# Naruto: Sensōden IC Thread



## Kyuuzen (Mar 1, 2014)

​
The air was incredibly still.  There was no sound.  No flowing wind and no flying insects.  The sun beat down relentlessly on the golden sands, the heat bending the air into waves.  All that could be heard was what sounded like far-away roars and the sounds of hundreds of feet stomping the ground.  The sounds increased until they were a cacophony of battle cries and running soldiers.  Men dressed in flak jackets, loose-fitting clothing and sandals entered the scene, forming different shapes and forms with their hands, flowing their chakra through their bodies.  The first shouted out ninjutsu rang into the air as the armies fell on each other like hungry dogs.

 "Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi!"

"Suiton: Suijinheki!"

Falling earth and exploding water collided, spraying dirt and mud and moisture all around the currently chosen battlefield.  It was a desert not far from Sunagakure.  Iwa shinobi were there in force defending the village from Kirigakure shinobi.  They had pressed hard against Suna's borders and it was beginning to come to fruition for them, but without Kumogakure backing them up they were brutally outnumbered by the Iwagakure backup.  The natural defensive capabilities of Doton was proving enough to hold them back, and the Sand and Stone united front was continuously gaining ground.  Shouts of a desired retreat scattered up and down the front line as jutsu after jutsu was slung at each army.  Out of nowhere two enormous dragons, one made of water and the other of earth, emerged and wrestled above the combatants for supremacy.  The dry, arid location was disadvantageous to the suiton-using shinobi, and if it wasn't for the occasional shout of "Bakusui Shouha!" Kirigakure would have no doubt already been suppressed and destroyed.

"Raiton: Kuropansa!"

A large hunting feline erected of black lightning erupted from the rear of the battlefield, leaping over the mass of Kirigakure shinobi and slamming down in the bulkiest piece of Iwagakure's ranks.  Kumo shinobi descended on the battlefield like an angry swarm.  From their mouths and hands erupted an seemingly endless wall of lightning bolts that ripped right through Iwa's stone ninjutsu as if they weren't even there.  Kunai knives tipped with exploding tags flew from all sides of the battlefield, explosions riddling the ground, accenting the already deafening roar of the battlefield.  Sunagakure responded with wind-based techniques to try and cut through the wind, but were swiftly drowned in Kiri's responding waves.

A single figure watched from a nearby hilltop, white robes swirling around herself.  Shouri Ajairu, the Raikage, stood in the traditional coat of her position, eyes scanning the battlefield, taking in the sights before her.  What did she see?  Death.  Her men, Suna's men, countless shinobi beneath her were meeting their unfortunate end.  Her eyes narrowed with an indiscernible emotion as she turned away from the field and leaped off of the hill, vanishing in the sun.  As she left, a noticeably louder boom went off as a myriad exploding tags hit several jutsu at one time, killing a multitude of shinobi.  Snuffing out lives as easily as a child tramples blades of grass.

This was war.  This was lives ending, death filling the air as countless men and women gave their lives for their village.  Mindless loss of life.  Mindless carnage.  Mindless violence.  A mere four months ago, war was declared all over the land.  The Five Great Nations who had fought tooth and nail for freedom a century and a half ago were once again seeing red, at each others throats for no good reason, as far as the rest of the Shinobi World could tell.  The Sand and Stone have joined forces and Cloud and Mist followed suit, leaving Konohagakure on its own to face both united threats.  

The Fifth Shinobi World War ignited all across the continent, marking a new, bloody chapter in the history of the world.​


*Undisclosed Location
... 5:30 A.M ...*

A man stood shrouded in shadows and darkness.  No features were visible on the man as he stood in an empty, unlit stone chamber, save for a single, far-off torch.  The sounds of footsteps hitting the floor sounded behind him and he turned around to see another man hidden in the shadows.  "... Kazekage-sama."  The form behind him rose to their full height and gave a barely perceptible nod.  "Hello, Tsuchikage-sama."  The two men stood next to each other, gazing outside of a single window that gazed out over a ravine.  "I trust that everything has gone as planned?"  "Indeed.  Reports indicate that Kirigakure's forces took a major hit after the last battle.  Our armies have as well, however.  This war is progressing in an interesting direction."  "Interesting isn't what's best.  We need to control the flow of this.  It's time to stop playing these childish games with the Hokage.  We need to take this war to Konohagakure, get them involved.  Once they're in the war, they'll be targeted  by the four of us."  The Kazekage regarded the man for a second and nodded, stepping into the torchlight a bit more.  A wide, wicked grin split his face, his jaw full of sharpened teeth.  "Well then we'll just have strike the leaf won't we?"  The Tsuchikage emitted a chuckle.  "Men like us... we just want to watch the world burn.  A cleansing fire."  

The two men wrapped up their conversation before the first sign of daylight before both going their separate ways, disappearing into the night sky.  As they did a lone shadow watched them, a wraith with eyes of burning crimson.  "So.  The war is coming to Konohagakure in full force, is it?"  He vanished in swirl of black leaves, disappearing from the tree he was standing in.​


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 1, 2014)

Ie-o, the Magnificent Boy of Beasts
獣の壮大なボーイ​
The bright sun rose over the forest, shining its life-bringing light through the leaves of the trees.  The beasts were shaken from their slumber, birds congregated in the warm air with their beautifully chirped songs, and the village of Ifumura began to stir gently.  Children began to rise, farmers tended to their crop and peddlers began checking their stock before making their journey to the larger villages.  Our focus, however, is on a single boy.  As the wind sends leaves on a gentle glide, we see him walking into the village from the treeline, a carrying pole laid across his shoulders, holding two large buckets of water.  He had long, silky brown hair and eyes to match, a pale complexion and was dressed in a large, white, hooded kimono several sizes too large, dark purple, baggy pants that were tied down right under his knees, and on his feet a pair of light tan wood zori sandals.  Tying down his kimono was a purple rope belt, tied in a loose bow that hung behind him as he walked, and hanging from his ears were two gray stone magatama.  

He smiled at the elderly and wove between and around energetic little children.  He finally came to a stop outside of an old-looking straw house.  Around back there was an old woman sitting with her husband, enjoying cups of warm, frothy tea.  The woman looked up as he approached.  The boy gave her a kind, gentle smile.  "Ohayo oba-chan, ojii-san.  I've got the water for your animals."  The man rose to his feet and patted the boy's shoulder.  "Ah, thank you Ie-o-kun!  Why don't you set that down and have some tea with us!  It's hojicha green tea, your favorite!"  The boy nodded and set down the water, graciously taking his own cup with a bow of the head.  "Arigato."  He brought the cup to his lips and allowed the hot drink to pour into his eagerly awaiting throat and down into his stomach, warming his body.  After taking a healthy sip he lowered his cup just in time for a single leaf to drift toward him.  He gently moved his mug to catch the leaf inside it and retrieved it with two fingers.  He chuckled a bit and rose it above his head, releasing it back to the winds.

After bathing the mule and making sure the chickens and the dog had drinking water, he set about his day in the village, fulfilling the occasional task for a villager every so often.  He had currently busied himself washing a peddler's dogs when his young wife ran outside to meet him, worry prematurely aging her kind face.  "Oh, Ie-o, I need your help!"  Ie-o paused the gentle ministrations he was giving their dog to look up at her.  "What's wrong, Haon'na-san?"  She fell to her knees next to him, hands on his slender shoulders.  "It's Yoihime, she's gone missing!"  Ie-o's eyebrows furrowed slightly.  Yoihime was their four-year old daughter.  She was a sweet, loving girl, but incredibly curious about the world.  She'd gotten lost a few times before this, which normally wasn't an issue, but they shared this land with many a predator.  The fences surrounding the village combined with the guards(some trained in basic ninjutsu, but all trained in different sword forms) usually kept them at bay but once you were in the forest you surrendered that safety.  He rose to his feet.  "Where was the last place you saw here, Haon'na-san?"  She was playing on the large tree, near the well!  When I looked up she was gone!"  The well was only about ten feet from their house, so she couldn't have gotten to far into the forest yet.  He gave her a nod and ran off in the direction of the well.

He leaped once, planting a foot on the top of the well, before leaping to a branch on the nearby tree.  From here, taking to the branches in the forest was a task he'd had practice in.  He landed easily on each branch, jumping between the trees as his eyes scoured the forest floor.  "Yoihime!  Yoihime!"  He heard the cry of a small girl and dropped from the trees, running arms held out behind him toward a nearby pond.  A tree had toppled a few months back and it hung over the pond, a popular spot for children.  They liked to jump off of it into the shallow waters and hide underneath in games of hide and seek.  Yoihime was doing the latter, bunched up in the fetal position with her hands over her ears and her eyes shut tight, tears streaming freely.  Snapping at her was a wild, slightly mangy dog.  Ie-o clapped his hands together as he ran toward her.  

"_Fuuton: Reppushou!_"  He thrusted his palm at the beast and sent a burst of wind at it, watching it roll away from the girl as the small gale batted it away.  He came to a stop in front of her and crouched, extending a hand to her.  "Yoihime-chan, it's me."  She peeked out at him.  "O-onii-chan?"  Once her eyes verified it was him she tackled him, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and burying her face in his neck.  He smiled and jumped to the top of the fallen tree, returning to the branches.  He emerged from the forest with the girl in his arms, landing in the soft grass of Ifumura.  He looked up at Haon'na's shout of joy to see her and her husband the peddler rushing toward him.  He released the girl into their hands and watched with an amused little smile as they poked and prodded her, scolding her for playing in the forest.  They both thanked him profusely, and Yoihime bestowed upon him a "thank you, Onii-chan!" before they took her back to their home, attending to her request for breakfast.  He followed them humbly, returning to his chore of washing their dog.

Around noon the peddler came out, calling for him.  Ie-o looked up from his nap under the family's peach tree curiously.  "Yes, Mikate-san?"  "I'm on my way to Konoha to sell my wares, and as a thanks for saving my daughter I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me!  I'll get you something nice to eat, for your trouble.  Ie-o's smile widened and he nodded and got to his feet, brushing the grass and leaves off of himself.  Mikate smiled at this.  "Well then, I'll make sure my cart is in order and we can be off!"  Ie-o was quite excited.  He'd never been to Konoha before, in fact the only other humans he'd met that weren't from Ifumura were just travelers and peddlers.  He'd get to see the ninja that Inu-san and the others had told him about.  He actually couldn't wait to see what the almighty Leaf Village was like.

After several minutes of musing he walked around back toward their home to find many people of the village had come to see him off, including Oba-chan, Oji-san, and Yoihime.  The young girl once again had tears in her eyes as he and her father prepared to leave.  "You can't leave, too, Onii-chan!"  She wiped furiously at her tears and Ie-o smiled, and crouched down next to her.  "Hey, don't worry, we'll be back before you know it, Yoihime-chan."  This didn't seem to console her much.  He chuckled and removed the magatama from his right ear and took her hand.  He pressed the jewel into the palm and closed her small fingers around it.  She looked up.  "Onii-chan?  This is your-"  "Aa, it's one of my magatama.  These mean a lot to me, so if I have one and you have the other, I'll always be here with you, right?"  She smiled and captured him in a hug.  "Thank you.  Keep daddy safe, okay?"  At this her father chuckled.  "Come on, who's the adult here?"  The villagers chuckled at his comment.  While they were all, for the most part, able-bodied, Ie-o was the only one who had shown the ability to manipulate one of the elements through ninjutsu.  He had a talent and no one knew where he'd got it from, but everyone agreed that he was more than just an asset who knew ninjutsu.  He was a loved boy who cared deeply about them.

They all bade the two of them goodbye as the pair ventured out onto the forest trail that lead to Konohagakure.


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## Bringer (Mar 2, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*










A mysterious figure observed the ninja academy from afar, watching the scene unravel. The academy was over for the day, and all the kids were released into the courtyard so they could leave. Some of the children rushed home, while others stayed to have some social interactions with their fellow peers. The mysterious spectator watched intently as four boys approached a girl.

From both this height and distance the unknown spectator couldn't hear what was being said, but it was very obvious what was going on. One of the boys grabbed a stuffed animal from the defenseless girl, and she desperately tried getting it back, but to no avail she could not. The person watching the scene was just about to intervene, but stopped herself as the bullied girl slugged the boy with the doll right in his nose.

The spectator smiled, she remembered her last day at the academy.

___________________________________

Awai had just arrived at the academy; more specifically it was her last day of the academy. Surprisingly enough she was the first one there, but that quickly changed as dozens of students swarmed in shortly after. During her time at the academy the young kunoichi has made both friends and enemies. Speaking of enemies...

"Hey! Give me back my hat you butt!" She yelled as her golden long hair fell into place, almost reaching the ground. 

It was actually amazing how a hat could contain all of that hair. She reached for it, but the boy who was named Shawa retaliated by jumping backwards to be out of the fuming girls reach."If you want it so much come and get it."

"Oh I *will*!"  The young kunoichi _promised_. 

The girl ran towards the boy with all the speed she could muster and pounced him, easily overpowering him with her superior strength. It didn't take long for the young Uzamaki to get the bully into a headlock.

"Struggling will only make it worse!" She howled. 

She hated him, in fact she despised him. You may be wondering, aren't those words a bit too strong? Surely she's too young to hate somebody? No... what she felt was real. She hate... hate... hated injustice, bullies, evildoers, and all that is wrong! Anything that falls under any of those categories would face her fist of justice and righteousness. 

___________________________________

The spectator watched as the girl who just socked the bully in the face was pushed into the ground. THIS was her time! The mysterious figure who was none other than Awai Uzamaki jumped; perfectly landing between the victim and the bullies.

"What the!" One of the bullies yelled out in confusion due to the sudden interruption. 

"I am vengeance!" Awai roared as she punched the boy with the stuffed animal, causing him to skid a few feet across the ground and drop the stolen item. 

"I am night!" She picked the battered boy from the ground, and threw him at one of his buddies.

"I AM AWAI UZAMAKI!" The young kunoichi ran forward preforming a jump kick, sending another bully flying backwards. 

The fourth one began to run away, but oh no... He’d face her fists of fury. Before "Konoha's Protector" could pursuit the fleeing child, something wrapped around Awai's feet, and the girl fell. Upon looking up she saw the academy teacher... her old teacher... Shurui sensei looking down at her, while spinning some bolas.

Minutes later Awai was freed from the bolas that restrained her movements, and followed Shurui sensei inside the academy. Shurui was a good man, extremely charismatic and kind. In matter of fact he's Awai's favorite adult. Upon entering, Shurui signaled Awai to take a seat; which she did, and shortly after he did too.

Time for another lecture.

"What was that Awai!" He spoke with both gentleness and anger, something only he was capable of doing.

"I was protecting the innocent from bullies! They started it so I was going to end it!" She protested.

Awai's protesting only earned a sigh from the man she respected the most. The young Uzamaki died a bit inside. Honestly Awai preferred it when he yelled, it was better to see rage than to see disappointment.

"Awai... you're a genin now. You shouldn't be beating on academy students anymore. You need to"

Awai clenched her fists. 

_"Don't say it... Don't say it... Don't say it."_ Was all she could think.

He said it. 

"Grow up." He stated firmly.

The girl stood up, obviously hurt. Why! Why was it only his words that could hurt her...

"Sensei... don't give me that. Its come out of a dozen mouths already. I never thought it'd come from yours." She spoke with some vulnerability in her voice. 

"Awai..." Shurui muttered... his voice filled with sympathy.

There was a small awkward silence.

"You do understand I have to tell her... right." There was a hint of regret in his voice, as the academy teacher knew doing this may sever his bond with his former student.

After hearing this she was shocked... Shurui would never inform Tawa of Awai's misconduct. Shortly afterwards her expression of shock changed to one of anger. 

"Fine! Go ahead!" She shouted.

The kunoichi  stormed off, slamming the door behind her.


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## Sumon (Mar 2, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure*

Sunny morning, a morning that wasn’t quite usual in Hidden Mist village. On most mornings there would be a mist so thick that one could hardly see anything in 10 yards. Not today, though. Today was a special day, so a special day requires a special morning. Today was the day when he, Shinomori Aoshi, the 13 year old new graduate of ninja academy can finally start his ninja path. The boy had dreamed of this day ever since he heard tales of his family achievements and their adventures in the ninja world. But by no means were those tales made to sound fun. Vice versa, actually. The tales were told in such serious tone with extremely cruel content that it could put off a normal child from pursuing a profession like that. Shinomori elders would often tell brute stories to toddlers to see if the newest generation had what it takes physiologically to one day be the subjects of those tales. And it did deter some children. But Aoshi wasn’t a normal child. All his life he was driven by goals, so the tales he was told, he took them as a goal. From that moment the boy had realized that he wanted to become the hero of those stories. He wanted his accomplishments, his heroics to be passed on to many generations after his. He could even imagine the headlines: _“Shinomori Aoshi – the one who knocks.”_ But the most important reason why he had chosen to become a ninja was his desire to please his family by living up to their legacy and fulfilling his family duty in this dangerous world – protect the jinchuurukis from any danger.

Aoshi took a backpack with 2 sections from a closet. “1, 2, 3. 3 explosive tags.” He mumbled as he was putting 3 pieces of tags into his backpack. “1, 2. 2 fuuma shurikens.” He mumbled once again while taking two quite heavy and large shurikens into his backpack too, but into a larger section this time. The boy zipped the backpack and strapped it on his back. He faced a mirror in his room, looking at it for half a minute. Only one thing was missing – the forehead protector on his pretty face. Aoshi ran his right hand through his thick blue hair while extending his left one towards a shelf where the forehead protector was put like a trophy. Not a single dust on it. The boy tied it on his forehead and pointed a thumb at it. He was feeling proud. To wear the headband with Hidden Mist village symbol on it, the same village that was the home to his beloved family was utterly magnificent. The boy gave himself a smile and thumbs up, and dashed downstairs. Not a single sound besides his running could be heard in his house. He took a couple of apples and left the premises still in high spirits.

Running through the streets of Kirigakure with light reflecting from his forehead protector, he was eager to get a little bit of individual training before going on a mission this morning, so the current destination was a huge pond just outside of Kiri. He could spend an hour alone, two tops thanks to waking up very early, but he had to pick up the pace if he didn’t want to waste the whole time on travelling. Although even by travelling he found a way to train. After 30 seconds of jogging at normal pace Aoshi would massively increase his running speed, going on a sprint for 30 seconds and then dropping the pace back to normal for 30 seconds once again. 30 seconds jog, 30 seconds sprint, repeat. He was out of breath quite fast despite being one of the most preserving ninja in his class. But not the fastest one, so such 30 second training was meant to increase his speed. 

In no time did Aoshi reach huge Kiri gate in the east of the village that led to the outskirts. On the gate there was a huge warning sign. _“WARNING! Yellow zone ahead”_ – it said. Since it was time of the war, some areas were given a specific colour to signify the possible danger in those territories. Green colour was given to completely safe places like Kirigakure, red for enemy zones and battlefields, and last but not least, yellow. Yellow was given to most territories outside the village where the chance of enemy encounter was considered fairly low during such times, but still much more frequent than in green areas. 

The boy passed the gate and continued his journey on a path for a little while before entering a forest. The forest wasn’t the densest one around. Sun did get through the tall trees with little leaves on them quite easily, unfortunately for Aoshi. He was still doing 30 seconds sprint training, though not being as quick as right after leaving the house, he was pouring sweat like crazy. He expected to hide in the shadows a little bit, but there wasn’t many. At least the morning was a bit windy. The boy felt so relieved and refreshed every time the wind blew to his face. “Ahhh!” he released a sound when that happened.

And, finally, he reached his destination. At the end of the forest there was a huge pond that some old folks were fishing in. Even though they were advised not to since it was a yellow territory, old people tend to be quite stubborn so they rejected the advice and kept on fishing. This time there were 2 gramps fishing in the pond. They turned at the boy as he had entered their horizon and waved at him. Aoshi smiled and waved back at them with the last bit of energy he had before dropping quite heavy backpack on the ground and falling down on his back on soft green grass. Aoshi decided to take a little moment and regain his strength. He took one of the apples he had taken from his house and bit into it...


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 2, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha*

___________​
The clan chamber room - a familiar scene which I had seen several times before. The same dark room, ornamented by spears and various other bladed weapons on the side, lit by two lanterns dipped from the ceiling at the end of the room, draping an orange hue over the room.  Even from outside the room, the air seemed to be filled with a crisp static, dancing and tingling on my skin while I looked into the room through the keyhole, almost like it was warning me to stay away. Certainly, eavesdropping here would be grave if I ever got caught, but they were far too distracted to even notice me.  A large man dressed in rich dark coloured robes sat at the end of the room, lowering a dark gaze on one of two other figures, both dressed in similar looking clothes. All three had the same white-ish blue hair, the same blue eyes, and the same pale complexion I had.  They were, of course, my family. 

I was knelt down behind one of the doors at the side, observing the results of my sabotage. Things seemed to be going well, so far and it filled me with a certain sense of pride and smugness that my plan worked out so well. As strong as my sister was, she was no match for my cunning. A simple note passed into her room, detailing that the funeral of the elder would be moved back a few days later set things up. And to ensure her silence, I detailed that she was the few notified about the schedule change, the cut off the excess and to put her in a more favourable light with father when she would be one of the few who attended. 

"*You're a disgrace. To me, the family and the rest of the clan. There is not a single soul in the clan who would dare defend you or speak a word in your favor.*" He spoke calmly, but each syllable enunciated sent small shivers down my spine, as if someone had poured ice down my back. "*However,*" he stated, "*as your father, I will allow you to speak just this once. Defend yourself.*" This was expected, and under some other circumstances, might have toppled everything over. But my plan left no room for error; there was no excuse for her being led to be tricked by a simple note, and not ask for confirmation from someone else. 

My sister remained silent, finding a sudden interest in the floorboard of the room, apparently unwilling, or unable, to form a proper defense for herself. My father looked on her for a few more moments, then closed his eyes. "*Staying silent, even now... to think I raised such trash in my family.*" The last words were spat out. Slowly, the man opened his eyes, the orbs of blue illuminating through the darkness cast over his face, revealing the blue stained fissures of stress that formed on his skin. "*We have no need for your kind in our clan. You are hereby exiled from the Houki Clan. Effective immediately.*"

This was when my sister squirmed, shooting up in protest. "No! Wait, it wasn't my fault! A note told me that the funeral was m-"

Father's gaze hardened into a glare, his dark blue eyes cutting into like a spear impaling some common beast. "*So you took the word of an unknown piece of paper over mine?*" His voice was now a low rumble, and I found myself backing away slightly from the dor, as thin trails of electricity lined through it. This was the angriest I'd ever seen him, and even though I wanted to be nowhere near him when he finally did explode, a part of me wanted to see what would happen. Because I knew something _would_ happen.

"Bu-" My sister started...

*Boom!*

The chamber lit up in an explosion of blue and white. A sharp cry of pain pierced the halls, but quickly faltered away into a dull thud as my sister was flung across the room and into the wall. Through the new hole in the wall, my father emerged, his large silhouette towering over the collapsed body of my sister. "*Had I known you would turn into something like this, I would have killed you myself when you were born.*" Throwing a glance at my cousin, who had been silent the entire time but stood up in shock when father attacked, he said: "*Take her away.*" He ordered, then left. I took this as my cue, and left as well, not eager to challenge fate any more than I already had.


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## Chronos (Mar 2, 2014)

Ivery, Genji
​

The snow fields were engulfed with a white hue, among the lands stood a village wherein thousands were inhabiting, clothed with think cotton, their bands of their foreheads differed, as this was non other than the Yukigakure's market place, usually no one would ever think to come to this place for resource. Normally this is only used by the village, of course, it's a market place. But a lot of traffic arrives due to the jewelry sold here, artisans here are very experienced and although most of the prices are higher than in other stores, but that's the expense of quality, I suppose...

There, walked a young lad, Genji, one of the few members of the Ivery clan, who housed themselves on the pinnacle of the tallest mountain. They were secluded from the village although allied, due to their rather eccentric terms. But much like the other villages in the world, Ivery were regarded one of the most prominent of Yuki's forces, mainly due to their summoning technique, mostly all of the village man power would hail from them, as they would duplicate their strength with a Nymph of some kind. Genji however, decided not to partake in this ritual, which gained him infamy in the clan, which is also why his hair is dis-pigmented and turning white.

A sign in the clan's pact with the nymphs, honestly all with this are branded as heretics in the clan. The pact consists of each of the clan members with the ability, to summon themselves a nymph and become part of the clans inner circle of knights, however, Genji refused to do this. Evidently his tenaciousness over it was witnessed, and he was allowed to follow his own wishes, but along with it, disrespect and dishonor befell him. Which in truth it's not something that much matters to him, however, the village fails to recognize him as a true blood, and due to it, the pigment of his eyes are jaded hazel and the and his hair is beginning to turn white. 

"Heretic."

A voice calls him from the distance, turning, Genji returns the beckoning with a rise of his brow, while staring blankly at a young lady around a year older than him, a cousin to be exact. 

"Arya..." 

"I told you to meet me around the station. What were you doing?"

"Trying to get myself away from you as possible..." 

"We have an assignment!"

Turning his gaze to his front he continued his pace, beckoning Arya Ivery, his cousin, to follow behind him. She follows suit and reaches his side, while crossing her arms, her eyes portrayed a rather furious glare directly pointed towards Genji, who lazily just stared towards the distance, trying to avoid any contact with her stare. It was one of his peeves. Arya was around 5' foot large, unlike him she was able to summon, and had already reached Chuunin rank in the years she trained with her Nymph, Glacius. Unlike Genji, her hair was colored a fully blue, and her eyes were of sapphire. Demonstrating the pure nature of the Ivery.



"I know, I know. We're heading there directly. I don't want to take the station."

"You know how procedures work, we need to talk to the client first in order for them to know who we are."

"That's a hassle. The mission description was pretty obvious. There's a wild tiger on the loose and we're here to apprehend it. Better we finish the mission, bring him the corpse and we're done. Anything extra is just baggage."

"Don't be ignorant. The mission specification only gave us a slight insight about the mission in hand." 

"Don't care." 

"You stubborn...!!" 

"He lives too far away... He'll get mad and once he's in the building complaining we'll approach him with the remains."

"...That's troublesome." 

"It's less troublesome if you'd just chill out."

"Heretic to the end... You just like going against the norms. That mentality will get you killed." 

"Whatever."


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## Chronos (Mar 2, 2014)

Ivery Genji

Around of hour of working passed, while the two seems rather composed about the long trip, searching for the mountain bears location, Genji seemed to be much more clammed down that Arya herself, who had been exposing her discontent upon him, being very vocal about it too. Genji however, let her to her anger, and continued to walk the trail, they were already at the designated area, returning back to some boring procedure would simply delay their progress. And what's the worst that could happen? It's not like any of those things mattered. As long as the results were the same, success, then anything else was simply baggage. 

"Hey! I told you we needed that info! We would've found the tiger ages ago!"

"No we wouldn't have. It would've been the same time. He won't tell us specifics, he'll tell us what we already know. Something is attacking him, and he wants help. Shut up an pay attention."

"You goddamned heretic! I'm the chunnin here! Get you act together!!"

"Shhh!! You'll cause an avelanche with your screams..."

"He--"

Placing his hand on her mouth, mien rugged with annoyance, he places his finger on his lip, a nod ushered towards her, eyes glaring at hers. A sigh was released  by her part and she settled down. One thing was certain about Arya she didn't hold to her anger for too long, which was both a blessing and a curse. She was still a child, much like him, but her temperament about order was so extreme in Genji's eyes, that she ended up as an eyesore. 

"I could've dealt with this alone, you know? You didn't have to come."

"I was assigned."

"They don't assign help for heretics."

"They do if they're as stubborn and useless as you."

"I've already shown I'm capable as knight without a summoning. What makes them so sure I'll fail? Or are you simply here because you misjudge my ability?"

"Neither. You're just too hot-headed to understand that you can't possibly take on the world alone. That's what's family is for. We are a single forced composed of many, not a unit of lone-wolves. The clan leader will be disappointed in me if I don't take care of you."

"I don't care about either yours, or his merits for doing this. I recognize your skill as a member of the clan. But if you could butt out of my affairs, then that'll be swell as well, Arya."

"How can you be so ignorant?" 

Soon, upon reaching the valley, there stood the tiger, but accompanied by another, reports said that there's only one troubling the roads near the valley, what's this? Were they traveling for nourishment out in this area.

"Reports said nothing of this..."

"That's why we needed to talk to the contact."

"No... there must be something else. There wouldn't be snow tigers in this area of the valley in the first place. Anyway, this obviously in no job for a Genin. This scales the mission rank to at least C. So this is your territory now."

Genji turns, and waves to Arya, as if saying his goodbyes to her, she pulls his scarf and gets him closer to her proximity, angered she whispers so that the beast don't hear her

"Are you mad!? We can't just leave!"

"Of course you can't. I can. I accepted to capture or kill ONE tiger, not two. Under law, I can't do shit. You can however. So I'm returning back to the village." 

"Hey! Don't be an ass-"

"Hush now. If you want to do something about it, do it. If not then leave me be."

"You STUBBORN---" 

The tigers leaped from the shadows, readied to strike the unsuspected girl before them, as the first one's claws made it's way towards her neck, and arrow was shot, coursing through the air at dazzling speed, it was strong enough to push the tiger away, a straight shot to the head. Genji kicked, coursing through the snowy fields, soon as the other one leaped he, twisted his ankle, executed a 180 spin and connected his heel to the other tigers temple, a strike that caused it to roll uncontrollably to the side.

"...You just agitated them!"

"Your screaming did... I wanted to go back."

"We could've simply thrown our arrows at them and finished this quicker!"

"No... not really..."

Another the size of three, probably four other tiger came into vision, growling in anger after witnessing the death of its companion. Teeth exposed readied to strike. "Your perception skills suck..."


----------



## Chronos (Mar 2, 2014)

Ivery, Genji

Both of them kicked the earth beneath them, Genji somersaulting above the creature, while Arya went beneath it and bit the tip of her thumb, the tigers eyes followe Genji, the smaller one took the initiative and leaped alongside Genji, matching his height, meanwhile Arya had positioned herself where she wanted under the large beast. A flicker of chakra sourced from her center, a glint and a swing of her arm, pounding the creature under in it's gut, she expelled all her power into it, using the surface of the creature to summon her Nymph...

"Glacius!!" 

Soon with the puff of smoke veiled them both and out of the veil rocketed the beast with the summoning beneath it, striking it with a powered kick, right were Arya had connected her arm. Soon a flip and he landed behind Arya, standing imposingly. While all this occurred, Genji, had twisted his body and had landed an arrow on the lesser tiger. Soon as it lost it maneuverability in the air, he quickly positioned himself, turning while he closed in, twisting his hips causing the weight of his body to twist, turn and soon as swing and it plummeted towards the ground, crashing and bleeding out while Genji witnessed the other larger creature fly out of the set puff of smoke. 

"Impressive... Very much so." 

"Glacius!"

"Right!" 

A breath was released from Genji, pumping the blood of his body, he followed behind the formation that Glacius. Glacius, Arya summoning, a male Nymph. Although that variation in it of itself it's weird, the male counterpart are a bit different, weaker to be exact, their molecular structure differs as they are the result of a combination of Ivery and Nymph blood. However, still exponentially stronger than the Ivery. They live among the Nymphs, trained under their rule. Hair of blue, armored to the bone in clad armor, blades in his back, a perfect portrayal of a knight.



While Glacius pulled one of his blades, Arya was positioned herself on the right, while Genji spearheaded towards the middle, Glacius threw the blade towards the sky, while Arya mad dashed towards the beast, slamming her knee to the side of the beast, causing him to be distorted, loose his footing, leaping towards the sky, Genji threw his bow aside and gripped the blade, gravity took it's toll, pulling Genji closer to the beast, soon throwing the blade to the center of its head, impaling it, the creature soon fell.

"Jeez... We could've saved a lot of trouble. Don't say anything... let's go home."


----------



## Sumon (Mar 2, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure*

Juice dripped down Aoshi’s chin as he kept on chewing this luscious apple. With one hand behind his head, he threw away what was left of the apple and took a new one from his pocket. That apple too was quite s juicy one. The boy rubbed it a little bit and ate it like a hungry animal. As soon as he finished the second and final apple he had had, Aoshi could already feel the energy back in his system running through his veins. What power he had lost was almost all recuperated, so it didn’t take long for him to jump back on his feet. 

He was almost ready for some training. Only one thing was left to do beforehand. Aoshi stepped forward a few feet and got on his knees in front of the pond. Holding both hands palms up above crystal clear pond, he scooped a bit of cold water and washed his sticky face in quick motion. It felt good. The boy wiped his face with a sleeve and stood up with pants around knees area being wet and sandy. Aoshi roughly brushed the pants and little bit of sand just fell off. He took off a green scarf off his neck, kicked off his sandals and folded navy long sleeved shirt nearby his feet exposing his quite white skin to the sun. He was ready now.

The boy stood in firm position facing the pond. His feet were shoulder-width apart and just inches away from the water. With eyes closed he was taking deep breaths. (Breathing was one of the most important things when performing jutsu. One has to always be breathing if he wants to execute a technique to its fullest potential. ) Aoshi stretched his hands for a second before locking them together in front of his chest. “Hmmm.” - he mumbled trying to concentrate. He was trying to be as calm as old folks fishing nearby. Concentration and calmness was the key to the trick that he was about to perform. Water walking it was. By sending chakra on his feet, Aoshi would be able to walk on the water. Of course, he would have to keep his chakra flow pure hence the absolute need to be calm.

Aoshi opened his eyes and his pupils shrunk. He concentrated larger than usual amount of chakra on his feet. It was noticeable by hardly seen light blue colour coming from them. He relaxed his hands and stepped on the water slowly. A huge grin appeared on his face. The trick had worked! Aoshi was standing strong on the water!  Being observant in classes and paying attention at chakra control had really paid off. Aoshi could hardly hide his joy. He had learnt something new and it wasn’t even half as hard as he thought it would be. The answer behind this quick success was simple. The boy had used a similar trick before, though it didn’t require such precise chakra control: whenever Aoshi jumped from one tree branch to another, he would always send more chakra on his feet. 

Feeling more confident, arrogance had started kicking in. Aoshi took another step, followed by one more immediately afterwards. Few moments later he was already walking on the water quite freely while feeling like the king of the world. Not for long, though. The boy ducked a little bit and stretched his hands backwards preparing for a big jump. But as he was about to jump, he released the chakra from his feet and went down instead of up. That took Aoshi by surprise. Being completely underwater, he splashed a couple of times and regained his focus before getting his head above the water. Having looked around, he saw the gramps had risen from their seats on their boat looking at Aoshi. They got scared for a second that he was drowning. Luckily for both parties, that wasn’t the case, so both grandparents just laughed and sat back.

Aoshi shook his head splashing water all around. He concentrated chakra on his left hand and leaned with it against the water. With upper body being out of the water, the boy then sent a bigger amount of chakra at his right knee and feet, and got his lower body out of the water too. Once again concentrating chakra on his feet, he was standing strong once again. **Clap, clap, clap** the boy was given applause by the old folks. They were impressed by the boy. Aoshi just raised his hand to show the appreciation for support and started walking. With every second he would slightly increase his speed. He wanted to be able to walk freely and eventually be running on the water without putting too much thought into it. He spent 20more minutes on the water before taking his stuff from the shore and heading back to the village. It was crazy productive training session and a great start to the day for sure.


----------



## Island (Mar 2, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Borderlands*

_“There is no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pressures have been destroyed. But always – do not forget this, Hyuuga Aki – there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of your future, your destiny, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”_ - Unknown










​
“Do you think that this is some kind of game?” She spat.

“A _joke_, even?” She emphasized for greater effect.

She stood with her sandal flat on a young man’s face, applying more and more pressure until she heard yelp in agony. After a couple seconds, she let off, giving him a moment of reprieve. Then, suddenly, she slammed her foot back down, and the shinobi let out an agonizing cry. The young woman did not even flinch, however, completely immune to the cries of her victim. Her face remained blank, with lifeless eyes and a dull, empty expression. Her movements appeared robotic, systematic, even, as though she was automated to repeated crunch down on this poor man’s face every couple seconds, listen for him to cry out, wait for those cries to silence, and then repeat the process, over and over again.

With the man’s face bloodied, his lips busted and his nose bleeding and twisted, the young woman appeared satisfied with the results. She kneeled down and spoke coldly at him, “There is no refugee here, no reprieve from war. We do not have food for the hungry, medicine for the sick, or even beds for the weary, especially not for the likes of you, enemies of the state, assassinations, infiltrators, saboteurs, terrorists even. For you, there is only anguish, sorrow, suffering, and then, once I am finished with you, you will rot in an unmarked grave, bleeding out out and suffering in your final moments, begging whatever gods or goddesses you worship for that sweet reprieve, a deliverance from what I am about to do to you.”

In truth, Konohagakure knew that these passage used by refugees from wartorn towns and villages from beyond the Land of Fire, by hungry peasants looking to find asylum in the only country that had yet to be ravaged by the horrors of war. Still, Konohagakure suspected that foreign powers, specifically the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, sent spies through here to infiltrate the Land of Fire, launching terrorist attacks on strategic positions, usually bridges, forts, roads, walls, and other military assets. In order to combat this threat, the village sent squads to intercept caravans and interrogate would-be immigrants. For the most part, those fleeing from enemy states were simply turned away, but sometimes, they were arrested, interrogated, and most likely released on the border. Thus far, no spies had been ever discovered…

“Now tell me,” she whispered sweetly into his ear, “Who are you, and what is your purpose here in the Land of Fire?

“Tell me _everything_.” She commanded.

“I-I…” the man stammered, blood leaking from his mouth as he spoke, “I’m just… a farmer… my f-farm… my f-family… gone…”

“Wrong answer.” She stated, returning to a standing position and delivering a sharp kick to his stomach.

The man gasped aloud as the breath left his chest. Then, he began choking, spitting up blood until he finally heaved all over the grass.

“Would you like to try again?” She asked politely.

“I-I-I r-really am t-telling the t-truth!” He stuttered, visibly shaken and unable to make eye contact with his attacker.

“That’s… unfortunate.” She frowned.

“N-No!” The man’s eyes widened. “P-Please! I’ll do anything you want! Please!”

“There is nothing-” She began.

“Aki-san, _stop this_.” Somebody interrupted.

The young woman, Hyuuga Aki, turned to face the man who addressed her. She recognized this man as the head of the patrol, a young jounin, only a few years older than she was. He wore a traditional green flak jacket with a blue undershirt and the Land of Fire’s emblem embroidered onto his left shoulder. The young man adjusted the forehead protector that he wore atop his head, speaking as he did so, “Let him go.”

“…” Hyuuga Aki fell silent.

“Yes, sir.” She finally answered.


----------



## Bringer (Mar 2, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

Ryu stared intently at the wall, he's been doing so for the past four hours. His blinds were closed not allowing any sunlight to enter the room, meaning the only thing illuminating the simple bedroom was a single candle. Despite his status as a prince, his room was completely ordinary looking, for he had no interest in superficial things. All he needed was a bed, a chair, and a desk. This has been life for Ryu for the last few years.

It wasn't because he was forced to live like this... he simply chose to. He had no interest in meeting people, which in his defense he didn't know how. His only friend growing up was his sister, and he never hung out with other kids due to his parents. Sure his sister was far too busy for him now, but nothing stopped him from going out and meeting people anymore. Ryu Reikon was simply a cageless bird who refused to fly.

The young prince closed his eyes tight as his door opened, and light flooded the room. After regaining his vision he stared at the servant who timidly walked in, her warm brown eyes briefly glancing at the prince's before retreating to the floor. Why was she here? He's already had breakfast and lunch, and required nothing else. Furthermore he already had his mandatory training for the day.

"Kahi, what do you want." The onix eyed prince spoke; his words carrying his trademark monotone voice. 

Kahi hesitated for a bit before stating her business.

"Y-You're sister asked me to come check on you... she's really worried." The shy girl stuttered.

This piqued Ryu's interest, his sister who was too busy to give him the time of day was worried about him? How cute...

"Why is she worried?" He asked the servent.

Once again Kahi hesitated.

"A-Are you asking why y-you're sister is worried? You're family." She answered the question, knowing fully that wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"Yes." Ryu replied, completely ignoring the last part of what she had just said.

He would've have looked the servant right in the eye if it wasn't for the fact she was staring at the floor.

"Your behavio-" She stopped as the prince spoke up.

"My behavior has been the same for years." He interrupted.

Ryu interruption caused the servant to take a few steps back, even though his voice was tame and lacked any malice. Seeing how Kahi had no intention pushing the subject any further, the detached prince opened a new one.

"Kahi... as a servant of the royal family, would you give your life for either me or my sister?" He questioned. 

Finally the servant looked up, meeting Ryu in the eye and immediately answered with an random outburst of vigor. 

"O-Of course! It is my duty to serve both you and your sister! I will heed any command either one of you give for it is my sole purpose in life!" She firmly stated with lots of vigor.

He mused about what she said for moments, and then pulled out a kunai, outstretching his arms in a attempt to give it to her.

"Then let's test that loyalty. Kill yourself... now." He commanded.

All that kindle was gone, it turns out after all she was all talk. 

"A-Are y-you serious?" She stuttered as she could not believe what he had just requested.

The prince put the kunai away before responding.

"Of course not. It was a joke. Wasn't it funny?" He dryly said. 

These words combined with Ryu's monotone delivery left a chill in Kahi's spine. The boy stood from his seat, causing the servant to once again take a few steps back. 

"However I still wish for you to prove your loyalty... hmm... in what way can you do that?" He pondered this for mere seconds.

"Ah I know. Remove your clothing." Ryu spoke, his delivery once again dry and devoid of any emotion.

Kahi paused; her body trembling like a leaf as her eyes watered. 

"Well?" He uttered.

Slowly but surely, the servant's arms began to move towards her garments, however they were shaking in the process. At this point he was content with her loyalty, and was just about to tell her to stop-

"Darling have you informed prince Ryu about the queen's request of an audience with him?" The new voice questioned.

The prince turned to the other servant who had just entered his open door, more specifically Kahi's father. Kahi's father went by the name Sabanto, and he was a excellent servant and a kind man. He was actually the only servant who didn't think Ryu was a complete nutjob. 

Shortly after Sabanto asked another question. "What's going on here?"

The prince replied bluntly. "I was merely testing your daughters loyalties."

Ryu began to walk out the door.

"Tell my sister I will meet with her shortly, as of right now I need some fresh air." He informed.

Walking at a slow pace the young prince made it through corridors and hallways, navigating through the large stone palace that stood on top of a mountain until finally he reached the large stone doors that led to outside the palace, Upon opening it he was met with a strong breeze. Ryu inhaled and then exhaled as he walked out the palace.  Staring at the wall was getting boring, so from time to time the bored prince would hike around the mountain. As he walked he noticed there was a bird on the ground. It was twitching, and obviously injured. It probably flew into the palace or something. 

"How unfortunate." Ryu stated.

His delivery was once again monotone. The prince walked away from the bird only to return with a giant rock.

"If I don't kill you, then you'll simply suffer.  Don't worry... it'll be quick. This is how life works." The prince explained.

He lifted the rock high up into the air.

"And life is cruel." He muttered to the bird.

The prince slammed the rock downwards; instantly killing the injured bird.


----------



## Sumon (Mar 3, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure*

Back at home Aoshi approached a huge building in the very centre of Hidden Mist village. The entrance was guarded by two ninjas wearing chuunin vests. The boy just nodded at their direction and entered the building. There were stairs everywhere. Aoshi started climbing the stairs. People rushing up and down while carrying boxes of documents, they bumped into the boy. “Sorry” – some said while the others just pretended to not have seen the boy. Everyone was keeping themselves busy during the war time. Hardly anyone had a free day nowadays. And neither did Aoshi. He was at that place to take a mission.

Upstairs the boy knocked on a heavy wooden door. It wasn’t completely closed. Room 29 it was. “Come in!” – strong sound came from behind the doors. Having the authority to enter room 29, Aoshi pushed on the door with his forearm. **Krrhrhr** squeaking sound echoed through the corridor as the door was rubbing against the wooden floor. He pushed the door once again but this time much harder so he would be over this annoying sound faster. When it was half open, a strong beam of light came from the other side of the door and lit the dark corridor. Aoshi’s eyes twitched because of such sudden light change and the boy impulsively covered his eyes with another hand. He gently entered the room and turned around and did 360 closing the door behind him in the same motion.

Inside was quite spacious: high ceiling with wide columns supporting it, so much unused space and a balcony with a view to the village. And despite all the free space inside, the room hardly had any furniture. There was only one desk and one chair next to it with a man’s bottom on it. A fresh out of academy genin could get a bit intimidated by such view. But not Aoshi. He exactly knew what he came for. After taking a deep breath, he started walking slowly towards the desk with his back straight as a string. 

“Hello, good sir. My name is Shinomori Aoshi” Words came out of the boy’s mouth as he had approached the desk with a tall but lean man behind it, who had just scratched his long white beard which he didn’t have time to shave in recent times. The man wasn’t Mizukage himself, just some high ranking Kiri ninja. The whitebeard man signalled with his hand for Aoshi to speed up, the day had just started and there was already tons of work to be done. “I’m here on this fine day to receive a mission.” The boy continued with his introduction politely. He figured if he was sweet and confident, he wouldn’t get some crappy irrelevant mission.

“Well, well, aren’t you sweet?” The man laughed off as soon as Aoshi had finished talking. The man looked to his right at a huge pile of documents, then to his left at even bigger pile of another set of documents. “Oh yeah, here it is.” – the whitebeard handed Aoshi a piece of paper with writing in black ink.  “Since you are so confident in yourself, go to the south to Botanical garden and bring back a package. A map to the garden and additional information you will find in that paper. Now be gone and leave through the balcony. That door will only give me a headache!” The whitebeard was clearly irritated by the squeaking door and waved aside towards the balcony. Without further ado Aoshi stormed out of room 29 and jumped down from the room’s balcony with a piece of paper in his hand. The balcony was only on the second floor, so Aoshi landed on the ground pretty safe. Upon landing the boy brushed off dust from his clothes and gave the paper a read. It said that he was to bring antidote capable of curing many poisons. Aoshi was overjoyed. He imagined that getting a hard mission was pretty much impossible since he still was “green”. And the one he did get was quite important despite it being only rank D. 

Aoshi folded the piece of paper and put it into his pocket. He fixed his backpack and checked if there were any ninja tools in his kunai holder and pouch. “Time to go...”


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Mar 3, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha*

___________​
Ren made his way to the training grounds slowly, the front gates creaking open as he entered. A few training logs and dummies were scattered around, as they always were, but the space was completely deserted, though not devoid of noise or sound. A small gust blew across the area, causing the surrounding trees to sway and the leaves to scatter into the sky in a whirl of greens and yellow. He took a moment to breathe in, and then exhaled. "Damn, where the hell is she?" He grumbled aloud, his blue eyes scanning in the dark corners of the trees, among the branches, behind the bark or in the bushes - this wouldn't, after all, be the first time he'd been ambushed by someone. But after a good few minutes of looking, Ren finally concluded that she wasn't here, giving another sigh.

"Well, maybe it's not _all_ bad. Without that woman interrupting me, maybe I can get some training out of the way first." He stated, extending his right arm and looping it through his left with a stretch. Reaching into the pouch attached to his side, two kunai were produced and rapidly sliced across the air, towards a nearby training dummy. Upon the throw, Ren's own body blurred into a smoke of motion, appearing behind the dummy as the kunai were mid-throw. Bringing his right arm behind his left shoulder, a small ball of electricity charged on the tip of his index finger, a faint cackle rippling through the air.

"*Thunder Pearl.*" Twistig his body around, Ren extended his arm and finger towards the dummy just as the kunai hit, a bright flash flaring from the ball just before a beam of lightning shot out, piercing the wooden training dummy through the neck, a small ring singing around where the jutsu struck and pierced. With a dull thud, he landed, then moved to examine his handiwork. A few weeks ago, it had barely been able to pierce through the outer layer of the wood. "Acceptable." He nodded.


----------



## River Song (Mar 3, 2014)

*Isla Callerio*
_Not a hostel._

_The clock ticked, echoing throughout the silent room. There were 4 sets of beady eyes behind Isla, waiting as if to pounce on their prey.  The aforementioned prey was asleep, cuddling into a soft almost indistinguishable figure, a complete contrast to the rough contours of the mans body, this girl was thin and almost sickly looking.

The clock ticked again. 

A ninja must be a master of timing, a concept Isla was coming to terms with, but she knew know was the time. Now was when they killed. Isla raised her right hand above her head, an action that in it radiated control, and with the slightest flick of her wrist the sign was given, and anarchy took over..._

The four beady eyes of her brothers widened as they all ran towards the sleeping couple, each with an evil glint in their eyes. They quickly approached the bed, their thinly disguised sniggering causing the duo to turn in their sleep.  And within the spac of a second a bucket of water appeared from behind one of the boys backs, and in the space of another second it was thrown at the bed.

*SPLASH*

The two people?s reactions were as different as their physiques. The man, Isla?s brother, gave out a roar while the feminine shape, now a distinctly blonde girl, gave out a shriek and pulled the duvet up around her neck.

? Mornin? love birds. Mako, you know it?s rude to bring home a girl and not introduce her, but while she?s here she can help you milk the cows, which you are 40 minutes late for by the way.?

Isla raised her eyebrow at her brother, as if daring him to complain. Mako leaned forward and opened his mouth, as if to retort but seemed to think better of it and angrily pulled himself out of back, pushing past his brothers on the way to the bathroom. Satisfied with the result she turned her attention towards Blondie, who was chuckling away to herself. Isla looked her up and down before, which caused the girl to squirm a little under her gaze and pull the covers even tighter.

? I wasn?t kidding.?

?But I don?t know how to milk a cow!?

?It?s not all dissimilar than what you were doing last night, but I guess I won?t subject the cows to you. But you?re going to have to pay us back somehow; we don?t run a hostel here. Grab the bucket actually, my mum could use some help cleaning that paths.?

She smiled at the blonde girl and turned, making towards the door before turning towards her lingering brothers.

?And all you perverts can get the fuck out.?


----------



## Fedster (Mar 3, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

Someone moaned in pain from the room next to Yuno's. It was her grandmother, who was already having trouble to start the day. Yuno was already wide awake, but stayed in bed for a long while as it was her custom, deep in thought. She would tucked herself up to the chin, and cuddle her pillow beneath it. And today it was no exception. She would daresay that today, she was more distracted than usual.

The reason?

Today, Ryuushi Yuno's fear would come true; she would graduate from the Ninja Academy.

The girl had been delaying that moment as much as she could, while most of her classmates were desperate to receive their headband and bring glory to Konoha. If only her father would have objected. He was a Jounin, and maybe he could have said that she was not apt for battle...But he did not. He stayed quiet, and watched how his only child was enrolled at the Acad-

"Argh! Yuno!" Her thoughts were interrupted by her grandmother's howl. The pain seemed more acute that time, and she could not ignore it. She stood up and went to the adjacent room. After opening the door, she saw her mother's mother, with her long, silver hair spreading like a fan on the sides of her head. Her narrowed eyes denoted the pain she was going through. Yuno opened the nightstand's drawer without saying a word to her. She took a pill from a flask and made her grandmother took it with a glass of water she often kept on that nightstand.

"Thanks, my dear." The woman said, relaxing her features. "I couldn't even open the drawer..."

"It looks like it's getting worse and worse..." Her grandmother muttered, with clear worry on her voice.

"It was just this time, Yu-chan. Some days the pain is stronger than other days. But nothing I can bear." The lie was obvious, and it did not reassure the girl that her grandmother was proggressing in her treatment.

"But if I'm not here those days, or father, what will be of you?" Checkmate. The old woman could not answer that question. "If only I could delay my graduation more..."

"Yu-chan." The woman called with more energy than before. Yuno came to a stop and looked her in the eyes. Her voice softened afterwards. "If you promise me to come back from wherever they send you, I'll promise you that I won't die."

"W-we can't make a promise like th-!"

"Please!" Her voice started to break, and tears started to build up on her eyes. "Promise me you'll come back. Even if you have to lie to me." She was not pretending to be strong anymore. Or pretending at all. The only thing Yuno could do was hug her tightly and say:

"I promise...I'll return."


----------



## Sumon (Mar 3, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure.*
_On a mission:_
*Spoiler*: __ 



*Name:* Runnin’ low
*Rank:* D
*Assigned to:* Shinomori Aoshi
*Description:* Those bastards! You know what? Those puppeteers are cowards! Using them poisons! Soon we won’t be able to abolish it as there is hardly any antidote left. Aoshi, our young ninja, travel quite far to the south and enter Botanical garden there. You will be given a package to bring back to the village as fast as possible. Do your best, our villagers’ lives depend on you! Go now, quick!
*Reward:* 8000 ryo



Time passed by as Aoshi walked south through a forest. He was already quite far from Kirigakure. His grey eyes were looking all around the area trying to spot an enemy if there was any. You could never be too safe during war time. His pace was steady and he was in no rush to get to botanical garden whatsoever. He had figured he’d better preserve his strength in case the worst happened. Aoshi would not want to fight dangerous people tired as it would mean a sudden death for the boy.

Suddenly, Aoshi stopped. He had reached a sign signalling a road fork ahead. That raised a question which way to go. He took a folded paper from his pocket and placed it on the ground after unfolding it. There was a map to the botanical garden. The boy studied the map for half a minute but he couldn’t spot any road forks drew in it. Ultimately, he put the map back into his pocket and made a decision to go left. Both roads had looked identical, so it came down to which side he prefers more. 

Everything was going good for the boy until he spotted a familiar tree. He could swear he had already passed it minutes ago. It was out of the ordinary oak with a huge hole in its trunk and strange symbols all around it. There were some bird traps too on its branches. There was no way more than one tree like that existed in this forest. Suspicions started arising inside the boy’s head and paranoia began kicking in. He clenched his right fist and kept it near kunai holder on his leg while putting his left hand on his backpack’s strap in case he had to drop it quickly in order to reduce his weight and move more freely. Aoshi was all alone with no one watching his back, he would have to take every tiny advantage he had if he wanted to make out alive. 

Few more steps and for the third time in past 10 minutes there was the same oak in front of the boy. What Aoshi had feared the most actually happened, he had encountered enemy. And to make matters worse, he was already in one ninja’s Genjutsu technique. “Show yourself, coward!” A strong Aoshi’s voice aided through the forest as he turned around and drew melee kunai from kunai holder. He kept the kunai near his chest so he could protect the most vital organs. “If you’re not coming out, I’ll come to you!” Aoshi meant what he had said and dropped his backpack on the ground. He then formed a few hand seals and clapped his hands together with kunai in between them. 

“KAI!” A small man figure appeared 30 metres away from Aoshi as soon he had used Kai technique. Its purpose was to break enemy’s genjutsu technique, something that Aoshi had just successfully done. He glanced around to see if there was anyone else around. Unable to spot more people, he gave a closer look to the mysterious figure and started analyzing him. It was a thief boy with dirty clothes and oily hair, one maybe two years older than Aoshi. The thief looked extremely exhausted and weak as if he had been starving for days. Aoshi couldn’t help but laugh, the thief was hardly a threat. Aoshi made a conclusion that the thief would often use Genjutsu on bypassing people and steal from them after they become mentally and physically exhausted from going in circles in the same place.

Aoshi started moving forward towards the thief very slowly, who didn’t expect for his target to break the genjutsu. Panicking, the thief got on his knees and started begging for forgiveness: “Please, mister, I’ve never intended to hurt you. I’m just really hungry. Spare me, please!”  Sorrows were pouring down his dirty face. Even though he was older, he sure as hell didn’t look like it. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” Aoshi answered trying to calm the thief. Upon reaching him, Aoshi put a hand on his bony shoulder and handed some old nuts that he could find in his pocket. Weren’t much but it made the thief much happier person. “Thanks!” He shouted overjoyed like a little kid, wiping his tears and eating all the nuts immediately. Aoshi had just made the thief’s day, until...

**BAM!* *

The thief opened his eyes, they were red and tense. He could feel frost embracing his body. The thief touched his stomach with his hands and felt something wet. He looked down and saw a kunai deep in his stomach with blood dripping from the wound like crazy. “...Why?” The thief mumbled silently with the last energy he had. The only thing he had wanted before moving on was an answer from his killer. 

“Because trashes like you don’t deserve to exist on this over populated world.” Aoshi said with a grin on his face and kicked to the side of the thief’s head, making him fall on his side. Aoshi spat on the thief and walked away from him. The last thing the thief had seen was Aoshi’s back disappearing on the horizon in a shiny white light.


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## Island (Mar 3, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
_?White hair. Blue eyes. Pale skin. Cocky smile. Wearing a collared button down with dark pants. Also wearing a forehead protector.?_ Hyuuga Aki analyzed. _?Conclusion: Genin. Appears to be moderately skilled and uses a technique that I am unfamiliar with. Possibly part of a thus far unidentified clan with an unknown kekkei genkai. Worth approaching? Genin may respond openly, but his overconfident demeanor suggests that he may challenge me to battle. Significant threat of killing him.?_

The young woman rested upon a tree branch on the outskirts of the training field, just beyond the open space where shinobi would spar with one another. She stayed under the cover of darkness, up against the tree trunk where branches higher up shadowed her from the outside world. There, she observed the various shinobi who made their way in and out of the training grounds, some arriving with friends, others, like the white-haired boy, coming alone.

Just a few days ago, Aki returned from her post on the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. Since then, she enjoyed some peace and quiet, going for long walks through the outskirts of the village and periodically stopping at the training grounds to practice her skills, and of course, get an idea of what her fellow shinobi were up to. Logically, it made sense to keep tabs on both her allies and her enemies, as yesterday?s allies could just as easily be today?s enemies and vice versa.

_?Presently an ally.?_ She continued.

_?A weak ally,?_ she went on, ?_But an ally nevertheless._?

_?Would make fairly short work of him if he ever defected,?_ Aki concluded.

_?Might be enjoyable to wipe that smug look off his face, though.?_


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## Fedster (Mar 3, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

The streets were calm in Konohagakure. A slight breeze blew, messing with people's hair and drifting leaves and papers into the air. And there was Yuno, dressed in sufficiently loose trousers, a long-sleeve, white turtleneck undershirt beneath a grey v-neck shirt, and sandals. To top it off, her bow, Tori no Uta, was resting on a quiver behind her back, hanging on a strap. Since she did not have the guts to fight in close-quarters, her sensei suggested to his father that she should have, quote, 'a weapon to kill from afar.'

_'To kill...'_ Those words resounded in her mind like an echo. She was only fourteen, and they already considered her a killing machine. And once the graduation was over, they would send her, along with dozens of former students, to kill people from other villages. And for _what_?

Yuno stopped on her tracks. Why couldn't have she lived in a time of peace, where no harm from outside could reach her? Why did she have to become a ninja? One person couldn't possibly make the difference between winning and losing. And still...They took her away from what she knew, trained her from scratch, and despite all her efforts, they considered her qualified to end people's lives.

"I just...Wanted to live..." She muttered to herself, in an almost inaudible voice. She did not notice her fist was clenched, and that she was biting her lower lip. But after a moment, she became self-conscious, and returned to her quiet, small self.

___________________________________________

The graduation was short, but not sweet. The sensei told them to make Konohagakure proud, and to remember the Will of Fire that lived within them. After that, the deployment started. Some were sent to the battlefield effective immediately. Others to patrol the borders and immigration-control. A third group to the camps and towns in Konoha's control...

"...And Desa Yuno. I mean, Ryuushi Yuno!" The sensei corrected himself, but it was too late. He got it wrong _all_ the time, and every time, everyone would laugh, looking at her mockingly. _'Why do they have to be like this?'_

"Well, the fourth group is to stay in Konoha until further notice." He said, and a beacon of hope shone over Yuno. She wouldn't go to war yet. In fact, there was the possibility that the war would end soon, and therefore, she wouldn't even have to see the battlefield.

As soon as graduation was over, she sped off to her house, and for the first time in her whole life, she let out tears of joy, and a bright smile decorated her face.


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha*

___________​
Though it was often called a 'flaw' of his, Ren had always considered his sense of caution and paranoia to be one of his merits instead. In his opinion, it was a valuable skill; especially in a cutthroat clan like his own, and during a time of war where nobody could be trusted. Therefore, it didn't come to much of a surprise to him when he detected a girl hidden in the trees, observing him. Walking over to the front of the dummy to collect his kunai, his blue eyes slowly glanced at the trees she had hid herself in.

_"Brown hair, pale skin. Medium but light build, with a long looking weapon attached to her back - probably close quarters fighter. The slight silver glow on her forehead is probably a forehead protector. Another Genin, maybe?"_ Ren analyzed, finally removing his kunai, pushing his index and middle fingers through the holes at the end of the handle and twirling them around in his hand. "You know," Ren turned, to look at the tree the girl had hid herself in, "it's considered rude to spy on people." With a flick of his hand, the young man snapped the weapons into a reverse grip in his hand.

"Show yourself." He said coolly, his bright blue eyes hardening into a glare.


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## Cjones (Mar 4, 2014)

_**The Prodigy Rita Mordio**_

?Subject is currently at rest. Heart rate: forty bpm (beats per minute). Body temperature is thirty-seven degrees Celsius. Blood pressure is one-twenty over eighty. Finally, respiratory rate comes in at fourteen bpm (breaths per minute. All vitals are stable; subject is in peak physical condition.?  A masculine voice boomed off an intercom connected to a computer panel.  A flurry of types rang against the panel as slim fingers, belonging to a young female, where gliding on top the keyboard. A thirty-four inch monitor displayed numerous strings of numbers, raw data, that only the most erudite could process and turn into coherent information. Everything displayed on this screen was collected from the past three months, all of it on the monster of Iwakgaure, her weapon. Multitudinous factors and variables were covered in this experiment ranging from battle instincts, response time, ninjutsu capabilities, physical might and interactions with others. All ground was covered to answer a very simple question.

What is the perfect weapon?

It is a question that has plagued the brilliant mind behind the development of this weapon for many years. Does the ultimate weapon not require any sleep? One would think yes, for a weapon that requires no sleep can forever stay on patrol, fully aware of its surroundings, but such a development is unnatural and almost impossible unless it?s inorganic and such technology is non-existent. Is the perfect weapon a being unfit for emotion? Emotions are the rawest of feelings, a natural instinctive of the mind, something that has led to the downfall of the most powerful of men because of their inability to cast aside this part of themselves; to look at the bigger picture that laid before them. Still, there are cases supported by unarguable data that emotions can also allow one to push themselves to perform miracles, pushing the body to the utmost in order to perform far beyond its ability even when embraced by death. 

?So many variables, so many factors, arguments and data supporting both the positive and negative?just how will you develop?? 

A slim finger slid across a key board and to black button, a sudden light sounding screech reverberated from out the speaker the finger twitching in response to the noise, before it completely disappeared and replaced by the sound of rustling. 

?S-sorry ma?am, h-how can I help you??

??Put Nori on, now.? Her voice was gruff and slightly masculine. A brief amount of time passed before a younger woman was speaking from the other side.

?Rita-sama just how may I be of service?? Eloquent with her words with a hidden irritation, a stark contrast to Rita who was very frank. 

?Is it time yet??

?Yes my lady, they?ll be calling soon. Is there anything else I can help you with??

?The incident during battle simulation #120, have you found out how it occurred??

???.No, but all evidence points toward an outside job. I discovered that the powder used in the bombs were a particular brand only used by the Howling Voice Guild. Unfortunately, being what they are, it?s nearly impossible to found out who they were hired by or what operative it was that managed to infiltrate the facility.?

?Howling Voice huh? That?s all I need.?

?Y-?

Rita abruptly cut her off while raising from her that rolled out from behind her. The silent room quickly filled with the clicks of her heels colliding the steel floor as she walked up toward a giant glass tube melded into the ground and the rooftop, a sun roof up above allowed a spectrum of light to shine through. In the middle of the glass tube laid a person in the bed unmoving. A tall figure dressed in long gold cloak with white trim, long midnight colored hair covered the face while it flowed down the sides of the table like an endless abyss. Slowly approaching the glass her fingers began to glow each with kanji written on them before laying her hand on the glass. Her fingers seared the glass before it began to descend into the ground below.

_?It?s time to wake up?Retsu.?_

There were no spoken words between the two as Rita began to turn on her heel with the sway of her coat. The being that lay atop the table was already on its feet, with no wasted movement, before Rita could even fully turn around and was methodically walking behind her. A soulless expression that stared straight ahead, a shadow so black that all light was engulfed in its wake while even overtaking darkness itself. The pair walked silently before reaching a door to exit the room. The door swung open illuminating the entire room with the sun outside, it was time to move out.

_?Offspring you know what you must do, the order is simply, show them why you, Retsu Wakahisa, are the holder of Chomei, why you?re called the monster of Suna and Iwagkaure!?_ 

The beast awakens. 

​​


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## Island (Mar 4, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
?Hmph.? Aki huffed.

The kunoichi leapt down from her position in the treetops and landed softly in the open grass several feet away. She began walking forward in the direction of the young shinobi. She looked him over, crunching numbers and calculating probabilities in her head, all the while thinking to herself, _?Round head? Hair shaped like a bowl? Should inquire further.?_

She addressed the young man. ?Do you pick a bowl from the dishes at random, place it on your head, and then cut your hair or do you have one preselected for haircuts??

?Alternatively,? she postulated, ?How did you convince any respectable stylist to commit such a crime against good taste??


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha*

___________​
"_White eyes. A Byakugan. So she *is* a close quarters fighter._" Ren observed, then rolled his eyes. 

Out of date robes even for the Hyūga clan, coupled with a gaudy trinket around her neck. This person was insulting _his_ appearance? "I'm not looking for fashion advice from someone who looks like she came out of a wardrobe from a hundred years ago. Maybe you should sell that cheap looking thing around your neck and invest in a mirror."

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Ren continued, "I'm busy working on something. If you can stop your worthless provocations, you can feel free to use your Byakugan and show yourself out."


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## Island (Mar 4, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
The young woman?s right eye twitched slightly, so subtly that unless one was standing right in front of her, the involuntary spasm would probably go unnoticed. Despite this, she retained her apathetic demeanor, simply stating, ?Sufficient retort.?

?I was here first.? She answered. ?You are the one who should leave.?

She continued her analysis, _?Lanky. Small. Probably has little to no physical stamina and even less physical strength. Cleverness is typically a sign of intelligence, though it is unknown whether this intelligence is actually applied to anything. Likewise, it is unknown whether or not he is knowledgeable enough or experienced enough to put that intelligence to good use.?_

?_If he has any redeeming qualities at all,_? she concluded, _?It would probably Ninjutsu, given his use of Lightning Release. Might also be skilled in Taijutsu given the nature of that ?Thunder Pearl? technique. Nintaijutsu specialist? Possibly.?_


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
"_As I recall, didn't the Hyūga fight bare handed with jūken? If that's the case... why does she have that sword? To show off, perhaps? No, that doesn't seem to be the case._" Ren looks at the brown haired girl. 

The Houki retorted,"This is a place for training; anybody who wants to practice can come here and do so, irrespective of what arbitrary order they came in. By that merit," he states, "_you're_ the one who should be leaving, as you've clearly no intention of practicing. If what you said earlier about arriving first is true, then it's likely all you've been doing is staying up in that tree observing superior shinobi like myself."


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## Axelthewanted (Mar 4, 2014)

Qualia Miota
Intro: Daddy's Little Girl

The sky was naked, clear of clouds, showing its light blue color across the village known as Hoshigakure. The wind blew softly sounding like a whisper into someone's ears and the leaves of the trees would rattle as they were force into motion. The birds would fly high up in packs, migrating and getting ready for the next season. People talking can be heard as they socialized and shared their interest to one another. The buildings were made out of pale colored cement and ceilings made out of either brown wood or molded red scaled clay. Occasionally you would see shinobi leap from rooftop to rooftop each having a certain goal to accomplish. One of this shinobi was a young girl, wearing something like a school uniform adding a  strong pink colored ascot and having a black and rose striped glove around her left hand that passed up her wrist and extended nearing close to the elbow. Her hair was long, it would stretch and rattle from the force created as she continued jumping, mostly black it also had traces of blue, white and pink. Sense birth her eyes were magenta having an odd white ring surrounding her pupil, face smooth in texture and light in tone. 

The girl speeded towards a large mansion in the distance. Upon reaching her destination, the size of the mansion looked as if 3 generations lived within it. Walking through the main route, the mansion welcomed the visitors with a tall red squared shaped gate, pointed on the sides and somewhat curving on the top until connecting in the middle, representing the culture of this house hold. The path was made to perfection. It was made out of dark cobblestone brick shaped pieces, joined together to show anyone the way into their kingdom. Along the way, the area was rich and luscious with various plants of the wide garden yard showing much life and care. Arriving before a jaded door the young kunoichi was greeted by one of the many maids of the house hold, dressed blue and white.

"Oh Qualia. Welcome back home. Would you like some refreshments or perhaps something eat?"

"No, thanks. You may go back doing whatever it is that you were doing."

As the girl approached the door the maid placed her hand on the doorknob but she was abruptly interrupted by Qualia who held her by the wrist preventing her of doing any further action.

"I said that you may go back now..."

Qualia said glaring at her made while releasing her from her grip. The maid nodded and parted ways with her. 

Qualia opened the door entering the mansion. The house was filled with many beautiful luxuries almost making it glow gold but to her it was nothing out of the ordinary. Walking through the wide and long hallways of the mansion she noticed a butler awaiting her arrival in front of her father's lounge room. The butler said nothing, he only kept the door open for her to enter. Knowing that he was leading to her destination, Qualia passed through the doorway then being immediately closed inside as the door closed beside. Before her was a man sitting in what seemed to be throne with his legs crossed, accompanied by 4 tall men that served as his bodyguards separated in 2 groups on each side, wearing a nice business suit colored in dark blue colors. He had features of a man around his 40s, having wrinkles forming on his forehead, his hair was pale and has already lost the colors of the times of youth, it was neatly brushed looking thin and short barely reaching the end of his lower neck. Finally he had a long pointy mustache and pointy beard. Qualia lips quivered upon releasing her voice looking only at the man.

"I don't why you keep trying. This is what I want to do and you can't stop me so stop bothering me."

"Not even greeting. Is that anyway to speak to your father." 

"Dad we been through this before. I'm not going to stay here and inherit your legacy. I want to make my own legacy, earn my gain. Mostly I want to be strong."

"I won't let my  allow my beautiful daughter to be killed in battle! She's not to be fighting there a ninja, she should remain at my side where I can protect and take care of her."

"I don't want to be protected or being taken care off! I want to be able to do just that on my own and I know I can. I worked so hard on becoming a ninja and I'm not just going to sit here a let you throw that away!" 

"I won't allow it!"

"YOU CAN'T STOP ME! YOU ARE NOT THE ONE TO DECIDE MY FUTURE! THAT'S FOR ME TO DECIDE AND ME ALONE!"

Qualia said screaming pouring her heart out, refusing her father's wishes. Her father's face turn into a frown displeased of his daughter's response, creating a fist that he then hit against the elbow rest of the throne.

"ENOUGH! Men take my foolish daughter to her room so she may reflect on her actions."

The men rushed towards Qualia attempting to capture her. As one got closer she jumped a few inches into the air, grabbed hold of the back side of the guard's head, which she pushed down while arching her knee. The knee hit the guard's face nose first. The power of the impact cause the cause the guard to be pushed back arching his back backwards. The girl still in the air stepped on the man's chest to impulse herself to the next opponent, forcing the man's body to fall on his back. The next two were ready to catch her upon her landing, having both arms ready. Qualia twirled her body to the in the air, forming a spinning kick that smashed into the cheek of one of the guards on her right with such strength that he collide heads with the other, knocking their lights out. After the her last assault she landed on her feet and scanned her final obstacle. He recognized this man. Her father and the other bodyguards nicknamed him "Muscle" due to his broad, large and hardened body structure. She knew a simple kick would hardly tickle him.

"Sorry Ms. Qualia play time is over." 

Muscle said with deep and somewhat intimidating voice, having a serious expression on his rough face. 

"It doesn't take brute strength to win a fight!"

"Dynamic Entry!"

She executed a taijutsu by launching quickly into the air using one her foot as guide, like the metal cursor of an arrow, though the target she aimed for was unexpected. She ended up kicking the man crotch with her technique. The pain and utter agony that went through the man's body was so amazing that  he simply covered his crotch area with both his hands and crashed on his to the floor unconscious not making a single sound or scream. Thus the powerful giant fell. Qualia then walked towards her dad making a gesture of dusting off her hands by clapping them together. Her father said nothing all that could be seen was anger on his face. The girl stopped before her father and spoke as she glared into his eyes.

"I am Qualia Miota, genin ninja of the village hidden under the stars. I will become stronger and create my own legacy. This I will accomplish with or without your approval Father."

Not saying anything else she quickly escaped the mansion by jumping out of a window that brought into her father's lounge . Another one of the guards approached her father quickly quiet worried of the situation. 

"Master Miota I send can men to pursue her."

"No need. She has proven that she doesn't need her father to protect her anymore. She passed."

"So you were testing her, Sir?"

"Indeed I was but birds are not meant to be kept in cages, nor must they remain in their nest. They must learn to fly and soar through the skies on their own."​


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## Fedster (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

The day seemed more splendid than it actually was. Yuno's radiant happiness could not be easily conceiled, after having been announced that she was to stay put on the village. She was not going to go to war yet, maybe not ever. She could stay and take care of her grandmother and father, who sometimes returned with poorly-stitched wounds and bad cuts. And even though she insisted that he should ask to be stationed at the village, he would not listen to her. In fact, he never listened to her since _that_ day...

But, apart from that, life could not be better. She made her way to the grocery store to buy ingredients for lunch, her handbag hanging from her shoulder, replacing her bow. No one would think she was a trained kunoichi dressed like that; long skirt, blue long-sleeve blouse and shoes. Her brand new headband was neatly folded inside a drawer, along with her 'ninja outfit'. It would probably stay there until she needed it, which would hopefully be never.

"Please, come again." The cashier said in a bored tone, while Yuno paid the man and he gave her the groceries. She then made her way home.

But, for that, she had to walk through the one place she could not bear: the training grounds. It was not that she could not avoid it, but it was the fastest way and, ironically, the safest. Yuno barely came here for actual training, and when she did, it was because she was forced to, unlike her classmates and other older ninjas. They mostly considered her laid-back and arrogant, because she would not train swith anyone.

She decided to change her thoughts, but suddenly...

"...all you've been doing is staying up in that tree observing superior shinobi like myself." Her eyes caught the end of a sentence. She saw that, up ahead, two ninjas were facing one another in verbal combat. _'Uh-oh.'_

She could not be seen, or else there was a possibility that they made her join in an actual fight, which was bound to happen when ninjas faced each other. So all she did was hide behind a tree, conveniently eavesdropping the conversation. She could leave now, but if she was seen, what would those two think?

_'Why today?'_ Yuno asked. _'Why?'_


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## Island (Mar 4, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
“False.” She answered. “If you think that practice is restricted solely to physical exertion, then you’re even dumber than that bowl cut of yours.”

Aki stared, _“Extremely overconfident. Also very stubborn. Interesting combination, but he’ll probably be dead before he even steps onto a battlefield. Still, unique form of Nintaijutsu that combines an unknown Hard Fist fighting style with Lightning Release strikes. Reminiscent of the legendary Chidori. Lots of potential. Would be interesting to see if he fulfills that potential. He probably won't. What a shame.”_

_“Still, smart enough to stall for time.”_ She shrugged to herself. _“Probably analyzing me, unless, of course, he genuinely wants me to leave. Unknown. Investigate further.”_

_“Continue to antagonize.”_ She concluded.

“It’s unfortunate that you’re so cocky.” Aki stated aloud. “Because humility could have been your only redeeming quality.”

Then, the crunching of leaves in the near distance caught her attention.

“We have company.”


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
Before he could address the girl's comment, the faint, muffled sound of footsteps and rustled leaves crunched in his ear. Ren turned. "I noticed. And to think, I was having such a nice time here before..." He sighs, in a sound more like an irritated groan than one of exasperation, sliding a hand through his hair. The one time he decided to come train, the _one_ time, this had to happen.

Finally looking over, the Houki brought his eyes to the girl hiding around the tree, his blue eyes boring into her. "And what do you want?" He asked, not bothering to veil the irritation in his voice.


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## Fedster (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

"We have company."

Yuno contained a gasp of surprise when she heard those words. There was no way she could have...But, then again, she had not been precisely cautious. That  was her mistake. She took for granted that they would be so engrossed in their conversation that they would not notice her. However, they _were_ ninjas; noticing things was their area of experty. Otherwise, they would be killed in no time.

Yuno gasped aloud when the blue-haired boy asked her what she wanted. Sincerely, all she wanted was to run away, leave them so they could take each other's brains out in peace. She had no weapons, not even her bow. All she had was her intelligence and techniques.

"I..." Her legs began to tremble. Even though they were only two, she was talking to complete strangers. She closed her eyes and kept her back pressed to the bark of the tree. "I was just passing by! I s-swear!" Her voice was slightly grave due to the pressure. One mistake and they would not hesitate to kill her. "L-let me go home, p-please!"


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
"_She's small and frail - she probably isn't a close quarters fighter. Come to think of it, she doesn't look like a fighter full stop. What's she doing in the training grounds?_" He observed carefully, watching her come out of hiding.

"I..." Her legs began to tremble as she spoke, closing her eyes and moving to press her back against the tree again. "I was just passing by! I s-swear! L-let me go home, p-please!" She pleaded, her voice as shaky as the rest of her body, if not even more. 

"_She's either lying, or lives in the forest. Probably the former. Is she lying from nervousness, then?_" He wondered to himself, before concluding, "_Well, it can't hurt to press on._"

He raised an eyebrow. "Passing by through the _training grounds_? You're a bad liar, you know. This place is completely surrounded by forest. What are you actually here for?" Ren inquired again.


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## Island (Mar 4, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
Aki remained silent, instead choosing to listen to the exchange between the young man and the newly arrived kunoichi. _“Purple hair. Gray eyes. Pale skin. Lanky build. Timid. Possibly not a shinobi but probably. Has a bow. Possibly a shinobi. Probably not.”_

_“Disinterested.”_ She concluded.

She closed her eyes, taking a moment to mull over the current situation.

“What is your name?” She directed the question at the kunoichi.

“Both of you, in fact.” She added.


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
Ren looked over to the girl, noticing that she was also scanning over the new arrival. From the looks of it, it looked like she came to the same conclusion that he did: the second girl was weak looking and not worthy of particular interest. Though, he _was_ curious as to why she was here. "_Was she going into the forest for something? To hunt, perhaps? No, she's not even carrying a weapon..._" And then his train of thought was disturbed. It seemed to be happening a lot, today. 

"What is your name?" The kunoichi asked. "Both of you, in fact."

"It's bad form to ask for another's name without introducing yourself first, Hyūga. Why don't you tell us your name first?" He replied.


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## Fedster (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

Why was he thoinking Yuno was lying? She was in no condition to lie, let alone to fight or spy on them. Though, actually, she was kind of spying on them, before being discovered. And now the white-eyed girl joined...

_'Wait, white-eyed?'_ She remembered there was a clan in Konoha with those eyes. The blue-haired boy called it first, though: Hyuuga. According to what she heard, Hyuugas were expert at hand-to-hand combat, the complete opposite of Yuno, who could only bear fighting from afar.

And now, the Hyuuga was asking for names. Should she tell her? The blue-haired shinobi asked for hers, obviously unwilling of revealing his identity first. Maybe she should tell her, to show that she had nothing to hide. But..._how?_

"My...M-my name is Ryuus-shi Y-yuno..." She voiced. "I am a g-genin, butnotonamission!" Yuno clarified. She did not want them to think otherwise. That would _really_ be for the worse.


----------



## Island (Mar 4, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
“Hyuuga Aki.” She introduced herself.

Aki turned her attention to the young woman, smiling politely, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

It wasn't.

She paused momentarily, thinking of what to say next. _“So she is a shinobi. Probably not a very skilled one but a shinobi nonetheless. Given her demeanor, she is probably a medical-nin in training or performs some other supplementary role. Alternatively, her nervousness might be a ruse. Perhaps she really does take a more direct role in combat. A Ninjutsu specialist or maybe a Taijutsu specialist? Another Nintaijutsu specialist? Unlikely.”_

_“Will inquire further.”_

“There’s no need to be afriaid.” She assured. “We’re all friends here.”


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
"We're all friends here."

Friends. How long had it been since he heard that word? Used that word? Called someone a friend? A very long time, indeed, to the point where it had almost been erased from his vocabulary. 

_"Never trust anybody, Ren. They may be reaching out with roses in one hand, but they're holding a dagger in the other. Comradeship is a farce, and an illusion greater than any genjutsu."_ His mom had always told him. Hammered in and cut in, like a deep scar. 

Even so, it hadn't been long enough for him to have forgotten the meaning and definition of the word. Certainly not against such a blatant violation of  it's actual meaning. "No," Ren replied, blinking in a deadpan at Aki, "we're not."


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ie-o
Konohagakure no Sato*

"This is Konoha, Ie-o!  What do you think?"

The hooded boy merely looked up at the village gates with the look of wonder swiftly forming into a look of trepidation.  It was big.  Like, really big.  How could they even consider this a village?  This was a fucking metropolis, complete with a mountain with faces on it.  Just by standing at the Gates he was at risk of being swallowed by a sea of nameless faces.  He felt his palms gain a bit of wetness and he clenched his fists tightly under the sleeves of his oversized kimono.  He looked up at Mikate from under his hood and gave him a feigned smile.  

"It's... huge."  

Mikate chuckled.  "It's alright, the Village Hidden in the Leaves is always a bit much to take in the first time you see it, especially if you're used to seeing our meager village.  Come on, let's head on in!"  Ie-o shadowed Mikate closely as they entered through the large gates, Ie-o feeling as if by stepping into the village he was entering a whole new world, one that was so foreign to him it might as well have been inhabited by talking asses.

After a bit of walking, Mikate found a bit of empty land without any building or stores around it and set up his small, unassuming stand selling skewered meat and vegetables.  He looked over at Ie-o.  "We're gonna be here a few days, why don't you go explore and meet me back here in a few hours?"  Ie-o was immediately reluctant to this decision and had been about to decline when he happened to look up.  Men and women were jumping over their heads, flying between rooftops with the same trained ease he did when he was among the tree tops when he was back home.  He returned his gaze to Mikate who held a knowing smile.

"I will.  I'll return later, Mikate-san."

He waved and turned away, jogging down the street until he found a store front.  He jumped, planting a foot on the store's front window and leaping off of it, reaching the top of a small building.  With another jump he got to the top of a larger building.  He continued to do so until he was seated on the top of one of Konoha's larger buildings.  He lowered his hood and allowed his brown hair to flow freely in the breeze, eyes scanning over the village.  He saw that the shinobi for the most part were heading toward grassy fields, small forest, and lakesides.  Interest piqued, he leaped off of the with a front flip and landed easily in a crouch on another.  From this position he took off running, leaping between the buildings just as the shinobi were.  It was a bit easier than tree-hopping, because the buildings were far more uniformly set up than the seemingly sporadically placed branches of the forest.  In a few minutes he arrived at one of the places shinobi were headed too, leaping off of a building and landing in the grass, standing hidden behind a tree.  There were people up ahead.  A boy and two girls.

With an easy leap, he took to a branch that had been hanging over him, sitting on it and watching intently.  One of the girls had a sword and the other seemed unarmed.  The boy had two knife-looking weapons in his hand.  Despite this, they weren't fighting, they were talking.  His head tilted to the side slightly.

_I thought ninjas spent all of their time fighting?  That's what Wolf tou-san told me._


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## Fedster (Mar 4, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

"We're all friends here."

"No, we're not."

For once, Yuno had to agree with the boy with the bowl cut hair. They were not _friends_. They were not even complete acquaintances! They were just random shinobi that were from the same village, and probably around the same age. Nothing less, nothing more.

But then, why was she being nice to her? Very few people have been nice to Yuno, and to be honest, it felt...Nice for a change. She felt a bit less afraid, but Yuno could not feel completely safe, not around those two. Or anyone who looked her as though they were judging her.

Yuno took a step back, embracing her handbag in front of her. "M-may I leave, please? I-i have to m-make dinner."


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## Chronos (Mar 4, 2014)

Ivery Genji
_Resolute Heretic_














_"Your manuscript is written on innocent's blood.
Care not about the future, you're the slave of humanity.
Fixated on what no longer exist. 
Your purpose... Is to simply..."_​

The streets bathed in the roaring sounds of crowds and laughter. While joyful glee resonated, cycling itself at the center of my mind, while I process each individual smile, the euphoric ooze that dares portray itself before his very eyes. Opening the gateway to his thoughts, this evoked incandescent blithe into a mind yet to have met the apex of its growth. A boy-- A heretic, one who's swallowed humanity's arrogance, indifferent of the world, he's mind had shut from what's right and wrong. There's no moral background that could hold his loyalty anymore. Thoughts swirling much like a whirlpool, defiant to others reasons, it engulfed all ideals and made it it's own. 

There are two sides of a coin, which is malice and which is just it's decided by the holder. There's no middle ground to spare, there's no peace that's just and there's no evil that's cruel. At each, we hold the simplistic goal of survival. Death is fearsome, gripping our spines with its icy claws, even an Ivery would feel cold. Snow befell the lands, shrouding it in white purity. Even the snow has had it shared of bloodshed. There's no man who's not evil, there's no man who's good. All we... living beings are formed equal.

The night had veiled the skyline, brimming light became apparent upon the void beyond his head, showered in an ecstasy of hues and brilliant colors, the Aurora had mad its most glorious entry. The sky had oozed with it's brilliance, as it swayed from the edges, a trail of people had just gawked on it, pointing at it, demonstrating, sharing a moment with a person whom you'd usually spend countless hours with of your lifetime. Such joyous occasion. Genji, hands placed upon his pockets, witnessing a spectacle he's visualized a million times after, a spectacle he's always been a part of, had suddenly twisted.

His mind distorted the image, soon the sky began to swirl to a center where it pulled the fabric of existence into a mold. A fearful sight, as soon it pulled and a pillar formed from the very creation towards the sky, reaching the stars itself, the void had shifted its hue, a myriad of colors that began to circle along with the ripple in the sky. While in front, man, woman and child were gazing upon the sky, frozen in an instance, no movement whatsoever. Noise replaced by silence, reality changed for hell. As fear and confusion began to spiral within your system, a man began to pace towards you.

Dressed in black, while masquerade with harlequin mine, a twisted smile plastered on its surface, a kick had been issued, soon followed by a bent of his arm and a swing. Without the power to counter attack, the hit had managed to connect, causing the youth of Ivery to fall to his knees. The speed scaled from insurmountable levels... Never had he witnessed someone with such speed, such blatant power behind his swing. Towering over the child, he spoke simple words.

_"Truth lies beyond..."_


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## Island (Mar 4, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
?We?re allies, and that?s all that really matters.? Aki explained. ?As long as you?re loyal Konohagakure, of course.?

?You still haven?t told us your name, however.?

Despite being facetious about the ?friends? comment, she starchly believed that those loyal to Konohagakure were also worth her loyalty. At the very least, she considered them allies, and at best, she would humor them for the sake of group solidarity. While the young man with the bowl cut was highly arrogant and at equally condescending, she still recognized him as an ally. That young woman, meanwhile, humble, timid, and probably scared to death of the two, was also recognized as an ally. She wasn?t particularly aggressive, unlike the bowl cut boy, and therefore, deserved Aki?s (pretend) kindness.

?You may leave if you want, Yuno-san.? She answered.


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## Bringer (Mar 5, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


Grow up? Grow up? Why! Why did everyone tell her that! Awai took another strike at a tree, her fist tearing through and causing it to fall over. She stops bullies and suddenly she's childish and immature. Sure the young kunoichi could be exuberant  and childish at times... But that's just who she is. So she didn't act serious like almost every miserable shinobi out there... Was it really a big deal?

*Pant....Pant...Pant...Pant*

Awai caught her breath, and decided to rest for a bit. Seeing as how she had just sort of made a log like seat with the tree that had fallen, Awai decided to sit on it. The young Uzamaki always came here whenever she was stressed or angry to take everything out on the trees. In fact anybody who took a hike in this forest could see her work. Numerous trees have fallen by her hands. 

_"I can't believe it... Does he really have to inform Tawa of what happened today. Ugh... I bet he's probably gonna make it sound worse than it was... I was just protecting a girl from mean bullies!"_ The girl ranted.

The girls arms stretched downwards to get a handful of the lush grass of the forest, and then out of anger ripped it from the ground. How come life never matched her expectations! Maybe it would be best for her to always expect the worse?

"What am I thinking." The girl said under her breath.

Expecting the worse, being so gloom, this wasn't like her at all. Maybe she was making something out of nothing? So what if everybody tells her to grow up? It doesn't mean she has to. Awai was sort of embarrassed... Was she really down over that? The kunoichi actually broke out laughing.

"I'm such an idiot." She said out loud mid-laughter. 

Awai sat up...  No matter what she will never change who she is for anybody. Scanning the forest Awai spotted the largest tree that was nearest to her, and begin to sprint towards it. As she closed in she focused chakra into her feet and began to run upwards on the tree.

_"I am Awai Uzamaki! I am a righteous gal who will protect the innocent from all that is evil! I like to laugh and play and if you got a problem with it then I will punch you in your cruddy face!"_

The girl reached the top of the tree, and from this height she had a great view of the sky. The girl screamed at the top of her lungs. "YOU HEAR THAT WORLD! I'M NEVER CHANGING!"


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## Sumon (Mar 5, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure*
_Still on a mission:_
*Spoiler*: __ 



*Name:* Runnin’ low
*Rank:* D
*Assigned to:* Shinomori Aoshi
*Description:* Those bastards! You know what? Those puppeteers are cowards! Using them poisons! Soon we won’t be able to abolish it as there is hardly any antidote left. Aoshi, our young ninja, travel quite far to the south and enter Botanical garden there. You will be given a package to bring back to the village as fast as possible. Do your best, our villagers’ lives depend on you! Go now, quick!
*Reward:* 8000 ryo



With an abominable pain in his stomach, Aoshi proceeded to continue his journey to botanical garden. It was the first time he was feeling so sick. He had never killed anyone until 5minutes ago and he had been feeling worse and worse within every minute afterwards. His mind was still drifting to what had just happened. Flashbacks of the encounter with the thief were changing in boy’s mind with every sunshine he saw coming through thick trees. _“Did I really have to kill him? He posed no danger.”_ Aoshi was questioning his cruel decision. 

Suddenly, the thief’s voice appeared in Aoshi’s head: “...why?” – helpless words travelled through Aoshi’s mind. He quickly got on his knees and vomited all over perfectly green grass in front of him. He couldn’t hold it anymore. The most recent events were sickening him. The worst thing Aoshi had ever done before was repeatedly punching one brat in the face for insulting his family. But that was nothing compared to the murder Aoshi had just committed. The brat is probably still alive to this day whereas the thief will never be seen by anybody (except for wild animals and people who will find his body.)

“Fuck him” – having puked, Aoshi said feeling much better now. The boy coughed a few more times and got his wind. With hands he pushed himself against the ground and got back on his feet. He wiped his chin while a couple of sorrows were coming out of his eyes. “Fuck him” – Aoshi repeated once again trying to reassure himself that he indeed did the good thing. He was taught to kill an enemy without giving it a second thought. And it was the war time for fuck’s sake, and Aoshi was attacked first. It’s only natural that the weaker got killed. If Aoshi hadn’t killed the thief, the latter would be attacking other people from Kirigakure right now anyways, putting them in great danger. 

Aoshi looked at the sky above hardly visible through all the thick trees around the area and began feeling proud of the outcome of the encounter. He came to a conclusion that he would do it again if he saw a person like that ever again. He meant what he had said to the thief about trashes not deserving a place in this world. 

The boy looked around and after seeing nobody he took a slight look at his vomit. “Huh,” – the boy just laughed off as if he was mocking himself for making such a mess. But Aoshi didn’t just mock his stomach, he mocked himself for giving a second thought to the murder, for appearing weak even if it was just for a slight moment. The boy realized he had to ignore those thoughts completely if he wanted to be a powerful ninja he had always dreamed of becoming. This was not a world for the weak. Aoshi spat on the vomit as if it was his old self and started moving to his destination – botanical garden. He was feeling like a new man.


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## Vergil (Mar 5, 2014)

*Sonozaki Mion - The poisoned Chalice's first mission*

*Suna*

"Your first mission Mion. I know that you believe that this is going to be easy but remember that it will be..." the sensei was war hardened and scars strewn across his face which was partially hidden from the hood that covered his head. Residents of Suna often wore it outside for protection from the unforgiving sun, but he wore it indoors too - perhaps so as not to scare the residents. Before the military man could finish he was interrupted by the Poisoned Chalice.

"Shut up old man. Give me the mission. A ridiculous E ranked mission. Not even an assasination." Mion spat out. She too had scars on her body but she proudly displayed them, happy that she gave children nightmares. She wore her full shinobi gear; no expense spared. Suna's policy has always been to produce quality shinobi rather than a vast amount of fodder. Mion was one that showed great potential but in the eyes of the sensei, her attitude would get her killed.

"Your mission is to clean the garbage that was...." Jira was man who had seen many things and was experienced in the ways of killing intent. On instinct his muscles contracted towards grabbing his kunai. Mion hadn't shifted and was looking away from him. 

"What are the parameters of the mission exactly?" she asked coldly.

"Suna has been experiencing a high volume of litter since ready to eat meals have been introduced. Our job is simply to tidy up. It's a good excerise for you young genin to get the feel of carrying out a mission and completing it. The waste department is having a hard time keeping up and so have paid us to send some of you out to help. It's not that difficult a task." Jira said, his brow furrowing at Mion's silence. "You and two others from your class will go and clean up the northern sector of the city."

Mion nodded and walked off. Jira sighed in relief, he didn't understand why he had gotten the Poisoned Chalice, as she was called. Perhaps he had done something to offend the Kazekage, or perhaps he was often seen as the most lenient of the senseis. The other ones would likely have failed to keep their temper in the face of Mion's attitude. Jira's scars were a constant reminder to him to keep his cool, as nothing good ever happened when emotions got in the way.

Suna - Downtown

The streets were indeed littered. The place in question that was serving the delicious food was just down the road, with a long line of people waiting to get their 'Wok in a box'. The chef was busy with his cooking and there was a long line outside as people queued to get their lunchtime fix. Mion barged to the front of the line and stood with her arms crossed and an icy glare.

"Hey get to the back of the l...." the skinny man with glasses said angrily but held his tongue as he realized whom he was speaking with. 

"My mission is to clean up your garbage. How do you think I feel about that?" Mion said with an icy glare. Even the chef had stopped cooking.

"This is not a threat, but a promise. I will be watching. If I see any littering then I shall follow you to your homes and will kill every last one of you." Mion said with a twinkle in her eye, "I do hope one of you breaks the rules. I have a variety of ways to kill you now."

There was silence and the Poisoned Chalice nodded. "Chef. I want signs here that specify that there will be no littering. Understood? Or else you'll find that one lunch time that every dish you serve up will kill whoever eats it - and you shall be held responsible."

"Yes ma'am." the Chef said with a tremble in his voice.

"Good. Carry on." Mion said and then headed back to her sensei.

"Jira sensei - in order to defeat an enemy it is no good just deflecting it's attacks - one must go straight for the heart. My part in the mission is complete."

The curious message that was uttered made him run out of the hall and into the street, where he found residents of Suna picking up the trash and placing them in bins. "How scary." Jira said with a cold sweat.


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 5, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
He sighed. This Aki girl was persistent. "Ren Houki." He finally introduced himself, and was about to continue to debate the point about friendship and how merely being 'allies' from the same village meant nothing, but decided not to. For one thing, he didn't really _care_ that much, and for another, he got the distinct feeling the girl was the type to not back down in an argument. Not the type someone like him wanted to encounter.


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## Fedster (Mar 5, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

Yuno sighed with relief. She had been spared from more tortuous conversation by the mysterious Hyuuga girl. She stopped trembling all of a sudden, though it did not quite leave her voice. "t-thank y-you." One would believe she was a sttuterer, but actually, it was that people and social interaction intimidate her, unless she was with people she _knew_ she could trust.

However, there was an uneasiness within her that would not go away. What was it? Why was she feeling so...frustated? It was obvious that she could not handle them. They were _way_ out of her league. Both of them would probably not hesitate to hurt someone, to cripple someone, _to kill someone_. Yuno, on the other hand, would.

She bowed to them, bidding them a silent farewell, and made her way out of the scene.

Once in her house, Yuno locked herself in her room. She needed time to think."I don't want to be like them..." She hissed through her clenched teeth. "I don't have a motive to fight...Maybe they don't have one either. They just...fight for the fun of it?" That was ridiculous. Who would even do such a thing? _'Probably a sociopath or a crazy person.'_

"I need to calm down. I can't behave like this..." Yuno looked at her bow that was sitting in the corner of her room. Maybe she would feel safer if she carry it with her when she was out.

"Yu-chan!" Her grandmother called.

"Coming!"


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 5, 2014)

*Ie-o
Konohagakure Training Ground*

Ie-o watched as the girl made her exit, leaving the area with haste.  He stood up on his branch and rolled his shoulders, eyes closed in thought.  Now this was odd.  Wolf otou-san had told him that shinobi spent all of their time fighting one another, and yet they had let one girl (who hadn't seemed the least bit interested in fighting) run off and the other two hadn't done anything at all.  Looked down at the two remaining shinobi with a curious gaze before dropping down from his place in the tree.  Had they even noticed him?  It seemed as if they hadn't.  What manner of ninja were these two?  Thus far nothing he'd been told about shinobi had rung true.  He began walking toward the pair that had remained in the training ground, stopping once he was only a few feet away from them.  His curiosity was piqued.  He wanted to see what these ninja could really do.

"You guys... are shinobi, right?"


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 5, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
Ren turned around again, not even surprised at the fact yet another person had decided to disturb his training. His eyes briefly circled the young looking kid, scanning him up and down. "_Looks small and is dressed weird - not like someone from Konoha._" He observed, his curiosity piqued. Whoever this new person was, he seemed a lot more interesting than that breakfast person, or whatever her name was.

Then he decided to answer his question, "Yeah, we are," he replied for both himself and Aki - the gentleman that he was, "And might I ask where you come from?" He asked back, noticing that the other person wasn't wearing any form of identification on his body.


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## Sumon (Mar 5, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure*
_Still on a mission:_
*Spoiler*: __ 



*Name:* Runnin’ low
*Rank:* D
*Assigned to:* Shinomori Aoshi
*Description:* Those bastards! You know what? Those puppeteers are cowards! Using them poisons! Soon we won’t be able to abolish it as there is hardly any antidote left. Aoshi, our young ninja, travel quite far to the south and enter Botanical garden there. You will be given a package to bring back to the village as fast as possible. Do your best, our villagers’ lives depend on you! Go now, quick!
*Reward:* 8000 ryo



His stride was calm, his chin was up, Aoshi was simply glowing in confidence. He was only minutes of casual walking away from the botanical garden. He could already smell various flavours which he presumed were from flowers growing nearby. For the last time he checked the map to see if he truly was about to reach his destination. And with a strong breeze of warm wind a smile appeared on Aoshi’s face as he put the map back into his pocket and saw an industrial like two storage building in the middle of a forest. There were many different kinds of flowers growing by the wall. Aoshi couldn’t tell their species but they looked exotic. Also the building was camouflaged, so with huge trees around it in 360radius, it was quite a hiding spot. There was no way the boy could have found this place without the map. 

Aoshi took a few steps forward looking around for a living soul but there was no one outside. He wasn’t too sure on what he was to do next: knock on the door that was hardly visible or shout his lungs out trying to summon someone outside. But before he could make a decision, door opened wide and a young beautiful woman with long red hair charged at Aoshi. With white tight clothes and red heels, she grabbed Aoshi’s hand and started pulling him inside without wasting any time: “You must be him, come here.” She said in a sweet but serious tone, having noticed Kirigakure’s forehead protector on the boy’s head. 

And Aoshi did go with her. Did he have a choice? A beautiful lady was dragging him by his hand and he wasn’t against it! The only thought that was circling in the boy’s head was should he hit on her now or when they would be inside. He chose the former: “Oh, I am HIM.” Nodding his head Aoshi said while blushing like crazy. The woman looked at Aoshi in disgust and dropped his hand immediately afterwards. She was horrified by that hideous response. Uncomfortable silence followed for a few seconds till they entered the building. Aoshi didn’t read too much into it and just laughed it off. _“You win some, you lose some,”_ –he thought.  

Inside there were plants all over the place. You could hardly find free space to put your foot on. Aoshi almost razed one flower while looking up, but was interrupted: “Watch your step,” – the red hair told him at crucial time and saved the flower from Aoshi’s elegant foot.  And the temperature there... It was so hot! Piercing sunshine coming from above through roof made of glass was literally killing Aoshi, who wore dark fashionable clothes. The whole building was one huge greenhouse that the boy couldn’t wait to leave. 

“Here, take it. You know what to do the rest.” The red hair handed Aoshi a bundle and started pushing him outside. The boy was quite surprised by her rudeness but couldn’t do anything about it. He just didn’t resist and soon saw a door of the botanical garden slammed in front of his face. “Goodbye to you too, Miss!” He shouted out loud on purpose trying to embarrass the lady, who was already behind thick walls. 

Aoshi unzipped his backpack and put the bundle inside. He was quite curious what was inside it, but the boy honoured the secrecy behind it and strapped the backpack on his back. He figured he shouldn’t waste any more time on useless things and hurry up if he was to make it till sundown. He had spent too much time on his way here.

Without further ado he dashed into the north side of the forest. This time, though, he decided not to take his time travelling and train in the meantime. For the second time in the same day he decided to do the 30seconds speed training. With extremely long stride, Aoshi was running as fast as he could against the wind with additional resistance. His backpack was pounding on his back and the boy was leaving trampled grass behind himself. For 30seconds this madness continued. 

Aoshi sighed after 30 seconds of running and walked at normal pace for another 30seconds. _“1, 2, 3, 4...”_ He was counting the time in his head eagerly. The faster he was to get over it, the faster he would reach the Hidden Mist village. “30!,” – Aoshi sprinted once again for 30 seconds. In no time he passed the place where he had killed the thief earlier that day. Aoshi didn’t stop there, though. The murder was already out of his head. Getting stronger and completing the mission were two the most important things for the boy at that moment. 

The whole journey back to the village Aoshi spent doing 30 second sprints. He did it strictly without slacking off. He did stop twice to rest, though. He was out of energy faster than usual because of an empty stomach. And to make matters worse, he didn’t bring any food on the mission. But Aoshi got through it nonetheless. He also didn’t meet any enemies on his way back to the village this time. But he did pour a lot of sweat because of his training and almost got dehydrated. Luckily for the boy, he met a nice couple picnicking not so far away from the village, who gladly gave him a full flask of water. All in all, Aoshi reached his goal of the day and passed the south gate of Kirigakure just before the sundown. He turned in the bundle of antidotes that had deformed a little because of all the pounding of the backpack (antidotes were perfectly fine) and was given 8000 ryo in return. At the end of the day, Aoshi got back to his still empty house and blacked out as soon as he fell on his bed. He was burnt out.


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## Island (Mar 5, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Konoha Training Grounds*

---​
Aki frowned.

_“This is getting…”_ She thought to herself. _“Weird.”_

Another new arrival. First, Ren arrived at the training grounds and then the two of them got into a somewhat enjoyable verbal argument. Then that timid young woman, Yuna, Yuna, or something along those lines, showed up. After a couple more exchanged, she left, and now, a smelly boy who looked like he just stumbled out of the woods suddenly appeared.

“I think I’ll take my leave now, Ren-san.” She decided.

“But before I go,” she noted, “Inquire as to why this new arrival is not wearing a forehead protector, and if you discover that he is, in fact, an enemy, please do your duty and put him down in the name of Konohagakure and the Land of Fire.”

She spoke so calmly, so coldly, speaking as if taking the life of another was just something that happened, something that one could do the same way that they did anything else in their lives, as of it was so regular, so routine, that the thought of doing so no longer impacted her in any meaningful way.

“It's been a pleasure, Ren-san,” she gave a false smile, “At the very least, you’re a useful asset in our war against the other villages. It would be a shame if you ended up dead before the next time I saw you.”

The young woman brought her right hand up to her chest and created a seal. In an instant, she vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Ren alone with the strange new arrival.


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 5, 2014)

*Ie-o
Konohagakure*

Ie-o thought to himself for a moment after hearing Ren's question.  _Would it sound weird if I said 'the woods?'  I probably shouldn't tell them about Ifumura, the villagers don't need any human traffic coming through there._  "Not from around here, if that's what you're wondering," he said, slightly under his breath.  He looked to the girl when she began speaking.  His brow furrowed when she gave the order for Ren to kill him, his gaze darkening.  So, Wolf otou-san was right.  For her to expect another kid to kill someone, they must be pretty violent.  He clenched his hands into fists hidden under his sleeves as she performed a single handseal and vanished, using the shunshin technique.  He returned his gaze to the boy.

"I wanted to find someone strong, and my father told me that you shinobi are strong, strong and really violent."  He looked over at the training dummies Ren had been practicing on.  "If you don't mind, I was hoping to see how strong you are.  Would it be bad if I watched you train?"


----------



## Bringer (Mar 6, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

Ryu entered the throne room after ordering the guards that protect the door to stand aside, and then began to make his way to the throne; to make his way to his sister. Upon entering the giant throne room the Prince saw luxurious red carpet, furniture made out of gold and silver, a giant chandeliers, and of course steps that led to the throne. Immediately his eyes met his sisters as he walked up the steps. The young prince bowed.

"What a honor to be summoned by the queen." He spoke with a monotone voice, not even expressing an ounce of emotion in his words. 

Ryu's sister Hisanna sighed upon hearing this, and removed the expensive tiara that was on her head and handed it to one of the two guards that stood beside the throne at all times. The queen stood up, feeling it would be the right thing to do to address her brother while standing than sitting.

"Ryu, you are both my brother and prince of the clan. There is no need to refer to me as queen." It appeared that she was trying to make an effort to sound compassionate, not because it wasn't genuine, but because her voice has become weary and she seemed so tired. 

"Is that an order my queen?" It seems even when he attempts to be condescending his voice still lacks any expression.

Ryu hadn't noticed how old his sister had looked until now, despite her being only twenty. Has the burden of the crown really caused her this much stress? He also noticed the bags under her eye, as he recalled Hisanna had been trained vigorously after their parents death so she could prepare for taking over as ruler of the Reikon Clan. The clan was draining the life out of her, both mentally and physically. Furthermore he's also heard rumors of the clan elders trying to find a suitor for Hisanna, considering the Doragon Tamashī kekkai genkai was dwindling. 

"I didn't call you here to bicker brother, I have a mission for you." She explained, with a justifiable irritated demeanor.

Noticing she had just lost her patience, the queen tried apologizing."I'm sorr" Only to be cutoff by her brother.

"Does this have anything to be with my behavior Hisanna?" He spoke calmly.

"No." She replied honestly, but continued. "But I have been meaning to speak to you about that."

And so it began.

He noticed the look on Hisanna's face changed... To that of one of guilt for she had not told this to her brother sooner. Ryu tilted his head.

"When you were younger... You would ask questions, a lot. You always wanted to know how everything worked... Do you remember when grandmother died?" She asked her younger brother.

"Of course." He replied quickly because he wanted to see where she was going with this, but still kept his emotionless voice.

"Well father had rabbits imported to us to cheer us... To cheer me up and to distract our minds, however you would always ask questions. How did grandma die? What happens when you die? How does death occur? Mother and father were vague as possible since you were so young... In fact I'm sure you don't even remember this since you've probably repressed it... But you found those answers insufficient... So you sought out your own answers." The queen paused.

Hisanna was surprised as it seems that Ryu's interest began to wane, but nonetheless she continued. "Next thing I knew I left you alone with the rabbits and when I returned you were standing there covered in blood with a kunai in your hand. I remember your exact words..."

Ryu watched as his sister paused once again, but as always she picked right back up. "I just wanted to see what would happen if I stabbed them. I just wanted to see if they would die."

There was silence between the siblings, until the older of the two broke it. "I'm sure you repressed it as a traumat-" The queen was cut off by the prince. 

"Oh is that all? I thought you were going to tell me something important... Of course I remember that." He replied nonchalantly to the story, and here you thought she would reveal something unbelievable to him.

"Is that so..." The young ruler replied, now questioning her younger brothers sanity.

"There is one more thing you should know..." She said urgently.

Ryu's attention had been piqued again.

Hisanna went on. "As you all know once a member of the Reikon Clan who posses the Doragon Tamashī learn how to utilize chakra they are given an egg of a dragon to raise. You surely recall your time you were given your egg years ago... and you-"

"And I smashed it to see what was on the inside." The boy interrupted. 

The two guards who stood beside queen Hasanna, Ryu's older sister looked enraged... However they wouldn't dare harm the prince.

The young queen nodded. "Yes you smashed it... And because of that you will never receive one... It is out of my hands... I'm sorry."

This news... Did surprise the young prince, but to be honest it was a reasonable thing to do. He lost his privileges... That's just how life works. Ryu understood consequences really well, and truth be told if it wasn't for his status as prince he would've have gotten the death sentence for what he did, even if he were a child at the time.   

"I understand completely. So... About this mission?" Ryu asked. It wasn't often he was sent on mission... No scratch that he's never been on a mission before. 

Suddenly the guards interrupted. *"My queen... I'm afraid you've spent too much time conversing with prince Ryu. It is time for your meeting with the clan elders."*

Hisanna snapped. "Just a minute!"

A strong breeze could be felt in the throne room. It was just then Ryu had realized the gap between him and his sister. The feeling he just felt sent a cold chill down his spine, her chakra was powerful. As the queen of the Reikon clan she had mastered all of the techniques of the Doragon Tamashī and was a force not to be trifled with. The guards seemed uneasy but kept their composure.

The older sibling began explaining the mission. "I'll make it quick... You are to be relocated to Iwagakure to help out in the war. I'm not sure for how long... But."

To Ryu's surprise in a blink of an eye his sister was in front of him. The prince was suspecting an attack, but no... His sisters arms wrapped around him embracing him tightly, her hand caressing his hair. His eyes widened and the expression on his face could only be described in one word... 

Confusion.

Her voice now sounded so vulnerable, as if years of being deprived of her life had finally been unleashed. Was Hisanna actually holding back tears? "Ryu... No matter what don't die. You're the only family I have left. It's true that these last few years must have been terrible for the both of us... and I'm sorry I shut you out. I had no choice... I had the responsibility of the kingdom and crown, so please forgive me."

Immediately the prince regained his usual demeanor... His sister was a fool. She didn't understand that it was normal for life to be hard, that she was simply being over dramatic. But still... He couldn't bear it. Seeing such a strong person so vulnerable made him feel vulnerable. Ryu let out a sigh, his sister was making a scene. Suddenly she whispered something into his ear... The prince nodded.

*"My queen... You have wasted enough time as it is."* The guards interrupted.

Hisanna released her brother from her embrace, and said one more thing before leaving. "Don't die... After this war is over you better return. You hear me?"

The guards and Hisanna left the throne room leaving the prince alone. He mumbled to himself. "Okay... I will."


__________________________


It had been a day later since the talk with his sister. In a few hours the young prince would set off for Iwagakure. The Reikon Clan palace was built on a mountain, and surrounding the mountain were five smaller mountains that also housed smaller palace's. These palaces were ruled by the elders, and each palace specialized in a different element. Ryu stood on top of the Reikon clan palace, when suddenly a cloaked figure appeared before him.

"I thought you'd never show up."


----------



## Sumon (Mar 6, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure*

Next day Aoshi woke up at noon. That was unlike him. All the time Aoshi would wake up early in the morning and start the day with individual training. But not today, though. He figured he deserved some rest for completing his first ever mission the day before. The boy got out of a bed and stretched out a bit. His bones were cracking from such long rest. Then he did what he does every single morning: Aoshi took a shower, got his clothes on and had breakfast – nothing out of the ordinary, although, he did leave ninja pouch and kunai holder in a drawer. The boy decided to take it easy today and just chill out. 

Aoshi left his house and went towards Kiri centre. For the second day in a row the weather was perfect with intense sun shining down on the village pretty hot. Children enjoyed it too! They were running all around the village chasing one another much to the annoyance of senior people. But everyone was happy. 

The boy passed a couple of squares before finding himself in the oldest district of the village – the old town. Not many children were there as there were no facilities for them. Most of the buildings there were for older people. Aoshi entered an alley in the old town and turned left, where he found a weapons shop. A little bit hidden so not many could find it, Aoshi knew of that place from his parents. 

**Ding** A bell above doors inside the weapons shop rang as soon as the doors got opened, signalling the arrival of Aoshi. The boy stepped forward to counter and started looking around with no one greeting him. There were all kinds of weapons there: shurikens, senbons, kunais, smoke bombs, explosive tags. There were various scrolls too that the boy had no idea what they were for. But his attention was caught the most by shining katanas hanging on walls. They were simple and yet so elegant. Sunshine was reflecting from blades into the boy’s eyes, blinding him for a second. He covered his eyes a bit and saw a huge man coming from backroom. Seven feet tall and carrying a huge belly, he looked intimidating. 

“Hmm, a young ninja. What are you looking here for today?” The fat man asked a young customer with deep but friendly voice, while cleaning the counter with a wet rag. Still intimidated by this huge man, Aoshi just pointed at the katanas. “How much are those?” The boy asked in trembling voice.

“Relax, mate.” The fat man tried to calm the boy down, putting his own strong hand on the boy’s shoulder. The vendor then turned around, taking a slight look at the katanas. “Depends on which one you like.” The fat man smiled. He took one blade off the wall and ostentatiously started showing it off to the boy. “Here we have a wakizashi, it is shorter than a normal katana, but longer than tanto. Wakizashi is mainly used as a backup sword and is designed for close quarters fighting as well as be-hea-ding defeated opponents.” The fat man articulated at the end, not too sure if he should be telling this stuff to a young boy. But he figured the boy was wearing Kirigakure’s forehead protector, so the boy was ought to know it.

The vendor put the wakizashi back on the wall and took another blade. This time it was the shortest of them all. “Tanto – the most popular blade nowadays between ninjas like you. Used mostly for stabbing purposes, it can sometimes be used to slash as well.” The fat man put the tanto back on the wall, seeing the boy wasn’t really that much into it, and took the third and the longest blade of them all – Katana. “This beauty...” He said charismatically while brushing the blunt edge of the blade with his hand. “A curved, slender, single-edged blade with a circular guard and long grip to accommodate two hands, this baby can slash through flesh like through butter.” The fat man put the blade in front of Aoshi’s eyes. The boy could see his face mirroring from it. The blade looked so perfect that Aoshi fell in love with it in a heartbeat. Having seen the boy’s glowing eyes, the vendor proposed him the boy a deal.

“I can see you like this blade, so let’s make an arrangement. I am willing to give you this sword for free if you promise to me to kill enemies with it. Preferably scumbags from Konohagakure, they are the worst. So what will you say?” The fat man extended the sheathed katana for the boy to take, waiting for his response. 

Aoshi looked around to see if he really was talked to by the vendor. He couldn’t believe in his ears. He was feeling like a small child on Christmas morning. Without waiting for the vendor to change his mind, Aoshi grabbed the blade with both hands and opened his mouth full of motivation: “Mister, I won't let you down!” Aoshi stormed from the shop towards the training grounds. He couldn’t wait to test this new blade. In the meantime, the vendor recalled the days when he was as young as Aoshi. Feeling nostalgic, the vendor squeezed a tear and overjoyed that he had an influence on young ninja, he said: “Atta, boy!”


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## blacklusterseph004 (Mar 6, 2014)

*Yoshitsune - Land of Wind, Northern Outskirts*


A lonely hawk circled slowly above an empty ravine. It was almost deathly quiet save for a lazy river that ran along the canyon floor. The sides were craggy and steep, baked to a frying temperature by the sun that seemed to stand still overhead.

The hawk had been circling for over an hour, simply gliding on the warm updraft from the canyon. An onlooker would assume it was on the hunt, but the bird of prey was actually waiting. At an appointed time, its flight path changed from a wide, slow circle to a gently descending spiral. Down and down it swooped until is gracefully came to land on a large thorny bush, perched halfway up the canyon side. It sad idle for a while, grooming its feathers, until the rock in the shade beneath the bush, suddenly began to stir.

The Invisibility Cloak technique, the cloth facade of Yoshitsune's cloak, fell away to reveal the young ninja, snuggled into a little nook among the rocks. "I've been sitting here too long..." he sighed as he reached into his satchel and produced a bamboo flask of water. Even though he had released his camouflage jutsu, he was still completely hidden in his little lookout position from virtually all angles.

Once he had finished drinking, he stored the flask and produced a tiny scroll, immediately scratching notes in his rural handwriting. 'Sun Horn Valley - All clear' he mouthed as he wrote. When he started to furl up the scroll, the hawk hopped closer from its perch atop the bush, allowing Yoshitsune to place his note into the little pouch on the bird's leg.

"Off you go..." he whispered, shoo'ing the bird from its place. The hawk shot him a curious glance before taking to sky. It rose quickly on the hot air and after a few brief shrieks it was gone, disappearing into the afternoon sky.

Upon its departure, Yoshitsune rose from his spot as well. This wasn't the best time to travel as he knew, but he wanted to be by the eastern valley forests before nightfall. "Up you get, Uma", he said, tugging on a strap that was close beside him. In motion he lugged a massive rectangular contained from its hiding place. It seemed impossibly big for one person to carry, but he seemed to flick it into the air without much effort. In the moment it was in mid air, he continued to hold the strap while making a little gesture with his freehand. 

In rather spectacular fashion, the entire container unfolded like a piece of clockwork origami. A whirl of moving wood, steel and cloth took shape into the ninja puppet Uma. It was a steel toothed, three eyed horse with the kanji for 'Horse' engraved and branded on its forehead. The puppet stood beside Yoshitsune, awaiting its master's commands. The strap he had been holding, doubled as the horse's reigns. In a smooth motion he leaped onto the horse's back, and the puppet set off, propelled by the finger movements of Yoshitsune's free hand. 

Unlike a normal horse, fear or terrain was of no concern to Uma, which as a ninja puppet was afforded the same mobility as a shinobi. The puppet ran straight up the side of the canyon, making every footfall perfectly, guided by its rider's chakra strings. It didn't take like to scale the cliff face before Yoshitsune found himself on the plateau, speeding towards his destination away from the setting sun. His destination was the ruin of Sun Field Castle, the shattered remains of a fortified watch tower close to the Land of Earth border.


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 6, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
"_Ah. A common barbarian, then. Not a shinobi._" Ren assessed, his mind processing the young boy's words as they left his mouth, then sighed, sliding one of the kunai in his hand back into his pouch. "I don't know who your father is, but not all shinobi are violent. Strong, maybe, but violence isn't really our thing. We were originally used as assassins for espionage and subterfuge during war, but we were gradually weaponized... " His voice trailed off, as he realized that whatever he said would probably go straight over his head. Not everyone was interested in the history of shinobi, after all.

But, then, not everybody was as intelligent as him either, he had always thought.

"... sure." He finally said, taking hold of the kunai. The Houki boy briefly considered doing something a bit more flashy and impressive, but he didn't want to reveal the full extent of his abilities just after showing one of his jutsu unknowingly to someone else. Besides, a simple chakra flow would be more than impressive enough for a kid didn't even know what a ninja was. The steel of the weapon flickered for a moment, as a coat of blue electricity formed around it. Turning to face another training dummy, Ren brought his arm up, slicing the projectile through the air towards the wooden mannequin. Like a hot knife through butter, the kunai went straight through, burning a hole into it's neck.


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## Sumon (Mar 6, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure.*

Aoshi had finally reached training grounds with the new purchase. Jumping in place while looking around, he could hardly contain his excitement. There were people sparring between themselves nearby. So Aoshi decided to find a remote place and test his katana without strangers’ eyes. 

He found a place he liked further down the north from the training grounds. With trees all over the place hardly swinging from light wind, nothing could be heard nor seen in 50 yards radius. Aoshi took a final look at surroundings to make sure there was not a living soul and unsheathed his katana. 

Perfectly curved without a single scratch, it indeed was the perfect killing weapon created by humankind. With both hands the boy was holding its handle safely. He gave it a couple of swings in the wind to get the feel of it. But swinging in the wind was boring for the boy, so he moved on to a tree pretty quickly. He gripped it hard, having never actually wielded the blade before, and hit the side of the tree with full force. Clumsy boy... The blade repelled upon the impact out of Aoshi’s hand and ended up travelling a few feet before hitting the ground. Luckily, it didn’t slice Aoshi. But the boy did hurt his hands with a careless swing he had taken. His hands became red but the swelling stopped pretty quickly and Aoshi was holding katana in his hands once again. 

Having done the review of last unsuccessful attempt at swinging it, Aoshi decided to mark the tree with the blade only using its end instead of the edge. The boy concentrated for a second and took an elegant swing obliquely. Unsuccessfully, though. Too short, it didn’t connect. He put his left foot ahead of his right and tried again. From right to left, he swung the blade and... An incision on the tree appeared. The boy moved his left arm from katana’s handle and put it on the tree trying to see how deep the incision was. It was pretty deep. Aoshi couldn’t help but imagine what kind of damage he could actually do to a living person. If he could cut into this thick tree without much resistance, then there was no way a human flesh could withstand its sharpness. 

Happy with the result, Aoshi continued to swing the blade at the tree. Aoshi was getting better and better with every mark he had left on the tree. At first he was taking breaks between the swings frequently. But as the time passed, he got used to the energy drain and the blade itself, and could continue swinging his katana for longer periods of time. 

After a couple of hours of training with katana, Aoshi had to switch to another tree as the old one hardly had any bark left. But on the new tree he decided to leave marks using one hand only. Being right handed, Aoshi was holding the katana with his right hand. It took a minute for the boy to comfortably grip the handle with one hand. When he got the feel of it, Aoshi took a couple of swipes and left a very minimal mark on the tree. He tried again and again and again. But the marks weren’t as deep as when holding with both hands. On top of that Aoshi didn’t feel very comfortable wielding the blade with one hand only, so he ultimately got back to wielding it with two hands.

Having spent quite some time swinging the katana, Aoshi had already made a tremendous progress. The second tree lost its bark faster than the first one, so the boy once again left the tree ‘crying’ in plant sap and switched to third tree.

This time he decided to make it more difficult. The boy was to take swings at a tree while moving around it at all times. After resting for a minute, he stopped slacking off and began moving around the tree. He swung the blade from right to left and did 360 radius turn while leaving an incision on the tree. As soon as his face was in front of the tree again, he launched katana short into the air and waited for it to fall blade first towards the ground. As the blade was about to hit the ground, Aoshi quickly grabbed the katana by its handle and brushed up against the tree softly from left to right, leaving an extremely long incision. 

Next time Aoshi tried to catch katana by its handle in air once again, he failed and katana got into the ground. He took is as a sign for rest. With katana in the ground and its sheath lying nearby, he leaned against cut tree and sighed.


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 6, 2014)

*Ie-o
Konohagakure Training Ground*

Ie-o's head tilted to the side as Ren began explaining the history of ninja or something.  He didn't really get it, he just wanted to see some ninjutsu.  He perked up a bit when Ren decided to stop explaining and show him his technique.  He held up a single kunai knife, which began to crackle with blue lightning.  Ie-o's eyes widened a bit in wonder.  He hadn't seen lightning ninjutsu before, or ninjutsu used to cover a weapon.  What the Hell was his technique?  Ren suddenly turned toward one of the dummies to begin his attack, swiping his hand toward it, he threw the knife, which soared through the air and burnt a hole in the neck of the straw dummy, passing through it as if it had never been there in the first place.  

"Wow...  I've never seen a technique like that.  It's so much different from my own jutsu."  He turned to face Ren.  "You must be very skilled.  Where did you learn such a technique?"


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 6, 2014)

*U*zumaki *S*etsuna​
"_Ah~n!_"

Yes.

"_It's sooo long and slick!_"

Oh almighty God in the Heavens above, _*yes*_.

Let's back track a bit.

Within the Land of Fire stood the great village of Konohagakure.  It was a mighty bastion of strength, full of powerful and talented shinobi.  Shinobi who could take a life as easily as you could draw breath, who could bend the elements of nature to their will and destroy whole countries in an instant.  And amongst those shinobi there was undoubtedlyone who stood at the top, the most powerful of them all.

This shinobi was not Uzumaki Setsuna.

The young man, raised in a church, could now be found peeping in on his handiwork.  He went down the checklist in his mind.  Public all-female onsen?  Check.  A single eel, dropped in the bath for maximum effect?  Also check.  Now a gaggle of beautifully naked women were trying desperately to grasp the slippery creature.  Uzumaki Setsuna's usually pale face was bright red.  The boy was tall for his age, with long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail.  His eyes were a deep goldenrod, a feature that came from his father, as opposed to the cerulean that his mother had possessed.  He was in priest robes that had been refashioned to allow full range of movement and disrupt his way of movement as a shinobi.  A wide, giddy smile crossed his lips as he watched the women through his peephole.

He was so enthralled in the view before him he didn't notice the man behind him.

"Having fun, Setsuna-kun?"

He turned around slowly to see Inuzuka Ryoken and his large companion Koganemaru standing behind him.  Ryoken had a vein about to burst on his forehead.  He was the chuunin Setsuna worked under a lot of the time.  "Let's go, you're in trouble for this one."  Setsuna nodded solemnly, secretly performing handseals.  When the man reached for his hand to pull him up, white fire burst forward from Setsuna's palm.  "Kami no Te!"  Ryoken yanked back his slightly burned hand and looked up to see Setsuna gone.  "GOD DAMMIT, SETSUNAAAAA!"

After some running Setsuna finally slowed down, landing on a high branch just outside of the village in a patch of forest that had a strangely high number of fallen trees in it when he heard a feminine voice shout out loud.

"You hear that world?!  I'M NEVER CHANGING!"

Setsuna blinked a few times and chuckled.  He recognized that voice.  He looked down from his high perch to see his cousin Uzumaki Awai sitting on a log.  She looked a bit down and she was shouting at nobody.  He shook his head and dropped from his branch, lightly hopping down the tree and landing in the grass behind Awai with a gentle thud.  "Who's asking you to change?"  He put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a kind (and extremely effeminate) smile.


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## Bringer (Mar 6, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


Alarm bells went off in the young Uzamaki's head as she heard a voice and someone put a hand on her shoulder. STRANGER DANGER! What if it was a bear, or a wolf, or a evil wizard with ice powers. Immediately the girl began screaming her battle cry as she stood up and pivoted one hundred and eighty degrees so she could strike the mysterious person behind her, but she stopped herself. Her battle cry died down.

It was Setsuna.

"That was close! I was about to jack up your face dude!" Awai exclaimed, while putting her arms into the air to display how serious this was. The kunoichi calmed herself down, and then remembered the question.

"You know Shurui sensei, the academy teacher? Well today I protected this girl from a bunch of mean bullies and then what does Shurui sensei do? He tells me to grow up!" Her arms and hands moved with each word she uttered.

"Buuut I got over it."


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 7, 2014)

*U*zumaki *S*etsuna​
Setsuna rose his hands in surrender, shaking his head slowly with an amused expression on his face.  "Calm down, Awai-san, it's just me."  He lowered his hands as she told him why she was upset, before quickly stating how she was 'over it' and it no longer affected her.  He resisted the urge to laugh at how animatedly she moved about while she spoke.  When she was done he stepped over her log and sat down on it.  "Ouch, that's rough.  Although I'm sure Shurui-sensei didn't mean it.  Even if he did, it isn't true.  You're a fun, good-hearted person, and you'll definitely grow up to be the greatest hero the Leaf's ever had.  Never forget that God made you for a reason, and I'm sure He intended for you to be exactly as you are."  He remembered back to the first time they ever met, being paired together to complete a D Rank mission, a mere two hours after he had gotten to Konoha from Amegakure.  His cousin was a spark plug, just as she is now, and she was pretty happy most of the time, so she was easy to get along with.  He had feared his family would be depressing, or blasphemous, or a gang of heartless killers, but he was happily proven wrong.

He rose from the log, dusting the bark of the seat of his pants.  "So, what are you up to later, cousin?"


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## Olivia (Mar 7, 2014)

*Ajimu Najimi
~Another Day*~

I tossed and turned in my sheets as an aura of lights ran through my window. I grabbed my pillow and brought it over my head to shut out the blinding light, but it proved fruitless. I tried once again to close my eyes and to go to sleep, but every time I did I got a disturbing image of the Tanuki in my mind, which made me roll out of my bed.

"Another sleepless night, huh?"

I said to myself as I gained my bearings. My entire body felt sore, but that was to be expected from an entire night or rolling around. After I stretched my arms, I decided to walk to the bathroom to take a cold shower, knowing that it would at least keep me awake for the next few hours.

As the water rained down, I banged my hand on the glass in front of me, wondering why I had been cursed with such a burden. Every morning I would wonder the same thing, but every time it would always leave an emptiness inside of me. I felt as if no one could sympathize with my emotions, being trapped with only a beast. 

I cradled myself as the droplets of water fell down. I didn't want to get dressed today, to leave my home and go out to the world. As a genin I could be sent out to war at any moment. The concept of war was very scary for me, but so was the concept of me being used like some sort of tool, simply because of the beast inside of me. I hated it.

Tears rolled down my face due to my indecisiveness. I couldn't handle being a shinobi, I never wanted to be a shinobi, I just wanted to lead a normal life! How hard of a concept was that for my parents? Why couldn't they just let my brother do all the shinobi business, he was obviously into it.

I turned off the water, but that didn't stop the tears from coming. But I knew I would have to leave sooner or later, my job as a shinobi meant for me to be prompt, and I had to go. I wiped my face of my salty tears, walked out of the shower, and dried myself off. After I got dressed, I walked to the kitchen to see my brother eating breakfast. Surprised to see him still around, I asked:

"Hey bro, whatcha' doing here? Aren't you supposed to be out on a mission or something?"

He cocked a smile. He always seemed over confident, but I hadn't spent much time with him ever since he became a full fledged shinobi. He was only twenty years old, but already a high ranked Jonin in Sunagakure. He was obviously more interested in the shinobi business than I was.

*"That's the first thing you say to me after I was gone for a week, sis? Aren't you glad I'm still alive? Anyways, we finished arrived home late last night - I'm more surprised that you didn't notice, considering you probably didn't get much sleep last night."*

"Wha- how did you know that?!"

*"I can tell just by looking at your eyes. Haha, don't worry, you look fine. I know it's hard, but do try to get some sleep, you can't go too long without it you know."*

I simply looked away. My status as a Jinchuriki had never been a 'hot topic' to speak about, especially by my family. They tried to ignore it the best they could, but I could tell they thought they now had a monster living under their roof.

*"Oh and sis, one more thing."*

I turned to look at him. Normally I would ignore any further comments as he just likes to make fun of me, but the tone of his voice sounded serious. I gave my full attention to him as he spoke:

*"The Kazekage asked for you. I know it's strange, since he seemingly forgot about your existence a few years back...but he said it was urgent, so I'd recommend seeing him."*

The Kazekage always creeped me out. He had those type of eyes that you could just tell that he looked down on you, no matter how much you smiled. I knew he wanted to simply use me as a tool, but I always found it weird how he gave up on me so easily...it was as if there was another like me out there that caught his interest...No impossible, the village would know if there was another demon like me running around.

"Fine..."

I sighed. I skipped out on breakfast as I walked towards the door. I could hear my brother gasping for breath as he was about to speak again, but I didn't bother to even look at him or say goodbye; I just left without a word. I knew it was cold, but I didn't know what would happen in the future, so I didn't want any emotions such as farewells to get in the way.

The light reflected off the sand so beautifully, it almost looked like a sea of sand. It was days like today where I was actually proud to come from this village. However, my destination today lead to a place that I was not proud of, the Kazekage's estate. I approached the large building, and entered the front door. Passing the reception desk, I walked up the large stair cases and paced towards the Kazekage's office. 

"I'm coming in."

I didn't bother to knock, I simply swung the door open, to the non-surprised Kazekage sitting at his desk.

"Well what do we have here? Welcome Miss Najimi, it's been a while since we last talked."​


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## Vergil (Mar 7, 2014)

*Mion - Suna*

Jira looked at Mion who was sitting and staring at a green concoction she had bought with the money off her mission. A virulent poison. He wondered just what she planned on doing with it.

"Mion, you've been summoned to meet with the Kazekage." Jira said. Mion looked up at him and  put the bottle away, before rising to her feet. "Please try to show him some respect."

"Respect?" Mion turned and shot a fierce glance at the sensei. "Right, I'll show him the respect he deserves."

The walk was a short one but at least it was pleasant. Her display in the city center had gained her some infamy. People stepped out of the way as she walked, clearing a path and ensuring that her previous mission was successful.There would no longer be a litter problem in Suna.

She entered the room, which had the Kazekage as well as some brunette tart.

"Kazekage-sama," the words were like venom, "In what way may your tool be used today?" Mion said referring to her past. She eyed the girl, the jinchuuriki girl. 

"Freak." Mion said at her general direction.


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## Bringer (Mar 7, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


How was it he knew exactly what to say, it was as if Setsuna possessed an ability that allowed him to unravel the jumbled mess that is life and see what really matters. She sat back down on the log, scooting close to her cousin. Awai had almost forgotten he was a religious nut, but honestly it wasn't a bad thing. In fact it was really interesting. 

The young Uzamaki in truth had only just met her cousin about two weeks ago give or take a few days. She was pretty ecstatic about it. Technically he's the only blood relative she knows, meaning he's the closest thing to family she'll ever have.  Awai hated thinking about other Uzamaki's due to the fact not many were around... It made her get all depressed and soul searchy. 

She heard Setsuna's question and began stroking her chin. "Hmm... Well nothing really. My caretaker Tawa won't be back until tonight... She has some ambu... Anbu... Ambu... Business to take care of." Awai replied as honestly as possible. "I guess I'll just get some training done." The kunoichi place her arms around her head and allowed herself to fall backwards, her head meeting the lush grass.

"Maybe I'll get as strong as my mother." She muttered under her breath, but quickly caught herself. No way would she bring other people done with her cruddy attitude. "So Setsuna you still harassing chicks." She began to laugh. "Weirdo." The older of two poked fun at the other.


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## luffy no haki (Mar 7, 2014)

The Forty-Fourth Training Ground, also known as the Forest of Death in Konoha. Its primary function serves as a testing ground for the survival. It is a very dangerous place, filled with hordes of flora and fauna, often gigantic or poisonous most likely, both. A metallic fence surrounds its perimeter with 44 gates equally spaced around it; this perimeter is where the shinobi entered. Inside is a river, the forest, and a tower located in the exact centre; the forest's radius is about ten kilometres. It lies to the north of the Forty-Third Training Ground. Within the forest are several large and deadly creatures such as leeches, tigers, and bears.

Whatever the introduction to this place may be, what matters the most about it is that a young man using an ANBU uniform walked through the dangerous den of death. A white mask with green lines and a form resembling the head of a hawk was covering his face. His reasons to be there were pretty simple, he needed to pick up _something_ located one kilometer away from the tower at the center of the place. Advancing through giant trees and avoiding conflicts with then residents of the forest, the shinobi reached his destination. A strange feeling assaulted him once he noticed nothing was there.

Reacting immediately, he takes out his short sword characteristic of every ANBU. And skillfully deflects an unidentified object that flew towards him.  Looking for the weapon he was assaulted with, he finds out it was a bone, actually it looked like some sort of rib." I see your sense of humor hasn?t changed, but could you show yourself already, Akaya-kun?"the ninja asked with his eyes closed before opening them with the sharingan active.

"Oh c?mmon. And I can see you haven?t got one yet, Takao-san. A sense of humor I mean"his voice echoed a little until the Uchiha caught a glimpse of his location. A boy of no more than fifteen years old was sitting on the huge branch coming from an enormous three standing at the center of the area. The physical features of the guy showed black disheveled hair with an straight and curly alternate pattern; dirt in his face and visible parts of the body together with some dryed blood. Deep gray eyes, that gave the impression as if the kid was blind. An arrogant smile crossing his face; his clothes consisted of a red shirt and brown trunks both of them torn apart in some places. He was also wearing the typical pair of ninja boots that most of shinobi used.

"SO...what is the reason for you to come all the way to visit me, senpai?"Akaya asked with sarcasm, he pretty much knew the reason but he wanted to hear it from the man before him.With relative ease, he jumped from the branch and landed, allowing Takao to see the long chains stuck to the ankles and wrists of the boy. They were long, enough to let the prisoner move freely around a limited radius from the three, however not long enough to let the lad go too far.

"It seems like no matter the punihsment, you will never learn. Indeed, I?m a little suprised you survived two weeks chained in this place"he said now noticing the meatless skull of a tiger lying at the foot of the three, how was the kid even capable of defending himself? truth be told, by his appereance it was obvious that he didn?t have it easy. "Ryoga-sama is demanding your presence to talk about your little attempt at escaping and also, it seems he wants to give you a new mission. This time alone"he said finally before throwing the key of the chains to Akaya who quickly freed himself and stood next to the ANBU.

"Hmmm...I wonder is he in his right mind? after all that has happened he still thinks he can trust me?" Akaya asked with a playful tone but deep inside his blood was boiling. Uchiha Ryoga wasn?t taking him seriously.

"Whatever, orders are orders. So move" with a light kick he pushed Akaya forward as tehy started to leave.


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## Olivia (Mar 7, 2014)

*Ajimu Najimi*
* ~Another Day*~

I shivered as I looked at the Kage. He gave me the creeps, like always. He always had that ludicrous smile, but I could read under it - he definitly had something planned, and it wasn't good. The scene only intensified with what I deemed as my opposite, one of my classmates Mion entered the room. 

"Kazekage-sama, In what way may your tool be used today?"

The girl spoke venemously towards the Kazekage - so I suppose that's one thing we had in common - we didn't like this dirt-bag. On the other hand, she didn't only mind being a shinobi, she lived for being something further than being a shinobi, she lived for being a killer! That was something you could tell instantly due to her scars and her personality. 

 "Freak."

My emotions boiled up inside of me. How dare she call me a freak, when she's the one that (as rumor has it) tortures and kills for fun! Only someone with a very twisted mind would think like that! I on the other hand could only be considered a 'freak' due to the tailed beast inside of me, but that isn't even me! Also she is the 'tool' which the Kazekage was looking forward to so much, and is abusing her insanity for that reason! He couldn't control me like that so that's why he gave up on me! 

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down, I shouldn't let her rile me up.

 "So what do you want, Kazekage-sama?"

He seemed to take a while with his reply, as he brought his hand to his chin. Even though he had a confused look on his face, I knew that he knew exactly why he called us out here, he was just putting on an act like he always does.

"Well...you two arrived right when I needed you. I was thinking of putting you two on a mission together."

I rolled my eyes. I knew this was going to happen. Why must I be on a team with miss crazy? I know I won't be able to survive the day.

"Don't worry, the mission won't take too long-"

I felt relieved.

"It will only take place over the course of one week."

My heart crumbled.

"As you two should know - we've been holding a large border patrol while Iwagakure has been out defending the Land of Wind. Normally this would be the time where someone would interject that we should be protecting our own land, but I'm selfish enough to say 'If they're protecting it for us, then what's the point of sacrificing our men to do it?'. So that's why you guys will be on border patrol too. I hope the two of you will be able to bond during that time. <3"

At least a mission like this would be able to get me out of the village, but to spend an entire week alone - with her - would be tortuous.

"Well this mission should be fairly easy assuming you don't get into combat, so good luck. Any interesting news you find will be of value. I will be taking no further questions, both of you are dismissed."

I hated how he spoke in almost all absolutes. No questions? We were barley briefed on our mission and then thrown to the side. So he wants us to walk around the village aimlessly like every other Sunagakure shinobi as if Iwagakure's troops were to fail immediately? The more I thought about it, there were two possibilities: One, it feels like he is plotting something else behind the scenes. Two, he is getting some sort of sadistic pleasure from seeing someone like myself be isolated with a girl like _that_ for a week - the more I thought about it, both options seemed to be the case. But idle speculation is pointless, I took that statement as if I should leave. I turned to the blue haired girl and spoke.

"It'll take me ten minutes to gather my supplies, so meet me by the village gate in fifteen minutes. I'm sure the two of us aren't too keen on working together, but we might as well truck through it."

Wanting to say as little as possible without pissing her off, I left before I could say anymore. I arrived home and noticed my entire family had vacated the home for some strange reason. Regardless, I gathered my stuff and walked to the village gate, awaiting my pointless mission with my pain-in-the-ass teammate. ​


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 7, 2014)

*U*zumaki *S*etsuna​
Setsuna scratched the back of his neck, smiling weakly.  "I'm not harassing them, I'm enjoying, wait that's the wrong word...  I'm partaking, wait no...  Soyousaidyouwantedtogetsometrainingdone?"  His next sentence (which, to clarify, was asking if she wanted to train) came out as a jumble, the younger of the two Uzumaki trying to roll over this part of the conversation as quickly as possible.  She hadn't caught him yet, but she'd heard from his superiors about his perverted streak.  It was a fear that SHE would be the one to catch him one day and then proceed to test out her taijutsu on his body.

He did not want that to happen.

He cracked his neck from side to side and rolled his shoulders a bit.  "If you want to train, I could use the exercise.  After all, we hadn't caught any action on that last mission, I never got to really see what you can do.  I'm more than willing to show you some of my Katengoku, if you wish."


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## Bringer (Mar 7, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


Awai couldn't help smiling as Setsuna began to crash and burn as he tried to find a word to make his harassing sound more...  Tame. Seeing as he failed to do that, the younger Uzamaki instead decided to change the embarrassing subject and ask if she wanted to get some training done. 

Awai was hooked. "That's great! But how would we train? We could wrestle a bear, spend the night in the forest of death, make a obstacle course filled with pits of fire!" The girl stopped herself. "Or you know... sparring is fine too!"

Awai leaped backwards to get some distance away from her cousin so they could have a reasonable distance to start the spar."Sure I'll see some of your katengoku... whatever that is. Then maybe I'll show you some of my moves... And trust me they're totally killer! The trees here can vouch for me."

The young Uzamaki got in a fighting stance. "Whenever your ready Setsu!"


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 7, 2014)

*U*zumaki *S*etsuna​
Setsuna felt the color leave his face at Awai's suggestions.  Each one sounded more and more terrible, and more and more likely to end up with him missing a few extremities.  So the relief flooded him when she just decided on a good, old-fashioned spar.  He released a steady breath as she jumped backward from him, readying herself for their spar.  He felt a bit nervous when she revealed that the fallen trees were a result of her previous training here, but settled himself down.  _Alright, take it easy, Setsuna.  You can't psych yourself out before the game even starts._  He shot her a challenging smirk and formed a string of handseals, going over them in his head.  _Hitsuji.  Inu.  Tora.  Katengoku: Kyushutsu!_  He focused the chakra into his fingertips.  He reached behind his back.  Most shinobi carried a pack of shuriken and kunai.  He revealed a cross, about a foot long and about an inch and a half in width.  What Awai didn't know was that his jutsu just charged the cross with white-hot chakra, and in this state, only Setsuna could touch it without getting burned.  This was his protection against weapons like kunai and swords.  

He pushed off his back leg and began sprinting toward her.  He knew that the girl's strength was, well, strength.  She could overpower him without much difficulty.  He had to rely on his speed and attack her guerrilla style, getting in and then getting out.


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## Sumon (Mar 7, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure*

While hiding in a shadow, Aoshi was looking at his bruised palms. He tried to clench both fists, but hardly could do it. He was in pain. His hands had been soft, so handling katana was taking its toll on the boy’s hands. And he didn’t feel it during the practise itself as he was all fired up thus blood was rushing through his veins like crazy. But having calmed down, he could feel an unpleasant feeling after putting pressure on his palms. There was no way he could the sword for long periods of time. But not for long, though. If he was to continue practising with the katana, his hands will become hard as a rock in no time, and he will have no problems with it whatsoever.

Aoshi pushed himself away from the tree and put his hands on katana’s handle. While feeling slight stinging, he pulled the blade out from the ground quite easily as the blade was extremely sharp, and put it into sheath. Holding the katana by its sheath in his left hand, he walked to Hidden village of the Mist.

Feelings weren’t too positive for Aoshi. He was unhappy with the way his practise was cut short due to a minor injury. He planned to practise with the blade for two more hours and do some meditation afterwards. But the stinging pain in palms had ruined his plans. Of course, he could still meditate. But the boy wasn’t in the mood for it anymore. 

Back in the village, Aoshi entered a weapon shop owned by a huge fat man. That was the place where the boy had gotten his katana. The owner, surprised to see Aoshi again so soon, greeted the boy excitedly: “You’re back!” He laughed. Aoshi nodded in return and put a smile on his face. “I’ve over pushed myself with the blade, so I’d like to get a couple of rolls of bandages.” The boy showed bruised right hand while tightly holding the katana in the other. His plan was to wrap the bandages around his hands so he would soften the damage received when wielding the katana.

The fat man burst laughing once again. “Ahh, I remember those days...” He drifted into the past when he himself was injury prone: “I was young and thin, just like you. Everyone went down to me. Those times...” A few seconds of silence followed that. Aoshi didn’t know how to reply. He still found the fat man to be quite intimidating despite friendliness that he had shown.  And the boy didn’t want to anger the owner as it wasn’t in his best interest. The boy would need to use this shop for years to come.

Luckily for Aoshi, the owner got back to reality and broke the silence, putting requested bandages on a counter. But now the boy himself was drifting somewhere. His attention was caught by mysterious scrolls that were demonstrated in the counter. With price tag being 4700ryo for a single scroll, the boy couldn’t help but wonder what kind of power lied in such simple but yet so expensive roll of paper.

“Are you interested?” The owner asked, noticing where Aoshi was looking at. “A bargain, if you asked me, helps inexperienced ninjas tremendously.” He took one scroll from the counter and demonstrated it in front of Aoshi’s eyes. The scroll was in blue colour and had a kanji meaning water written on it. But the boy was more curious than he was interested. He wasn’t too sure what the scroll was for so he just shrugged his shoulders. “What exactly does it do?”

“You don’t know? I thought they covered it in the academy.” The fat man acted surprised, but the boy really didn’t know. He spent only 3 years in the academy, so he might have missed some things.  “You store a huge amount of water in it. And when you fight an enemy in an area with no water, you pop up this scroll and voila, you’ve got yourself water resource for suiton techniques.” Aoshi couldn’t believe his ears that such thing actually existed. His Achilles heel was fighting in waterless areas because he couldn’t utilize his two best techniques. Not anymore! With this scroll he was bound to dominate even in a desert!

He put 4700 ryo on the counter and pulled the scroll out of the owner’s hand, much to the latter’s surprise. But the owner didn’t get offended. Vice versa, actually. The owner was proud of the boy that he was so devoted. 

“Just remember, form Ox hand sign followed by hare and open the scroll for water to appear. Water is already stored in it and bandages are on me.” The owner told the boy, who put all the purchases into pockets and left the shop overjoyed. 

As soon as Aoshi left the alley, a high ranking Kirigakure ninja in chuunin vest appeared out of nowhere in front of him. “Shinomori Aoshi, you are being summoned to Mizukage’s office. Pack your stuff and present yourself in 10minutes.” The ninja disappeared without waiting for Aoshi to respond.


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## Vergil (Mar 7, 2014)

*Mion*

Mion didn't even listen to all of the Jinchuuriki's girl's little friendly speech and was up and moving halfway through her statement. She heard it but wasn't about to take orders from some freak show of a person. They had gone over candidates for the Jin program, apparently she was overlooked due to her mental instability. AND WHO'S FUCKING FAULT IS THAT?! Not that she held any resentment, it just meant that she didn't need a monster in her to make her scary - she was monster enough. 

Still despite all that, she was somewhat excited to get out of the village. It was going to be her first time out of there and meeting new people was always fun. The gradual fear that built up in people was delightful. And a border patrol too. 

The mission itself made no sense. The Kazekage would entrust his borders to be defended by an outside country? She was not well versed in politics but knew people - they didn't do something for nothing. There was likely a deal struck, which was acceptable - especially if it was something like blackmail or holding a child hostage. 

Mion grabbed her items. A couple vials of her own blood and poisons that she had bought. Of course her weapons and the various components she needed for her jutsu. She wondered if she could steal a couple of things from the patrol camp, perhaps learn a few things. The senseis around here were worthless.

She ended up arriving at the gate 20 minutes after their meeting, just to spite the Jinchuuriki. She greeted her with a scowl. 

"Come on freak - let's go and get this over with."


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## luffy no haki (Mar 7, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Master and Servant_​
*Akaya?s PoV*
_
After my encounter with Takao-san in the forest, we left towards the office of Uchiha Ryoga-sama at the Uchiha compound. We are advancing on top of the roofs with caution; technically there?s no problem if a civillian sees me in this condition but shit is different if a ninja does. For this village as a whole, I don?t exist not even as a shinobi and only a few people do know what I am doing here. If you wonder about the way I received the Uchiha before me, lets just say that I don?t like him much, indeed I would love to break his nose with my fist right now; Takao-san is my teacher and he has taught me lots of things, from information found in books to some of the most horrible life experiences a kid could go through I feel enormous gratitude for him and that?s why when my chance comes, I will let him go only with some broken bones.

It didn?t take more than couple of minutes to reach the Uchiha compound. It?s so shiny, with everyone smiling and the shinobi residents making notice of their status. I can see a genin walkking around proudly, poor kid doesn?t know what he has gotten into. It makes me sick. Turning in an alley, we walked some more before reaching the main house of the clan....Here is where Uchiha Ryoga, the person I loathe the most in this world, lives.

Entering through a secret passageway that leads directly to the office, Takao-san and I reach our destination. My fists clench while I force an smile on my face. We can see him there sitting and admiring the starry sky. He has a stoic expression in his face, no feelings at all. Since I came here, I have met many shinobi and among them many many Uchiha; sometime I wonder if they have a big stick too deep into their asses so they can?t even smile, more than half of Root is like this.

"I see, that you are fine. I hope this has left in you a valuable lesson, Akaya-kun. A pet doesn?t need more than what its master gives to it, trying to escape did hurt my feelings."he said without looking at the two of us yet. "Only lesson I learned was to never try to catch prey with your own blood as bait when chained to a giant three...Ryoga-sama" I replied, my las words with some venomous tone. It?s obvious that I don?t like this guy, yet he keeps me by his side together with Takao-san and Kaito-san; Kaito-san is my other teacher by the way.

A sigh came out from his mouth and then looked at me, there was alittle pressure coming from his gaze. Was he trying to intimidate me? sorry but that doesn?t work, not anymore. "As expected, even after two weeks chained in the forest of death without food, your irreverent mix of respect and sarcasm has not disappeared. You should know by now that a dog shouldn?t reply like that, indeed a dog shouldn?t reply at all." he stated this time and made a move with his hand, I felt a burn in my cheek before realizing that he slapped me. Tsk.

"I will let this slip for now, I have a new mission for you. this will be your second mission alone so don?t screw up."Ryoga announced and then gave me a folder with some documents inside.Giving a quick glance to them, I noticed the kind of mission assigned, I hate those sort of tasks. "How should I proceed in case of being discovered?"I ask this time around hoping that he won?t say what I don?t want to hear."You existence must not be revelaed at any cost..."i knew it.

"That is all, you can go home for the time being. You leave at mid-night"in the end he gave me no details at all, guess it doesn?t matter. As I make a bow, i immediately leave. I swear one of this days I will jump on him and  hit him so many times his face will end up deformed._

*Akaya?s PoV end*

Once the kid had left, Uchiha Ryoga looked at the ANBU before him. Pulling his own hair backwards, he cleared his throat and spoke."So how was it? Anything special about when you found him?"he asked directly without beating around the bush; even though he had punished Akaya, it was still a way to form the boy by make him undergo hardships however the fact that the kid had talent and learned at a monstruous rate was something to be aware of.

"I?m not very sure about how to answer, sir. Just as you have seen, leaving aside the dirt and clothes, his condition is almost perfect  and not a single scratch on his body besides those scars made during the torture endurance tests months ago."Takao said thinking carefully about his words"My theory is that his already strong link with the Kyuubi is getting stronger. When i arrived I noticed many skeletons of animals surrounding the three and a couple of them were of tigers from the forest of death. He is growing wonderfully..."stating was what in his mind he doubted a little about his next words but Ryoga animated him to continue"But..."

"But I think if we let him grow uncontrollably he may become quite dangerous...We need to get a tighter grip on him"


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 7, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
"_At least he recognizes skill._" He smirked to himself slightly, moving to pick up the kunai, his distorted blue eyes reflecting faintly from the dulled black, now muddied, steel of the weapon. 

"I taught it to myself." He answered simply, casually sliding it back into his pouch.

Ren paused for a moment, his mind recalling something else the kid said. "_Wait, he has jutsu?_" Turning around, he looked at the unidentified child and asked, "Why do you have jutsu when you're not a shinobi?"


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## Chronos (Mar 7, 2014)

Enter: Ivery, Genji
Yukigakure's Most Entitled Heretic












​
Comes a time where a boy needs to make up his mind about what surrounds him, whether or not he's indifferent of his reality, or whether he really cares about what's occurring to the world. He remembers a dream, lucid it was, yet blurred. Remembered the gloom caused by it, all euphoria had vented through his system, airing it out of his emotive thought process, with nothing but the void creeping the center, he knew it was sad to know what reality had place for him. It was sad, indeed, how cruel. Knowing he couldn't ever choose a side, a benefactor that would please his interest in the slightest. What had caused him to jump to this mental state? Who knows? He couldn't remember even if he tried, sure he could pinpoint moments in his time where he would think something happen, but nevertheless, the story always changes, but always bringing it to the same conclusion.

_"There's no true emotion." _

Whatever that means... It's something he heard once while pacing through endlessly one night. He supposed it was that time he stayed out late at night. Stores are dangerous and well there can be some crazy people mumbling crazy shit while canned, drunk or high on whatever. There's so many things going on in the world, right? War seems to be just a shred of the matter, but outside that, the mental infrastructure of every human beings seems to be broken. If he remembered correctly it was some man sitting at the corner of this pub. Pretty sure he was hopped up on something, but really what does it matter? 

Not sure, but those looks they had. He's seen far too many to count, a mien is a scary things. You can read people so easily. How fragile the glance, that like a mirror reflects whatever the man is thinking, whatever they're feeling. Sober thoughts are drunk words, right? However whatever effects the alcohol had, wasn't what caused his ramblings. He was drunk in thought. Something far much more dangerous. Mental stability seems to be something very hard to keep, mumbles escaped his mouths so more or less the boy could make out what was going on.

Whatever the matter he was in was enough to caused the lad to gag in his own saliva. A slight chuckle escaped his lips, human possessiveness is also very dangerous. Philosophy is also very much so. Whatever do we humans do? Although in truth he was but one of many who causes the problem. So satisfied with how things are and should be. Maybe he should simply die and allow someone to take his place? Maybe if destiny were to replaced all of the soiled apples from the tree, maybe more well nourished ones would replaced them. Maybe, how would he know? 

Reality has such a specific way to deal with things. Maybe God would one day really reign down from the heavens, hell broken loose and out planet engulfed in some rapture. Whatever the moral of life is, the boy couldn't care less. There was an impulse, something that caused humanity actions to sharpen itself at the face of danger. Death was merely and obstacle that barred their way through goals that mattered so little. Haughty and mighty these dreams were, engulfed with euphoric delusion. Well, maybe dirt one might be as luck to strike gold.

Nevertheless. Whatever does it mean that _there is no true emotion_? He thought about it, for quite sometime. He doesn't know the answer, but there's one thing that always seems to happen. A smile, no matter whatever the situation, not of his neurons function like before. His reality had shifted and life seemed to be much more passable. Things didn't bother him as much and on the contrary, became easier. A system exist for many reason, some of them well... probably because it was placed there to benefit the wallets of those who sit on chairs built of diamond and despair. And so, there it comes. A world we built, and submerged within so much evil... And so he is expected to throw my life away, and even care about what others tell me? 

Nah, dying seems to be worth it at times. Don't think of the boy as suicidal, it's the truth. There are something he'd rather not consume. Like simple bullshit about honor in the village, or the responsibility of all shinobi. Rather, he doesn't neglect it, having power is good, it feels nice. It seems like an answer to many things. Swing your fist around for a bit and laugh knowing how you puppeteer their wills, constrict morals and subdue laws in whatever accord meets your fancy.

Whatever it means, it formed him. To a point where he's surprised. A cynical monster probably keen on world domination. Yeah, but the world won't change. Too much progress has been made, and morals, ideologies, thoughts and lively-hoods. How could he change that at will? Of course, domination represents that unbridled law. Imposing one's own morals into society. But he'd always wondered...

"How would it feel, to be evil for a little bit?"


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## Fedster (Mar 7, 2014)

*Ryuushi Yuno*

"That was delicious, Yu-chan." Complimented the grandmother to her only granddaughter, who was doing the dishes. She had her back facing the older woman, and her calm, blue eyes were looking through the open window. "Your cooking gets better with every day."

"Thanks, oba-chan." She answered, smiling softly. "How are you feeling?" Her eyes did not leave the wet dishes on the sink.

"Better, now that I've eaten." The granny said. After a moment, she added: "I noticed that it took you longer than usual to return from the grocery store." Her tone became less nice with that sentence, but  anyone who was not used to it would not notice the difference. Yuno, however, did, and the hair at the back of her head spiked. "Did something happen?" She disguised her tone with curiosity and concern.

"I took the longer route." Yuno lied. She could feel her grandmother's eyes drilling her head for the truth. "I heard from someone that the training grounds were a little dangerous today. I didn't want to risk it, so..."

"You didn't want to risk it." The older woman repeated, her voice more evidently serious. But it suddenly returned to a more normal, relaxed one. "Well, as long as you get back here, to me, it's ok. Now, help me get in the bed again, Yu-chan."

But, oba-chan, the doctor said you should-"

But when she turned around, she was interrupted by her grandmother's tears. "Why do you keep being so rude to me, Yu-chan? Don't you love your poor, crippled grandma?" Yuno was almost forced to look down at the older woman's amputated legs. She cringed everytime she saw them, and that moment was no exception. "Were you planning to abandom me and let me die? Was _that_ why you took so long?!"

"No! I wasn't, really!" She walked up to her grandmother and took her hands. "I wouldn't leave you for anything, baa-chan!"

And only for an instant, the woman's mouth curled into a satisfied grin, before turning into a thankful smile, her teary, shining eyes looking up at Yuno. "Thank you, Yu-chan. Now, please, would you get me on the bed?"

And that she did.


----------



## Kyuuzen (Mar 7, 2014)

*Ie-o
Konohagakure Training Grounds*

Ie-o was genuinely intrigued by the boy.  The technique he had showcased had been flashy and definitely effective.  Glancing once more at the whole in the dummy's neck he involuntarily reached for his own throat, making sure it was still intact.  "*You taught yourself that technique?  That's pretty incredible.*"  He was bent forward at the waist, admiring Ren's handiwork as the boy collected his weapon and began to walk away, before stopping.

"Why do you have jutsu when you're not a shinobi?"

"*My parents taught me,*" he responded without looking back at him.  He stood to his full height and took a few backwards steps away from the dummy, before looking over at Ren.  "*Here, why don't I show you?*"  He rose his arms, hands appearing out of the sleeves of his kimono, and clapped them together in a single seal.  "*Fuuton,*" he called out.  "*Reppushou!*"  Wind began whipping up around them, Ie-o's hair rippling wildly.  He thrusted a single palm at the dummy and released a concussive blast of wind from his hand.  The wind collided with the dummy and snapped the wood supporting it, blowing it down.  The wind died as the technique ended and he lowered his hands.  Ie-o turned to Ren.  "*That's my technique.*"


----------



## Sumon (Mar 7, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure.*

“...” Aoshi was standing speechless in the middle of the old town of Kirigakure. He had just been given orders by some Kiri ninja and had no say in it whatsoever. Not by choice but by rudeness of that particular ninja who didn’t care to wait at least a second for Aoshi to make a response. Should the boy obey the orders or ignore them? Was that a prank played by someone? Unable to see any familiar faces around, he figured the call was legit and rushed to his house. Aoshi had to get back to home, prepare for something unspecified and get to Mizukakage’s office only in 10minutes! Mission hardly possible. 

Jumping from one roof to another, bumping into pedestrians and almost falling on little children – Aoshi had to endure it all on his way home. Since the boy wanted to make it to Mizukage in time, he had to make every second count. 

While travelling quickly, he was playing various scenarios in his head as to what kind of visit it was going to be. He wasn’t in trouble, that’s for sure. If Aoshi was, he wouldn’t have been told to pack his stuff... unless he was going to be banished from the village. “Nah.” Aoshi laughed it off. Mizukage wasn’t doing that to genins like him, not to the boy’s knowledge at least. 

Mission was a more likely option. And a super important one as Aoshi was given almost no time to prepare and was tracked down by Kiri ninja for the sole purpose of informing the boy. “Yeah, a mission.” The boy reassured himself, nodding his head and smiling widely. 

**Bam!** Aoshi had bashed into an elderly woman carrying apples. He had lost his concentration by thinking about the near future too much. “Pardon me, Mrs!” Aoshi was helping the woman, who was really pissed at the boy, stand up. He also picked up a few apples before going back on his way. “The least you could is to help me carry them!” The woman shouted out, but Aoshi was already too far and too committed to travelling in 10 minutes to actually turn around and help the woman. Besides, Aoshi didn’t give two shits about the woman anyway. 

The boy bit an apple that he had stolen from the woman after bashing into her and dropped the pace of his running dramatically as he had crossed the threshold of his house. First thing Aoshi did there was go to his own room. The boy had spent about 2 minutes in it before rushing downstairs with a backpack in his hand. Next stop was kitchen. He opened a fridge but found nothing there. Luckily for the boy there were still some fruits left on a kitchen table. With one swipe of the hand, Aoshi pushed all the fruits he had into his backpack and strapped it on his back. After filling up a flask with drinking water, he was good to go.

Aoshi rushed from his house to Mizukage’s office as fast as possible, smashing the doors of his house behind. The office wasn’t too far away from his house, so it didn’t take long for the boy to reach a building that Mizukage’s office was in. Having passed a couple of usual guards near the building’s entrance, Aoshi dashed upstairs stepping on every second step. The boy was already at a door that was leading to a room where Mizukage was supposedly sitting behind a desk. 

The boy took a deep breath, brushed his hand through his soaking wet hair (perk of running around the village like a headless chicken in the middle of a sunny day) and entered the room without knocking. 

“Shinomori Aoshi reporting for duty!” The boy said playfully while shutting the door behind himself and putting his right hand to his forehead, before getting a closer look at Mizukage. He had never actually talked to the Mizukage before as she was a busy person. Only saw her from a distance, so the boy was quite excited to finally get an opportunity to interact with such powerful ninja. And Aoshi most certainly had liked what he saw so far. Young and gorgeous, she made Aoshi blush in a heartbeat.


----------



## Island (Mar 8, 2014)

*Downtown Kirigakure*

---​
The shinobi smacked hard against the concrete wall, his back colliding with it and producing a huge crack upon impact. Then, suddenly, an unknown force rushed forward, planting a fist right into his stomach. The shinobi let out a loud gasp as the wind left him, and he buckled under the force of his opponent?s strike. Another shinobi came up from behind to attack the unknown aggressor, but it was too quick. It ducked just in time and countered with a sweeping low kick, knocking the second shinobi off his feet and right into the point of a weapon. The shinobi let out a cry as the unknown weapon punctured his shoulder, ripping straight through.

?After her!? Somebody shouted.

The attacker stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself.

Female. Roughly 145-150 cm and 40-45 kg. White hair. Yellow eyes. Pale complexion. An unhealthy, weedy appearance, almost sickly looking. She wore a simple yellow shirt with dark pants and sandals. However, she bore no emblems, no symbols, or anything else to indicate who she was or who she might have been affiliated with. Likewise, her movements gave no indication of any known fighting style or that she possessed any unique techniques such as those specific to any one clan or village.

One might even question if she was a shinobi.

Then, she produced a seal with her right hand and disappeared in a blur.

She reappeared on a pointed rooftop about ten meters above her previous position, only to be met with a barrage of shuriken from one of her three attackers. She dodged one, allowing it to narrowly brush past her nose, caught one, and then countered the third by deflecting it with the second. Her movements appeared indicative that she had extensive combat experience, familiar with both basic ninja techniques, as well as the use of weapons.

?Surrender, Masuyo.? One of the shinobi commanded. ?We don?t want to hurt you. We want to help you. We can?t do that, however, unless you?re willing to cooperate.?

The female remained silent.


----------



## luffy no haki (Mar 8, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Disastruous Intrusion  I_
​
Akaya finally woke up, soon after Ryoga allowed him to leave he went straight to his house, if that can be called a house. A small and old building in the deepest part of the uchiha compound; officially this building?s abandoned and no one lives there. Apparently not being a safe place at all, no one really approaches it what is perfect for the boy, that way no one would know about him. 

Stretching his body after his first good sleep in two weeks, Akaya approaches the old and rotten closet destined for his properties and takes out a uniform. It consists of black clothing, a grey flak jacket, metal arm guards and gloves, ninja sandals with spikes for travelling into mountainous regions, three ninja pouches on its back-waist. Taking off his torn shirt, a black tatto shows on his right arm, sign that he is member of the ANBU however this design is a little different from the Hokage?s ANBU; a new symbol created as sign of the rebirth of "Root" under the wing of the Uchiha clan.



Already wearing his uniform, Akaya turns around and walks towards his bed. Extending his hand, he takes a white porcelain mask. The object fits him perfectly, covering his face from being seen; 

Checking at the clock hanging on the wall, he sees the clockwise and smile crossed his face before placing the mask on his face. His new mission started.
--------------

Running, jumping and balancing his body was the way he advanced through the dark forest illuminated only by the dim light of the moon; no stars could be seen in the sky this time around and some gray clouds were floating, moving slowly almost giving the impression that they were static just as usual. His destination was still five hundred meters away, and the adrenaline was already running through his body. The words of his "master" still in his mind_"Your existence must not be revealed at any cost..."_ was what he said and that could only mean one thing: if he was discovered the target would not only be one but all the people around that could suppose a threat towards this secret mission.

Stopping abruptly he contemplates the big mansion, it looks like one of those estates that rich people usually had. A big house with plenty of rooms built with a good old japanese feudal style; a big garden and a little pond. Guards situated outside of the doors and most likely inside too. Akaya couldn?t help but compare this with the old and rotten housing attempt he called home, being onest it was just as good as the Forest of Death with the only difference that his chances of surviving were bigger inside the building.

Shaking the useless thoughts, he disappears with a jump and advances around the perimeter trying to find a different way to get in. Finding a blind spot between the guards surrounding the place, he jumps over the wall and enters with ease. Carefully Akaya walks towards his target, the third room of the mansion is wher ethe target should be sleeping. Reaching the room, he teakes a deep breath and plans on opening the door but...

"Hey!! Who are you and what are you doing here!!? What are those idiot guards doing?!!"the man before him, his target, was already making an uproar.


He screwed up.


----------



## Bringer (Mar 8, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


"You're going to smack me around... With a cross?" Awai muttered in confusion... Did the boy think she was a vampire or something?

Immediately the the kunoichi's focus returned. Awai had noticed that Setsuna preformed some hand seals before taking out his cross, however she had no idea what those seals did? Was he trying to feint her or something, or catch her off guard? Perhaps this was the katengoku he mentioned earlier? 

Well there was only one way to find out.

"HAAAAAAAAA!" The girl charged forward blindly while preforming the ram seal. Chakra poured into the young Uzamaki's feet as she had a sudden burst of speed. She wasn't planning on doing anything flashy, just a speedy punch of impending doom and destruction!


----------



## Kyuuzen (Mar 8, 2014)

Kogarashi Erai - Mizukage
*Her Office*

Kogarashi Erai was a talented kunoichi, had been her whole life.  She radiated a combination of unbridled sex appeal and effortless power, and when she looked at you it was as if she was staring right through you.  However, that was on her good days.  Today was not one.  Today she was withdrawn and her eyes were sunken and melancholy, her mind contemplating things no one knew about her.  She looked up sadly when her assistant told her a shinobi was here to see her.  She nodded, knowing who this was.  She gave a sigh and spoke, her voice slightly raspy.  "Bring me Hiroto."

As the man left she spun her chair and waited.  Soon enough, Shinomori Aoshi came through the door, looking as if he had ran here.  "Shinomori Aoshi, reporting for duty!"  The woman had to resist the giggle that came to her lips when he began blushing.  She had that effect on people.  Humans were so interesting to her, as if she wasn't one herself.  Specifically males.

"Relax, Aoshi-kun, you aren't in trouble.  Unless there's something you need to tell me."  She gave a half-giggle at her small joke and stood up from her desk.  "So here's the deal.  You and a squadmate are going to be undergoing a mission to Kumogakure.  Once there, you'l be given a package by the Raikage's assistants.  It's the Daimyo's daughter's birthday in a few weeks, and this is her gift.  You will not open the package.  You will not lose the package.  You will not break the contents.  If you do any of these things, it will result in instant mission failure and disciplinary action."

The door to the room opened once more and a tall young man with dark hair entered the room.  He was wearing a black and red coat on top of a sleeveless white shirt, pants that stopped just below his knees, and black sandals.  "Ah, Hiroto-kun.  Aoshi, this is your partner.  He's a genjutsu specialist and has already been briefed on the mission.  Do either of you have any questions?"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Mar 8, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
Ren looked onwards somewhat curiously as the kid began to demonstrate his jutsu. After a series of hand seals, he splayed his hand forward, expelling a powerful gust of wind that tore the head off of the wooden training dummy. A small shower of splinters and dust kicked up around Ren, his eyes widening for a brief moment, but going back to normal almost immediately.  "_A fūton user..._" He noted to himself. 

"Reppūshō, huh." He commented, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't think I'd be able to see someone who wasn't a shinobi use a fūton jutsu so easily. Where are you from?"


----------



## Sumon (Mar 8, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure.*

The only thing Aoshi had felt the need to tell to Mizukage was that the mission was super weak. But he couldn?t, not when she looked so... perfect. The boy was charmed by her and proceeded to nod his head to everything the woman had said, trying to get his wind back in the meantime. Aoshi was eating every word of hers. Not for long, though. 

His attention shifted from Mizukage to a new arrival Hiroto completely, after the latter had entered the office. And it wasn?t because he found Hiroto more charming than the leader of his village. No.  Aoshi just recognized who the new arrival really was.

_?JINCHUURUKI?!?!?_ a thought had pierced his mind. There was no doubt about it ? Hiroto truly was the vessel for the Eight-Tails! Aoshi had known more about the tailed beasts than your usual genin because of his family. Learning about the beasts was mandatory for all Shinomori family members. How else could he protect those he had no knowledge of? So there was no surprise that the boy was familiar with the faces and names of current Kirigakure?s jinchuurukies too. 

Overjoyed that he had finally been shown the appropriate gratitude for all the hard work he has put, the content of the mission didn?t bug him no more as he found that working next to jinchuuruki was better than any possible mission at this time. After all, the boy?s duty was to protect the tailed beasts with his life and it was reminded to him everyday with the tattoo he possessed on the right side of his face.

Aoshi put a smile on his face and puffed up his chest as the two genins were standing side by side. Extremely similar in stature, they both were quite tall for their age. 

?No questions, Mizukage-sama. Consider the mission done.? Aoshi answered, 100percent confident of the mission?s success. The boy was sure that under his guidance, there will be no problems whatsoever. He stepped out of Mizukage?s office first as if he was taking the lead of the mission and extended his right hand forward to shake it with his new squadmate as a sign of greeting: ?Nice to meet you, Hiroto, my name is Aoshi, the son of Shinomori family and the genin of the Hidden Village of the Mist.?


----------



## Island (Mar 8, 2014)

*Kogarashi Erai, Mizukage's Office*

---​
?Mizukage-sama!? somebody spoke into the Mizukage?s earpiece.

The Mizukage brought her hand up to her ear and pressed a button on the device that allowed her to reciprocate communication. ?Yes??

Whoever was on the other end of the device spoke softly, so much so that only the Mizukage could hear what he or she was saying. He went on for about a minute, with the only indication that he was speaking being subtle shifts in the Mizukage?s expression, ranging from annoyance to disappointment to frustration. It seemed like whatever the mysterious voice was saying, it wasn?t good news. 

The Mizukage became expressionless, pressing the button on her device, and then turning her attention back to the two young men before her. ?Change of plans, gentlemen.?

?We are engaging a high-priority target that is loose here in Kirigakure.? She explained. ?She is a non-shinobi, sixteen years old, and is thought to possess a rare and powerful kekkei genkai. Under normal circumstances, I would order a hunter-nin team to neutralize her and bring her into custody. However, these aren't normal circumstances??

The Mizukage paused.

?The target is not our enemy.? She went on. ?She was recently found unconscious by one of our reconnaissance teams and brought back to Kirigakure. When she awoke, she turned hostile and fled. We suspect that she?s confused and frightened and that she doesn?t know where she is or how she got here. What we need isn?t to bring her down by force. It?s to calm her down and bring her in peacefully. You're teenagers. Speak her language. Try to reason with her.?

?That said,? she concluded, ?She is extremely dangerous, and like a cornered animal, she has been doing everything she can to keep us away from her. You are authorized to use non-lethal force, if necessary, but if it comes to that, you will most likely have to fall back and wait for one of our hunter-nin teams to come in and take care of business.?


----------



## Chronos (Mar 8, 2014)

Genji Ivery
The Way of Shadows













​
The village's been struck by an unidentified source, around the edge of the fourth gate at the east, there seemed to have erupted a commotion, a shinobi had been killed without so much of a trace left behind, scars embroiled his body, specific strikes in areas that would be considered fatal, yet not single shred of blood had been spilled. Scars that normally children would gain by slightly stumbling upon the edge of cabinet, so superficial it could be easily misjudged by  blunder of the shinobi's part. So simple speculation erupted, might he have died of natural causes? Yet he exuded the perfect image of health just few hours prior. Then what caused it? Soon, analysis were made and ideas were formed, and they came under the conclusion that the mass murderer was among their midst. And what he held was a power hungry struggle to achieve misguided contract from a random contract that's willing to pay a bill, yet the murder was done in such a manner that it could confuse many, the man laid dead here without a single trace of anything occurring to his body. 

Such remarkable amount of skill is one of the many traits, whatever means he held to kill it had to do with a powerful jutsu, one in which it poisoned the target and any trace of it was soon dispersed to such a level that up to this point no scientist was great enough to properly examine the contents, or even find any trace that would lead them to know. The kill all had a single reference point, once the target was dead, a not was left behind, place neatly upon them which read _"The Way of Shadows"_. So naturally, people hid upon their house, barring their children in their arms while every active member of clan's shinobi forces scouted around the snow in search of such group.

Among them there was the boy, the heretic of the clan Ivery, Genji. Accompanied by three others, two chuunin and a joining, all of them different from his own clan, there were told to explore the inner circle of the village district, were he was most likely to appear. Not even past 1 AM, Genji had separated from the group due to his own incompetent demeanor to go against whatever the higher ranking officer told. While still searching among the lands without a single shred of worry, soon a glimpse of a shadow had corner the lad, held his neck and placed his palm on his mouth, the order the glove held become evident and soon his sense we blurred and sensitive. All he could muster of the surrounding had soon vanished into smog before his eyes, before screams were registered into his ears, he felt some men usher a command, probably something along the lines of "Get him!"

"Where am I?"

Of course, this were the words ushered by Genji himself, this was more of a realization, actually. He was alive. Something he had completely written out the moment where the muffled screams had been thrown. Tied, both arms and legs and sort of moment had been rendered useless, upon the distance a man tall he was, while cloaked in black and masked. A rancid smile surging upon the surface of his mask, he could sense the unbarring glare placed upon him, unease began to accumulate as he finally realized that he had skipped the fire, but resorted to the plate. Before him was a man that was twirling a knife between his finger, he sat patiently at his chair while others dressed in less embellished clothing yet masked as well, all with designs that differed from person to person. However this all led to the same conclusion withing the cycling thought in his mind, he was gonna die. 

"As if not troublesome enough, they send children to do the job of men. Although you were foolish enough to venture alone. Do you have zero sense of danger, fool?"

Spoke the man idly behind his mask, while moreover Genji questioned whatever merits he held as if he wanted to kill him, it was a simple fling of his arm, Genji hadn't the strength nor ability to withstand the forces of these well known criminals. And even so, whatever source of power they held was unknown to him. But yet, the conclusion was final. He was going to die.

"I'm not one to follow orders very well."

"Which is what makes you a fool, boy. Do you really think you hold all the answers."

Without hesitation he answered. As if already knowing what was to come. Such perception skills had caused a slight impact withing him. So much that he had to swallow down to simply calm his sense of direction. He couldn't think properly and his aura was enough to cause chill to course endlessly upon his spine.

"I do consider, child. For a boy your record is very infamous. Heretic... Now those words don't suit a child." 

"If men are responsible of his sins, then why not assign what's right for them?"

"You aren't a man."

"Yet I am living amongst them."  

"Words like those should never be spoken, boy. Have you given up on life?"

"I haven't care much for things as of late." 

"Such mentality is befitting of demons." 

"Such mentality is befitting of everyone." 

"Hold your tongue, boy before I sliced it open."

"If my life is worth anything, you'd wouldn't bother with threats." 

Without much hesitation the man stood from where he sat and threw his knife, with such flexibility it swarmed through the space, not trace read as it jammed its head next to the child's head, inches away from his head, never had he felt such surging fear built up into his core, eyes widen open as silence befell the room, staring at the man before him who seems nonchalant of the situation, it was a given that if he was gonna die, this man wasn't simply gonna make it easy. 


"Your sense of bravery is dully noted, yet your sense of danger seems to be at its least sensible. Boy, you hold no potential, yet I guarantee that there's promise in you. I see not a future held upon these walls for you. These men hate you, and you are very much aware of this. I need a boy like you, who's willing, no who's indifferent about his surroundings. A boy who taught himself how to not hate, nor love but to go with the current. Yet, this is not something I could bargain, you have actually not a single shred of choice. Either come with me and betray not only the village, but all those who housed you and all the loved ones you cherished. All the bonds formed through force of will, or through simple misguided luck. Either way, I pull this knife and you die, or you accept the devils bargain and become part of the Way of Shadows." 

A chuckle escaped his lips. So... 

"I never did love the village."

"Good answer, boy. Welcome. You are no longer bound to your village."


----------



## luffy no haki (Mar 8, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Disastruous Intrusion  II_​

His brain stopped processing the situation once the uproar started. His mind went reminiscing the last few minutes, he was doing it properly, he waited for a good chance when the dark clouds covered the moon for a moment so he could infiltrate the mansion; his task was easy, the mere assassination of a wealthy man surrounded by shady rumours about him trafficking with drugs, weapons and slaves, making deals with other countries. One of the many trashes that made the security of the land of fire a joke and impulsed the continuation of small rebellions along the country and borders; a weak man whose actions could actually weaken a nation at war. And yet he was there, paralyzed by the surprise....how would he know that the idiot would go and have sex with his maid in the middle of the night?

_"SHIT"_ he thought and clenched his teeth behind the smiling mask. Now the guards were arriving, only seven of them; aside from trash he was also stingy apparently. However the problem was in the servants of the man, they all were already up due to the ruckus, his animalistic eye catching the image of a young girl not older than eighteen years old only with a strap of cloth on, most likely the whore responsible for this mistake of his. Three servants were the ones in the house. That made the mission to turn for the worse: Akaya?s targets were eleven now. 

Akaya instantly reacted to a sword directed at his neck by taking out his own and stopping the attack. With a swift movement he slips through the legs of his attacker and rapidly cuts his heels causing the man to fall on his knees; taking him by his clothes, the guard is used as a meat shield for the next sword aiming at the heart of the boy. One dead, ten to go.

Getting a glimpse of his original prey starting to escape followed by to other guards, Akaya kicks his second attacker and obtaining a second sword, he throws it at the third mercenary piercing his throat. Spinning on one foot, he continually slashes the man he kicked before, ten cuts and a severed hand were enough to take his life.

Sheathing his short sword in the sheath hanging from his back, Shikigami takes out four shuriken and launches them in different directions delivering an instant kill to the two male servants trying to run away. The count decreased in a matter of seconds, he still had six people to annihilate before burning down the place.

Without saying a word, he turns to look at the two guards remaining in the yard, the female servant is now naked and paralyzed in fear, tears coming down from her eyes as if she has seen some kind of heinous monster. Akaya sighs at this pathetic sight and concentrates once again on the two men; it was easy to know that they were complete amateurs, half-assed mercenaries that probably got very cheap prices for their services. That old fart was so stupid.

Knowing that he had no time to waste, the ANBU places his hands on the ground and adopts a beastly stance on all fours. Using some chakra on his feet and hands, he is propelled at high speed towards his opponents; in an instant a headbutt takes away the air in the lungs of the unlucky bastard who got in the way. Before he can touch the ground again, a knife slashes his arm and then a kick sents him two meters away; it seemed like someone actually did train a little in there.

With steam coming from the wound, healing it, Akaya growls at the mercenaries. Seems like he had to get serious depite their obvious weakness. Rushing towards them with all his might, Akaya jumps dodging a low kick and performing a roundhouse kick in mid air hitting the temple of the one who hit him before, a kunai in his hand is hurled and pierces through the left leg of his enemy who lets out a scream of pain. Letting his body fall back he avoids being hit by the big fist of the other guy, the one who got tackled before, and as if bouncing the boy immediately stands with a little hop and grabs the arm of the big man. With an agile movement Akaya climbs his body and sits on the shoulders of his victim who stopped in his tracks confused by the actions of the assassin.

*CRACK!!*

That was the sound of a neck being twisted and broken. Allowing the body to fall, Akaya calmly reaches the injured but still alive person. "Heh...goddamn mon-"he wasn?t able to finish because the teen had already beheaded him.

Cracking his own bones a little after the atrocious show. Shikigami walks over to where the petrified servant is, she is having a panic attack something that bothers the kid, a lot. The light of the moon illuminates once again the mansion allowing a clearer vision of the massacre taking place; Akaya removes half of his mask moving it to one side, letting the girl to look at one of his deep and apparently emotionless orbs.

"Stop crying!"he demanded and the girl was immediately brought back to reality trying to drown her whining within her throat. "Now you will stay here waiting for me without moving while I go and get rid of that dirty old bag. You won?t cry or i?ll kill you, you won?t run or I?ll kill you, you won?t move a single muscle from here or I?ll kill you"the terrified woman couldn?t do but affirm with her head before the boy could depart.

In that moment she wished she had never come out from her room.


----------



## Kyuuzen (Mar 8, 2014)

*For Bringer*


> *U*zumaki *S*etsuna​
> Setsuna chuckled when she asked about the cross.  He hadn't expected her to be prepared for him to pull out a crucifix as his weapon.  _Don't worry about me, Awai,_ he thought to himself.  _This crucifix is my battle-tested partner.  Let's see how you handle it._  He was ready for her when she came at him, fist raised to strike.  Time seemed to slow as they met in the middle, her throwing a punch and him ducking.  He managed to narrowly dodge the strike as her arm sailed past his ear.  He swung his own hand forward, aiming to press the white-hot cross against the girl's stomach.



*For Atlantic and Island*


> *Uchiha Yamata | Hokage-sama
> Hokage Mansion*
> 
> "Hokage-sama, you needed me?"
> ...



*For GOS specifically*


> *Ie-o
> Konohagakure*
> 
> Ie-o shrugged when Ren said that the only ones who should be able to cast ninjutsu were shinobi.  The older boy asked him where he was from, causing Ie-o to pause for a moment.  He pointed in the direction of Konoha's gate.  "*The forest.*"  He said simply.  "*My parents knew ninjutsu and they're the ones who taught me everything I know.*"  The way he spoke made it sound as if this was in no way a strange occurrence, as if being raised in the woods was a totally regular deal.  He tried to glaze over the subject.  "*So, you taught yourself how to use raiton?  How did you do that?  I didn't think people were able to learn how to use jutsu without an instructor.*"  He wasn't speaking in a congratulatory manner, nor was he trying to stroke Ren's ego.  He was genuinely curious.  He had never attempted learning techniques on his own, never even heard of the process.



*For Sumon*


> Hiroto had been about to reluctantly shake Aoshi's hand when the Mizukage interrupted them, informing them about a girl that had fled the hospital, and that she might posses a rare kekkei genkai.  He felt his eyebrows furrow into a glare at the thought.  She sent the two boys to go reason with her.  _Fuck that,_ he thought.  _We're already on mission, we don't have time to fuck around with some scared girl.  I'll just drop her in an illusion and be done with it.  The jonin can sort out the mess when we're done._  "Hai, Mizukage-sama."  He bowed and turned to Aoshi.  "Are you ready, partner?"  He could tell the boy was eager to prove himself.  He would give him his chance and try to best support him.  It gave him an excuse to hang back and not be at the forefront.


----------



## luffy no haki (Mar 8, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Disastruous Intrusion  III - Beautiful Moon_​


The trail led him through many halls until he found a big shed, saying that it was bigger than his own room would come short, that thing was at least half the size of his entire house. Looking carefully at it, he finds that it is opened. The boy stays still for a moment thinking about what this could mean; one option was that they were stupid enough to hide in there and out of desperation they didnt even close it properly as a way of protection. A second scenery could be that its nothing but a distraction and they are hidden somewhere else. Finally a third option reached his mind, they could just be using themselves as bait to pull an ambush on him once he has gone in. 

With all of that in mind, Akaya opened the door carefully. Inside, a small bulb was illuminating the place and Shirohi, the despicable old man owner of those illegal businesses, was waiting for him with a big grin on his face. Suddenly the big wooden doors closed; Akaya turned his head to look at the person who did it, a thin brown-haired man holding a jutte got positioned in front of the exit while a tall man holding a chain appeared next to the target. By their looks, the newcomers were a bit skillful considering that they were nothing but dog shit that could be found on the roads.

A mocking smile crossed the face of the young ANBU, almost as big as the one of his mask. It was a shame those three werent able to see it." Whats the meaning of this? " Akaya asked with a serene voice, he knew these guys were just digging their own graves."This my dear shinobi, is called an ambush..." the cocky bastard replied still hiding behind the chain guy. "Before my boys end with your life, could you tell me the reason of your little visit?"Shirohi asked, although he got a little suprised when the boy replied.

Taking his mask off, Akaya allowed the men to see his face. His combed hair returned to its original form once he took off the mask; his gray eyes showing a long and predatory pupil but what surprised them the most was the fact that the Shikigami was nothing but a kid. "Muto Shirohi, famous businessman of the land of fire. Outside youre well known for your various chains of vegetable distributor stores, but in truth all of your wealth comes from the many shady businesses involving drugs, weapons and even more, slaves. "  Akaya stated, his last words containing hatred.

"So the Hokage got word of my deals with Kumogakure? Or was it the big amount of weapons I gave to the few towns near the village of the rain? Anyway Im surprised that you talked. I thought a shinobi shouldnt spill information this easy?" he said with arrogance, but his smile disappeared once the genin started to laugh.

"Hokage-sama doesnt know about this as far as I know. But It doesnt matter, I could as well just tell you all the secrets of Konoha and nothing would happen. You know why?"this time the cocky bastard was no one but the boy"Because not a single one of you is leaving this room alive." after this announcement the two guards rushed towards Akaya. The member of Root jumped but then a chain coming from below reached his left arm and wrapped around it only for the owner of the object to pull him down as the jutte of his partner was about to land a direct hit on the head of the ninja.

Spinning before reaching the ground, Akaya pulls of the chain and he stretches it blocking the weapon about to damage him. Taking out a kunai, the teen throws it at the man with the chain as a distraction, what he wanted was the grip on the metallic rope to soften so he could use it. With a raising kick, Shikigami disarms his opponent and then wraps part of the chain around his neck. Pulling in opposite sides with all his strength, the unorthodox weapon generates a strong grip until a cracking sound is heard. One less enemy to worry about.

Taking out his sword with his right hand, Akaya looks at the furious mercenary. The gleeful smug in his face right out stating that they were nothing against him, not with that level lower than what a capable academy student could do. Walking slowly, he sees the enemy stepping back with caution before pulling the strings with all of his might. A clenched fist awaiting the face of the young shinobi which receives the punch with all of its power. Akayas body was sent backwards and finally the assassin was floored. With a victorious expression in his face, Shirohi reaches Akayas body and kicks it despectively. 

"Hahahaha!! Now where is your attitude of before, damn brat!! hahah"

"Oi,oi. You sure you dont take some of those drugs you sell? you are talking to a box, dude"Akayas voice was heard before his body transformed into a box.

"WAAAH-"the scream behind the elder man was silenced instantly. When Shirohi turned around he saw the same kid he thought defeated a moment ago with his last henchman in a pool of blood at the feet of the little monster. The cold gray eyes as if they were looking through him, through his old flesh and bones and reaching his very soul. Without giving chance of reply, three shuriken pierced Muto, one on his head, one in his heart and the last one in his crotch. "Pfff...too much shit for a mere dirt bag" he said before looking at the closed door, how would he get out now?
-------------------------------------

She was terrified, her heart was beating with violence as she was waiting just as the monstruous boy she met before ordered. Now she was wearing clothes, it was actually a pijama more transparent than anything anyone could have seen. Still wondering what her destiny would be, a strange smell reaches her nose, the same kind of scent one would catch when someone is cooking something nearby; abruptly, her eyes get locked on the house and a violent burst of flames engulfs the building ferociously. Her eyes opened like plates as she stands up and starts to run however a voice stops her movement.

"Didnt I tell you not to move?"

When the maid put her eyes on the boy wearing the smiling fox mask, her body paralyzed again. She didnt know what would be more dangerous, staying there with the lad or jumping into the sea of flames covering the mansion.

"I-Im sorry"

Approaching the brown-haired girl, Akaya extended one hand an passed it carefully touching her cheek, inspecting every detail of the teary female before him. Brown hair, blue eyes, perfect and full red lips; slim body with white skin. Physically, an almost perfect woman who could be desired by any man that gets the chance to see her, even Akaya wasnt the exception now at his fourteen years old with all the hormones starting to awaken.

"You are a beautiful girl, as wonderful as the moon. I think if you have never met Shirohi you could have been very happy. You could have had a good life with a man that loved you, probably you could have formed a family. I could have given that chance to you again tonight...."  Akaya said, the girl already in some sort of trance "But everything that happened this night is your fault. If you had kept your legs closed, I would have killed that scum in his room only for you all to discover the body hours later and be free." he stated this time removing his mask completely so the girl could see him, so she could engrave his face in her memory.

"Look at me and carve my appereance deep in your brain. In this very instance you have the right to hate me, to loathe me. Because I will be taking your life in a moment." he said taking out his sword " You are culprit and at the same time so innocent Im even starting to feel bad. Thats why Ill do the same and remember your face forever so when I go to hell I can make sure that you are at the front row laughing while my soul gets tortured"with those words, the weapon pierced through the heart of the young maid.

Opening the front doors with a kick, Akaya steps out of the burning terrain. He accomodates his mask for a third time since he left Konoha and raises his head to admire the moon. He stares at the satellite for many seconds before saying:

"The moon... is particularly beautiful tonight"


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Mar 8, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Konoha Training Grounds*

___________​
"_Raised in the woods? So still Konoha territory... but still, something seems weird about this._" He thought to himself. "It was easy. We're all raiton users in our clan, so I already knew my element. From there, it was just a matter of experimenting." He explained, then paused, looking at Ie-o, removing a stray stand of hair from his eyes.

"Where is your father from?" Ren finally asked, decidedly curious. If he had been able to teach him ninjutsu, then he was almost definitely a ninja of some sort. The question was, why was he raised in the woods? And what was that hesitation in his answer? What ever the kid was telling him, he was either lying, or holding something back.


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## Bringer (Mar 8, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


Awai didn't miss a beat as her spar partner avoided her attack by ducking, in fact she would use this to her advantage. Seeing no harm in the approaching cross, she decided to make her move. This way both would trade blows! She brought both her hands together and clenched then. She brought it upwards. The cross made contact with the young Uzamaki, the heat reaching the skin through her shirt, burning like a hot iron on flesh. 

_"Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!"_ She thought as she gritted her teeth, no she couldn't stop now. She brought down her hands to bash the top of Setsuna's back.


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 8, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Scouting Area*

___________​
Ren had always considered himself a loyal shinobi of Konoha. Or at least, when it suited him to be one. In truth, he thought most holders of the 'Will of Fire' mentality to be idealistic and naive patriots.  Even so, he _did_ acknowledge himself as a ninja and he _did_ work for the services for his village, and that, in his opinion, was enough for him. As such, when he was offered a mission - a C rank, of all things - he decided to take it. Not for patriotic reasons, of course, but he needed the money. Despite being from a rich clan, he inherited almost none of the money and reaped very little of the benefits facilitated by it. His sister had, after all, been the elder child, but she had taken her portion of the wealth when she was exiled and left him with nothing.

In any case, Ren had been somewhat excited for the mission. It'd have been the first one he's done in quite a while, and was a C rank mission, instead of his usual cat chasing tasks. What the job actually entailed, however, irritated the Houki a little. Being a C rank, he expected something at least a _little_ worthy of his talents, but a mere scouting job? Sure, he recognized the importance of surveillance in these times, but such simple tasks were far more suitable for lower level genin. Surely, they could recognize he was on a different level from the common rabble? 

Rubbing his temples, he entered the camp, tying up the back of his hair as he walked in. "_Clear skies and very little wind._" He noted, looking up at the weather. "_Should be even easier than I thought._"


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## Island (Mar 8, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Scouting Area*

---​
_?A camp.?_ Hyuuga Aki stated to herself, finally arriving at her destination.

She arrived at a small encampment sheltered located in a clearing in the middle of a dense forest. On one hand, being so far removed from the rest of the forces seemed dangerous, but on the other hand, it _was_ an encampment for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering operations. The shinobi here worked with large birds that other shinobi, e.g. her, flew along the border and even into enemy territory, reporting any suspicious activity to camp where it would then be relayed back to headquarters. In order to remain inconspicuous and out of sight, it was therefore logical to stay hidden a ways away from the main force.

?This seems simple enough.? She stated aloud.

She glanced up at the sky. Clear, cloudless, no wind, and otherwise typical for this time of year. This meant that the ride would most likely be smooth with no wind blowing in her face or turbulence requiring her to change course. However, it also made her easier to spot from the ground. Usually, one could take cover in the clouds, but without any clouds, he or she would be exposed.

Hyuuga Aki doubted that she would into any problems, however.

?Oh.? She suddenly changed her mind upon seeing Ren up ahead.

?It?s you.? She said loud enough for Ren to hear her.

?I see that you?re still alive.? Aki approached, her voice dull and her face as expressionless as ever. ?I wouldn?t have imagined that somebody like you would be taking a reconnaissance mission, though.?


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## Hossaim (Mar 9, 2014)

5:23
Action: I stand outside my childhood home.
Description: There is a soft wind blowing. The kind that makes leaves dance back and forth across the ground. The sun has not yet dawned, so it is still cool. The breeze from the wind combined with the weather feels pleasurable. But at this moment, I don't have time for pleasure. Actually, that's a lie. I do have time for pleasure, I just don't wish to stand here for a large amount of time. 
Action: I walk up to the house.
Description: The house sits very still. It has remained unused since I vacated it for a small ground floor apartment. Like everything else in the village, is is brown as it is made of earth. It has two stories, a ground floor and second floor. There is also a cellar underneath the ground floor. That cellar is my destination. 
Action: I walk into the house.

5:24
Action: I walk down the entrance hallway.
Description: The hallway is predictably empty. There are a few spiderwebs draped across the crack between the wall and ceiling.
Action: A spider falls down onto my head.
Action: I grab and crush the spider's entire body.
Description: The remnants of the spider's body fall onto the floor. There are no more spiders that I can see. 
Action: I walk down the hall and into dad's study.
Description: The study is medium sized. As a child I was never allowed in here. The door was always locked. Sometimes passing by the door I would hear him counting out numbers. I never knew what he was counting. But now I do. Time. It all comes back. Back to time. 

5:25
Action: I enter the cellar under my dad's desk. 
Description: The cellar is covered in dust. More-so than the rest of the house. This is unsurprising but also unpleasant. I would cough but I don't. What does surprise me is the lack of spiders. It's a shame. Killing them would have been pleasurable. 
Action: I go the corner of the cellar and open a box.
Description: Inside the box there is explosive clay. I use this a storeroom as there is little chance of robbers finding this place and this cellar, conveniently, has perfect conditions for the long term storage of this material. 
Action: I take the clay and fill my pouch with it.

5:27
Action: I leave my childhood home.


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 9, 2014)

*U*zumaki *S*etsuna









​
Setsuna's eyes widened when she brought down a double-fisted slam onto his back.  A cloud of dust was thrown up around them at the amount of sheer physical strength Awai had.  Jesus Christ she was tough.  When the dust settled around them, he had one knee on the ground and both hands holding him up, eyes shut tight and jaw clenched.  "Nice punch, cousin..."  He forced one knee up, struggling to get back on his feet under the force of her strike.  He lifted the hand pressing the cross to her stomach up and dropped the item, watching it fall toward her arm.  What she didn't know was that the moment he let go of it it lost its temperature.  He shot downward into a sprinter's stance and dashed forward, out from underneath her hands, before sliding to a halt and spinning back to face her.  A smirk crossed his face.

"Think you might have bruised my spine, cousin.  That's what I get for rushing at the girl with the strength of a bull."  Setsuna crossed his arms in a   "I'm kind of a slow-starter.  Sometimes it takes a good beating to get me to fully wake up.  So don't hold back on me, yeah?"


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## Sumon (Mar 9, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure downtown.*

The mission hadn’t started yet and it was already called off. To hell with this decision! One moment Mizukage wants Aoshi together with Eight-Tails jinchuuruki to travel far to the north to Hidden Cloud village and the other the genins are called to ‘talk’ to some drama queen, who got lost on her way home. Speak about inconsistency and lack of organization in this village. Under favourable circumstances Aoshi might as well just go against the orders and hurt the girl just to show that he shouldn’t be related with such decision swinging.

But Aoshi wasn’t gonna do that. He loved his village too much to carry some kind of personal vendetta against the Mizukage and put the village in jeopardy, especially when the problem for him in reality was so silly and stupid. He has grown out of that age the minute he had graduated the ninja academy. Now the boy was putting his village’s and family’s interests first instead of his own. 

“Yeah, let’s go!" Aoshi said a little annoyed but tried to hide it with a smile. He sprinted downstairs outside and took a shorter route to the downtown by jumping from one rooftop to another. His cape was flapping with every jump he had made. “Stop playing around, you’ll seriously hurt yourselves!” – An elderly woman shouted out loud at the boys. Little did she know that they actually were ninjas and used to such method of travelling. 

He wasn’t holding back and figured he’d give his all even when travelling, so the duo could get over this ‘misunderstanding’ faster. Besides, who knew how dangerous their target really was? He took a slight glance behind to see where Hiroto was and wasn’t too impressed when Aoshi saw his teammate right behind himself. What else could one expect from a jinchuuruki? Aoshi gasped and proceeded to head to downtown. Normally, he’d try to get to know his new teammate. But he figured he’d do it later, because the duo had already reached their destination. 

Aoshi could see where the action has been happening from quite far away. On one rooftop there was their target, the mysterious teenager undergoing strange emotions inside with no one to comfort her, while at the next rooftop there were 3 Kirigakure ninjas keeping their distance. The physical actions seemed to have ended and Kiri ninjas switched to verbal methods. 

The genins landed just in front of 3 Kiri ninjas, interrupting them in the process. They had been waiting for reinforcements for quite some time now, but you could see from their faces that the two genin boys were not what they were expecting. Aoshi waved at them to fall back and decided to take the lead once again.

With the friendliest smile possible the boy opened his mouth: “Hey, are you lost? What’s your name?” Aoshi was trying to get closer to the girl with every small step he took. While moving, he put his backpack on the ground and was unlocking the strap on his chest that was holding katana on the back. His hands were moving extremely slow not to scare the girl. “Aoshi is mine. I don’t want to fight you, just wanna be friends with ya.” Aoshi acted friendly but his face expression wasn’t on the same page. He reached the edge of the rooftop he was on and decided to get even closer to the girl. Aoshi thought that making a physical contact with the target would help her relate to himself and tame her like some kind of wild animal. 

He ducked with his bandaged up hands spread widely to put the sword on the ground right before taking a high jump onto the girl’s rooftop. He was unarmed now and took the effort to show that to her. “Will you be my friend?” Aoshi said in mid-air with the most insincere grin ever, while keeping his guard up in case it all went downhill.


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## Bringer (Mar 9, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


Awai was surprised he could withstand such strength... But then again he was Uzamaki and her cousin. Truth be told she was actually glad, what's a spar when both sides are holding back? The kunoichi's eyes followed the falling cross, giving Setsuna the perfect distraction to slip away from her range. 

"You're fast." The girl praised her cousin... 

He'd be hard to hit without making sacrifices. Awai put a hand on her shirt where the burn wound was inflicted; she suppressed a wince. 

"I'd never dream of holding back Suna." The girl made three handseals(Ram → Snake → Tiger) as her eyes glanced at the fallen cross.

_"It's probably too hot to touch... But if I could just..."_ The girl's foot kicked it, causing it to skid away from both her and Setsuna's reach. 

"We've played with your toys, how about we play with mine?"  The girl reached into her ninja pouch and threw a kunai aimed dead center at her cousins stomach. The kunai multiplied into dozens of kunai, however in reality it was just Awai's projectile clone technique, meaning all the kunai except the one thrown were simply harmless projections.


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 9, 2014)

*U*zumaki *S*etsuna









​
Setsuna felt fighting spirit well up in his chest as she praised him and prepared a string of seals.  He took the first few steps in his sprint toward her when she loosed a flurry of kunai at him, more than she could have possibly thrown.  How did she hold so many at once.  Unless... the handseals.  Is this her jutsu?  Both of his feet planted hard on the ground next to each other and he sprang upward, twisting his body in the air and bringing up his legs in a backflip.  _Shit, didn't get enough height!_  He watched as a kunai fly right into his shoulder...

... and then right through it.  _Huh?_  the kunai went through him as if it wasn't... real...  did she really apply the clone technique to her kunai?  He landed on the back side of the kunai storm, watching as only one of them stuck in the tree, the rest of them passing through it like ghosts.  He spun around to face Awai, leaping toward her in a   "Nice jutsu, Awai!  I totally fell for it!"


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 9, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Scouting Area*

___________​
"It's you." A familiar voice called out to him, the sound almost ringing in his ears. "I see that you're still alive. I wouldn’t have imagined that somebody like you would be taking a reconnaissance mission, though." His back was turned to her, but he didn't need to be looking at her to know that she was probably speaking with that impassive facial expression again.

Ren stopped walking and closed his eyes for a moment. "Of _course_ they'd hire a Hyūga for a reconnaissance mission." He muttered to himself, slightly annoyed he hadn't expected something like this happening. Opening his eyes once more, he finally turned around to face Aki, though a part of him was tempted to pretend he didn't hear her and keep moving.

"I see that you've taken to stating the obvious," He said in reply, "besides, why wouldn't I go on a well paying mission?" Ren asked. She was right in that, if he had known what kind of mission this was at the start, he wouldn't have accepted. But he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being right about that, and he was also curious to hear her reasoning.

A few of the nearby shinobi threw a few glances in the way of the two bickering genin, curious to see what the fuss was all about. They'd been told that a pair of genin would be coming to do some scouting for them, but this probably wasn't what they were expecting.


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 9, 2014)

*Hiroto*

Hiroto had managed to keep in step with Aoshi as they traveled, eyes set ahead.  His jaw was clenched, and it didn't take an expert face-reader to know he was annoyed with being sen ton a negotiation task.  This was not what he was for and the importance of this task was lost on him.  He swallowed the line of swears that jumped to his tongue and continued to follow his partner.  They pushed past an old woman, who proceeded to shout at them.  He flipped the woman the bird without even looking at her, before she was gone behind the building they'd jumped over.  

He rose a single eyebrow as Aoshi glanced back at him.  Was he trying to size him up or something?  What did the boy want with him, anyway?  He seemed way too eager to do this, and he had a weird look in his eye whenever he looked at Hiroto.  Did he somehow know he was a Jinchuuriki?  Did he hate him for it?  Hiroto clenched his fists, debating decking this kid right now when they saw the commotion going on ahead of them.  Hiroto felt his fists unclench themselves and he stopped on a rooftop, arms folded as he watched down at Aoshi instruct the Kiri nin already in place to fall back as he... began speaking to the girl.  Speaking to her!

_What, is he trying to drag this out or something?_

Hiroto spat in anger and dropped down off of the building, hiding from her view from around a corner.  _Genjutsu will work just fine.  If she even thinks about running away from him, I'll trap her._  He formed a string of seals.  "I can't believe the Mizukage wants us to play negotiator.  Oh well, push comes to shove and she's mine.  Period."  He surged up his chakra, feeling it course through him and into his mind as he drew upon his jutsu.  "Magen ? Narakumi no Jutsu."  He released a burst of imaginary leaves from his body that traveled over to the girl's rooftop, scattering around her as his illusion settled in.  However, he didn't allow the illusion to play just yet.  If she tried to run, he would ensnare her in it, making her greatest fear play in front of her eyes over and over while Aoshi moved in to capture her.

After all, Genjutsu counted as non-lethal.


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## Bringer (Mar 9, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*


A cheeky smile formed on the girls face, this was getting so fun! Even if her technique failed she was far from over. Awai prepared herself for her cousins upcoming attack... This is was the perfect chance! He wouldn't be able to dodge or change course using such an attack like that, so the young kunoichi watched intently and waited for Setsuna to get a little closer. 

_"Now!"_ Awai attempted to grab the younger Uzamaki's foot,


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## Kyuuzen (Mar 9, 2014)

*U*zumaki *S*etsuna









​
_Hook, line, and sinker!_

As soon as Setsuna felt her go for the grab of his extended leg he immediately leaned his body forward.  He didn't have a lot of time to do this so he needed to make sure he got it perfect on the first go.  When she blocked and grabbed his leg he rose his fist, sending it flying toward her face. (21:24) If that was blocked or otherwise defended against, his free leg would come around in a kick to the other side of her, and then finally he would shift his body upside down and bring around his free hand, aiming a punch at her stomach.


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## Bringer (Mar 9, 2014)

*Awai Uzamaki*

There was no avoiding it, the girl had used both hands to grip Setsuna's legs meaning she couldn't block the incoming punch. Luckily for her... Setsuna wasn't very physically imposing enough to do fatal damage, but the blow still hurt nonetheless. She let go of the boys leg as his fist met her face, causing her to stagger backwards.

"That was nothing!" She charged forwards after recovering from her stagger aiming to kick her cousin. She currently had the advantage at the moment, since the only thing that was supporting Setsuna was her grabbing his foot.  Since Awai let go he'd either fall on the ground, or maneuver himself midair to land on his feet. Either option would cost him a few seconds which was all Awai needed to strike her cousin.


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## Hossaim (Mar 9, 2014)

*Kurokku Heoin: Rainfall*











7:13
Action: I enter a cafe.
Action: I walk up to the clerk.
Verbal Request(Me): "One coffee please."
Verbal Inquisition: "Aren't you a little young to be drinking coffee?"
Verbal Request(Me): "One. Coffee. Please."
Action: Clerk shrugs then gives me the coffee. I hand her the money.
Action: I sit down at a table. 

7:16
Action: I take a sip of my coffee.
Description: I am sitting in a small cafe near the edge of town. It is currently raining. There may be some distant thunder, but at this moment I am not bothered to pay attention long enough to verify. I dislike rain. Constant noise bothers me. But at this moment in time here is nothing I can do to stop it. Getting angry about it would simply be a waste of time.

Time. There are currently 8 people in this cafe. Only 3 of them, including, myself, are currently wearing a watch. There is no clock in this cafe either. That seems like a major design flaw. I wonder how these people who don't wear watches continue to exist. They don't understand the importance of time. 

Time dictates everything. At every moment of your life, at every breath you take, there is time. It is universal and infinite. It has no boundaries and applies to everything. If there was no time nothing would move. Our universe would simply be a single un-moving frame with nothing ever happening. Nothing could get done. Nobody could be born or experience this phenomenon called life. Everything important to us is bound by time. Yet these people ignore it. They disregard time. They mock time at act like they are capable of mastering it somehow. But they can't. They don't realize it's importance. But I will make them aware of it. I will make them see the importance of time. Not today, and not tomorrow, but when the time is right, I shall show them. As long as I have the time, my capabilities are limitless. 
Action: I take a sip of my coffee.

7:18
Action: I finish my coffee.
Action: I throw out my coffee.

7:19
Action: I leave the cafe.


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## luffy no haki (Mar 9, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Fists and legs I - prelude to the training_
​
The training grounds number forty-four, a regular place for the Root to make their youngest shinobi to gain some survival experience. This serves as both a training area and punishment terrain for one of the most talented but also rebellious and impertinent kids that have had the privilege of joining this secret ANBU division under the leadership of the current Uchiha Clan leader, Uchiha Ryoga. In the middle of this den of dangerous beasts, next to the river flowing inside, Shikigami Akaya is standing in front of a fellow ANBU of Root.

The boy is with his usual looks. This day his shirt is orange with the drawing of a thunder in the middle, his trunks are similar to the brown ones but the color is sea green. However there is something curious about him this time around: Akaya has bandages covering his left arm, one around his head and covering his right eye, a small band-aid on his left cheek and a cut on his lower lip apparently caused by a fist.  

The shinobi before him has black and spiky hair which ends in some sort of duck butt behind, red marks in form of fangs can be seen on his cheeks. He is wearing a white long sleeved shirt and black pants, bandages are wrapped around his ankles to make the clothes less of a burden during his movements. The ANBU mask of a wolf is hanging from his waist while at his right side, a big and brown dog-wolf hybrid is sitting. The name of this man is Inuzuka Kaito, one of Akaya?s teachers together with Uchiha Takao.

"So Kaito-senpai what are we doing here?" Akaya asked already knowing the answer."Is it necessary for you to ask? One only needs to look at you to see that you made Ryoga-sama mad with the report of your latest mission." the Inuzuka said as if he were making fun of the boy, what caused the kid to frown."It?s not like I can guess when a freaking old man will decide to get a shot at reviving his rotten balls, you know?!" he complained though the growl from the canine next to Kaito made him stop.

"Guess you?re right. Anyway, this is not a punishment session, I think you?ve had enough for now. Tell me little cub do you know what your fists and legs are there for?" Akaya was starting to lose his temper, after the beat up received from Ryoga the day before, it would be obvious that the jinchuuriki wasn?t going to be in the mood for anything and yet he was there with the Inuzuka calling him "cub", he hated that nickname so much."No, I don?t " he replied dryly, clearly not in the mood for a chitchat.

"They?re there for Ryoga-sama and Konoha?s sake"Kaito informed naturally like any good shinobi would. Akaya looked intently at his instructor, he said Konoha and Ryoga, however he never mentioned the Hokage." I know what you?re thinking and yes, Hokage-sama has his own ANBU division, we have no reason to abide his orders unless Ryoga-sama says otherwise" the Inuzuka cleared. The animal next to them was yawning, this conversation was of no interest since his only master was no one but Kaito.

"As a soldier under Ryoga-sama?s orders, you must forget about yourself and turn those fists and legs into swords capable of protecting him and Konoha. We have gone through this already but this time we will level up the training a little..." Kaito said and adopted a fighting stance; Akaya did the same, trying to ignore all the - to his point of view - bullshit his sensei was spouting.

"We will fight only with Taijutsu, killing attempts permitted. When he sees it is convenient, Kinta will enter the fight to make it a two on one. We will finish when someone loses consciousness"although he was being polite, it was quite clear that his real words were "When you fall unconscious little cub". This made Akaya to clench his teeth, and anger was starting to take over him. This was going to be a long session.


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## Olivia (Mar 9, 2014)

*Ajimu Najimi*
* ~First Mission*~

I waited around the village gate, as the sun beat down on the golden sands of Sunagakure. I tapped my foot, waiting impatiently, as the suns glare seemed to intensify. My legs collapsed as I feel on the hard, but smooth, sandy ground. I stretched relentlessly like a child, bored out of my mind.

Eventually, my sleepless nights caught up to me, and since I had been laying on the warm desert ground, my eyes lids started to drop. Of course this didn't lead to anything as a dark image of the Tanuki appeared in my mind, as it's burning sand wrapped around my body. I sat straight up, only to see that Mion had been standing there. 

"Come on freak - let's go and get this over with."


 Her comment just pissed me off. But it was who I had to deal with I suppose. I'd have to survive a week with her - yikes - so I would have to make the best of it. From the academy days, no one seemed to go near her or even want to talk to her - for good reason, but maybe she did want someone to be there for her, someone to talk to.

"I agree, but maybe we shouldn't be so hasty. We're going to be standing guard for a week, taking shifts over one another. So we might as well put differences aside and get along."

I stuck my hand out to see if she would accept my 'friendship'. I know we probably wouldn't get along too well, but at least we wouldn't have to worry about stabbing each other in the back when one goes to sleep for a shift. ​


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## Island (Mar 9, 2014)

*Downtown Kirigakure*

---​
Masuyo stared forward, but her somewhat messy white hair obscured her eyes. Still, one could see that she was staring straight at the two new arrivals. She remained motionless as the first of two young men addressed her, asking her all sorts of questions about whether or not she was lost and what her name was. Then, he came closer, closer and closer, but still, the woman remained unmoving.

?My name?? She repeated. ?You want to know my name??

The young man?s expression didn?t quite match up with his words, however, and it became increasingly apparent that his words weren?t as sincere as he was making them out to be.

?Where I?m from, Aoshi-san,? she went on, ?It's rude to ask questions that we don't really want to know the answers to.?

She paused, taking a moment to moment to brush the hair out of her face and reveal two faded yellow eyes. She bore an expression of apprehension but nevertheless one of aggression, one of a willingness to attack at any given moment.

Then, her eyes began to swell, turning pink, as if she was about to cry.

?How would you feel?? she began, ?If you woke up one day, taken from your friends, your family, and everything else that ever mattered to you, to fight in somebody else?s war and to solve somebody else?s problems, to become some kind of tool, a weapon, even??

?I don?t know about you,? Masuyo concluded, choking midway through her sentence, ?but that's not the kind of life I'm interested in living.?


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## Sumon (Mar 9, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure downtown.*

Bunch of nothings. Aoshi had asked a ton of questions and despite answering, the girl made no sense whatsoever. _“Was she for real?”_ The boy was questioning the words that came from her mouth. What kind of ninja doesn’t appreciate his or her village? Ninjas, we are nothing more than tools. That’s why we hold this power, so we can put it to use! Just like a cook’s job is to put food on the table, just like a medic’s duty is to heal those who are hurt, since the day we enrolled into the ninja academy our fate has been decided. We, ninjas, have no purpose in this life other than to fight for our village and its beliefs, its people, its symbol! 

The girl was sickening Aoshi. She was everything the boy was against in a ninja. Pfu, even calling her a ninja in his own head was leaving Aoshi with a sour taste in his mouth. She was nothing more than a phony. A ninja who renounces his or her village does not deserve to breath and feel the same air like the rest of the people. People’s like her place was in the ground, dead, with no questions asked. 

But at the same time, because of the stance he stood by as far as loyalty to the village went, he couldn’t really say his thoughts to the girl face to face because she was somewhat important to the village, the same village whose interests Aoshi was so fiercely defending. And that was the worst scenario ever, to not be able to speak his mind and lecture the girl when she was just a few feet away! Quite ironic. 

With his feet, the boy landed softly on the rooftop that his target was standing on. Completely unaware of what his squad mate was doing, Aoshi proceeded to try to relate with the girl on emotional level. But this time, though, instead of asking questions, Aoshi decided to straight up lie. He figured he had to comfort the girl and present himself as a friend in order to gain her trust, regardless how hard and sickening it truly was for Aoshi. 

While walking towards the girl slowly, Aoshi tried to put a sad face. “I myself have been asking the same questions. They want me to hurt people, to bring the suffering and despair. Do they even realize that they are people we fight against? People like you and me, with emotions and feelings. Every single day, from our hands die someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, father, mother. And blood is on all of our hands. ” He was spilling lies left and right. Aoshi was thinking of what kind of propaganda other villages had used to talk about Kirigakure and its infamous actions, and tried to say that out loud to get the sympathy of the girl. In reality, he didn’t believe a word he had just said. In fact he was so pissed and insincere, that he could hardly open his mouth when talking, grinding his teeth and attempting to hide a disgusted face in the process. But orders were orders and he tried to succeed the mission with no blood spilled, though Aoshi did want to slap the shit out of her. 

Aoshi spread his cold hands widely upon reaching the girl, attempting to hug her tightly and whisper to her ear softly: “I understand you.” He was fighting against himself to keep the act and his hidden agenda.


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## Island (Mar 9, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Scouting Area*

---​
?Consider it filler conversation.? Hyuuga Aki explained. ?I didn?t need to say anything, but I am under the impression that stupid people are uncomfortable with silence.?

Before the conversation could advance any further, however, a young man with a shimmering forehead protector and an almost untouched flak jacket appeared on the scene. He bore a deep scar across his nose, stretching from one end of his face to the other and wore a sling on his right arm.

_?Probably injured recently.?_ Aki analyzed. _?Reassigned to logistical support, most likely.?_

Aki stared at him without saying a word, and the man must have thought that this was somewhat strange. 

He decidedly ignored it, however, ?Good afternoon. As per your assignment, you are going to be doing reconnaissance along the border and be on the look out for any suspicious activity. Fairly routine. Also safe. This is a relatively quiet area.?

?Pick up an earpiece on your way to the stables. Just press the button on the earpiece, and you'll be able to communicate with anyone on the frequency.? He added.

?Any questions??


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## luffy no haki (Mar 9, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Fists and legs II - Taijutsu Training_
​Akaya stood looking carefully at the Inuzuka, both of them were in the same stance. Both sharp pair of eyes studying each other, waiting for the right moment to attack. In an instant both shinobi ran towards each other, the adult being faster than the kid by obvious reasons. Clenching his right fist, Akaya throws a punch directly at the face of the man who with ease uses the palm of his hand to stop the hit before connecting his left knee in the gut of the boy who stays suspended in the air with a small trail of of saliva coming out from his mouth. Trying to recover his stance, the boy twistes his body and lauches a raising kick towards the chin of his trainer who easily avoids contact by jumping back a little.

Regaining his breath as fast as he could, the jinchuuriki rushes once again against Kaito. This time the man is the one who launches a spinning kick towards the boy who ducks avoiding the attack and then uses two jabs and a straight punch that were parred by the big ANBU. Seeing his efforts being futile, Akaya turn around sticking his back to his teacher and grabbing him by his shirt, then the lad pulled down the upper body of the dog man and landed his knee in the face. Both contenders stopped moving for a moment before a sudden fist coming from the blind spot created by the bandages covering his right eye would strcuk his face sending him rolling along the ground five meters.

Without letting the boy rest, Shikigami forced his body to roll towards his left dodging the foot of the Inuzuka who would have definitely broken some bones by crushing his apprentice into the ground. Standing up with a hop, Akaya dashes at full speed using al the strength in his legs in a mid way jump propelling himself faster than before. Changing his gravity centre, the boy pulls his body backwards and extends his leg aiming for a flying kick towards the chest of his opponent. Yet, he is forced to turn face down and put up a cross defense to block a raising kick coming from below his position which sends him two meters higher into the air only to receive a palm on his back crashing him on the ground.

_"Bastard!!"_ he thought standing up with some difficulty. Once Kaito landed, he sprinted reaching Akaya in an instant throwing an uppercut; the host of the nine tails allowed his body to fall back barely dodging the fist, and stopping his fall with his hands he turns using them as an axis and standing on them before using his feet throwing continuous kicks that the Inuzuka had to block and par before taking some distance. It was obvious that Kaito was just playing around, leaving openings only to see how Akaya would fall for that thinking he could hit but barely being close to landing a hit in reality.

Getting on all fours, the boy member of Root dashed with a beastly style using his four limbs."ORYAAAH!" Immediately he railed against his teahcer with a barrage of fists and kicks. Sending two hooks that bumped against the fierce defense of the brown dog?s master, Akaya touches the ground and lands a low kick to the left knee of the other contender before jumping and aiming to strike with an uppercut. Then an unexpected elbow hitting his chest sends him flying while a bit of blood is spilled from his mouth. 

After a couple of rolls, Akaya stands up with dirt on his face, clothes and bandages. He cleans the trickle of blood falling from his mouth and frowns making a sound closer to what a growl would be."You?re not taking this seriously"he states angrily"What makes you think that?"this time the Inuzuka replies with a question, what makes the boy even angrier"You?re not using the inuzuka style"he said, the proof that his body didn?t have slashes or things of the sort.

"You can?t beat me, you would die if I take you seriously" 

"You said killing attempts were valid"he said adopting the animalistic stance again. A fierce look in his only visible eye.


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## Vergil (Mar 9, 2014)

*Mion - Suna*

Mion looked down at the extended hand. 

She thought about taking it, if only to slice it off and watch her die of blood loss, but that may be one step too far. She was a prized tool after all. Like her. She had that monster inside her, but her sunny attitude was pissing her off.

"Listen. If you're scared that I'll stab you in the back, then maybe that's good. I won't be watching your back so if you have the practice of being paranoid, then maybe you won't die. Or maybe you will. I don't give a shit."

Mion spun on her heels and waited for the sensei that would eventually take them where they needed to go. She glanced at the girl from the side. truth be told she was curious about her. What was it like? How could she keep so happy with that monster inside her? She had even heard that it was hard getting to sleep with that thing in your soul. 

She wanted to distance herself from her. Perhaps it was the fact that it was due to her being similar and there was that tiny, tiny chance that there could be one person that she would hesitate to sacrifice. Of course the fact that she was also taking the whole thing in stride and seemed to be all sunshine and rainbows - she had no idea of hardship, of suffering, of pain. She would show her pain. She would.....

It was then she realised that she was staring at Jinchuuriki with a deathly and sadistic glare and a twitch of a smile. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 

"Just stay out of my way. I'm not a team player." Mion said turning away from her.


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## Island (Mar 10, 2014)

*Downtown Kirigakure*

---​
?That?s the difference between you and me,? she answered, ?This is your home, and these are your people. This place, this village, is not my home. These are not my countrymen or even my friends nor my family. I am not one of you, yet you want me to fight _your_ battles and win _your_ wars??

?I don?t even know where I am.? She brought her hand up to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

Still, Masuyo?s resolve would not be broken. ?Your words are insincere, cold and uncaring, just like everyone else?s in this forsaken misty village. You act like you understand me, but it?s painfully obvious that you?re only interested in finishing your mission and furthering the interests of your country. At the very least, it?s commendable that you?re so dedicated to your home, but how can you be so ready and willing to condemn an innocent person??

?I will not let you do this to me.? Masuyo commanded. ?Get out of my way and let me leave this place. Let me wake up from this nightmare that you people have put me through, and let me salvage what?s left of my life.?

?Otherwise,? she warned, ?I will have no choice but to fight my way out of this hole in the ground or die trying. I have spent my life fighting, killing for others, but I am done with that. I will not kill for you, nor will I kill for the people you work for. Again, this is _not_ my home. You people are neither my friends nor my family. am under no obligation to stay here. I have no ties to this place or the people here, and I am under no obligation to stay. I implore you, let me leave peacefully before this turns violent.?

Though a physical confrontation would most likely be a lot simpler, this young woman?s combat prowess was unknown. By the way she spoke, it sounded as if she _wasn?t_ affiliated with Kirigakure. Likewise, she described being dragged into a war she wasn?t part of, which suggested that she was neither affiliated with any of the Five Great Shinobi Countries nor their allies.

The Mizkuage _did_ describe her as a non-shinobi, but Masuyo seemed strangely confident in her prowess as a fighter. In addition, she _did_ state that she had experience on the battlefield, saying that she spent her life fighting and killing for others. Who she fought and under whose orders, however, thus far remained unknown?

?Either way,? she concluded, ?I'm not letting your people have your way with me.?


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## Bringer (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

It's been a few days since Ryu has been settled in Iwagakure, the village hidden in the stones. The journey had been tiresome but quick, as the prince had to scale up and down multiple mountains before reaching his destination. The young prince had been given a room to stay, but no money meaning he had to do missions just like everybody else. Well after all... That is the reason he was ordered to go to Iwagakure, to help out in the war. That and another purpose...

Ryu stood before a Iwagakure Chuunin who had a scroll in his hand. One thing the onix eyed teen didn't get is why he had to get his mission here, and not in the Tsuchikage mansion. Was the man too busy to give his shinobi missions directly... Well it was time of war, so it was excusable. 

Ryu spoke to the Chuunin. "So what's my mission?" He asked, his voice monotone.

"Hold your horses, I'll tell you the mission once your partner arrives." The shinobi explained.

"Partner? Who is he?" He asked as he was somewhat curious.

"Kurokku Heoin..." The Chuunin replied, the tone of his voice changed as if this "Sumeragi" was some sort of legend or myth.


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## Hossaim (Mar 10, 2014)

*Kurokku Heoin: Building walls, part 1*


11:09

Action: I walk down the street towards the predetermined location of the Chuunin. 
Description:  I am heading to do a C-rank mission. I am not yet entirely sure of what the mission entails, but I am very doubtful it will be of any remote challenge to me. The only reason I am doing this is for funds for a larger clay pouch, as the size of my current one is inadequate for drawn out missions or battles. Making explosive clay is a process that takes several days and not something that can be done during battle or during a mission. 

11:12
Action: I arrive at the location of the Chuunin. 
Description: The chuunin is standing with a mission scroll. There is a teen here already. I suppose I shall be doing my mission with him. He appears to be several years older than me. I hope that he will not pester me. I'd rather not commit murder at this moment in time. Not yet. The time for that will come. As long as I remain polite, everything should go smoothly. 
Verbal Statement(Iwakague Chuunin): "Now that you are both here, we can begin. Your mission will be to go to the border of the land of earth and wind, and the land of fire. There, you will see that we have contracted workers to construct a protective wall protecting the two nations from Konoha. You will protect these worker's and ensure they remain on task until the wall has been completed. Any questions?"
Description: I had none. This mission was going to take longer than I had hoped. With any amount of luck there won't be too many attacks on the workers. But that may be to optimistic. Well, there was nothing I could do about it in any case. I would deal with whatever came my way when the time came. I turned to my partner and waited to see if he had any questions or if we could go and get this done with as soon as possible.


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## Bringer (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

The prince was handed the scroll with the mission details and walked off, not giving the scrawny child any thought. The travel wouldn't be too long see how the border between Iwa and Suna wasn't that far off. Ryu glanced at Kurokku before looking straight forward again. He noticed a mouth on the boy's hand... That's odd.

"What an deformed child." Ryu stated out loud to himself, as he continued to walk onwards towards the village exit.


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## Hossaim (Mar 10, 2014)

11:14
Action: I walking behind the older boy. He looks back to me.
Verbal Statement(older boy): ""What a deformed child"
Description: It's funny how little time is required for me to being indifferent to a person to absolutely despising them. I suppose that makes me judge mental. Oh well. I don't have time for people like this. I hope these builder's are good because I do not want to spend several weeks with him as my only company. But, again, I do not have a choice. Oh how I would like to. Nothing would bring me more pleasure then sticking a clay bomb right in this boy's mouth then laughing as he chokes on the clay before it explodes sending his tiny brain in several directions, every part of his skull would have some clay mixed in with the blood and brains. It would be a wonderful sight. I shall see that sight. In time. For now, I must remain polite. 
Action: I catch up to the boy.
Verbal Statement(Me): "Hello. My name is Heoin. For the purposes of cooperating on this mission, I would prefer if you would not make comments like that until we are done. What is your name?"


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## luffy no haki (Mar 10, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Fists and legs III - Taijutsu Training Inuzuka style_
​Once his declaration reached the ears of the Inuzuka, the owner of the enormous dog showed a smile in his until now expressionless face and taking a soldiers pill, his physical features turned into those of an animal, big nails, fangs and even sharper eyes; Kaito adopted the same position as Akaya and growled as a message telling the kid that he was ready. Instantly both ANBU began their dash, as if the encounter of two beasts about to clash. Jumping against each other, the first one to land a hit was the Inuzuka who immediately slashed the chest of his disciple with brutality before kicking his face and sending him crashing against one of the trees.

With a lot of effort, Akaya stood up and shook his head trying to regain his senses; with difficulty he jumps backwards and with a summersault dodges the claw coming at his head. Then propelling his body by bouncing on the trunk of a tree he rockets towards Kaito and launches his right fist. With extreme agility, the black-haired man spins and  connects Akaya?s right side of the head with the back of his fist. Before the boy could regain his stance, he suddenly moves to his left side and curls in a defensive position receiving a tackle coming from the brown wolf-dog hybrid who was joining the fight just now. He was shot out and ended up skidding on the ground.

Now the Inuzuka was approaching from the right and the dog from the left. Before they could reach the boy, he jumped powerfully forward escaping through the angle between the two opponents. When Akaya raised his head, his pupils were thin and stretched, his irises became red and his teeth and nails grew longer. The veins on his temples standing out. The teacher immediately noticed the influence of the fox and decided to keep going, it was only a secondary effect of the special seal caused by the adrenaline of the moment. Unleashing a furious dash, Akaya started with a new barrage of slashes and kicks mixing in his elbows and fists.

Seeing that the strength and speed of the boy increased by a little margin, Kaito started to block the attacks at the same time as he was trying to land some more. Throwing multiple kicks in mid air, Shikigami uses the crossed arms of his sensei to jump towards another of the giant trees, bouncing there then on the ground and then going high reaching a thick branch, the jinchuuriki made this repeatedly confusing the dog a little and making the Inuzuka to bring his guard up. Once he positioned on the three behind his instructor, Akaya leaped forward bringing his body into a series of rapid spins. 

"TSUKUGA!!!"

Once he got within range of the target, he combined the speed of their spin, momentum gained from their leap, and his increased physical strength before extending his arm into a fierce punch directed at the back of the head. Using the same tactic the boy applied before, the Inuzuka fell back, a current of wind moving his hair as he sees how the boy passes in front of him, the scarlet eyes fixed on Kaito. " As impressive as always but, let me show you the real one...KINTA, TSUGA!!! " suddenly from  above a howl was heard and before Akaya could react, a tornado crashed against him smashing his body against the ground.

*cough* *cough* with all his strength, a bleeding Akaya tried to stand but when he managed to get on one of his knees..."TSUGAA!!!" a piercing pain filled his whole body, his eyes closed and finally he fell unconscious.

" I warned him didn?t I? "he asked while his dog got close to him and nodded.

-----------------------------------

When he opened his eyes it was night already, he was looking at the starry sky. His body hurt all over and he couldn?t move properly. When he sat straight, he managed to see Kaito and Kinta staring at him. Their location was different too.

"Guess I didn?t do too well" Shikigami asked with some frustration in his voice."Well, you did better than last time. Now..."he pointed at a log stuck in the ground." Twenty five punches and twenty five kicks for each hit that landed on you...."he stopped for a moment as the boy looked confused at him, the amount was too little considering what he used to force on the lad.

"And one hundred for each time you fell."


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## Bringer (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*


"Ryu." He answered the boy's question dryly. "I was saying what was on my mind." The prince explained, his head never turned to acknowledge obscure looking peer.

He didn't really understand what was the point of this mission, or why either him or the child was needed. The people who were making these walls knew ninjutsu, that much was clear. Also why were the two of them chosen specifically? Or were they simply scraping at the bottom of the barrel.

"What can you do?" The black haired prince asked.


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## Hossaim (Mar 10, 2014)

11:17

Verbal Statement(Me):"Well if you could keep insulting thoughts to yourself it would be very appreciated."
Description: It is getting harder and harder to be and sound polite. This boy is insufferable. But I am capable. I have been continuing this ruse for many years now, I can do it a bit longer. I just need to know the time. Right now it's 11:17. I'm doing fine. This journey will be long, but hopefully we won't have to do much talking during it. I don't think he would mind silence. Wet get out the required basics, we do the job we were asked to do and no more then we never have to see each-other again until my time comes. When that time comes I will make sure we see each-other again. Patcience. Everything will come in good time. 
Verbal Inquisition(Ryu): "What can you do?
Verbal Statement(Me) "I am explosion release user who can create explosive birds, I am also capable of using genjutsu, sunshin, and I am additionally proficient in all of the basic academy jutsu." 
Description: I can't say I'm pleased about this boy knowing my abilities, but unfortunately if I want this mission to be over as easy and quickly as possible, it is necessity.
Verbal Inquisition "What about you? What are your abilities?"


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## Bringer (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

The prince nodded after he heard the boy's abilities? An explosion export sent to look after a wall... How incongruous. A few moments after the boy explained his abilities he asked Ryu what abilities did he posses. His face still faced forward, never meeting the boy's.

"Only a fool would give away his abilities just like that." The prince stated bluntly. "But a bigger fool is somebody who won't cooperate with his peers, so I'll tell you. I possess a kekkai genkai that you are probably not aware about, one that allows me to do... Certain dragon related things. Furthermore I know the academy techniques and how to break through genjutsu."


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## Olivia (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ajimu Najimi*
* ~Missed Opportunity*~

Mion's glares pierced me as if they were swords. I could only continue to walk forward, reflecting on her words. Just stay out of the way - she said. I'm not a team player - she said. Did It look like I wanted to become best of friends with a girl like this? She obviously looked down on me, and in fact, looked like she wouldn't hesitate to kill me if it benefited her in any way, shape, or form.

Not only that, but she made it sound like she didn't give a shit about me! Well, that's probably true, but it doesn't even seem like she has any killing intent for me, she just doesn't want to have anything to do with me! What's wrong with me? I can't control the fact that there's a demon inside of me, and this is the problem with everyone! They don't even look at me anymore, they just see the tailed beast inside of me and call me a monster.

However, whatever words I wanted to throw at back at her left my mind, as I noticed she stood in-place, as if she were waiting. As academy students, we were always told to wait for all team members to arrive before leaving for a mission, no matter how long we had to wait. However on the otherhand, in a status of war, senior shinobi such as Chunin and Jonin (but more so Jonin) were had to come by, so that rule falls apart. As well, the Mizukage made it a point that it would just be the two of us (probably just to torture me). 

I turned to face her, and considered the possibility. The possibility that a girl like this could have actually read and understood shinobi code. Someone that actually takes some form of rules to their heart, as she decided to wait for a superior to show up. Or maybe this was just a fluke. Regardless, this single instant can't justify how she'll react to me as a teammate. I re-approached her with a bit of an annoyed look. 

"Hey we should get going, we're losing precious time to get to the guard station. If you're waiting for a sensei to show up then I wouldn't bother: in times of war like this, they are out preforming more necessary tasks. Besides, I doubt it's in the Kazekage's interests to help us [particularly me] out. I'm sure you don't want to talk to you as much as you don't want to talk to me, but we were assigned this mission together so we might as well stick together."

I turned away and left the village gate. For some strange reason I knew that she would follow me eventually, but I said all I needed to say. However less than fifty steps out of the gate and we already ran into a problem. An apparent Iwagakure shinobi approached us, battle worn.

*"Please...I need help..."*

I could see trails of blood leading down his arm, but I could do nothing to fix him. I doubt Mion would ever feel like helping a injured man, so I decided to give him some advice.

"Just go to the village, it's fairly close and you can receive medical attention there."

A smile appeared on his face as a pool of smoke blocked my vision. I could hear the clanging of metal as it shot towards my body. But as soon as the white cloud faded away, I already knew his attack had been futile. In front of me had appeared a shield of sand, blocking the multiple thrown kunai. I took a look at his headband, and it was now showing Kirigakure's symbol.

"You've gone and done it now. While I may have many sleepless nights, you have just woken the beast inside of me from its slumber. Don't expect to get out of this in one piece."​


----------



## Atlantic Storm (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Scouting Area*

___________​
Ren was about to open his mouth to quip back, but was soundly interrupted by the appearance of a young man with a forehead protector and flak jacket. "_He's got a flak jacket. He's probably a chūnin - seems too young to be anything higher._" He observed to himself, his blue eyes scanning over the man's outfit for any other indicator of a rank or position. There was none.

He then soon began explaining the mission, providing instructions on where to go and what they were to do, before finally asking: "Any questions?"

"None," Ren shrugged back, "it sounds easy enough."


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## Sumon (Mar 10, 2014)

*Shinomori Aoshi, Kirigakure downtown*


Aoshi was standing in front of the girl within a hand’s reach. His eyes had widened and his face was no longer smiling. For a split second, the boy’s eye twitched and he gave away this sharp, serious look as the defensive stance had turned on inside him. He felt he was being read. He no longer tried to hug the girl. Much to his shock, his lies were seen through by this mysterious girl. Never has that happened before for the young ninja, who used to manipulate other people successfully to his own good. And he did not enjoy that feeling, the feeling of being read. It was unpleasant to say the least.

Finding himself in a dead-end and becoming a little desperate, Aoshi hardly had any chance of still talking the girl into giving up. He figured he’d have to resort to physical violence now, while this hasn’t been blown completely out of proportion, and he still had the element of surprise at his disposal.

Aoshi sighed out of relief and rolled his eyes, while giving the girl this true friendly smile. For the first time talking to the girl, he wasn’t faking anything: “Let me be honest for once, please. I...”
*
*Bam!**

Aoshi attempted to grab the girl by her wrists and pin her down on the rooftop with all of his weight in a pretty straightforward motion. With his quite strong bandaged up arms, he wanted to pin the girl’s hands above her head, making her unable to form any seals and move them at all. As for the other limbs of hers, Aoshi was supposed to wrap his own legs around the girl’s belly, completely preventing the girl from squirming with her back against the rooftop. Only her head and legs would be moving had Aoshi’s plan succeeded. But her legs wouldn’t be a major problem as they would be unable to fully reach the boy, unless, of course, she was extremely flexible. Only a few hits with a knee to the boy’s back were a possible sign of resistance by the girl, nothing what Aoshi couldn’t endure. 

Excitement embraced the boy during the pinning: “Yes, this is my home! And I’m prepared to kill the cockroaches that are here to pollute my beloved family!” He shouted out loud with saliva coming out of his mouth and his eyes wide open and tense. Aoshi preferred this way of doing missions much more than talking lies. And even though the girl did nothing to him personally to incur such reaction from Aoshi, he was at peace for what he was doing because the girl was a possible threat with an unstable mind.


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## Vergil (Mar 10, 2014)

*Mion*

Mion watched at the Jinchuuriki girl as she gave her explanation of why there wasn't a sensei and looked around. It seemed true enough. "Fuck." she murmured under her breath.

In all honesty she was apprehensive about leaving the village. Not quite scared, but just that she's never really been outside the gates before. There were no excursions due to the lack of any sort of parental figure, combined with the fact that she enjoyed her power within the city. Outside there would be no reputation - but it'd be fun making one. Making the world fear her name. A smile went across her face as she stepped out. But just to be clear she wasn't following HER.

It wasn't a few minutes into the journey that their first encounter occurred. Some person asking for help. She was just about to get her shuriken out and kill him using a blood freezing poison but little miss naive was all about trying to be all helpful. Mion would have ignored him or used them as a test subject for the poison. Helping him seemed so pointless. She watched as it turned out that he was a shinobi from Kiri.

A Shinobi. A real fight.

The kunai were blocked by a wall of sand, as if it were done automatically. Was it sand control? Half of Mion wanted to have her deal with the shinobi on her own just to see what she was capable of, the other half wanted the man to die screaming. She opted for both. Mion leaped backwards and flung her shurikens at the shinobi.

He blocked the shurikens with his own. How impressive! But of course that was a test, to see what he would do with projectiles thrown at him. When coming to defensive maneuvers folk relied on the same thing - no matter how varied their attacks may be, when it came to defense it was better to stick to what you knew. She just had to deal with the counter attack.

More kunai, which were deflected by Mion and Jinchuuriki girl. That hardly seemed....heh. 

His plan would have worked had it not been for rotten luck. Mion fell to the ground and clutched her head. Hell viewing technique genjutsu. Your worst fears displayed to you ni the most gruesome and horrifying way possible. She had opted for the Sly mind genjutsu when she was learning them, but certainly this one had it's merits.

Cue smug look and lack of attention to detail. Mion's hands were already in the Kai position before she went down. The reason why it was unlucky was because it was the exact same combination she used. Throw Kunai; make opponent think that the atack is over - hide the real intention away and cast the genjutsu.

Mion threw tow shuriken at him - in 'desperation'. he casually threw his kunai back at them to deflect them, only to his surprise Mion's projectile flew around the defensive kunai he found that there were two slashes on his shirt from where two poison soaked shuriken had hit him. That would be enough. A concoction of her own. Made pain 10 times worse. 

She looked at the Jinchuuriki and waited on her to finish him off. Of course he was still fully functional, and perhaps even a little cocky as Mion still pretended to be in the thralls of the genjutsu and the shuriken that hit him were considered on his part to be 'a lucky shot'. Satisfied that Mion was taken care of he turned his attention to the sand girl. 

Oh ho this should be fun to watch.


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## River Song (Mar 10, 2014)

*Dee*

The sun shone bright in the sky, its light pouring to every corner of the earth. It was a beautiful day on the island; its amazing cerulean ocean seemed to expand beyond the horizon, stretching beyond the boundaries of their small self contained world. Walked slowly in a circle, kneeling down so she was barely off the ground. In her right hand she held a dull kunai, which she used to carve a circle into the ground, she stood up and appraised her work a content look on her face as she looked at her perceived masterpiece. In reality it was a fairly large circle that went slightly oblong at one end. She was never good at art.  This circle would serve as their ring, the game: sumo wrestling. With a challenging grin she turned towards her older brother a tall burly boy... no man now. She checked herself, was she really going to attempt this. She shrugged away her doubt, of course she was going to try this, she was a trained, well sorta, shinobi and he was a stable hand, the odds were in her favour. 

She stepped into the ring, donning an almost antagonistic smirk as she picked  her side.

?While we?re young bro.?

Her brother, Hiro, stepped into the ring, trying to fle his muscles as he did so, Dee couldn?t help but chuckle at his antics. This would be fun.

 3...2...1.... Go!

Dee moved off from her left foot sprinting right towards him. Hiro hadn?t seen her fight in a while and Dee had been pouring all her effort into increasing her strength, today it would pay off. She crashed into him with a definite thump as his weight pushed back onto her, suddenly it was a standstill until Dee stepped forward with her other foot and with a great burst of energy threw him out of the ring.


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## Island (Mar 10, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Scouting Area*

---​
?Hm, well,? the shinobi nodded, ?If you have any questions, let me know.?

The man looked at the two genin one last time before turning and walking away toward a medium-sized tent, presumably where the commanders and other important people at this encampment could be found.

Meanwhile, Hyuuga Aki scanned the area until she found the ?stables? that the man described. She glanced over at Ren momentarily, as if to confirm that he was ready, and then began walking in the direction of the makeshift structure.

Calling them stables would be an overstatement, but there seemed to be no other word for these strange creations. They appeared to be constructed out of wooden beams with diagonal tin roofs, crude but effective in keeping the sun away the large hawk-like birds that resided under them. Again, provisional, temporary, housing for the creatures, but they got the job done.

Presumably, these hawks belonged to one of the shinobi at the camp and were summon animals of some kind. They appeared just large enough for a human to ride on, similar to the way that one would ride a horse. They bore saddles on their backs and then small backpacks immediately behind them, most likely full of emergency supplies, including blankets, rations, and medical supplies.

Aki didn?t say anything, however, being not all that impressed. While most genin considered this to be their favorite mission, getting to fly a gigantic hawk through the skies and scout for enemy troop movements, Aki didn?t really feel one way or the other. After all, she chose this mission because it was a logical fit given her kekkei genkai.

?I almost forgot,? Aki said, ?Go pick up an earpiece for me. I?m not sure how I could forget one of the most critical components of my mission.?


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Scouting Area*

___________​
The stables were largely unimpressive to Ren. Though the structure was well built, it was also crude and ugly in design. Completely unlike the ones back at the Houki household. But then, he supposed, these people didn't have the luxury of time and these were only meant to serve as temporary holdings for the shinobi hawks. At the very least, they got their job done. The hawks weren't particularly spectacular, either - though that was a judgment that may have been affected by Ren's opinion on the mission itself. Walking past the stable, the young man picked up one of the earpieces from the table and slid it into his pocket. Noticing that Aki Hyūga had walked on ahead, Ren briefly contemplated picking one up for her, but decided not to and walked on.

Then she finally noticed. "I almost forgot,? Aki said, ?Go pick up an earpiece for me. I?m not sure how I could forget one of the most critical components of my mission."

At this, Ren simply raised an eyebrow. Was she _really_ giving him orders? "Don't saddle your incompetence onto others. Go collect it yourself." he simply replied, walking past her and getting onto one of the hawks, looking down at the Hyūga from his new height, a hand reaching for the earpiece.


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## Island (Mar 10, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Scouting Area*

---​
?Was that? a pun?? Hyuuga Aki frowned. ?It usually takes wit to come up with something like that, but I guess a broken clock is right twice a day.?

Nevertheless, Aki went back and picked up the earpiece, placing it in her right ear as she walked back over. Upon getting close, she formed a couple of hand seals and activated her kekkei genaki. Her pupils became more distinct, and the veins around her temples bulged out, revealing her Byakugan.

She followed Ren?s lead, walking over to one of the large hawks, climbing on, and ordering it to ascend. Once she got up to Ren?s height, she came to a stop, commanding the creature to maintain its current attitude. Within speaking distance of her fellow genin, she stated, ?It?s fairly obvious how this is going to go, so we might as well skip the formalities. In case you forgot, however, press the button on the earpiece to speak. It?s fairly self-explanatory, but??

Obviously, she was referring to the fact that this otherwise dull mission was most likely going to result in the two of them jibing each other back and forth. However, Aki didn?t give Ren a chance to reply, instead issuing an order for her hawk to fly forward, leaving the young man in the dust.


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 10, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Scouting Area*

___________​
"I already tested it when I took off." Ren stated, manoeuvring his hawk around the forest, throwing a Aki a condescending glance along the way. "For a person with a Byakugan, you're not very perceptive, are you?" 

He finally asked, before flying away to turn his attention onto the actual mission, commanding his bird to fly away. Dramatically, Ren lifted a single finger and pressed the button that turned on his earpiece. "By the way, you can speak from a distance with these earpieces. That's how they work, incidentally."

For such a dull mission even Ren had to admit that the scenery was beautiful. The endless stretches of green were a common sight on ground, but being so high up gave him a whole new perspective, especially with the golden glow the setting Sun bathed it in. Despite it's beauty, however, the purple stained sky was also ominous and somewhat foreboding in it's majesty. Darkness was quickly draping in, and clouds had also begun to gather, which Ren took as a sign of rain. "_Maybe this won't be so easy after all._" He thought to himself, piloting the bird.


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## Island (Mar 11, 2014)

*Hyuuga Aki, Scouting Area*

---​
Ren quickly caught up, passing with a witty remark and a condescending glare. Then, he flew away but still maintaining contact with Aki, speaking into the earpiece, ?By the way, you can speak from a distance with these earpieces. That?s how they work, incidentally.?

?Excuse me?? She replied, pressing her pointer finger against the button on the earpiece.

Waiting for a reply, the kunoichi looked up at the scenary, again, not particularly impressed. Sky. Trees. All the same as before except from higher up. However, darkness lurked on the horizon, something which caught her immediate attention. A storm? Aki recognized that genin only went on these missions in clear weather, and more skilled fliers, usually chuunin and jounin, went in more dangerous conditions, such as those of adverse weather conditions or if there was a significant threat of being spotted and attacked by hostile forces.

Maybe this mission wuldn?t be _that_ boring, after all.


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## Atlantic Storm (Mar 11, 2014)

*Ren Houki, Scouting Area*

___________​
"Ah, good, you figured it out. You don't need to thank me. It's the job of superior shinobi such as myself to help the less capable." Ren spoke into his earpiece, his right index finger held onto the button. He was about to follow up with that with another jibe, but then stopped, a cold sensation piercing the sleeve of his right arm.

It was raining.

The Houki frowned for a moment, looking up. "_The weather is too weird. It shouldn't have started to rain this abruptly..._" Tilting his head, he peered down at the ground, which was now obscured by a curtain of rainfall, every so often bringing his hand up to wipe away ever increasing droplets of water from his eyes. "_Rain would be perfect to stop any scouts up in the air. It limits the maneuverability of the birds, and the rider's vision..._"

Slowly, he brought his hand back up to his earpiece. "Hyūga, direct your Byakugan in my direction." Ren said. "_If the weather came from ninjutsu, then chakra would be weaved into the rain, which her eyes would detect instantly. If not... then it still saves me some work._"


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## Bringer (Mar 11, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

As the boy finished explaining his abilities to the presumably malnourished child with the mouth on his hand, the chuunin jumped right in front of the two, stopping them. What was the meaning of this? Why did the man decide to stop them right when they set off for their journey? Before Ryu could even ask for some answers, the chuunin spoke.

"Change of plans. Heoin you'll be needed elsewhere. Let's just say sending an explosive expert to supervise and protect a wall... Is a bit clashing." 

Without saying a word Heion simply nodded and walked off. What would this mean for Ryu? Would he simply work alone, honestly he didn't mind either way, in fact he would prefer it. 

Curious for an answer the prince spoke. "So I presume I'll be working alone now." The way he said it made it sound like less of a question and more of a statement.

"No... In fact Heion's replacement should be coming soon. Just stay put okay? I've got to reassign a different mission to Heion." And with that being said, the chuunin left and Ryu was all alone waiting for his replacement partner.


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## blacklusterseph004 (Mar 11, 2014)

*Sumeragi*

Sumeragi carefully navigated the street crowds on her way to the mission meeting point. She was unusually tall for her age, so she was clearly visible above the heads as she approached. Even if not for her height however, the smoky haze that surrounded her head and slowly drifted upwards like chimney exhaust was unmistakable.

She came shuffling towards Ryu, poor posture and all, regarding the way forward with lazy eyes. She stopped close to him and simply stared for a moment.

_Is this the meeting place... hmm_

As she mumbled to herself to jog her memory, the pipe she was smoking bounced playfully on her lip, changing the steady cloud to little puffs. She looked back and forth between landmarks and the mission brief that she produced from inside her coat.

"Hmmm~, I think... I am to accompany you on...hm~, a mission", she finally said to Ryu, having settled in her mind that this must be the right person. She lightly adjusted her Kusagakure headband before introducing herself: "My name is, hm~, Sumeragi... pleased to meet you." She put out her hand in greeting but rather than preparing to exchange handshakes, her outstretched hand was instead positioned to receive a high-five.


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## Bringer (Mar 12, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

No human no matter how uncaring or psychotic couldn't keep their expressions blank at the sight of this girl. The prince's eyes widened a bit larger than usual, and if you looked close enough you could see his jaw slightly drop. This girl had a baffling appearance. She made Heoin look slightly less deformed... There was so many oddities about her. Those bizarre eyes, her inexplicable tongue and nails, inhuman height, and to top it all off she reeked of grass.

She would've been more menacing if it weren't for her sloppy way of walking, the laziness in her eyes, and the fact she was smoking a pipe. 

Ryu was over it, and his expression turned back to his default demeanor. His face completely void of any emotion. In fact the way the girl talked was irritating, and almost made the young prince consider mauling her to death. He's barely known her and she's already made him think violent thoughts, something that rarely happened with the prince who normally had a lot of patience.

He ignored her hand. "You're repulsive. I don't like you. I find the way you talk irritating. Let's get this mission over with." He delivered each statement without an ounce of emotion. The boy turned away from the girl and began walking off towards the village exit.

Ryu decided to say a few more things. "You'll need to know my name. It's Ryu." He paused before continuing. "A dragon and a tree go off to protect a wall... This one is one for the story books."  Considering the monotone way the prince talked, it was hard to tell if this was an attempt at a joke or not.


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## blacklusterseph004 (Mar 12, 2014)

*Sumeragi*

"Hm~, so it is you..." Sumergai grinned. The fact that she was right about identifying her mission partner was the only thing that registered out of what Ryu said. She looked at her outstretched hand, hi-five left hanging, and lowered it with a chuckle. "Yes, yes, silly Sume, handshakes for meetings, hehehehe..." she mumbled over her pipe. She began shuffling after him, smirking at his demeanor as he spoke.

The route to the village exit was mostly uneventful save for the crowded state of the streets. Sumeragi had a vague idea of where they were heading since she had been to the region before. Even though she didn't particularly care, the thought did cross her mind about how quaint it was to erect a wall against shinobi

_Although, I guess since it is an Iwagakure wall, there are some tricks in the stones..._

As they passed out beneath the great archway of one of Iwagakure's more prominent gates, something occurred to Sumeragi. "Hm~, Ryu... dragon... Ryu... dragon... a ryu that calls itself a dragon... could you be hm~ the envoy of a clan foreign to Iwagakure? What an interesting fellow."


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## Axelthewanted (Mar 12, 2014)

Karira Miota 
Hello Kategiri Sensei!












Karira was located at the ninja training grounds, sitting on the edge of the large pond which waters' sparkled at the reflection of the Sun's shine. She gazed down upon the tranquil mirror like water, observing her reflection, thinking back of her last encounter with her father. Wishing things would have ended better, that they could come to a good closure, an agreement.

"Father why couldn't you just be proud of me?"

Whispering to herself she picks up a pebble near her with her fingers and as her face would turn into a frown of self frustration, she threw the pebble across the pond. The pebble, at the touch of the water's surface, would bounce five times before sinking, creating small ring shaped waves along the way. The uneasiness was slowly consuming her mind  and paving a hole in her heart. Even though she doesn't like to show it, no matter how much she tries to lie to herself she really cares deeply about her father. She sank her head between her knees  and wrapped her arms around her legs. 

"What are you crying about?"

The voice startled Karira causing her to quickly stand up  and back away from the source. When she looks back what she says is a pretty woman still at her best moments of her youth, having long purple hair about the same length as her's and violet eyes, but she quickly noticed that she was wearing an eye-patch at where the left eye should be. Did something happen to her eye? Was the first question went through her in the moment. Looking into detail the woman was wearing a black outfit with no sleeves on her top. 



Then another question came up to her mind. How was that woman able to get behind her without her noticing it? Maybe she was too distracted within her thoughts that she was just lucky. 

"I'm not crying! Who said I was crying?! And- And don't you know it's rude to scare people like that?"

"Hey now. That's no way to talk to your sensei."

"My sensei? I wasn't told I was going to have sensei."

"*Sighs* There's no need to tell you. You should know that every genin must have sensei of a higher rank to mentor them."

"I suppose you're right."

That explained why she was unable to sense her presence till just now. She still was a little irritated and in denial of her thinking that she was crying. As if she had time waste her tears on unnecessary reasons. She continued to think like this to regroup her personality as her suppose teacher continued to speak.

"I'm the jonin Kujo Kategiri and from now on I'll be your sensei Karira Miota."

The woman known as Kujo Kategiri  even knew Karira's name. Acknowledging as the real deal she couldn't help but to feel somewhat excited, wondering if she'll ever become so strong as to be ranked jonin someday. 
​


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## Bringer (Mar 12, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

Ryu tried his best to ignore the girl who he presumed was mentally challenged... Or something. The way she talked to herself, spoke in the third person, all of it was just giving the prince bad vibes... However Ryu wasn't worry because if she were a traitor he was confident he could defeat this strange girl.

Progress was made as the two were close to exiting the village... Well a little progress, but after all progress is progress. 

_"Finally."_

Suddenly he heard the girl speak and ask him something. The prince didn't even look at her, he kept his face forward as he replied. "You are correct." Ryu let that sink in for a few seconds before opening his mouth like that. "And I presume an abomination like you belongs to another village."

Then again... Considering he met a boy with a mouth on his hand... Maybe everyone in the stone village were just freaks.


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## Fagaoftheeastflames (Mar 12, 2014)

Tenzu Memori
Intro: Welcome to the Squad.​
As I was shambling around, I found myself on the entrance of Hoshigakure. It’s a tall somewhat square sign, that only say’s Hoshigakure. Its simplicity was complemented with the beauty of the blue sky that was showing.

“Hoshigakure…” I whispered to myself while looking at Hoshigakure’s sign.

I entered as I recalled a memory from a while not long ago.

A man was sitting in front of me reading documents and different color scrolls.

“What a shame.”

He said to me with a sad tone.

“It’s has been months that you suffer from that horrible experience and the government just gave you a mission.”

  By the time, I was told the news of the mission that I was going to move to a new village, I was shocked because I got accustomed to Kumogakure.

“The mission states that you are to join a squad of two genin and one jonin, and you are to stay in Hoshigakure until further notice.” 

But now back to the present. I have entered to Hoshigakure and found myself completely lost. Not knowing where the training ground was, I stop to look for a map, or anything that can point me to the right direction, where the training ground would be. After few seconds of shaking my head to every direction, I found a standard map that would show me the touristic sites of Hoshigakure including the training grounds and even the Hoshikage’s mansion. So I grabbed one of the old looking paper maps and hoped to find the right direction. Heading towards north I found various types of shops including a casino, a wooden like hotel and different types of restaurants that serve different themed foods.

   After a while heading north I found a grass like path that resemble a forest. Unsure if it was the right way I consulted the map and it remove any uncertainties that I had. I followed the map and found myself in a beautiful forest that in the middle contained a crystal blue like lake. While in the same direction I found two people, one was woman that was a few inches taller than me and she seams to be around her twenties, she had long purple hair and what it seems to be a sleeveless black shirt. And the other one was also taller than me but smaller than the purple haired one. The smaller girl she had what it seems to be a white shirt and a black skirt. Her hair was black with white lines.
I guess that these where the people I was looking for. So I mustered part of my courage and I got close to them. With a bit of hesitation I asked them.

“Excuse me… I’m looking for the new squad.”


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## blacklusterseph004 (Mar 12, 2014)

*Sumeragi*



> "And I presume an abomination like you belongs to another village."



The observation caused Sumeragi to snicker at first, which rapidly increased to raucous laughter. So much so that she had to take her pipe from her mouth and wipe a tear from her eye. She tapped her pipe on a nearby sign post to free some of the spent leaf, before returning to puffing as usual and continuing on the trek behind Ryu.

_I suppose it is a good thing he has encountered a shinobi like me now as an ally. I wonder if this is why I was teamed with him..._

For all her lazy behaviour, Sumeragi had not failed to notice Ryu's reaction when she had first approached him. It was a face she had seen a thousand times before, even as far back as her earliest recollection of self awareness. Better that he encounter such mild results of kinjutsu as Sumeragi now, rather than facing the far more frightening wielders of it on the battlefield. In the pursuit of power, flesh and blood is rather easily discarded.

Their journey towards the border took them down a broad, yet steep pass. It descended from jutting teeth-like crags, cutting through narrow rifts in a winding maze, leading out of the mountain range that concealed Iwagakure. It was an environment that Sumeragi didn't care much for, given the bland colours and the biting extremes in temperature that came with living at altitude. The mountain vegetation was sparse and almost as bland as the inhospitable rocks they grew from. It was in stark contrast to Sumeragi's homeland near Kusagakure, which had wild exotic plants dominating the landscape, and trees so large and thick that they cast an eternal darkness on the forest floor beneath their crowns.

The descent from the mountains down onto the arid plains of the Land of Earth generally had been uneventful. Apart from some meaningless comments to Ryu or some silent greeting to passing strangers, Sumeragi's mind was cast forward to the mission. The task before them was simple enough, but the location was of minor concern to her.

"Hm~, you spoke to the chuunin before left..." she started up out of nowhere just as they were crossing over a much traveled wooden bridge over a particularly deep ravine. "Did he give any specifics about the layout of the area that we will, hm~ be watching over? Landmarks? Nearby garrisons? Anything like that?"


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## Kei (Mar 12, 2014)

That Summer Arc​
The small island Zyana called home was far away from the main land, and too under develop to ever house a train station and things like that. Most of the village?s shipment of food came from a small boat that made constant trips to and from.  That was also a means of transportation from the island to the mainland, Zyana never really held must interest outside of the island and her memories were pretty blurry from when she was on the mainland. Zyana only knew that she came from there and that her and her mother moved around a lot. 

Though memories of the villages name or if she had friends there, those didn?t come up no matter how hard she tried. It was blurry like fog was covering something very important that she was supposed to remember.  

Zyana listened to the seagulls cry, they were louder than usual and it caused something to ache in her chest. Were there seagulls where she came from? Did she hear them a lot? Or was the first time she heard seagulls was when she moved to the island? Zyana looked beyond the beach and pass the sea. She stared at the horizon, no matter how much it itched and yelled at her to find out those things. Zyana would never bother her mother about silly things like the past. And why bother? The island was her home now and she had tons of work to do.

Slapping her cheeks she continued towards the main village?

But why couldn?t she remember? She was 10 when she moved to the village, she remembered other things from the time she was outside the village, but why did every time she tried to think about the past it was like a big fog covering her heart and mind? Why? Why?

?AHHHHH!!! DON?T THINK!! DON?T THINK!!!? Zyana yelled at herself as she began to pick up her pace and began to run. Run away from the feeling of something itching at her, run away from those nasty thoughts! She was happy here on this island, with her mother and Sakura, her friends and the kids from the village. She was truthfully happy that she could call this place home! Although that didn?t stop the itching! The wanting to know!

Zyana was in a full out run now, the salt from the sea stung her eyes as she felt her legs scream under pressure but she kept running. She had to run or else she would think about silly things like that! When she thought about silly things, she asked stupid questions and bother her mother! She didn?t need that right about now! 

?DON?T THINK!! DON?T THINK ABOUT IT!!!?  Zyana cursed herself, her breath began to shorten as she finally began to reach her limit. Her legs were screaming and she was short on breath, if she was in the village ninja academy she would surely fail any course dealing with physical health or so she thought. Opening her eyes she was already in the village, Zyana had ran so fast and hard that the trip from the church to the village seemed so short as if they were close by all along.

Coming to a stop, Zyana bent down and caught her knees, they felt as if they would pop out of place and her whole leg would become jelly. She felt her heart slowly climb up to her throat and try to make an escape for dear life. 

?I shouldn?t have ran that hard?.? Zyana moaned as she pushed herself to move to the market

Zyana cursed herself for pushing her body that hard when she wasn?t really use to do it in the beginning.  Although it did the job, she wasn?t thinking about it anymore, she was comfortably greeting the villagers and making way for the chickens and cows. 

Although as she was thinking about what she was going to buy tonight, she didn?t notice the man dressed in black. A man that wasn?t a usual in a village and stood out from the vibrant colors of the village, he was a complete and utter outsider, but even though that was true. He was hidden amongst the people as if he was a shadow?.


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## Bringer (Mar 13, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

Ryu didn't say anything as the two finished crossing the bridge. Instead of immediately answering Sumeragi's question, he just took out the scroll that was given to him by the Chuunin. He began to read from the scroll. 



> "We've hired a group of construction specialist, men who use a combination of standard methods and ninjutsu, to create a defensive wall between us and Fire Country. This is a secret undertaking, but you never know. You'll be standing guard over these guys, and you'll authorize payment. You'll be running supervisor and security, so if they get off task or take long breaks, you'll need to get their asses in gear. Don't let the authority go to your head."



Once Ryu finished reading the scroll, he put it away and spoke. "There were no specifics. We'll know when we see a group of wall builders. Furthermore it should be noted that they aren't waiting for us. Upon arrival the wall should be under construction. Best case scenario it's done before we even arrive.  Worst case scenario is the other villages have already found out about this wall and annihilated the wall builders." 

The prince suddenly halted, and then took off his travel pack and set it on the floor. "The travel to the border of the land of earth and land of wind won't be short. It'll be getting dark soon, so we should start camp. I've only brought enough supplies for myself, so feel free to go in a corner and initiate photosynthesis."

Ryu pulled out a sleeping bag, a water container, and some food he packed. Furthermore he had a envelope in his bag that was given to him by the Chuunin. He was to give the envelope to the wall builders after they completed the walls, since it apparently contained their payment. "Now... How do we make a fire with no firewood." He mused as the sun began to set.


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## blacklusterseph004 (Mar 13, 2014)

*Sumeragi*

Sumeragi peered through her self-generated smoke cloud at Ryu diligently reading what could only be a mission scroll. Even though it took him a while to relay the information, Sumeragi did find it quite interesting, confirmed by a few 'hm's and a sagely nod or two.

_I suppose no one would be so brazen as to attack construction workers, but then again, perhaps these aren't ordinary construction workers. Either way, the proximity to the border gives me a bad feeling..._

Sumeragi was lost in her thoughts and permutations for a moment and was surprised when Ryu was suddenly stopped in front of her that she narrowly avoided walking into him. Since she never slept and never felt the need to, it tended to take her by surprise if she was working with someone and the work suddenly stopped when the sun went down. She never really welcomed that surprise however at something everyone else naturally did. It was like a constant reminder of the ticking clock over her head. Her humanity slowly but surely slipping away.

She watched with some intrigue as Ryu busied himself with various camping items and food, things Sumeragi seldom concerned herself with. At his wondering at a fire however, a grin grew on her face. She leaned over near the spot where Ryu had chosen to setup and began gagging like she was going to vomit. All at once, a small flurry of very thin, quickly drying grass tumbled out of her mouth and onto the ground. She tapped some cinders from her pipe over it and the little bundle began to smoke as the cinders ignited it.

"Hm~, that should get you started", she said, wiping some drool from her lip before her pipe returned to its place. "I'll be down in the ravine we just crossed over, down near the river. There is a, hm~,  weed that grows there. It makes a very sweet tasting smoke..." she turned and began sauntering off into the growing evening gloom, leaving Ryu to his devices. 

"Oh...hm~...", she started, speaking over he shoulder as she walked away,"...photosynthesis only happens during the day... when it's light... that's why it's called *photo*synthesis. See you in the morning!" she laughed as she passed from earshot.


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## Bringer (Mar 13, 2014)

*Ryu Reikon*

Ryu glanced at the girl as she began gagging, just staring on as he presumed she was choking to death. Oh well, that's just life. He didn't even think to help her, but suddenly... She vomited grass? She then ignited the grass using her pipe, successfully making a small fire. 

"Disgusting... But useful." The prince noted as he was preparing to go on a small walk to find a branch or something to make the fire stronger. Ryu nodded as Sumeragi explained where she was going to go as he slept. His response was just a mere nod.

As he was about to walk off to find something to feed the fire the tree woman had spoken to the boy, explaining how photosynthesis only occurs during the day. "Tck." 

With Ryu being finally left alone, the boy went hiking near the area until he luckily saw a branch sticking out of the mountain, covered with leaves. Taking the branch along with a few stones he stumbled upon the boy returned to his camp where the fire was slowly dying. He had surrounded the fire with the stones he had found, and fed the fire leaves from the branch. The fire grew stronger.

_______________________

The prince awoken to the sun rising. It has always been like this, Ryu has always risen with the sun. He got out of his sleeping bag but remained sitting. He decided to eat another snack and drunk a bit more out of his water container. Then he heard it. A rattling sound. "Hm?"

Not far from his camp was a rattlesnake that was slowly but surely approaching the prince. Ryu stared on, slightly mesmerized by it. Suddenly something swiftly passed by blindsiding the serpent. The prince watched as the mountain lion bit the top of the rattle snake's head killing it. Before the large cat could make off with it's prize it's attention turned to Ryu. The prince nonchalantly stood up as the feline prepared to pounce him.

"A mere animal stands no chance against any shinobi. Not even a genin." He belittled the cougar.


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## River Song (Mar 13, 2014)

*Dee Kikkawa*

Dee surveyed her family, looking at them with a mild interest. She liked to think of them as birds, their home a nest. Birds are beautiful and majestic, but birds always fly in flocks, for protection, and even for affection. That was what was happening here, her family was filled with amazing people, smart, loving and strong. And yet here they were crammed under the one roof, their potentials unfulfilled and their dreams nonexistent. When birds finally take wing they sore, exercising their bodies pushing the limits, and eventually they come back to their families to create a new generation. That was the cycle of life, and in this house it was broken. Her siblings were the birds that never had the courage to take wing, never dared to trust themselves and to fly without their parents. They were stunted, they only knew this life. Dee would not fall into the same pitfall, she would be independent, she would soar as high as Icarus and withstand the flames of the sun. She would be the exception to this pathetic rule. She would escape, she would spread her wings and she will fly.

Her twin in most respects had beaten it to her. He was as unconventional as any; his platinum blonde hair deftly framed his face as he read the book. Dee had never understood his complete and utter fascination with books. Sure they were useful, and at times even fun, but to her brother they were the world, in fact they were one thousand worlds in which he could escape to. While everyone else revelled in physical activity he could quote a myriad of writers, each with a golden nugget of wisdom which he was so excited to explain. Where others simply saw a story he saw unlimited intricacies, and he saw in each of them a beauty that is foreign in the real world. In them he saw hope and wonder, heartache and sorrow, and above all a place where he is himself, not just one of many. In essence it was a plea of individualism, her twin had never dared push himself forward to surpass his brothers, in fact he gained his sense of self from withdrawing from the world and discovering his own.


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## SoulTaker (Mar 13, 2014)

*Cruel Summer I 
The Best Person I Know
Kazama Zerua*

Look at your clothes. Get a real good look, doesn’t really matter what it is as long as it’s something. Somebody made them didn’t they? Now think about how the entire textile is just the conglomeration of a bunch of threads intersecting and comingling into it’s proper state. Thread in and of it is pretty unremarkable. Its lithe tautness implies fragility but belies a resiliency, because you see when one stray piece of thread frays it has the possibility of unraveling everything affecting the fate of the whole thing. One tiny insignificant piece is able to ruin someone’s countless hour of hard work in the construction. In spite of its power to affect the whole it is still one tiny little piece, a malfunction the designer overlooked that fucks up the entire thing. Sent off into the ether without a care about the possibility of this one defective thread, this little insignificant fiber that threatens everything, but no the designer continues. The designer goes back to their loom and continues to toil away constructing more pieces of insignificant mediocrity. 

The human race is the handiwork put together by a careless designer. Some people get to be remarkably complex works of arts and some of us are just plain boring clothes with a misplaced thread poised unravel the whole damn thing. 

Existential metaphors aside it’s pretty clear that when Kazama Zerua was made it wasn’t to be complex work of art. Zerua, or rather Zeru as he likes to be called, is by most scales average, he is about 5’8, isn’t fat, skinny, at most maybe skinny fat, and he probably won’t be gracing the cover of a men’s quarterly wearing fine linens. He is just a normal guy who lives an otherwise unremarkable life; perhaps the most remarkable aspect is that he’s aware how ordinary he is each and every morning he gets up. This morning was no different.  












The silver-maned hipster stood groggily in front of his stovetop as if it were the precipice leading to the underworld. Almost as if unconscious the young man deftly cracked four eggs, in rapid succession, into his square tamagoyaki pan. Steam emanated as the yolks cooked up and spread a welcoming breakfast time signal smoke throughout the humble domicile of the Kazama’s. The omelet began to coalesce a little in the square shape meaning it was ready for the second phase. Zeru picked up the pan from the flame, he spun around on his heels and thrust his arm forward, and the tamagoyoki flew out of the pan somersaulting in the air. Everything slowed down for Zeru as felt himself transported to his happy place…

Zeru quickly sprinkled the bottom of the pan with sugar and a healthy helping of chili oil to give it a nice spicy kick. He quickly spun back and caught the egg dish before it could become a meal for his immaculate floor tiles. This was Kazama Zerua at perhaps his most audacious, this was…

*HOME MAKER SUPERMAN MODE ENGAGED*

He turned down the stove to a simmer as he very daintily and gracefully jumped over toward his refrigerator. This refrigerator was remarkable because of the sheer amount of organization and flow it had. Almost as soon as he had opened the door the vegetables he had needed were being juggled in his hands as he delivered a very accurate roundhouse kick to close the refrigerator. Zeru didn’t stop his antics as he got to his cutting board; no instead he decided to add another intrepid wrinkle into this process. With impractical skill he began to juggle a pair of knives to go along with the carrot, green onion, wakami seaweed, and abura-age. In Home Maker mode his cooking feats were almost superhuman as he caught the knives and commenced a series of swirls and twirls, slashing the ingredients in midair. The process was done over the kitchen counter and everything landed neatly in place.  With another turn he began to slide his feet along the floor as if it were frictionless, effectively moonwalking to the refrigerator once more. Reaching in he grabbed the final piece to bring the breakfast together, the dashi soup stock. In order to get it right Zeru let’s the stock ferment for three to five days, which is why the fridge had about four different batches of stock all labeled with the day they were made.

The Superman Home Maker brought the stock over and added all of the hard ingredients before tossing the whole thing into a pot. The stock of the soup was richer than most as Zeru liked to add dairy to it in order to add an element of creaminess not usually present in the soybean paste seasoning. As he went to the family dinner table his mother was already waiting for him with a small cup of tea already poured for him. With a deep breath Zeru collapsed into his seat as most of the “hard” work was done for their breakfast.

*HOME MAKER SUPERMAN MODE DISENGAGED*

“Ohayo Okasan.”

“Ohayo Musuko.”

They greeted each other politely as they did every morning before his mother dropped her formal faade and adopted a sly grin. Zeru didn’t know what she was about to say but he knew it would get on his nerves.

“If it’s your job to eat frogs, it’s best to do so in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” 

The platinum haired youth cupped his face in his hands, as he really truly hated when his mother used that “superpower” of motherly perception most possessed.  

“I’d rather eat twenty frogs than have to deal with those two today, especially her.“

Now it wasn’t that Zeru was being overly morose about today, in actuality he was more nervous than depressed at this point. The majority of his teenage years had been spent underfoot of a domineering she-devil. Her reaction to the latest on-goings in his life was something that brought him a sense of overwhelming dread. On this day Zeru felt more like a frog about to put into a blender than a teenager with an unhealthy amount of pessimism. 

What kind of decision could be so drastic? Well, Zeru was leaving the island he called home his entire life to become a shinobi for Konohagakure. He looked down at the ground but he could hear the wheels turning as his mother’s feet now came into view. She cupped his face and forced him to look at her causing a wave of sadness to splash at the shores of his heart. 



Since her accident she was confined to this damn chair and who knows what else was going to happen to her. They were already just above the poverty line and needed money in order to pay for her treatment. His mother was the best person he knew and she worked hard for him so it was time to pay her back, hopefully his friends would understand.

“You’re a much more resilient young man than you give yourself for. Even before all of this happened you took on more responsibility than most kids your age are even capable of.  My beautiful little Zeru-chan, I know you’ll be able to handle whatever comes your way. You’re about to go fight for the most prestigious ninja country there is, I’m sure you can handle two farm girls. Now go get the miso before you overcook the vegetables and it boils over, I’m starving!!!”

She slapped him across the face playfully as she exclaimed her hunger causing him to actually crack a rare smile. This was his mother’s other “superpower”, she was basically the only person capable of getting him to smile. The little pep talk invigorated Zeru for the moment, however he couldn’t get rid of a twinge of sadness because it dawned on him this would be the last time they’d have breakfast like this.

*SPLASH*

"NO!!! NOT MY FLOORS!!!"
​


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## River Song (Mar 13, 2014)

*Dee*

Dee had barely escaped her crowded front room before she came across her little brother, lounging about in the field he was supposed to be sowing.  Silently she moved behind him, her eyes scanning the field for a ‘teaching tool’. Her brother never noticed her, he was away in his own world and before he could realise Dee was directly behind him, over her shoulder there was a bag of manure. She looked down at him, a quizzical eyebrow raised as he quickly scrambled up to feed her his excuses.

Dee didn’t do lazy; it was a detestable quality in almost all forms of life. Those who are lazy are more often than not painfully stupid, take sloths for example, when they wing from branch from branch they can mistake their arm for a branch and fall to their death. Those who were lazy were almost always whiney as well. Nothing could be worse than a whiny little bitch that doesn’t do anything for themselves; it truly did make her wonder how people put up with children. 

Speaking of whiny little bitches her little brother was beginning to grate. She leaned back on the wooden face, pinching the bridge of her nose, letting the bag of manure settle at her side.. Some said Dee had an anger issue, but she would contest that dealing with her assorted siblings was an act of saintly patience.  Her little brother cold talk for a country, and most of it was of little relevance, about how he had too much homework to work. About how none of his friends have to work, how they got pocket money and got to do whatever they wanted. His argument had worn thin the first time he’d opened his mouth and now it was like listening to nails on a chalkboard.
Dee took a deep breath in, lurching up from the fence, her eyes closed as she though about what she would do. She could be nice, bribe him with chocolate, or she could be mean. One meant she had to give away chocolate, the other was fun.

With a sigh she lifted the bag of manure and volleyed it at him, the bag mainly remained intact but some of the contents ended up flying from the opening all over her little brothers clothes. 

“This was being nice Otōto, don’t make me be mean. Get. It. Done.”

She turned around to walk away before noticing a figure in the distance. She squinted and quickly realised who it was.

“The tall dark stranger get up doesn’t really work for you Hun. Maybe if you grew a couple of inches.... and about a foot height wise aswell!


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## SoulTaker (Mar 13, 2014)

*Cruel Summer II
The Worst Person I Know
Kazama Zerua*

After spending an embarrassing amount of time wiping down and cleaning the floor, while crying about watermarks on his floor tiles, Zeru’s mom kicked him out of the kitchen. It was a terrible traumatizing experience for mother and son. He felt like someone had stabbed him in the gut and his mother couldn’t believe she raised such a pansy, suffice to say it wasn’t immediately evident who was more distressed by the events that took place in the Kazama household. Zeru’s mom literally had to threaten to run him over with her wheelchair before he escaped to the shower and got prepared to “eat his first frog.” It was the biggest frog, just as his mother suggested; her name was Kikkawa “Dee” Diochan. 

She was the worst type of person, honestly, if you were an atheist she’d make you believe the in the devil. Zeru always thought back to their initial meeting in order to properly get a grasp of just how wicked she was. As a kid he’d often get picked on because he didn’t come from money. On one particular day the bullies at the school he was attending felt particularly violent. There was some perceived slight that Zeru had made against one of them so they encircled him and took turns peppering his face with hooks, haymakers, and jabs. As they made fun of him for having a piece of shit father and a hot mom, which as you could imagine led to a bunch of comments about what they would do to her, a girl with platinum blonde hair strolled up. Zeru remembers thinking that she looked almost like an angel as she sat there and watched him get his shit kicked in. Eventually he got knocked out as they caught each other’s gaze. Upon coming too there was a heel on his throat, and the heel belonged to the girl.

If it’s not obvious what happened or who that girl was then to state it plainly it was “Dee”. She beat the shit out of the bullies then vowed to toughen Zeru up so a girl wouldn’t have to come to his rescue. From that day on it was trouble that said it wasn’t all completely terrible. Dee had her moments of kindness like everyone else but when it came to Zeru she was pretty terrible. Not a day went by after she “saved” him where he wasn’t privy to her toughening him up by beating the hell out of him. It could be his birthday or any holiday but she would continually try to toughen him up. I guess some would consider it her way of being a friend. Truth be told it wasn’t as though her constant hand wringing and cans of whoop ass hadn’t served to accomplish some measure of her goal, unbeknownst to her that was.

“The tall dark stranger get up doesn’t really work for you Hun. Maybe if you grew a couple of inches.... and about a foot height wise aswell!

There it was as charming as ever. Of course she had to open up with a zinger instead of saying hi like a normal person. Zeru just shook his head at the comment about his appearance. He had long ago resigned himself to being pretty average it was just the flow.

“Nice to see you too Dee. I thought I’d come by with some lunch. There’s some here for you too, Kazima. Granted your sister has to actually remember she has one stomach and not four like the animals you raise on the farm.”

Before he came his mother suggested he whip something up for Dee and her brothers. The way to a women's heart was through her stomach, or in this case the way to avoid an ass kicking was by feeding the beast. So Zeru went through the “trouble”, and that’s in quotes sarcastically because he loved every minute of preparing food for Dee’s huge family, of putting together bentos featuring an assortment of sashimi and sushi rolls to the personal likes of each and every member of the Kikkawa family. Zeru had grown up around the family and pretty much knew all of them. However Zeru wasn’t an idiot he knew his insult would invite a swift kick, so he brought the bag containing the food in front of him to raise the proverbial white flag.​


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## blacklusterseph004 (Mar 13, 2014)

*Sumeragi*

Sumeragi had spent the entire night walking along the river bank. It was rocky and treacherous in the dark, especially since she had neglected to bring any form of light or torch. She merely perused the vegetation by the moonlight and starlight.

"A calm night, a peaceful night..." she mumbled, raising a nearby plant to get a better look at it, before plucking the leaves, "... lovely, lovely leaves..."

She had walked a great distance until she reached a part where the river was considerably wider. Turning on her heel to head back the way she had come, she noticed an unusual plant, growing up on the rocky sides of the ravine, just where it began to break for the widening river. "Oh~ what might you be...?" For someone who so prodigiously smoked such a wide array of plant life, Sumeragi's knowledge of botany was actually rather poor. She simply sensed what she had smoked before and what she had not. It was a strange feeling that she couldn't really describe even if she were pressed for an answer.

The plant that had attracted her interest grew quite high up, away from the water and lush muddy ground down below near the water. It had one or two bright, vibrant flowers, nestled among the longest and sharpest thorns Sumeragi had ever seen. She poked and prodded at the plant a bit, confirming that not only were the thorns razor sharp, but they were also incredibly tough. The flowers themselves didn't smell particularly nice, but they did look pretty. Sumeragi plucked one, and in a glimmering moment of wistful fancy, she mused that it would look pretty in her hair. To have such a feminine emotion was momentarily pleasing, but as she held the flower in her hand, taking in its light, crumpley texture, a sheepish grin spread on her face.

She tapped loose much of what was currently smoldering in her pipe, crushed part of the flower, and deposited some of the drier remnants into the pipe. It took a little while due to the sap, but the heat of the previous cinders took hold and a thick unpleasant (to anyone else) smoke billowed out. Sumeragi drew some deep breaths, and let out some hearty coughs that made her chuckle. _cough coough_ "Whoah, night blooming flowers are something else..."_ cough_

Some more violent coughs and wheezing later, and Sumeragi was puffing on the poor flower as though she had been doing so forever. The smoke had a bitter taste, but it wasn't altogether unpleasant. Pleased with her new discovery, she headed back toward where Ryu was camped, noticing the sky beginning to change colour far to the east.

***​
Sumeragi finally ascended out of the ravine just as the first ray of light of the sun's orb broke the horizon, bathing the rocks and shrubs in a golden glow. Navigating among the rocks, passing by the empty bridge crossed the day before, she saw Ryu's camp from a distance, and noticed an interesting standoff.

"Oho~" she hummed over her pipe. Rather than going to his aid, she decided to have a seat and watch what he would do. Choosing the most comfortable rock, she settled in hoping to see something amusing. She had an unconscious habit of sprouting leaves from her hand whenever she dusted a surface to find a seat on. As she did so this time however, she noticed that among the leaves that were want to grow from her pores, there were also tiny thorns.

"Interesting", she mumbled, before shedding her foliage and returning to the show at hand: the Ryu that calls itself a dragon versus mountain cat.


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## Axelthewanted (Mar 13, 2014)

Karira Miota & Kujo Kategiri
Comrade of the Forgotten Plains

The multicolored haired girl could hardly contains his excitement, as it seemed quite noticeable that her dream is to become stronger.  A grin was drawn upon her face showing her anxiousness of the current situation, her eyes would widen up showing her odd yet attractive pink eyes as her patience grew thinner and thinner until she finally spoke.

"So when do we start to kick some..."

Before she could finish Kujo raised her arm towards Karira  quickly until being completely horizontal, holding up her index finger making gesture of "Silence" or "Wait just a moment" which interrupted Karira from continuing her sentence. Kujo's eye narrowed at Karira, having a smirk on her face.

"He's here"

Karira tilted her head to the side confused about what Kujo said. She was wondered who was this "He" that her sensei spoke of. Moments after a boy started to walk in their direction, closing into them before talking in a nervous and shy tone.

“Excuse me… I’m looking for the new squad.”

Kujo and Karira both their bodies towards this newcomer scanning his physical characteristics. He was a boy who didn't even measure up to Karira in stature and he also seemed to be younger. He had gray eyes, pale wild hair and skin almost as pale as his hair, wearing a white shirt and a ivy green colored hooded jacket, black slim pants and wood brown shoes. Karira gazed on the boy's neck looking at the foreign symbol of the headband hanging around the boys neck. She analyzed and acknowledge as an ally ninja from Kumogakure, but why was he here she wondered.

"You must be  Tenzu Memori. I've been waiting for you. "

"Who is he Kategiri sensei? What is he doing here?"

"He's my other student and your new partner in this squad Karira?"

"You're telling me that this little albino kid is my teammate?" 

She said as she pointed the nervous boy with her index finger.
​


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## Chronos (Mar 14, 2014)

Ivery, Genji
The Price of Failure









​
Laying upon rags that posed as the bedside to the young Ivery throughout this horrid night, stumbled upon the earth, ragged and unsettling, yet somewhat comforting. Whatever mean had destiny held for him, inept as it was, freedom befell his world. Yet a sour, bitter-sweet taste was held in his tongue, whatever was it, it was foreign, almost painful to bare. Annoyance brewed through his core, while suddenly a glint registered at the corner of his vision, turning, it was far too late to have reacted towards the fangs that made it's way towards his neck. Upon the split second that he believed his death had been eminent, a blade a sliced the head of the animal, a snake, that threatened the child to had added him among the dead. Turning, it was none other than the man that had stole him from his oppression. 

"Do you know what that was, Heretic?"

That name, it followed him where ever her turned, there was never a single ounce of escape. Yet, it had been engraved into his being, something already part of his soul, carved ever neatly into himself that it was almost a badge, something he wore with certain pride. He wonder what the village would have thought prior to this situation. He wouldn't have had the freedom he yearned, yet he turned his back among the many people that once housed him. However, he was merely cattle. Something expandable, no one would miss a heretic. And the thought powered him, certainly, something about it gave him satisfaction. He didn't knew what, but it was eminent. The rejection of something you'd had no love of was merely... enticing. 

"Oxyuranus microlepidotus. A deadly snake, a single bite would've rendered me among the dead."

The man, and enigma, questioning his merits, hands still extended while exuding his malicious aura of fearsome death, he pulled the blade through a string it held at its hilt. Soon swirling gracefully upon the sky as he gripped it without even the slightest trouble, the tip of the blade gleaming. How many lives has that blade taken?

"No, this was the price of failure, fool."

Genji swallowed his tension away, although he'd considered himself resolute, unwavering. He never had felt such a prowling sense of mustered up fear towards someone. His life meant nothing, and neither the clan's elders nor the village Kage's could ever uphold any sense of fear. Idle, he was never gonna die under their care. Not because they lacked the mean, or the girth to do so. Simply because Genji believe at once the given time had arrived, he was going to become something else... something he believed could fend of even the Kages. Or maybe not? Maybe it was simply a delusion formed into his mind. Into his very core, something that just exuded arrogance and blinded his common sense.

"You are yet to have given me your name."

"What relevance has that to you?"

"Should I not know the name of my captor? Or more so, my leader now?"

"Has God ever spoken his real name?" 

"Yet, you are not God. How am I suppose to address you?"

"I hold many names, all of them a synopsis of my work. Assassin, Murderer, Killer, Mask. Choose one or do not choose at all. Either way, I should never speak my name."

Dwindling on the thought the young Ivery proclaimed him a man of far less stubbornness. Such arrogance caused a vein to pulse faster in his temple. Glancing towards the distance, all veiled with dark, he thought of a name.

"Stranger."

"I had yet to be called that."

"Then that should be your Idiom."

"Then your's Heretic. Suits well with one who had to easily thrown his beliefs towards the gutter. I had yet to see a man who had so willingly denounced his village and equally as simply, betrayed his entire lively hood. Although with little choice... I wouldn't have killed you if you'd say no."

"Then what was the point of taking me in? Had I a purpose to fulfill?"

"Do you think you are so important, child? You're merely a pawn among kings. I found you, and you were weak. I gave you an opportunity, and you accepted it. It befits me to have another man in our strong hold, especially at such a young age were it can be refined and sharpened to be a true killer."

"Would you not fear I trade your trust for another?"

"You would dare defy your own home, like many of us already did. You found belonging midst our creed. Whether or not you chose to kill us all, that is of your own accord. Yet you risk yourself to not only a single enemy, but several. Have you not witnessed your situation. You're enemy of your clan, your village and all the other villages as well. There's no home for you other than us. What kind of home is one where you have none?"

"I can survive on my own. I have under my entire life."

"What is a decade? I have several of those under my belt. You have yet to witness the effects of loneliness and strife. You have yet to see the mental breakdown of a human being who's been chased his entire life. If you couldn't protect yourself from me, not only physically but emotionally, what makes you believe that you could simply ignore the maddening thought brought by strife inside your mind? You housed yourself under a village that sustained you, even if out of compromise, you blatant fool." 

"You think you'd know what I've seen?"

"Nothing in comparison to what I have seen." 

Silence then brewed the camp, while sitting next to the cuddling flames that heated the proximity of the two. The masked man turned his head towards the flames and gazed upon it without another word spoken. The silence, maddening as it had become, was settling for the two. They were similar in some aspects. Yet knowing what befell the two, Genji knew that he held points in his speech. A slight smirk crossed his lips as he turn to his 'bed' and laid. Closing his eyes, but soon awoken by Stranger.

"Wake up. 'Tis your turn to keep watch."


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## River Song (Mar 14, 2014)

*Dee Kikkawa*
_I think he smokes weed._

Dee looked up at the still distant figure as he approached, Zeru. There was many things she could say about Zeru, many horrible things, but in all honesty he wasn’t bad, and that was the problem. Dee could stomach pathetic people, she quickly shut them out of her life and that was that, but she couldn’t do that with this boy.  He was pathetic, he was pessimistic and he was probably developing a complex from looking after his mother. But he had potential, and that was what annoyed Dee, she could see beyond the initial facade and she could catch glimpses of the strong boy underneath, and she was determined to bring him to the surface, and if he didn’t come willingly she would push him out. 

She was violent with him, yes she will admit that, but it was none the less a necessity. If he was to embark into this great big world he would need to be strong, stronger than he could ever envision himself to be. This could be her latent maternal instincts coming into play, she had developed them over years of dealing with her siblings, and she felt the need to extend this nicety to the boy. She pitied him as well; don’t get her wrong Dee considered herself to be one of the most accepting peole going. She came from a disgraced family and her brother was pretty much queer sans the sex with men. But Zeru’s mother was cripple, plain and simple, and all though that was in no way her fault she was obviously unable to fulfil some of the basic things a mother must do, and for that Dee felt responsible. She would never mention this to Zeru as he thought the world of his mother, but in Dee’s she just can’t step up to the mark, literally or figuratively. 


“Nice to see you too Dee. I thought I’d come by with some lunch. There’s some here for you too, Kazima. Granted your sister has to actually remember she has one stomach and not four like the animals you raise on the farm.”

Cheap shot. But she had to smirk, it took alot of guts to say that to her. She studied the man, he might aswell have been a woman, his cooking skills were impressive but she douvted he would survive a day on the farm.

“ My brother won’t be eating until his work is done.” 

She glanced a warning look at Kazima, as if telling him to stay away. She wouldn’t be undermined by the hippie chef. She turned back to Zeru, quirking her eyebrow. She knew she shouldn’t show off, it was unbecoming of a shinobi, but she wasn’t a proper shinobi so perhaps she could be forgiven just this once. She made a handseal behind her back, locking eyes with the approaching boy who had opted to shield himself with his basket. With a silent gesture the basket came racing towards her, tugging Zeru along in the process. The basket landed deftly in her hands while Zeru stumbled towards her, caught off guard by the jutsu. 

“I may eat like a cow but that’s because I’m a shinobi babe.” She said eyeing Zeru almost mockingly “ We spend alot of time training and exercising, so it’s only logical. But you barely have enough strength for housework, never mind being a fully fledged ninja, so surely you should cook for me everyday”

She winked at him as she opened a bento box and emptied it into her mouth.


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## Kei (Mar 14, 2014)

That Summer Arc

_Run...
Run?
Don?t stop?
If you stop, you?ll be killed?​_
So the young woman ran with all her might, her legs screamed in pain from the overexertion, but if she tried to rest she was going to die. Even when her heart threatens to jump from out of her mouth, she swallowed the huge lump. She didn?t dare to turn around and look at what was chasing her, because she feared what was coming up from behind.  The hair on the back of her neck told her this, it would be stupid to stop, but her mind wondered?

_Who?
What?
Why?​_
What was chasing her? Who was chasing her? Why were they chasing her?  Could she just turn around and ask them why? Or would a knife plunge into her stomach and she would watch all her innards fall out on the ground and die in the pool of her own blood? Or would the monster fangs pierce the soft skin that protected her larynx and crush the bones that helped her breath. And no matter how much she tried to breath, blood would fill up in her mouth and she would choke on the same thing that kept her alive?

Those thought plagued her mind every time she thought about stopping even for a minute, and each death she imagined seemed more gruesome than the next. Although they had one thing in common, they were painful, she never felt this pain, but she knew her body would twist and arch in agony. Her voice would ring through the entire village and no one would be around to hear her.  

In this empty village where the moon shone so brightly that even the darkest corners seemed to be alive with light. The young woman clutched her chest, her lungs were in such pain, and when will this stop? She didn?t know how long she ran but the pain in her chest was telling her that it was a very long time. 

_?HELP!! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!?_

The young woman screamed with all her might, even if it hurt her even more, she wanted to come out and save her. She didn?t want to die! No one in their right mind wanted to die! If she had a choice she wanted to slowly disappear like snow melting at the end of winter. Or die while sleeping! She didn?t want to die like this, she couldn?t imagine a painful death! She didn?t want to see her insides or choke on her own blood. 

She wanted to grow up, have children, and have grandchildren. Even before all of that there were still a lot of things she wanted to do! So please?Anyone!!

?HELP ME!!!!?

As she continued to run, no one answered her, in this huge village with twist and turns, no one heard her screams. No one came to her rescue, was it because everyone was asleep? Or could they not tell what she was saying because her tears and snot got mixed up in her nose making her sound congested. In this big village not a single soul came to help her, was she truthfully a goner or was she alone. Alone in a village she never saw before, roads she wasn?t familiar with, and sights that were new to her. 

Would someone stumble upon her dead body, the murderer done with her body and left whatever he didn?t need? Was her body going to rot in a dumpster or was she going to be strung up in the back alley as if she was the murderer?s new piece of art. Or was she going to become energy for the beast that ripped her apart?

Or was the moon would be the only witness to the horrible scene?

Her eyes were cloudy as she looked up at the moon, please save me she thought,  but as her tears streamed down her cheek. She knew it, she was going to die and no one was going to help her. She was going to suffer a painful death and no one would ever avenge her. No one was going to serve her murderer justices?.

_Scared?
I?m scared?
So scared?.
Please someone?.Help?.​_The young woman could barely see through her tears, her body failed her and she tripped up. She scrounged to get up, but there was no point. She was going to die! She won?t see her mother anymore, her friends, and she won?t see tomorrows sun.  The young woman hands and legs were covered in scrapes and even if she tried to get up, her legs would break under pressure. This was a game, a game she already lost?

Throwing her head back she let out a piercing scream?.

?I DON?T WANNA DIE!!!!? She screamed, but she couldn?t move, she could barely breath correctly,* ?PLEASE SOMEONE!!! ANYONE SAVE ME!!! SAVE ME!!!!?*

?Save me!?  She cried as she covered her face with her hands, ?Save me! Save me! Save me! Save me?

She cried and cried, and yet despite her yells and pleas, no one came.  Somewhere in her heart she accepted this fate. She accepted it, people die, which was the law of the world.  She clutched herself tightly, as if she was trying to keep herself from falling apart because she felt like glass. One wrong move and she?ll probably be sent off?.

It?s here?.

She smiled weakly, tears and snot mixed in with each other to make one clear mucus.  It was looking at her with it eyes as if it was disappointed in her for not running hard enough. The young woman let out a small chuckle, she understood! This was a game! She was going to die any way! She was going to be ripped apart and gutted, when she started to run it was already decided! She was going to die!

?Ahaha?.? She laughed as she felt him get close to her, 
_*?AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAH!!!?*_

?HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!!!?

The young woman snapped?.She accepted her fate and resigned to it?


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## luffy no haki (Mar 14, 2014)

*Shikigami Akaya*

_Talk in the abyss _
​
Everything is black, I have nowhere to go, no one to call. I try to look around but everything is involved in the deepest darkness. I inspect myself, I can see my body clearly shining with a dim light; my hands are trembling as something similar to gravity starts to pull me down and I start to fall. I want to shout for help but my voice just won?t come out and then I?m devoured by the abyss I have fallen into. Closing my eyes I take a deep breath and assume that I will die, I do know this is nothing but a dream, even so I know my life will come to an end in this realm of fantasy created by my mind or by my heart; whichever it was, I?m sure there is something wrong with me if the first thing I dream about after many days without sleep, is my own death.

Suddenly from within the black abyss an intense red light spreads through the whole place and a part of this energy, chakra is what I notice it as, involves me and I fall into some sort of lake. In despair, I get out and stay standing on it, I can?t use chakra in here so it feels weird to be standing on the water; however I am not confused anymore, I know perfectly where this place is and why I ended up here. Staring at my image in the water, I can see my hair has gone all spiky pointing upwards, my eyes became completely red and my pupils were long and sharp. My hands have grown its nails and now they look like claws, my fangs have grown as well and I realize I do look like an animal-human.

"So you really came...."I hear this deep and scary voice and can do nothing but let out a sigh. Walking for some meters, I am able to see a piece of land, once I reach it I see him, one of the reasons I have become what I am today... "Kyuubi"I say with a hostile tone, we?re not precisely the best friends you could find, indeed we are not friends nor really want to be for the moment. Getting closer I can see that the furball is chained to the ground; his four legs involved in chains that do not allow him to move much, his nine tails submerged in the water as he is resting. If he were to try and attack me, those chains would take him down.

"I see you came, how long has it been since we saw each other face to face like this? kid"

"Five years... What do you want now? I thought we agreed we wouldn?t try to be friendly with each other or anything"I question his motives to call me here, to his prison that mantains him chained just like the wolf, Fenrir, of the Norse mythology. If only I could do the same thing that such creature did to Odin in the book I read, to Ryoga, I would be happy.

"Hmm! Like I would ever be friendly with the dog pet of the Uchiha clan. Even among all the Jinchuuriki that have been used as my retainers after Naruto, you?re the most pathetic one!! I  granted you my power back then so you could break free and yet what do you do?! You started to fight for this village and their people...Even though you hate Ryoga so much, you are grateful to him for showing you the most horrible side of the world; in that case I could have shown you the same long ago!"his wrath exploding, making the lake to  create enormous waves around the spot we were at. The fox didn?t trust humans, indeed - in his own words - after Naruto and his generation disappeared from the earth, there was no one else worth of his trust. And to top it he ended as the weapon of the clan he despised so much...

"Shut up already!! Do you think I am happy with the situation?! If you only called to make a fool out of me then fuck off, shithead!!"I reply, it had to be a joke. He is mad because his freedom was taken away? well, mine was too and I?m not whining like a little girl.

"I only called to warn you. When war stirs up you will have to rely on anything at hand, even if you have to use me. And when that happens, if you don?t have the balls to fit your fangs in the neck of Root and those who get in your way towards our goal, then I will!!" A red explosion takes place and I am sent flying before I could reply.

My eyes open and I immediately sit straight, my eyes inspecting my surroundings that I identify as my house"Stupid fox" I whisper....Tsk I won?t be able to sleep for the rest of the night.


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## Olivia (Mar 15, 2014)

*Ajimu Najimi*
* ~Final Attempt*~

This battle looked more like a playground to me, as I stood still simply allowing the sand to block the attack for me. However, after watching a few exchanges between kunai and shuriken, it seemed that Mion got hit with a genjutsu. Oh well though, it's not as if she would help me if I were in a pinch. Maybe this would teach her a lesson.

I looked forward to my target, who was still giving his attention to Mion. She threw more shuriken at him, and while seemingly aimless, they managed to scratch him. It must have been a lucky shot. I decided I waited around long enough, and created a sand clone.  

"I suppose this is enough playing around."

The clone charged towards my opponent as I rose sand into the air. Raining it down fiercely on the opponent, I used my Sand Drizzle attack to create a cover of raining sand. The Iwagakure shinobi was being pounded into the desert floor, but not before my clone could get a few good punches in. Unfortunately, friendly fire had been a thing, which made my sand clone dissolve due to the sand drizzle. 

As I prepared my next move, the Iwagakure shinobi cringed and collapsed on the ground. My clone had only hit him in the stomach, chest, and neck, but this reaction had been too much. It was almost as if I had crushed major muscles in his body. His screams filled the air, as I stood astounded by the noise.

I knew my clones physical strength hadn't been that strong, so I knew it had to be a trick of Mion's. Regardless, I wouldn't allow her to get the satisfaction of killing this man off. I restricted him down to the ground using the desert sand, which seemed to only intensify his screams. 

"All is fair in love and war."

I managed to mutter, before slicing a kunai through his neck. It gave me a sickening feeling, killing a shinobi in cold blood like this, but we were in a time of war. I could bear no ill remorse towards any actions I take. Maybe it would be beneficial to think like that girl.

I shook my head. No. Due to the situation our countries are in, and the way how he had killing intent towards us as well, made perfect sense in why he should have been killed. However, unlike that girl, I do not relish in the fact that I have killed someone. If it is my duty I will do it, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. That's a major difference between the two of us.

"Come on...He's dead so the genjutsu shouldn't be activated anymore. Let's get on with this mission already."​


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