Insubordination

In a flash of purple light, Kazuo appeared at the edge of rain country, on the path that would lead through Bear Country and into Kumogakure’s lands. His business in Kirigakure had gone well, but now he was faced with a much less pleasant matter. One of his allies, likely the most powerful one still alive, seemed to think that he need not take orders from the samurai. This was unacceptable. He knew this was the path that most would take when travelling to Kumogakure, and so here he waited. He broadcasted his voice across the entire channel, for every member of Hitsuyo Aku to hear, not just Ryu. Insubordination was not something Kazuo took likely.

Ryu Reinhard, I am waiting for you at the borders of Amegakure and the Bear Country. It would be wise not to avoid me, or keep me waiting. There are matters that you and I need to discuss. Came the foreboding voice of Kazuo. To the rest of Hitsuyo Aku, I will return to the mountains when I am through. You will find a camp at the northeast side of the mountain. Go there and train until I return. There is food and supplies to sustain you for some time. Akane and Faith, you two are to remain where you are and keep tabs on the black market. Keep me updated with anything of note that you discover. He said. Ryu would be exempted from this bit of information. It would not be relevant to him.

Kazuo waited there, in the middle of the road, blades at his side. Over his shoulder, the foreboding battle aura of a samurai mounted upon a decaying horse stood, as if watching over the landscape. It would be easily identified from quite far away, and would let Ryu find him quite easily. He often looked unsettling, walking with six blades on his belt, and had even garnered the joking title of “Porcupine Swordsman.” It was amusing at times to think of, but now, you would be hard pressed to cheer up Kazuo. He stood there waiting, sensing with his chakra sensory for anyone who approached, his aura allowing Ryu to easily spot him should he approach.

The response Kazuo received was… Unexpected. A sudden barrage of telepathic communication from Ryu in response. Standing there stoically, Kazuo rolled his eyes as he responded in kind.

Amegakure. He repeated. The place where it rains a lot. Said the samurai, brimming with sarcasm. He had dealt with these sorts before, and while it gave him quite the migraine, he knew what he had to say to get what he wanted. Why did he have such a hard time finding good help? He ignored the comment about being wise and something about a jail cell, determining it to be nothing but white noise.

Ryu introduced himself as if they had been introduced already, although in fairness they had hardly spoken in person before. Correct. Kazuo replied impatiently. He could see Ryu now, blundering around in the road. He asked Kazuo if it was him standing there, and he swore that the swordsman’s aura rolled its eyes too.

Yes, I’m the guy in the middle of the- Would you just get over here? He replied with their telepathy, annoyed. The man would approach, but stop about twenty meters away from him for some reason, as if they weren’t having a conversation. Kazuo sighed and began to walk towards him, since he didn’t seem to want to come closer.

”What’s up is that you do not seem to understand who is in charge here. I gave you an order, and you blatantly ignored it. That reflects badly on yourself and on me.” He ranted, annoyed with the male’s antics.

Kazuo had no idea who this "Kevin" character was, so he ignored the comment. He knew that Ren used many aliases, so perhaps he invented this outlandish title as a disguise for himself. 
"Kev- Ren is dead." He said plainly. "And from what I can tell, he wasn't the saint. I found the corpse of one of his comrades hidden away in his office."

When Ryu declared that he had done no wrong, Kazuo grew annoyed. Each hand fell to a blade at his side as he spoke, Kazuo's irritation clear from the threat of violence he imposed on Ryu, one that Kazuo himself had been subject to mere minutes ago. The duality of the situation was not lost on Kazuo, but he feared that the boy would not leave here with his life if he continued to act like a child. 
"You defied me. When your leader gives you orders, you are to obey them without question. If you do not, consequences will arise." Declared Kazuo, his eyes beginning to glow a hellish crimson. He was preparing for combat. "Now, I'll give you a choice. Apologize and pay your respects, and return to the mountains, where our allies await us, or defy me, and face the consequences." 

As he had not been stopped, Kazuo was now standing about a meter away from Ryu, the distance at which normal people interacted, and this is where he would come to a stop until Ryu gave his response.

“Kevin died?” The jounin asked saddened by the news. “I didn’t know much about the guy, but I wouldn’t wish death on anyone. No matter how bad they were in life.” Hopefully, Kazuo knew he was talking about the body found in his office.
 
When Kazuo raised his killing intent Ryu would respond in kind. Making the air around him seem dryer, as if breathing it in might cause pain. “You aren’t my leader though, I agreed to follow Kevin to take down Kumo. Seeing as we haven’t done anything like that in the months we were together and you aren’t Kevin I’d say not following your orders makes sense.”
 
“So, you can go ahead and draw those blades if you’d like or we can settle this without death.” The jounin would say clearly ready to fight if it came down to it.
 

“I can only offer you one thing we battle I win we attack Kumo, you win I follow you to the mountain. But I must be honest I didn’t join because I needed someone to follow, I joined because I thought there were people out there like me who wanted to stop bad people.” Ryu would shrug. “Unless this somehow relates to stopping bad people, I don’t need orders.”


WC: 212 

The boy’s surprise at Ren’s death was, at this point, unsurprising. ”Yes, I already informed you of this when I announced it to everybody.” He said, sighing with frustration. When the boy seemed to become serious for once, expressing a belief that none deserved death, Kazuo shook his head sadly.
”Some men deserve death.” He retorted gravely.

When Ryu responded by saying that he was not his leader, Kazuo scowled.
”Do you understand what we are? What we represent? Hitsuyo Aku is an idea, it wasn’t just Ren’s swan song. If you walk away now, you’re giving up on everything he stood for. If you truly respect the man, then respect his memory.” Kazuo said. While he didn’t know what to think of Ren anymore, he understood that Ryu had a high opinion of him. What came next, however, was a response to his threat. Ryu had challenged Kazuo to a duel. The man grinned.
”You haven’t earned the right to fight me as an equal.” Kazuo would growl, at the same time beginning to slide his blade from the sheathe.

His right hand would draw, in a display of blinding speed, his blade glowing with chakra as it flew out of the sheathe, towards Ryu’s midsection. It would be a clean cut across the belly, should it land, a few inches deep. This cut wasn’t a killing blow, but it would hurt like hell. . The kid still would be given a chance to be penitent for his sins, for now, at least.

(260 Swing Speed)
(180 Swing Strength)
(260 Sharpness)

740/790

-50 Flashblade
-5 Meigan

-5 Meigan Last Post

With the words and tone, it was evident something bad was about to happen. “Some men deserve death…” And Ryu would be a flash of light moving about 50 meters away from Kazuo. (RT 210, speed 210) Kazuo would for sure know what happened as he was a user of the same technique the ninja had just used vanish. From the speed, it should be obvious the boy had not moved very far.
 

As the boy stopped being a ball of light he would begin to run and form hand seals for his phoenix force technique. Still wonder why this dude thinks he is the boss of anyone. No one joined to be bossed around. If I have to fight, I have to fight. No different from Koroshi just keep away from him. He uses a sword, so a close fight will be bad. Keep it to ranged and keep him outrun. (speed 125 for seals)


Ap: 823
-50Ap Vanish
-50Ap Phoenix Force
723 remaining

As Kazuo spoke his words on what men deserve, he saw the boy begin to form a hand hand seal. With his superhuman perception, Kazuo was easily able to track the hand seals and react in turn. His blade began to slide from the sheathe, and towards the chest of Ryu. As the second hand seal was created, Kazuo felt a sense of deja vu. He recognized this technique. As an experienced fighter, he could predict what was about to happen. The boy was about to use his own technique against him. Charming. He knew that that boy was about to teleport, and that he could do so at the speed of thought. Well then, Kazuo would just have to slow his thoughts down. As the third seal was completed, a story would be told.

The story of a boy who disregarded his elders and ran away would be told to Ryu through the song of Kazuo’s blades. The boy would be lost in the story, his speed of thought hindered as Kazuo’s blade flashed towards him, cutting and marring his hands and rendering him incapable of making hand signs, and cutting upwards, slicing into his cheek and forehead, likely blinding him with blood as his story would be cut short.

”You’re a fool, boy.” Kazuo sighed, his blade held high. If the boy did not retaiate further, he would lower his blade slowly, cleaning the blood from it and sheathing it, keeping his fingers gripped around the handle. ”You joined Hitsuyo Aku to fight for a higher cause, yet you fight like a child when you do not get your way.” He said, tired of the boy’s stubborness.


(260 Swing Speed) (+10 RT needed to track)
(180 Swing Strength)
(270 Sharpness)


(Storyteller RT Debuff: 85)

685/790

-50 Flashblade
-50 Storyteller
-5 Meigan

“Ahh, you fucker!” Ryu would yell closing his eyes instinctively upon feeling the pain from his hand and face. “I wish we would get to that doing some good part sooner.” He would say while wrapping his hand into his shirt. It clearly would not be usable in a fight anymore, so it probably would be best to drop this for now…
 
The next time an event like this happened Ryu would make sure not to stand next to Kazuo. Surely, Kazuo already knew the fight was only so easy because they had been standing close. Otherwise, he would have ran around like a maniac. “Shit I’ll go with you to the mountain to play.” The blood dripping down onto his shirt and through it from his hand was bad, but it wouldn’t kill him.