Groovy (p, nk)

Kozata Shinkou was nearing Tenga. He had seriously hoped that his trip there had been more easy and less strenuous, but those hopes had faded away as quickly as his good body feeling had while he had been sailing on the sea. The waves had made him quite nauseous, and he felt the remnants of it fading from his system as he walked truly, this was a sad moment. His physical self had clearly not been trained enough to be able to handle journeys like that at all. Well, he thought, as the evening settled in and the bright lights of the village shone out a good ways ahead of him, better late than never to get training done. If he could do it while on a mission for his leader, then better to take advantage of that as much as possible. Besides, he needed a break from the boring walking and the constant monotony of the plains as they rolled past. Not very interesting, to be sure, but most certainly (at least, probably) not hazardous, like the ocean had been. As such, Kozata was dreading the return trip to Shima quite a bit, and this was made evident on his face. He had on a sour expression, like he had just bitten into a delicious-looking candy bar that was actually filled with milk that had been left to rot for a week. As the true grossness of what the metaphor was sunk into his mind, he nearly vomited, stopping near a cave to rest and recover. A cave, huh? Unusual for such a thing to be out here. Well, no reason to go in, there was no one there. However, with the few trees nearby, this was the ideal location to train and alleviate the current burdens on his mind.
He would stop there, making a quick show of clapping his palms together and channeling his chakra. He had not yet learned some of the stronger ninjutsu techniques, so he thought back to the old katon book he had read... well, there was always that great fire thingy... or whatever it was actually called. He remembered that the fire stream technique had been a foundation for it, so he supposed that he had better begin with that. He thought about his fire stream, thinking and considering about how truly weak it was, but that wasn't the concern. The real problem was how to make it expand into a great fireball, which he had just remembered the name of. He made a quick brief session of hand seals, building and kneading his chakra. This felt good, so he then brought out the form from his mind: a form of expanding fire.However, with a spark and a mouthful of hot smoke, he fell on the ground on his hands and knees, coughing. Ugh, this was bad. He had just finished coughing when he stood up and heard a strange noise... what could it be? It seemed to be coming closer...
(Wc 500)

Kozai Yuki was the source of the sound, as he made good pace at a nice speed of 53 over the grass. That wasn't even half of his top speed, but then again, he was only about chunin level in power, with the probably exception of the instance in which he was forced to use white walker. He gritted his teeth at the memory... Maku was powerful indeed. That kind of power... Kozai was beginning to feel the old power lust returning, and he wasn't sure that he liked it at all. It was probably the traces of the human heart, started by Akuryou, and kept alive by Agito and Echo. Well, now that Agito was dead and Echo somewhat unsoncerned, Kozai half hoped that the traces would come together. At the same time, he doubted that they would really come to anything. He wasn't that kind of person, after all, to readily accept heartfelt compassion into himself. He was above mercy, or at least, that was what he kept telling himself. Like a mantra, it ran through his mind, battling the feeling of self-doubt and worry. What was he as of that moment, and what would he become? Only time would tell.
In the meantime, he was suppressing his chairs, so that it would be completely invisible to normal sensories.He did not, certainly, want to be apprehended by strangers on his way to his destination. That, of course, being the village hidden in skyscrapers. Suddenly, Kozai had a flashback, he had been here before in his much younger years... it had been around here that he had killed a savage pack of wild beasts... Kozai's mind hummed as he thought of them. Kind of like a cross between an enormous killer rabbit and a piranha, as it were.
Kozai now appreciated such interesting science, and wondered if these creatures most proximal ancestors had been a science experiment subject of some sort. Considering Tengakure had been well known for its sophistication in tech, it seemed a valid hypothesis to Kozai. He would have to inquire on that at some point. The problem was that Kozai remembered a cave around this area... a place, perhaps, to stop and catch his breath. He scanned the horizon, and found ii near a rocky outcropping. Yes, he had found a place to stop and think. He began to decelerate slightly, but not enough, as he needed to scout first.
He began to curve towards the back part of the cave, and while he did so, he honed his chakra senses. What... what was this? It appeared to be a tiny chakra signature. It reminded him of that boy that Agito had been training with... it had been fun to do things to them. Kozai went around to see who it was. He heard a coughing noise, then he saw... a boy. This one looked normal enough, but what was he doing out here? And wasn't that... a Shim a headband? How very odd...
(Got permission from Den to do this, 500 wc)

When he saw the man, Kozata did not feel fear. No, he was most certainly not afraid. As a matter of fact, being the absolute idiot that he was, he felt like a brazen dam. Well, that seemed a bit odd of a comparison, as far as metaphors go. That is, he felt that this man wasn't scary, but that he was suspicious, and massively evil, perhaps. His brilliantly idiotic brain ran with ways as to bring honor to his dead parents by achieving victory over this somewhat professionally dressed stranger. The lab coat, he had to admit, was a nice touch. Well, this man was going to be... hold on, he wasn't even wearing a headband. A missing ninja!! At this point, Kozata's childish personality simply could not resist. If he killed this man... Naoki might give him an actual salary, rather than the meager subsistence he existed on. More importantly, it would be a test of his own rough skill... or lack of it. It had simply not yet come into his mind that this creeper could be far beyond his league, or perhaps even capable of competing with some of the jonin in his village. No, his sense of ire was up, even enough to iignore the mansion s roars of laughter and mirth in his head.
He would turn to the man, forming a plan in his head. It was surprisingly smart, at least for Kozata. To others, it was relatively simple: stall for time. Tthis would allow him to sneak in an attack. However, the way in which he would plan to execute this would be pretty stupid. However, being a dunce himself, he could have no earthly clue that what he was doing was bound to fail. Well, in the end, he would try his best.
"You there, cursed village traitor... from where do you come!? Answer me, or I'll... uh... set you on fire!"
Well, that came out oddly. However, the words had been said, and it was now too late. He mad the tiger half hand seal and prepared for the worst. At this point, it suddeneentered into his mind that he had made a vast mistake. Away, shit... could he run away? No... there was no turning back now. He would just have to deal with his own errors, as... as perhaps a man, a ninja would. Maybe his father had done the same thing.
He faced the man now, and the doubt began to show on his face. Was this the end for him? His life had just started getting into the fast lane, and even though it had been a little uneventful, he would love if it could keep on going.
Death... to a missing ninja? Would he suffer a death in combat, just like his parents... no.. it couldn't end here! Throughout this whole time, he would be kneading chakra, but now to a person such as Kozai, his body would seem
to have some new, dark power...
(Twc 1000)

Oh... what was this? The boy seemed to be a bit jumpy, which would be expected of one so apparently weak in general. Inwardly, Kozai smiled and wondered if he had been like this before he had awoken in Iwa, devoid of his memories. However inconvenient it had been, Kozai had to admit that it had indeed been the experience that had shaped his life thus far... how could it not? It certainly was not everyday that something like that happened. Turning his attention back to the boy, he would give him an expression that appeared half-kind, half-amused. He had no hard feelings toward this child as it was, and did not want or feel the need to harm him. Even so, the boy was threatening him... truly, the kid had no tact. What kind of leader would put a boy like this in the field? Probably a desperate or idiotic one, Kozai thought, as he kept his chakra suppressed. Perhaps in his younger years, Kozai would have already disembowelled this one and moved on, but not so now. He felt that this guy was on edge and needed a break. However, considering that the boy probably had a brain, his mind needed to be searched for anything interesting.
He would form the ram hand seal and body flicker at maximum speed, landing just behind the boy, a few inches within arms reach. This would put him in perfect position, so he put the palm of his right hand around the boy's forehead, using the mind reading technique to scan the boy's memories. As he did so, he would prepare his left hand to block incoming attacks. At this point, due to the effortlessness with which he was able to read the boy's memories, he had a better idea of the kid's actual power. Indeed, it was not much.
So, the kid really was from Shima, which seemed like a relaxing village to hang out in. His leader seemed... compassionate... and yet, it also seemed that he was hiding something dark as well. Were all of the people in Shima this way? Now... the rest was pretty cool too. The boy had some documents that Kozai didn't care about, so he skipped that. But the boy himself... had a darkness inside that had a mind of its own, or so it appeared. In addition, it seemed that this entity was not just a mere creation of the boy's.
Rather, it seemed to be some kind of external addition to the boy's very existence itself. Well, this would be interesting. He would width draw his hand from the boy's head and consider what he had just seen. He felt, all of a sudden, that he should not meddle with this child on his journey. However, if the kid pressed his luck, he would find Kozai to be a capable combatant. All this time, Kozai was making sure not to speak, as silence would prevent any information leaks to this small boy.
(Wc 1000)

Not only did it appear that this man was a jerk, he was also massively rude... and, or so it seemed, at least a little perverted. Seriously, who would dare caress the forehead of a young teenage boy like that? Truly, this must be some weirdo. As the man detached himself from Kozata, the boy would spin around, making the tiger handseal in the process. The jutsu he was about to use, the fire stream, was not quite one that he had mastered or perfected. Oh no, he had actually never used it in combat before, but it had to be done. 
He simply could not get over the outrage that had been forced upon him. He could imagine a disembodied voice narrating some wacky "loss of innocence" story, only to realize that it was the mansion within him, taunting him and mocking him for his inadequacy. Oh, that did it all right, Kozata was, for once, quite angry. This rarely happened, as Kozata was somewhat oblivious to the tone and so on of other people. However, the tone of the being that existed within his very soul? That, he could read very well. And he did not like it one bit.
He cried out, both in anger at the man and at the mansion. 
Fire stream jutsu.
The line of katon shot forth at a great (or it seemed to him) speed of 10, with the same power, headed cleverly (or so he thought) toward the man's right eye. That's where he would be vulnerable, and where he would most likely try to dodge from. Now, as with before, Kozata predicted, the man would flash behind the boy, in order to unleash a surprise attack. For that, Kozata had a little surprise ready in store. His mutherflippin' fist, was what it was.
Once again, of course, the idiot had lost track of exactly how outmatched he was. He had had no brainpower to consider the sheer fact that this man could be strong and resilient as well as fast. But, he had read enough comics to think that fast guys were usually weak in power and durability. So, it was in this case that he used the fire stream jutsu, not just as an attack, but as an effort to force an action from the man. This was, unknowingly to the boy, the first expansion (however small) of the boy's tactical mind. 
Hopefully, he thought, as the fire stream shot its way towards its target, the man would tell him where he was from. That way, he would have more information to give to Naoki the leader when he got back to the village! Then, the rewards would come rushing in.... or was Naoki that kind of person? Kozata honestly hoped that he was. Regardless, it was to his advantage to find out. It couldn't possibly hurt him... right? 
He clenched his right fist (the hand that had not formed the tiger seal) and sequentially got ready to attack.
(TWC 1500)

Kozai would see the boy's pathetic attack, and wondered if he should now destroy the child. No... the boy had his uses. All Kozai had to do was impress upon this child that in Kozai's eyes, the kid was something like a diamond in the rough, or a brilliant ball of... well you get the point. Now, Kozai did not feel like using much more chakra on this boy, due to the brat's apparent weakness. Judging by the speed of the jutsu, the fire stream did not seem so very strong either, so Kozai made his decision pretty quickly. As a matter of fact, he would barely move at all, merely shifting his lab coat to block the fire stream from reaching his body. Being sturdier than most clothing, the lab coat would cause the fire stream to merely dissipate, leaving Kozai himself in relative safety. Mmph... not even a scorch on the threads of his lab coat. At this point, Kozai seriously doubted if those flames could do anything at all. Well, he would have to stop this mosquito by pacifying it with what it truly desired. That, of course, being information. At this point, Kozai would sigh, then address the boy.
"My name is Kozai, and I come from the North. Tell your leader that Iwagakure is gone, and only I remain as its last fragment." With that, Kozai would body flicker, vanishing from the boy's sight.
(TWC 1239,
600 ryo
1200 wc towards malleable physiology
Exit)

Kozata's mind curdled and his expression became horrified as he saw the fire stream, the jutsu that he had worked so hard to perfect, do... absolutely nothing, not even to the man's clothing. A mere lab coat... treated his flame as if it were nothing? A higher leveled ninja would most probably have been incensed, or put on his guard, but as of that very moment, Kozata felt only despair. What this meant was that all the work and effort that he had done since he had been in the academy was worthless. All the effort that he had gone through was for nought.
Everything, the walking through the heat, the talking and training with Vigil (from which he had gained much), the adventures in the library and with the cat... it all summed to zero against this man. As the adversary cast his long shadow on Kozata, the boy felt the power draining from him as he listened to the man's words... then, he vanished. What kind of power had he just witnessed? Was it possible... for him to be able to keep up with those kinds of abilities? It seemed to him that after all this time, he was still the "loser" after all...
No... the spirit within him had promised power if he embraced it, along with the darkness that came with it. He looked forward, and stood up slowly and shakily. He didn't have to be a hero like he had always wanted to... hell, he could be a villain if htat was how things went, but he would have the power to defeat the man who had just appeared before him. Speed, power, reacting well... those were things that he should focus on. Lasting in a fight, stamina... things like that had to be built. They were certainly not just gained overnight.
His Naien blazing forth without his will, he spoke inwardly to the thing within his heart. "You were right to laugh at me... I lost, this time. When I see that man again, I'll humiliate him like he did to me. I'll be the one to cast my shadow on him, and no one, not even you will be able to stop me. You'all help me, I'm sure... this is exactly what you wanted for me in the first place, wasn't it? To experience a battering at the hands of actual raw power... I didn't see that man use a single elemental jutsu the whole time. I'll get him, though... with that, he would set off towards his destination. He had a mission to fulfill, and favor to gain from it. Little did he know, however, how long it would be until he ceased to be a dunce. It would be a long journey. In addition, he could have had no idea at all that ahead of him would be the woman that would dominate him and show him the true meaning of high and powerful charisma. Well, so went his miserable life.
(Exit, closed
Twc 2000
10 stats
2000/2000 for Meiton: Dark Pulse)

Approved.