Embarking: The Winds of New Beginnings Blow

''Warm winds blew across the Land of Rain's storm-darkened plains. At the base of the mountains, our story begins. A story of brotherhood, of resentment, of strife, and of victory.''

Crossroads
The dirt pathway was proving to be a hassle for the two Seijin that treaded upon it. Two Konohagakure shinobi, returning from their meeting with the Order of the Seijin at the Seijin Temple shielded their eyes as the warm winds kicked up the dirt from the road into their faces. Of the group stood a tall boy, no older than eighteen and no younger than seventeen who possessed long, light purple hair. The other boy was around twelve years of age and possessed a short brown mop of hair. Both traveled side by side, as if they were related, though they were not.

A young man walking up from the opposite end of the road was holding a young boy of about eleven years old in his arms. "Rest easy Inumaru, I won't let anything happen to you now."

The two Seijin continued down the road until the two other young men came into sight, also appearing to be walking along the same road. "Koga..." said the younger boy. "Steady, Ū." Koga replied looking down as he flicked off his hood, "I sense their chakra too." he told the boy. "It's not just that. One of them feels familiar." Ū continued. "Familiar? You mean, Kumogakure chakra?" Koga asked. Ū nodded, "Yep. It feels like the chakra of the Raikage who was in charge during the time I got abandoned." Koga stroked his chin. He could see his young student getting visibly upset by the rush back of unwelcome memories. "Calm now, Ū. I won't let anything hurt you." he reassured the boy. Ū nodded, "I know you will...oniisan..." he thought inwardly.

As the distance between the two teams closed, a few memories rushed back into Kai's head. He glanced down at Inumaru, and then looked up at the sky. "''No...I won't let anyone hurt Inu, never will I let you get hurt. If any one person or an enitre nations hurts you, I will kill them all. I can' t allow you to be hurt.......I can't...." ''Kai kept thinking these words to himself, and then he could begin to see figures.

As the two teams were now shoulder to shoulder, Koga seemed to freeze, completely stopping his movement there. Ū followed suit, but was becoming more and more upset, to the point of looking completely to the ground. Koga kept his senses trained on Ū as his eyes slid over to meet the stranger's who was right beside him now. The wind kicked up dust below his feet and Koga noticed a kid in the man's arms. "This could get dangerous." Koga thought silently. Ū stood perfectly still, becoming at one with his surroundings. "If things get ugly, this may be my only chance of fighting on par with these guys. Oniisan...I'm scared..." he thought. Koga looked down at the boy and smiled warmly, "Don't worry..No matter what happens, I am here." he thought towards Ū, as if they had a mental link.

Kai stood still, and he set Inumaru down to stand on his own feet. "Koga...It has been a long time."

Ū looked shocked, "Y-you know him?" he stuttered. Koga sighed and kept his gaze fixed on Kai, "Ya, Ū...I know him." Koga replied silently. "Indeed it has been awhile, Kai." Koga responded to the former Raikage, looking between him and the boy he had just sat down. "I take it that's a new pupil of yours?"

Kai placed his hand on Inumaru's head and responded, "Yes. Also, a younger brother." Kai then turned to look at Ū, and remarked," And it seems this is your new one."

Koga looked back and cocked an eyebrow, "New one? Student, yes. And I'm also technically his guardian for now." Koga explained looking back at Kai, "He's not my little brother, though he might as well be with the way he follows me around." Ū smiled at Koga and looked briefly back at Kai. Koga briefly returned his gaze to Ū, "It's a long complicated story, one I don't feel like repeating." he said softly.

Kai looked at the two of them, then at Inumaru, and back at Koga. "Koga...after you left, things were difficult. Why? Why did you leave?"

Koga looked at Kai and narrowed his eyes, "I have my reasons. Life gets to people. People change, life becomes hurtful, things get unbearable quick, and I couldn't handle it. My life was torn between two worlds. Worlds that only hurt me the more I traveled in them. Let me ask you this. If one is miserable with something, does that person continue to put up with the misery or find a way to turn it into happiness? Before you answer, do not consider your own emotions about me leaving. Only consider my mental state. Why do I ask you this? Because removing ones self from an emotional states allows one to understand the other more." he responded.

Kai stood still, but then proceeded to speak. "So then, you left for your own reasons I see. So let me ask you this. Did you leave because of how I was? Was I too much too bear?"

Koga narrowed his eyes further, causing Ū to become nervous. "No. The weight of everything put together began to get to me. I have my own life that I had to worry about, and the weight of so many others...." he stopped and looked behind him at Ū, smiling. "Besides, I had others that needed my full attention."

The Battle Begins
Kai put his arm around Inumaru, and then he motioned for Inumaru to get behind him. The air started growing thick with chakra, and the ground began to quake. "Koga." When Kai spoke these words, a feeling of death overcame everyone. "You and I have issues, and now let us take to them in a rational matter."

Koga began to look back at Ū, but Ū stopped him by speaking up, "I know what you're going to say. You're gonna tell me to stay back and not to get hurt. Not to get in trouble and all that jazz. Not gonna happen this time. I'm staying with you." he said. Koga smiled and closed his eyes, "Fine. I can't stop you. But if things get dangerous I want you to run and don't look back." he replied. Ū nodded his agreement. Koga then turned back to Kai as the release of his own chakra began to kick up the wind around them, "You're right. We do have a lot to settle. Let's do it right now."

"Inumaru." Kai began to speak, but Inumaru stopped him. "No. I'm not leaving you, not now." Kai then looked up at Koga, and then back at at Inumaru. He then leaped back with Inumaru in his arms. "Inu, listen to me, if anything happens, you leave as quickly as possible." Inumaru nodded, and then gave Kai a pat on the back. "Don't worry Kai, you'll be fine." Inumaru then backed away a little bit, and let Kai take care of matters. "''Inu, I love you so much, and I can't let anything happen to you." ''Kai then stared down Koga. "Let us begin."

"Nine-Tails, start gathering natural energy for me. I'm not gonna use your chakra unless it comes down to getting extremely serious." he mentally told his sealed Tailed Beasts. Red pigmentation began to form on his eye lids as he entered Sage Mode. "Ū, watch my flank." he said crouching down. Ū nodded and formed several hand seals, "Time to get down to business." he whispered.

Kai pulled out his Katana, and Inumaru pulled out a kunai. "Inu, take on the child. I will handle Koga." Instantly, Kai lunged at Koga with such speed that the ground ripped up behind him. "You caused so much hurt...."

Koga met Kai in battle head on, causing the earth and dust to kick up around the two combatants. Using Frog Kata, Koga aimed a punch for Kai's cheek. Ū leaped back, "Crystal Release: Snowflake Shuriken!" he declared, tossing several snowflake shaped shuriken towards Inumaru.

Kai instantly leaped back, for he knew that he does not even have to be hit directly for frog kata to inflict damage. Inumaru pulled out a scroll, which created a large shiled.

Koga quickly closed the distance between himself and Kai, using acrobatics, kicks, punches, and leaps all to attack his foe while using his Frog Kata attack style. Ū on the other hand formed several more hand seals, "Crystal Release: Crystal Pentagonal Prison!" he said, ensnaring Inumaru's shield and then smashing the crystal with a large kick. He then formed the tiger seal, "Sage Art: Crystal Dwelling!" he declared, as the shattered crystal began to glow as it disappeared. Ū's eyes also gained red pigmentation, a mark that he was now in Sage Mode as well.

Kai looked over at Inumaru, and then back at Koga. "''Trying to take on both of them at once is hard, and Inumaru can't handle this." ''Kai then leaped out of the way, trying to get to Inumaru.

"Is it safe to turn your back when I am right here?" Koga asked, slamming his foot into the ground which caused the kicked up earth to form a wall between Kai and Koga's battle as well as Ū and Inumaru's. "We're settling our differences now. You need to believe in Inumaru more. I know Ū can handle this and I won't offend him by intervening." Koga told Kai. He then put his hand up above his head and charged an enormous Rasengan, "Sage Art: Super Rasengan!" he roared, leaping into the air and then funneling his attack down on Kai.

Meanwhile, Ū formed a much large crystal shuriken than he had previously used, "Sage Art: Crystal Release: Giant Hexagonal Shuriken!" he yelled, tossing the immense shuriken for Inumaru's legs.

Kai looked up, and then created a large ball of lightning in his hand. It was spinning at such high speeds, that it could easily rip through chakra. "Koga...take this!" Kai then ran it into Koga's jutsu.

Elsewhere, Inumaru was fighting Ū, and managed to hold his own. "''Crap it..I can't lose here though." ''Inumaru jumped on top of the shuriken, and then stood on top of it.

Koga and Kai's jutsu exploded after a few moments of collision, throwing both fighters back. With that he leaped back up and ran for the still downed Kai, with a new Rasengan in his palm, "Wind Release: Rasengan!" he screamed, thrusting the jutsu down towards Kai's chest.

In Ū's battle, Ū had already prepared his next attack, "Sage Art: Crystal Release: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon!" he said as a giant crystal dragon with wings was formed and flew after Inumaru with great speed. Before Inumaru could dodge, however, Ū dispelled his shuriken, causing the latter to fall off, heading for the ground.

Kai looked up, and then used his next jutsu. "Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu." Kai then went underground. He then made a few hand seals, and then left his underground tunnel. "Water Style: Water Vortex." Kai was using Koga's wind style Rasengan agaisnt him.

Inumaru looked at the incoming dragon, but remembered something that Kai had taught him. Lightning can beat crystal, and that lightning was his element. "Lightning Style: Lightning Rod!" Inumaru then shot lightning at the crystal dragon.

Koga became feral in appearance as a one-tailed cloak began to surround him allowing him to crush the Water Release jutsu as he whirled around and aimed his Wind Rasengan for Kai's chest once more, this time backed by Frog Kata.

Ū's crystal dragon shattered as the lighting came into contact with it. "Crap...he has lighting nature. Which means I'm gonna have to stick to taijutsu...however, there is still a good usage for my crystals..." he thought as the shattering of the dragon increased his sage chakra. Ū then rushed up on Inumaru and began to use complex taijutsu in the form of Frog Kata.

Kai smirked at Koga, and then leaped into the air. "Lightning Style: Lightning Rods." Kai shot several lightning rods at Koga. "How long can you stay in sage mode, and keep up the Nine Tailed fox?"

Inumaru backed away, and then awaited the first move. He blocked the first hit, and then flipped him.

However, due to Frog Kata's innate powers, each punch's natural energy connected regardless of whether it was blocked or not as Ū began adding kicks to the fray.

Koga blocked the lighting rods with his Nine-Tails enhanced fists and landed, "I can't use the Nine-Tails' chakra while I'm in Sage Mode. Obviously, since I'm in my cloaked form, I have exited Sage Mode for the moment. Under normal circumstances, the Nine-Tails gathers nature energy for me while in Sage Mode, allowing me to fight like a sage fused with a frog: indefinately." he explained as his cloak dissipated and he reactivated Sage Mode.

Kai sat quietly, and then pulled out a katana. He charged his lightning chakra into the blade, and ran head first into Koga.

Inumarau kept backing away, but then he had a thought. He then leaped into the air. "Since Kai had made the air wet from his water jutsu, now my lightning can travel faster." Inumaru then proceeded to make hand seals.

"I sense that chakra of yours...I came from Kumogakure, I can feel it getting ready to be shot." Ū explained, aiming a kick powered by natural energy down, causing an eruption of rock and earth that shielded Ū from the upcoming attack.

Koga simply caught Kai's katana, protecting his hand from the blade's cutting power with natural energy, while deactivating the lighting chakra by channeling his own wind chakra into the blade, "You attack me half heartedly." Koga said in a stotic manner, "You're not coming at me with the intention to kill...Then what are you doing? You blame me for the pain that was caused in my absence, but I think it's starting to occur to you what's really going on here." As he said this, he snapped the tip of Kai's katana and threw it back at Kai, "You and I are both responsible for ourselves. While it isn't our choice to receive pain, it is up to us how much we will take before we say 'No more'!" Koga explained, "I did that. I said, 'No more crap! I'm going to find happiness', and I did. My brother...he's gone. Not completely, I mean, he's still there and I'm trying to get him to see the light, but he's surrounded by the darkness as I once was. He won't let me protect him...so I had to let him make that decision. Then Ū came along. He looked up to me, respected me. Now my brother is beginning to wonder why I'm suddenly so happy and why he's sinking further into the darkness." Koga looked Kai right in the eye, "It's over!" he shouted, his voice combined with the Nine-Tails', "I accepted my pain and threw it behind me. This kid is right in front of me. He needs me and I'm going to do everything in my power to protect him and then...when I become strong enough, I'm going to save my brother too."

Kai dissapered in a puff of smoke, but the Real Kai pulled Koga from underground. Now, Koga was in the ground, and Kai was above. "I don't intend for that to hold you, but now I have your attention. Inumaru is all I have now. Zutto came back to me, but he rarely ever speaks anymore. Sure, we see each other in passing, but there is no realy brotherly connection. Inumaru means more to me now then Zutto ever could have had. All I have now, I owe to Inumaru. He is my little bubby, and I will be damned before anything hurts him." Kai began to change his voice to a much mroe forceful one, and then he stared Koga in the eyes. "But you were not there when all of this happened to me. You left when I was at my worst. Everything fell apart, but then Inumaru needed a teacher, and I accepted the offer. Ever since that time, I have grown to love him more and mroe everyday. While he is not my blood brother, in my heart, he is my little brother. And it is my job to be the older brother to him, because I won't let him fall like I did. He saved me from my darkness, he brought back the youth I lost years ago, and he let me expereince a bond of love so strong that it cannot be broken. Several members of the council hate him, but I don't. I refuse to let him feel hated, because...." Kai's voice began to trail off, but then it came back stronger then ever. "Inumaru is my brother, and I will protect him, even if I have to remove myself from you to do it!" Kai was now yelling at Koga, and his chakra was riled up. His eyes became bloodshot, and then his chakra began to destroy the area. "Now....I will fight you with every last ounce of power I have. You are not facing Kai Saizu the Fifth Raikage, no, you are fighting Kai Saizu, the older Brother of Inumaru Saizu!"

The sheer chakra that was being exerted began to weaken Inumaru, to the point he passed out.

"Crap! At this rate, Inumaru will die from lack of oxygen." Koga thought as he began to focus natural energy into his body. Koga smiled for a moment, looking back to Kai, "The way you talk, you've long since removed yourself from me. But I am not afraid." he said, his hands now deadlocked around Kai's wrists, "My life is almost restored and the past has no burden on me. You act as if I was suppose to shepard you, as if I was suppose to be present for every trial you went through. I'm not someone's emotional punching bag! I'm a human and there's only so much I can take!" Koga screamed lifting Kai with his sage-enhanced strength, "And I've got news for you bud, I'm not the timid creature you use to know." He then threw Kai high into the air, charging a jutsu in the process, "Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!" he roared, tossing the ever expanding Rasenshuriken into the air after Kai.

The Heat of Battle Gets Underway
Kai looked down at the quickly approaching spiral, and then over at Inumaru, at Koga, and back to the spiral. "''So then...we have both moved on it seems. Then there is only one thing left to do..." ''Kai removed his large scarf, and tossed it to the ground. Kai began to form a large amount of chakra in his hands, so much, that his body began to bleed. "TAKE THIS!" Kai screamed at Koga. The two forces collided, both pushing against each other. Kai began to push his hands into the mass of chakra, pushing it even further. "''If I can't push myself to my very limit, then I am not worthy of being called a big brother." ''Kai was now pushing as hard as he possibly could, and then he managed to force his chakra even further.

Koga tensed up and focused his natural energy into a stream to power up the Rasenshuriken which would eventually begin shredding Kai to pieces. Before long, Ū ran up behind him, "Inumaru is out cold, so the best I can do is fight with you." he said quietly. Koga glanced down at the boy, "Alright. Just don't get caught in my Rasenshuriken." he said. Ū nodded and backed up slightly. Koga then turned back to Kai and his battle with Koga's jutsu. "Seems you haven't moved on quite yet...from your pain anyway." he thought, now standing directly under the struggle, looking up. "You still don't quite get what I mean. You don't have to wrap yourself up in a person to feel whole...if you do that'll only lead to heartache and the situation in which you now find yourself. Your own chakra is, at the moment, hurting Inumaru yet you persist. It's almost as if you have to know you have the power to protect, even if costs the person you're protecting's life. It's utterly detestable."

Kai kept pushing his chakra against the Rasenshuriken, and then he smirked. "You think my chakra hurt Inumaru?" Before anyone could answer, Inumaru appeared behind Koga at point black range with a Raikiri in hand, aiming for his opponent's head. Kai responded to this action with the following words, "You see, when I went undergound with my earth release jutsu, I was making a way for Inumaru to get over here during the battle. He has worked with me long enough, and you should know the my chakra won't hurt him,"