Gate 3 Training

Idorizu, Riyaku let out a huff, his left hand raising to be placed between his right shoulder-blade and his neck, rotating said shoulder afterwards in a slow rotational pattern. At the same time -- his feet had their own goal, to guide his form out to the fields. . And upon arrival to his spot, he flexed out his knuckles. But there was one thing he had to do first! .. Take off his jacket. The last time he wore it while fighting someone, it was burned horribly. So the clothing would be slipped off his arms - and once loose, set on the sand beside him. Shoes were kicked off too. [1]

Afterwards, a quick stretch of his arms - and he was gaining his stance. Both hands were up in fists, covering his face -- elbows tight to guard his ribs. . His lead leg -- his left, was in a more 'pivotable' position, heel off the ground and pressing that ball into the sand, his right foot back and behind to hold a stable ground. The shirtless taijutsuist gave a nod towards the Hyuuga, and prepared himself for what was to come.. Cheater? Huh. He had no idea what was going to happen, really. [2]

"Whenever you're ready." - he spoke.

Idorizu, Riyaku blinked a few times, sapphire eyes tracking his movements. A jab met his shoulder -- however he was relatively durable .. on the exterior. Though this was an interior pain. One he wasn't all that quite used to. . But the difference between Riyaku and other fighters -- Riyaku didn't rely on chakra. Chakra .. was a woman's thing. . He was a man. That was how he was raised - that was how he was going to forever be. Even so -- it still hurt like a little bitch, sending jolting and needle-like pains throughout his nervous system in that immediate area. [3]

The male's eyes shifted into a slight narrow, and with a sudden pivot -- he was off, moving at rather decent speeds. -- His kicks were faster than his running, for sure -- and the power? It was obviously held back for a spar, as he had just told Sayato, he doesn't fight to win. . Riyaku's feet took a stance, pivoting on the ball of his left foot with absolute ease and practice - intent of shuffling to have his right foot forward - the lead coming around to the back of Kenzo's knees, planned to strike with a held power.. [4]

Though enough to have the technique in play send him on his ass if he wasn't able to dodge.

Idorizu, Riyaku watched as the Hyuuga seemed to track him with ease - leaving his kick only breezing him. . Huh. . All that training, and he still couldn't even fight people. Damn. The jabs to his shoulder were felt - but he made no movements other than a twitch of the afflicted arm. He stared at Kenzo, and simply squinted. "You're an annoying little bastard." he muttered, shaking his head slowly. Afterwards, the male was trotting back over towards his things - to throw them back on. [5]

"Yeah, yeah.. I get it. I'm not strong enough to take you on yet, or something. I'll get there eventually." he murmured -- almost as if talking to himself. "Just gotta kick the tree a thousand more god damn times, punch it a thousand more god damn times. Maybe I should start bashing my skull against it, too." -- continuing to talk to himself, his arm still twitching. He moved to walk north - heading into the distance. Oddly enough, other than the twitching - his arm was lackluster in motions, perhaps incapable of it. [6]

Idorizu, Riyaku shook his head slowly, and gestured around. "Welcome to uh .. my humble abode, really. If you don't see me around, I'm normally here .. and if I don't show up all day, I probably trained until I couldn't stand, and dragged myself under a tree to sleep."

-- "If you want to train your legs or your knuckles, punch and kick one of the trees. They're pretty strong and steady. If you want to run on water without chakra, you can do that too. . There's also some exercise stuff over there." -- he pointed to a gap within the trees, underneath the shade, where quite heavy weights were stored -- along with a jumprope and the like. [7]

Nothing special.

Idorizu, Riyaku chuckled a bit, "Well. Yeah. Ofcourse it's basic .. Ruby hasn't built a gym yet." he muttered, before proceeding north. "Either way, Seki. This is what the 'best taijutsuist' does. . Trains." -- Once he got into a position, he set the bag that held his dango aside and gained a stance, hands up and ready, facing the tree. His right leg was forward though .. simply for his lead leg to perform kicks, swining that left shin up on a pivot to have it collide full force with the tree. Cracks sounded. . Though one kick wasn't even close to enough. [8]

His foot made contact with the ground - and without even a second there, it was raising back up again, cutting through the air to send another slam into the bark of the tree. . This process, would be repeated over and over - his leg having been hardened quite a bit to do things like this. Ofcourse, after a bit, it'd make it start to bleed.. . . But that'd take a little while. And from the way things looked, this was how he perfected his 'kickboxing form'. Just doing this and a few other things. All day.. Every day.. It got him in the right style of doing it. [9]

Along with power, came accuracy. He hit the same spot each time with decent precision, and having struck with quite the speed, fifty kicks were performed within about .. thirty seconds, as he picked up the speed. . As he finally came to a stop afterwards, his leg ached, and even a bead of crimson ran from beneath his bandages -- and his pantsleg. A huff was given, hands reaching down to his paper bag to take out another stick out, that held on it three honey-smothered balls of grilled dango. A quick chomp, and he swooped all three off, continuing on. [10]

He got prepared to repeat the exercise with his right leg, though before such - he peered towards Seki and Miko.. But mainly Seki. "Don't just stand around, or something. I'unno."

Idorizu, Riyaku continued going - now having swapped sides, his left leg was only a little shaky from the pain .. yeah. Ooonly a little... -- Even so, he kept going. Ontop of being fast, strong or whatever.. He was at least a bit durable. . Since he couldn't dodge for shit. His leg kept pumping - kicking up off the ground each and every time to repeat the same rotational process of lifting off the ground, slamming the shin bone head on into the bark of the tree to split it apart and crack it, before pushing off and landing back on the ball of his foot. [11]

But he stopped, about a quarter of the way through.. To peer over towards Miko standing on the water, something he had only seen once before. Another wonderful thing of chakra, something that Riyaku, would never experience. . But that wasn't what caught his attention - no. It was the words she spoke. Now that she mentioned it .. well.. She did seem kind of odd. Like he had met her before, or something around that line. She did kind of just appear out of nowhere too, hadn't she? His fists fell down to his sides to open up, his head tilting. [12]

"You seem oddly familiar, too."

Idorizu, Riyaku moved to push himself into a stand, dusting off whatever dirt and grass stuck to him. "No, no.. Not like, -- it's a technique." he spoke, glancing towards Seki. A short mumble under his breath, and he was speaking up once more. "Send out a kick to the back of their legs when you're beside them, and force their legs to come out from under them -- basically flipping them completely. Think of it like you're trying to flip them to stand them on their head." he stated with a nod -- what an odd example.. His sapphire eyes then flicked back onto Seki. [13]

"Don't uh.. Move." -- then, he pushed off at full speeds to be by his side, entire abdomen contract and twisting to have his force be put into play. Just before contact - power was taken away to be basically nothing, however the technique would still imply, intent of hitting the back of his knees with his shin, and taking them right out from under him, sending him onto his back if successful. Like Riyaku always did -- power was never imployed onto an ally, not enough to hurt them badly. That would completely throw the purpose of 'sparring' or 'training' with them, out the window. [14]

Idorizu, Riyaku stood as still as a statue - allowing her to do as she pleased. Though his head turned to watch her movements - so he was capable of pointing out mistakes that needed to be fixed. The job of a teacher, ofcourse. . And he noticed how.. She seemed to lack physical strength, or at least wasn't using it. She was quite new to this whole combat thing afterall. Huh. And here Riyaku thought she was bluffing..! Everyone had their trump card though. She just had to learn hers. So he chuckled at the kick, a bit of a flinch from what she performed.

"Like I said.. That's my way of doing it. It wont work if you're not pretty damn strong .. like. Strong enough to completely take out their legs. Try again. Work for a way around. . A weakpoint. Manipulate the body. That reminds me - how much weight do you think you're able to lift?" [15]

Idorizu, Riyaku remained in place like a statue, keeping himself held up and sturdy. As Seki's kick came in - it rattled against the side of his knee and caused movement. It forced both legs together - however he pushed back against his movement with his own, barely managing to cancel out the technique. Even so - he performed it properly. A bit more practice, and it would have been somewhat flawless. Afterwards, Riyaku let his head hang low and stare towards the floor.

"Nice job, you two." he mumbled, before huffing out. "I'm gonna go uh. To the park for a bit. You two feel free to train or whatever." - he stated with a nod, and motioned to head west, hands sliding into his pockets. [16]

Idorizu, Riyaku approached the gate, wondering why the guards never told him -- oh wait. Guards were useless anyway. . How the hell did they become Chuunin, and Riyaku didn't..? Bastards. Either way, that wasn't the issue at hand.. As Riya found the targets he was looking for, glancing over to Sayato only briefly, before taking a bit of a position ahead, gaining his stance. He looked over the wolves with sapphire eyes .. they seemed bigger than the average wolf, or something like that. He muttered under his breath, hands tightening into fists.

Yes, yes. Shou and them were out fighting actual bad guys, and they were fighting giant wolves. . God damnit. [17]

Idorizu, Riyaku glanced left and right at the approaching enemies - and especially the one using Sayato as a weapon.. That was .. Well. That was a problem. Surely a problem. Suddenly - he pushed off, moving to speed out of the way -- his body pulsed into power, chakra flowing like an open river to create rushing rapids in his system - the first gate releasing in his mind. The limitaries on his muscular structure were broken apart, only to be repaired when he was finished. -- His knees bent, and he took to the skies in a leap, intent of being above the wolf attacking Sayato now. [18]

And like a striking meteor - he came down from the skies themselves, intending to send a powerful strike at the back of the wolf. The power was quite great -- especially with his muscles working at a whopping one-hundred percent of their efficiency. His heel would meet the top of the back unless the beast had dodged him.

Heel Drop!

Idorizu, Riyaku found his attack being interrupted by a different wolf.. Huh. . . Well. It still worked? -- Sort of. Now he was vulnerable -- but instead of dodging like he possibly could have .. well. He had something he wanted to test. Yeah, he was revealing his trump cards to everyone. Not like he really gave a shit. . Honestly, at this point.. People were dropping like flies. Riyaku could die at the next beck and call. And for what? For something unknown. An unknown cause that people kept dying for over and over. For the village? Probably. [19]

But none of it mattered to him. Not anymore. Fangs sunk into his skin. His skin was tough compared to -- well. The power of the chomp but.. They were still in a bit, if not much. Blood ran. . Suddenly - his right elbow rose, intending to slam itself into the face of the wolf to force a release from the jaw, his other hand doing work to pry it apart with superior strength. And if successful - which was likely .. his hand tightened, rolling out into an open palm, then into a fist once more. A green essence flowed from Riyaku. [20]

Like that -- torn muscles regenerated rapidly. His stamina reserves? Absolutely refilled. The wounds? Forcing themselves back together. Red blood cells were being rapidly produced at an incredible rate, forcing his body to quite literally mend itself. Oh, what a show-off. Showing all these against some wolves. Ofcourse .. like it was stated before though -- Riyaku didn't have a single fuck to give about the thoughts of others. He was his own man, and he wouldn't be told otherwise. [21]

The Gate of Rest, released.

Idorizu, Riyaku bursted off in a sudden rush that cracked the ground he used as a post - - bursting forth to leap over the ring of fires -- using his strength alone to send himself -flying- into the air. And like that, he came crashing down onto the earth, moving to grab the tail of the wolf and literally throw it into the air.. Hopefully sending Chizuru off the wolf at the same time - whilst he leapt to follow, tracking the movements of the wolf like a leaf. . -- Then. His legs were wrapping around the body of the beast, intending to flip it around and have them both come crashing down.

He was fast -- he attacked fast -- and he was pretty strong. It was gonna hurt! Especially since the attack was focused on slamming the beast's head into the earth. Huh. [22]

dorizu, Riyaku leaned against the fountain, sliding finger beneath thumb to press into the knuckle - sending audible cracks throughout his form and the surrounding area, air being released from the gaps. He wasn't paying attention enough to those around -- even if he was, he wouldn't care about them. At this point, he was beyond the 'edge'. The boy who'd die for the village in the heartbeat had given up on it in entirety, seeing it as -- from his words himself. A waste of time. He had training to do. Playing games wasn't his thing -- it wasn't his 'stress reliever'. [23]

How lucky it was that he could do two things in one.

Train, and relieve himself at the same time - relieve stress. Sadness. Anger. Everything in one fell swoop with a bit of training- but this feeling wasn't an emotion. It was a new found light. Maybe his friends weren't meant to live, or. Maybe people just let them die. Riyaku was unlucky -- maybe he could have been there more. If he had taken that chance and went to that lunch with an old pal of his -- he could have prevented a death. At least one, in exchange for his own life. So much regret, so little time, so little space. [24]

His body dropped to the floor, finding both hands catching him before his chest had touched the ground - blades of grass brushing against the front of his clothes. It had begun - push-ups performed one after the other, muscles contracting and extending in swapped positions to have him raising up off the earth - pushing to the full length of his arms in distance away from the dirty surface that was the earth, repeating said process with his muscles swapping back and forth, lowering - raising. Maybe he could have found a better place to do it.. [25]

But he'd prefer such training to be done beside the grave of an old .. friend. One he promised something to.

Idorizu, Riyaku continued pumping himself up - rushing his blood throughout the stream like an open and flowing river, permitting himself higher flow and generation, his muscles tightening up. They weren't even close to aching - even after fifteen, which his count was currently at, registering her words at the same time. A scoff was let out -- muscles remaining fully extended with sweat piling from temples - soon dripping to the grass, breathing steadily and carefully. . What kind of rumors were being spread about him already..? [26]

He gave a brief sideglance to the girl, permitting only a sharp sapphiric gaze from his irises.

"..Luna.. I didn't threaten anyone. They're a waste of my time, playing games like idiots while I train.. They want people to die. . They just don't care. So, I wont care about them. I wont lose another damn friend .. I've lost too many already." he mumbled, eyes briefly shooting down to the ground to his left- eyes closing if only briefly. "I've seen the world for what it really is. It's not fair. Now, if you'll excuse me.. I've got more training to do." - he spat out like venom, fingers grinding into the dirt to rip up blades of grass. [27]

And like that, he was continuing on - lowering and raising his body back to the ground. Biceps. Triceps. Shoulders -- they were all being worked in turn, having to push his body further and further just to achieve further power. Unlike others- - he wasn't blessed with certain things that were 'easy'. He had to work hard. He couldn't stop, or else he fell behind in a heartbeat. Even so, it wasn't bothering him. Working hard didn't bother him, because it was how he was raised. The only thing that bothered him were the people around him. [28]

Idorizu, Riyaku picked up the pace as he closed in on his goal -- closing in on fifty, .. Once he had achieved that, he fell to the ground - collapsing on his chest, head turned to face Luna and the approaching Hyuuga. Being as close to the fountain as he was - sure, he was covered in the essence of mist, along with his own sweat. . But after a few seconds - as quickly as he fell, he rose. Like the unsung hero in a children's book, he found himself standing up to full. A stretching of his arms was permitted - reaching up high above his head with intertwined fingers around a wrist. [29]

Then, they lowered back down to his side, limp and idle.

"None of these people are my friends. They never were. My friends are dead. I don't care if I look like the bad guy. I'm done with this village. . It's time I focused on myself for once instead of everyone else." he stated simply, shaking his head in a steady pattern. Then, he was lowering himself back to the floor - finding grace in how the seas of green brushed against him. Knuckles rolled as they laced together with either hand behind his head, laying back. . His abs were bending with his head raising to his knees. [30]

Feet did not leave the ground, they remained firm and planted, knees the same in their unmoving statue-like form. This, like the previous exercise, continued.
"You hardly know me.. Because you ignored me, back then."

Idorizu, Riyaku cracked his knuckles briefly, before mentally preparing himself for this. This was going to fucking hurt. -Hurt-.

But he was ready for it, at any cost. It was for training. . Yeah. He kept telling himself that - but this was borderline insanity. . Oh well. . He wasn't the smartest brick in the wall. His coat was parted at the front - revealing his normally shirtless self, and the bandages that covered his abdomen. A hand pointed out towards Seiko.

"Okay. Put those on, and hit me in the stomach as hard as you can." [31]

Idorizu, Riyaku rose either hand to the back of his dome - interlacing his fingers there and keeping it held tight, as if he was performing situps whilst standing. A deep breath was taken in -- and as the metal came in to collide with his abs, he buckled over a bit, letting out a gasp. . Ow. That hurt. Bruises were guaranteed from such a training regime .. if not worse. This was required to become stronger -- yeah. If he was used to pain, he could get over it easier and continue going through harsher trials. That was the goal. [32]

Soon enough, he rose back up to his full height, breathing in an out relatively heavily. "..Not bad.. You can do better than that, can't you?" he asked, staring down towards the shorter male.

Idorizu, Riyaku took in another solid breath - hardening his body into something alike stone to the best of his abilities. Adrenaline pumping through his veins like a firehose on steroids, heart beating at intense rates. The pain was surely something with each coming strike - but with the fluids running into his veins, his nerves became more numb towards the feeling of impact, making it easier. Even so .. this was still bad. If Seiko was any stronger? Riyaku might have been coughing up blood. Or his organs. One of the two. [33]

But he remained strong - black boots remaining firm atop the surface of the wooden dock, hands clenching down onto his scalp and eyes glued shut in a hard squint, a few coughs and he was regaining his breath once again, knuckles turning white. This really was a stupid way to train, but it was something, at the least. "..Damnit, that stings.." he muttered quietly, "I think that's .. probably enough.. Yeah..?" he asked, letting his eyes reopen to stare down towards the Momochi. [34]

"We should do more things like that, though.. It'd toughen my body up. And you can get better at punching."

Idorizu, Riyaku chuckled a bit, letting his hands fall from behind his head. The bandages around his abdomenial region loosened- soon collapsing to unfurl around his body, revealing the purple-ish bruises that had already formed. Then, he slowly lowered to sit - leaning back a bit. His eyes checked out the wounds he had achieved for a brief moment, sighing out with a short exhale of air. Everyone had to start somewhere, right? He wasn't gonna walk up and be an outright badass that can take every single hit dished out .. was he? [35]

Idorizu, Riyaku peered about -- soon having left the gateway with his squad. . Odd, Riyaku was chosen as the 'hard-hitter' in the squad. But eh.

Though as they travelled and came to a short resting stop - he huffed out, bringing either hand together to rub palm against palm - slowly. "So, where is this place, anyway?" he asked, staring towards Shou in particular. That question made it relatively obvious that .. well. He wasn't informed too much about this. Only that it was going to be a brutal trip. At least Riyaku had packed a few things to assist with said 'trials', even though it may not be much. . Sapphire eyes scanned the horizon - checking for clouds or, really anything of note.

And the only thing he spotted so far was a clear and sunny day - not really much to find interesting other than that. The cool breeze ran along his battered skin, his time in prison spent wisely - for sure. Infact, this wouldn't even be a break, as he intended to slip in a few workouts whenever he could on this little adventure of theirs. . It was for Tsukino, or something -- but what was even at this Tenryuujotei place anyway? Special doctors or something? .. Probably didn't even exist. But here he was, out here, at the request of somebody.

Upon noticing practically nothing though - he did resort to doing more physical things to pass the time. Both hands came together - recently healed knuckles brought to intertwine and raise up - the top of either palm facing towards the top of his own head, whilst his arms extended fully, flexing out and popping fingers in the same process. Once done with that - they swung downwards, bending to unwrap with fingers moving to touch toes- eyes trying to keep themselves on the skylines to keep an eye out. . What were they even looking for again?

"Kenzo, use your magical vision."
As the knuckles were offered, he moved to accept them and store them away. A keepsake from his father, though, nobody else knew that ofcourse. He -- and his father, were both relatively 'vague' in what they did, and why they did the things they do. Runs in the family and all that. "..I'd uh.. Appreciate it, yeah. I guess I'm a bit more frail that I thought I was.." he muttered out, letting off another wince as he moved about the spot - "I guess that's something I'll have to fix, along with my reflexes .. you spar often, Seiko?" [36]

Idorizu, Riyaku blinked a few times, raising his hands up. . They were balled into somewhat tight fists, watching as .. well. Fur sprouted up along her body, and a tail soon appeared... A monkey? An ape? Who knows what it was. All he knew is that it was unpleasant to even look at.. Really. He hated it already. Eugh. Even if it probably gave her better fighting capabilities -- still. There were limits and dignity. She had neither apparently .. at least, that was what he thought! To each their own, ofcourse. . He'd still speak his piece. [37]

His face deadpanned, hands falling to his sides.

"Ew.. That's nasty.." he commented openly, and bluntly. If a girl was gonna turn into part monkey infront of him before they fought - he was gonna call them out on it, too. Even though she may have done her own transformation, he refrained from his own. . As it wasn't appropriate for the time - place - or situation whatsoever. This was a spar, and he'd resort to how he used to do it. Holding his strikes so he didn't come close to hurting his partner. If he could even hit her, really.  . But before they infact began, he wanted to make sure she was actually prepared. [38]

His right leg remained firm and planted - his left rose up off the heel, instead standing on the ball of the foot rather than the whole thing. "Ready?"

Idorizu, Riyaku found himself even further disgusted by the unusual length of her arms. It sent shivers down his spine. . . It just wasn't natural, that was all it was, really..

But that was beyond the point of this -- this wasn't a fashion show, not even close. This was a spar to train both of their abilities, and at the same time - even get to know eachother better. It'd been a while since he had one .. but he didn't ever seem to pick up rust, because he always kept going and moving, keeping his gears turning like a well-oiled machine. As the strike came forth - his newly trained reflexes acted, body intent of sweeping towards the right. . More than likely only possible due to her lack of training with the transformation. [39]

In his stance - he hopped about like a jackrabbit, keeping a constantly moving form that was loose, and it stayed that way.

"I wouldn't take my opinions to heart."-- he commented in the meantime, whipping himself about for his lead leg to lift up - placing his momentum only briefly on his rear leg. But as he pushed forward with the bottom of his foot - it was transferred like a rolling wave, intending to send something of a 'push-kick' against her body, and send her back just like that. Like a shove with your foot, really. If she wasn't to dodge - that is. It was just a spar afterall, not like he was trying to beat her up. [40]

Who beats up girls, anyway?

Idorizu, Riyaku tracked her as she suddenly rocketed up towards the ceiling - his leg soon meeting the ground due to her being .. well. Gone from the point of impact. Infact - she was touching the ceiling as it seemed. Damn, that slippery little monkey. . As she rocketed back down though, his eyes widened in surprise, both arms raising up to guard himself best he could - finding a stumble or two from his footing whence the foot had met his shoulder, guard soon lowering just a bit to have a hand rub at the afflicted limb. [41]

"..Not bad.. You're pretty fast, for a chimp." he muttered, grinning a bit.

He waited to see what she did next - but no matter the outcome, he intended to motion towards the woman once again, unbeknownest if she was older or younger than him - that didn't entirely matter. That was a thing he could ask when they were actually talking. Not fighting -- but his leg whipped around in something of a roundhouse, kick raising up high - showing off to an extent. The shin-kick would be aimed around head-level. As always, no power was to be expected if it infact landed. [42]

But he was still gonna present a threat to her, to give her proper training out of this whole scenario. If he didn't -- there wasn't much of a point.

Idorizu, Riyaku found his kick met with a block -- nice. She was picking it up - he noticed. Watching as her movements became more fluent, and she got used to her body. . His stance was regained as she took her time to recover, preparing himself. Whence she had launched towards him - his arms buckled down against his form, permitting most strikes to hit his arms, but. Some would slip through - the final one managing to break right between his guard and nail him - causing him to buckle a bit and cough a few times. [43]

"..Ow.. Ow. Sayato sucks at healing.." he murmured, a hand held over his abdomen now. Brutal training was brutal.

His left hand was kept up though, and he stared on ahead towards the woman, waiting for her to go on the offensive once more, shifting his footing about a bit more however. . It was obvious he was hunkering down for the defensive at the current moment, perhaps looking for an opening in her form. There was no guarantees he could find something - but that was just him. . But there was still that one thing about him. One thing Riyaku could never change, no matter how depressed he'd get, or how much he'd give up on life. [44]

That shit-eating, wide grin.

Idorizu, Riyaku wouldn't let a simple bit of, what he'd like to call 'soreness', get in his way.

When she had came forth - punches came in return, but unlike before -- he seemed to .. take them a lot better than last time. Either that, or he just didn't have a choice in the matter. Ofcourse - his arm did move to prevent at least one from making it's mark. As her tailed wrapped around his wrist though - his arm extended out some, hand intent of wrapping around the length and taking a firm grip. . Unless she was .. quite the strong woman, she wasn't breaking that hold he had on her. Like a viper with a locked jaw on it's prey. [45]

"Got your tail." he spoke - a bit teasingly. It was shown he was enjoying this too.

And with a quickness he intended to have before she could counterattack - a tug was given on that appendage he supposedly held, leg coming up to plant a knee into her stomach. . Only meant to give her a bit of a sting, nothing even close to serious. It was payback .. purely payback, yeah. He was impressed with the monkey queen - finding her fighting skills to be one of the best he'd tangled with. . Just one question remained, where had she been all that time? Probably just on vacation or something like Minstrel. [46]

That was his assumption.

Idorizu, Riyaku watched as -- well.. The movement he didn't think would do much, was actually incredibly effective. Who would have thought? Honestly. . He had to admit though, the tail was soft! It was fur afterall. . . Then again, she was a monkey-person, so the fur was still disturbing, unknown how to feel about that even now. Despite that - once she fell to the floor, his grip would be released. His arm swooned back over to hold over his abdomen, with his free hand reaching down to the girl. . Instead of a grin or a smirk, he wore a smile. [47]

She laughed.

That was something that brightened his mood - to hear someone else genuinely laughing like that. Joy of others. . Something that always brightened his soul, when it was pure-hearted and not like.. Laughing over dead bodies or something. Even so - that hand would be kept there, calloused fingers ready to help her up if she so wished. Or if she was a sly little bastard - she could attempt to pull him down or something. Cheap move for a cheap move -- but that was all up to her to find out how it went. [48]

"Hey.. Whatever works, right? Besides. That shows you a main weakness! Your tail. It's soft, by the way. . Why do you have a tail again?"

Idorizu, Riyaku blinked - finding something wrapping around his ankle like a snake.

Then suddenly - he was swept, finding the world turning topsy turvy, and his body colliding with the floor. A wince - and he was realizing what had happen. He could be mad, sure .. but he wasn't. Instead, much like she did - he laughed it off. One hand extended out to be placed onto the floor he laid on, pushing himself up to sit down, squinting towards the girl. Something of a devilish grin displayed onto his features, an eyebrow rose. He'd have to get his own revenge some other time -- she wouldn't win. [49]

"..Queen of the Monkeys, eh?" he muttered under his breath, watching as her form reverted back to the normal Uchiha girl he knew. "I didn't know, actually. Nobody told me. . It doesn't really freak me out. It was just a bit of a surprise. It's definitely quite unique." - a slow nod given in combination with his words, unable to spot any fur along her- eyes tracing. He couldn't even see the tail anymore. . Gone like that? Huh. Quite a quick revert. Internally - he was glad she was back to normal. Though, it did kind of show on his expression, too. [50]

"Did you have fun?"

Idorizu, Riyaku slowly moved his arm just a bit away from himself, staring down at his flesh -- yes. He was shirtless beneath his coat, though he still wore bandages. . Yeah. The bandages that wrapped about his abdomen were loosened up and dangling about like a spider's web, not entirely serving their purpose anymore. It was visible there was some bruising there - healing bruises at the least. A shrug was given in response final at the question at hand, having taken an examination of his own physical condition. [51]

"I'll be fine. It's just some stuff from my .. training."

With a short huff, he was moving on. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. That was the most fun I had sparring in a long time.. Thanks, Luna. . Are you alright? I didn't hit too hard, did I?"

Idorizu, Riyaku observed her start to rise and dusting herself off, he nodded.

"No need to thank me for something like that.. Any spar, I always hold back in. It's just natural. ." he mumbled out, staring up at her in a brief bout of silence. Then, he was rising up to a stand himself - raising to his full height in no time at all, rolling his shoulders. . Ofcourse, he was watching as she stretched, blinking a few times soon after. His eyes broke away. "I didn't even think grabbing your tail would work, I'll be honest. . And Mini doesn't like me anymore, so I'll pass. Not like I need the healing anyway." [52]

His head tilted back, neck rolling about. "If my body heals naturally, it'll get stronger.. Yeah. . Oh and, Luna.. Thanks for caring. I'm glad you did."

Idorizu, Riyaku found himself hopping off the metal-being's back and landing on the concrete floor, scraping his boots onto the surface. The treads were worn down little by little at the act, but it was moreso him testing out the hardness in his own way. . Huh. It'd really suck if he were to slam someone full force into this ground.. Damn.

He then rose his eyes towards Donovan, raising a hand in a motionless wave. "Hi." -- "Name's Riyaku. Go at whatever pace, and I'll try to match it." he muttered.

Afterwards, his body whipped about and shifted into a pose - a stance to be more specific. His lead foot kept the heel off the ground, instead pressing the ball of said foot onto it instead, his right foot behind himself flat to stay firm. Both hands were kept infront of his visage in a guard, balled up to fists. [53]

Idorizu, Riyaku observed the metallic behemoth charge forward - "So, uh.. I didn't exactly hear any rules.." he murmured as a sidenote to himself, not intending on having anyone else hear what he said anyway. With a shift in weight and a bend in his back foot - he was taking off at full force, moving .. decently fast. Not all that fast, but decent. He took to the skies -- body pumping adrenaline on command. This was a fight infront of an audience. Not some spar -- even if Riyaku wasn't much for showing off, he was going to anyway. [53]

Why? Because why not?

WIth his body hovering not but a foot or two off the ground - it spun like a top, his right leg swinging outwards in a blur of movement. What was under the cover of the blur, though? The fact that ten different kicks were flying in the fraction of that same attack, almost as if all at once - but they were just incredibly consecutive.

Idorizu, Riyaku arched an eyebrow -- the armor definitely wasn't for show. Hard metal. . Damn. Oh well. There was no need to push his limits or really .. care about this fight all that much. It was just a spar .. and as per usual with his spars, he tended to pace himself. -- And this was the time he was thankful he trained reflexes, with some.. Less than conventional means. But they still worked! Hand to eye coordination coming into quite the play as either arm raised up, hard forearms taking the brunt of the blow from the sheathed blade, still finding quite the momentum behind it. [54]

Afterwards, he was landing back onto the ground, moving to the space he was prior. Arms bent their elbows - head leaning forward to check out either one to see injuries. . . They were pretty damn bad. Horrible bruising, to be honest. . Meanwhile, from Riyaku's point of view - he couldn't even touch the male through that armor. An offer was proposed, voice speaking up whilst his stance was regained, watching the figure that was his opponent closely incase he tried to be slick, or something along those lines. [55]

"So uh. Are we able to 'pick this up', a bit? I'm not really one to care for getting injured .. or injuring others, for that matter. Besides, slapping eachother isn't entertaining, now is it?"

Idorizu, Riyaku blinked a few times - sapphire irises widening at the sudden transformation. Even he could see the new found glow beneath the helmet - staring directly into those sharp eyes he soon gained. . H-Heh.. Riyaku was .. already starting to regret this. . But! This was fine. This was fiiine.. Yeah. Totally. As he gets pummeled into the earth repeatedly. Despite that - he had no time to waste. In his stance - a long deep inhale was taken. Chakra flowed like an open river throughout his form, -- not as normal, though. It was being forced into action. [56]

He had his transformation -- Riyaku had his own. It wasn't as 'cool' or as 'badass', or something .. but it was what he had. He was going to try and make it work. His muscles noticably increased in size - now operating at one hundred percent in total rather than the normal twenty percent the brain allowed. Rather than his regular stance - he swapped it rapidly into another, right arm resting horizontally along the back of his waist - with his left hand up and in an open palm, fingers pointed towards the beast. [57]

"Come on then.. I got the first strike -- you get the second." he stated firmly. At this point - his clock was now ticking down like a timebomb. When it hits zero, he's royally fucked. . Until then, he was going to give it his 'all', now awaiting the Sage's next move in combat.

'I've got to be careful.. He hurt before. This is gonna sting.'

Idorizu, Riyaku -- though, he got cocky. He didn't expect him to be there so soon -- misjudging the speed his target was moving at.

Damn, he got .. a lot faster. This was bad. -- His body slammed into him, sending the male flying backwards and into the wall behind him - his forearm having taken the brunt of the bodyslam, though the wall plus Donovan wasn't nothing to take lightly, dropping out of the Riyaku-sized hole he had made in the stone, slowly walking back towards his opponent. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"..Ow." [58]

Idorizu, Riyaku found himself just getting out of the wall before the monster bursted forward once more - and slammed the halberd outwards. Steel would meet with flesh - splitting apart his abdomen like butter, really. . Yeah. He'd say 'ow', but he was too busy coughing up blood, pinned back against the wall again. He wasn't the type of person to, uh. . Grab the pole and start flailing around. Instead, Riyaku seemed to be relatively what they liked to refer in the business as -- 'fucked'. With a low hanging head, it was over. [59]

This was a reminder of Riyaku's place. Yes.

Idorizu, Riyaku found himself falling down - but as he fell .. his palms were flat on the concrete, a beautiful whisping green aura coming from his body - not a full one, but various .. 'tendrils', of sorts, that dispersed upon getting too much distance from the original user. His right hand reached out - intent of grabbing the arm that reached for the taijutsuist, strength .. overpowering, the beast. Yes. Overpowering him. Then he was forcing himself to stand - other hand whipping around with blood gushing - intending to take his body off the floor and -throw- him.. [60]

Across the arena.

Would this have incredible negative effects on his body? Yes. Would it hurt in the morning? Yes. Would things like this have a chance at killing him? Yes. A big one. Did he care? No.

"Gate of Rest. Open."-- he muttered, a hand wiping away blood from his mouth if succeeded, and if not - well. Things would be different then.

Idorizu, Riyaku rose his hand up - taking but a step away from the wall. The fist was bleeding- blood running down it and dripping to the floor. And as it was held to the heavens, it was soon brought to be slammed into the earth - cracking the ground he struck with relative ease. He was already in immense pain .. but he had the perserverence to go on and continue, especially when it meant something like his pride. He wouldn't go down so easily .. no way, no how. Even if it meant he broke every bone in his body - he'd still be trying to stand. [61]

So as the naginata swung for his face - it hit his jaw. Albeit not straight on, but .. it still landed, face turning from the blow. If it was a dead on hit -- he'd be unconscious. Since it wasn't though .. his head turned back into place, and his free hand rubbed at the afflicted area.

Then - his feet bended. His muscles tore even further - those ribs, jambling about wildly. 'Fight..' a thought rang.
Pulsing about his body was the artificial energy achieved from the inner gates-- 'Fight...'

Suddenly-- he bursted forward, meeting Donovan in record speed for Riyaku -- crouched low like a viper. With a rocketing rise - his foot shot up full force, fully extended to send the bottom of his foot directly for the chin of the metallic beast - sending him into the air if it hit as planned. . . And if he was indeed found in the air, or wherever -- Riyaku, would be behind him, mimicing him perfectly like his own shadow. [62]

Idorizu, Riyaku found himself tripped - interrupted in his movements. But from the suddenly loss of speed- whiplash was ensured. And with how fragile his already exhausted muscles were, it definitely didn't feel good. Even with the catch, his ribs rustled around - stabbing about in places they shouldn't be. . . Ow. Yeah. Then again - he brought it fully on himself. But hey! He may have nearly killed himself infront of two villages, but it was good training. That was aaaall that mattered.. Yeeeah... At this rate, Riyaku was going to get himself killed. [63]

But he was gonna have fun doing it.

Tears in his biceps and triceps were easily visible - along with forearms, hips, torso, abdome-- literally everywhere, okay? Gate one was a bitch, and gate two wasn't enough to supply it's every wish and need. Like a faulty relationship. Even so - things fell black, and unconsciousness took over, body falling limp, aura relinquishing itself from him. [64]

Idorizu, Riyaku brought his hands together -- yes, yes. It was obvious Riyaku was acting like a fool. Acting silly. Acting stupid. Yes. It was, very obvious. Was it clear why? No.

He braced himself- body tightening muscles to come together. Thanks to Minstrel, he could do this properly, without hurting himself -- or being in pain. Pheonixes were great. -- A technique that he doesn't use much anymore, finding not really .. much of a need for it. But hey. Every technique increased your overall knowledge. . Even if it was useless. Besides, this was all he could teach. If he could teach something better - he'd do it. He couldn't though. . Feels bad. Even so, his body lowered to a crouch. [65]

"Alright so uh... It's like kind of, using your momentum to 'float', and to keep going with a flurry of kicks. If you slow down, you fall. If you go too fast, there's no power." - he commented, "There's multiple ways you can do it. Just stick to the general idea." [66]

With that, the demonstration began, taking to the air. Finding himself about a foot off the ground - the combination began. His left shin shot out for a kick, aimed for the lower body of the target. As it made no contact - he kept with the spiral, the leg increasing in height along with his body increasing in buoyancy to send the kick this time - to rib-height, nailing the invisible target in the side. As he kept going once again, purely for demonstrational purposes -- things would be different in a real scenario; the leg would meet with the shoulder. [67]

Then came the finishing blow, sending his body out of nowhere into a loose somersault forward - as if performing a combat-roll midair, his right foot extending down at the same time with gravity, a heeldrop kick that took him back to the earth. [68]

Once he made a soft landing, he stood back up. "..I can uh.. Teach you other things, if you don't like that one."

Idorizu, Riyaku stood like a statue and stared ahead as she got to work - arms crossing over eachother. A slight grin plastered on his face. Yeah, it was indeed a distraction - but in his mind, if she cared, he was at least making her want to talk even more with being vague. Mind games, surely.

As her technique finished up -- he gave a firm nod. She had the basics down, not quite yet the heel drop -- but she had the three kicks prior.

"Nice job, Yomiko. Whenever you're ready for it, you can try it on me next." he muttered, knowing that once she had managed that properly -- it'd be talking time. Which in all honesty, he wasn't looking forward to. For good reason. [69]

Idorizu, Riyaku stared ahead -- perhaps Riyaku had forgotten about the talk, or was simply using Minstrel as a way to get out of it. He himself really wasn't looking forward to it .. for personal reasons that wouldn't be disclosed. Yeah, he was a weird person.

But onto what was important -- the training at hand. His body now was rested - and thanks to Mini, his ribs weren't still healing. They were fully healed, infact. So his movements were more fluid and his body was solid to ensure he wasn't just a meatbag to get beat up by the girl. Hands rose - forearms flat like boards. It's almost as if he had predicted her movements - flicking his arms left and right to take her kicks better, using it as a way to 'test' her power. She seemed to have the balance down, that was good.. [70]

Speed, and strength, coming together. Sure, he may have noticed the 'slow' speed she ran at, starting their engagement. . But that wasn't really something he could fix. That was something she'd have to.. With the finalizing heeldrop from above- came his forearms aiming to block it, even with it still reaching his head, it wouldn't be as 'hard-hitting' as it probably would be. Even though she was holding back; he appreciated that. It may not have been vocalized, but it was pretty obvious. [71]

..Then, his arms fell to his sides. "Nice job. You've got it down. Have you been practicing or something since then for this?"

Idorizu, Riyaku || Once again, Riyaku found himself in solitude -- this happened so often.. Sometimes, he'd lose friends, and he'd be all alone for a while .. then he'd make new friends. Now? He made himself incapable of 'making friends'. The only person he had closest to that was Yomiko. She was it - there was no other way to turn, and she was the only road avaliable. . Right? . . But he already threw her aside like a wet paper towel .. it was his fault. All of it was his fault. He was too weak -- he couldn't protect -anyone-, from anything. It was -all-, his fault. [72]

If he was around, he could have died instead of Urako. If he was around, he could have died instead of Maiya. If he was around, he could have died instead of Shintaro. If he was around, he could have died instead of Nico. If he was alive, he could have died instead of Reikon. If he was alive, he could have died instead of .. Instead of Yomiko. With the way his path was going now - with the way it was being forged.. It was inevitable. She was going to die - he couldn't stop it, either. . History was going to repeat, and he was powerless to help it. [73]

Powerless, as always.. The best thing he could do..? He could punch and break his own body with some limiters.. Limiters that were hell to achieve more of.. Hell. Absolute hell.. Right? No. This.. This would not be allowed. He had to keep going. He had to stand up - that flame, as smothered as it may be. As hard as it was for it to breathe, as tight as darkness came around it -- it still shined on, being that lighthouse within the murky waters, and the foggy midnight. In a crumpled heap he lay -- against the walls of the cold jail-cell. [74]

Gloomy, it had barely any light -- nothing but the one, maybe even two windows to provide some form of sight. Even then, the windows weren't anywhere near him. He couldn't see outside -- how long would he be here..? As long as he wanted, as he still possessed the keys to these cells. . Supposedly. . Yeah. He brought this upon himself. First, he tried to break the bond he held with Yomiko. A close one -- one where she cared, far too much for him. Then, he became suicidal. His headband was thrown into the trash and discarded like nothing. [75]

The thing he burned and longed for, back then. The thing that symbol on his back forever meant-- the Idorizu. A clan of three. His father. His mother. Him. A clan of one-- .. Him. He was the last of his own bloodline, a bloodline that would never surrender and never be beaten. No matter how repeatitive it may be in history, he was the type to continue standing with broken legs. To continue grasping with shattered fingers. To continue breathing -- with bleeding lungs. Perhaps his.. Fate could be changed. A new path forged. [76]

But it wouldn't be changed with a person, crumpled in a ball to the cold tile ground .. pathetic, he was. His father -- if only he could see him now. He'd be disappointed, staring down at the boy who had given up on the life his own father died for -- .... Died to protect. Suddenly, insanity struck -- or, was it insanity? Was he really losing his mind already? He was attacking his comrades .. yeah. It had to be insanity; as what feeled like a hand, tapped on his shoulder, causing him to jolt from his laying position, glancing around wildly in the small, compact cell. [77]

Then.. Came the rise. Something -- whatever it was, inspired new fire to burn within him. He wasn't born like some rarely were -- born with burning blood. He wasn't, -born-, with it.. But he achieved it. He achieved the boiling blood in his veins, he was hotblooded in spirit. That, was his legend currently -- and it would only continue to grow. Who was a man -- without FIRE, in his eyes? Who was a man -- without WILL, to stand back up and keep fighting? They weren't a man cut out to live life to the very fullest. [78]

'If you have time to plan out a pretty death, why not spend that time planning out a pretty life to the very end?'

His boots were removed - his coat, tossed aside with them to fall against the floor, bringing his fists up. He faced the wall. 'Two-hundred crosses!' a shout rang, and the boy flickered into action, sapphire gaze showing undoubtable determination to ride on through the storm and blizzard, through the monsoon and hurricanes. Until he took in his last breath - and go even further beyond that. That, was the will he had. And there was no way in hell, even if he may have lost his path at the start -- that he'd just let that happen. [79]

Pecs locked together - arms tightened and muscles flexed, hands beginning to get to work, left hand shooting out to hard, stone-bricked wall, right hand following in suite with no time wasted. A.. One-two combo, done full-force, onto a stone wall. . Pain. Something he, was very familiar with. "..One.." he muttered under his breath. With no break following - he did it again, left hand shooting forth with tightened together knuckles to slam into the wall, hard. That wasn't the wall cracking .. that was his hand. His right followed to continue the combination. [80]

"Two." -- then came the next, left hand doing the same as it always had, bones making impact against the wall - which would give out first? His spirit, or the wall? .. It was hard to tell, at this rate. Then came the right hand, following it's twin brother, the opposite of it's own nature, impacting hard against that stone as per usual, sending a rattling shockwave through the target -- and his own arm at the same time. Though with a purely straightened out arm, his bones took the brunt rather than his torn muscles. The first gate .. was hell. [81]

"..Three." - commenting to count the last combination he had done, continuing forth with what he planned with now. This was his plan - his achievement goal to go forth and get stronger. His way of pushing his body beyond the limits -- to emulate the gates. . To go further than ever before. . To not just grasp that bar that was his limit -- but to shatter it and raise to the heavens. To be greeted by God himself and be honored with praise from the Holy One. . Acknowledged as the greatest Taijutsu master, the world had ever seen. . That, was his goal. [82]

Even with all this thinking - he never halted in his movements, hands coming forth once again. Left -- first off, the two main knuckles colliding head on with the wall, pushing back against him due to the force. A light cry from the male. Then - swung around his power arm -- rightie, send out a straight jab impact the wall dead on much like before. "If it's not .. one-thousand crosses.. It's one-thousand .. kicks!" he shouted out, soon following up with the count he kept to track his progress in his own goal, "Four!" [83]

This was .. suicidal. This, this was the real painful suicide. . But if he lived? If he made it through all of this? It would pay off. He would be known as a legend -- think of the stories he could tell his children. . Yeah. With a wince coming from him flexing his left hand - he continued on, sending out the jab once again, impacting the stone surface dead on once more, drawing back like the hammer in a loaded gun- right hand shooting out in turn to nail directly in the target, sending .. the lightest of cracks through the surface. [84]

That loaded gun fired again, left hand shot out as his right was retracting, right hand joining it's brother in the fields of blood -- crimson trickling down both fists to intertwine with his fingers, the loving touch embracing his skin and flesh - closer than anyone else could be to him. This was all he had to keep him going -- the feeling of his own blood, sweat, and tears .. but.. No. It wasn't. He had -her- support. Miko's support. She was always wanting the best for him, wasn't she..? She was... She cared so much for him -- so he had to make her proud. -- No. [85]

He didn't have to make anyone proud. He had to make them jealous -- he had to make them widen their mouths in awe, he -had- to. There was no other option. "FIVE!" he shouted out, continuing on and never stopping - stopping was death. . Stopping was stagnation. It wouldn't be allowed -- he thought, even underneath that shell, the Hokage even believed he could be something. Kenzo believed he could be something -- the Hyuuga noble he hated the guts of. The one he'd show what Riyaku .. could really be. Blood, sweat, tears. [86]

Those three things-- the foundation to his life. The things he could build everything off of - it all started with these punches; another combination snapping outwards, left hand out to send another strike towards the stone - and as it retracted like a spring compressing, his right hand was shot out - a seesaw. When his right hand was out - left hand was in. Left hand was out, right hand was in. It was just how it went -- and with that, the sixth verse was completed, fighting like music to Riyaku. His hearing -- was now, recently returned. [87]

"SIX!" he shouted out, his bones aching only a bit .. he could keep going for now -- as he needed to. No matter what anyone said-- what anyone believed.. Tsukino was dead, there was no saving her. . And there.. Was only -one-, way, to prevent future accidents like that from happening. For Riyaku to be strong enough to protect everyone in a whole. Like he was the turtle shell, and this village was the turtle. Yeah, sure. He may have saw himself as the only solution -- but that was only because, he thought he was. No, he knew he was. [88]

He had the potential to be on the level of gods. He did. . He swore he did. It'd never be doubted by himself again - either. He was going to keep that motivation to strive and gain strength. Rising and achieving with every breaking moment. Even if it left him a burnt husk of nothing. Left hand - leaving it's nest once more like a bird learning to fly, but this bird held the potential to soar - it impacted it's target hard once again, sweat running from each and every one of Riyaku's pores, at this point. [89]

With the left coming back to it's mother -- the right shot out to strike like a viper, claws latching on to the poor defenseless animal with power and precision-- there was no point in asking, 'why does he do this to himself?' - 'why is he stupid enough to hurt himself so much?' - 'why does he act the way he does?' -- because you wouldn't get an answer.. You'd only get, well. Something stupid, because to everyone else -- the shit he does is retarded. . But to him? It's everything. As he 'can't', use chakra. Not like everyone else. [90]

"SEVEN!" - another shout rung through that small cell, heart pounding against his chest. He was getting close to his limit with punches -- he couldn't feel his hands. They were 'locked' into fists, now. The skin on his knuckles? Practically non-existant, yeah. . Bleeding like hell, too. At least Riyaku always carried rolls of bandages with him...! Yeah.... He was gonna need him for the next few days, and the next few hours. Because this -- this was just the beginning. Then, came the mistake. Due to his lack of -- well. Feeling in his hands, he was losing it. [91]

Breaks were a great thing- but broken bones? Not so much. And as his left hand shot out for the target, it met it fine. As his right came out to follow suite.. Well.. It slipped - causing him to be triggered into taking .. a short breather, at most. Yeah.. Just a little, tiny breather. That's all it was! He wasn't slacking. He just did that.. Even though it was only .. ONLY SEVEN. He'd have to keep going, but after he caught his breath, and re-bandaged up his knuckles. Because since 'retiring', he had removed them, just to keep them out of the way. [92]

It was time, to bring them back.

Idorizu, Riyaku || It seemed he had .. passed out. Sad.

Though, he got some forced rest -- that was something he needed relatively badly. Having been burnt out from the past session he just performed.. His hands were horribly aching even now. . At least he wrapped them up before passing out from exhaustion, so the bleeding now .. it had stopped. But the pain remained evident, trying to wrap his hand over the other. Fingers tightened across his pained knuckles.. Embracing them in a warm hold to keep it safe -- something he wished he had, but something he could never achieve.. [93]

Not with that attitude. One-thousand crosses were not done - in that case, it was one-thousand kicks, -- coming to a stand, Riyaku found ease in using his legs, being that they weren't abused yet. He had a lot more cross combos to do -- but that'd be saved for another time. This was a different form of training for kicks and simple leg-work, since he seemed to focus moreso on the lower-body aspect of taijutsu, rather than the upperbody. Fists and all. . Ofcourse, he did have an idea of what to pick up next .. something that could increase his strength.. Yeah. [94]

So with bandages hands - he leveled out his reach, extending his right fist out as far as it'd go, making sure he was just to the point to where his knuckles were giving a peck to the hard stone surface. Once done - that was a good enough estimate of his range. Besides, on a flat surface like this..? Kicks were gonna be interesting. . His right leg lifted up - spiralling like a top, he intended to have his right leg slam like a beam into the wall. A shin-kick of sorts, but due to the angle.. The top of his foot would be added to it, along with a bit of his knee. "One..." [95]

Ow. Fuck -- but hey, more pain, more gain. . With more gain, brought him closer to his true, real goal. Hidden deep inside of his heart -- to die like a warrior. Not like a traitor, or a bitch. But a -warrior-. So as his right leg retracted, he felt the horrific pain, but he had no intentions of slowing down now. . That same right leg lifted up to swing around his body - hips locking into place, left foot used as a pivot with his right off the ground, bringing that straightened line of bone into direct contact with the brutal substance that made up the walls around him, a grunt released from the male. [96] "Two."

His leg retracted - but as soon as the ball of his foot made contact with the ground, his core contracted. It locked together - and he spiralled up with a push from that leg, sending the projectile of a kick heading for the wall of his chamber full force again. . . All the words he had heard in his life, the only thing he could hear -- ofcourse, his hearing was back, but at this point. He had nothing but his breathing, and the impacts of his kicks onto the walls to keep his head company. So what remained bouncing around, clear as day? His thoughts. "Three." [97]

-- He grinded teeth into eachother, pearly whites like whitstone to eachother, sharp canines hooking together perfectly to make a firm 'wall', an impassable block of his own teeth. Sure, it wasn't going to feel good to have so much pressure there, but his leg didn't feel too hot either. Would that make him cease-- no. He was going to keep going until he couldn't stand on that leg anymore. Suddenly, his foot re-met with the ground, close friends coming together once again to make their greetings. But said greeting was cut short. [98]

The leg shot away - leaving behind the earth it knew so well at Riyaku's bidding, lining with the wall once again for an impact -- bringing itself to break the stone. Though, it didn't break it. At most, it gave a crack - much like his fists did. Damn, did they make this place solid. But ofcourse, it had to be. Or else criminals like him could just shatter the wall and stroll on out .. yeah. That would kinda suck. So with the limb pushing off the surface once more - it met with it's old friend. This time, it had a slight breather.. "..Four." he stated firmly. [99]

"Keep going. Don't stop." he told himself - "If you stop, you fail her. You fail everyone." -- "She believes in you. Just believe in yourself.. Believe." - the only real way Riyaku had to keep going. The fact that he could tell himself the closest person he had was believing in him, through thick and thin. She could get him through this .. couldn't she? Even if she didn't know she was, he knew. Sure, he could have been counted as 'thirsty' - or just trying to 'get in her pants'. But who cared what they said? That was just natural. He was a male, she was a female.. [100]

But this was far beyond that, as he wasn't interested in her in such a way. . And Riyaku didn't have the patience for so many kicks, as it would just waste his precious time. . So instead - he intended to finish it up on that note. Too repeatitive -- he had to work on other muscles .. his left leg, now ready and capable to kick. It rose from it's shackles to the earth -- pushing strength and speed directly to it's highest point he could go with those limits still in place, making a firm impact with the wall he used to train. Even in prison, he was going to train. [101]

Why? Because something sparked in him. He realized how stupid he really was -- sitting around, being a useless little bastard. Complaining about how things weren't getting better, when he wasn't -REALLY-, training. He was bitching out, is what he was doing. He complained to all these people and pushed them away - whilst locking himself into solitude and letting his work go to waste. Letting himself stagnate to be -worthless-. The life and light in his eyes was regained. Who helped him? Nobody. Yomiko consoled him, but nobody really kicked him in the face and threw him onto his feet. [102]

Because that was what he needed -- a kick in the ass and a slap in the face. Not just that though -- but a reminder of the entire reason he pushed himself to the very limit. The very reason he'd die for someone in a heartbeat. It was natural, to do an act like that - to him it was, at least. Self-sacrifice. Was that a sin? To hell with sins. Bad or not, he was going to do it. At this point, he was ripping his body apart to -injure- his comrades. They may have been dicks, they may have done things that pissed him off -- but they were humans. They made mistakes .. like him. [103]

And believe it or not, they would be the people he'd have to fight beside. The people he'd have to rely on-- .. no. They wouldn't be that. They'd be the people behind him - staring at his back, as he handled everything on his broad shoulders, carrying the world itself. If he worked hard enough-- he could do that, with ease. Because there was no stagnation if you trained hard enough. There was no limit that couldn't be broken. Nothing was invincible -- sure, that included him. But mostly, it included the world and everything it tried to put you against. [104]

Was it worth it? Doing all of this .. he could probably try to get with Ruby .. he could run his own company, but he didn't want to. . This was what he wanted.

Idorizu, Riyaku || The awakening of the male came with a subtle yawn - and the breaking of lids apart, eyes soon revealed to the same gloomy nature that was his cell.

A stand was brought - standing back to his full. -- He peered about, staring through the bars that was his door .. nothing new, other than the aching his body suffered through. It couldn't be helped -- at least, not in here. If he was out there, he could just go get painkillers and keep pushing on. But right now? He was stuck with his body's natural painkiller .. adrenaline. That's all he was running off of. How long until the reserves were dry and he collapsed -- but. Wasn't that what he was already doing? He trained, crashed. Trained, crashed. A repeating cycle day by day. [105]

It had to be done, though, as said over and over again. "..Who else is going to train you?" he muttered, "There's no taijutsu masters.. Not anymore.. They're all dead or too snobby to teach some wimp like you.." -- "I'll show..them. I just have to keep going. If I keep standing back up, nobody can prove me otherwise." - and stand back up he did, making himself keep that way, too. Even with his legs wobbling a little, soreness and aches mixing together to make an unpleasant combo, but there he was, making his legs work against his better judgement to just rest. [106]

There was no time to rest, was there? -- So he turned towards the wall, and thought briefly. There were multitudes of workouts he could perform .. but he had little time until the war .. until the next 'event', supposedly meant to happen. There was no time to delay. There was only time to -train-. Train, train, train. No further delays - a short shake of his head. At this point, Riyaku was nasty. . In smell, and the scuffmarks - dirt and grime that built on him. There were no showers. Hell, he was lucky he didn't get infections. . His feet bent - and he rushed forward towards the wall, raising a knee. [107]

That raising knee intended to slam full force into the wall - hands making firm but flat impact with palms on the surface, a cry of pain from him as soon as impact was made -- body recoiling nigh instantaniously to have the knee extend back out, foot placing back to the ground. . "..Keep.. Going." he demanded from himself, and he went with it - swapping knees, to have the left knee rise instead, slamming full force much like it's twin had, dropping back down to the floor immediately after impact was made - but as his sole met the ground, he rose the opposite knee, swapping back and forth between the two. [108]

But the way it was done was like skipping. . Infact, this was called 'skipping knees'. It was done with speed, having been used to such a motion before. Sure, it was going to get repeatitive, but that was all workouts. Doing them as much as possible until you couldn't anymore. "Three.." he sputtered out, sweat already running wildly. At least in this cell he was fed and watered, making things not all that bad. . . But they were still pretty bad because he made it that way - right leg falling back to extension to bring up the left once again, "Four." [109]

His fingers kept a firm grip onto the wall -- keeping him pressed up against it and ready for contact, the left falling down to the ground beneath him to be the post to launch the right from - sending that knee directly into the wall once again .. then, that would be five -- "Five." he stated out, his legs crying out in pain once again.. Yeah. This wasn't feeling too good - but he could feel it. He could feel himself getting stronger with each passing workout. This -could-, work. It -could-. It just depended on if he could perservere through it or not. [110]

Idorizu, Riyaku huffed out, allowing Sayato to do as he pleased -- meanwhile his eyes staring towards Yomiko. Once again, Riyaku's personality had changed. Not like she would have cared with how things had been.

Sapphire eyes swapped back away from the girl and onto Saya once more - watching as the knuckles were cared for .. perhaps allowing Riyaku to give a relatively botched remake of it in the future. . In terms of, disinfectant and all that. Not really the magical healing chakra shenanigens. But once the skin had returned and his hands felt decently okay, -- other than the bit of aching and sores. . They'd be retracted to lay in his lap, soon swapping vision towards his legs once the femboy medic had gotten to work. Yes, he didn't even budge from the stinging. [111]

Because as Sayato had guessed it, it was nothing in comparison. A slow nod was given, the finishing touches being done on his leg. And with no time wasted - he'd move to stand. Noteably, a satchel was at his side, seeming to carry a decent amount of items. With that said and done, - and he was allowed to stand, a two-fingered salute would be given to those present, feet intending to take the taijutsuist eastbound, his expression solemn - determined, and relatively deadpan. As per usual with him, anyway. 'Edgy'. [112]

Idorizu, Riyaku peered about -- soon having left the gateway with his squad. . Odd, Riyaku was chosen as the 'hard-hitter' in the squad. But eh.

Though as they travelled and came to a short resting stop - he huffed out, bringing either hand together to rub palm against palm - slowly. "So, where is this place, anyway?" he asked, staring towards Shou in particular. That question made it relatively obvious that .. well. He wasn't informed too much about this. Only that it was going to be a brutal trip. At least Riyaku had packed a few things to assist with said 'trials', even though it may not be much. . Sapphire eyes scanned the horizon - checking for clouds or, really anything of note. [113]

And the only thing he spotted so far was a clear and sunny day - not really much to find interesting other than that. The cool breeze ran along his battered skin, his time in prison spent wisely - for sure. Infact, this wouldn't even be a break, as he intended to slip in a few workouts whenever he could on this little adventure of theirs. . It was for Tsukino, or something -- but what was even at this Tenryuujotei place anyway? Special doctors or something? .. Probably didn't even exist. But here he was, out here, at the request of somebody. [114]

Upon noticing practically nothing though - he did resort to doing more physical things to pass the time. Both hands came together - recently healed knuckles brought to intertwine and raise up - the top of either palm facing towards the top of his own head, whilst his arms extended fully, flexing out and popping fingers in the same process. Once done with that - they swung downwards, bending to unwrap with fingers moving to touch toes- eyes trying to keep themselves on the skylines to keep an eye out. . What were they even looking for again? [115]

"Kenzo, use your magical vision."

Idorizu, Riyaku ||

The 'problem' of Konohagakure continued on with his workouts, raising his spine back to a straight stance with his hands back at his sides - then he dropped to the floor. His right hand met the flat surface of the grass - his left hand crossed behind his back. A bead of sweat ran from his temple down to his forehead - drooping from the center to disconnect from it's homeland, leaving to impact the surface of the dirt, watering the plants. . Yeah. Even whilst he was in this position - his head was as straight south as could be, facing horizontal. [116]

Then he lowered -- performing the first 'one-handed pushup', not making a peep whilst he did. Muscles contracted and gave a slight burn at the act, having to put all of his weight on a singular arm like this -- it was relatively painful, yes. But, it was a workout - as stated before, even on this little life or death trip he wouldn't take a puase. He had the stamina to not need a pause, anyway. Just because he broke a sweat didn't mean he was tired. It meant he was getting 'warmed up', as they call it in the business. Those stale, deadpanned eyes continued scanning though. [117]

Through the trees, through whatever was before them. . This was his first time -walking- outside the village, and not taking a caravan. He was gonna take in as many sights as possible, yeah. It was surely worth it, having this chance -- even if it was a high chance of death just getting to the damn place. That didn't matter to him, especially because his usual training regime now required him to push himself to the point of passing out due to either, pain or exhaustion -- sometimes both, too. This was no different. He'd keep walking until his partners were exhausted, or until his feet went numb. [118]

By this time - he was raising up off the ground to bring himself to a full extension of that bicep - a 'hooh' escaping from his lips beneath his breath, only lightly at that, eyes glued to the sky as best as they could be- continuing to glance around, since that's where everyone else was looking .. besides, Shou knew what he was doing, right..? Yeeeeah.. Probably, anyway. He had faith and all in his 'leader', since Shou was probably one of the nicer people in the village. -- Riyaku's body lowered once more, arm curling back up and his muscle flexing. [119]

Idorizu, Riyaku ||

Next came the rise, as per usual - muscle bending about once again to support his weight, climbing steadily. -- Then he reached full height, the full distance from the earth and his face as he could manage, arm fully extended. He held it like that for a few moments, embracing that burn. 'Two..' he muttered inside his head, staying quiet for the others to continue their searching whilst he did his own - thinking about what was to come. The taijutsuist had been hearing about a war afterall. . A war? Seriously? They lost so many people -- though then again, you didn't always get to choose battles. [120]

And whether he lived or died -- decided his fate. If he'd move on to the other side and have his mortal body rot, whilst his soul dispersed from the plane of reality. . Or if he lived - and accepted life as it was. Stopped acting like a suicidal maniac -- and started acted like the Hero he wanted to be from the very beginning, the pillar of light he could be for others, to guide them along. Nobody really guided him - so he knew the lack of said feeling all too well. That motivated him even more to want to give the -good- side of that feeling to people. [121]

To give them an experienced guide - and with another lowering of his body to the ground, his breath was let out like a balloon deflating without the humorous sound, instead simply being a steady stream of carbon dioxide - his lungs having used up all that oxygen already. But that wasn't the right combination he needed -- he needed to exhale while he pushed his muscles, and inhaled while they relaxed. In layman's terms, when he went up - his breath went out. When he went down, the breath came in. . So he planned to correct that - remaining low for the current moment. [122]

A deep intake of oxygen filled his lungs, bringing his chest to inflation. And as his arm extended to push the inmate to rise once again, he deflated once more - allowing all that air to just slip out and relieve pressure on himself, making his 'workouts', easier. But due to the fact that his one arm along could -- more than likely carry at least two-hundred pounds? This wasn't all that bad. It's not like Riyaku was a fatass - no. He was a rather slim individual, even so, this still pushed his muscles enough to be a pretty nice event to partake in. [123]

Deep blue eyes continued to scan all the while - giving him another little 'exercise' to perform. Multi-tasking. The act of looking about and actively searching, whilst focusing on his breathing -- and working his muscles to make sure he stayed in shape and remained warmed up incase they had to jump into some kind of combat -- or not even combat. Just an event, too. Something that may have required him to be roaring like an engine to reach top gear - and to blaze right through it. Ofcourse, he had a way he could cheat and achieve that easier.. [124]

But that'd just be unfair to do. 'Three..'

Idorizu, Riyaku || A sudden movement, and Riyaku had swapped his positions, like a breakdancer spiralling on the ground he was - bringing himself to lay on his back rather than using his hand to stay up. That arm crossed behind his back was no longer concealed - being unsheathed to be thrown directly into work, both hands coming together to line up vertical next to either side of his face, eyes staring dead up towards the sky, both knees bent. It was obvious what came next. Situps. Because what was pushups without a good bout of core training ontop of it? [125]

So this time, each time he rose up and completed a sit up - his eyes could scan the horizon once again, keeping up with his comrades ofcourse if they moved. Even so - his body tightened and he could already feel his abs rearing up, like a humming engine in a mustang, he lifted his back off the ground - completing his first act of said situp with relative ease. Like it would be difficult for him .. this was his blood, sweat and tears. The work he put in to be able to do simple things like this at great speeds and great effiency - which the speed was displayed. [126]

As soon as he was up, he was back down - facing the sky once again. And once he was down -- his body was rising him back up, no support from his arms and the like, those same crystalline eyes scanning the horizon over the bridge of his knees with each given opportunity. This felt great - getting back into this mood. Getting determined once again -- it felt, really good. He felt like he was properly training and getting somewhere. Unlike before how he was just whining like a bitch, saying he was slacking, and kept slacking. Now, he was always finding a way to train. [127]

No matter what he was doing -- and his body fell back to the ground, sweat running from his face rather frequently at this point, building together to run off the side when he went back to laying. Maybe he was wasting stamina -- maybe not. It didn't matter to him. Taiyomaru sent him on this as a 'death mission' of sorts. But Riyaku saw it as a .. redemption, type of deal. . Something he can use to regain his 'honor' as a warrior. It was either succeed in this - or die like a dog. A pathetic wimp who was unable to help not even a single person in his village. [128]

The pathetic wimp his father believed in -- died for, and would be disappointed in. That was why even if Riyaku 'wanted to die', he was going to fight like a bat out of hell. Since .. well. It'd go against his nature to 'lay down and give up'. The fuck would this Will of Fire be for then? Absolutely nothing. It'd just be a wasted flame burning inside of a rotting corpse, with a rotting mind to boot. Besides that - he kept pumping his core, scanning about as he rose up once again- finding his sightline scanning about like before. Hell, it'd be bonus points if this 'meatshield' of the party was the one to find it. [129]

..Could he, though?

Idorizu, Riyaku ||

Continue he did - try he must. Another thing Maiya insisted on him. Try, try again. No matter if you don't believe you can succeed or even make a difference - you must always try.. That was about the last thing she even managed to say to him too - which made it even more important. Those five names still drilled into his brain, making him feel like he was on that same substance Kendrick drugged him with. Jittery feelings and spasms in his body, an undying rage that was his spirit burning inside his form due to it. [130]

"Shou. I feel like this place really does exist. I'm sure I can find it." he stated whilst he fell back onto his spine - before pushing his body to a rise once again, pressing his chest to his knees. This was for Tsukino. The person who called Riyaku absolutely fucking useless, and dismissed him like he was an unwanted stepchild...... Why was he doing this again? Damn. This village was a pain in the ass, wasn't it? Or, maybe people just assumed too much about this lousy hardworker. The person who wasn't born with perserverence -- the person not born with boiling blood. [131]

Moreso, the person who developed it overtime. Along with the development of the -need- to protect those around him. Like a cheesy 'Guardian Angel', or 'Supreme Protector', or 'Angelic .. thing'. Whatever he wanted to be, it was probably just a kid's dream in a growing man's mind. One he even now didn't dismiss as a fantasy, because he thought it could one day come true. And the fact that if he always trained like he was now - no matter the circumstances, well. He could end up making it true .. no matter the circumstances, yeah. That sounded about right. [132]

Because there was no 'hitting a limit', or.. 'going no further'. There was only how far you could go. The eight inner gates were a living fact of that. You thought you couldn't go any further -- then you make yourself go further, by sheer power and will; you perservere. Which is why what he was doing -- was incredible for him. Not just for his body, but for that hidden, forbidden technique of the Hidden Leaf. The thing that shouldn't be used-- and is looked down upon. This young man used it like it was candy, because each and every use was another learning experience. [133]

So he fell back onto his resting place - making a spot in the dirt as the situps ceased, staring up towards the sky. A stand was made soon enough - and he dusted himself off, his ragged and jagged signature jacket covered in dirt - cuts and the like, showing just how old and used it really was. But he still wore it, even till this very day. The reason for it unknown -- but it probably meaned a lot to him, and it was .. probably around for a good while. Why wasn't it washed? Because it'd wash off the MANLINESS, or somethin'. . That was beyond the point. [134]

He spread his legs in that standing position, and rose both hands to be behind his head, preparing for the next exercise.

Idorizu, Riyaku ||

The third exercise had began, in a way -- drowning out his squadmates, focused solely on himself and the task at hand. Along with, well, his workouts. Which fell under the category of 'himself', yes. This workout -- squats. It built strong knees and the like, which as a kickboxer was excellent to have. . So with either hand crossed behind his head - fingers lacing with it's twins in return like forbidden love, intertwining within his now onyx hair. . It would begin. His body lowered down, not all the way to the ground - but somewhat. [135]

And with no time wasted, he rose back up, 'One.' - his eyes constantly looking around whilst he worked, letting his knees bend to allow his hips to roll and unlock - lowering his form closer to the earth once again, feeling the slightest of burns after just starting. He could probably go a lot longer in these exercises than he was -- but from all that brutal training he had done on a stone brick wall, it'd be more suicidal than punching the Hokage's first born daughter as hard as he could. . Simply because he could have something stupid happen. Heart attack, paralyzation, over-exhaustion, or something. [136]

He wasn't a doctor, he didn't know these things -- and when his knees began to extend and force him back up with ease, he continued the count, 'Two.' - with that came the normal observation from those sapphire gems that were his ocular organs, peering amongst the beautiful horizon as per usual - loving this nice sunny day, even though it was murdering his eyes to stare at such bright scenery. Sure he could probably be focusing more on searching- but that would waste his god damn time. This was perfect time to train and work at the same time. [137]

His form lowered to the dirt once more - hanging around a foot above it, leaving himself there. Slow and steady breaths to keep himself paced, whilst he lifted back up, calling the shot once he was fully to a stand -- if he gave up half-way or fell, from stumbling, it wouldn't count ... there it was. 'Three.' - these countings still ringing in his head, a mental note of where he was in this current situation, and his current workouts and exercises. As per usual once he had gotten back up to the full stand, he took a full search of everywhere around- over the trees, over the river, hell. Even over Konohagakure. Then -- towards the west. Over.. [138]

The Land of Wind, too.

Idorizu, Riyaku ||

Then came the lowering - the bending of his knees - the loosening of his hips to pivot freely in a way, allowing him to lower as far as he could go. A decent workout for him despite being a relatively short one. . A low grumble was let out - finding nothing so far. Not even a trace of this damn place. . What did it even look like again? Was it one of those, 'you'll know it when you see it', type of things? Because if so, Riyaku was fucked. . He'd glaze over it like an idiot and not even notice .. or at least, so everyone spoke about him. But in reality -- it was far different. [139]

He was more perceptive than he let people believe, giving them a false sense of security. He'd pick up the smallest things and the littlest subjects, really. It was just in his nature-- sure, not as good as some other badasses with uh. Well. Proper special genes they were born with - or people that train their sight .. or people that are just naturally born to be the best. Even so, working with what he had was what he always did. It was how he got by in life, and it was how he strived and rose to victory. . Or at least, tried to rise to victory. Damn, it was hard. [140]

Slowly came the full standing motion once again - leaving Riyaku at his full height, glancing side to side to try and find -ANYTHING- he had missed .. but unless he was lucky, he'd find positively nothing. Yeah. This shit kinda sucked -- but it was for the Jounin of his village. Even if she didn't care about him and probably wouldn't even go slightly this far for him, or .. would probably even visit him in the hospital .. or... remember.. his name.... ..... God damnit. If she lives, he had to make a mental note to chew her out or whatnot-- yeah, that'd go perfectly well. [141]

Chewing out a Jounin commander. Sounded like an excellent idea -- okay. No. He was going to make her at least buy him some pretty high-grade weights though to help him train!.. That would be his reward for this. Mmhm. Either that or, he'd guilt-trip Taiyomaru into it. But these were all dreams that he'd get out of this alive, but even if he did, what was the point? The entire village didn't care for his existance. His only friend and interest now hated his guts and called him a full-blown coward, and wanted nothing less than to quite literally, have him rot behind bars. [142]

Ow. . Yeah. That hurts. . That hurts his soul. Nobody would probably bat an eye as Riyaku died -- was that why he signed up for this certain death mission?.. Yeah. Probably. . Because he succeeded in his previous goal. To gain the hate of his entire village, so he could die and fall from the tree, like a leaf taken into the wind -- never seen or heard from again. Did he regret it? Probably. Because he was just a fragile young man, who hadn't quite grown yet. Would he get over it? In quite a few years, probably.. It depended on where things went from here. [143]

Maybe he could apologize to some people if he lived from this -- get a girl some flowers, grovel at her feet. Who knows .. maybe he just wasn't cut out to have love in the first place? Just never have a child or whatever, that was fine with him. As long as he gained his goal and gained it in full - not some sloppy makeshift workup of it, either. Something he could be satisfied dying with. Something he could go to the afterlife and brag about to his father, to give him that bright ole grin and a hell of a laugh. . Something to make him, his mother -- and his father proud in one go. [144]

So training would never stop.

Idorizu, Riyaku gave a heavy groan - releasing himself from his workouts. .

Damn, he was dehydrated -- a hand slipping into his satchel to reveal a bottle of water, taking off the top. A quick pour over his person to cool himself down - and the rest went down his maw, finishing the bottle in one fell swoop. And as he dismissed it off to the side, that was when the magical flying guy showed up.. Maybe this .. could make him succeed. Maybe all he needed for once was that one -- that ONE. Helping hand . . that was all he needed, yeah. That and even more determination, the determination to push on and burn like a supernova. [145]

So Shou's hand was met with a loud clap - a calloused palm smashing against the fedora-bearing male's own, not in a way to hurt him, but to show his willingness to keep on. No matter the trials. And as he made contact -- well.. He felt his entire bodyweight shift, finding himself almost floating. He could fly ..? Just like that? It was -that- easy? But he could also feel his muscles getting lighter and losing mass, meaning .. he wasn't going to be able to hit as hard. The upside? He could literally go as far up as he wanted. And whether he could control it or not wasn't his problem. [146]

Riyaku knew nothing about Chakra, and as Shou mentioned--- this taijutsuist was his responsibility, so if he made it into orbit, it was his fault..! .. Riyaku's hand rose high, a fist closing and raising to the heavens. Suddenly - it was brought down like the inmate wielded Mjolnir itself, knuckles impacting the earth dead on. His knees bent, and then suddenly - a wide grin flashed onto his face .. 'Fuck yeah..' he thought to himself - blasting off like a rocket into the sky with a full extent of his legs heading upwards, making himself high above the air. [147]

"YEEEEEAH!" he shouted out, soaring along the skylines and taking his peering about.

He could find it, he knew he could.

Idorizu, Riyaku ||

It seemed he didn't find it once again -- descending back towards the earth. . Damn, that was one hell of a workout -- it didn't help he was actually exercising the whole damn time. . Like, really. The amount of stamina he must have wasted just doing that alone had to have been quite a lot in itself. Honestly.. But Riyaku was now taking his break. He had a break time to call whenever - he could do it now. Whenever they were going to travel, he would get up and move on with them. But until then? He was going to relax.. Even so. [148

But they seemed to have finally found it - Riyaku intending to move up to the entrance after some movements towards it and closing the distance -- he noted the bubble of a barrier around it.. But he also noted the guards that were on the other side. So the male approached, a hand raising in a fist to knock the side of it against the wall of the bubble -- "Deus Vult. Let us in." he spoke, trying to get the attention of said holy crusaders in the only way he knew how .. not entirely knowing that they couldn't hear him or anything. . . That didn't entirely matter to Riya. [149

What mattered was the fact they were -there-, they had done it, and they could rest for at least a little tiny bit now. And Taiyomaru seemed wrong -- this place wasn't deadly to get to, and the trials weren't even that bad. What the hell? Was he just leading him up to nothing? -- Well, what was he complaining about, anyway? Not dying? Pffft. . Now at least they could just get past this obstacle .. finding a way into the temple itself. The temple of .. 'What was this place called again? Tenryuujotei?' he thought to himself .. but on the downlow, he expected to be blasted away by the barrier. [150]