Rediscovering Humanity (P)

Salzem seemed highly uncomfortable with Dachi's silent confusion, hoping he'd say anything, ask him something so he didn't have to go out of his own way to tell his own story. He cleared his throat and continued, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

"Yeah.... so... I'm not the best person, Dachi. I've done a pretty bad thing in the name of another bad thing..." He shifted in his seat. "I left my home village, Dachi. Left it without permission. While that doesn't sound so bad, it's what it means in principle. See, it means I abandoned them, left them to die while I did something arbitrary." Salzem paused, not knowing if Dachi knew what 'arbitrary' meant. "...Something that really wasn't important. See.... There was this guy about a year ago..." He paused again, this time, his eyes seemed wet, strained, almost as if simply pulling up the memory was torture itself.

"This guy... He was my friend.... My only real friend at the time... My first friend. He and I... we were training one day and he was... another guy......" Salzem lowered his head in an attempt to regain control of his breathing. Clearly, this was a tough topic to speak of, even in the presence of a friend like Dachi. Taking a few moments, Salzem sighed and continued his story. "H-he was killed. Another man came out of nowhere and shattered him instantly... He took his body and ran, leaving me lying there, wounded and helpless... I couldn't let that go..." A single tear rolled down Salzem's cheek but he didn't notice. He was too enraptured in spilling his guts.

"My anger, my sorrow... it was just to big to resist.... I was confused, I was grieving... I dedicated my life to finding him and killing him... I wanted to hurt him like he'd hurt me... like he hurt my friend... I gave up my village to kill him and it's been a year with no sign of him.... I wanted his head, but now all I want is to go home..." He took his hand from his neck and, with his forefinger and thumb, pressed his temples. "I did a horrible thing Dachi and I'm still suffering the consequences... I just wanted to let you know..."

Dachi listened, and as Salzem spoke, the child only became more confused. As a child, he was confused as to why he was being told all of this in the first place, but as a person, he was confused as to how someone driven by the will to kill was so kindhearted and trustworthy. 

There was a moment of pause before the child replied, in which the ice cream was quickly devoured. 

"Fire Man always said the worst thing about you was the gas mask you used to wear," Dachi said, still slightly confused.

Of course, part of him knew this to not be the appropriate response to the emotional speech and insight he had gained, but at his age, he was unsure of just what to say. That was, until there was a strange glint in his eyes.

"But your true colors still shine through in the end," Dachi then continued, in a voice void of any emotion, and sounding much unlike the child at all. "Everyone dapples in the shadows, it is inevitable. Emotions are powerful things, and though it is good to allow them to drive your strength and fuel your passion, there are times when we forget to open our eyes. To live to kill is a dangerous life, and a shallow one."

"But to remember that you have eyes, and to see the light, as you have done, requires true strength," the child finished, and then hiccuped violently, coming out of his trace-like state. "And you're pretty strong, Sal. Evil people don't become spirits; the other spirits don't let them. Fire Man let you become a spirit though, and if I were a spirit, I would have too."

The child beamed at his teacher with that sentence, and patted him on the hand, trying to act older than he truly was.

"The strongest, and best-est thing a person can ever do, is admit what they've done wrong, and then mean it when they say they want to change."

With that, Dachi hoped down from his bar stool, and nodded at his teacher once more, still smiling widely, completely unaware that he had spoken in a way that he fully didn't understand. He had meant what he said, and regardless of who Salzem once was, he certainly liked who he was then.

Salzem listened silently as Dachi retorted with a philosophical argument that almost made him fall out of his chair. If he'd closed his eyes and if Dachi's voice was a few octaves lower, he might have mistook him for his old teacher, Kasai. It surprised him that his student could speak this way to him. Not just that he was very young, but it was almost as if he was embodying his teacher, as if he'd taken a moment from his everyday life to talk through this kid. It made him laugh a little, a quick, comical image popping into his head. He then grew very silent, an air of intense anguish seemed to float around him. Kasai was the first one he wanted to see in Konoha. His old teacher and mentor was the one person in Konoha he'd feel comfortable spilling his guts too, to explain his actions too. He had taught Salzem a great many lessons and, if anyone could tell him what to do next, it would be him. He felt confident that Kasai might forgive him, consul him, help him deal with himself in ways loneliness never could.

He took a deep breath and looked up at Dachi, now off his chair and smiling at him with his little kid smile full of hope. That smile never seemed to lose its effect on Salzem and he smiled back, but shakily.

"For a second there... you sounded like my old teacher..." He chuckled lightly. Of course, there was no possible way Kasai could actually be possessing this boy. Supernatural stuff like that doesn't happen. Its just stories. Its not like he could believe that Dachi was hosting Kasai's spirit. He wasn't even dead!

Right?

...right?

No, Kasai was too strong to die. Even back in Konoha, few could stand up to his might, let alone kill him. It wasn't even  considered a possibility that Kasai may have, in fact, died while he was gone, only half of the reason being that if someone that important to him died because of his absence..... He wouldn't be able to live with himself. Kasai was resourceful, powerful, and loyal to everything that was Konoha and he refused to even ponder that he had passed away.

"You're a smart kid." Salzem laughed, his face seeming to brighten up a bit more. He'd reach a hand down and ruffled Dachi's hair before getting up himself. "Smarter than me, I'd bet. I appreciate your advice, buddy..."

(anything you wanna do this thread? Otherwise, we could leave for Kono soon.) 

Dachi thought about what Salzem had said, and he had to agree. For some reason, he had sounded strangely like Fire Man. He was glad that he was not the only one who noticed the strange spirits way of twisted speaking, and confusing words. However, he was very unsure about where the sentence came from, for Dachi himself would never think to say such a thing. However, he was not even completely sure what he had said; he only knew that he had spoken, and that at the moment, he had not recognized the words. 

"I don't think I'm smarter than you," Dachi replied, in response to what his teacher had said. He was unsure of how Salzem could say such a thing; he was clearly a superior ninja, and Dachi knew very little about the world. 

He would then look at Salzem as he too got off the stool, wondering if his teacher was leaving, and if he was, he would follow.

(Possible exit?)

(not yet, buddy, not yet Xb We gotta get some training in)

"No... you are, my friend. I may know more about how the world works and can crush entire buildings with one hand, but what you've just told me... that wisdom... that intuition... its something I could never hope to have." Salzem remained silent for a moment longer, his thoughts constantly shifting back to Kasai. How was he doing? Was he looking for him? Was he under suspect? Salzem worried for his mentor and what impact his departure might have had on him. The inner guilt almost made him break down again, but, with Dachi right there with that adorable childish ignorance on his face, he couldn't just allow himself to fall to pieces. He put on a relaxed smile and gestured over in the direction of the training grounds only a few meters away.

"Lets go find out how much you learned, huh, buddy?" If Dachi would comply, he'd lead his friend and student into the grounds, taking their places in a patch of clear ground surrounded by many, many training dummies. Salzem stood with his hands tucked neatly into his coat pockets, as casual and relaxed as one might be walking through the marketplace one Suna morning. He smiled down on little Dachi, anticipating his attacks. Of course, he didn't expect them to be anywhere near his level of skill, but he had noticed large growths in his power each time they met. Despite his childish appearance and attributes, he seemed to take his training very seriously. It made him smile a little internally, glad to see his influence was rubbing off.

"Alright. Come at me with everything, Dachi. I want to see what you got."

Dachi grinned Sal's open opportunity. He had been waiting for quite some time to show off his new-found powers to his teacher, but tried to not be too vain and show them without being asked. Yet, now that he was asked, the child was more than willing to display what he had learned.

Without a word, Dachi launched into motion.

At first, the boy swung his foot up as high as he could, aiming for Sal's face (30 speed, 20 strength), though the goal of the kick was not to hit, but simply to distract. As Dachi's foot began to come down, the child would already be dropping onto his arms, with his other foot swinging out at Salzem's legs, but much faster than the first kick (50 speed, 35 strength). Next, his first foot would be low enough as well for Dachi to fire off a second low kick, with the same accelerated speed (same as before, 50 speed, 35 str.), and within seconds, a third, and then a fourth followed. By the fourth kick, the motion and speed had carried the boy back up onto his own feet, where he stood, assuming this is uninterrupted.

If all went according to plan, Dachi would be standing, seemingly unwinded, and still grinning widely.


"How's that?" The child would ask, though of course, while the attack might be his strongest, it was not his highest in terms of rank, or with how long he spent training. Still, he did not expect his teacher to simply stand still and take each of the attacks, and the child at every moment had been expecting retaliation and a move against him.

(100 ap - ap, leaf whirlwind = 88)

Salzem leaned back slightly as Dachi's rising kick flew towards his chin (speed 55). The kick would pass just in front of him, but he soon found out that the kid's plan wasn't to hit him with this attack, but to simply distract him with it. Salzem stepped back as his student swept at his legs and stepped back again as he kicked low a second time, missing just barely (speed 55). Dachi had gotten so much faster since last time... He was moving about half Salzem's maximum speed now and he seemed to be having no issues doing it... It made him proud that his friend was doing so well under his tutelage... His smile grew genuinely as Dachi kicked a third time(speed 50), lower, and Salzem stepped back again, the leg just barely missing it's target. The fourth kick Salzem did not simply dodge, however. He raised his leg and curled it into a knee, blocking Dachi's attack and causing a stalemate (speed 55, health 40), preventing him from using his momentum from carrying him to his feet. What surprised the Sanguine eyed ninja was that Dachi's attack actually stung when it hit him. Mind you, it wasn't an intense stinging. It didn't really hurt, but the fact it did anything spoke volumes on how much Dachi had progressed. In a few days, Salzem may actually have to try and in a few weeks, he'd be a legitimate training partner instead of just a student. He smiled at the thought and lowered his leg, allowing Dachi to retract his own and ready himself.

"Very well done." Salzem congratulated. "You have been coming along very well. I can see you take your training very seriously. Now, lets see how you are at dodging, okay?" With that little warning in mind, Salzem raised a hand out to the side, and suddenly, it began to contort. It twisted, and bulged, stretched and bulked, Fur grew across his arm and his nails extended until that arm was was a solid 4 feet long with increased muscle mass and covered in white fur. He looked at his arm almost passively, clenching and unclenching his fingers before looking at Dachi and winking knowingly.

"Yeah, I know its weird, but I can do this now." Salzem said, nodding his head at his transformed arm. "So I need you to dodge my attack as best you can, okay buddy? You might get scratched. Ready?" If Dachi would show his readiness, Salzem would swipe at Dachi's cheek with his wolven hand, easily closing the distance with the extra length on his limb (speed 30, strength 20, sharpness 75). Even if his blow connect, it would only cut Dachi's cheek lightly despite the sharpness.

Dachi listened to everything that Salzem had said, and nodded. Then, however, something strange happened, as Salzem went back into wolf form, or, somehow just made his arm, and only his arm, return to the wolf form. Dachi was not scared or disturbed by this, but just confused. He hadn't been aware that doing such a thing was possible for Salzem, and thought it was either all one way or the other.

However, the next thing that Dachi knew, Salzem had finished speaking, and was swinging the large arm of the wolf at him, and he was forced to react somehow. He had the speed to dodge the attack, but for some reason, and perhaps it was the part of him that was truly Fire Man which acted, he decided to use a substitution justsu.

Forming the sadly numerous amount of handsigns the basic level jutsu takes, just to make the simple process, Dachi disappeared in a puff of smoke, causing Salzem's arm to collide with just a simple stick that had been laying nearby, and leaving Dachi in its place. 

(88 ap - 5 from subtitution = 83)

As Salzem's claws swung towards the kid, Dachi weaved several handsigns. Right before his fangs would have connected with his cheek, he was gone and, in his place was a stick about half his size. Salzem's nails cleaved through the stick, severing it in 4 separate places and leaving in lying in a heap in the sand. It wasn't exactly an impressive technique, but it was functional. Salzem awaited the kid's counter attack but none came. Perhaps he thought that the training would be by-the-books and only as he specifically instructed. Following his nose, he found that Dachi was standing behind him in the place of the stick now lying in a pile.

"Dachi, don't be afraid to attack me when I attack you. In combat, you're going to need more than simple dodging or attacking to succeed. Sometimes you won't be able to read your opponents and you'll need to get creative. So, when I attack you from now on, I want you to fight back. Don't hold anything back or you might get hurt."

With this warning in mind, Salzem would lunge at Dachi again, using his wolven arm to slash across his chest (speed 30, strength 30.), then his forehead, (Speed 30, strength 20) before finally lunging his arm at his throat in an attempt to grab it (strength 15, speed 30). Of course, he wouldn't squeeze, of course. He didn't want to hurt the little kid. Salzem just wanted to... keep him on his toes.

"Oh okay!" Dachi said happily. Though his skills had improved greatly since the last time they had fought, he still knew very little about actual combat, and in the spar, the child had expected blow exchanged for blow, not the constant barrage. However, he supposed it made sense, as no enemy would wait for you take your "turn" in combat. 

The child then was about to strike out, when Salzem came at him quickly again. Half caught off guard, the boy would not have been able to dodge the attack, had he not been granted his intensified reaction speed when Kasai had first entered his body. Instead, the attack missed by inches (as my speed is 35), and Salzem's hand came so close that Dachi could feel the air on his face.

The next attacks that were launched at him he found himself able to dodge, though not with ease, and he could not attack between the attacks, as it required all of his focus to not be hit. However, if there was a pause after the last attack, which was a lunge forwards, Dachi would take this as his time to strike. 

Ducking the lunge, the child would quickly form the five hand signs that it took to create his favorite jutsu of the time. Once the fifth hand seal was done, a large blast of air would errupt from Dachi (speed and power 20), almost as if a wall of air was striking forwards, out of the child.

(83 ap - 20 great break through = 63 ap)