[Private] Freedom?

[Hôzuki Akai]

Well, well. This was quite a pickle he was in. He was fresh out of academy, a genin, but no sensei or team had been found for him so far, barring him from any bigger work than errands. Sighing, he began to think about the better sides. First was definitely that he had this starnge feeling of freedom in his heart, as if he could flutter away and without looking back take what he had and flee into the blue moon. Or something like that, he was neither very poetic nor someone who loved romanticism. He was a do or die guy, always on the prowl, just yesterday, he had been going into the suburban and had hanged out with some delinquents. He just had a way around them, he couldn´t show to normal people. And he also handled them like normal people, just as they did with him.

And it was also that some of those people were as intelligent, maybe even too intelligent for their own good. Some of them had become delinquents, because they saw that they had no reason to go to school if they had already a job in mind, or some because they knew right off the bat that their dream job would always have been out of reach, because they had not enough money or not the right parents. Ignorance is bliss. A good saying in Akai´s book. All those people walking by him, while he was sitting on a rail leading down from a highly frequented marketplace, wouldn´t even remind them self of the sharkish looking boy that sat there.

Grinning, he stretched out his leg once and made someone stumble down the stairs, not looking after who it was, he pulled his leg back and looked away. Even though he had all these thoughts he was still a child at heart. A child with the wrong friends and wrong impression of fun, maybe. Who could say what really was fun, or freedom?

[Muon]

"Don't you have anything better to do than trip a villager? It's not even like they could so something about it. Besides, you're a ninja. You should try not to disgrace the title so much."

A small boy with short, spiked black hair and piercing dark eyes stared at Akai. His thin lips curled downwards into a frown, revealing the tips of his oversized and blocky teeth.

"Even Sharkface should be excited, now that he's out of the academy."

Muon sneered, sending creases along the bridge of his large, straight and pointed nose. His clothes were noticeably inanimate, with a form-fitting sleeveless and turtlenecked tunic and matching black slacks. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, adorned with the same light gray arm-warmers that he always wore, while his heels were pressed together as he balanced his weight upon the point of a fireplace.


The small shinobi was watching Sharkface from atop one of the roofs that walled the path and stairwell Akai was traveling upon on either side.

He knew Akai from the academy, and never developed on attitude or another for him. Of course, he knew Akai ran with the trouble kids, Muon did as well every so often, though their paths rarely crossed and their relation was passing at best. But seeing him now, seeing him act like he was against a villager, while officially wielding the emblem of Kirigakure...that annoyed him.

[Hôzuki Akai]

Just sinking into his own thoughts again, he heard a voice from somewhere up on the roofs at the other side of the staircase. Hearing that he was called sharkface made him realize it had to be someone from the academy. Well, this was a nice surprise. He didn´t really care about the patriotic nonsense that the other spouted, but he was glad that his action before had made someone respond, so there was still people like that out there he didn´t really know. Everyone else had just gone on, no one had even helped the person he had tripped to get up. Heck, they wouldn´t even remember this a few seconds later, even the person he had tripped would most likely forget about it once he turned a corner and had vented some steam about the youths of the village.

Sliding down from the rail, he jumped up and back on the roof that had been behind him and sat down, legs crossed, at the edge of the roof. "Why, hello there Muon." Akai said and looked at the other person, he and Akai him self had no real point of being here together. Both of them were somehow ending up with wrong friends all the time. Well, maybe Muon not as much as Akai was, but whatever. "You mean that before? Ah, well, you see, I was pretty bored and no one is free today. And heck, why should I care about the protector..." He tapped his left arm on which the protector was located. "...when I don´t even have a sensei or a team. At the moment I´m just waiting for anything to happen, I can´t even go on a mission now if I don´t make do as a reserve for another team." After ranting a bit and moving his legs a bit, he looked down below to those other people roaming around. "Maybe I´m a bit jealous of them." He murmured to him self.

[Muon]

"I didn't think you were such a whiner, Akai."

Muon watched as Akai lifted himself up to the roof and took a seat, literally staring down his nose at the shark-faced kid. He didn't bother to move even as Akai turned his back on him and took a seat. Whether he spoke to his back or made eye-contact mattered little, so long as he heard.

"Maybe you should apply yourself more. You were overlooked for a reason, don't you think? Instead of lashing out like we're still little kids in the academy you should act like a ninja."

He lowered his head until his chin touched at his collar. "After all, time spent being a little shit is time better spent training. Don't you agree? I'm sure you didn't become a ninja just to remain mediocre. Then again, maybe you did."

Muon wasn't a genius, but he did work hard and he did apply himself diligently. In fact, he was returning from his first session with his squad, bounding from roof to roof to make his way home quicker, when he spotted Akai in the first place.

The smaller of the two genin continued to stand perched atop the roof overlooking his peer, awaiting a response.

[Hôzuki Akai]

A whiner, huh? "So it seems, ehh...?" Akai sighed and looked away for a second, he had made a mistake and now he was seeing that it had been wrong from any angle, even though it had been fun for a second, now that he had done it, he would most likely never do it again. But hell, he really was acting like a child right now.

"Now, now, no need to look and talk that scary, I definitely plan to reach higher, but at the moment I´m just hanging through a bit, everyone is off somewhere and training is just as you said it is for us waiting. Mediocre, we aren´t allowed to go outside and collect experience and we can only train with the usual equipment. Heck, if there was something to learn from my clan, I would most likely learn it, but all those techniques they use are for either kenjutsu people, which I´m not really interested in. Though..."

Touching the tanto at his side, he wondered if that would be a good direction to go to. Something to get out of his slump. "Maybe that would not be that bad an idea, you got any experience with the sword Muon?" Akai asked while pulling out his tanto, the small blade in his left hand while holding the hilt in his right. Maybe it was really destiny for him to become accustomed to a sword, who else was able to get this close to an enemy? He could just liquefy and then slash at the enemy... though it was quite cowardly.

Smirking he turned halfway, giving his sharp edged teeth away quite a bit. They were as white as real shark teeth and about as sharp as well, though not nearly as powerful. "So, you have already been on a mission, huh? How was it? Who is your sensei? What were you doing? Or is it a secret?" Akai was quite curious now.

[Muon]

Muon's face contorted into what can only be described as both a sneer and a smirk even as his chin was still buried in his chest. He lifted his gaze to look back at Akai.

Maybe he wasn't such a loser. He seemed genuinely sorry for doing it. And really, who was Muon to judge? He wasn't so much better. He sighed, wishing he could be more cruel, but knowing that inside, he wasn't.

"I wouldn't call it a mission. My squad just met for the first time, is all. And we have our assignments, but that's neither here nor there."

In one swift movement (one he practiced often when he was alone) he pulled his all-black tanto from the housing upon his back. It barely made any noise as it was freed, although there was the distinct shng of metal on metal. He'd have to perfect the silent draw if he wanted to be an assassin, but that could wait.

"I'm no expert." He tossed the blade in the air, giving it a bit of rotation, before grasping the handle in a reverse grip. "But I practice with it often. I've been trying to incorporate it into my taijutsu kata. Right now, that's hard enough on its own though."

The truth of it was, Akai and Muon weren't so different. Muon was just a bit more focused and had more access to the stylings he wanted to train. If Sharkface could find his niche, maybe he'd turn out alright, too.

"I could help you familiarize yourself with that tanto...and mine... if you wanted to." He said with just an edge of a taunt in his tone.

[Hôzuki Akai]

Seems like he got him self a sparring partner and a possible teacher... or something like that. Even though it looked quite good what he had done and somewhat safe. It didn´t even look close skillwise to his parents movements with the sword or that of his other clan members.

But that loudlessness was definitely the real deal. "So, what do you plan to do? I mean, you speak of grand things, but is there really something you are aiming for?" Kai chuckled, wondering what this guy could be aiming for, he seemed to have planned it out at least, maybe there was really a grand plan somewhere?

But back to the little show Muon had shown him, Akai felt a bit inferior now, so he had to say something, maybe do something too. "I see, so the sword is all about overconfidence, huh?" Akai asked mockingly while standing up. "You know, there is more to anyone you see and that is also one of the reasons, that I have a hard time with swords and so on."

And with that, he rammed the tanto into his heart, or where his heart would hav been if he hadn´t liquefied that very second, turning into a jelly like state. Pulling his hand out again, he hardened again and turned normal. "As you can see... I´m somewhat special..."

[Muon]

Muon's gaze was unbroken by Akai's taunts or his display. They had grown up together, for the most part (albeit with little direct interaction). Akai's boasting wasn't a new development. Muon had grown desensitized to it with his years in the academy and afterschool activities.

"Yeah, I have a goal. I'll be the best assassin in the world. Paid top dollar to do it, too. And...the best tool in Kirigakure's arsenal. I'll be the Hand of Kirigakure like every shinobi should be."

Muon briefly spoke of his nindo, which was much more elaborate than what he had said to Akai. But now was neither the time nor the place.

"I'm wondering if that move of yours is passive or triggered. Will it protect you from the strike you don't see coming?" He asked aloud, before thinking to himself, And just how much chakra does it eat up to trigger it?

The boy held his ebony blade in just his right hand before dropping from his perch and landing squarely upon the roof. He was now on equal footing with Akai.

His posture was slumped, with his arms dangling seemingly-morosely just in front him, threatening to brush against his thighs every so often, while his knees were bent. His footing was such that his right hip, shoulder, and heel were slightly back with equal weight placed upon either foot.

This was his typical stance. It was one that showed no real "form". His arms weren't up in any sort of defense. And yet from there he could access any of the wild, even majestic movements that defined his style.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to cut the theatrics and begin."

[Hôzuki Akai]

Argh, no fun. Usually, even thugs and gangsters at least blinked when they saw him stab him self for the first time. It was like a little party trick. There was just one downside to it. It didn´t cost much chakra or anything like that, but unlike it´s name, it quickly dehydrated the user. Akai had never really tested how often he could turn into liquid and back into normal again, but he also knew that even though he could trigger it at will, it was also like an intuition rather than something he really actvated. If someone asked him about it, he would say that it is like breathing. You just do it. After all, he was trained to keep up a real body instead of the other way around. So it was more like the jelly like state was his real form and the body he used now was just something to keep it together.

But really, Muon had to calm down... no, not calm down... more like he was too cool. Sure it was one thing for an assassin to becoem ruthless and cool to the touch. But most assassins broke down later because they had no other sense and guilt just built up without them knowing how to vent that feeling. "You know, you should relax from time to time too. It can be as good a training as real training you wouldn´t want to become one of those overly serious guys, would you?" He wrinkled his eyebrow and then turned the tanto a bit, so that the blade ran along his forearm, blade to the front. But he put his index finger on the side of the thumb so that he could spin the blade 180° in a split second. If he was doing this, he would do it right. Even his looks seemed to change a tad bit, his smile froze a bit and his teeth vanished. His eyes wild, he had learned enough from just looking at the sword training in their house to know some basics.

With a small sigh, he tilted to the front and seemed to use the front acceleration to get close enough for their shortswords to meet. Then just before they would clash most likely as short sword were often used for stanning rather than cutting, as they do only very small wounds not really incapacitating the enemy, he would turn his body a bit and extend his blade by turning it, so it would look like a blade would spring forth from his hand.

[Muon]

So, he can be serious. Good.

Muon's gaze was unbroken, staring ceaselessly upon Akai as he awaited a response. The Hozuki asked what Muon thought was a dumb question, and he responded by saying as much.

"That's such a dumb concern. There's no such thing as being too serious. Not in this lifestyle." He was referring to being a ninja, of course. He understood that one could be overly dramatic, melodramatic even, but that was different from being serious.

Muon, who was still hunched over and holding his tanto in his left hand (with the edge reversed, pointing in towards his body) leaned back, throwing his left arm up. The thick, dull spine of his ebony blade found Akai's cunning attack and parried it away from his body.

Using the momentum of twisting his left arm outwards as he had, he continued twisting his hips and raised his right hand, shooting a direct and tight rising right hook aimed for Akai's jaw. He didn't make many direct attacks, preferring to counter his opponent's, and as such, designed his own attacks to leave little openings (although he was far from flawless, being a Genin).

"The thing about a tanto is how close you have to get to use it. It's so...personal."

[Hôzuki Akai]

Hoo? So, he did realize that fact, huh? But more problematic would be how they would look, besides the small stairway, it connected two big streets, people bustling there and some were bound to look up, how would they react? Thinking a shrug, he continued his focus on the battle. Good thing, that Muon had steered Akai away from him self. Now he could use that. Actually that was the only thing Akai was quite good at, using the enemies move to his own advantage.

So, what to do now. There were three points to attack. But first, evasion. Using the momentum, he set only his one foot down and now spun away from the upcoming fist, feeling it just a hairs breadth away from his face. Wasn´t this supposed to be training with the sword? Or was that guy thinking his whole body was a weapon. Thinking a sigh, he stopped the turn by setting down his other foot.

Well, time to use the new rule. He would use his whole body too. First point of attack, the foot of Muon, exchanging the light weapon nearly instantaneously, he now had his tanto in the hand near Muons foot and stabbed at it. As that would pull him toward Muon, he could also use it for the second point of attack. Using the hand he had just changed his tanto away, forming a fist, he would aim at the arm that would be outstretched from the punch. Throwing a punch always used all muscles inside the arm and therefore it was hard to stop or change the direction of it. Using that knowledge, he would hit as hard as he could and aim for the side of the elbow, the weakest part of the arm.

As this would catapult him toward Muon, as last point of attack if Muon should change his stance to avoid him to the side, he would spin his one foot toward the lower part of is leg to avoid the small blade, while turning one whole time and then landing on his own feet, standing in the end. Good thing none of those moves would end with more than wounds able to heal in under two weeks. Though the wound in the foot would be the worst. But all in all, the attack wouldn´t even take more than three seconds to be done.

Actually Akai was still trying to figure out how to handle this situation the best. He was no good at training fights because he never saw the point if he couldn´t wound the opponent at least. But now, no sensei was looking at them, so he could go all out, but was still holding back from aiming for vital spots like in a normal fight. Also, he didn´t really wanted to use his ability right now. After all, it was getting funny.

[Muon]

Muon watched Akai avoid his punch by deftly spinning out of the way. Part of the benefit of Muon's style was there was no need to reset before attacking or defending for that matter.

Akai's consideration that punches did their strain and required a commitment from muscles was accurate, but his assumption that Muon was defenseless was a poor one.

Akai switched the handling of his tanto from far to near in the time it took Muon to adjust his punch.

As the fist was sailing upwards to begin with, his elbow was naturally rising to point outwards. Muon brought his fist towards him, turning his punch into a sort of fist-pump that ended with his elbow now fully contracted and pointing at Akai.

Throwing his weight forward, Muon took a halfstep with his right foot and brought his elbow towards the descending head of Akai, who would have no time to throw his stab at Muon's foot.

Akai might have had time to switch hands with his sword, but Muon wasn't going to freeze up just because he missed, and nothing about Akai screamed 'Speedy' to him, so he was far from worried.

[Hôzuki Akai]

Being half interrupted in his move, Akai began to wonder if he could even win this, after all, Muon seemed to be much more experienced in close range fights. Akai was more of a skill user, jutsu were his thing, actually.... what the hell was he even doing here, there was a reason why he had that ability of his, but then again it would be unfair, sure, he could evade the hurt of the elbow dropping at him, but then this whole fight would have been useless. Or at least pointless.

Not really knowing what to do, he decided to use his legs that were already swinging to make an effort and stay as he was. Even though all in him screamed that he should liquefy, he bolstered his conviction and used the tanto, still swinging but now at empty space to get a better grip, by scraping the floortiles that were on most houses of Kiri. Then, slipping his one foot above the other, scraping along the elbow as he lifted his body up in a 180° turn, just to notice that 'just' scraping a dropping elbow had been enough to make him dizzy.

Damn, he really needed more training, being the oldest son of his family, he never had to fight much against others or had any bigger fights in the streets as most people just made a big curve around him and even if someone came at him, one time liquefy and then a water prison always did the trick. Always. He would leave them just about suffocated and then get them out after laughing his ass off at them. But this was different.

He kind of wanted to get hurt, not in the M way, but because it would be a kind of training he woulsn´t usually get. Still shaky, he saw he had stumbled about three feet away while holding his head, a bruise clearly visible on his forehead. "Gee, was that all?" He said grinning while readying his tanto again.

[Muon]

"You'll have to forgive me, I'm not a traditional swordsman. But these are not traditional swords, I guess."

Muon had pulled with the momentum of his elbow, swinging his right foot back on the ball of his left foot, "opening up" as Akai evaded/stumbled away.

His mouth curved into a vague smile as Akai tried to undermine the fight thus far.

"Gee, was that all?"

"No, not nearly." He answered.

Muon handed the tanto over from left to right, now gripping it in his dominant hand. The two of them were only a couple feet apart, and still within range.

Muon thrusted forward a quick jab of an attack. It barely had the range to pierce at all (thought it still could) and was meant as more of a feint. The stab was direct and aimed for Akai's head.

As part of the feinting nature of his attack, his tanto was quickly retrieved back to a guarding position, ready to lash out again.

Muon didn't know Akai very well. He didn't know how far he was willing to go, but to be honest, he didn't even know that about himself. His session with his squad was a first, and an eye-opener, but there was still much to learn about himself. He figured he and Akai could help each other out in that respect.

He also stayed mindful of Akai's liquidation ability, especially having seen it just thirty seconds ago.

"What about you?" He asked, in regards to what Akai could do.