In Their Shadow

Chapter 25

Yuma was thrown across the large interior of the underground ROOT dojo that spanned over nine-thousand feet in width and nine-thousand feet in length. His body slammed into the concrete wall with an audible thud. The breath was knocked out of him as he panted and wheezed while clutching at the hem of his shirt that lay over his chest.

Before he could gather his bearings, he had to roll out of the way to dodge a kick, slamming into the wall. The foot belonged to a relentless Sai who had yet to break a sweat despite having never taken a break for the past five hours. Yuma rolled onto his feet just in time to try to swipe at Sai's head with the kunai, only to be met with air as Sai ducked down and sweep kicked him up into the air.

Before Yuma's airborne body could fall to the ground, Sai spin kicked him in his sides, sending him flying across the large room once more. Yuma forced his feet into the ground, biting his lip in pain as the skin on his feet broke and blood spilled. As his body slid to a stop, a trail of blood was left by the path of his feet had taken before sliding to a stop.

"Fuck!" Yuma cursed in pain, clutching at his feet.

Sai quickly appeared before him and kicked him back into the air, catching Yuma off guard once more.

"Stop! My foot, fuck, my foot!" Yuma yelled out, before having the air knocked out of him as he was slammed back into the ground courtesy of a gut punch.

"Does the enemy stop when their adversary is injured?" Sai asked rhetorically.

"Fuck you!" Yuma yelled out in agony pulling the kunai out once more, swiping both out in front of him in an x-formation directly into Sai's stomach...

"Got ya asshole!" Yuma exclaimed.

...Before the Sai water clone dispersed, drenching Yuma in water. Before he could curse in anger, Sai appeared from above and and rolling kick slammed his foot onto the top of Yuma's head. Yuma's eyes rolled into the back of his head as his ears began ringing. He grounded his teeth in frustration before his arms were pulled back and forcibly tied together by a tendril of painting oil. Sai appeared before him and began repeatedly punching Yuma in the face, before picking him up and throwing him across the dojo floor, the bindings unfurling off of Yuma's arms.

Yuma stood onto his feet, moving out of the way quickly before Sai could flying kick right into him. He began to dodge and weave as Sai released a fury of attacks into Yuma. Punch, kick, punch, kick and so on and so forth, Yuma began to memorize the pattern as he dodged between the succession of attacks. Sai however noticed what Yuma was doing and jumped backwards, bringing out his paint brush and creating a lion painting.

Yuma's eyes widened in astonishment as the lion animated to life roared and lunged at him. He jumped up into the air, dodging the lions attack, and slamming his foot into the creation, it exploding and allowing Yuma to use the momentum to hurl himself at Sai. He tried stabbing into Sai with the Kunai, but was met with air as Sai ducked.

Yuma flew over Sai, regaining his footing. Yuma hissed in pain, the skin on his feet still torn, as he began dodging the flurry of attacks courtesy of Sai once more. He was dodging the attacks quite well, before being caught of guard by a punch in the cheek. Yuma rolled across the floor as Sai dashed at him.

"Yuma Ito, born on December twenty-fifth in the year of the Nine-Tailed Fox attack." Sai began speaking.

He grabbed Yuma in mid-air and slammed him into the ground.

"Born into a low class family, his early life was disruptive. An abusive step father by the name of Osaka Ito who took out his aggression on his wife, and a mother by the name of Rena Ito who tried her best to make ends meet."