As soon as Daraku entered the village, he went to the massive waterfall located on the west side. It was a steep trail that led to the top of the waterfall, but from there, he would be able to see a majority of the village, and that's how he wanted to pick out his targets. He would look for the people that just had an aura of wealth and carried lots of stuff, like jewelry or good weapons. The beauty of it all was that he could burn their corpses to ash and then scatter the ashes in the wind over the waterfall. So powerful and symbolic, he couldn't wait to kill his first target...eventually, he reached the apex of the waterfall, looking out over its edge at the crashing water below. It was a pleasant sound, a bit like amplified white noise; water against rock, something so loud and destructive yet so calm and peaceful, all at the same time. A figure nearby caught the missing ninja's eye, and he hid behind a boulder, peering over at the person. It was definitely a man...Daraku smiled with amusement.

"Target acquired." he muttered to himself before coming out from his hiding place. He stepped onto the river that transitioned into the waterfall, walking over it carefully as it rushed under his feet, and then he started to walk back down the trail, set on a collision course with the guy. At a glance, the man was quite tall and muscular, with something strapped to his back, but it was nothing that Daraku couldn't handle. He continued walking, until the man noticed him, with an awkward smile. Daraku silently waved, letting a sinister grin slip onto his face and finally meeting the man face to face with a handshake. "Hello there, I'm Matsuro, Daraku."

---

Training Katon B > A
Word Count: 309/3,000

245/250:

Gyouki walked to his usual resting spot, out near Waterfall Point. He was tired, not from ninja business, but from puppet-making. He had spent the longest time just building new puppets and working an actual job, and his tasks as a ninja were falling behind. He was even considering quitting the life of a shinobi, but nothing solid yet. He didn't want to give up just yet, when he hadn't even had a serious mission or gotten a squad. The recent political changes in Iwagakure were attributing to that, with Tomio stepping down and Kazu being the new shadow. It was just...different. Everything was. He needed to clear his head, and he finally arrived at the waterfall, making his way up the main trail that led to the top. He was intercepted by a blonde man with deep blue eyes that bore into his very soul, and he just looked back with an awkward smile. "Hello there, I'm Matsuro, Daraku."

Gyouki didn't really know how to repond, but the man who had just revealed himself to be Daraku was holding out a handshake."Oh, hello. I'm Yamada, Gyouki. I don't think I've seen you around Iwa before, are you a traveler?" he replied, as they shook hands. An unsettling feeling was running rampant through Gyouki. It told him something bad was happening, but he merely ignored it, waiting for an answer from Daraku.

As the man accepted the handshake, Daraku got a closer look at what was strapped to his back. By the looks of the appendages poking out from the bandages that covered it, it was a puppet. So this guy was a ninja...he was also quite tall and buffed, suggesting that he may also know Taijutsu. A puppetmaster with Taijutsu was a good combination; even if Daraku got in close, there was still a good chance that he could be beaten to a pulp without the aid of a puppet attacking him as well. "Oh, hello. I'm Yamada, Gyouki. I don't think I've seen you around Iwa before, are you a traveler?" Daraku thought for a moment, letting a complacent smile settle onto his face before he answered.

"Yes, yes I am. I've come all the way from..." he realized that his was still wearing his Sunagakure hitai-ate, with the slash through it, and he removed it immediately before Gyouki could notice. "Ahem, all the way from Hi no Kuni. I plan to return to my home there at some point, but this trip to Iwagakure was mostly so that I could trade with the merchants here and be a tourist and whatnot." Contemplating on when to strike, Daraku kept his eyes focused on Gyouki's while he made small talk to distract the guy. "Tell me about it here. What's the weather like on average? And are you a ninja, or...?" he spoke as his hand crept around under his cloak, finding its way to the hilt of his blade and rubbing at it impatiently. He wanted so desperately to just kill the guy and get it over with...but he didn't know how skilled Gyouki could be. Considering he was a puppetmaster, there was a pretty good chance that he was powerful, and even if he wasn't, fighting puppetmasters was still tricky. Daraku would wait a bit longer, to at the very least catch him off guard.

---

Training Katon B > A
Word Count: 646/3,000

Gyouki paid close attention as Daraku began to explain. He started by affirming that he was a traveler, but as he started to say where he came from, he stopped quickly and removed the hitai-ate around his neck, putting it into his cloak pocket. Gyouki hadn't paid attention to it before, but just before it was slipped away, he noticed the Sunagakure village symbol...with a slash through it. He hid his surprise as Daraku continued, claiming that he was from Hi no Kuni rather than Kaze no Kuni. It was obvious that Gyouki wasn't being approached by some friendly tourist, but by a rogue ninja with an intent...what should he do? He couldn't think clearly, and fear was beginning to choke him. Air gasped into his lungs with every strained breath, and he began to perspire a bit. Daraku was still speaking, but Gyouki was too distract to construct the sentence as he heard it. "Tell me...on average?...are you a...ninja...?" was all that Gyouki could piece together.

The tension was coming to a climax. Daraku's hand slithered down his side, finding its way to a blade on a sash. He was armed, and the fact that he was touching the sword was not a good sign. Gyouki needed to react quickly. "Yes, in fact. I am a ninja!" he yelled, as he performed a backflip. The puppet, Gurēsuzumebachi, fell from its mount on him, bandages flying in all directions, while chakra strings formed and it sprang to life. Gyouki landed on his feet, creating a few hand seals. "Shōton: Dangan Ranbu!" 8 crystal shuriken loaded into Bachi's arm-cannon, and it launched them at full speed toward Daraku, before dashing forward with its blade. Gyouki's heart was racing as he waited for the shuriken to hit home...

---

140/150:

Daraku noticed a change in Gyouki's demeanor. He was sweating a bit, by the now emphasized sheen of his face. He was breathing harder; something was wrong. Damn it, not yet...Gyouki must've seen the hitai-ate. Daraku cursed himself for leaving the damn thing in plain sight like that, who knows who else had seen it? They both stood staring at each other for a long while, waiting for the first move. Gyouki proved to have the imbecility to do it as he answered the "are you a ninja?" question. "Yes, in fact. I am a ninja!" Just after this oh-so-dramatic statement, he flipped backwards, unleashing his puppet from his back and letting it hang in front of him with menacing red eyes. It was about as tall as Daraku was, with a blade replacing one of its arms and the other arm being held out, as if in wait for something. Gyouki then made a number of hand seals, causing a rapid creation of Doton shuriken, which then all went straight into a small slot on the puppet's elbow. They couldn't have been average Doton, as they had a shine to them, like diamonds, almost.

This was all happening in a matter of seconds, which only proved the theory that Gyouki was powerful. The fact that he was terrified and sweating just a minute ago also disproved it, so Daraku didn't know whether he was being toyed with or if this was all the Iwa-ninja had. The puppet pointed a hand at Daraku and began to launch the shuriken at an extremely fast rate, having all eight of them blasted out in half a second. Due to Daraku's sheer speed, he was able to unsheathe the Sword of Shadows and deflect each and every shuriken with four subsequent swings of the weapon. There was more, though, as when he attempted to focus on Gyouki again, he saw that the puppet was coming right at him, with the sword attached to its arm raised high and ready to strike. "Nice try, but you can't hit kill a shadow with a sword..." He activated his kekkei genkai, becoming pitch-black from head to toe, a phantom aside the raging waterfall. The sword passed straight through him as if he wasn't there, and he took no damage.

Daraku phased through the puppet entirely, running forward toward Gyouki, who was still preoccupied pulling the strings. This was his perfect opportunity. Gyouki couldn't react as fast as he could, signaling that maybe he wasn't as strong as originally assumed. He was a Chuunin, at most, but more likely a Genin...things were looking dark for him. Daraku alternated weapon stances, tossing the sword to his right hand and holding it in a reverse grip around the hilt before activating Firestorm Blade to light it on fire. He was merely a few meters away from his target at this point, sprinting full speed toward Gyouki. One thought continued coursing through his head, incessantly...I will end you. I will end you. I will end you. He swung once he got as close as possible, aiming for a direct slit to the throat. If that didn't kill Gyouki, the following burns from the Firestorm would.

---

Training Katon B > A
Word Count: 1,200/3,000

205/250:

Gyouki noticed Bachi pass through Daraku, who had entered some sort of ethereal form where he couldn't be hit with physical attacks. With the man coming right at Gyouki, he knew that he needed to do something, react quickly enough to at least soften the blow. He made a hand seal, utilizing the substitution jutsu and replacing himself with the puppet. The sword smashed into Bachi, throwing it back and melting into its exoskeleton a bit. Now what? His puppet was near-destroyed, and he didn't know many Ninjutsu. He slammed his palms to the ground, putting up a large defensive wall of crystal.

As the chakra strings dissipated, Bachi fell limply, and Gyouki created a few more hand seals. A flash of light reflecting off of a wire came into view; he hoped that Daraku hadn't seen it so that the trap would work. If it did, he would have ample opportunity to escape and live another day.

---

110/150:

Daraku's attack was dodged, just barely, and the useless puppet was put in Gyouki's place. His sword sliced through the puppet effortlessly, leaving it damaged and limp on the ground. Now Gyouki had no where left to run or hide...but he wasn't going to quit, apparently. He was still standing there, making hand seals, and it made Daraku groan with annoyance. This guy couldn't just accept that he was dying. He was dragging this fight out as long as possible, with the little skill he had. "Wow, you certainly are...persistent, a good quality to have while facing your death. Too bad it won't help as much as genuine skill and power would." Gyouki didn't react to that comment, instead keeping his eyes set on Daraku's. Suddenly, a flash caught Daraku's eye as Gyouki yelled out, "Temporary Paralysis Technique!" The flash was the trigger of the jutsu; Daraku could have easily dodged it, but he let it wrap around him and then broke out of it with ease to prove his superiority. "I'm telling you, just stop trying. You're dragging this out far too long. You could've been dead already--actually, no, I was going to torture you anyhow. Doesn't give you a license to squirm, though."

"I'll never stop, not as long as I can do something about it." Gyouki responded while pressing a hand to the ground and erecting a wall of pure crystal in front of him. A Crystal Release user...now that was interesting, certainly. Not interesting enough to make Daraku spare the wimp, but still. The rogue ninja approached the wall, until he stood about 2 meters from it, before holding his still-burning sword off to left. He swung it in a wide arc, releasing a large pillar of flames from its surface that collided with the wall and burst, sending molten-hot crystal flying in all directions. The wall was completely shattered, and Daraku's blade finally faded to its usual color as the intense heat escaped it. He didn't intend on letting Gyouki try and retaliate with another jutsu, no, he was too impatient to let this continue. He wanted Gyouki to feel true pain, to beg for his life, and then subsequently beg for death before he would deal the final blow, but at this rate, that wasn't going to happen. He ran at blinding fast speed, appearing behind Gyouki and holding the sword to his neck. "Move and I'll end you. Don't think I'm bluffing, because I'll slice your head off before you can even try to stop me."

Gyouki didn't flinch, only stiffened as the blade pressed closer to his neck. He mouthed the word 'why' with a disdainful glare. To be honest, Daraku didn't know the answer to that question. He loved to hurt others, it was demented and sadistic, but it made him feel superior. He'd always felt so inferior throughout his childhood, but in this place of dominance and power, he could do whatever he pleased, he could control those he wanted to, and if they disobeyed, they would be nothing more than corpses by the time his point was across. So, that could be a big reason in it, but if that was the case, why didn't he do it to someone else? Why Gyouki? It was a matter of wrong place and wrong time. He would say that he was sorry for this, but he wasn't. Pathetic lies to console his victims weren't necessary. He wanted to inflict pain on them, not make them feel better, so he let Gyouki suffer in the fact that his end was inevitably close. "Why? The better question is, why not? Humans take pleasure in hating and hurting one another, it's in our nature, it's why we constantly go to war, constantly fight, and constantly are killed. The world was meant to be like this. Survival of the fittest, right? Well, I'm the fittest, nice to meet you."

Stillness, silence. The air was stagnant. The waterfall seemed quiet, though it was probably raging just as it was before. The moments were growing longer, time slowed to a near-halt. Daraku whispered into the man's ear..."I won't kill you, not yet. I want to make it hurt. I want you to regret ever choosing the path of a ninja, ever trying to amount to anything, ever even being born. I want you to rue your entire being by the time I finish with you." He replaced his blade with his arm, keeping Gyouki in a chokehold as he made a long cut across the man's torso with his blade. There was a wince of pain, a sweet sound on Daraku's ears, reverberating through his mind...the cut bled a bit, and he smiled with pleasure. Gyouki finally let out a tear, a tear that represented that his iron will was broken, and that he was giving up. Daraku was happy as he proved himself superior, as he'd hoped, but something unexpected happened. Gyouki clamped his jaw down on Daraku's arm, biting hard until blood spilled forth from the tooth-marks. Daraku stepped back in pain, holding a hand over the bleeding arm, and Gyouki began to sprint, yelling "help" as loud as he could. No, no, no...he couldn't get away. Not now, Daraku wasn't ready to flee Iwa just yet, but he would have to if Gyouki escaped. The world came rushing back; silence was gone, the air was flowing, the waterfall was loud, and Gyouki's screams were muffled by the sound of its water crashing on the rocks. Daraku sprinted ahead, throwing the whole torture idea out of the window. He overcame Gyouki with his immense pace, and swiped his now chakra-infused sword across Gyouki's leg. A burst of Fuuton chakra flooded the muscles in his legs, and the man fell as a nervous system response, his leg was tensed and in pain. Daraku stood over him, gripping his arm and dragging him to the edge of the waterfall.

Dominion was his again. Gyouki trembled in his grip, every inch he was dragged against the rock almost amplifying his despair. This was torture enough, surely. Daraku wanted to make it hurt, but there was also a point where enough hurt just left the victim numb, and he didn't want to get there. That would leave less of an impact before death; he wanted them to be hopeless, wanting to die, but not willingly ready to, necessarily. His methods of mental prodding and persecution were complicated, sure, but effective. At least, by his standards they were. Effective usually implies that they benefit something in a positive way, and yes, he did gain pleasure from murdering select people, but there was no purpose for it. All that would be affected would be Gyouki's immediate relatives and relationships. They wouldn't know the truth, all they would know was that their loved one just never was seen again. Some things, though, were better left untold. Knowing that Gyouki was murdered would only take away the hope that he was still out in the world somewhere. It brang him back to Gyouki's earlier question; why was he doing this? He had used survival of the fittest as an example, but did that make him no more than a primitive animal acting off of instincts and dominance? That was no better than being prey. He was an intelligent man, there had to be more to life than just power. Or maybe it was behind him, some cosmic meaning behind everything that no one could really comprehend. He reached the cliffside, with water from the falls splashing against them, and his time for pensive reflection ending. Instincts and adrenaline kicked into gear, once again, and Daraku's eyes shined with malevolence.

Daraku pressed the Iwagakure ninja against the rock wall, choking him tightly. "This isn't just about me, you know. I'm not that crazy...well, I am, in a sense. But it's also about you. You're not strong enough. You couldn't defeat me, you could hardly fight back, hiding behind that damn puppet. What are you...you seem barely strong enough to be a Genin. Pathetic...Iwagakure really needs to step up their ninja academy game. But, alas, even if you were at my level, I could still beat you, because I have true conviction to kill. I could do it all day...you, on the other hand, are far too passive in your fighting style. Oh, look at me, lecturing you. Well then, let's get to the point, shall we? Any last words?" Gyouki braced himself, grabbing at the hand around his neck. "You're a monster! You're just a monster!" Daraku giggled, alight with glee from the reasoning of the terrified victim that he was holding. "Oh, hardly. Here, I'll help you out!" he said playfully, before raising his hand and pointing to Gyouki's eyes. Two thin beams of fire-based energy blasted out, hitting the eyes head-on and burning into them. Gyouki cried out in pain, and now he was blind and about to die. "There, now you don't have to watch yourself get skewered. I know, no need to thank me, I'm very merciful like that." and with that, Daraku drove his blade into Gyouki's heart, ceasing all reaction. The body went limp, just like the puppet had, and he pulled his sword out, holding it against the flow of the waterfall to clean off the gore.

The corpse lay, still-bleeding, in front of him, but Daraku just stared at it for a while. Finally, he regained his senses and realized he needed to hurry up and deal with the evidence. He held his blade high, creating a flame at the tip, and with it, he lit the corpse aflame, watching it burn down slowly. He watched it on and on, and eventually lost track of time. 2 minutes became an hour, and hour became three, as he continued stoking the flames with wind jutsu until Gyouki was nothing more than ash. He swept the ashes into the waterfall to let them be lost at the bottom of its reservoir, before facing the road back into the central area of Iwagakure. The blood from the bite on his arm was still rampant, seeping down his arm and dropping off of each finger. He made a hand seal and his hand glowed green as he healed it using a jutsu, meditating on the last ten minutes. First kill of the journey, all done. It left him feeling empowered and ready for his next...he licked his lips and sheathed his sword as he headed back.

(Exit Thread)

---

Training Katon B > A
Word Count: 3,033/3,000
Training Complete

165/250:

Everything was a blur. Gyouki watched it all in motion, being held back after Daraku avoided every jutsu he threw at him. He bit Daraku and tried to run, but to no avail, and now here he was, pressed against a wall, being lectured by a maniac. "You're a monster! You're just a monster!" he yelled at Daraku, angrily. Daraku hit him with some jutsu, leaving him blind and in pain, and then there was a stabbing sensation in his gut. Quite literally. He couldn't see the blade, or anything, for that matter, but he could feel it, a sword driven through him. Darkness fell over his consciousness, and all was black as he thought Is this really how my fate plays out? Killed by a random rogue ninja...how unfortunate. and died, alone and afraid.

[Gyouki is now deceased. Thread is Closed.]