A Bond Formed In Blood....Sorta. [Requesting Ikkadan]

[Asagao]

♫Shakuhachi Sunrise♫ ​

The soft subtle harmony sailed through the vacant Dogo hallway's. It's majestic sound carrying lightly upon the wind's delicate, yet hardly existent current, just as a fallen leaf caught in an early summer's breeze would. The tranquil melody would provide him with a certain level of peace; his mind would be at complete ease, which had become a rare occurrence these past couple of days. With his eyes closed, covering his entire world with darkness, he would become lost in the sound that took him more than a decade of training to perfect. His fingers would glide over the instrument with a certain graceful flair, a feel that only one who truly loved the art of playing could produce. The gentle babbling sound of running water quietly crashed in the background; it's calming, soothing voice whispered words of serenity into his ear as he became utterly transfixed in his music.

Positioning himself in the middle of the room, his back arched straight up, while his legs folded neatly in a criss-cross formation; his posture was impeccable, just as it should be, after having a childhood of etiquette training, the lessons were unquestionably ingrained into everything he did, staying with him always, forever more. A lovely mixture of different types of plants ranging in sizes and colors decorated the room. A large fountain waterfall occupied the back left corner, providing the room with a true sense of 'real world' atmosphere; one that was beautiful while also relaxing at the same time. It was the perfect room for Asagao, a lush underground garden, which had become his sanctuary, his protector, always guarding him from the bleak reality one endures from having to live deep below the earth's surface.

As the door opened, his concentration would be momentarily broken, as he watched a slip of paper slide across the ground, before the door slammed shut behind it, leaving it only few short inches from the doorway. Lowering the flute from his mouth, his curiosity had certainly been peaked, as he spied the paper secret with a suspicious eye, unsure if it was actually meant for him or not. Slipping his wooden instrument into his sleeve, the flute would magically disappear into his clothing like a magician's trick. Standing up, he would stretch out his tired, achy bones, that had been resting for far too long, and went to get a closer inspection of this mysterious letter.

Opening it up, his eyes would become wide with surprise as he read the message it held. Apparently his appearance was needed in the training area, he was to spar with someone there. Folding up the note, he would secure it in his pocket and do just as he had been instructed to. He would leave his peaceful world behind, with many questions swirling around his mind. He was not sure who he was to encounter when he got there, but it was safe to say he was definitely intrigued to find out.

ooc:

Spoiler

Ugh. I didn't really know how to go about starting a topic about sparing, so I hope this is okay? xD

 

[Honma Kotone]

[Ugh, I love that melody. And don't worry, I really enjoyed your starting post!]​

Ikka rested his eyes within his sanctuary, his body resting underneath the pool's weight at the tiled floor. He sat with his legs crossed and fingers pinched together, as if in some form of meditation - but such was the way of an apprentice of Toraono Kuro. He was a very strong and spiritual and ever since his father freed Ikka of Tessu, the virus, his mind, body and soul had all became enlightened with such blissful awareness. No longer was his mind submerged in anger, dismay, hurt or corruption but he was now a free being, and thus, he could dictate his own life with the love of his family in his heart.

After a moment, Ikkadan would struggle to breath having only managed about 4 minutes underwater, he couldn't take anymore. Like an overweight boy, despite himself being slim, the boy dug himself free from the entrenchment of the water's grasp. Oh how he really loved the water, it was something so beautiful and yet so unknown to those who lived in a world beneath the stars; hidden from the moisture and only acquainted with recycled water. The boy's orange zest tinted hair would be the first part of him to reach a rich, plentiful supply of oxygen, and then next would be his head: where he bobbed there for a few moments to catch his breath. His chocolate hues searched the room, finding nothing but architectural beauty and his bed - oh, the bed was the best bit, so warm and soft; so inviting.

And just like the latter, a note of paper slipped through the door, which in a room where the dribble of water from Ikka's face was the only noise you would be able to hear such a crude cramming of paper. The boy looked confused as he made his way from the pool, doggy-paddling forward and pressing his upper body onto the edge of the pool, attempting to extend his hands so that he may reach the note; but that was only a pipe dream, he was obviously too far away to do that. Sighing to himself, he would flex his growing muscle and lever himself out of the pool, the lower half of his body weighing double than previously; due to his knee-long trunks becoming so saturated in crystal goodness. Without wasting much time, and drying himself off first, the boy would move over to the note and read it.

He would smile with a curious expression ladled into his face. Ikka would quickly dress himself in his Toraono attire, an open robe shirt that revealed his heavy abdomen scar, he tied that loose piece of garment with a large orange rope belt, which was tied up into a large knot behind his back. His trousers were dark, almost skin-tight, and his sandals were wooden as the clunking sound of them made him feel happy - I know, odd boy. Promptly, he left the room and made his way for the Dojo, his hair long and blackened due to the wetness.

Upon arriving, Ikkadan's eyes would marvel at the greatness of the Dojo's appearance. It was such a beauty, coated in marble, depicting numerous battles between great figures of time, grand fixtures dangled from the sealing and illuminated the room just enough so that a person could see. However, the windows, such massive, grand sized windows were more than enough to illuminate the Dojo as the sun light from outside blasted its way in. So, who was this training partner... Ikka wouldn't see, no, he was way too distracted by the beauty.

Damn short attention span.

 

[Asagao]

Rubbing his chin, he could feel the brand-new, fresh hairs sprouting out of his normally, silk soft skin; they were rough to the touch, bristly, and very much annoying. Similar to weeds, they were always popping up from out of nowhere, coming back with a vengeance, thicker, no matter how many times you cut them off, they would always return. Setting aside the fact that he needed a good shaving, that would have to wait for the time being, for at the moment he had a much bigger problem.....he was lost.

Staring down the empty hallway, all he could do was frown in frustration. Turning his head, he would peek back around the corner and observe the direction he had just come from; it looked exactly the same to him, in fact everything did, it was amazing that anybody could actually find their way around the place. Pulling the note out of his pocket, he went over the message again, mouthing the words to himself in silence as he read them. He could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat quicken, as he thought about who his opponent might be. Asagao had sworn off violence, vowing to put his murderous, blood soaked past behind him; but could sparing truly be considered violence? That questioned plagued his mind. Giving it a moment's thought, he shook his head, concluding it could not. It was true that sparing could sometimes boil over to the point of being considered violent - yet, it was rarely deadly, so there was no real harm done to his new found code of ethics, they were still completely intact. It would seem who ever had come up with this whole idea had worked it out perfectly so that Asagao had no grounds to refuse. Slipping the note back into his pocket, he would continue his current objective - trying to find the training Dojo.

Twenty minutes or so had passed, and finally he had located the entrance; it was actually only three doors down from the room he had started in, which made the whole experience that much worse. Sliding the door open, he would enter the room reserved, appearing totally calm, though his eyes would be furiously trying to locate his sparring partner. Zeroing in on the only other person in the room, it took a moment for the shock to fully set in - it was a boy - a young boy! This couldn't be right, could it? Something had to be wrong here....why would he be fighting someone who was nearly half his age? This had to be a mistake - didn't it?

 

[Honma Kotone]

From the distance, and believe me there was a distance between the two sparring brothers, Ikka would raise his hand and furiously wave it from left to right with an excited expression upon his face. In fact, the Dojo chamber was so grand, so inviting with its ridiculous spacious body that it only would look comical for the men to be so far apart. However, the room gave space for some grand decorations that hovered above their heads: chandeliers and what not-fixtures all gently, yet worryingly, dangling from a dizzying height. "Hi!" The boy would exclaim, putting it upon himself to move closer to Asagao instead of standing x meters away before their match had even begun.

"Hi," he restated with a softened smile upon his face, extending his hand formally but wanting to go in for an inappropriate hug, "I'm Yamazaki, well, Toraono Ikkadan. What's your name?" Ikka would seem tired, signaled by his deep exhales and puffy expression, perhaps that was due to the job-like pace he took to reach Asagao at the other end of the room. Now really wasn't the time to feel tired, though. "Don't I remember you from somewhere?" Ikka would add with a hint of weaved into his voice, "Something about one of the Lords..." He would lower his expression, now focusing on his memories before raising his head and smiling once again.

"I'm glad I've got you as a sparring partner; you look strong." The boy would add with his eyes scanning over the man, still vaguely recalling memories of him from some deeper part of his mind. "I wouldn't expect too much from me, I'm not that good at fighting. Although, I can make some mean desserts!" Ikka added, raising his finger, and wiggling it innocently towards the man with a, still, softened expression on his face. He would lower his finger and retract his extended hand, regardless of whether Asagao met his gesture or not, and place both hands upon his boyish hips.

"How about when we finish, I'll make us something to eat?" He would comment, "Something hearty?"

He smiled, awaiting the man's reply.

 

[Asagao]

Taken by surprise, the young boy advanced on Asagao within seconds of him entering the Dojo. Preparing for an attack, his hands would fly up in response to the sudden enclosure; he was preparing to cast a high level jutsu, expecting the boy to do the same. Halfway through the motions, he was again taken by surprise - the boy was only....introducing himself. Quickly dropping his hands, and holding them flat to his sides, he would watch the youngster with curious, yet cautious eyes.

"Uhh..hello" He would respond, still wary this was some kind of trick. "Asagao..." He had not yet chosen his clan name yet, he was still deciding between the two options he had been given. "It...it is nice to meet you Ikkadan-kun. What is it you are doing here?" That question had been on his mind since the moment he had laid eyes on him. Was this the person he was supposed to spar with? He was only a boy...this had to be wrong. Taking a second to think, he would consider what was happening, and go over his options. He could always pretend he had come into the wrong room, this way saving himself from having to fight with a child half his age; but what if this was a test? Could it be that he was being tested again and he was not aware of it? Or was he supposed to train the child directly? This entire situation was out his reach mentally.

"Yes, Lady Yanshi" He would refocus his attention back to the boy, playing it off as if he had been listening the entire time. "You were present during the ceremony. I remember you." His eyes narrowed in on the kid, he was now profoundly suspicious of this being more than pure circumstance. He had seen this child out the corner of his eye the day of his initiation, he had watched Asagao kneel and yield to the Byakko Tigress; could it be that he was being punished for that? He was now being forced to prove himself to this adolescent boy? So many questions were floating around his mind, it was all bordering paranoia now.

"De..desserts?" The word tumbled out of his mouth, tripping all over his tongue. Did the boy just say desserts...or had he been imagining it? "Well, thank you. I appreciate your kindness." He would give a soft, subtle bow. It was not often he was referred to has 'strong'. His strength was the hidden type, it was not directly apparent. He was agile and quick, light on feet, which showed in his physique; but his strength was usually underestimated because of his sleek appearance.

"That sounds great, sparing CAN work up quite the apatite." His smile and response was genuine for the first time since they had met. His duel-colored eyes studied the boy as they stood chatting with one another. There was something different about him, he had a light inside, projecting a pale yellow aura; the boy was overflowing with optimism, excitement, and hope - no question, he was a special one. "Okay, Young Ikkadan, you go take that corner opposite of me, so we can get this challenge on it's way. And then after we are finished we can retire and have some.....dessert." Shaking his head, the whole thing still sounded preposterous, but what the hell - no one turns down free dessert.

[Marked For Training]

 

[Honma Kotone]

Ikka wasn't that silly, he could observe with relative ease that the man, named Asagao, was suspicious of the boy. But, by his reaction, did that imply that the man had some underlining issues that made him cautious of strangers? Ah yes, the joys of attempting to advance the growth of his observational skills - he was a social and friendly lad that way, not nosy, well not really. "Asagao, I like it." The boy would tilt his heat, his chocolate hues settling gently on the sight of his family, a brother perhaps. "It's good to know that you're new like me, I won't feel so alone then." Ikka would return the bow with a gesture of his own, which involving him placing his hands on the man's shoulders and holding them there firmly.

"Family don't need to bow to each other, oniichan." And there it was, a straight forward statement that addressed the member of his family as an 'older brother'. Who knew how the man would take a stranger calling him by such a title so easily, but either way, it didn't matter for the next hour or so. Why? Because the spar was ready to begin with the promise of a sweet treat awaiting them, and guess what that dessert was... No, you have to guess or wait until this session was over.

With a rumble of his tummy, Ikka nodded his head and lowered his hands from Asagao's shoulders and retreated over to one side of the chamber. And still, the boy was captivated by the beauty and grand design of the training room, if you could even call it that. It actually felt like committing a crime to do battle in such a beautiful setting. Regardless, Ikka would shake his head, knocking a sense of control back into his conscious as he faced the dot that was now Asagao. Okay, maybe that was a little over exaggeration of how far they were separated. "Here I come, oniichan~!" He would add so innocently, pushing his body forward and retracting his hand right, and he did this motion, a flurry of paper would detach from the red carpeted floor and expand from bundles to singles.

The volume of paper that the boy summoned was impressive, but to summon his paper creations was easy, but to actually manipulate them was another thing. Ikka would, now having moved his hand rightwards, bring it down with a quick jerk of his arm; this motion would create the next step in his plan. Asagao, standing unaware, may have been captured by the white slurry of paper sheets, or their fresh delightful 'new paper' smell, but either way; a cloud of paper would have already fixed itself above the brother and without hesitation launch its origami shower. Which was essentially a series of sharpened pieces of paper that resembled long, stretched rain drops from a cloud.

Origami shower, ya dig?

Although, for a man of his caliber, the distraction would be weak and the sensation of chakra from above would be most noticeable.

 

[Asagao]

Oniichan.

Staring at the young boy's face, he would gaze upon the innocent features of a total stranger. The kid was unfamiliar in every way; his smile, his eyes, none of them were recognized, nor did they evoke any type of emotional reaction that would signify any sort of bond of brotherhood. It would seem by chance - or maybe even fate - that these two lost souls had been brought together, to live under the same roof, to fight under the same banner, to be consider kin despite having the blood of different families traveling through them. They were now siblings; he was now, Oniichan.

As the paper hovered above him, Asagao would have to think fast; too long had he been distracted by his own thoughts, he had been careless, he had let his guard down for a moment and little Ikkadan had taken advantage. The sly little bugger.

Opting for the quickest escape route he could think of, a cloud of smoke would disperse, fogging up the surrounding area where he had been standing. If the paper jutsu were to attack, they would hit nothing a stump of wood he had left behind. Almost as if he had vanished into thin air, Asagao had seemingly disappeared from all sight. Cloaking himself in darkness, he would surround his body in shade; the tricky ex-assassin was reaching into his past and calling on a few of his old tricks to aid him. As if he was back on the prowl, he would watch his prey with hushed breath, and sharp wide eyes. His hands would slowly slip into his garbs and retrieve a few senbon; normally these would be topped off with some extremely toxic poison, but due to this only being a spar he did not prepare to such extremes.

The projectiles would fly, aiming for the chest of his new sibling. Out the corner of the room, his black cloak would fall away and he would strike again with a mighty wind blast expelled from the palm of his hands, hoping to knock the young boy flat on his bum.

 

[Honma Kotone]

A complete miss.

Ikkadan scoffed with a smile on his face, "Aww..." He would exclaim with a soft moan from his moisturized lips. He didn't want to cause his brother any harm, but he didn't want to let him get away either. Ikka could tell already that he was going to be making a hefty dessert for Asagao, something that he wouldn't regret but couldn't be bothered making either. Although, with that being said, he really couldn't wait to stink his teeth into pastry based dessert- Shit, the spar was still going on! Ikka, having only barely noticed the senbon - due to the glistening metal caused by the sun's rays that shone through the glass windows - managed to evade the wisps of metal.

Those thin, elongated pieces of metal, had only barely missed the boy and as he evaded them with a side-roll he would stand back upon his feet and wave his hand, "I almost got hit-" Oh tits, he spoke far too soon. It was a very clever move on Asagao's part, why? He had used the senbon as a distraction and then followed up with a wind-based attack, which knocked the boy off from his feet and drag-dolled him into the ground comically. The boy would come to a halt, his head acting as an anchor for the momentum to come to a complete pause. It took him a few moments to collect his self and stand again; wiping down his chest and trousers from the few specks of dirt that had ingrained themselves upon his expensive wears. Although, this place was rather immaculate so it wasn't like they'd get too dirty.

"So, my paper techniques aren't really going to cut it by themselves... Humph." Ikka would state, placing one hand on his hip and another upon his lips; holding them down like some type of comical seal. "I know!" He would exclaim, removing his finger and pointing it upwards with a wired expression on his face. The boy would dart forward with an adequate speed and brush through a series of seals, a visible smile was upon his face still gladly replacing the wired 'pervert' look. However, lets not get distracted, Ikka would - after finishing his needed seals - would forward flip, primarily to allow contact with his hands to the floor, and push off; momentarily appearing directly above Asagao. Suddenly, a series of vines would explode from the soil, or rather sand beneath the cobbled floor, and those vines with their green stems and yellow thorns would roar towards Asagao. (From the location of where Ikka had made contact with his two hands: the technique's origin point)

They would attempt to bind the man but what about Ikka? Well, as this happened, the boy already summoned a Fuuma shuriken from his paper technique and he launched the shuriken directly downwards to his brother. Now, Ikkadan skidded onto the ground with an unsettling noise before using his fingers as little anchors to slow himself down, lifting his head with a grin on his face: hoping that his combination was successful.

Doubtful, but one had to be hopeful.

 

[Asagao]

The wind blast and been an utter success, just has he had hoped. Ikkadan's body tumbled across the ground like a piece of paper caught in a mighty breeze. His limbs failed about in all directions, as he attempted to regain his balance and composure. Asagao, who was much too proud with these results, stood with a giant grin plastered across his face; his perfect white teeth were now on full display. "Ahhh, Young Ikka. It seems I caught you by surprise, hmm?" He would brag, like a giant ass. You would think that someone who had killed numerous people for money, and who had also been convicted of murder would be above this sort of petty behavior....well, apparently he was not, it was still completely acceptable.

With his chest puffed out, and his head raised up in glory, he was not paying attention one bit to the the binds that were growing out of the ground and wrapping themselves tightly around his ankles. "What's this?!!? He would shout, as his movement was now totally restricted; he could not retreat back to the shadows for a second sneak attack like he had planned. Struggling drastically to break free, his attention was obviously on the current task at hand; though it should have been on the large shuriken heading in his direction. Leaning to the side, just in the nick of time, he would dodge having his entire arm removed from his body, as the blade sliced open the sleeve of his shirt, spilling some blood across his now tattered clothes, before becoming lodged into the wall behind him.

"Not bad.." He would call out, before finally breaking free of the binds, and jumping back to protect himself, just in case another projectile was heading towards him. "It seems I have underestimated you, my young friend. It will not happen again." A genuine smile of affection was written all over his face. He was beginning to really like this boy, he could see why Master Kuro had accepted him into the family; Asagao himself now looked forward to building a brotherly bond with him.

Pulling out the big guns, (regardless of how Asagao was starting to feel, it did not now mean he was going to cut him some slack) his hands would run through a quick jutsu seal, which would conjure up a large tornado. Looking to trap the young boy inside of it, giving him a horrible spell of dizziness, he would send it rushing towards the young man; the giant vortex getting larger and larger as it got closer to him.

ooc; sort of a crappy post. I am in a hurry. =S

 

[Honma Kotone]

Ikka, feeling accomplished by the spillage of blood, would land in a crouched position with a smile on his face as his knuckles pressed against the marble floor. He would watch as those rusted droplets dabbed gently against the floor, and better yet: he would be keenly watching Asagao's surprised expression. The man, his brother, seemed to have been taking him lightly up until that point - as if he was a paper cut, only worsened with a pinch of salt - but not anymore. And that was apparent through the brother's actions, which were just... powerful.

Whoever said actions spoke louder than words were right, unfortunately.

Asagao would brush through a series of seals before conjuring up a devastatingly strong whirlwind tornado. The air around Ikka would almost thicken, well it looked like that, and swirl chaotically in a circular fashion. Whether it was a wanted quality of his attack or not, the air within the vacuum of such a towering wind-based-inferno, was sucked out; leaving Ikka to struggle for a single breath. The boy would coil his firm fingers around his throat, clawing forcibly against his flesh in frustration as panic took over his frame of thinking. And the situation was just going to get worse if Ikka continued to do nothing, so now, he had to buckle down and fight back against Asagao. His opponent was strong, he used wind-based techniques...

Wind, wind...

Ikka would ignite with imagination, or rather a flare of battle-creativity, as he brushed through a few seals and slammed his hand into the marble surface. His fist, that tiny ball, broke through the surface of the floor until half of his clenched fist was hidden beneath the rock. He focused his chakra, he strained away from the choking until the moment was right... Until, his chakra was primed, which would have gathered within his clenched fist, would ignite with an orange glow, a deep 'burrr' noise would imitate from inside of that tornado too. An explosion would tear through the room with a loud bang and a impressively large orange shock wave. The purpose of this would be to knock back the tornado with the sheer power

But what would be the result?

[No, my post is bad! I loved yours!]