A Brash Young Lad

[Izamara]

Location : On Kouin Bridge
Participants : Izamara / Ichiro / Gennosuke

Izamara sits on the railing of Kouni Bridge, staring out over the water, which sparkles in the sunlight on this perfect day. In his hand, he holds a kunai, which he studies intently, as if wanting an answer.

Ichiro lands quietly in a crouched position on the railing a few yards from Izamara. Sliding into a sitting position, dangling his leges off the bridge, Ichiro looks at the young shinobi. "What brings you here today, lad?"

The older shinobi had snuck up on Izamara. What the heck was his training for if not to prevent such a thing? Quickly, Izamara rolls off the railing, landing on the bridge in a crouch with his hand at his sword hilt. "Are you hostile?"

Ichiro laughs heartily before replying, "If I was hostile, you'd already be dead. You can relax, I'm just hear to meet up with a teammate later.".

The young boy lets out his breath with a sigh. his hand drops from his sword. He extends a hand to the shinobi. "Hey," he says. "My name is Izamara. Yojima Izamara. Where I'm from, I'm called the Kage no Ishidukuri.".

Izamara laughs and says, "I know I'm not much to see, but there's a reason.".

Ichiro chuckles politely, "I was young once as well, I know how it is. What brings you here today, Yojima Izamara-san?".

The boy's eyes hardened. "I'm here doing what I do every day." Izamara sighs. "I search for a woman..."

Ichiro begins laughing and almost falls backwards off the railing onto the bridge, "Aren't you a little young to be so concerned about picking up girls?".

Izamara frowns deeply. "You don't understand, sir. The woman of whom I speak is the murderer of my father." He looks at the kunai in his hand. "Catch." He swings his arm in a wide arc and tosses the worn, rusted blade toward the older ninja.

Ichiro barely seems to pay attention to the kunai as his hand moves in a blur, catching the kunai by the loop with one finger. "So this woman who murdered your father...what makes you think she'll be here?".

Izamara still stares at the blade, now hanging about the man's finger. "I tracked her here. I only arrived yesterday. I have only a few leads, and none of them look to bode well, but I can't just ignore them. She must die. The kunai you hold was taken from my father and used to spill his blood. I have vowed that it will taste hers as well.".

Ichiro nods politely while twirling the blade on his finger, "Well, tell me what you know of this woman and perhaps I can help you.".

Izamara looks away over the water. He breathes deeply before speaking, "Her hair is auburn, and cut to her shoulders. She uses a walking stick, but not because she is lame. Her right eye is scarred, or at least should be, for my father landed a heavy sword blow across her face. She is not tall, but shorter than most. I know not her name." He puts his finger in his ear, twisting it before removing and flicking it. He then looks at the shinobi, awaiting an answer.

Ichiro puts a hand to his chin, "I don't think I've seen anyone like that around here...Are you certain that you can handle this woman?".

Izamara scratches his head. "Honestly, no. But that's sorta why I'm still here, even though the leads are mostly cold.".

Nodding again, Ichiro hops off the railing, landing in front of the young shinobi. Offering the kunai back, he says, "Well, you should get stronger before you face her. My name is Sasaki Ichiro, leader of Team Fukurukuma.".
"Let me know if me or my team can be of help. If I see this woman, I'll do my best not to kill her. You'll be on your own if you want to take her on though; I'm not one to get in the way of vengeance," Ichiro says..

The boy grins as he takes the kunai from Ichiro. "I say again," the boy says. "My name is Yojima Izamara, and I am glad to meet a friend in this strange place. Would you like to test my abilities?" The boy smiles.

Ichiro laughs heartily again, "I'm not sure how accurately I could test your abilities, but I suppose I could give it a go...if you really want me to.".

Izamara forms a quick series of handseals and his right fist glows blue. He slams it downward into a long piece of stone on the bridge floor, sending the opposite end flying upwards from under Ichiro. "Just do your best, and I'll show you why I have my title!".

Ichiro slides sideways, tumbling over the side of the bridge. Swinging himself under the bridge, Ichiro latches his feet to the underside of the bridge and forms several handseals as mist begins to fill the area..


Izamara stops forming handseals and draws his huge cleaver from his back, and just before he looses sight of the world around him, he begins to whirl the huge blade about him, blowing a arginal amount of the mist away, clearing his immediate area. He replace his blade and forms a few handseals. his fists and forearms glow blue, and he holds them out in front of him, wary.

Ichiro's clone dashes back the way Ichiro originally came before swinging back onto the bridge. As the mist quickly settles back around the young shinobi, the clone lands quietly behind him. "You should know, this isn't normal mist.".

Izamara roars with passion, "I won't fall for your mist tricks!" Whipping around, he swings a fist at great speed, enhanced by the chakra flowing through his arms and shoulders, directly at the face of the clone.

Ichiro's slips backwards into the mist, leaving the young shinobi's fist to pass through the air..

Izamara stumbles, then quickly sprints to the side of the bridge before leaping out over the water. He lands lightly on the surface, and sprints away from the bridge, listening for movement. He forms handseals as he runs...

Ichiro watches the young shinobi sprint across the water from his perch under the bridge..

Izamara leaps into the air, spins, and thrusts his hands forward. Tiny streams of water shoot from the surface of the blue expanse and rocket toward the direction of the bridge, where the ninja had just come from.

Ichiro slides back a bit as the water spike crashes into the bridge causing minor damage. As the mist clears slightly, the clone stands a short distance from the young shinobi on the water, "Not too bad kid.".
Blazing through a short series of handseals, Ichiro's clone shouts, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu," and spits a fireball at the young shinobi..

Izamara lands on the water's surface, now facing the bridge. His ear perks up. He heard a sound...he crouches, making his center of gravity lower. His eyes dart back and forth, searching for the slightest hint of movement...A flash of orange! Izamara releases his chakra holding him above water, and crashes through into the blue just before a blast of flame scorches the space his body just occupied.

As the mist clears more and becomes a knee-high fog, Ichiro's clone looks around. Smiling, he falls forwards into the water and dives straight down..

Izamara breaches the surface gasping. He hadn't been ready, and had breathed in water. He choked, but steadily began to mold chakra under his hands, knees, and feet to climb out of the water. Standing now, he looks around. He sees no sign of the shinobi, but his guard doesn't drop. Instead, he lowers himself again into a crouch, trying to become aware of his surroundings.

Stumbling in drunkenly, Gennosuke finishes a bottle of sake and hiccups loudly. He glances over towards Izamara, and blinks a few times before continuing on his way towards the village. Looking around with his eyes half lidded, he chuckles, and pulls out another bottle of sake. "Y-You are to loud!!", he shouts as he disappears into the distance..

Ichiro drops from the bridge, landing gracefully on his feet. He approaches the young shinobi, making no effort to hide himself. Clapping, he says, "You're doing quite well. However, I don't really want to seriously injure you...".
"...so I should probably go ahead and tell you that you've already lost." Ichiro stops a short distance from the young boy..

Izamara's eyes widen in fear. He forms a few handseals, and thrusts a hand forward. "Suiton: Kasui Mizu no Justu!" A fine mist of tiny streams of water fly from around Izamara's feet towards the shinobi in front of him. Immediately after firing the jutsu, Izamara sprints after the water, leaping into the air, aiming to sail over Ichiro....

Ichiro takes the small water spike right in the shoulder as a massive pillar of water errupts
from directly underneath his young opponent..

Gennosuke walks in slowly, mumbling to himself, before he notices the other two. Sighing he drops his head and quietly says, "Wh-y, masteeer, whyyy?". Slowly he begins to stumble towards the sound of the others and hiccups loudly, swaying vehemently as he stops nearby.

The look on the boy's face conveys only fear as, knowing he cannot avoid the pillar, he draws his sword, holding it below him and pressing tightly against it. The pillar slams into the sword, knocking it from under Izamara and launching him brutally high into the air....

Ichiro's clone emerges from under the water as the small wound on Ichiro's shoulder rapidly closes up..

Izamara slams onto the surface of the bridge, sracking the stones and leaving a very small crater. He doesn't move.

Gennosuke looks towards Izamaru as his body is flying high towards the sky, before his face turns green. He pukes long and hard directly into the water, wiping his mouth deliberately as he lets go of his chakra for half a second, dipping his sandals into the water, cleaning the bile from them. As he stabilizes on the water once more, he simply hiccups again, and takes another long swig from his sake.

Hearing the faint sound of the young boy's body landing, Ichiro and his clone leap onto the bridge in a blur. Kneeling next to the young boy, Ichiro checks his pulse before both pairs of hands glow blue and begin working on the boys injuries..

Izamara opens his eyes, and with a very fast movement, his hand streaks towards the shinobi. However, his injuries are too great for a surprise attack, and the effort on his strained body causes his arm to audibly crack. "KYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA!!".

Ichiro easily catches the young man's arm, "I told you that you lost already. You should listen. Now rest.".

Izamara grins, though his eyes remain tightly pressed closed. "I'll never defeat my foe if I don't pour my soul into every battle. When I meet my target again, one of us will perish." He lays his head back onto the stone.

Gennosuke coughs lightly before slurring loudly, "Have either of you seen a bottle cap floating around here?".
Gennosuke scratches his cheek slowly before mumbling, "IIII'd llook fforr it myshelf, buuttt I can'tch reeeally shtell whaaat ooone llllooks liiike...".

Izamara opens one eye. He sees te drunken man, and takes a breath to call out to him, but a rib cracks when his chest swells. He grunts, and stops moving at all.

After several minutes Ichiro finishes working on Izamara. Looking up at the severely intoxicated shinobi nearby, he fishes into a pocket and produces a cork. "Here you go," he says as he tosses it to the man..

Izamara slowly stands, then plops down on his rear. "I'm not ready. I'd be slaughtered at my current state. My father was great, and she made him look like an infant in battle...".

Staring blankly off into the distance, Gennosuke hiccups again as the cork bounces of his chest, before he catches it at the last moment. "A-A-A-a-Hhhh, th-thankyou sshhir!!", he slurs loudly, holding up his new prize. "A--ah-a new bottttle caappsh!!", he grins and heads off back the way he came, taking another long pull from his sake..

Ichiro tussles the young shinobi's hair, "Don't worry, you've got time to train and get strong. I'll take care of things until you're ready.".

Izamara looks up and raisies an eyebrow. "What do you mean?".

Ichiro stands and says, "Well, if this woman is as dangerous as you say, someone needs to make sure she doesn't cause trouble in the meantime. So, if she shows up to cause trouble here, then I'll have no choice but to put her down. Hard.".

Izamara looks doubtful. "I don't think you know what you're dealing with. My father was an A-rank Jounin before he went rogue, and she just....murdered him. I have nothing left. Nowhere to go, no home, no family...".

Ichiro nods, "I'm sure this woman is plenty strong, but I'm won't die easily.".

Izamara scrunches up his face...."I'm nothing now. I have no home...I have nothing to live for but this....I am lost in life...I come from the village of stone originally, but my father became a Nukenin and afterwards raisied and trained me alone in the forest.".

Ichiro's voice becomes suddenly very stern, "I suggest then, that you find something worth living for. Vengeance is not a thing to live for; it is a thing to die for. Vengeance will eat away at you until there is nothing left.".
"If you follow the path of vengeance, and never find anything more to live for, then you will never know the strength to defeat your foe," Ichiro nods his head just once, smartly..

Izamara stands slowly. His demeanor changes, and he becomes more colorful, more vibrant. "There is only one thing I need to do, and then I can live happily. This woman must die. Once this kunai," he pulls out the rusty blade, "has tasted her blood, I can settle in a village, and find a home...".

Ichiro shakes his head slowly, "Perhaps that is the case...perhaps not.".

Izamara nods slowly. "You must have experienced my loss in order to understand my need for vengeance...I have reason to believe that this woman was...my mother.".

Izamara says, "You need to understand my loss to see why I must have vengeance...I have reason to believe that this woman is.. my mother.".

Ichiro produces a small notebook and a pencil and makes several notes, "I see...However, vengeance itself can be the misleading culprit, not the focus of the vengeance; it is a hollow joy gained through vengeance.".

Izamara looks away, over the water. "My friend, I suffer. Every day I suffer. My father was not a...loving man...He did something terrible. He was a master of Genjutsu. He...created a jutsu that could induce insanity by making an inanimate object appear to be able of speech....He bound this kunai to me with the last of his strength..."
"Now everyday I hear its call...it will never stop unless it tastes the blood of the woman." Izamara frowns.

Ichiro glances curiously at the kunai, "Well, I suppose only time can reveal what will be.".


Izamara grimaces. "Time is something I don't have. In his selfishness, my father may have doomed me. If another should fell her, I will never be free of it's horrid clamor.".

Ichiro's clone stands and moves towards Izamara, lifting the boy gently in his arms. Ichiro says, "Well, now is not the time to worry about such things. My clone will take you to the hospital to recover. Find me when you've healed.".

Izamara sighs. "Alright. Where can I find you?".

Ichiro chuckles, "If you can't find me on your own, you're not likely to find this woman on your own.".

Izamara laughs out loud. "Yes, probably." He looks out over the water, then back to the real Ichiro. Izamara points to the earpiece nuzzled in his ear. "Contact me on frequency 1. Whether you like it or not, Ichiro, you gained a friend today."

Ichiro laughs and waves as his clones carries Izamara to the hospital.