1 From the Ashes [Training, Solo] Mon Nov 16, 2015 11:35 pm
Takao
S-rank
"Ah..." He was left breathless at the sight. Konohagakure no Sato lay before him, the village hidden in the leaves, one of the great shinobi villages, teeming with life as it always was. A slow smile crept onto his face as his onyx-hued gaze fell to the bustling streets below. Every day that passed made the village he called his home feel so much more distant, something precious to him that was held so close yet just out of his reach. Standing atop the water tower gave him a beautiful panoramic view of the village, from the tall trees beyond the walls to the colourful mansion settled so nicely beneath the carved heads on the mountain backdrop. As his gaze lifted and fell upon the faces, a small smile grew on his face. Oh how happy he was to not see his own mug placed beside the long line of his predecessors. How unworthy he felt to be held to their standard in his current state. His gaze dropped again, this time fixated on his left leg. Even now, standing stationary atop the highest point for a kilometer or so, pain still radiated from the limb. The wounds that once decorated him had healed and scarred, yet the damage had been done.
Takao grit his teeth. Not from the pain, but from the memory. It was a lingering, lasting, ever present trophy he carried with him as a result of his failure. ...Maybe a little bit from the pain too. By some miracle he'd managed to fall asleep every night by telling himself he'd done all that he could, but he was too wise to his own bullshit. How useless he had become... it frustrated him to no end. He inhaled a deep breath and tasted the fresh, cool autumn air as his eyes slowly closed, and he allowed his thoughts to wander.
//
"He's an incredibly powerful shinobi-" The words of his adviser were cut short.
"So am I." Takao said, his cold grey gaze unwavering after having set upon the dreary sight of the village, his village, beneath stormy clouds. His desk was cluttered, covered from corner to corner with papers and reports and books that were haphazardly strewn about.
"Y...yes, I know, but he isn't to be underestimated-" Again, his voice rose over the adviser.
"And neither am I." Takao's words were spoken clearly and concisely, and with a cold tone to match the mood. His arms unfolded and he turned halfway, his left boot thudding against the wooden floors, waiting for what the man on the other side of the desk would say next.
"I understand that, Hokage-sama, but please, listen to reason!"
A slow breath escaped Takao's nostrils as he sauntered closer to his desk, and his gaze dropped to the papers on his desk. Amidst the papers was a picture of a man, clad in the typical attire of a Konohagakure Jōnin. The paper it was clipped to listed information on his career as a shinobi that Takao had already read, as well as the information regarding his death.
"He's a threat to the village, I know that." Takao said as his hand came down on the paper. "His death proves that. I'm not going to sit in this ****ing chair and send more people to die! My job is to protect the village and the people inside it, not to sit idly by and throw bodies at our problems until they eventually get solved." The words flowed effortlessly from his mouth, yet the way his tone pitched and shifted made it clear that they were driven by emotion. He had underestimated their target's abilities and sent one of his shinobi to his grave. It would not happen again. He looked to his adviser, the man who was entrusted with the task of keeping the young and inexperienced Hokage in line, yet his eyes were set on the floor. Takao's head tilted; had he struck a cord with the man? Was he seeing things from Takao's point of view?
"I'm going."
//
Takao's eyes slowly opened as another breath left his lungs. His leg was really hurting now. He winced and hissed through clenched teeth. It felt like he was withering away in the village hidden in the leaves... unable to train, progress held just out of his grasp, so tantalizingly close yet still so far away.
"Alright... enough sulking." the raven-haired shinobi huffed out as he stepped closer to the edge of the container. Chakra flooded his hands and feet, the exact amount of such was precise and controlled. He descended the tower in a slow slide, gently lowering himself to the street. Pain rocketed through his body the instant the slightest bit of his weight fell onto his leg, and he lost his breath. He grit his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall he'd descended, causing cracks to ripple from where the bare skin had met stone.
The best medical shinobi in Konohagakure couldn't do anything for him other than putting his leg back in working order, and then then it was just barely so. The slightest bit of weight or pressure on the limb caused pain to shoot through his body, just as it had been doing since sustaining the injury that put him out of commission for so long. He grit his teeth again, suppressing the urge to pound the wall he leaned on into dust. There was little that could be done for him in Konohagakure, but there was still hope. Iwagakure no Sato, the village that he had once thought to have been responsible for the death of his mentor. The journey there would be painful and long, but it was one he'd have to make.
He had no choice.
- -
Gifted Trait (Permanent 20% Wordcount Reduction on Training Topics)
Endurance E > E-1 [60/60]
Endurance E-1 > E-1 [120/120]
Endurance E-2 > E-3 [180/180]
Endurance E-3 > D [240/240]
Endurance D > D-1 [260/260]
Endurance D-1 > D-2 [99/320]
Total Word Count: [959]
Takao grit his teeth. Not from the pain, but from the memory. It was a lingering, lasting, ever present trophy he carried with him as a result of his failure. ...Maybe a little bit from the pain too. By some miracle he'd managed to fall asleep every night by telling himself he'd done all that he could, but he was too wise to his own bullshit. How useless he had become... it frustrated him to no end. He inhaled a deep breath and tasted the fresh, cool autumn air as his eyes slowly closed, and he allowed his thoughts to wander.
//
"He's an incredibly powerful shinobi-" The words of his adviser were cut short.
"So am I." Takao said, his cold grey gaze unwavering after having set upon the dreary sight of the village, his village, beneath stormy clouds. His desk was cluttered, covered from corner to corner with papers and reports and books that were haphazardly strewn about.
"Y...yes, I know, but he isn't to be underestimated-" Again, his voice rose over the adviser.
"And neither am I." Takao's words were spoken clearly and concisely, and with a cold tone to match the mood. His arms unfolded and he turned halfway, his left boot thudding against the wooden floors, waiting for what the man on the other side of the desk would say next.
"I understand that, Hokage-sama, but please, listen to reason!"
A slow breath escaped Takao's nostrils as he sauntered closer to his desk, and his gaze dropped to the papers on his desk. Amidst the papers was a picture of a man, clad in the typical attire of a Konohagakure Jōnin. The paper it was clipped to listed information on his career as a shinobi that Takao had already read, as well as the information regarding his death.
"He's a threat to the village, I know that." Takao said as his hand came down on the paper. "His death proves that. I'm not going to sit in this ****ing chair and send more people to die! My job is to protect the village and the people inside it, not to sit idly by and throw bodies at our problems until they eventually get solved." The words flowed effortlessly from his mouth, yet the way his tone pitched and shifted made it clear that they were driven by emotion. He had underestimated their target's abilities and sent one of his shinobi to his grave. It would not happen again. He looked to his adviser, the man who was entrusted with the task of keeping the young and inexperienced Hokage in line, yet his eyes were set on the floor. Takao's head tilted; had he struck a cord with the man? Was he seeing things from Takao's point of view?
"I'm going."
//
Takao's eyes slowly opened as another breath left his lungs. His leg was really hurting now. He winced and hissed through clenched teeth. It felt like he was withering away in the village hidden in the leaves... unable to train, progress held just out of his grasp, so tantalizingly close yet still so far away.
"Alright... enough sulking." the raven-haired shinobi huffed out as he stepped closer to the edge of the container. Chakra flooded his hands and feet, the exact amount of such was precise and controlled. He descended the tower in a slow slide, gently lowering himself to the street. Pain rocketed through his body the instant the slightest bit of his weight fell onto his leg, and he lost his breath. He grit his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall he'd descended, causing cracks to ripple from where the bare skin had met stone.
The best medical shinobi in Konohagakure couldn't do anything for him other than putting his leg back in working order, and then then it was just barely so. The slightest bit of weight or pressure on the limb caused pain to shoot through his body, just as it had been doing since sustaining the injury that put him out of commission for so long. He grit his teeth again, suppressing the urge to pound the wall he leaned on into dust. There was little that could be done for him in Konohagakure, but there was still hope. Iwagakure no Sato, the village that he had once thought to have been responsible for the death of his mentor. The journey there would be painful and long, but it was one he'd have to make.
He had no choice.
- -
Gifted Trait (Permanent 20% Wordcount Reduction on Training Topics)
Endurance E > E-1 [60/60]
Endurance E-1 > E-1 [120/120]
Endurance E-2 > E-3 [180/180]
Endurance E-3 > D [240/240]
Endurance D > D-1 [260/260]
Endurance D-1 > D-2 [99/320]
Total Word Count: [959]