Seeing White and Blue [Old]

ϟ—Chapter Two — Trials of the Summit—ϟ
Part One: Graduation

The summer sun’s rays pierced through the cloudy haze of Kumogakure, illuminating the village with a warm, fiery glow as the fog conformed to the shape of the teen that strolled through the red-roped wooden bridge.

The crowds surrounding the teen quickly got out of his way. Mutters of fear and contempt echoed through them as he walked, completely apathetic to the various comments about him.

“ Monster.”

“Devil.”

“Unhinged.”

“Demon.”

They meant nothing to the teen. He knew he earned those titles with his actions. He accepted that. He knew that one day, he would show them wrong. He knew he wasn’t a demon, a monster, a devil . Though, he did plead guilty to being unhinged.

The waves below him crashed, spewing mist on his dark skin and shaggy, long crimson hair that hung down his face like a feline’s tail. His black eyes beamed as he focused on a building with a blue umbrella-shaped roof.

Finally seeing the building for the first time in over two years, the teen flashed a nostalgic grin to himself, revealing twin sharpened fangs. The navy blue whiskers scrunched up with his giddy smile as his similarly colored malar stripes narrowed alongside his eyes.

It feels good to be back, the teen thought as he maneuvered across the bridge. Once he reached the blue-roofed building of nostalgia, he placed his hand on the door handle and pushed it open.

The door creaked as the entire class of students fixed their attention on him with varying expressions… with one commonality among all of them. Complete and utter shock.

“Ka-Ka’rai?!!” a teenage Cirru shouted in disbelief.

Ka’rai smirked. “The one and only. It’s been a while, Cirru.”

“It has…” Cirru mumbled with a chuckle, still dumbstruck. 

Sami leapt up from her seat in joy. “Woah! Where have you been?! What’s up with the face paint, too?”

“Oh, I think it looks cool!” Ka’rai answered.

Sami blinked. “What about the first half of the question…?”

“Oh… I got kicked out for misbehaving!” Ka’rai said, oddly cheerful.

Clowui shook her head in the back as Cirru laughed. “Should’ve expected that! What act caused your expulsion?”

“Attempted murder of three Genin,” Ka’rai replied nonchalantly.

Cirru raised his brow. “I thought you weren’t a liar.”

“I’m not,” Ka’rai assured, looking Cirru in the eyes.

Cirru narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Ka’rai. “How could you, an academy student nearly kill not one, not two, but three Genin. ”

“Well, you see…” Ka’rai started as he put up his left arm. A small burst of cobalt blue flame appeared in his hand causing the students to take a step back.

Ka’rai shaped the flame into the shape of a feline with two tails. “I kinda have Bijuu inside of me.”

“No way…” the class aside from Cirru, Sami, and Clowui muttered.

Cirru chuckled. “That does explain your fascination with felines.”

“Hey, are you sure that this is something you should be flaunting…?” Sami asked uneasily as she grabbed her gloved hand. “Power like that… can hurt people.”

Ka’rai shrugged. “Yeah I know; I have hurt people with it. If I’m going to be like Lord Killer Bee, then people have to know that I’m a Jinchuriki.”

“Do people… not care about what you did…?” Sami asked.

Ka’rai nodded. “Oh, they do; I just don’t care. I’ll prove their doubts and distrust wrong when I fully harness the Nibi’s power.”

“Typical,” Clowui muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Sami nodded with a purse of her lips. “I see…”

“You look unwell, Sami,” Cirru stated.

Sami stiffened and put on a smile. “Oh—I’m fine—I’ll leave now, nice meeting you again, Ka’rai!” Before anyone could stop her, she quickly left the area.

“What’s up with her?” Ka’rai mused.

Cirru chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, that’s not important. What is though is why you’re finally back now, after all this time.”

“So I can graduate,” Ka’rai said with a smirk.

Cirru mirrored Ka’rai’s smirk. “Of course…” he said, before the door slammed open, revealing Eff barreling into the classroom.

“All of you in your seats!!” He commanded.

Ka’rai froze as memories of Eff’s extreme punishments and commanding voice flashed through his head. After a second authoritarian shout, Ka’rai snapped out of it and bolted to the nearest empty seat.

“As you all know, today is graduation day!!” Eff started, voice booming. “Your exam will consist of showing off your change in chakra nature, displaying your ability to walk up both walls and water, and lastly breaking out of a Genjutsu.”

Ka’rai scoffed. “That’s it? This is an easy ass test.”

“Easy for you to say…” a dark-skinned boy with shaggy blond hair mumbled.

Ka’rai looked at the boy, who froze as he felt Ka’rai’s gaze. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean any disrespect—”

“Bro, chill out,” Ka’rai assured with a chuckle.

The boy blinked as he looked at Ka’rai. “Wuh…?”

“I’m not gonna hurt you, man,” Ka’rai laughed. “If you’re having trouble with something I’ll help you.”

A bewildered expression spewed over the boy’s face. “Really?!”

“Yeah, what’s your weak point? Wait, tell me your name first,” Ka’rai said.

The boy nodded. “Yowui… and I'm having trouble with Genjutsu stuff.”

“Ah, I’ve never been good with Genjutsu myself, to be honest,” Ka’rai admitted.

Yowui blinked. “Oh…”

“You just like, flare your chakra when you notice you’re under—” Ka’rai started to explain.

“I know that ,” Yowui interrupted. 

Ka’rai blinked, surprised. “Uh…”

Yowui sighed, looking away solemnly. “It’s fine.”

“All right!! Now that you’ve had time to process the exam, they’ll start now!! Follow me outside!!” Eff commanded as he walked out the classroom's back door, with the students following in a single file line.

They marched into a small, rocky plateau dusted with tawny brown dirt. The smell of fog filled the hazed air as the sound of light waves caressing rock sang into the ears of the students.

Eff stood with his back turned towards the water, facing his students who faced him in a row with a series of logs with painted targets and scarred with cuts and holes from the countless kunai and shuriken thrown at them.

In the first part of the exam, the change in chakra display went down in alphabetical order. Three students displayed their Raiton jutsu, as expected from members of Kumogakure.

After the first three examinees, it was Clowui’s turn to display. She weaved a short set of hand seals and her bloodshot eyes glowed a momentary neon purple as she concluded the set. “Ketsuton: Blood Bullets,” she said as she spat out a series of crimson blood from her mouth.

The bullets flew into the lake’s fogged horizon in the shape of ruby bullets of death as scarlet blood dripped from her pale lips, which she quickly wiped away with her similarly colored jacket. “Done,” she stated.

Eff nodded in approval as he looked towards the next student in line to display, which happened to be a haughty-looking Cirru. “Is that all you can muster, Clowui?” he asked, near condescendingly.

“I’d expect more from the heiress of the Chinoke Clan,” Cirru remarked, fishing for a response from said heiress. His fishing proved futile and he sighed as he weaved his one series of hand seals. “Taiton: Hurricane Shield!!”

Cirru’s sky blue eyes shone as he put his hand out and a typhoon of haze swirled around his hand and expanded into an oval of solid air in front of him. “This isn’t all,” he smirked as he pushed more chakra into the jutsu, causing the other students to cover their eyes as the speed of the winds kicked up the dust into a storm around the shield.

Eff narrowed his eyes. “Enough, Furachi.”

“All right, all right my bad,” Cirru said nonchalantly with a roll of his eyes as he put his hands up, deactivating the jutsu but not before stumbling. Sweat dripped down his face from the amount of chakra he used.

Clowui shook her head. “That’s why I didn’t use my strongest jutsu.”

Cirru rolled his eyes as Eff called the next couple of students, who showed off their jutsu as instructed. They went down the alphabet and K was called, leaving a drop of sweat rolling down Yowui’s face.

“Keiso, show your jutsu,” Eff stated.

Yowui nodded and weaved hand seals. “Raiton: Stormbreaker Fist!!” he announced with his chest as electricity thundered and arced over Yowui’s clenched fist. He zipped his fist into the sky before striking the ground like a thunderbolt. 

The ground rumbled as the dirt rippled into the air, dusting the haze with a light brown as the Stormbreaker Fist scarred the dirt with a blackened current of electric scars. Yowui sighed as he brought his hand up and looked at Eff with an expecting look.

Eff nodded in approval and moved on to the next couple of students. Various Raiton and even one Suiton jutsu were shown before he focused his attention on Sami. Sami sighed and weaved a short set of hand seals. 

“Raiton: Lightning Web!” she shouted as she shot her hand out, and lightning arced from the fingertips of her gloved hand. The lighting arced together in a thunderous web, glowing a magnificent white as it shocked the haze… but the jutsu was bordered with a minuscule, dark violet illumination that was near invisible in the short time it was activated.

Eff nodded in approval once again before calling to the next couple of students. Just like before, they showed off their jutsu. Finally, the last student in the class was called, and everyone fixed their eyes on Ka’rai, who stood still with a smirk on his face.

He said nothing as he raised his hand into the haze. He opened his palm towards the sky and inhaled the fog into his nostrils, before exhaling blue flames out his mouth. His open palm seared cobalt blue before a blazing pillar of similarly colored flames erupted from his hand.

The blue flames danced with wisps of obsidian flames that blew back the haze and bathed the surrounding students with the warmth and light of a blue bonfire before Ka’rai clenched his fist and brought his hand down to wipe the light sweat off his brow. 

“No hand seals, hm?” Cirru remarked. “I guess your tendency to show off hasn’t decreased in the slightest.”

Ka’rai laughed. “I could say the same about you, Cirru… except I didn’t nearly collapse afterward.”

“Enough with your bickering!!” Eff commanded. “Our next test will consist of showing your ability to walk on both water and vertical surfaces, as well as your endurance. You will race across the lake and up the adjacent cliff face.

“If you fall into the water or off the cliff face you fail,” Eff concluded sternly as he walked out of the way of the students. “You may begin… now!!”

The students bolted across the water, and almost immediately three students fell into the water. Ka’rai and Cirru looked at each other with a wicked expression as they raced across the hazy lake. 

Ka’rai’s smirk grew as he saw Cirru lagging behind him. “Lookin' a little slow, man!!" Ka'rai bantered.

"Dammit, if only I could use it I'd leave you in the dust," Cirru remarked.

Ka'rai raised his brow. "Why don't you use this… 'it?'"

"I'm sure it would be considered cheating," Cirru said with a sigh before both he and Ka'rai's eyes widened when a figure sped passed them.

Cirru's face contorted with confusion. "The farm boy?!"

"Damn, Yowui! You're fast!" Ka'rai complimented as he was the one lagging now.

Yowui chuckled bashfully. "It's one of the few things I'm good at!"

"You did spend your life amongst animals, it's only natural you would've gained a few traits from them," Cirru remarked.

They sped across the water as they pushed their legs and chakra control to the limit to surpass each other… aside from Clowui who strolled at a reasonable speed and Sami who knew she stood no chance of beating the three boys ahead.

The tawny brown cliff face became clearer in the fog as they approached. Rocks fell from its multimeter height as the class leapt off from the water and began to bolt up the vertical ledge.

Ka'rai managed to regain the lead via his superior leaping power. He snapped back and flashed an arrogant grin at the two boys behind him. Yowui narrowed his eyes and forced his legs to move up the cliff to surpass Ka'rai.

As Yowui caught up to him, Ka'rai grit his teeth as he summoned every bit of speed he possibly could to keep his first place, but his efforts proved fruitless as he was surpassed by Yowui once again as he leapt over the cliff's edge and stopped, panting with a smile on his face.

Ka'rai was second to climb over with Cirru coming in a close third. Soon after, the other students drawled over in mass, with a surprising amount of the class gone. Eff scoffed as he looked over the smaller class.

"Always focused on the flashiest jutsu, and not on the practical parts of being a Shinobi. Truly disappointing," Eff mumbled. "All right!! I'll put all of you under a Genjutsu, it's up to you to figure out when, and what's off so you can break out!!"

The students nodded and silence crawled through the area as their senses heightened in anticipation. Suddenly, some of them dropped to the floor, going unconscious from the Genjutsu. 

Some of them flinched and slammed their hands into a hand sign and with varying difficulty dispelled the Genjutsu. Yowui was having great trouble; sweat poured from his face as he was fighting unconsciousness, attempting to focus his chakra with his clammy Ram Seal.

Ka'rai also had trouble dispelling the Genjutsu. His hands were fixed in the Ram Seal as he gathered his chakra and a sizeable blast of pressure blew out from his body as he broke the Genjutsu on himself… and Yowui, who happened to be the closest to him.

Yowui heaved deep breaths of relief and fatigue as he looked up at Ka’rai. The Uzumaki played a straight face as he looked at Eff, who held a narrowed gaze on him. Ka’rai side-eyed Yowui. He took the hint and gathered himself, acting as if he broke the Genjutsu on himself.

Eff’s eyes narrowed on Ka’rai. “You need to work on your chakra control.”

“Sorry, sir! I got a little carried away…” Ka’rai admitted as he scratched the back of his head with a chuckle.

Yowui looked up to Ka'rai. "Was that on purpose?" he whispered.

"Nah," he whispered back. "I told you I would help, though."

Yowui chuckled quietly as he nodded. "Thank you…"

"No problem," Ka'rai replied with a boyish smile.

Eff looked upon the rest of the students, who were either unconscious or standing with varying levels of fatigue. The only one who was completely unaffected was Clowui, who stood tall as if the past three tests didn’t even happen.

Eff nodded. "All right!! All of you that remain… Congratulations on passing the first part of the Genin Graduation Exam!!"

"Wait, first part…?" Ka'rai questioned.

Eff scoffed. "You didn't know?! Weren't you paying attention in class?!"

"…I wasn't in class," Ka'rai informed.

Eff huffed. "Indeed you were not. Well, you need to report to Genin camp five thousand feet up Mount Nibasu by the end of the week. There, you'll receive your headband. All of you are dismissed! Good job to everyone who passed, I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Eff-sensei!" The passing students cheered with a salute before running off in various directions.

Ka'rai and Yowui went in a similar direction, with the latter boy chuckling. "I never thought I'd hear the day Eff-sensei would compliment us."

"I know, right?!" Ka'rai laughed. "I thought he might've loosened up in the two years I was gone, but apparently not."

Yowui shook his head. "Wishful thinking, man."

"Anyways, you think we can hang out soon? You're pretty cool," Ka'rai asked.

Yowui pondered. "Oh… are you not headed to Nibasu?"

"In like… a week. I can climb a mountain in a day!" Ka'rai said.

Yowui looked at Ka'rai with a wild expression. "I'm headed out tomorrow after I recharge from today…"

"Oh, that makes sense," Ka'rai admitted, a little put-down.

Yowui nodded. "Mhm… anyways, I'll head out now."

"Alright, see ya… What was your name again?" Ka'rai asked.

He sighed. "Yowui. You really have a bad memory."

"I do?" Ka'rai asked.

Yowui nodded, rolling his eyes slightly. "This is the second time you asked for my name."

"Really?!!"

"Mhm… it was your last day at the academy and I remembered your birthday," Yowui explained.

Ka'rai blinked as he shook his head trying to summon his memory. "I don't…"

"Well, it's not like I mattered much to you anyways, especially back then," Yowui said with a sigh.

Ka'rai shook his head in denial. "No!! You do matter to me now! You're my friend, Yowui!"

"I'm just playing with you," Yowui lied.

Ka'rai sighed in relief. "Okay, you had me worried for a little bit."

"Sorry, bye," he said before going off in the opposite direction of Ka'rai. 

Ka'rai chuckled to himself as he picked up the pace towards his home. Mama's gonna be so proud of me!!

⁑♨—ϟ—♨⁑

The afternoon sun hung high in the sky, just barely beginning to set as it painted the sky a scouring cerulean blue and illuminated the clouds a vibrant flaming orange. Ka'rai looked up into the haze-blurred sky as he approached the apartment he's lived in his whole life.

He entered and jogged up the two dozen stories of stairs to the top floor, speed-walked down the corridor to the last door, and knocked. He jumped up and down and giggled as he heard the door unlock.

The door opened to reveal Arasei yawning as she looked down at her son. "You have a key, why did you—?"

"I passed, mama!!" Ka'rai cheered as he tackled his mother with a hug, making sure not to squeeze her too tight.

Arasei woke up immediately at the sudden energy from her son, blinking as she processed the information. "Wait—wow!! Great job, baby!!"

"YEAH—!!" Ka'rai shouted, before being sushed by his mother's finger. 

Arasei looked him in the eyes. "We are not the only people that live here."

"Sorry…" Ka'rai chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, still radiating with joyus energy.

Arasei sighed as she brought him inside, a small smile on her face as she did so. Once she managed to get him to stop bouncing and sit on the couch, Ka'rai gave an energetic recollection of the events of his graduation.

Arasei's amber eyes beamed with endearing focus as she watched Ka'rai tell the story. His arms swung wildly, his grin was wide and toothy and his black eyes shone.

Arasei giggled, surprised that her son stayed seated the whole time. "Well, it sounds like you had a great time!"

"I did!" Ka'rai affirmed with a nod.

Arasei smiled. "Well, you should get ready to climb Nibasu soon."

"But I'm gonna go on the last day," Ka'rai said.

Arasei raised her brow. "No, you're not."

"I can climb a mountain in a day—"

"No."

"Mama, please—"

" No."

"Mama—"

"Ka'rai, I said no, " Arasei stated.

Ka'rai pouted as he hung his head down. "When am I going to go?"

"At least head out in three days, no later."

Ka'rai nodded. "Alright!"

"What do you want for dinner?"

Ka'rai leapt up from the couch. "The spiciest thing you can make!"

"I should've known," Arasei chuckled as she walked to the kitchen, leaving Ka'rai radiating in the living room by himself.

⁑♨—ϟ—♨⁑

Three days after his graduation, Ka'rai looked up to the massive mountain he stood at the base of. Wisps of cobalt blue flames danced over his body as he grinned. Nibasu glowed star-white as the snow glistened under the sun's rays.

The atmospheric gusts streaked snowy streams off of Nibasu; the icy steam smoked like ash off a volcano as Nibasu seemed to rumble like it was one. 

"Mount Nibasu: The Iced Volcano of Kumogakure," Ka'rai said. "Lives up to the name, I guess…"

Ka'rai inhaled, the stinging cold not even getting an opportunity to chill his nose before it was warmed by the flames he exhaled. "You know what Nibi, I'm lucky to have you. I'd probably be frozen to death by now if it wasn't for you.

"If mama's anything to go by, my cold resistance would be pretty low," Ka'rai chuckled… with no response. "Not talkative today…? Gotcha…" he mumbled as he began his trek up Nibasu.

He dug his hands into the rock-hard snow as the Nibi's flames whipped in back and forth in the winds. His muscles bulged as he pulled himself up, one limb at a time. It seems I've underestimated my mountaineering abilities…

"God dammit mama, why are you right so much!!" Ka'rai whined as he forced himself up Nibasu. He found himself five hundred feet up the required five thousand feet about an hour later.

He was used to the lack of oxygen, he lived in Kumo after all. If it weren't the village hidden in the clouds, it would be the village hidden in the mountains. But this… this may have been a little more than what he bargained for.

"Am I really getting my ass beat by a mountain?!!" Ka'rai shouted into the heavens.

He expectedly received no response and pushed upward. He took a deep breath and chakra filled up his lungs, muscles, and flowed through his blood. He smirked as his grip increased and he found himself climbing up the mountain easier than before.

"Much better," Ka'rai said as he trekked up the mountain with a steady pace. "Thank you for teaching me that, mama."

After another two hours of climbing, he was two thousand feet up Nibasu and reached one of the features on the largely featureless mountain. A massive glacier sat upright over the snowy horizon over a gigantic cliff of crystalline ice that shimmered a quartz-white.

"So big…" Ka'rai gaped in awe. He cracked his neck and stood fully upright. His crimson hair slapped against his face over and over as it was put in the way of the wind. Ka'rai's eyes shone with slight heterochromia as more of the Nibi's flames danced over him.

Ka'rai pounced onto the wall of ice… and almost immediately got blown off. "Shit!!" Ka'rai shouted as he sent as much chakra as possible to his limbs to stay intact with the wall.

He grit his teeth as his nails turned an ivory white and grew into claws. He slammed his hand into the ice, soon followed by the other. He panted as the panic of nearly being flung two thousand feet to the ground faded from him. "Nibi, you're a fucking lifesaver."

You're welcome, it responded.

Ka'rai's eyes widened. "You said something!! Hi!!"

No response.

"Goodbye…" Ka'rai muttered, a little disheartened.

He sighed and clawed his way up the glacier. He was now two thousand and five hundred feet up the mountain. Halfway there… he noted. For the rest of the way up to the summit, he had relatively less trouble than he did for the first help.

He thanked his mother, he thanked the Nibi; he was now five thousand feet up Mount Nibasu. He took a deep breath as he gazed upon the horizon, he stood above the clouds, which resembled the coat of a tiger, black stripes of shadow over the glowing orange of the evening clouds.

This was one of the few places in Kumo where the sun could be seen without the haze of the clouds that hid the village. It dyed the blue sky with violets, scarlets, and oranges that swirled in a gradient that ended behind Nibasu, where the violet sky twinkled with the oncoming night.

Ka'rai turned back to see frosted, black iron walls that surrounded a camp that stuck out like a sore thumb on the glistening, orange snow. I can climb a mountain in a day, he muttered pridefully before making his way towards the camp.

⁑♨—ϟ—♨⁑

Ka'rai spent the next four days in the camp… bored. He was stuck in a dorm by all on his lonesome. I should've brought some Dragon Ball to read… he grimaced as he sat with his back on the floor and his legs against the wall.

He brought his hands together and proceeded to create a mini-Shinobi of blue flame on each palm. A weak smile of mild entertainment barely struck his face as he watched the two Shinobi battle it out on the battlefield of his hands.

He went through dozens of mini-Shinobi battles before there was a knock on his door… hours later. It was around noon, so he expected that it was time for his lunch delivery.

He was gladly mistaken.

"Ka'rai Uzumaki," said the Chunin at his door.

Ka'rai nodded. "Mhm… that's me."

"Follow me, it's time for your testing to begin."

Ka'rai sighed in relief. "It's about goddamn time."

"Thank you for your patience," he said as Ka'rai followed him out the door. They went down a series of corridors that lead down to the stairs, which led outside the black iron walls.

They walked into a snowy courtyard with dozens of newly-graduated students being lined up into rows. "This feels oddly like a prison…" Ka'rai muttered.

"It might as well be," remarked an older Genin. "Welcome to boot camp."

Ka'rai raised his brow. "What—?!"

"Get in line," the Chunin commanded as he pushed Ka'rai.

Ka'rai snapped his neck back at the Chunin. "Alright!! Damn…" he mumbled as he walked into line.

Once all the Genin were lined up, three Jonin walked in front of them. One of them was bald with a very circular head which seemed to be covered in perpetual sweat, despite the cold weather, and carried two large metal spheres on his waist.

The other was ghostly pale highlighted by jet black hair. One hand was playing with a shuriken and the other rested on the hilt on the katana sheathed on his hip… which was also nearly three times his height in length.

The last Jonin was dark-skinned with black curly hair, cut crisply into a perfectly circular afro. He hopped on one foot to the other, slamming the silver brass knuckles on his fists together as he did so.

"Alright," the pale Jonin announced in a tired tone. "Pay attention, because we will not be repeating ourselves."

The graduates nodded. "Yes, sir!!"

"First, allow us to introduce ourselves!" the one with the afro announced. "My name is Etto!"

The pale one yawned. "Jay."

" Tama Ase," the bald Jonin said with a tearful voice. " We're the three wardens of Nibasu's Bootcamp. For you graduates, we'll be performing an assessment of your skills."

Etto nodded. "Mhm! You'll all be put under three different scenarios which will test all aspects of being a Shinobi. Those who are deemed exceptional will be set to join a four-man cell under a Jonin-sensei."

"Those of you deemed average…" Jay started. "...are gonna be staying with us until you're promoted to Chunin, understood?"

The graduates nodded. "Yes, sir!!"

"Good!" Etto shouted. "Now, all of your headbands are going to be passed out. The moment you put that headband on, you are now a Genin and Shinobi of Kumogakure! Be proud of yourself, because many haven't even gotten this far."

The graduates cheered as the older Genin began passing down headbands to them. Ka'rai radiated and hopped with excitement as he anticipated his headband's arrival. As he saw the other graduates become Genin, he regretted standing in the back of the crowd.

After what seemed like a millennium, a Genin approached Ka'rai with a black headband; the headband had a steel plate with three clouds engraved on it. Ka'rai nearly pounced on the Genin as he saw the headband.

The Genin handed it to Ka'rai and he snatched it out of his hands with his pure joy, elation, and energy spooking the Genin. Ka'rai put the metal sheet under the sun's rays and beamed at it.

The way the steel shone with a clinquant silver, the way the engraved silver was shaded with a stormy grey… this was his headband. He was… a Genin. Ka'rai hung his head back, allowing for his hair to fall back off of his forehead.

He tied the headband around his forehead and yanked at the remaining flaps of fabric that stuck out from the back of his head. His crimson bangs fell over the symbol of Kumo on his headband as Ka'rai grinned.

"I'm a ninja now…" Ka'rai said dreamily as he stared into space with the largest, most obtuse, and utterly stupid grin on his face.

ϟ—Chapter End—ϟ