Tsuchi no Tenran :: Exhibition of Earth

[Kotarō]

[This thread is open to any and all people who wish to display and exhibit themselves or their clan's skill to a wide forum of people IC]

A large courtyard in the large sunken city, set in the dead center. Within the courtyard were a dozen clans, kneeling before their emperor and territory leaders who sat upon elevated platforms. The emperor sat at the very top on a circular platform of his own, while a second platform which wrapped around the round platform is where the territory leaders were seated. Enemies and allies alike, seated side by side in an open forum to exhibit their skill. What for? Merely for sport. To prove who's the better.

The clans were lined in two columns near the center, creating a long aisle that led up to the platforms. The Hattori were there, along with representatives from the ones known as the Yamagarasu, a mixture of the three head families. The Kaidan were also present, but noticeably smaller than the rest. Most of the other clans took that as a sign of cockiness and disrespect, not even the clan's leader could be bothered to be present.

A head of silver poked from the crowd within the Yamagarasu crop, the young Chunin's head switched back and forth as he eagerly looked for his teammates within their respectful crowds. "Oi~! Hana-ch--yah~!" He was cut off as one of his clan mates abruptly tugged his arm, slamming him into the nice cobblestone floor before swearing down upon him.

"This is boring...when do we get to fight~?" The young Yamagarasu whined, crossing his arms and pouting, he was easily distinguished in his crowd due to his hair, the only one with a head full of feathers.

"The exhibition will begin." Called the emperor over the crowd, with that, all of the clans suddenly stood simultaneously, as if it were rehearsed and spread outward along the circular wall of the massive courtyard. Kotaro looked around, confused, still seated as his clan pulled away and moved toward the wall. "W...wait up..." The boy whined, placing his fist upon the uneven ground below and pushing himself up, standing slowly only to notice he was the only one in the center.

"Do you nominate yourself for the first battle, child?" The emperor called out, Kotaro frantically looked back and forth before looking up at the emperor. Sure, he wanted to fight, but this was sort of...accidental and embarrassing. Just as Kotaro was going to decline and wait his turn to be called upon by the one appointed to represent his clan to fight, a large man stepped forward. He cracked his neck, his knuckles popped, he was behemoth in the form of man, and no doubt intimidating. He trumped every Hattori Kotaro'd seen in size, something that was rare, especially outside the clan.

"Aa...ah?" Kotaro threw his hands forth, waving them. "W--wait--no!" He began smacking his forearms aat his chest in an 'x' fashion. "I would like to wait my turn, Uezama!" Bellowed the young Kotaro, it was a rare show of cowardice on his part, but he wasn't that stupid.

[Tarō]

[OOC: Not sure about the Hijutsu so I didn't engage nor if I could power play, but you can intervene now.]

Among the vast number of shinobi was Sei. A raven in the midst of pigeons. From the moment the young man entered the courtyard, his eyes shot glares left and right. Examining his to-be opponents and future teammates. To the boy, they were all competition. And although there is no stone cold competitive nature in his persona, today he had to prove that he was indeed a child prodigy. It didn't matter what the other clans thought because Sei only had to convince one man - the emperor.

As the wind whistled across the courtyard, a match approached. His amber eyes pierced through the crowds, as the figures shifted into formation. Sei's eyes stumbled upon a silver-haired boy that looked the same age as himself. Insignificant. The Yamagarasu were here and there but this particular one didn't seem that interesting to the Kaidan prodigy. Either way, what came next was much more unexpected. A hideous, over-sized Hattori member stepped forward.

Despite the surprise, Sei's expression didn't change a bit. He was a shinobi afterall. This was an organized exhibition, not a boxing match.

The Yamagarasu boy quickly declined the emperor's question and within seconds Sei seized the opportunity. The amber eyed shinobi stepped forward, those in front of him moving aside naturally. Like a ghost the Kaidan floated out from the crowd. "I'll fight, Uezama-sama." His words stern and confident. His clan behind him remain still with no reaction whatsoever to Sei's words. It was likely they were more confident in their child prodigy than the child was in himself. Either way, this would erupt even more scolding from other clans.

Without waiting for the emperor's response, Sei dashed forward. The Hattori seemed to have the same goal in mind because with each step the young Chuunin took, the grunting man made a bigger leap. Both of them wanted to end this quickly. The Hattori aimed to smash the other clans to the ground, showing off their overwhelming strength. The Kaidan hoped to show the superiority of their Hijutsu - and thats exactly what Sei planned to do.

Seconds before making impact Sei slammed his hands together and with Shunshin no Jutsu, disappeared. An iron club crashed down in his place causing earthly debris to spew from the ground and a small rumble in the courtyard. Agility and power finally met eye to eye but they were far from finishing each other off.

Appearing behind the Hattori, Sei placed his hands in a seal most people recognized. It was the single seal that engaged the Kaidan's Hijutsu. A brief moment of silence passed as the wind whistled and Sei held his position, ready to end the fight. The Hattori's strong eyes darting back at the young Chuunin. What would come next?

[>> s e i ;;]

[ NPC'ing Hattori Hana for Kine to see whether or not I'm allowed to have her. I will not fight with any jutsu or anything. ]

The Hattori Ichizoku was gathered together, a tight band of men with a few women and even fewer girls. The Clan was known for mostly giving birth to sons, a possible result of their raging testosterone and unusual DNA. Everyone in the clutter of Shinobi was a giant, standing much taller than all the other families. As they were rumoured to be descended from the mythical Oni, or ogre-like creatures, each member was a large male that was both tall and bulky.

However, a series of shouts could be heard as a figure pushed through the crowd, using it's elbows and knees to jab the clan members away. As the figure finally made it out into the open, it was revealed that it was a female, small yet obviously powerful. On her back sat a gigantic club, long and thick. Each Hattori-nin had a variation of this, although most were gigantic metal clubs with studs or spikes. The girl, Hana, prefered this more conventional club; the Hanabō.

As soon as Hana made it out into the open, she saw Kotarō speaking, or raising his voice frighteningly, to the Emperor. However, moments later, she saw Sei approach the Emperor and agree to do battle with a Hattori Clan Member, a friend of her father's.

Hana looked around ferverously, searching for her friend and teammate; Kotarō. The silver-haired youth was soon located after the hustle and bustle of the fight, and Hana jogged over to him. However, as she attempted to leave the confines of her Clan's grouping, two large and burly Hattori men stepped in her way, preventing her exit. However, a pleading look back towards her father made the man wave his hand, allowing the young girl to leave. As Hana approached the Yamagarasu no Ichizoku, she was greeted rather nicely. It was because the Clan hoped that the girl would marry one of their children, Kotarō, so as to bring the Yamagarasu and the Hattori closer together. Hana smiled and bowed politely before getting closer to Kotarō, speaking in a calm and sweet voice as she did so.

"Ah, Kotarō-kun!"

[+ gaiden]

[On record; the guy who presented himself wasn't Hattori. There's an agreement between all three clans that there'd be no quarrels within the three. I can see where you misunderstood, though. I'll probably be registering your basics, you guys'll be able to expand off of those. But for now, you should just do it through conventional means, if you want.]

Kotaro's eyebrows rose as his teammate nominated himself in his stead. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit. To have Sei horn in on his fight, it infuriated him, even though he declined. Maybe childlike jealousy, or just Kotaro being childish. He hesitantly retreated back to the end of the courtyard his clan was being held up at after apologetically bowing to the emperor who absently waved him from his presence.

While sadly walking back toward his clan, who shot angered glares down upon the young boy, he heard an angelic voice calling his name. His head slowly rose, watching as Hana approached from where the Hattori were standing, his cheeks turned a bright red and his bright orange eyes lit up.

"Ah~Hana-chan~!"

"Welcome!"

"We'd be honored if you watched with us." The present members buzzed, motioning her to kneel with them. Kotaro scratched his head, finally making it over, all of the Yamagarasu were mumbling and speaking among each other save for one. The head of the Sojobo and Kotaro's father, a dark skinned man who was knelt a few feet in front of the rest, his eyes were bright red, his head bald, save for a few black feather-like hairs that stood atop of his head. A spooky looking man. Even as his son, Kotaro had a deep fear instilled in him...

"Where's father?" A young Kotaro asked, running into the kitchen, smelling the Udon all the way from his room. He hopped onto the pillow set out for him on the mats. A woman was stewing a concoction in the kitchen, a beautiful woman, unlike he and his father and the rest of the Sojobo, she had normal hair, as normal as silver hair was with bright yellow eyes. She turned to face him, her kimono was nicely done, her obi was bound tightly around her mid-section, tucked just enough under her breasts.

"He's out training." She tilted her head, smiling down upon the boy as he bounced up and down on his pillow idly. "Lunch is almost ready, you should go retrieve your father...he's at the peak..." She glanced outside the window, only to see the distant sky. The house was built upon a wooden platform that stuck out the side of the mountain, supported by beams. Kotaro froze up as she suggested that he go get his father. She usually sent up a Bentō of some sort. He looked over at his mother, sitting back on his hands.

"Mom..."

"Hm?" She chimed, turning back to Kotaro.

"Why...does dad only have one arm?" Kotaro asked, looking down at the table, almost in shame due to the lack of knowledge he had about his father.

"Haha," His young mother snickered, waving at Kotaro, shaking her head. "Your father has both arms...he just made a vow long ago to never use one of them." She explained, she walked over, her bare feet barely noticeable on the nice tatami mats, kneeling upon the mat on the adjacent end of the table that Kotaro was seated.

"Why...?" Asked Kotaro, hesitantly taking a passing glance up at his mother.

"Because he felt it was unfair to use both arms." She said, her expression became more serious, she leaned forward over the short table, placing a hand upon Kotaro's head. "Go fetch him for me."

Kotaro neared his father's training peak, his heart racing, the air was so thin, yet so thick at the same time. It felt like the weight of the whole mountain was upon his shoulders as he rounded the rocky earthen wall that rounded into the narrow entrance that extended into the peak. Kotaro was short of breath, the very chakra could be felt upon the air. He slid through the other side to see his father at the end of the peak, under a large boulder.

"What is it?" His father asked, Kotaro dare not make eye contact with the beast of a man who could lift a boulder with his fingers.

"Mother has summoned you for Lunch." His heart sunk into his stomach.

The club smashing into the ground caused him to snap back to reality, his orange eyes wide, his father looked up at him with a frown. "Watch." He spoke, his deep, rasp voice was almost demonic in nature. It sounded like a dozen batwings fluttering, their leathery hides smacking against one another. Kotaro quickly complied, turning to face his teammate do battle.

"Oi, you better not lose out there!!" He called, chuckling slightly.

[Kūmaru]

On a long branch that overlooked the battleground lay one of the Yamagarasu from the leading branch of the clan. His jet black hair was the only indication the people around him needed for them to know who his family was. Him and a couple of the lower people of his clan were the only ones to show up, and they were all watching the fight. He knew that it would be over shortly, simply due to the fact that the guy with the club was a dumbass. With a sigh he leapt off of the branch and fell to the ground at an incredibly slow place, as if he were weightless.

He wanted the fight to be over so he could win the stupid contest and be done with it.