, start again!"

The Funeral

Hiroto felt his side and winced. Sure, Master Satsuma needed to make his point, but did he have to do it so damn hard? Everything's a threat, huh? Thought Hiroto to himself as he saw the caskets pass by. Seeing Masters Rei and Hirorama like they were, it hit him harder than he expected. He'd only known their names and the stories of a few of their exploits, and yet it still somehow felt like losing a family member. Was this what he meant by "Everything"? That even something like pain and sorrow could threaten to be one's undoing in the end? If so, Hiroto now knew the real reason why Satsuma wouldn't look at the caskets, and Hiroto now tried to do the same. He crossed his arms, closing his eyes in an attempt to be as stoic as his teacher, to not cry.

...He failed.

[Double]

[double post fail]

[DaDrummer676]

Hagashi, Reiji - Funeral

The sky was dark that day, and the land around Iwagakure fell silent. It was as if the environment itself did not want to feel happiness, for today was a day of mourning. Light thunder finally rumbled in the distance, a storm was coming. Reiji Higashi stood away from the crowded ninja, and paid his respects to his fellow people in silence. The sadness was palpable, even the strong Kage was shedding tears. Reiji let one tear fall, but refused to let the sadness overtake him. The young prince wore dark clothing, and took off his headband as a sign of respect. Out of all days to have this funeral, why did it have to be on one that was supposed to be of rejoice?

The bright side of this day was that he was no longer an academy student! As of today he was a Genin and his ninja journey would begin! Ahead of him was a hopefully bright future and secure place in his clan. The young Genin saw a few of his academy companions watching the funeral proceedings from a tree nearby. Reiji flickered over to them, landing on the branch quietly, he recognized Yeo and Minoru. Both were O.K. guys, and he respected their abilities. He hoped to see what they could really do once training began. He stayed silent, listening to their conversation, watching the funeral glumly. Finally he decided to pipe in with his two cents. "Today sucks." Yup, that pretty much summed up the outgoing Reiji Higashi.

[World Traveler]

Yeo was not the best at reading people, but Maki didn't make it hard to figure out his thoughts on their classmate Kyou. Never one to judge or faultier hope he simply nodded along as his friend mused. He looked where he pointed and spotted Kyou. He also mused over the question that had been thrown back to him about who he might be partnered up with. The question had plagued his thoughts for some time. He got along with everyone well enough, but he didn't feel any true companionship with them outside of Maki.

[Double]

[fail fail faily fail fail]

[Double]

[ugh, another double post fail. ugh. did I mention ugh?]

[Res]

Kyoko Akiyama

Kyoko didn’t sleep that night. The entire night, she just laid out in the center of her bed, her hair covering her eyes and her past covering the night. She did try not to have flashbacks to when she fought that Uchiha woman in the cave, with her team, but she couldn’t help it. The doctors had told her that it would be unhealthy for her to think about and could seriously impact her mental health, but there wasn’t much she could do to just turn off her thoughts. Instead, she only drew more and more parallels of her comrades, past and present.

She had been lying in her bed since sunset the night before and it must’ve been midnight by the time she decided to go for a walk. This didn’t end any better as she just aimlessly wandered the roads until the sun rose up from the horizon. This was her signal to take herself back home and make herself look presentable. She tied her hair back, but left her right bangs so that it covered her Sharingan nicely, she didn’t want it poking out down a funeral, that wouldn’t be decent at all. She put on her only black dress that she wore on the worst occasions and got ready to go for what was probably going to be the worst day of the year, if not this decade.

Along with the other members of the Granite Guard, Kyoko carried the casket. She just stared at Hiruzen’s back following him while carrying the casket. She dared not look out towards the people of the village, because she loved them too much to let them know how much this hurt. Like a parent going through a rough time, Kyoko refused to let the village in to the Granite Guard’s suffering, it was a time of war, not pity. If she wanted pity she’d talk to her mother.

But instead, after taking her seat and sitting beside some of the other Granite Guard members she watched intently as Hiruzen made his speech, each sentence more empowering than the last. He had a way of inspiring people by reminding them that they were a people, not a person. They were not a single autonomous unit, they were a village of people all willing to help one another. That would be even more important in the next few months of war.

[Hillan]

Sebaru Markor

Sebaru had motioned for the Guards to all meet him in his quarters after the funeral for their briefing of the time that would come. Things were about to change, change sure was necessary right now. Sebaru walked into his quarters while the Guardsmen were all still saying their goodbyes to the departed. Sebaru had dried his tears, and was changing out of his kimono, into his regular clothes, his black robe and matching linen pants, putting his forehead protector firmly onto his head, and with the protector, he also put in a tri-shaped piece of crystal that was attached to a pin that went in between his headband and his forehead, marking that he was the leader of the village, and a symbol of his undeniable power. And now it reminded him of his friend who had given it to him, more than twenty years ago, Hirorama had made it out of a piece of charcoal that he had applied such amounts of pressure to, using his special style of earth release to turn it into diamond and then given it to Sebaru when he was crowned Tsuchikage by the village council.

Sebaru was yanked out of his thoughts by the pressence of the remaining Guardsmen on his doorstep, on their way into his quarters, a fairly big room, looking similar to a dojo, as that was what it used to be. Sebaru motioned for all of them to line up in front of him in the spacious room. "Like I said out there. Today is a dark day. We lost two of our greatest assets today. Our friends, loved and respected by all. The oldest members of the Granite Guard have been laid to rest, and it's now up to you to fill the void made by Rei and Hirorama. It's not an easy task, I'm afraid. The other villages know full well that you are weaker now than before, and they will surely try and abuse the fact that we lost our Burning Flower and Pulverizer*. For the first time in history you will be given pupils. Kids that will be put under your care to be harnessed into members of Granite Guard-material." Sebaru said, putting his hand behind him, on his desk, getting out a whole bunch of dossiers, walking over to each of the guards, putting the files in their hands. "These are your students. Study up on them, their strengths, their weaknesses, where did they come from and what do they fear? They are young and inexperienced. Tomorrow your training with them starts, so make sure to take the rest of today to rest and grieve your lost. But tomorrow, you will see if these young ones are diamonds in the rough or just regular rocks. Granite Guards, move out." Sebaru told them, as he waved them off, heading back towards his desk.

* Rei and Hirorama's Epithets.

[Partisan]

Kami Suucho - - - meeting the team.

---

Kami bowed before the Tsuchikage after he gave him his files -- he didn't wish to reply any other way as the Tsuchikage was a respectable man and Kami had no wish to disrespect him with his mumbling and stuttering. He simply walked out the door once Sebaru was done, standing outside the room trying to decide what to do first. He looked at Kariru, and smiled at her. “I.. remember going on a mission with you a f-few times, Kariru. B-back when I was a genin and you weren't a Granite Gu-guard yet.” He didn't continue after that and looked at the two closed files in his hand. One said K.H. and the other was labeled A.H. Both were marked in black pen, and had a seal at the top of the file which represented the village symbols.

He opened the first file and read the name. “Kyou?” he said out loud to himself, remembering her from a class he was in once. She was .. energetic. But as far as Kami remembered she was nice enough. She was always into using two swords at once, as a fighting style. It was interesting to say the least. He looked at the second name tag, A.H. He wondered who it was, and opened the seal quickly, taking out the paper. It was Ayumi, someone from the Hozuki clan who possesed the ability to hydrofy herself. The duo would be interesting, but the synergy they'd have was less than obvious. Kami knew enough however so he waved at Kariru, his only 'real friend' and at the rest of the Granite Guard which were present, whom were more like colleagues.

He walked through the town in a calm manner, taking the time to look at the plants, flowers and trees around him as he passed through a park, taking in the rock formation art that many of the villagers practiced as a hobby, and the birds flying through the air. Finally he seemed to be serene, more so than during the funeral. He appeared outside Ayumi's house which looked like it hadn't been taken care of for a long time. Suddenly his serenity dropped, the calmth dissapeared from his face and made place for a more concered look. He inspected the house, looking at the mouldy and almost rotten wooden supports, and into the windows to find a pretty bare appartment. Kami's face seemed slightly more sad now after being reminded that there is more to life than peaceful calm birds.

Kami knocked on the door twice before an older man opened the door, supposedly Ayumi's father. “Yeah, whad'ya want punk. I ain't got all day.” he said within a second of opening the door, seemingly not recognising Kami, who stepped back and was apparently taken aback a bit by this mans response. “H-hello sir.. I'm Kami Suucho. I.. I am A-Ayumi's new s-s-sensei..” he said with a very silent voice, obviously a bit shy. The man squinted his eyes and looked at Kami suspiciously. “Yeah, yeah. I'm the Tsuchikage.. get outta here kid.. you're like 12.”

He wanted to shut the door but Kami quickly set a foot in between the door and the doorpost. “S-sir. It's im-important that I see A-Ayumi.” The man opened the door again and didn't even reply, as if he suddenly stopped caring. He pointed to the backdoor. Kami bowed before him quickly before heading through, passing past a few boxes that had been there for some time already. “Arigato gozaimas, sir.”

As Kami stept through the backdoor into the backyard, he could already hear the sounds of training. Even on a day like this, after a funeral, this girl would train. He'd stand in the doorpost silently, watching her train without saying a word or making a sound, admiring her strength. Then he shook his head back into reality, stepping forward to make sure she noticed him if she hadn't already. He raised his hand and waved before quickly pulling it back. “Kami, idiot, waving at people is for 12 year olds.” he thought to himself. He waited a few seconds before saying anything to Ayumi, due to his nervousness playing up. Why, why at this moment?! “A-Ayumi Hozu-z-zuki.” He tried to speak as confidently as he could, in order to appear like a real sensei. “I am K-Kami Suucho. I'll be y-your new sensei.”

That went well. Kami looked Ayumi in the eyes and sighed loudly, taking a few seconds to think to himself on what to say. He should've done that before going to the backyard. “P-please take this..” he said before handing over a coupon for a luxurious ramen, BBQ and snack restaurant. “G-Go there at f-four PM sharp. P-please d-date with K-K-Kyou, yo-you s-should get to k-know her before we m-meet.”

He stared her dead in the eye for a few seconds more and would start to sweat around the forehead from stress, but then realized how stupid and unconfident he must've looked -- though Ayumi probably already knew what a loser he was from the 3 months he spent in her class before being allowed to skip another class. He turned around quickly and rushed out the door, through the frontdoor and back to the streets before continueing to find Kyou. Likely she'd be somewhere near her fathers shop, so that was where Kami was headed.

He found the shop quick enough -- Kami had seen it a few times when he was walking around -- and entered it. The door rang a bell as he entered, likely alarming Kyou that a 'customer' was here. Kami would wait at the counter for Kyou to appear -- it seemed her father was outside the shop for a bit to run an errant or so. “K-Kyou.. g-good to see you again. L-looks like I'll be your sensei..” he said, somewhat silently and almost whispering. He was referring to the time that they were in a class together, though it was obvious Kami had advanced rather quickly after that, not due to his ability with normal jutsu but his pupetteering skill. He slid the luxurious restaurant coupon onto the counter, as well, considering that she'd have to 'date' her teammate as well. “P-please take this and m-meet Ayumi-c-chan at f-four PM.. y-you need to d-date her and get to k-know her better. A-after all she is your new t-teammate.” He looked around the shop and smiled at Kyou, seemingly feeling somewhat more at ease with Kyou as he had known her a bit longer than he'd been in the class with Ayumi. He waved goodbye, and quickly pulled his hand back. “KAMI! Waving is for 12 year olds!” he thought to himself again, though it'd appear to Kyou that he was simply standing still in front of the door before opening it and walking off. He sighed. Being a social teamleader was nothing for him.

[Res]

**** Kariru Tsuyo****
Kariru followed along with the rest of the guard behind Sebaru who lead them into his quarters. When they got there he was wearing his headband and diamond already. It seemed business would go back to usual after all. The entirety of the Granite Guard piled into the room, and watched as Sebaru pulled out dossiers, each one with information regarding their soon to be recruits. This wasn’t much new for Kariru, she was a bit infamous in the village as she had some of the youngest and most powerful students the village had seen, including one of her now teammates, Kami. She gave him a smile, grabbed her dossiers and bowed respectfully, before leaving the room.

She went out to a small bar that was towards the edge of the town and ordered a drink before looking over the files. The first one was of a boy named Hayashi Juunimaru. She recognized the surname as a smaller clan that was filled to the brim with powerful Shinobi, steel release. She could definitely teach him a thing or two that would make him a force to be reckoned with. Secondly, there was Kanajiro Hanamoto. Kariru paused at the name before realizing that this was the boy that was the leader of the Hanamoto name. She found herself feeling poorly for the boy, that was a lot of responsibility for someone his age, she would never tell him that though.

It seemed both boys had Taijutsu listed as a strength, Kariru felt good about this notion as this was definitely one of her many strong suits. She downed the sake quickly feeling it work its way through her body as she picked up the dossiers left an I.O.U. at the bar and walked back home. She was a little excited about getting students again, but at the same time Kariru couldn’t really tell if this was excitement, or just the interest in forgetting about the pain of losing two of her closest allies. By the time she got home it didn’t matter for tomorrow; she had work to do.

****Kyoko Akiyama****

Kyoko spent a little longer outside than the rest of the Granite Guard, consoling those who had suffered from the loss of Rei and Hiromara shutting her own emotions down and leaving them aside. She had no time for emotions in war, which was why she was so focused on raising the village’s morale. Upon realizing that the Granite Guard had all retreated to inside Sebaru’s office, she decided it was her time to depart as well. Sweetly wishing everyone well and feeling the rain wash over her face for the hundredth time she left the crowd and moved towards the doorway, pausing for a moment before entering and letting the rain wash away the kind, caring Kyoko.

“Apologies” Kyoko stated arriving late and picking up the remaining two dossiers on the table for her. She quickly glanced at them before placing them behind her back with her arms while she listened intently to what the Tsuchikage had to say. As per usual, it seemed, except for the fact that they would be receiving two Genin that would grow under their wings for a short while train them to be full-fledged members of the Granite Guard. Kyoko bowed respectfully at the request and walked out of the office with the dossiers in hand and the intent to teach in heart.

Kyoko wasn’t too sure in her teaching abilities; in fact her father had once likened her teaching abilities to the walking abilities of fish. But Kyoko was sure she would be able to teach her students something about exactly how to be the best Granite Guard members they could be.

Her first dossier read Hiroto Narumi he seemed to be the type of boy they warn girls about in school. Rash, violent, the full nine yards. Kyoko would have to teach him about the necessity of patience and how that can help even his Taijutsu skills. The next dossier read Reiji Higashi. It seemed her was another Ninjutsu Taijutsu specialist. Kyoko sighed at her luck; she could never find a student who was interested learning about anything regarding Genjutsu. But she moved past it realizing that his weakness’ were somewhat similar to her previous students making them a good for each other personality-wise, at least there was that.

****Ayumi Hozuki****

Ayumi left the funeral and returned home with her father, she immediately went outside to the yard and met with her good friends: Training dummies #1 and 2. She proceeded with beating them up and letting her fists speak her mind. She very quickly began drawing blood from her knuckles but she dared not stop, working on her ability to feint behind an opponent and sweep their legs. She continued this training until she was forced to take a break and change her clothes, realizing that she had sweat through the funeral wear that she was still wearing.

She returned to her room and grabbed her jug of water she usually kept with her and took a gigantic swig, returning the sweat to her body. She changed out of the funeral garb and put on a pair of shorts and regular shirt, offering a lot more maneuverability. She returned to her training almost immediately striking the dummies hard and fast. Her dedication to the Granite Guard grew stronger every day and she wasn’t even a part of it yet. But he was. She noticed a man standing in her door way and stopped her training as he spoke. He introduced himself as Kami, her new sensei.

Ayumi’s heartbeat didn’t pick up as much as it seemed to calm down with knowledge that she was now in a position for her to make a difference. She was then given a coupon for some food and told to go on a date with her new teammate.

“What?” Ayumi would ask, but by the time she even had asked, Kami was already on his way out the door. It seemed she now had to meet Kyou at some diner in just thirty minutes. Apparently under the guise of a date as well. Ayumi sighed and went to go get changed into something at least slightly nicer before preparing to leave the house.

“Is it a boy?” Her father asked as Ayumi opened the door to leave.

“I don’t think so” Ayumi responded as her father spat out the drink that was currently in his mouth as Ayumi took off down the street towards the restaurant.
She took a booth near a window and sat down, not knowing what was coming next.

[Savato]

Ruri's bedroom - 2 hours until the funeral starts

What a good night Ruri Zuodian was having with her comfy, king size bed in her gargantuan yet still completely messy bedroom.Her alarm clock, set on the wooden night table adjacent to the bed started to ring as sunlight entered the dark room through the window she had left open all night. The machine just kept ringing and ringing and this was accompanied with the many footsteps that could be heard, notifying Ruri that the domestics had started working already. But that didn't matter, because for her today didn't mean anything, there wasn't any academy because she had graduated an tutorship stopped for a month now. As a response to the never ending torment brought by the contraption, she smashed it with her fist. This not only turned it off, it broke it for good, but she didn't care, all she wanted was to sleep and just drift away for all the problems in the world. Of course, she was inconsiderate enough to forget about the event that would occur that very morning. Perhaps this sleep would bring upon some wisdom to this bad seed's head.

Ruri's bedroom - 45 minutes until the funeral

She suddenly bounced off her bed, the movement had hurt her head in the process because of hos sudden it was and left her neck a bit sore, and skipped rather quickly to check what time it was on the big clock glued to the building near her window. She was indeed pretty late for an occasion she couldn't miss, otherwise her dad would give her one of those old fashioned spankings.

"Fuck. FUCK! Why didn't that piece of shit work right?!"

She ran up to kick the alarm clock she had broken an hour back out of rage she had to release. Of course, she blamed the alarm clock just to convince herself she isn't in the wrong and everything was going against her today. She was going to be late, that's for sure, with all the pampering she needs to actually feel presentable during events. That and dress choosing was something that could last up to an hour with her. Skipping to the bathroom, she took a twenty minute long shower, and then invested twenty more minutes in beauty products and hair brushing. Yes, she only had five minutes to get dressed and run to the funeral to get there on time. But was she going to do something inventive and interesting to get to the funeral efficiently? Yeah no, although she made the effort to select her set of clothes in fifteen minutes, she was still going to be horribly late. She had chosen a white kimono to cover the entirety of her body, a type of kimono that made it evident that she wasn't from the typical middle class, something her daddy bought her a few months back for such occasions actually. She had also stuck a little white flower on her head to add to the charm, or maybe just to turn more heads.

The Funeral - -20 minutes until it starts

She had jogged to get there before it had ended entirely, the Tsuchikage was finishing his speech and the Granite Guards were all noticeable at the front. She bumped against the masses to meet up with her father up front. Old man Zuodian didn't seem to happy, he actually had one of those hilarious frowns on her face coupled with his black mustache, Ruri had trouble hiding her giggle, the only thing keeping her from bursting into laughter was the inevitable beating she was going to take if she actually mocked him. The rest of the ceremony went by and Ruri didn't hide her boredom, yawning and looking away from the main elements of the event. People crying didn't affect her, she actually had barely any empathy for the people dead so why would she care about those who weren't dead? This felt dumb and pointless to her. They were dead, so what? No point in forcing an entire village to meet up, they weren't THAT important to everyone. Especially not to Ruri. When it all ended, she swiftly jumped in the crowd so her dad wouldn't snag her beforehand and she ran off in the streets of Iwa.

"I feel cheeky today. Maybe I should go see that faggot Kanajiro, it's been a while since I saw that ass's face."

She said to herself like the psycho bitch she was, the malicious expression on her face meant everything when it came to her thoughts and premeditated desire to mess with her old classmate and fellow non-peasant. Indeed, she didn't enjoy being around the typical "normal people" of Iwa, since she's part of the few aristocratic families of the village she did not find much amusement in interacting with people of the lower levels. Seeing them as mediocre in value, she's often known for how much of a bitch she is to people just by having a first glance at them, and stigmatized those who didn't even dress as would members of her family. Kanajiro had a position of power in a pretty influential clan, meaning he was exactly the type of person she'd sought to have basic conversations with.

After a short walk, she noticed many Hanamoto had returned to their main mansion already, but none of those who went by the front gate looked like Kanajiro. She didn't want the peasants of her powerful friend, she wanted the cool guy she could somehow relate to yet still qualify him of every possible insult imaginable. Either way, she was bored, and didn't have anything better to do than to wait. After all it was either that or return home for a slap on the face. She was contemplating the idea of blaming all of this on a servant, inventing the fact that one of the had the task to wake her up because the alarm clock was broken. But Ruri hated lies, and that would most likely lead to bad things for the servant, something that Ruri didn't want in her conscience for some odd reason. She waited, back against the gate near the entrance of the Hanamoto's mansion's gate, arms crossed and cleavage well exposed to welcome the slow Kanajiro.

[Hillan]

Xavimaru Kishimoto

Xavi had been one of the ones carrying Hirorama's Casket, the Pulverizer had taught Xavi how to get out of the darkness, how to get redemption for what he did. He gave him purpose again and a reason to live, something Xavi could never pay Hirorama back for. Xavi was supposed to be backup on the mission, but was delayed due to enemy forces, and because of that he couldn't repay his debt to his friend and rolemodel, and it hurt, damn did it hurt. He put down the casket with the others, put a few flowers on the casket, and walked up to the open part of the casket, gently tapping Hirorama on the forehead, a sign of affection if there ever was one. He stood back with the others, looking at the ceremony, and as he did, he couldn't help but feel the need to light up. He fiddled into a pocket and found the papercovered roll of tobacco, as well as a box of matches, he lit the match and put the makeshift cigarette on fire, standing there smoking, looking at the scene that unfolded infront of himself. A few tears gathering in the side of his eyes, but they didn't fall from his eyes.

He inhaled the smoke from his cigarette and quietly let it out, not making too much of a fuss, his hair was brushed and the back had been put into a bun, the bangs gently swaying in the wind and the light downpour. "Dammit Hiro." He let out, Sebaru's speach being beautiful, and when the time came, he bowed with everyone else in the village for the fallen heroes.

He headed back with his fellow Guardsmen into the Kage's quarters, always wonderous about the location the Kage had chosen, why a dojo instead of a bunker, or a finer office? But then again, Sebaru was a man of principle, not one of style, unlike Xavi himself. Xavi got his files, thanked his superior, and headed out of the kage's mansion, not sticking around much longer, the sadness in the air was about to get to him, and he did not want that. He walked towards the monument where Hirorama and Rei were buried, and sat down next to it, leaning against it. He opened up his dossiers and read the files. "Heh.. Lucky me. This is going to be fun." Xavi thought to himself, looking at the pictures and the data that had been given to him.

***

Hiruzen Dartan

Hiruzen had followed with the others in, still going over the mechanics behind sadness in his head, it kept him from actually grieving right now, something he didn't think himself capable of doing right now, he wanted to focus. He could feel sorrow and grieve once the war was over. He followed Sebaru into his office, walking right behind Kami. He got in and waited for the others to line up next to him, and when the Tsuchikage put the dossier in his hands, Hiruzen blinked a couple of times, having completely forgotten about the fact that they were supposed to be given apprentices. To train the new generation of Granite Guards.

Hiruzen listened to what Sebaru said, and stood there, waiting for all others to leave, holding his dossiers in his hands, not opened them yet. He looked to Sebaru with concerned eyes. "Sebaru-Sama. How are you holding up?" Hiruzen asked the man, whom scoffed. " I've seen better days, Hiruzen." Sebaru told his former apprentice, Hiruzen nodded. "I realize you don't want to talk now, sensei, but when you want to, just come by my office. Send others my way too, should they need it. Try and rest." Hiruzen recommended the elder shinobi, whom scoffed and nodded. "Will do. Now, make sure to brush up on your students. They're good ones."

" You handpicked them, so I have no doubt that they are."

Hiruzen said, before turning heel and walking out of the office, heading home. He soon arrived in his home, and walking into his office where his clinic was, he lived in a quite large house, a mansion as a matter of fact, Sebaru had given him the house so he could give the clinic plenty of space. Hiruzen sat down in his chair and looked at his files, qutie intrigued with the students he had been given. Hiruzen had his assistants alert his students that they would be meeting in the town marketplace at 9 am tomorrow morning.

***

It was next morning, Hiruzen awoke at 7:30, the sun was rising, it was going to be a sunny day, a better tomorrow, one could say. Hiruzen got dressed and had a nice cup of tea and some biscuits before he would head out to gather supplies, he would try and test his student's minds. Just how good were them? A test sure would have to be in order, he figured. Walking around town gathering the supplies.

***
Xavimaru Kishimoto

Xavi had not slept all night. He had been practicing his techniques all night, a way for him to deal with his loss, trying to make his techniques faster and stronger. That next time, he would have to be in time to save his allies. He had been fighting sand clones all night, and now there laid remnants of sand all over the west side of the mountains surrounding the village, where Xavi chose to practice. Xavi had dirt and shallow cuts and bruises on his upper arms, neck and a few scratches on his face, and a ever so tired look on his face, looking towards the ground. He held his fingers towards the ground, where a sand clone, looking exactly like himself sat on his knees trying to catch his breath. Xavi was gathering sand in front of his fingers that were aimed right at the clone, the clone himself was waving handseals, and just as the clone lunged at Xavi, the Sand for the Sand-Coffin Technique coming around to grab hold of Xavi, Xavi fired the sand bullet, the bullet hitting the clone between the eyes, instantly killing it.

Xavi walked down to a nearby small lake, which he jumped in and washed himself for a few minutes before taking in the morning sun and drying up. Putting on his clothes again, a grey shirt with a netshirt underneath, black pants and his tabis that were easy to slip out off, he also wore a bandanna on his head, like a cap, on the bandanna he had his forehead protector, his blonde bangs hanging down in front of his face. Normally, he would wear better armor, real armor in combat, but today was for practice, so he would wear casual clothes. He completely trusted that the Tsuchikage had informed his two students where they would meet, at the monument, and didn't bother to pay any mind at all to it, but instead took a relaxing walk towards the meeting place, enjoying the morning. He bought some fruit to eat on his way towards the monument.

[Enarr]

Kanajiro Hanamoto & Daisuke Hanamoto

“Genius battle!”
[B]Hanamoto Estate
The Day of The Funeral

Kanajiro panted as he jumped back from Daisuke's latest answer to the attacks Kanajiro launched at him, sliding back across the reed mats that had been laid out in the training hall of the Hanamoto estate. Kanajiro stared at Daisuke, before standing straight up again, a moment to catch his breath perhaps, or to catch Daisuke offguard. "You got stronger Daisuke.” he said, recognising the power that Daisuke had as a genius of defense. But one had to admit that they had both gotten stronger, as they had been pushing eachother more and more the past two weeks, training almost every day, even though there was never a real winner. Needless to say, the way the Hanamoto clan trained and especially the clan-head and his cousin, they both needed medical attention almost every day as well.

As such, right now Kanajiro's right eyebrow was bleeding, a stream of blood slowly trickling down past his eyes over his cheek, dripping blood on the floor. And his knee was badly hurting too due to a kick he had received during an attack on Daisukes defense. Kanajiro's seemingly cocky expression turned into a grin, and then a laugh. Anyone that knew Kanajiro longer than a day would've known that saying such cocky things in such a manner wasn't like him at all and was clearly a joke. But meanwhile Kanajiro started forming seals again, starting up his Fiery Fist technique. Slowly his fists started getting engulfed in flames, until they were done charging and Kanajiro flicked his wrists to fully start up the technique. Unlike Daisukes weaker and more harmful version, Kanajiro's Fiery Fists did not actually harm his own hands. He let out a fierce “RAAAAAAAAAAGH!” as he dashed forwards, sprinting the whole five meters towards Daisuke, jumping the last inch and cocking his arm back before sending it out to Daisukes head with a powerful strike -- it wasn't a type of strike you could just glance off and ignore.

"Yoowwwa!" Daisuke howled as he felt the flames lurch at his face, licking the sweat on his forehead. Unfortunately, he'd been a little late ducking, but not fatally so. The burn continued to sting as Daisuke bent backwards as fast as he could, narrowly avoiding the full impact of his cousin's fist, though the strike did drive his knuckles across his forehead and through his white hair. Ultimately, following the duck, Daisuke dropped to the ground on his back, his skull dribbling off the reed mat they were fighting on as he grunted before forcing himself to move, before a follow up could be made. Seeing his cousin's arm still outstretched over him, not fully drawn back yet, Daisuke rolled his feet into the air, aiming for an upward kick based right below Kanijiro's jaw.

On the way up, he felt his lega trembling, already burnt today and freshly lacerated from their previous sessions. The last few days they'd been at it even harder than usual. After all, the Granite Guard wasn't a place for the soft. If the pair grew harder every time they squared off, they would be diamonds. No doubt. A mixture of blood and sweat saturated the uniform Daisuke was in. He wore the same outfit every practice session to remind himself how long his journey had already been. It seemed certain that it wasn't going to get easier.

Kanajiro noticed that his cousin went down, apparently not from the hit as Kanajiro clearly felt he hadn't connected his attack. But then again the attack was meant to mimick the Hyuga style of non-contact taijutsu while maintaining the brutal force that characterized the Hanamoto's. It seemed that Daisuke, even with his defensive style, still utilized this brutally effective style too. Kanajiro was about to send his other fist down when he noticed the foot kicking up. Rather than take the full hit he opted to arch over and cancel the Fiery Fist technique. Because he arched forward even more, he got kicked in the chest rather hard, enough to knock the air out of him forcing him to take another deep breath. But rather than allow Daisuke to retract his foot to kick again, Kanajiro quickly stepped back, regained his footing and attempted to grab the foot after which he would quickly cock his arm back and then send his open palm to Daisukes kneecap -- a very painful attack that would render the fight over if it connected and would give the first win in weeks to Kanajiro. But he knew full well that Daisuke wasn't done yet.

It was rather obvious the boys were very evenly matched, and they had come to be seen as brothers more than cousins -- the only thing that seperated them was the fact that Kanajiro was a head family member and Daisuke merely a branch member. There wasn't much Kanajiro could do about it since the only way to get rid of that was to earn the honor. While Daisuke was strong, he wasn't quite ready to be uplifted from a branch member to a head family member, as much as Kanajiro wanted to grant him this. It didn't help that Daisuke was a year older yet would have to abide by the graces and whims of a younger clan head.

Kanajiro decided that he didn't want to end the fight just yet, despite the fact that he had worked Daisuke into a corner where his defences would not work as well -- they were in close, close combat -- and instead grabbed his knee at the last moment, sparing his kneecap. He swung around and pivoted on his heels, swinging the boy around by his leg and tossing him away, before jumping in the air after him. By the time Daisuke would land he'd be able to see Kanajiro crushing down onto him with a fist aimed at his body center -- the solar plexus.

Seeing no need to thank Kanijiro for his mercy, Daisuke kept hard at work. Expecting a finishing blow to be in wait whenever he'd land, he manually changed his course. He was thrown with his back facing the ground, so he extended his arms away from his feet before kicking upward, while keeping his back straightened. The result was a lightning fast backflip that resulted in him catching solid footing faster than he would've landed. In an instant, he shook the sweat off his forehead while making a trio of handseals: Tiger, Ram, & Dragon. His fingers flowed like water down a twisting stream.

Already winded and feeling he'd about reached his limit for the time being, Daisuke decided it was time to end the battle, even if it meant he'd lose this time. He drew his right hand back before feeling it ignite. "Gah--" With great haste, he snapped his arm back, whipping his hand at his cousin's incoming face. If at all possible, he preferred to grab onto the cheek of an oncoming enemy, but his cousin was no mere enemy. Having a burn on his forehead, he wasn't very concerned about being hurt by his own fire, which was already excruciating. He just didn't want to melt his closest family member's face, his own little mercy.

Kanajiro landed on the ground where Daisuke was supposed to go -- yet he wasn't there. He let out an amused “Hmph.” as he was impressed by Daisukes ability to see and feel what Kanajiro was going to do even though he was being beat on, something that a shinobi definetely needed. He was definetely thinking a step ahead, something Kanajiro himself hadn't yet imprinted in his personality but Daisuke had. But rather than jump back to start his own jutsu, Kanajiro utilized the time Daisuke used to make seals -- which wasn' t very long as Daisuke was quite efficient and fast with his seals -- to step even closer and sent his hand upwards, between the two boys' bodies, then outwards towards the incoming fiery punch.

He grabbed Daisuke's arm which was being used for the fire technique stopping the hand a centimeter away from his face. “Don't hold back, dear cousin.” He grinned and threw back his free arm, then pushing it forward as hard as he could, his hand opened, and a palm aimed for Daisukes face. But rather than finish the palm strike, he simultaneously applied force to Daisukes hand, forcing him to move the burning hand closer to his own face with some rapid movements, as if he was going to burn himself. But regardless of Daisukes response -- surrender, fight back or defend -- Kanajiro would stop both of his 'attacks' a centimeter away from Daisukes face and jump back. “The fight is over.” he'd declare, before putting his hands on his knees and leaning forward, panting heavily after this training session. Granted, this wasn't their first sparring fight today -- they had been sparring practically all day, only interrupted by the funeral.

Daisuke's flaming hand was left, dramatically suspended, right in front of his face. As quickly as it ignited, it was extinguished, a corona of smoke signaling its disappearance. "Indeed, it is. You've done very well, Kanijiro." Taking his free hand, he caressed his burns, with an agonized grimace decorating his face. It always seemed that he would regret performing his version of the move, but that was never actually the case. At this point he was somewhat used to his burns, as initially shocking as it always is. He bowed and gave a dignified grin to his cousin and clan head. "I'd be lying if I said you didn't make me sweat." Picking a bottle of ointment up from the floor near the edge of the mats, he opened a bottle of ointment, drizzling a bit on his hand and patting his forehead before tossing it to his Kanijiro. "Let's grab a bite."