Remember To Breathe [Invite][T]

[-- Orochi.]

All he could remember..

Was how it felt. The more he tried to dissuade himself from believing it, the greater the pain was when it forced him back to a reality he desperately wished he could simply vanish from. His father had always taught him to do his best....that life was nothing more than giving it your all and accepting the results. But if that's true...why did it hurt so much?

Why did it feel like someone was trying to kill him..?

Oh...that's right.

Because someone was.

Sohjin couldn't hold it in any longer. He had shut his eyes as tightly as possible, but he couldn't ignore the set of fangs that were sinking themselves deeper into his neck's skin as seconds passed. A monstrosity of a snake had his body wrapped up in its powerful hold, squeezing the very life out of him as he lay on the cobblestone edifice. Red eyes, as scarlet as his own, seemed to be peering into his soul. But it wasn't looking for anything in particular. It was simply following orders. The orders....that his father had given it.

"Father!! Damnit, father!! ...I've surrendered!!" Sohjin cried out.

Every part of him seemed to be on fire. Not an external one, but one that raged on throughout his internal organs and threatened to take his very breath away. His own lineage was being used to poison and destroy him. But to his father, it was just another way to show his love.

"What is surrender!?"

That same line every time the boy tried to make his limits known. He grit his teeth out of anger - not even at his father. Not even at this gargantuan snake that was hissing violently in his ear. No...not at them. But at himself. They'd been down the road of hardship so many times before, and it seemed as if the wheels of fate had irony powering them. He would fall into situations like this, and it was up to his will to live whether he died or not. But the Genin wanted more. He wanted SO much more.

He wanted to be able to protect those he cared about without nearing death. He wanted to love his life and not watch his shoulder out of fear that he wouldn't survive the next encounter. The Hebi were proud. The Hebi were majestic. The Hebi was strong.

....And it was up to him to live up to the name. Or die trying.

[-- Orochi.]

"Surrender is nothing! Success is EVERYTHING!!"

Sohjin had managed to get enough oxygen to shout the words, as were the usual when Samanosuke asked him such a question. He could feel the snake's inner workings beginning to toil even harder against him, its tail extending and vanishing into the folds of his father's sleeve. They'd lost track of the day - the sun was beginning to vanish over the mountains in the distance. And just for a momentary reprieve from this fatal situation, Sohjin wondered just how long they had been outside training.

Asuka merely watched on from across their training ground, indian style upon a small mat with hands languid across her lap. It was funny - she didn't even look concerned. Mothers were usually running to the scene of the domestic violence around this time, but she hadn't budged since it had all began. Did she truly care whether he died or not? ....A stupid question, given the circumstances. A small gathering of crows darted back and forth only meters above her, no doubt watching the spectacle of his father kicking his ass and leaving him beneath the weight of a large beast. If he was going to come out on top and live to complain, then he had to make a move.

He wiggled his fingers..

Surprisingly, the blood flow to his nimble digits had not been completely cut off. His arms began to shift as best they could, eventually placed against his chest as he attempted to sit up. Samanosuke's eyes, narrowed and piercing, watched on as his son began to confirm the very resistance that the Hebi were known for. He was going to fight back.

"...T..Ta-...Take this!!"

Without warning, the tenketsu upon his body began to roar to life once more. His fingers weaved handseals, albeit weakly and with little grace as he struggled. Once the final zodiac was completed, the very air around them began to shift. He didn't have the means to attack his father physically. He didn't have the strength to pull the snake off of him. But what he did have...it would take more than words to explain.

...And so he began to paint a picture.

[-- Orochi.]

Genjutsu.

The deception of a Hebi was never to be taken lightly. Samanosuke's serpentine eyes may have been imposing, but they were nowhere near invincible. Gathering his wits, Sohjin was beginning to fashion images of himself that lay one beside the other. Every one of them convincing to the naked eye, he would even go so far as to mimic the very expression of panic upon each one of their faces. An invisible layer of chakra was beginning to manifest itself, and not even his mother would be spared the sight of the Genin's deception.

"Gotta get out.." Sohjin gasped.

The images were now beginning to mix and match before his father's eyes, rapid blinking indicating that the effects of his jutsu were beginning to take place. Inevitably, the concentration of his snake's mentality was breaking. Its scaled grip upon his body was starting to loosen, and it was in this window that Sohjin was quickly piecing together Phase 2 of his counterattack. The slight sound of metal objects clashing was only present in his ears, but so much more was in store for his father once his retaliatory movements were set in motion. Four kunai were fed to him from his sleeves. The sharpened edges were accentuated by a set of exploding tags upon each of them, quickly worked betwixt his digits.

"Sohjin.." Asuka whispered.

And thereafter? Travel.

"Kai!" Samanosuke spat. Sohjin was witness to the breaking of his Genjutsu, but the outcome would not change as his metallic companions went forth to occupy his father's immediate vicinity. Spread out to increase flanking advantage, his adversary twisted his body to be able to dodge them with ease. But just for that moment, when his command had weakened on the snake that had restricted his movement, Sohjin was now in control. A handseal to celebrate.

[-- Orochi.]

!!!!

[/size][/center]

The snake's hiss was more than a welcome sound in Sohjin's ears as it freed him from its painful bind. To watch it bellow against the backdrop of flame and smoke was a small victory - He was still very much in danger. Mustering all of the strength within, the Genin pushed chakra toward his legs and used them to spring away from the explosion's realm of consequence. Higher and higher would he ascend, until he was comfortable with the distance and backflipped to land wearily upon a nearby column. Smoke and fire danced one with the other; though a great diversion, he wondered if the onslaught of his father's training was complete.

Sohjin stood to full height, barely able to keep his poise as his body ached all over. He wanted to will himself away from the training ground. To run away until he could find it in himself to return and keep going. But as the smoke cleared, a sigh of relief and a purposeful fall off of the column and onto the ground was enough for him.

Samanosuke was still standing...and smiling.

Asuka shook her head slowly as she stood, the crows taking to the darkening skies as she ambled toward his battered frame. Kneeling down and placing a hand to his forehead, she smiled and pushed his locks from his face. Her eyes, full of admiration now, gave Sohjin the strength to smile and put a thumbs up. "I won't even ask if you're hurt, my child...but are you hungry?" she asked. The tenderness of her caress upon his forehead pushed him further; sitting up and brushing himself off, he kept his words to her and his eyes toward his approaching father. "I could eat. It's not every day you're about to get swallowed by the very things you're supposed to master.." he bit out. His mother took a small towel and dotted his lip - an ensuing sting.

Sohjin brought his hand to his mouth, withdrawing it only to find blood upon the back of it. Damnit, father! At this rate, I'll be dead before I get to Chuunin."

Samanosuke shook his head and pulled the boy up by his arm, slinging him over his broad shoulders as if he were naught but a rag doll. No doubt, he'd used an ability of the Snakes to dodge the fatal explosion that his own son had placed for him. Needless to say, it was to be expected. The Kasake family were great shinobi. His father, master of the Hebi. His mother, one of the rulers of all that was Akegarasu. The combination had sprouted much praise....but equally as much disdain.

"Entertaining thoughts like that only means--" he began.

"You've already given up and have accepted death." Sohjin finished with him.

The three laughed together as his father and mother carried him toward their abode. A delicious aroma began to welcome them to their two-story home, the flickering lights inside surely meaning that dinner would be good...and the family's time together would be lively.

All of a sudden...Sohjin's training was worth it.

[-- Orochi.]

The last bite of Sohjin's food was bittersweet as he sat back, contemplating the evening's events. His parents had long-since retired to their room, leaving him to the solitude he seldom got. Musings of further training and mischief lined his cognizance, but all of that would soon be interrupted by a knock on the door.

"You serious? ...As if I need any more surprises today."

Standing to his feet and stretching, a languid Kasake slowly made his way to the entrance of their somewhat luxurious home. As he yawned slightly, his eyes opened wide with the door swinging open by way of his arm. A letter was presently dropping to the floor in front of him, a bird of majestic appearance taking to the air and vanishing into the distance. Sohjin watched it for seconds, blinking rapidly.

"Now that's what I call Air Mail.." he muttered.

Picking the letter up and reading it, serpentine eyes flickered with interest. He wouldn't even bother to look back to ask permission to go. Surely, Samanosuke trusted him not to get into too much trouble.

A quick shower and two shakes of fresh clothing later, he was a shinobi dashing down the road and into Kumo's festivities.

[. Exit]