Flashback:

Deep with the slums of suna, a young girl and her mother grasped each other desperately for warmth in the frigid night under the desert's haunting moon. Once more they were without proper shelter and her father had gone to work for days on end to scourge up some money they could use to find better accommodations. But even in this pitiful wasteland there was still hope. As if a shining light of hope a lad of five years and his mother ran across the street to the welder's store, the door opened by the woman's husband who greeted them with tender warmth and rushed them inside however the lad managed to pride his eyes away from the love brewing in his close knit family to see two pairs of luminescent neon green eyes in the darkness with a small flickering in a bent trash bin as their only heat source. Two woman, mother and child watched, one emotionless and the other fearful. It was simple to find whose belong to whom. As if overcome with empathy the child tugged on the fraying hem of his mother's worn canvas dressed, pointing to them and with innocent grace asked if they could let those people inside, just for tonight because they were cold. Unknown to the naive child, his parents' expressions grew somberly grim and looked towards them with disdain and distrust. Although they knew their child had a kind heart he did not know of the dangers of their fellow man. The woman and her child were pitiful but weren't they, this small family, not pitiful too? They had nothing to gain and so much to lose. The world was dangerous, even inside this village's walls but it was an entirely different matter in the slums. The law could not touch this place and it could not protect them. By patting the child's head the father lifted them into his arms and kissed his delicate forehead whispering something into his ear that seemed to tame him and let his mind wander else, and without looking back, the lighted faded and the door closed.

Sadden, the light too faded from the young girl's eyes which grew heavy as she looked toward her mother for answers. "Mommy, why did those people look at us like that?" it was a simple innocent question, part of a child's naivete, but she had an inkling of the answer in the back of her mind. Still her mother decided to answer as this could be an important lesson for her daughter so she pulled the youngling into her lap and held her closet, trying to shield her from the icy winds that whipped their skin with the tattered blanket that was falling apart and full of holes "That's because they don't trust us" Before her daughter could ask the obvious question she continued "They may be better off than us, but only a bit and so to protect what they have they can't let strangers in" Glancing down at the girls eyes she sighed and combed her fingers through her hair "You are old enough to realize this now so here I go. You see dear, not everyone in the world can be friends. The world is scary, very scary. People lie, cheat, and betray others to survive. That is the way of man. However you are not totally alone in the world. There is hope. Can you guess what that is?"

Stumped by the sudden question, the girl pondered, crushing her frail arms over her chest and puffed her chubby cheeks before a light bulb lit over her head and her face exploded, as if finding the key to a puzzle "I know it I know it! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja can help us!" It went silent for a few moment as her mother's head hung lifelessly before it snapped back with a resounding crack and her chest bounced with laughter as it cackled in the air. It took a minute for her mother to regain her senses and stop laughing, though it seemed she still let out a few giggles before letting out a deep breath and leaning again the fence. "Oh...oh...oh my poor sweet child." She took another deep breath to calm her nerves and kissed her child's cheek "The last thing shinobi are trustworthy. They live and breathe deceit. Trust me you should never want to be one" Then a smile graced her features and softly she whispered into the girl's ears "The only thing you can trust is family, because they will never betray you"

End of Flashback:

Jet stood in one of the abandoned classrooms alone hidden in the darkness and waited for the lad to come, the lad that was the closest thing to family but only in their ability, a yuurei. A yuurei here in kiri. She sent him a letter to come here, calling him out for his name and demanding him to prove he was one of them, the ghosts of the shinobi world, a true yuurei and to meet in this exact classroom here in the Bloody Academy...

870~

One day Genbu received a mysterious letter at his doorstep. He reached down and picked up the letter so that he could read it. The letter was not marked with a sender, and simply read “Meet me in the first classroom of Blood Academy tonight and we shall see if you truly are a Yuurei like you claim to be.” Genbu was a bit taken back by the letter, but it certainly piqued his interest. “Could there truly be another like me here in Kiri,” he thought to himself as he looked at the letter. He put the letter into his pocket and decided to take a walk. As he strolled through the street, he pondered whether he should even give the letter any time of day. It certainly piqued his interest, but it set off red flags in the back of his mind. He continued his walk thinking about the possibilities of a confrontation and began to ponder tactics of how to safely survive an encounter should he decide to meet this mysterious shinobi in the Academy.

As dusk began to approach, the Genbu’s curiosity grew and he decided he would meet whoever had sent him this letter. He had to know if there was truly another like him in Kiri. He hoped that they would relate to him in ways no other in Kiri could relate to him. While he hoped for the best, he prepared for the worst. He knew he had to take the utmost precaution in the event he was walking into a trap. He prepared his things, and set off towards the Academy.

The Academy stood before him, a ghostly shell of its former self. It was a fitting location for the situation at hand. Before he entered, he examined the building, taking mental note of all the ingresses and egresses in sight should he need them to escape.  As he walked through the doors of the Academy, his heart began to race. He knew this moment could potentially change his life, either positively or very negatively. His curiosity had to be satisfied in this moment, he had to know if there was another like him. He made his way toward the first classroom just as the letter had told him to. He kept his head on the swivel, searching for anything of suspicion or out of place. The classroom was in sight on his right. He approached it cautiously, trying to avoid being caught off guard should he be attacked. Genbu made his way to the threshold of the classroom, and looked inside. The room was almost pitched black, save for the moonlight creeping in through the window in the back of the room. As he crossed into the room, he thought about turning on the light but decided against it as it would draw too attention and give away his position if this were in fact a trap. He entered the room, he hugged the right wall to ensure his flank was safe. Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air. The window wasn’t open, and he had closed the door behind him. At that moment, he knew he was no longer alone.

WC: 533

"Welcome child, and good evening. From the look of things it seems perhaps you truly that of which you claim to be. Only perhaps however. Anyone with enough skill can suppress their life force and walk among the shadows with light feathered feet but few know more than that. Of the suffering only Yuurei could have known"...

Flashback:

"Mommy, why don't we have lots of relatives like those big clans in the upper city? Mommy and I are the same aren't we? Doesn't that mean we can be a clan like them?" Naive the child was, unaware of their history, the curse of the terrible Yuurei of both blood and tears, a story not benefiting of a child, a normal one that is. But this girl was not like the others, far from it actually. And it were the curse's fault so perhaps it would be fair to her to shed some light on the history of Yuurei. So the mother held the child close and stroked their cheek as they began to recall memories she had forgotten long ago "The Yuurei are less of a clan than they are survivors. You see, I wasn't born like this, like a monster, most of the children taken weren't. You see we were not born but created. Long ago in the outskirts of a frozen kingdom of ice, people had grown desperate. Food and clean water were scare. No one had any jobs and being forced to warm a man's beside generates hordes of unwelcomed children. The people were tired and could not afford to look after them so when the men in white came with an offer, they could not refuse and sold the children." At the child's frighten look with teary eyes of empathy she hugged her close, sighing that her daughter was far too kind, something that had to be remedied. "They were turned into monsters to be the king among them but none of them wished to be, at least those who were not conditioned enough. That is why we are not a part of a clan. Instead we shared the same suffering but nothing more. Still you could count of them to aid you one day, if you cannot, well, the world doesn't need more beasts anyway..."

Flashback end:

The moonlight reflected against the broken shards of glass, twinkling beneath her feet as if they were shattered dreams she had crushed before and will do so again. With a soft sigh at her past memory she turned towards the proclaimed yuurei, here she had to determine whether or not he was worth her time, every encounter was an investment after all. "We shall test you here and now. If you prove yourself true let this be the first test of many, a pinnacle of your life. If you prove yourself false then know this is were your tale ends before it had begun." Whether or not she would truly kill him was unknown to the child but to the woman she had made the promise not to harm, at least grievously, any kiri-nin she came across during her time in the village. Of course that didn't mean she couldn't cement her memory into the countless scars carved into his soul. Then gracefully she slid off the desk and smiled although it was dreadfully cold and without life, as if the body were a living corpse, as it were. She placed one hand behind her back giving Kira the signal to send her a weapon but for some reason the nekomata who had been watching from afar sent her a war fan, which she figured must have been the gift Maki sent her. With a flick of her wrist she fan herself and grinned a small menacing smile."So let us begin this dance of the damned" She gave him the signal to begin as she will allow him the first move. The choice was his. Here they were alone in a 15x5m classroom with only one exit, the door behind him, a panel of broken windows behind her, and various overturned wooden desks dyed a deep crimson red scattered around the room.

1578~
Royal Scorn (War Fan) Equipped
Chakra: 210/210

Genbu readied himself for what was to come. He knew someone was in the room with him, but he was not sure where. He heard a voice speak from the shadows, "Welcome child, and good evening. From the look of things it seems perhaps you truly that of which you claim to be. Only perhaps however. Anyone with enough skill can suppress their life force and walk among the shadows with light feathered feet but few know more than that. Of the suffering only Yuurei could have known." Genbu wondered to himself if she truly knew the suffering like he did. He thought back to the years of pain and suffering he had gone through to be turned into Yuurei. He pondered whether or not he should show her the mark of the Yuurei to prove his suffering. He figured he would save that for the time being, and simply talk to the woman before giving away his secret.

He heard the woman sigh before him and she spoke once more, "We shall test you here and now. If you prove yourself true let this be the first test of many, a pinnacle of your life. If you prove yourself false then know this is were your tale ends before it had begun." Genbu watched as she gracefully slid herself off of a desk in the room. She had a smile on her face, but something seemed off. It was cold, empty, just like a ghost. He knew this situation was not in his favor, but he stood his ground and entered his signature fighting stance. He kept his eyes fixed intently on the woman who seemed to be reaching behind her back for a weapon. When he hand reappeared from her back, she pulled forth a beautiful war fan. With a quick flick, she expanded the fan and began to fan herself. "So let us begin this dance of the damned," the woman proclaimed as she continued to fan herself, seemingly inviting Genbu to make the first move.

Genbu evaluated his situation for what it was, realizing his only true exit was behind him in the form of a locked door and the window behind the woman which given the situation seemed out of the question. Genbu wanted to know the real reason why this woman had summoned him here. He pondered whether she intended to kill him or not. Genbu thought to himself "I've really only got one option here. Looks like i'm going to have to fight". Given the situation, he decided to try something a little more unorthodox before getting down to business. He slowly lifted off his cloak, exposing his Yuurei brand on his back. He turned himself so that the woman could see it. "You see this brand, I earned it. Years of pain, torture, and suffering earned me this brand. I know your suffering, I know your pain" Genbu said to the woman. "I know you could easily kill me, but I do not fear death. If I must die I must die, but I will have lived and died as a Yuurei, and that is something not even you can take from me" he proclaimed. Genbu turned to face the woman. He walked slowly toward her, a senbon hidden in his hand. "Let us dance if we must, hopefully it will be a learning experience to see what a Yuurei can truly do"

As he approached, he launched the senbon with all his might aimed as her weapon hand. He knew she would probably be able to dodge it, but he needed to gauge her speed some way before they went toe to toe. As it flew towards the woman, Genbu settled back into his stance, hoping it would not be the last time he got to use it.

WC: 639
Chakra: 110/110

Senbon:

Jet eyed the man before her, from his facial expressions he knew there no other option to fight and he was right. The best way to get to know someone was through bloodshed, a dance she was profound in and he should as well should he survive in this world. Perhaps, even if he had lied, this may be a learning lesson for him, to see his weakness not only in mind nor body but in his soul. To survive is a matter of compromise and patience. To live is a difficult matter where you need the heart to take that which you desire. And as the lad began to shift, it was not to launch his initial attack but to disrobe himself in front of her. When he turned she gave his taut back a critical eye, hiding the recognition of the brand with bare acknowledgement by not widening her eyes or dilating her pupil. It was a brand she knew too well but did not share. Instead it was her mother who too carried the burden of the brand, the Yuurei's damning symbol of enslavement. Unlike the man before her, her mother's brand was on her chest between her breasts as if mocking all who held her, to know her shame. The brand was something she knew she could share with him either because she did not have it, nor was the torture of experimentation. Of course she had her own demons as well, whether or not they were truly comparable was up to oneself. Still just as it looked similar, it only appeared similar. She had known individuals who would go beyond and over to hide themselves covertly, pass dye and makeup but scaring and surgery as well. So while it was highly possible it were real, there was no way to tell with the look of it alone.

When he spoke she couldn't help holding back a choke but a few chuckles like witches heckling slipped through her pale pink lips in amusement "Suffering and pain cannot be shared among others. Only compared. No one truly knows the sorrow of others even when they experience it themselves." At his statement her own scare burned against her torn skin, hundreds of them, fading and new, small and large they all burned. They burned with the hate that has been brewing inside her body viciously over the years; the torture was not one she could possibly forget. But her mind was cool, calm and collected. She had learned to fuel her hate into something productive in the form of neigh a dream nor ambition but a definite future of revenge, that of which she could claim one day for sure. Death could allow itself to hold off on her for awhile longer but what of he?

It seemed to beg him closer apparently. The sebon he threw her way after his little speech was disappointing and all she had to do was use her fan to swat it away before fanning herself some more looking as if she were wasting her time with him "That's it? That was all you had planned? Pathetic. You were gifted a golden opportunity to do whatever you wished and you threw a sebon. Maybe you really are an impostor" In a sudden blur of pure speed she appeared in front of him with her fan at his throat "After all the first thing Yuurei are taught it go for the kill as quickly as possible" and with that she she grabbed him by his neck, gripping it tightly and depriving him of air and threw him out the window. It was a three story drop and if he didn't land on any of the trees outside he would be severely injured and she hoped not dead as she wasn't quite sure what his endurance was. Once he was outside, about 2m from the school building, Jet hopped outside the window and flipped in the air a few times before landing on the matted earth ground low with her knees bent before whipping out her fan waiting for his next move, if he was alive that is.

2278~
Royal Scorn (War Fan) Equipped
Chakra: 210/210

As Genbu watched his senbon fly towards the woman, he began to think of a plan to make it out of this situation alive. He knew he needed to escape the confines of the classroom, but his only real option was to head out the window. If he could get himself outside in a wide open space, it would give him a bit of room to operate. As the senbon got close to the woman, she immediately swatted it away with ease. "She's got quite the reaction time, probably incredibly fast too," he thought to himself. As she swatted the senbon away she spoke once more. "That's it? That was all you had planned? Pathetic. You were gifted a golden opportunity to do whatever you wished and you threw a sebon. Maybe you really are an impostor" After her words, a blur flashed before Genbu.

As the flash materialized into something solid, he knew that she had bested him. The beautiful fan was now at his throat, its blades just centimeters from killing him. She spoke once more, "After all the first thing Yuurei are taught it go for the kill as quickly as possible" and quickly grabbed Genbu by the throat. She tightened her grasp on his throat strongly, stopping the flow of air to his lungs. While she had the upper hand, she had given him enough information to form a plan. He now had a gauge for her reaction time, speed, and strength. He knew she was a bit arrogant, and would probably underestimate him given her reaction. At that moment, he felt his body being flung out through the window. As he flew threw the window, he looked for a way to break his fall, realizing they were on the third floor and a fall from that height would easy break his legs or kill him should he land wrong.

Free from the bondage of the woman's grip, Genbu reoriented himself in the air finding the tree behind him using his peripheral vision. He spotted his landing and landed himself on a branch, hidden by the cover of the leaves. Knowing he only had a few seconds before she followed him outside, he quickly performed the hand seals needed to create clones of himself. As he performed his seals, he saw the woman jump out of the window, flipping through the air entirely unnecessarily. She landed gracefully with on knee bent, holding her fan at the ready. Genbu finished his hand seals and created 3 clones of himself in the tree. He figured against any other shinobi the woman would easily discern the fact he was using clones, but he was different. These basic clones had no shadow, just like him and in the darkness of the night, the woman would have at least some difficulty determining the real Genbu. All he needed was to get close enough to her to use his takedown. He needed to neutralize her speed quickly or he would lose this fight easily. He moved himself and his clones down the trunk of the tree, keeping himself out of her view. He sent one clone walking down the tree, just within his take down range. He hoped she would attack the clone giving him the opportunity he needed. He would use gravity against the woman and neutralize her speed in the air. "You are quite a woman," Genbu spoke through his clone. "Let's dance."

WC: 577
Chakra: 95/110

Doppelganger:

By now the lad should have some idea of what he is facing from that little show. Perhaps now he will try harder or maybe it was all a test. We can't see how it could be as he should've put more effort than that. In fact he is nothing like mother at all, nothing. He appears to young, to kind hearten to be the Yuurei we imagined him to be, like mother always told us. Was the suffering the true only likely between them. If mother was here would she be able to get through him? Probably, but there is always a chance it might end up differently. She never did like talking about herself, even the meaningless stuff like when she enjoyed food, or what color she liked or even if she was happy. She spoke even less about her own past before she met father, before we were born. Is this what she meant now by a bond only connected by suffering. Both of us suffered in our own way but it's hardly something similar, something that can be compared. In her musings, Jet had almost forgotten what she had been in the middle of. His voice had broken her out of the trance she were in, the kind of deep one whenever she thought about things she rather not, and made her blink a couple times at his words before she chuckled a few times, hard enough to make her stomach ache and to bend over, grasping her torso with her arms before wiping an imaginary tear. Her voice was gravely yet light, as she was bemused by his words. "Seems you managed to not die. Impressive, for a whelp that is"

She continued to laugh for a couple moments before stretching to her full length and patting herself down. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, one thing she dwelled and even lived in, she realized that he made a clone. A good one too and one that might have fooled her. And so she was going to cheat a bit by using a sensory jutsu of the Anbu, Anbu Sensory Range, to track him down. Using this jutsu allows one to see whomever is in a 100m and it helps when discerning an illusion clone from the real thing as the chakra from a clone, especially an illusionary one and the real thing was different. In the tree, she saw movement and decided to let him see what he was dealing with by using Unstoppable Forces, her newest jutsu, and cut the distance between them as she sprinted up to him and used the blunt end of her fan on his lower abdomen so not to kill him calling out these words as she did so "Do you think we would be fooled by something like that? Please, any shinobi worth their salt would have at least have countermeasures upon countermeasure when using that technique. Can you not even perform it properly? Do you even know its intended use? Honestly what do you know?"

Once she let out those words she began a rant as she did so. "Tell us, what sort of dance is this when you can't even hold yourself together? Sure we may easily overpower but with enough tenuity you, a genin, can even best a kage. A title, rank, all of it means nothing." Her former sensei showed her this. Her kage showed her this. Her comrades of old and new. All her past experience showed her this. When she dueled she learned this the hard way. Of course the only way this can be applied is through intellect. With the proper mindset it's possible and without it you will be outclassed every time. Still not every win comes in the form of conquest but can he see that? "Before shinobi, before chakra. People had to rely on their wit to survive. Sure chakra was a blessing, but it was also a blessing in disguise. What good comes from it if you forget its origins? We are fragile, we are weak, but we can also subjugate" You need to use whatever and whomever you can at your disposal if you want to get far. Surely you of all people know this. Right? "To survive in this world you need to become the best player and to do so you need to cheat, lie, and manipulate. That is where the Yuurei project stem from."

Honestly speaking now she was growing tired, she was remembering events best left forgotten but perhaps with this little speech he can do better than her though she doesn't know why she cares."We see now that you were one, at least possessing the body and experience to do so but what have you learned from it? Killing, betraying, using people. It's all in our blood from what we suffered as human. The suffering only stops when you become something worse than man"

"Learn from this experience child and see to it next time we meet, it shan't be like this. Once you're ready, seek me out if you want to know what it truly means...to be a ghost"

In a puff of smoke, she was gone...

3151~
Royal Scorn (War Fan Equipped)
Chakra: 155/210

Jutsu:

Trained:
STR B-B3 (2400/2400)
END B-B1 (700/700)
59 wc left

[EXIT]

Genbu stood ready to lay his plan into motion, hoping the woman would fall for his trick. He knew it was a long shot but if he were to survive he needed to have at least a tiny bit of success. The woman stood up and shook the dust and residue off of her as she seemingly prepared he next move. Her voice rang out throughout the night, "Seems you managed to not die. Impressive, for a whelp that is", as she laughed to herself menacingly. She seemed to be adjusting to the darkness of the night as she looked up into the tree where he was hiding. He prepared himself for her attack, hoping to catch her off guard if she attacked his clone. He braced himself to spring from the tree to tackle her, but as he prepared a blur dashed through the tree line at him.

Before he could react, the woman appeared before him with that magnificent fan folded in her hands as silent the night itself. In an instant, she struck Genbu square in the gut with the fan. He watched  as she handled the fan clearly using the blunt end of the fan, seemingly in an attempt not to kill him. She was clearly skilled, if she wanted to kill him that was her opportunity and she didn't take it. "Shi...." he spoke out as he felt the effects of her devastating strike. He couldn't even finish his words as the force behind the hit knocked the wind from his sails, leaving him speechless. As blood dripped from his mouth, he felt a pain so excruciating, it felt as though he had been eviscerated. As he stood barely concious among the the tree branches, the woman spoke to him Tell us, what sort of dance is this when you can't even hold yourself together? Sure we may easily overpower but with enough tenuity you, a genin, can even best a kage. A title, rank, all of it means nothing." As he drifted in and out of conciousness, the woman continued to speak to him. He could only catch bits and pieces of her word as the pain was overwhelming, a pain he could not even fathom existing until that moment. In his bits of conciousness, he heard the woman's final words, "Learn from this experience child and see to it next time we meet, it shan't be like this. Once you're ready, seek me out if you want to know what it truly means...to be a ghost," as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. "To be a ghost...." Genbu thought to himself as he passed out onto the tree branch beneath him.

When he awoke, the pain was still excruciating. He knew he needed to get to the hospital to tend to his wounds. He cautiously made his way to the ground, each step more difficult than the last. As he made his way to the hospital, he could only think of one thing. He knew he had to find that woman again, but for know he had to become stronger. He knew their next meeting could not go as poorly as this meeting. As the blood dripped from his mouth, he couldn't help but to crack a smile. There was another like him and she was magnificent. He knew one day he had to surpass her and get payback for what she had done to him. As he slowly walked up to the entrance of the general hospital, his body broken and beaten, he collapsed on the floor. As the medics rushed to his aide, he lay facing the night's sky with a smile on his face and blood running down his cheeks.



WC: 630
TWC: 2379
CP: 95/110

Training:
Bukijutsu Subspec: Onojutsu (1500 words)
End: D-0 -> D-2 (725 words)
Remaining: 2379-1500-725= 154 words