I watched as Yamu was taken by the doctors out of the arena.

It was weird. When I focused on the fight to come my blood pulsed with a tinge of thrill. The air felt heavier. My mouth went dry. The sounds of the crowd quieted down. My senses appeared to have sharpened. A dark veil shuddered all distractions until I could only faintly feel the presence Yamu standing.

I could hear her breath, the dirt moving under her feet as she shifted her weight to jump at me. I could feel the stillness of the air moving away, being pushed by her punch. And just when she was close enough I could hear her heartbeat, racing; I could see her blood coursing through her veins all illuminated by the faintest trace of chakra in her.

Wierd.

I kneel on the ground, waiting for my next contender as I watch their fight. The two boys, Hiroto and Itsuki, fight brutal but with certain grace. None of them backs up from the other, their fists and kicks swung with great force and accuracy. Even tho they both are 5 years old, Hiroto is bigger and stronger than Itsuki and it only takes a couple of minutes after I kneeled for the winner to emerge.

Itsuki falls to a fainted punch and gets thrown away by a strong kick to his head. Great, my fights won't be as easy as the first one, lucky me.

I stand up, there is no need for the referee to announce the fights. Hiroto doesn't even look towards the referees taking Ituski away. He breathes deeply and stands ready.

This time I take the initiative before he can muster the adrenaline of his fight into stronger blows.

He knows how to fight, avoiding most kicks and punches I throw at him and tanking others. I try not to leave him time to counterattack but soon I lose the momentum and he slips under one of my punches hitting me with a cross to the ribs.. Winded up now I find myself on the defensive. His strikes are faster than Yamu’s. There is more form behind his attacks. More confidence. Training.

But I can't lose now. Not here. No. I must make that bastard eat his words. I must make my mom proud.

Cheers reach my ears. Most certainly my next adversary. I have to end this soon or I won't be able to fight any longer.

I jump backwards taking my distance from Hiroto. breathe in. I stand straight, a hand against my back, one pointing at Hiroto. I taunt him. He falls for it.

He rushes towards me and I dodge every blow. I see his shoulder tense up, ready to punch, but I know its a fain. His weight it shifted towards his right leg, hips turned, his left leg ready to whip a kick to my temple. I’ve learnt enough of him and of the human body to know he’ll try to do to me the same he did to Itsuki.

He throws the fain, I dodge down avoiding the high kick. Taking advantage of his surprise I hook him in the stomach, he spits. Breathless. But I don't stop there. I deliver kicks and blows in quick succession. His arms drop limp. I grab his face and drive him rashing to the ground. He slips into unconsciousness.

A sudden scream reaches my ears and I instinctively whip my torso downwards wiping with strength my leg towards the air. I feel the sole of my feet make contact. I use the momentum of the kick to roll away and stand, pating.

When I rise I see my foe standing painfully. His left eyes is swollen shut, his mouth bleeds and his clothes look like shit with blood, dirt and grass spattered all across. I can’t remember his name, not that I paid too much attention to the the tournament setup. I mean, a foe is a fow, its name means nothing.

He is in much worse shape than me.

A loud bang followed by cheers disrupt our stare down. We both turn shocked. Damn, Akio, the oldest of them all, entered the stage and he is strong. The girl he fought is embedded in the floor. Is she even alive?

I calm myself, using the brief moment that we are both distracted to regain my bearings. I breath in. My blood flows faster, my chakra swirls happy, excited. I sense out, it comes easier now. I can faintly feel my opponent, he is scared, tired. But I can't focus on him. There is something much worse that draws my attention.

Akio can use his chakra and I can feel its hostility towards me. Damn!. Whilst everyone else's chakra I fought with feel small, contained, his burns with intensity, untamed.

I return to my senses, he is smiling sinisterly at me. Crap! Ok, first I must end this fight. I shift towards my opponent. He knows he can't defeat me but the Kaguya pride is heavy and he wont back out, he’ll fight me with teeth and nails.

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I know I can't waste chakra, yet I also need to end this swiftly or I won't last a second against Aiko. I seep some into my muscles, it hurts. I can hear my bones craving it. If I survive this I must learn how to properly use chakra. Damn it Isamu concentrate!. A rush of energy hits me, my body feels lighter.

I sprung forwards. I move fast, faster than ever. I can see the shock in my foes face, I move behind him, he stands still, unable to react fast enough to catch me, and I deliver a swift chop to his neck, dropping him unconscious.

The referees jumped forward and took those who lost. Aiko’s mouth no longer holding a smile, but a stern face having understood what I did. We keeping distance between us, with the whole arena just for us yet neither of us made a move, we just stood there measuring each other.

I looked past Aiko and I could see my mother's face. My ability to use chakra has certainly shocked her, eyes wide open staring at me, worried. The loud cheer from the crowd shows me that everyone has felt it, and between all of them I can feel the sinister aura of the patriarch, I can see that bastard leaning forward, expectant, grinning joyfully.

“Fight, fight, fight!” The crowd chanted, thirsty for blood.

“What are you looking at, I’m the one you should be focusing in” Aiko said and turned briefly to where I was looking. He turned back to me laughing “Hahahah! I see, you are looking at that whore of your mother, aint ya? You know, my parents told me about her. A weak, trash woman. Tainted blood of the clan they said.”

I know he is taunting me, that I must remain calm but it still hurt. and the pain in my heart boils my blood.

I take a deep breath trying to reigning in my emotions. I’ll shut him up by beating him to the dirt.

His face turned redder as I ignored his taunts. “A good for nothing woman whose only worth was her family's blood. Yet all she could produce, even with the patriarch help was a pathetic crybaby.” He said, smiling smugly.

“Shut up you bastard!” I don't know what came to me but I won't stand hearing another word coming from his stupid mouth.

I let my chakra flow loose, and it burns with joy through me. I jump straight at Aiko with blinding speed, sidestepping in front of his stupid face and appearing behind like a ghost. I thrust a hook at his temple yet he manage to dodge it and proceeds to sweep his legs forcing me to jump. Yet he doesn’t follow it, letting me land on my hands and feet.

“That’s all? what a joke” he says, already standing ready to fight. I pounced at him, I won't be humiliated again.

I attack him viciously but never the less he manages to block my every strike and soon puts me on the defensive. His blows are simple, lacking grace, yet the are heavy, bruises are all over where I didn't manage to dodge. Somehow my bones haven't broken, tho not for his lack of trying, each hit enhanced by chakra, but I do feel cracks forming in them. Damn it why can't I win!.

A rotating backhanded punch blindsides me and breaks me out of my thoughts. It catches me by the jaw and throws me to the ground. I roll and force my eyes to stay open, ignoring the pain in my face.

As I roll I see a tallon dropping straight to my face. A panic scream fills my ears. The green line that ties me to my mother pulls at my heart. The still air gives away to a fast moving current. I feel the ground shake and crack as I manage to move away by a hair's breadth from the kick.

As I see Aiko huffing I get on my feet and wipe the blood of my face. I glance towards my mother and I can see her looking down.

I’ve let her down once again. I'm a failure. I don't deserve her. My chakra stirs and seeps deeper into my every cell feeded by my anger and driven by my frustration. My chakra latches on the cracks of my bones.

No. I’ll make her proud. I’ll show them who I am. I’ll show everyone.

Spitting blood I look at Aiko. My eyes burn him with hate. He will be my stepping stone. He will beg for mercy. I can see him tired. His chakra no longer burns with strength whilst mine rages inside of me. I center myself in my mother. I can feel her fear and shame. And it hurts worse than the beating I took. Anger swells up, and it takes my all to contain it.

I go at Aiko throwing kicks and punches intertwined with faints. Each strike stronger than the previous one. My breathing grows heavier, sweat drops from my forehead. But I persist, I keep flowing through my dance. I see gaps in his defence but I don't exploit them, I can read him clear as the day, I’ll overpower him with sheer strength.

Finally I see his legs tremble under the constant stress of my blows. I strike at him with a simple straight punch towards his chest. He manages to block it with his arms crossed but he slides through the grass. I can see his frame shaking, bruises appearing on his forearms.

The thrill of battle rushes through me. I close myself of the world. I feel the earth stirr underneath me. A rumbling call from deep within me. I take the opening stance of the Dance of the Willow’s. My bones humm in joy, their thumming consumes me. I move instinctively, unfazed by the world. Each second that passes, each move that I perform throws me deeper in the dance till my body becomes an unified, unyielding, impassable mass of strength. And I reach to that strength to make it mine, I push towards it comforting embrace and bend it to my will. And it answers joyfully, an exhilarating feeling of pleasure and earth splitting pain ripples through me. My bones scream and I feel my skin ripp.

The pain bring me back to reality; as I open my eyes I can see the world more clear. The colours are more vivid and the day’s light shines brighter. I can hear, despite the loud cheers of the crowd the sound of the wind ruffling leaves and chirping birds. As I take all that in I can see Aiko on the ground, bleeding cuts on his body. His face is filled with terror.

The palm of my hand is almost pressed against his forehead. There is blood trickling from my arm, flowing from my palm. Now that I notice it, I can feel a mild discomfort from my palm. I move it from his face, carefully and ready to punch Aiko again. As I turn my hand towards me a pointy bone greets me, the length of a small knife, a pure white colour, untainted by the blood from where it’s protruding. Wait, why is there blood by my skin is latched to the bone?. WAIT WHAT IS THIS BONE??.

I turn panicking towards where my mother was, a small smile in here face. I breathed slowly trying to calm myself, trying to remember what had happened. I started feeling tho bone return into my palm. it felt so weird. I looked back at my palm and there was nothing there. No bone, no scar. just a bit of blood, but nothing that could point to a bone leaving my hand.

A laugh broke me from my daze, The patriarch was standing, laughing creepily; cold sweat dripped from my back; my mother smile still across her face, but it no longer seemed reassuring. she was proud, but not for me?, she looked… wrong, viciously eying me.

“Come on kid, kill that brat Aiko, show everyone here your might, the might of that who possesses the Shikotsumyaku” he said his voice booming, silencing the world around him. “Slay him, be baptised in his blood and accept the power of the Kaguya clan”.