The Power of Youth (P,Nk)

Kaze slipped on his jacket before stepping out of his home, he had grown bored of sitting around alone so why not go do some training he thought. As his feet carried him through the village towards the training ground the genin thought back to the last time he had been there. Luckily he had run into a fellow ninja, and he had learned something very important that day, the shinobi he had ended up sparring with was named Salzem. That masked man had shown him how truly weak he was, Kaze had gotten lazy, simply thinking that just because he graduated at the top of his class that everything would come easily to him. Boy was he wrong, even though Salzem had taken it easy on him, it was painfully obvious how weak Kaze was. 

Clearing his thoughts the young boy realized he was now at the training grounds, once again it was empty. He took in the area around him letting the memories of his sparring match take him once more, this would get him in a training mood no doubt.

Nethero was sick of all the work he has been forced to do lately. He kept helping old ladies with groceries or with finding stolen kittens- which were, by the way, were not stolen. He wanted to do something that would make him stronger. Something that would make him what he needed to be. A ninja. Not a poser, like he was  right now, but a true one. One that cold actually do stuff and wasn't given minor tasks that even the lowest scum of the village were too high to get their hand into. He wore his usual clothing, including his memento, the scarf. Then he left for the training grounds, maybe to get to know his fellow ninja, and maybe to train and get stronger. He was hoping for both regardless. He stepped out and walked towards the grounds. It was more of a stroll than a way to get to the training place as fast as possible. He was feeling casual today. Quite casual. He thought about home. Or about where he could call home if he was asked.

It was not the house he was living in, no. That place was nothing but just some place he had to spend his money on so he could be under a roof at the night. That was just a place that he needed to have, and could barely afford. He liked the outside more. Always. He like the exterior of the house more than the interior and the same was for the village. He liked the forest more than the streets. Regardless, he knew he was a street kid anyway. He has been taken care of at the orphanage for quite some time, but that place was not home for him either. Perhaps it was these streets that he could call home. Perhaps it was the village as a whole, or the forest. Maybe it was the world, a world he had to discover, a world he had to see... Anyway. He shortly arrived at the training grounds. He was up for a challenge today, though he knew that any other genin in the area could kick his ass blindfolded. Perhaps he needed to train alone perhaps he did not. Either way, he spotted another ninja who looked like another Genin. Nethero walked up to him, ready to introduce himself and meet. He would walk to the other ninja. "Hi there. My name is Nethero. Nice to meet you.". He would be smiling while saying that.

Kaze was snapped from his thoughts as he heard a voice, turning to face the origin on the voice he saw another ninja, the shinobi introduced himself as Nethero. He appeared to be older than Kaze but that didn't really matter. Returning the smile of the man in front of him the he spoke, "Hello, my name is Kaze. It is nice to meet you as well." He laughed internally as the young genin realized his luck, this was the second time in a row that he had randomly decided to go train and randomly ran into a fellow ninja. Now the only thing he had to find out was if this guy was up to train.

"So Nethero assuming you didn't come here just because, do you wanna do some training together?" Kaze made sure to make it obvious that the first part of his sentence was a joke, careful to not upset the man in front of him. He had only met a few others in his village who weren't regular villagers, and the young boy always looked forward to meeting and possibly making friends with other shinobi especially those of his home village, Konoha. Kaze was in a very good mood for sparring, very entergetic and excited with no anger or sadness within him at the moment, he really hoped his offer would be taken up on.

Nethero was happy to hear Kaze's words, and that could be read from his face quite easily. His casual smile was replaced by a sincere one with his eyes closed and all of his teeth showing. "Kaze? Is that a nickname or were you just that cool from your birth?" Nethero would first say and conrinue. "Well of course I'm not hear for joking around!" he would answer in the same joking voice, but a little bit louder, and would be smiling while saying that. He would then continue. "Though I have to say, I am a bit new and may be not quite a match for you. Still, I'll give it my all. That's what I am here for anyway. Let's do it!". He would be all fired up for another training. "So... You want to show me what you can do or would you prefer just going for it? As I said earlier though, I would not be a match for you? Want instead to train casually?".

He would not quite be scared of what his opponent would do to him, since he would trust another Leaf ninja with his life if need be; but he didn't really find a lot of sense in fighting someone out of his league, since he himself would really not want to find someone too weak for him either. Still, he would not be against the idea of being beaten up heavily, since that was also a way of learning. "Still," he would add not to sound like he didn't want to fight, "I'm all in for a fight if you want it. We can do the casual training after one of us beats the other one's ass.". He would be sincere in these words he said. He would then start flexing his muscles and start jumping in his place as he started getting ready for any kind of training. He would then see an emptiness between the training dummies. He would smile, thinking of another day.

You see, Nethero isn't always as calm and at ease as this day. From time to time he could be a pain in the ass, a headache so to say. His feelings, and consequently his actions change from day to day. One day he feels the lack of parents and a family, one day he would feel the weakness that causes him humiliation amongst other, and once every few days he wakes up like this, not thinking about many things but only focusing on the fact that he has to train. That he has to do everything he can. Give it his all. He wants his fire, his passion for getting stronger to never vanish but only get stronger. Nethero's goal is perhaps not to become the strongest man alive, but the second. Always to have a reason to keep working, keep training, keep on going on. "I don't want it easy..." he would think to himself, "I was never like the otehr kids with strong clans. I'm all alone. Not an Uchiha, born into a massive family, and with strength that comes from birth. I am not a Senju, highly respected by any others. I am Nethero. Just Nethero. And that's okay. I can live with that. I can do it. I can do it on my own. I don't need strength as birtright, I'll work for it. I don't need family, I will make my own friends. I will do everything on my own... With a little help of course. From people. People I can trust. People I can call friends. It's time I started making some.".

With those last thoughts he would once again look at the boy. He would realise he was looking up at the clouds this whole time he was thinking to himself. "Anyway..." he would then think, "Time ot wrap up these thoughts and get back to focusing on the current events.". He would have flexed his muscles enough. "So..." he would say, "Are you ready to go for it?". He would take a few steps, stop and look at the boy once again, "I'm all fired up.".

From the words of the fellow in front of him, Kaze could tell they should get along rather well. Nethero had made a statement that the young boy had found funny, causing him to crack a toothy smile in reply. Hearing the words come out of the mouth of the man in front of them, he realized a difference between them, while Kaze was a rather confident person, sometimes a bit over confident. It seemed that his older counterpart was the opposite, although he could just be really humble, and then again maybe he truly doubted his own abilities. Another possibility popped into the head of the young genin as he tried to figure why Nethero had said what he did, was he just over estimating Kaze's strength? Deciding it best to just move on past that matter rather than try to guess what went on in other people's head. Besides they were both shinobi of Konoha so he wouldn't intentionally do anything to hurt his fellow ninja, and he doubted Nethero would purposely try to hurt him either.

Once again smiling at the words he heard his mind wondered back to the time when he received a friendly beating himself. Even though it had only been a sparring match, Kaze had been out classed as soon as it started. He wasn't strong enough in any way, everything he did save for a few lucky actions, was blocked. It had been a match of taijutsu, and while he might not have specialized in it the young boy had faith in himself and actually believed he would win the fight, little did he know he didn't stand a chance. Luckily the ninja he had been sparring with, Salzem, was nice enough to take it easy on Kaze. Considering how out matched he truly was at the end of their training the only injuries he had sustained were a few bumps and bruises, the worst being a cut he had received on his forehead when he was headbutted. Other than that it wasn't that bad, his training partner had even healed him afterwards so the only thing that was really hurting on Kaze was his ego. After that happened he questioned his own abilities for a while, pushing himself to get stronger so that he would never be beaten so easily again.

Today was a new day, and another opportunity for Kaze to become a better shinobi while also helping another ninja do the same. Watching the man in front of him flew his muscles loosening his body up the young boy smiled, knowing that despite Nethero's earlier words he would give his all even he truly doubted his ability to beat Kaze, he would still try. Knowing this excited the boy, his eyes starting to show this as a slight sparkle was clear in them, "Well if you're ready let's do it." He said the excitement practically pouring through his voice and spilling out of his skin, there was always this feeling he got before a fight even when it was just sparring, a feeling of pure ecstasy would always take him. Taking a few steps back and slipping into a fighting stance, "Let's go!" Kaze had never actually answered Nethero's question about what kind of fight he preferred, he figured why not let it be decided by the man in front of him. He would base his reactions on the actions of Nethero, he would match his intensity. If it turned out to be a serious fight then afterwards they  could train casually and talk or whatever, unless this ended up being only casually training in the first place. In which case he would treat it as such and continue just having fun.

Nethero would be carefully watching his comrade while he stood silent. Kaze's smile would somewhat comfort him. He would have been trying to read "his mind", his facial expressions through his eyes but not quite make up what he might be thinking of. Nethero's instincts would tell him that Kaze is not dangerous for him, that he would not hurt a fellow ninja. Well, he was probably going to kick his ass several seconds later, but Nethero expected him to hopefully not send him straight to the hospital. The genin's orange eyes would journey over the other one's facial expressions and body movements. Nethero would be trying to read him. But he would not quite succeed, as there was not much to tell. He couldn't have been lying about something, he couldn't have been trying to hide something. There was not really any reason for such a thing, and Nethero was not a paranoid person either. He was just taking Kaze as a base for how he normally acts, to try to understand his motions better in the future.

Nethero was the kind of person that did not always feel comforted, and not everywhere at all times. But right now, he was in the training grounds of his own village. The village he has grown up in. He would think of the times he beat a kid on the streets who wanted his lunch money. That was a long time ago. Nethero had not really grown stronger with the pace he might have had to. He felt what he has not felt when he was younger. He felt weak. He needed a little push, a training, a spar, so be it. He had to take every opportunity he got, if he wanted to actually get any stronger. Another reason he felt comforted was that Kaze felt like a sincere, perhaps a bit mysterious and silent, but sincere person. Nethero sensed that he could perhaps trust him in the future.

The Genin with the cool name that was enough to impress Nethero already, finally broke his silence and with the words spilling out of his mouth, Nethero felt that he was ready. His body was filling with excitement and joy. Adrenaline was rushing theough his veins. "Let's go!", Nethero repeated, shouting, as he sprinted towards the other boy, aiming a punch at his face. This was not his ultimate speed though, not quite impressive either way. He would raise his left arm and move it on to the front of his own face, as his right arm went backwards to gain the necessary power for a punch. When he was close enough, his left arm would move to the side, and his right arm with it, now formed into a punch aiming at Kaze's face. "Rrragh!" he would shout, as he moved his arms, partially hoping to create some sort of distraction, and partially to get more "fired up", get more excited and gain more joy from the training that was going to happen.

Nethero charged, shouting letting his excitement take him. Kaze observed the man as he closed the gap, he noticed that he was running with one hand in front of his face while the other was pulled back ready to swing forward. Nethero didn't appear to be moving all that fast; although, Kaze wasn't sure if this was due to him not being able to move very quickly or if he was just trying to trick him, nonetheless the boy simply waited until his partner was within striking distance. Waiting until the last possible second to dodge the punch that was thrown his way the young genin side stepped the attack all together, he was still unsure of what kind of match his older counterpart of was looking for so he wasn'c comfortable enough to attack himself. Turning to face Nethero who would have surely ended up running past Kaze after missing his attack.

"So I'm not sure exactly how hard you want me to go and I kind of forgot to as earlier" Pausing only to give a sheepish grin the boy would continue, "Like you said before I'm up for whatever, casual training or a one hundred percent spar, either way I'm confident you won't try to hurt me intentionally nor would I try to hurt you. But it's up to you, I'm fine with both, and if you decide to change your mind mid fight that's cool too, just don't forget to let me know, so I don't end up kicking your ass too much." Kaze flashed a toothy smile at his words, it was a joke after all and even if they had only just met it seemed Nethero was a nice guy, a possible friend of the future.

Nethero's attack would miss, as he had expected. He liked how the boy evaded him so effortlessly. "Too much?" Nethero repeated, smiling with an eyebrow raised. His facial expression would have given Kaze the hint that he liked the boy's attitude "So you are going to kick my ass either way. Just show me what you can do and later on we might get to a more casual training. And trust me, as you said, I will not be trying to hurt you either. I don't think I could really be of any danger to you anyways, but I will still hold back when I realise it will be necessary. Whatever we are going to do, I am sure it should come off friendly.". He would be smiling even more hardly than before, "Just try not to kill me and I'll be fine.". He would then  realise that he has once again started to talk too much now realising that he was talking with a rather trustable and friendly fella. "Aaagh." he would let it slip, and start his hopefully last sentences for the training; "Anyway, enough talking. For now, show me what you got. Let's go.". He would once again sprint towards the other Genin, with a similar, unimpressive speed. He would on the way however, create a mirror image of him using the Clone Technique, one of the few techniques he knew. The clone and him would fastly be swapping places, in order to seemingly confuse Kaze, not in the way that would leave him thinking which one is the real one and which one isn't, but rather to where Nethero was going to attack from.

When him and his clone were close enough, they would both swing their right arms towards the boy, but just as they would do this, Nethero would release the chakra creating the clone, and the clone would disperse, leaving a puff of smoke behind that would cover a relatively small area, but one that is enough to fill the inbetween eyesight of Nethero and Kaze, at which point Nethero would, suing the diversion, retreat his right arm and attack from the left. Nethero would be hoping that that would be enough to land a hit on the other Genin.

Kaze smirked at the sarcastic question, Nethero seemed to get him, he made jokes as well. Just because you're a ninja doesn't mean you have to be serious all the time, Kaze was still only a kid after all so why not enjoy life. The boy would listen patiently taking a liking to how much the older man talked, communication is key in everything. "Well since you asked for it I'll only hold back for safety, other than that it's going to be all out on my end." Seeing that the talking was over with as Nethero charged forwards again, he bent his knees a little ready to react to whatever attack came his way. 

Kaze recognized the hand seals used as a perfect copy of his partner was created, 'So he's trying to use a clone to confuse me, too bad I already know this trick.' The thought came to him immediately, this was almost the exact move he had attempted in an earlier spar. All that remained now was to avoid the attack, Kaze wasn't sure which was the real Nethero and he didn't want to use his sharingan, he would only resort to that if things heated up considering this was supposed to be a friendly match. He watched as the clone and the original wove around each other not truly confusing him, he was relatively sure the real Nethero but he kept his focus equally split on both watching as they both pulled their right arm back upon getting close enough to attack. As he began to move to avoid the attack the clone dispersed leaving behind a small puff of smoke, Nethero had tricked him, the clone was still a diversion but in a different way. The young genin had lost sight of his opponent in the smoke leaving him open to an attack, and there it was no longer coming from the right but the left. It inevitable at this range he would be hit, but he could still use it to his advantage using the momentum from the blow as he often did Kaze would plant his right foot swinging left leg around so that the heel of his foot would collide with the man's rib cage, but he wasn't done there he continued his spin leaping up into the air bringing his right leg this time. The blow would be aimed downwards, seeing that he had jumped high enough to where his body would be above Nethero's head, plus he had positioned himself horizontally in the air spinning just to add effect, he always did have a flair for the dramatic. His shin would connect with his fellow genin's head if it landed. Assuming everything went as expected Kaze would land and take a few steps back, putting two meters between he and his partner before asking, "Was that over the top or do you want more? Sometimes I get a bit overzealous." Again he gave a sheepish grin, hoping the fight would continue, he liked Nethero's creativity and attitude, it kind of reminded Kaze of himself.

While running Nethero would realise that Kaze would be keeping track of the real Nethero with qutite an ease. After the diversion, glad his hit landed, would lose focus for a second and not clearly think of the situation enough. He would realise that his body is open to a counter attack but it would be too late. At first he would feel the counter-attack land on his chest. His breath would shortly be out. He would cough, falling backwards a little bit. He would then realise that Kaze should have been readying himself for a second attack, so he would backspin out of the puff of smoke that has now almost dispersed already. He would this way be trying to get out of the way of a second attack, but would have expected a swing from the ground, not the sky. He would not have completely evaded the attack, but thanks to spinning backwards, he would be in the position to do so. He would see it coming and barely get out of the way, as Kaze would scrap him. he would jump backwards for the distance of a few steps and try and catch a breath seeing as the other Genin is also standing. "Overzealous?" Nethero would repeat. "You do have some big moves, but you speak even bigger words." he would add, "Over the top? Pun intended?". He would be laughing the whole time in a friendly manner, as he would also be trying to catch a breath. "The strike was good." he would finally add, flicking dust off his chest at the same time.

He would then get ready for another attack. "What should I do..." he would think to himself, "Trying the same thing would not work... I have to try something else...". He would then look around to see something for an inspiration, but the training grounds would be somewhat empty that day, and he would not lay his eyes upon anything that would be useful to him in any way. "Hmmm..." he would then think to himself, "Maybe I could try the same thing... A little bit differently though.". He would then create another clone. This time his plan would be not use the smoke it creates but something a bit more different. Nethero and his mirror image would then run towards the boy called Kaze, and they would both aim there right hand, formed into a punch, at him. Nethero would have been expecting that Kaze would know which one is the real Genin, since he was keeping track of the real one so easily before. So he would expect Kaze to only dodge the real Nethero. If the boy dodged only the real one's attack as expected, the clone would run into Kaze, dispersing again creating another puff of smoke, after which Nethero would aim a second attack, spinning arouınd himself and crouching, aiming a spinning kick towards Kaze's legs in order to trip him to the ground.