Chains That Bind [T][P]

[♠Solo♠]

The days started to become more and more fair. With each passing day from the destruction that had taken place in what seemed like years ago now, Konoha seemed to be returning to the way it once was. The birds even found that flying over the land of fire was safe again. Few clouds cluttered the sky, and the sun came down, illuminating all the brown and tan shops that were in the process of being rebuilt by the engineers and some helping shinobi. He wasn't in this area however.

The lone shinobi would be standing in the fields that were east of the entire village. Grass were beginning to grow there once more. His arms were at his side, and his eyes gazed upon the sky, wondering just how far up it went. His gaze made him look almost as blank as his birth given eyes. As he stood there, he only had to be amused at the situation. He wasn't where he thought he'd be. Not in a million years. It had been some years since he seen his elder family. She had already excelled in her shinobi career when he were just learning the potential within him. And now here he stood. A Genin of Konoha, asked to protect a Jounin with his life. The sheer irony was enough to make anyone cry out like a mad man. This was a bit much. He had tried to forget that the day wouldn't come. The day when his life would be put in her hands, as hers were put in his.

"Would she even remember me? I were but a child last we were in the same room." He thought to himself, still as immobile as stone. After the events with the Kyuubi the Hyuuga weren't taking chances. The Main family had to be protected and preserved at all cost, and their numbers were few. Even more few than those of the Branch. He still couldn't help but silently laugh inside. He'd wonder if she had laughed as well when she was informed of whom would be protecting her. Of course, she have known that information well before he did. She had to have been preparing for the day.

He waited to meet her. He had wished to speak with her. Know her as he knew himself. He wasn't exactly expecting it, but he prayed she didn't treat him like the chained dog that he was.

[~Kohana <3]

"Kohana, calm down! You know just as well that this can't be helped! I know you would prefer not to have a branch member attend to you, but that's the way things are!"

Is that what you would have told me if I were a branch member like I was supposed to be...?

Kohana stared at her older sister void of expression. Out of the entire Hyuuga clan her sister Aiko was the only one that she liked. Of course, it hadn't always been that way, but she was the only one that understood why Kohana hated her clan so much. Besides, if it wasn't for Aiko throwing such a fuss, then Kohana would have been made into a branch member to attend to her sister. It was only by sheer luck that the elders even held to such a promise and leave Kohana unmarked, unsealed, and 'free'.

"Aiko. He's a Genin. Tensa couldn't protect me even if he tried. The skill level between us is too vast---"

She was cut off then, Aiko interrupting, "Yes, perhaps so. But not every Hyuuga works the same my dear sister. Who knows, he could be an asset to you."
_________________________________________________________

Kohana zipped through the trees with ease, chewing on her bottom lip as faint memories of the child she once met years ago came to mind. Through Aiko and through the hospitals medical records she was able to keep up on the vast majority of the Hyuuga's inner workings. There surely wasn't any way in hell her parents would enlighten her on anything after all. But as she heard, Tensa had become a Genin now and, from as far as she knew, had a good 'sense' to him.

What that meant, she didn't know. The thoughts pressed on as she dropped from the canopy of trees to the more barren part of the village that had been decimated from the previous battle. It pained her to be honest, but all they could do was rebuild. Even now grass had started to grow once more in the fields, which is where she found him; Hyuuga Tensa.

Upon seeing him, she smirked inwardly. Already she didn't like him. He was her height, or quite close to it. He was still a kid, shouldn't he be smaller? Silly reason to dislike someone though, so she pushed that from her mind and tried to put on a smile. Kohana hated the branch family, not because she viewed them as inferior but because they didn't fight back. They didn't say 'no'. It was disgraceful.

"Tensa. Glad to see you're on time. What was it you wished to speak to me about? Your attendance to me, perhaps?"

Her eyes, though just as white and blank as his, seemed to bear into him. If one didn't know better, it was like the same way an Uchiha's Sharingan seemed to see straight through someone. Her Byakugan wasn't active, but it might as well have been with the look she was giving...

[♠Solo♠]

His ears picked up an approaching shinobi. His thoughts kicked him back like he was falling in a dream. His head came down, ached slightly from it being held in an upward position for so long. His bones cried to be popped and snapped back in place. Neck aside, he watched as his new target came into contact with him. She praised him on his timeliness. Something he too prided himself on. He turned his body

"Koha..." he said, stopping himself midway between her name, lowering his head in what felt like embarrassment. No, it couldn't be called that. Remembering whom he were talking to now. They weren't just mere family anymore. The clan ordered his respect to her, as he'd respect his kage.

"Kohana-sama," he said, his eyes now locked with hers. He felt...something. His hands turned to boulders as he continue on.

"Yes. I'm sure you heard. I was ordered to protect you, the Main Family. With the recent event of war and the diminished number of Main Family members, your life is meant to preserve. For the family." It flowed out of his mouth almost as if he were reading it from a letter. It was true. This was his task. His eyes lowered once more and he turned to the side of her, facing at clear blue sky again. It all looked so equal.

"Kohana-sama...I don't like this. I don't like that I am now to serve you," he went on, now sounding like a human. His feelings poured out.

"We, as humans, as shinobi, all stand equal. Master, Kage, they're all just titles," his eyes gazed back at her.

"I mean no disrespect to you, Kohana-sama. I will do as I were ordered and protect you with my life, if possible. I will gain all the strength I need if I have to. I'll even surpass you in power. Just know, this is for our clan." His gaze met hers still. He had found his confidence, the conviction in his words, and in his life. She were the Main family and he the Branch. She a Jounin and himself a mere Genin, titles, all saying she was better than him in every way. He refused to believe this, however, and he would prove it, starting today.

[~Kohana <3]

He had conviction. That was a good thing. It made him seem more human and less mindless puppet than what she had thought he would be. Considering her dislike of her clan, probably more so than what this child could ever imagine, she knew it would have to come to this. As the main branch member he protects, she was the only one who could activate his seal, save for the highest of Hyuuga elders, and cause him pain---and she did just that. The seal below his headband would glow and wrack his brain.

However, the pain was brief, perhaps only fifteen seconds. Then it stopped. Kohana stared at her charge intently, seeing if he was even the slightest bit cracked, soon to be broken. "Did that hurt? I bet it did. That's what we, as main branch Hyuuga, can do to you. Only myself and the elders can activate that seal. This is the first, and last time I'll do that. I perfectly agree with you, but those words could mean your death if the wrong Hyuuga hears that."

Kohana began circling him, just looking at him."I don't want you to protect me. I don't want you to surpass me. I want you to be a shinobi. You bear the curse of the Hyuuga. But that shouldn't stop you."

She paused now, closing the distance between them and placing her hands on his shoulders. "You're what? Only thirteen now? There is so much in the shinobi world you have yet to see or understand. But since you have been sent as my charge, I can easily say you'll be in danger more often than not..."

I could get into big trouble for this. It'd be one thing if it was a snot nosed main branch child, but he...no one deserves to be caged.

"Come at me. Use your eyes and use your Gentle Fist. Come at me and see the strength of the main branch. For it's what I'll be teaching you today." With that said, Kohana jumped back, leaving a good few yards between them. Her eyes sharpened as veins bulged at the side of her temples, Byakugan activated. Then, she slid down some, taking the traditional stance of the Gentle Fist.

Tensa would always be marked, always be caged. But with her, even he would earn the slightest bit of freedom.

[♠Solo♠]

The pain was unexplainable. An emotion and feeling to vex even the greatest of story writers. His eyes blurred from it. A short fall to the earth would seem like an eternity. His knees crashed into the dirt. His hands grasping his head, squeezing it ever so fiercely. It wasn't something he was trained to endure. To know the pain he would be delivering, he had to experience the gentle fist himself. He felt what it was like to be attacked internally, but it was nothing compared to this.

The pain ended, and his left hand gripped his face. His eye peering through the fingers. His breaths were heavy. He slowly made his way back to his feet, as Kohana circled him. She spoke to him of what she expected. He listened, thinking. She wasn't like the others if she felt this way.

"The curse...this pain...," he said to himself softly. Not at a full stand, hand still gripping his face. "It's more painful to be reminded, that my life exists in the hands of another. What gives them the right..." he paused and speech and grit his teeth under his lips.

He lowered his left hand, and watched as Kohana had taken the traditional Hyuuga stance. She wished to see his prowess. To show him the true power of the Hyuuga. He nodded his head and took his stance as well, almost mirroring hers. His right foot and hand dominant, while the left would remain back. His palms were open, index finger kissing the inside of his palm. The veins around his eyes extended to the point of being visual, and his pupil appeared to be more visual as well. His Byakugan awakened.

"I will show you, Kohana-sama," his slid his foot forward slightly. "I won't be a slave forever!!!!" With a charge of faith, he rushed at Kohana, running as fast as he could, prepared to strike her with the gentle fist technique, sending his right palm into her chest.

[~Kohana <3]

Tensa would always be a slave in a technical sense. That seal would never go away. Only the elders knew how to administer it and also undo it. There was no way she could help him in that regard. However, if a Branch member were to become as strong as the typical Main member, then heads would turn. He wouldn't simply be a slave anymore, he would have some meaning.

He has a lot of to work on if he attacks like that...

Straight forward was a terrible way of offense, especially with something as specific and precise like the Gentle Fist. Kohana stayed still however, watching as the distance between the two of them were closed as Tensa charged her. Within a few feet as to where his palm would have struck her chest, chakra was expelled from all around her body. She turned on her heels and spun, the chakra weaving itself into a dome like structure that would repel Tensa's attack with ease. If he didn't dodge at the last moment, he probably would be sent flying back a bit.

Once she knew he was away from her, Kohana stopped spinning and gracefully stopped back into the Gentle Fist stance, Byakugan flaring and veins pulsing. "Tensa. Hyuuga are built for agile and quick strikes. Those strikes have their own power behind them. You should know this. Don't blindly charge at the enemy. You will die."

Hopefully he would take her advice to heart and quickly learn from his mistake. Last thing she wanted was to be annoyed with the responsibility of a child's misfortune.

"As a Branch member, there are techniques you cannot learn without being taught. However, I know most if not all would not be willing. You just witnessed my Kaiten. What do you think?" She awaited his answer, hoping he wouldn't simply crumble, hoping that he wouldn't be just another Branch member who sickened her for allowing themselves to stay caged. Hopefully he was different.

[♠Solo♠]

As he attacked his palm would find itself just barely getting a few feet within her before he noticed something with his Byakugan. A change in her chakra flow. It was increasing, all over her body.

"A technique?" he thought, as Kohana began her heavenly, graceful spin. Chakra emitting from her body, her spin would turn the chakra into a powerful dome like rotating barrier. Needless to say, it pushed his palm away, and the force pushed him back two meters along the ground. The grass and dirt were ripped up in a clear path between Kohana and Tensa. Any idiot could see what had taken place there.

Tensa's back burned slightly, and he grit his teeth. His eyes opened to look at the clear blue sky that he had been staring at just moments before. His eyes had returned to their natural state, as Kohana offered her words. He knew it was a true statement. He allowed his anger to take hold of him and thus led to a reckless charge. Any other opponent and he might have died right there. The thought stung him like a hornet, directly in his chest.

Tensa rose to his feet, using his forearm to wipe the dirt off of his face. He thought for a second. The Kaiten technique.

"That technique...an impressive defensive maneuver. I think I understand it," he continued on, after placing his chin between his index finger and thumb, thinking about it and staring off into a different direction. "By emitting chakra through out your entire body and spinning swiftly like a top, your chakra becomes an impenetrable dome, able to deflect physical attacks." It wasn't something he had the pleasure of being taught during his training. He had to chuckle at the irony. The family that is to be the protectors are the ones whom are excluded from learning the defensive technique. His gaze met her eyes once more.

"Kohana-sama. I offer you a deal. Please, allow me permission to learn the Kaiten technique. In exchange, the next time we meet on the field of battle, I'll surpass you and defeat you, proving that we the Branch family are the same as the Main family. The only thing separating us...," he paused mid sentence, thinking of the mark on his forehead. The sign that he were slave to a family not much different from himself. "I'll surpass you, and the Main family, and prove that the way the Hyuuga clan operates is wrong." He awaited the answer.

[~Kohana <3]

"Don't make such promises, Tensa. As noble as it sounds, the shinobi world rarely smiles on nobility and virtue. You don't need to surpass me, or beat me. All you need do is live your life outside of the shackles of the branch family." Kohana wasn't one to show off for those who weren't already on her own level. Especially for those who were still so young. But he needed to get it out of his head that he had to surpass someone. Thoughts like that only serve to drive the person thinking it crazy.

She would know. That's how she lived her early years, always chasing after her sister's shadow...

Needless to say, Kohana needed to show just how far out of her league Tensa was. With that in mind, she moved from the Gentle Fist stance and into more of a brawler stance--something quite unusual for a Hyuuga. Kohana then raised her fist high, chakra pouring into it momentarily before she brought it down to the ground like a hammer. The ground itself seemed to cry out as it shattered, bits and pieces flying into the air like a storm of cherry blossoms only to leave a small crater in its wake.

"You see Tensa?" Kohana started, wiping her hands clean of dust as she walked through the falling bits. "You won't surpass me anytime soon. Like I said however, you still need to be noticed. To do this, I'll teach you the Kaiten. But first, I need to know. What HAVE you mastered when it comes to the Hyuuga techniques? I need to know just how adept you are before I can understand how hard I need to make your training."

She wasn't trying to be rough with him, not by a long shot. In fact, this was mild for her. Back in her earlier days when she was helping to train new inductees to the Medical Core she worked one girl so hard she nearly committed suicide but instead quit and went on to better herself far away from the medical arts.

Despite this, Kohana simply stared down Tensa, her Byakugan now deactivated for the time being. She didn't need it to see how proficient he was, his form and attitude would say it all.

[♠Solo♠]

"I'll never be free of these shackles. So long as this mark remains on me..." The thought flowed through his head, as Kohana had left her words of wisdom upon him. True, the shinobi world didn't respect virtue or honor. Nobility, or honesty. They were demon tools, to be used and dispatched. That was the understanding. That was a disagreement he had with the world.

As he moved from his inner world, he found something unusual. Kohana clenching her fist and taking a fighting stance, one more suitable for the more rag tag fighters. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. It didn't take the Byakugan to feel and see the chakra flowing through her fist. He took a step back, then another. Finally, a full hop step backwards away from her, as her fist clashed with the earth, breaking it more than his back did from earlier. The ground shook at his feet, and he felt the vibration through his legs, his knees, and his stomach.

The chaos was brutal and harsh, but he survived and lived. It was something he didn't quite expect from a Hyuuga. Let alone one from the Main branch.

"What was..." he started up, shocked and more or less, impressed. There was truth in the words that came afterward. He wasn't going to be surpassing...that in quite some time. Furthermore, he were forced even more to search his mind.

"As far as Hyuuga techniques go. I've only been taught what is allowed for a Branch member." His eyes lowered in disappointment. He realized he was even further away from her now than he had previously thought. He was strong for a Genin, and for a Hyuuga of his level, but he realized just how much knowledge he lacked.

"I don't know much," he spoke with a low tone. "But I am willing to learn." When the words left his mouth the look of shock overtook his face.

"Oh dear...," he said, looking behind him toward the village. "My lessons. I must return to the compound. I apologize." He bowed to Kohana, before turning and running off. He wondered how he could forget such training.

[EXIT]

[Kii!]

Zieg: +46

I'll grade the rest if Kohana comes back and exits . . . xD

[~Kohana <3]

[[OOC: Yeah I phail, I know. Real life kind of bit me in the ass and I'm sorry I didn't say anything. ]]

He admitted what she had wanted him to admit. Tensa knew he was a tool, a tool to the main branch and he wanted to change that. His desire to know more and be his own person on top of an asset to his clan was admirable. Despite their different situations in life, he reminded her of herself when she was his age. Weak and living in a shadow that only grew larger and larger until she finally was able to conquer it.

Kohana frowned however, shaking her head as Tensa blurted out about other lessons he needed to attend to. She would have figured that all lessons would have been canceled if he was ordered to train under her and be her Branch body guard of sorts. However, off he went and all she could do was sigh.

I suppose it's for the best. Let him think on what I said and think on what he needs to do for himself. Next we meet, hopefully he will be ready for the training I plan on administering.

A smile pulled at her lips, obscuring the frown that followed the now disappearing figure of Hyuuga Tensa. Needless to say she expected great things of him, after all, she had come so far with no expectations. She could only imagine how far he could go with them...

[/EXIT]

[Kii!]

+45 EXP