</I>The Origin of the Krocs
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Roughly a thousand year ago, there existed a clan widely known—and feared—for their prowess with the Taijutsu. This clan was known as the Kyoujouran, people blessed by the earth with hardy constitution. In fear and disgust, the clan was attacked many a time, due to the horrid rigorous and vicious training regime placed upon the young of the Kyoujouran, known as Jags, which left many of them dead. When a Jag has grown old enough and had survived the harsh training, they become a warrior of their clan, becoming Crags. Only a true master of the Kyoujouran can become a Titan. However, because of the small ratio of children who survive the training and the constant attacking, the clan began to dwindle. One man who was determined to change his clan’s destiny, decided to do things different. It was to change or die out and they knew it so. His ideals were, then, passed on to his sons who lived long enough to see them carried out.
This man, Kyoujouran Ishijin, went on and fell in love with a Terrarite woman. Terrarites were supposedly extinct so Ishijin was surprised to encounter one. She was just as beautiful as the stories had said. Stories of how the ones that blessed the Kyoujouran also created the Terrarites. These unknown creators had made the Terrarites purely of crystals, various colors of rubies, sapphires or emeralds protruding from their bodies. It was a strange, frightening sight yet mesmerizing. Instead of eyeballs, they had minerals for eyes with no pupils. They were beings of earth, more so than anything in the world. This Terrarite was no different, her skin and hair red, the bulging rubies on her body noticeable. It was wondrous.
Ishijin had just narrowly escaped death, hounded by bounty hunters who wanted his head for a pretty purse of coins. Such hunters of bloodlines were always around. Ishijin denied these hunters such pleasure; though he was surprised they had managed to at least crack his skin. His hard skin served him well against multiple enemies. Even cracked, it’ll heal in no time. One of the Kyoujouran code rang in his head: What you take from the earth, you must give back. He took life, so he gave the bodies of the slain hunters back to the earth, allowing them to feed the worms. As soon as he was done, he retreated into one of the many caverns of his home island, a land with many mountains. It turned out to be a cavern many did not dare venture into, but he was a Titan. Whatever dangers within, he would not cower. Venturing into the cave, he somehow discovered what many did not for hundreds of years, a Terrarite. The tall woman, about eight feet tall, was frightened but introduced herself regardless. Ishijin did not think he would've met anyone taller than his clansmen. To think it was a woman, imagine how tall a male Terrarite could be. Another ancient Kyoujouran saying came to Ishijin's mind: Tallest in a thousand mountains, yet still another higher.
“What... who are you? Could it be...” Ishijin asked, his voice seemingly like rocks grinding.
“I am Soyoko, a Terrarite. Who are you and why are you in my home?”
Her home? “Mine name be Ishijin, a Kyoujouran. Have you been here all along? If so, that might explain why some of my clansmen were having trouble entering this place… were you responsible?”
“I asked these men to leave! But persisted, they did. So I chased them off. What are you going to do about it?”
“To chase away Crags is no easy feat, woman. For that, I commend you and shall respect your wishes to leave you alone. I only wish to stay for a spell, to recover a bit and then never return,”
“I suppose… that is fine. Only for a spell, then leave to never return,”
“But of course,” Ishijin agreed.
A spell soon turned into few weeks and Ishijin visited her as much as he could. He found her fascinating and eventually the two fell in love with each other. Soon enough, they could not wait no longer and consummated their love, something thought to be impossible… IS impossible. But whatever gods blessed the two lovers' race decided to bless them once more and with children. Ishijin thought this was a sign of great change for his clan. Ten months later, however, Soyoko gave birth to twins and had died in the process. The twins, boys, lived and Ishijin was in grief for a while, but the sight of his children encouraged him to take care of them, as a father should. He named them Soji and Yoji. Soji, the eldest, was unique as his skin tone was different from other Kyoujourans, their skin tone usually metallic brown or gray. His skin was red, like rubies as well as his hair. His eyes were the only different things, the pair of orbs sapphire-colored. Yuji, the youngest, was azure-skinned and inherited the color of his mother’s hair. His eyes were scarlet-red. They were their father’s pride and joy. Ishijin had decided to raise them vigorously, testing their skills and limitation. Then time came for their trail for the mastery of the Oni Saiseki at the age of seven. Ishijin had no doubt his children the blood of the Gaea within them.
But one thing Ishijin seemed to misplace was the reaction of his clansmen. Upon seeing his children, many of the clansmen were disgusted. The two boys features contrasted with the common dull-colored skin of the Kyoujouran. Not only that, they were tall for seven year olds! If not for Ishijin’s status as a Titan and respect for the law of the Oni Saiseki, the clansmen would have killed the father and his sons. They figured the two boys, however odd looking, could not possible handle the tremendous stress and harshness that came from the trial, expecting them to die. They were wrong.
The trial and training went on for three months; a group of five potential users of the Kyoujouran bloodline, Jags, would be subjected to horrendous training a man would die under an hour or less. Usually of five, one or two would survive and continue onto further training. But at the end of the results, three emerged as victors. The sons of Ishijin and son of a Crag. Three surviving? Incredibly crazy, even for Kyoujourans. Wanting to at least eliminate one of Ishijin’s sons, the instructor for the training asked the two brothers to go against each other and the survivor would be celebrated as a Crag. The twins glared at the instructor in pure anger and attacked the man who had allowed his guard down, a fatal mistake. Though a Crag the instructor was, the two children were able to overcome him and pierced the man with their fists. It was then the clan realized these two children were gifted, meant to be true masters of bloodline. Soji later became known as the Red Gigante and his younger brother, the Blue Devil.
Many years later, the twins realized the madness of the training placed upon the Jags and decided to somehow modify it to an extent of having a zero death rate of children. Even so, it did not stop others from attacking their clansmen. The strong was meant to tower over the weak, the two realized then. Eventually, the clan split and moved toward different directions. The brothers decided to travel, to move on and find greater challenges. It was then they stumbled upon the area that would house the Hidden Village of Mist. To contribute for the village, they decided to help predict and contain earthquakes for people on that land. For this effort that aided in saving the life of many, the two brothers were given the surname, Namazu, referring to a legendary catfish said to be able to detect and cause earthquakes. They then raised their own clan to fame, calling their unique children and descendants ‘Krocs’.
</I>The Law of the Oni Saiseki
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Many years have passed and a new descendant had been born to Namazu Enjin and Namazu Kana. The boy, his skin a light shade of graphite and hair the color of rubies, wailed loudly, the sound eerily similar to falling rocks. The boy’s mother held him tight and looked at him as he opened his eyes. The tears then stopped and he smiled at his mother.
“He looks strong. And healthy as well,” Enjin said, proud of his firstborn.
“Yes. And so heavy too. A giant among men! I don’t think I can handle birthing another… he will do, Enjin. I see greatness in him… Namazu Kyojin…” Kana said, stroking her son’s cheek softly.
Kyojin, from birth, was drilled with the law of the Oni Saiseki and the way of the Zaiken. His parents felt their child was meant for greatness. They taught him to be strong, to stand tall, to tower over others, but at the same time to be humble, kind, fair and honorable. The Namazu numbers were small, roughly twenty people in the clan, but very strong. Every six months, they’d put four children at the age of seven through the ancient rigorous training, but not pushing them to the brink of death. If one did not seem they could make it, then they clearly did not possess the Kyoujouran prowess. Those who survived possessed the strong bloodline of their ancestors. Enjin and Kana had settled on one child, which was risky, because if it turned out Kyojin did not possess the Kyoujouran powers, they’d be disappointed but okay with it. They only wanted the bloodline to keep going.
Kyojin hated the training. First, he was taken to their ancestral home of the mountain island and dumped there with nothing but a canteen of water and several jerkies. See, Water Country has several islands with numerous mountains. The Namazu lived in one of those islands and the ancestral island was another place. Then he was to stay at the wild island for a month, surviving against the numerous booby traps all over. He was rarely allowed a moment’s rest because the clansmen who elected to aid in the training attacked him as well as to keep an eye on those unable to continue with it. He would be attacked over and over to test the sturdiness of his skin and resolve. Not only that, but there were also wild animals who made the island their home. The four children potentials would have to rely on the ancient power of their bloodline to awaken and aid them. If not, well, a clansman would intervene and bring the child back to the home island. For a moment, it had seemed as if Kyojin would fail.
It had been three weeks since he was stranded at the wild untamed island. So far he had gotten through by luck, or so he thought. To the clansmen who were watching him, they thought he might have unconsciously awakened Tremor Sense, an unique ability exclusive to the Kyoujouran meant to locate anybody on ground, even with eyes closed. However, they were not sure. It was hard to tell. Tremor Sense was not easy to master.
Kyojin was tired and weary. He tried saving water and food, but could only stretch it as far as to two weeks and a half. He was tough and had learned several Taijutsus from his father. It had helped some here and there, but he did not think he could go any further. He was about to give up when he suddenly felt something. Not around him, like… under. He could feel… life? The earth, he thought. It was more than that. He could feel everything under the ground, on the ground, in the ground. It was incredible. It was also then he ‘sensed’ a gigantic earthworm, well over eight feet tall. Its skin was the color of dirt and there were no eyes visible. It had a mouth, one of jagged teeth, meant to crush and chew with ease. Kyojin was seven and quite tall for his age, being 5’5” but that had to be the tallest thing he had ever laid his eyes on, besides his people.
“Shoot! Can he handle that Earthworm?” One of the clansmen hiding in the trees said.
“He’s Enjin’s kid! He probably could,” Another said.
“But if he is killed, Enjin would kill us!” The first one said.
“Were you not paying attention?! I’m certain he sensed the Earthworm! Let’s just wait and watch, then crush it with our Earth Fists if things look too bad, understood?” The second commanded.
Kyojin was afraid, just for a moment, he felt fear. Then that fear turned into anger, defiance. He was the son of a Titan, a man of the Kyoujouran bloodline. His mother told him she bedded many a mountain and out came him, a giant among men. People and creatures should naturally cower in his presence as he humbly walks away. That is the law of the Oni Saiseki, which is how it should be.
The Earthworm roared, its jagged teeth hungry for his blood. It somehow whipped its tail at the young Kyoujouran with frightening speed, knocking him backward against a solid boulder that shattered upon contact. For a moment the two clansmen who had conversed earlier feared they might had been too late for the boy did not move for a few seconds. Abruptly came laughter from the boy, as his blazing eyes opened with anger. A crack on his skin could be seen.
“Ah… he has the blood! Of all, he awakened his Crystal Skin…”
“Yes, but let us wait until the end to celebrate his prowess…”
Kyojin rose and charged at the Earthworm, jumping toward its face, his right first shining as if crystals were embedded in it.
Not too long after, the Earthworm laid died, forcefully buried into the hole it came out from. What you take from the earth, you must give back. It was one of the codes of Krocs. A mere week passed and he returned home to his parents. Out of four, only one succeeded: Namazu Kyojin.
Years passed as Kyojin grew not only in age but in height and body as well. At fifteen, he was already over 6 feet tall and still growing. His body had become very muscular and well-defined built. He had firm control over the powers of his bloodline. He soon discovered the true meaning of a giant among men as he mastered a technique of his clan, Footsteps of the Giant, not too long ago.
He was standing on the sands of a beach of his home island, looking toward the island, which rested the Village Hidden in the Mist. He wished one day to go there and become a shinobi. His parents taught him everything they could about Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu, but as expected, he preferred only Taijutsu. Ninjutsu was okay, but not for him. He feared he could not become a shinobi because of this, but his father ensured him it would not be a problem.
He was a man now and he would be the one to forge his own destiny, however great it might be. So he continued looking at the island as he went through the Zaiken Kata to relax his body and wallow within his center.
A Purpose
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Once Kyojin became seventeen, he immediately set out for Kirigakure on a boat meant to carry his weight. After a few days of rowing, he finally came upon the main island of Water Country. Excited, he asked around the best direction to Mist, but the many given to him was vague at mist. It seemed Mist was truly ‘Hidden’, but not impossible to find. And so he set out for the area that would be Mist.
After a week of hard travel, he had finally found Mist. Using his talents, he was able to navigate the way to Mist. He was questioned, of course, and announced his intentions. After a while, he was granted entrance. He applied to become a shinobi and proved himself to be quite talent. After three years, he successfully became a Jounin. He had grown quite tall too, being a mere seven feet. He reached for the highest point of Mist and stood on it, overlooking the village and was proud to be able to serve it. Instead of a forehead protector and the likes, he had his shirt fashioned to have the symbol of Kirigakure on the back.
But even after becoming a Jounin, he did not know his purpose. But he didn’t worry about it much because he had plenty of time to discover it. He smirked as he looked forward to the future adventures and jumped away from the high point, ready to perform his duties, however they might be.
Here he was, a man born out of the mountains, full of desire to mark the world.
