Enter into the Forest

It was a beautiful night. A luminous moon was high in the sky, its face full, casting faint light from its glowing body.  The light bathed over the high treetop leaves, some seeping down to the ground below in fragmented splatters.

Zerutobi looked up at the night sky from an opening in forest and watched as the stars shimmered against the darkness engulfing them. It had been a long time since he looked up and appreciated the sky at night. Such frivolous activities were enjoyable from time to time, and Zeru basked in the moments he had to partake in them. He reached his hand up to his concealed face and pushed his mask up onto his forehead, allowing his emerald eyes a better view of the stars and all of their wonder.

Life as an ANBU was difficult. Many villagers would never understand the sacrifices that such position demands. All that they saw was the glorious façade that was projected to them. The unpleasant truth of it was that being an ANBU was a strenuous process of constant struggle; not of the body, but mostly of the mind. It was a constant war between morality and everything you were taught during ANBU training—Nothing Trumps the Greater Good. Mutilation, murder, pillaging—all in a ANBU’s day of work; those nights were the most difficult to sleep through.

A breeze hissed through the forestry, and broke Zeru’s concentration of the sky. It was quiet that night, almost too quiet. He could hear the sounds of Konoha in the distance (He could swear one of the sounds was of Wirly, the Puppeteer, putting on one of his Happy Shinobi performances on for the children—the play had not changed one line from when the Kaguya was a kid himself). The forest seemed vacant today; there were no other shinobi around—friend or foe.

It was an opportune time to conduct some private training. That was what Zerutobi had had originally thought before coming out to the forest, and his assumptions were correct. Times like this were also to be appreciated. It had been a few months since last he trained, and he could feel his skills beginning to corrode with rust. That was to be expected from not being able to train when others are around. He had been ordered by superiors to never use his powers inside the village limits; it would disclose his identity. Zeru was one of few—if not the only—Kaguya that called Konoha home, and the only one that was an ANBU. And ANBU could never have their identities made public. God forbid you committed the unforgivable sin of revealing your identity.

Zerutobi looked down at his hands and he brought them up to his abdomen, with open palms. Let’s see if I can still trigger my jutsu as fast as I used to. He flexed, and winced softly, as his palms began to turn white as snow. “White Palm Dance . . . Calcification Touch,” he muttered. A small rush of exuberance overwhelmed him for a moment, but then quickly faded. At least I can still get that one right, he thought as his palms began to regain their color.

Spoiler:

OOC

If someone shows up, and intends on using Zeru any, please  take the following into account:

Zerutobi doesn't usually use his bloodline abilities when around other people (yet)

Zerutobi is a nice guy. And he's social. However, he tends to get annoyed with arrogance, or ignorance. Although, he has a tendency to be bossy towards lower-class ninjas

Anything else you need to know just PM me.

He was comforted by the thought that he could still usesome of his jutsu; however, that was not enough satisfaction for the Kaguya. He had to prove himself as an ANBU. The other assassins always looked down upon Zerutobi—his body was always considered a relic to Konoha—in jealousy. He had the good life, they muttered, when Zeruo would pass by. While every other shinobi had to complete grueling assignments—assassinations, intel gathering, espionage—the Kaguya was mostly used for interrogations and torture. The good life. The safe life, he could hear his colleagues whispering in his head. How his fellow shinobi viewed him was disturbing. He did not choose his missions. He did not even choose to be an ANBU.  It was just the hand Zeru was dealt. He would have loved to be in the midst of battle, alongside his comrades, but it was not to be. Not yet.

“Yo, Tres!”  The sound pierced through the silence of the forest.

The Kaguya’s eyes widened, instantly, and he whipped his head over his shoulder. Chakra built up within his body and, almost instinctually, he protruded a single, jagged-edged bone through his forearm—

“It’s me,” the voice said, and then a figure leapt down from one of the tall trees. “Cuatro.”

A slight sigh escaped the Kaguya. Cuatro was not the type of ninja that you would have to worry about. Zeru considered him to be a clumsy nitwit, at best, but he was loyal as a dog. “You were almost a taxidermy,” he said. The bone that had protruded out slowly crept back under his skin. “What did I tell you—and almost everyone else—about sneaking up on me?”

“Chill out my dude,” Cuatro replied, waving a hand through his thick, brown hair. It lay down for a second, but quickly propped back up to its flaring fashion. “Why’re you out in the forest by yourself? You know you’re Konoha’s Most Precious Valuable.”

Zeruotbi hated every name that the other ANBU had for him—Most Precious Valuable; Golden Boy; and his personal most hated, The Vase. The Vase had to be the worst; to him, it implied that he was fragile.

“Training,” the Kaguya responded, exasperated.

“Don’t get mad at me, my dude. That’s what they call you. Along with The V—“

“Say it and I’ll let you know what real pain feels like.”

“Ok, ok.” Cuatro chuckled. “Point taken. You’re a bit sensitive today. Someone have their period?”

“Just been stressed by all the whispers,” he replied. He knew there were only a few ways to gain the respect of the ANBU. “I just need to be given a normal mission, like any other ANBU.”

Cuatro nodded. “Yeah. I guess being Tres doesn’t hold any weight, as far as respect.”

“Not when you’re the only ANBU, whose skill is exclusively for torture.”

“I’d like to be put on torture duty. Missions get tiring.”

Zerutobi always thought of Cuatro as he type that would enjoy torturing duty. Not because he was a malicious individual, but rather he was just too fucking lazy to be away from home so often (Then he could lay in bed and eat Ninja O’s all day; that was what he really wanted to do).  “Right,” he replied, letting a smirk spread across his face. “So, why’re you here?”

“Oh!” Cautro explained. His hands scampered from pocket to pocket. “I got a message for you . . . I wrote it down but cant seem to—“ He pulled a small, crumbled note from his back pocket. “Here it is.”

Zeru’s comrade handed him the note; he unwrinkled it and read. “A new Hokage?” he asked, his eyes still locked onto the paper. What he asked Cautro was something that he knew the answer to—it was right in front of him, on the paper—but the question was rather out of confusion. Why the change? he pondered.

“Yup,” Cuatro replied, joyfully. He was a fan of Lady Kagure. “You seem kinda shocked. Don’t you like Kagure? I mean, even if you don’t, you gotta like those thighs, right?!”

The two shared a laugh.

Zerutobi had no problem with the decision to change Hokages. In fact, he was quite curious of the change, for positive reasons. Maybe, there were new and different missions over the horizon. Maybe. He tried not to get his hopes up too high—he did that last time.

“I have to get back to my training,” Zerutobi said. He wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and then shifted his mask back onto his face.

“Hey, I got some time if you want me to stand guard for ya, or if u need someone to spar, or whatever,” Cuatro remarked.

Zeru could see his expressions through the animal painted mask that he wore. He had nothing else to do, and Zeru was his closest friend within ANBU. “Yeah, you can stick around if you want.” Zerutobi answered. He could only imagine the amount of glee that must have surged through Cuatro. “I’m just polishing my skills. Just in case they’re needed.”

Spoiler:

“Yippee!” Cuatro shouted! His voice had received the tone of a child who seemed excited to get a new toy. “Maybe test your bones against my Boil Release?”

“Hmm . . . That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Zerutobi replied.

For all the things Zeru considered Cuatro, weak was not one of them. His powers were revered throughout Konoha, and for good reason; Boil Release was worth respect. Fortunately, the two were friends, of the Kaguya would have some legitimate worrying to do.

“Cool,” Cuatro replied. He then retrieved a flask from the inside of his vest. “Start off slow and build up, that gravy with you?” With quick untwist of the flask’s cap; Cuatro jerked it forward a few times. Water squirted from the top of it, and splashed onto the ground in front of him.

Zerutobi watched his comrade through the peepholes in his mask, and knew all too well what he was doing. The hand gestures that Cuatro subsequently did were foreign to Zeru—he was far from a master in Ninjutsu—but the two had shared enough experiences together for him to witness it before. “Water Clone Technique,” he murmured. He prepared himself accordingly, sliding into a basic fighting stance. He raised his two hands, clenching them into fists, and brought them to eye-level

“Water Technique: Aquafina Resemblance!” Quatro roared. The water he had washed the earth with sprouted up from the grassy ground, whisking up in spirals that swirled around one another.  As the spirals towered upward, they crashed into each other, forming aquatic limbs that stretched out from its main figure.  The figure sculpted itself into the image of Quatro himself, down to the artwork painted on his ANBU mask. “Ready?”

Zeru nodded his head. He had been ready.

The water clone charged forward, propelling itself with a giant leap forward; a thin stream of liquid trailing. It cocked back a lone fist past its head as it neared the Kaguya.

In what actually took a mere few seconds seemed like minutes. Zerutobi’s eyes were trained, focused in on the clone that grew ever closer. He analyzed its subtleties and then quickly leapt to the side, throwing a cascade of shurikens as he retreated. The ninja stars twirled hastily towards the clone and struck it, not a damn one missing the target. They ripped through the extremity of the water figure, completely traveling through it, and lodging themselves on the other side into the ground.

“C’mon Tres,” Quatro exclaimed, readjusting his hands into new symbols. His hands moved with the speed of an expert ejaculator. The clone finally landed, and quickly launched itself back towards the Kaguya. “Stop fuckin around!”

Fine. No more fucking around then. Zerutobi lunged forward, towards the clone. There was no tactical maneuver this time. There was no fucking around. The two—Zeru and the clone—met in the center of the clearing. Arms and legs jetted past the Kaguya as he navigated his way through an onslaught of melee, weaving every taijutsu the clone had to offer. This was child’s play to Zeru, he was a master in close quarters combat, and every limb that was extended his way seemed as slow and sluggish as those that would belong to a man far too intoxicated to drive home.

Then the clone split into two. But still, they could not land a hit on the Kaguya. He danced around the clearing, the two figures chasing his every action. One of the clones attempted a devastating kick that would have surely done some type of damage to Zeru, but hit nothing but air.  The other clone tried something similar, but hit its partner in the cranium, ruining the face of its comrade (water splashed in every direction, but immediately recollected back to its rightful place).

Zeru was trapped between the two clones. He whipped his body in every direction as more limbs barreled forward, still to no avail.  

Quatro could do more than look onward from his safe position. His hands were kept close to his chest, in a praying formation, keeping his chakra flow in connection with the clones.

The Kaguya could not keep his current pace up. Though the clones had not succeeded in landing a single blow, what they were doing was fatiguing him. He had to take the offensive. “Dance of the Willow!” Zerutobi shouted. Two long bones shot out from each of his palms. The clones paused, stuck in their positions (one clone hunched over, a fist outstretched towards the Kaguya, barely missing his head; the other with its leg in the air). Each bone had impaled a clone, dead in the chest.

Spoiler:

“Nice move man!” Cuatro exclaimed. He parted his hands from the praying position, and allowed them to slouch by his waist, resting on his belt buckle. “Obviously, nothing I do that involves taijutsu is going to have any effect on you.  Oh, Great Taijutsu Master!”

The two water clones stood frozen in place, like dramatic posing statues. Their faces were left in a petrified state of OH SHIT!,with their mouths hanging open and eyes full of fear.

SSHHRRIPPP!

Zeru quickly retracted his bones back into his palms; skin overlapping back over the hole left in his palm, concealing any origins of it.  He erected his posture and began to dust off his attire. “No need to be sucking my dick,” Zeru replied. If he had not had his mask on, a smirk would have been seen clearly spread across his jaw. “Besides, you’re not even trying.

“Hahah!!!” Quatro burst into nervous laughter and began to scratch the back of his head, wickedly. “I mean I’m not gunnin for blood, my man, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’m not trying though!”

“I just want you to put a lil umph in your stuff. Give me something challenging, something that tests me a little.”

Cuatro nodded. “Ok, if you say so. I’m gonna hit ya with the best! Not full force, but with this jutsu it doesn’t really matter all that much, usually. I’m sure you can handle it though.”

Zerutobi knew exactly what his comrade was alluding to. He was alluding to his prized Boil Release, one of the most feared elemental combinations. The Kaguya readied himself.

Another bunch of hand gestures, all foreign to Zeru.  At times, he wondered if Cuatro used ninjutsu all the time just to spite him. The whole fucking playbook on ninjutsu was basically foreign to Zerutobi. Cuatro was a master at that playbook, and could conduct it out in the field like Payton Manning would on Monday Night Football. His comrade’s hands moved with such speed that the entire display processed into a blur, to the Kaguya.

“Boil Release, Aquafina Explosion!” Cuatro shouted.

“Fuck,” Zerutobi muttered. He had fallen into Cuatro’s little trap. His fellow ANBU had downplayed the spar, luring the Kaguya into the trap. His intentions were well hidden behind his naïve personality, and he executed his plan to near perfection. Mouse caught, right in the trap.

The two clones began to slowly regain their movement. OH SHIT faded from their visages, and they returned to form. Without hesitation, they both lunged at the Kaguya, and draped his back. Zerutobi struggled, wildly staggering around, trying to swing one—shit, hopefully both—of them over his head or shoulders. No success.

Fuck, fuck, fuck Zeru mind began to race. He knew what was coming next—the BOOM.  Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck He could feel the skin of the clones (if you could even call the watery substance of a façade that resembled skin, skin) begin to violently bubble from the heat that quickly began to consume them. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuc—

A single sound effect would not do justice to the sounded that boomed through the forest. You could insert any onomatopoeia you wanted, but this one was unique.

“Urghrgh” the Kaguya grunted. His body was left draped in water that emitted smoked, which leisurely flowed and assimilated into the air. He hunched over, his knee almost buckling under his own weight. He had the appearance of a punch-drunk boxer who had taken one too many hits.

Grief slithered into Cuatro as he stared at his friend. “Zeru?!” There was no response. He ran forward, towards the Kaguya. As he neared, the aroma of burnt flesh permeated through his nostrils. The odor was similar to chicken, which Cuatro would usually relish the smell of, but not now; not from his friend.  He got close. “Let me help ya, buddy. I got ya. We’re going to hospital ASA—“

A right hook struck Cuatro across his jaw. In Cuatro’s famous words: he got his dick-string knocked loose. The ANBU head jolted to the side and eventually into the dirt. He was de-cleated. Dust and small rocks kicked up as his body slid a few feet through the grass.

“My trap,” Zerutobi said, panting slightly. He slowly made his way towards Cuatro, cautious as he approached, for his comrade could respond with the same respect.  “C’mon Cuatro, lets go grab some food or something.” He extended his hand down to his fellow ANBU.

Cuatro whipped his head a few times, dust flying from his hair. “Sounds good my dude,” he replied, groaning. He took Zeru’s hand and slowly returned to his feet. “Goddamn that was a hit.”

Zerutobi chuckled. “That’s my ultimate defense.  That’s my Shield of Bone. I’ve never encountered a jutsu that could break through it. If they could, I’d be dead.” His chuckled burst into full laughter.

“You two done?”

Zerutobi and Cuatro both looked to the trees instantly. Cuatro spotted the owner of the words before the Kaguya and pointed it out to him. “Siete sexy ass,” Cuatro mumbled, but Zeru still could decipher what he said.

Siete jumped down from the shroud of tree branches and landed to the ground without flaw. Her voluptuous breasts lightly jiggled as she touched down. “Ive been watching your little “spar” for the last couple minutes.”

“Oh sorry, Master Siete,” Cuatro replied, his sarcasm entertained Zeru, but not so much the lady ANBU.

“Cut the crap, Cuatro,” she remarked. “I need you for something. That’s why I’m here.”

Cuatro’s eyes grew, almost bulging through the mask’s sockets. “R-Really?” He had a crush on Siete for as long back as Zerutobi could remember. He made many comments about fucking her sideways, and other miscellaneous positions; most of which Zeru heard but failed to listen. “Well, see ya later Tres!” He said jubilantly. “Catch ya some other time.”

“Cool with me,” the Kaguya responded, with a nod and wink. “Do you.”

Cuatro dashed towards Siete with the speed of a thousand cheetahs. Never did he ever spring with so much determination, if he did he would certainly be a higher rank within the ANBU.

And like that, they were gone.

Zeru no longer had purpose in the forest any more. He accomplished his goal of getting some training in, and the small spar session with Cuatro was very helpful.

He sauntered back into the confines of Konoha.

Ending it here.

Post WC/Total WC
1082/3250

Jutsu Learned: (Total cost: 3200, leftover WC [if it matters] 50)

Spoiler: