Jin Arashi: The Storm Amongst the Mist

Chapter 4: First Mission

Evading Jin's punch, Ameyuri slapped his wrist to the side and moved inside Jin's guard.

Leaping back, Jin struggled to protect himself against his Sensei's onslaught of strikes. Her superior speed made him barely able to defend himself, let alone strike back. Retaliating was the last thought on his mind as Ameyuri continued to push him back across the training field.

Inevitably, Ameyuri broke through completely and landed a solid hit to his chest. He stumbled backward, desperately trying to catch his balance and get air back in his lungs.

He tried to keep his Sensei in view, but she vanished into thin air. Feeling a hand on his ankle, Jin gave up on regaining his balance and fell into gravity's pull.

Ameyuri flung Jin into the air by his ankle and calmly watched him successfully righten himself in mid-air and land on his feet.

"Very good," Ameyuri said as Jin shifted into the protective stance of the Taijutsu she'd taught him. Switching her weight to her back foot, she twisted out of Jin's attack.

Keeping her momentum, Ameyuri flipped over Jin and grabbed his wrist, pulling it up behind his shoulder blade. Jin winced but didn't make a sound.

"That's enough for now."

Letting go of his wrist, she pushed him away. Jin quickly caught himself and turned around, rubbing his shoulder. As soon as he saw Ameyuri's serious expression, Jin turned away.

Ameyuri frowned, folding her arms in front of her.

"I accepted your request to spar today, Jin..."

Jin nodded silently, still looking away.

"You can't keep avoiding it."

She noticed Jin's fist clench, but he didn't say anything.

"You have to join the Rebellion... They need everyone they can get, and someone like you, with a powerful Kekkai Genkai, is invaluable. You need to help them." Ameyuri said evenly. Jin finally turned to look at her, and she immediately noticed the anger in his eyes.

"I don't want to leave Hikari, Ameyuri!" Jin said. He wasn't shouting, but he certainly wasn't calm either. "What if something were to happen while I was gone? I need to be here for her to make sure she's safe. I'm all the family she has left! "

Ameyuri remained silent as Jin looked down at the ground.

"She is everything... I can't lose her..."

Ameyuri sighed, unfolding her arms as she walked up to her student and crouched down in front of him. Tentatively putting her hands on each of his shoulders, she tried to look him in the eyes, but he avoided her gaze.

"I'm here, Jin. I'm one of the strongest Shinobi in this camp, and I would die before I would let anyone ever hurt Hikari," Ameyuri whispered quietly, just loud enough for Jin to hear her.

Jin bit his lip.

Breathing deeply, he lifted his head and finally looked his Sensei in the eyes. He saw the look of concern in her usually hard coal-black eyes, and the indecision plaguing his mind increased tenfold.

Drawing himself up, Jin sighed.

"You're growing weaker every day, Sensei. I don't want you to die, but..." Jin trailed off.

Seeing the hurt in Ameyuri's eyes, Jin quickly tried to backtrack. "I didn't mean it like that! I just... I..."

Jin felt like crying as Ameyuri stood up, pulling her hands away. He didn't know what to do. Ever since he'd been asked to join the Rebellion, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Ameyuri was going to die soon, they both knew that. He'd accepted it.