chance

[DEVIL—]

I hope they won't be angry.

It was really all Yuuchiro could think of as he slipped out from the upper window of the manor, and carefully made his way down one of the various cluster of vines that crawled up the establishment's side. His mother and father were in the kitchen, talking about grown up business; he wanted to wait for them, but inside had just become so boring. He'd been in there all day, and, wanting more, decided it would be best to take a stroll to the park.

His father had taken him plenty of times, so finding his way there wasn't difficult. Small as he was, he possessed a natural agility that many people found to be one of his more powerful talents. By the time either Kouketsu or Blanche noticed he wasn't upstairs, Yuuchiro was merely a handful of meters from the rambling gates of the park.

That's when he heard it -- a whimper.

Curiously, he turned the corner to see a cluster of boys - none of which were much older than him - torturing a young girl. They pulled her hair and pushed her around, threw dirt and grass on her clothes, and spit in her face while calling her names. Even though this was his first encounter with bullying, Yuuchiro's response came instinctively and immediately.

"Leave her alone." His voice, thin and fragile, barely managed to climb over the thuds of the boys' pushing and laughter. They turned to face him, a look of disbelief upon all their faces.

"Or what?" one asked.

"Yeah," another agreed. "Or what?"

Yuuchiro fell silent, but only for a moment. "Or I'll make you."

[Jae]

Mission #5455292 - The Acquisition.

I'd received the notice for my scheduled departure during my study hour, a job sanctioned by the big boss himself that required my specific skill set. The intel I was provided left me deep in the heart of Grass Country, a welcome change of scenery as I'd begun to grow too accustomed to the veritable prison that was post-war Sunagakure. A smile crept onto my expression as I thought of my mission's inevitable success, I hadn't anticipated this much fun since I was tasked to acquire the newest Raijin. However, just like before, the details were intentionally vague. My auspices thought it wise to leave me in the dark with this sort of thing, and rightfully so given my ambitious nature; I imagined they feared a coup d'etat.

Acquiring passage into the village wasn't trouble at all given our organization's expansive grasp on the world of shinobi, our members were located on virtually every corner of the continent and worked effectively beneath their leader's radar. As my transcript read, I would be allowed through the front gate by an acting agent. From there I was to discover the mark; a child who possessed something that interested my superiors. They did well to conceal what it was but especially noted that failure was not an option. From what I saw in the picture provided, he didn't look like anything special.

A cursory glance of my surroundings revealed a barren. My success depended on how quickly I would find the target and leave before garnering the resident's attention, and so I quietly traversed the manor's outer sanctum in search of a needle in a haystack.

[DEVIL—]

Yuuchiro's meager threat hardly embedded the sense of fear and uncertainty he'd seen in the comics, or movies he watched with his father. Instead, the boys laughed -- deep, dreadful, throaty laughs that caused the young blond to reconsider his heroism. Still, he stood true for the ideals his parents taught him: defend those who could not defend themselves, and never use the strength you have to oppress another. Out of the entire group, only one of the boys seemed to question the circumstances. He recognized the blond child's face.

"Hachi," he stammered, pulling on the largest boy's sleeve. "We'd better get out of here."

"Why?" Hachi scowled.

"T-t-t-that's the Shodaime's son," he continued.

Hachi frowned. "And?"

"Dude, you know what that means."

"Just because his parents are badasses doesn't mean he is," he rebuked.

Pulling his sleeve from the child's grasp, he stepped forward. His right hand latched around the back of the girl's neck, and forcing her before them, he pressed his foot against the small of her back and shoved her. She stumbled several feet before crashing against the ground, scraping her forearms and caking her dress with dirt and grass. Yuuchiro bolted off to her, but the group of boys quickly intervened, forming a wall between them.

"What'cha gonna do now, huh?" Hachi jeered.

"Get out of my way! You could have really hurt--"

The older boy's first cut his sentence short, slamming into Yuuchiro's cheek with so much force it kicked him off his feet. He soared back for a few seconds before crashing against the ground, landing flat on his back. Immediately, he rolled to his side, and glared at the boy that struck him. The entire group of them chuckled with growing interest, and their ring-leader stepped closer. "See?" he said, addressing the boy's over his shoulder. "Clearly, he got the shitty genes out of the family. I don't even think this scrub could hurt a fly."

Yuuchiro could see the girl on the ground from the spaces between their legs; she lied still on the ground behind them. He got back on his feet for her, and silently, promised he would help if it was the last thing he did.

[Jae]

While maneuvering through the empty courtyard, I couldn't help but admire the scenery. Strangely enough, I felt more at home in this foreign place than I did at home. It exuded a regal air that I naturally appreciated and embodied something I wished our ransacked shell of a village possessed. In due time, I mused while panning the area for some nod in the right direction. Aside from a fleeting breeze here or there, however, things remained stale.

That was until a shrill cry tore through the silence. My eyes shot due east where I'd heard the cry before poising myself behind some of the ornate landscaping that decorated the area. A corner of my mouth tugged skyward to form an odious grin as I hastily closed the distance between me and what I assumed was my target. I drew closer, listening intently for anything that would further illustrate the scenario I was placing myself within. I heard two other voices, both adolescent, one more domineering than the next, amid the audible hum of a group. When I got close enough to observe what was happening I found a group of children and worked to put faces with the dialects.

"What'cha gonna do now, huh?!""

One child taunted; the domineering aspect I'd heard earlier clearly belonged to him and his body language screamed that he was on the offensive. Not too far behind them laid was a small girl, battered and helpless at their feet. A righteous might have thought it reasonable to interject at this point but I... saw things differently. Things like this had a habit of ordering themselves out and so I waited patiently for this backyard soap opera to commence. Soon after the next step in this aggressive waltz would be made by a much less imposing boy, who thoughtlessly threw themselves in the path of his much larger.. dare I say adversary?

And suddenly I was struck with a realization, my eyes glazing over as the image of the boy from my mission file flashed repeatedly at the forefront of my imagination. His skin was fair and his hair shone vividly, not unlike my own. Was this him? From what I could see there was nothing blatantly special about this boy yet I, one of the company's top agents, had been tasked with his recovery.

My more ambitious self goaded me to bide my time, despite what my objective read:

ACQUIRE THE BOY AT ALL COST. DO NOT HESITATE. DO NOT FAIL.

I watched as he bravely decried his much larger counterpart only to be cast away with a powerful blow. My body tensed to move but I willfully fought against the inclination. The boy would make it back, I was certain of that, but I had to see...

I had to see what made him worth the trouble.

[DEVIL—]

Yuuchiro curled his hands into trembling fists. "I don't want to hurt you."

The boy could remember how many countless times he'd read that very same line in his favorite comic, or seen it drawn on a poster hanging in a shop where the capable peered upon the foolhardy. Cliche as it was, there could be no more accurate or better phrase to describe the situation at hand. Even if they couldn't see it, the gap between them was considerably larger than it appeared.

"Hurt us?" Hachi bellowed, bursting into laughter.

His group did the same.

One boy managed to calm himself, turned and approached the young girl once again. She barely moved, and out of fear for her life (as children sometimes didn't know their own strength, let alone the concept of restraint), Yuuchiro stepped forward. The boy's entourage reciprocated the gesture, almost fanning out as they waited for their 'guest' to make his move. Only a handful of steps separated the wayward child from the girl, and in that moment, something snapped.

Yuuchiro saw red.

He didn't realize he'd crossed the distance between him and the group of boys until his fist was no more than an inch away from Hachi's face. He could feel the boy's flesh kneading against his knuckles, and the bones of his jaw protesting the force in sudden resistance, yet could do nothing to stop himself. He laid the towering child down with a single blow, and before any of the others could react, moved on to them.

A kick to the stomach doubled another over.

A swipe of his arm collided in the side of another's neck, sending them tumbling off into the bushes.

There was something graceful in the boy's savage manner, trouncing each and every one of the aggressors in a matter of moments. The last boy, the one who approached the girl, barely managed to turn around and catch a glimpse of the very different Yuuchiro. The boy's eyes, seething red, and his face distorted with unbridled rage; it's the last thing he saw before Yuuchiro slammed his palm into the center of the boy's face, breaking his nose and blacking his eyes at the same time.

But, just like an explosion, it all vanished.

Long, labored sighs escaped him as he lurched over the girl. "It's alright," he wheezed over the whimpering and groans of the defeated. "They won't hurt you."

[Jae]

I peered attentively as the turmoil progressed between the differing sides, the solitary boy and the group's unyielding leader. My focus swayed more toward the quieter of the two, mostly because his body language spoke even when he chose to remain silent. A single brow of mine raised in intrigue as the boy clenched his fist with enough force to cause his arm to shudder. The group's leader haughtily refuted the charmed boy's threat, stepping forward to challenge his bluff. This group did the same... and that's when it all became clear.

It all happened in a flash and had I not been so eager to see the outcome of this quarrel, I probably would have missed it all. He waltzed between them all, ripping them asunder with vicious strike after vicious strike until all that remained were the scattered bodies of children writhing in agony. I found it ironic that the boy sought his own justice, inflicting more harm than any of them ever had onto the girl he was worried about. But just as quickly as it'd came, so it passed and the boy seemed winded by the entire ordeal.

Now was my chance -- but I couldn't provoke him into acting out. It was imperative that I returned him to the compound unharmed and, preferably, convinced that leaving his home was the right thing to do. I moved from behind my cover with a leisurely stroll that placed me well within the aftermath, and while the boy was lurched over the girl I casually approached from behind, ensuring that I didn't close the distance too fast and end up startling him.

My voice would carry over the audible groans of pain that filled the area, an amiable tone that sought to pull the boy further away from his frenzy.


Good show, boy! Good show! Are you alright? I smiled while stepping over a few downed bodies. My attention turned toward the assumptive leader of the pack before I spoke again.


It serves these juveniles right for attempting to harm you and your friend there..

[DEVIL—]

While the newcomer's introduction didn't necessarily startled Yuuchiro, he didn't welcome it entirely, either. The man's face was foreign, as was his voice, and the one thing both of his parents stressed -- even in the safety of their own nation, let alone their village -- was to be mindful of strangers. Sadly, there was little a boy, even one as subconsciously capable and talented as the blond child before the newcomer, could do in such an exhausted state. Still very young and in the midst of defining his body, his little stunt with the bullies left him well beyond winded.

At first, he offered him only a labored gaze from weary eyes. His attention quickly shuffled back to the girl at the bridge of his fingertips, slowly coming too from her injured stupor. She moved with an injured animal's pace, slowly climbing to her feet with Yuuchiro's assistance.

Unsure of whether or not they still faced danger, he silently mouthed for her to leave.

She did.

His father's pride blossomed in him then, and even though it hurt, he stood tall. He wiped away a layer of blood and grime from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, keeping his eyes trained on the man before him. "I'm fine," he lied, hoping his bluff would thwart any attempt on him. Even though he'd only suffered a few punches, durability and resilience wasn't something he'd developed yet. No, Yuuchiro was still very much a frail boy, though the groaning children at their feet, nuzzling into the grass and dirt, would have vehemently protested such a claim.

Still, despite the aura permeating from the older gentleman, Yuuchiro didn't step back in retreat.

You look them in the eyes, he remembered hearing his father say.

You look them in the eyes and you don't look away.

"Who are you?" he said with a heavy breath, struggling to keep his balance.

[Jae]

Initially apprehensive; they always were. His posture spoke more of his current mindset than anything else, everything from the prolonged eye contact to his unnaturally stiff bearing. Having been keeled over, fighting for air not even a second ago, I knew right away that it was all a facade; not that I minded it at all, given our pedigree a sense of pride was to be expected.


"Please forgive my impudence, I've let my eagerness get the best of me," I smiled, fixing my glasses before letting my hands fall harmlessly to my sides.


"Have you been so cloistered as to not recognize your own kin?" I gave him a moment to let my sentiment set in, a chance to allow him to examine my features so that he would realize that my features were not too dissimilar from his own.
"I am Tōsen. Kikkawa Tōsen, son of the First Tsuchikage..."


"Respectively, your first cousin," I jeered through a comforting grin. "I am here on behalf of the Kikkawa Institute of Higher Learning, an organization designed by my father -- your uncle -- to cultivate the prowess of children like yourself so that you are no longer targeted by people like the boy you just felled," I took a hand and gestured toward Hachi, who had since began scrambling to his feet.


"I'm sure you've seen the signs of your capabilities -- immense surges of power, headaches, temporary spells of uncontrollable rage that you awaken from only to find those around you maimed and afraid." I paused for a moment to gaze at the fearful children that surrounded both Yuuchiro and myself. "I recognize this because, like you, I too was victim to these ailments. It was my father's guidance that helped me transcend them all and, as his predecessor, I've been given the opportunity to assist you just as he did with me." Taking a moment to readjust my glasses, I took a step backward before proceeding.


"Your capabilities come as a result of your Kikkawa lineage. My father possessed the capability to absorb the energy of anyone he made direct contact with. My aunt, your mother, possesses that same ability."

Before continuing I marginally extended my arms out to my sides, palms facing in his direction while masterfully kneading chakra throughout my entire body. Soon after my body slowly left the ground until I hovered a small but astounding distance off of the ground. Even full-fledged shinobi had a hard time coming to grips with such an ability, I imagined I must have appeared somewhat angelic to him.


"And my Kikkawa blood has granted me the ability to fly without limitation," I smiled peering down at him. In an attempt to keep from overcrowding him with information, I awaited his response. After all he was still a child, even if he had been destined for greatness.