The white concrete box echoed the shouts and hollers around inside the pit, Fukai's head was pounding from the blood rushing around his body. The air seemed thicker in this land, being so high up in the clouds, the atmospheric density pushing down on him felt fuzzy against his skin. The smell of spring pollen had left the air and been replaced all too quickly with the stench of sweat and blood. The inexpressible tension that had been building in his heart had been under the surface for a while now. Like the pressure of a magma current pushing against the earth's crust, Fukai had been suppressing his feelings, only to involuntarily burst out as he had done in the lead up to this match. It was a curious mixture of ingredients that made up his mental state. Anxiety for the future, uncertainty in himself and the weight of duty muddled his head in such a way that when he descended into his 'zone', what eventuated was more of a mad blur. His teacher had always talked of keeping a clear mind and this had always come naturally to him. But of cource, life had always been so simple. Not always good, but simple, one way or the other. The white noise that enveloped his brain broke with his thunderous discharge of chakra. Chakra, a power which came from his spirit, was affected by his state. He found himself in the arena, with a little blood drawn from the cut in his side.
Fukai looked up at the thronged mass above him. He lowered his staff and stopped his jutsus.
What am I doing here? As if the violent tapping of his chakra had allowed him to break the surface.
Fighting for my village? No, I am just a spectacle. This was not his life, or it wasn't, any longer. Maybe once upon a time, he would have dreamed of a stage such as this, but now he realised that he had no place here. Turning around, he saw the kid that he was supposed to be fighting, recovering from their last bout. The exam proctor was off to the side. After eyeing the jounin for a second, hesitating only briefly on his decision, Fukai uttered:
I quit. Without a second glance back at his opponent, the Iwagakure genin strode towards the exit. Once the crowd began to realise that he was forefeitting, many rose to their feet in vocal protest. Fukai's purple eyes easily picked out Kudaru from the crowd as he marched away. This was because the old man was the only still person in the area, his lazy posture and belittling expression conveyed all too well the distaste he had for the genin. There was no surprise evident, while the other dignitaries from the land of stone yelled down to him, Kudaru seemed to expect no less of him.
Truth was, he was a fish out of water. A young man who had never been burdened with the type of responsibility that now lay on his shoulders. And with these new developments that he could not make sense of, he was going a little loopy. He could not recognise the man that stared back at him when he looked in the mirror, these trials had bent him like glowing iron under the hammer of a seasoned blacksmith. He had come to this land under the pretenses of representing his village and his clan to the utmost of his ability.
Sorry Karumo, I'll have to let you down on this one. His friend would not hold this against him, that was not the kind of person he was. But that gave Fukai all the more reason to be harder on himself. He would do all he could to correct whatever adverse outcomes eventuated due to his actions. He at least owed that much.
He remembered how much he had wanted to travel back in the day, to see the world and experience all it had to offer. Now after tasting what it had to offer him, all he yearned for was his home town of Iwa.
Blood of mud and bone of stone, Fukai returns to his mountain home.
[706] /4345
~exit~
OOC: I am not enjoying this post so I am going to leave it here. I gave this thing a shot and am glad I did. I learned a lot and made it further than I thought I would at the start. Thanks to all the mods and those participating for a great event.
- Training:
Bukijutsu S -> SS 4345/9000