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Hidden Summit
"Well met, Reiko Seldab. As for my purpose in coming here, there is none. In my travels, I let fate decide my path. There is no path I stick to, neither is there an obstacle I avoid, My path just happened to ascend this peak." She inclined her head toward Reiko in a slight bow of formal introduction. Now that names had been exchanged, courtesy was satisfied. She saw the smoke rising from distant Kumogakure, but since Reiko didn't seem too concerned about it, she paid it no mind. Only later would she find out what it's significance actually had been. With as many Lightning element users as there were from that village, a few occasional fires seemed innocuous enough.

"I assume you scaled this peak for solitude in your meditations?" She had seen him in the formal sitting position, legs crossed beneath him, and made the obvious assumption. After all, training the mind to filter out the unnecessary was a common enough mental exercise. Normally done while sitting under a pouring waterfall, this seemed an acceptable alternative. She, too, had spent long hours honing her mind like a blade, to cut away the unnecessary fluff and sand away the uneven edges. In so doing, she had learned greater focus, deeper concentration.

Tamao let her gaze drift, scanning the horizon once more. Was it time to move on, or was there more that could be learned from continuing to talk with this Seldab fellow? He seemed a bit more informed than her in some areas, but not as experienced, and as such possibly unable to filter through the dross of the surface to see the reality of the situation. Not an unusual combination, but it did mean that something he had seen and thought as meaningless might instead have an important purpose. That was not something she could ask, that was something he would eventually learn on his own. With more experience, he would learn that skill, along with others that held the same purpose. By opening his eyes, he would gain a deeper understanding of the world, and it's relations. For now, however, that skill went untrained, unknown. She shifted her stance just slightly, feet moving out from where the crushed snow had melted from the contact with her body heat, to crunch through an untouched space of snow. She didn't do this to stay cold, she did it to avoid getting her feet too wet. Such was one of the most common of causes of the more mundane illnesses. And whiles he had trained her body to be fairly resistant to such weaknesses, no defense was ever completely fool-proof against such detrimental effects. An ounce of prevention was worth more than a pound of cure, after all. She was grateful for her cloak at times like these, when the plummeting windchill made the frigid air feel even colder, a bone-aching numbness that seemed to pull the heat from her limbs and invite a state of stolid stagnation. Her senses may have stayed sharp, but she could almost feel her reactions slowing down to match the same effects on her internal systems. Weather like this was inhospitable at best, lethal at worst. If she was going to stay for much longer, she would have to take steps to nullify the worst of the cold. Yet even then, she found herself reluctant to bid farewell to the youth. She had not had a chance to talk to someone for ages, and perhaps she was in need of simple interaction.
[591 + 1513 = 2104 out of ??? ]

Hidden Summit
"Indeed, not knowing what is in store ensures that the journey will be memorable. After all, if you live your life with everything firmly regulated, then there will never be a surprise, never be something that you may not be prepared for. Only by letting life live itself to the utmost does one see what the world really has to offer." Or at least that was how she found things to be. If she would have controlled every aspect of her journey, she would have never taken the road less traveled, and never would up all the stronger for it. Only be letting fate step in and shake her out of her comfort zone, only then would true challenges fall to her, and only then could she really test herself against what the world had to offer. She had faced foes she never would have otherwise, and only then discovered just how far her strength could carry her, just how long her willpower could hold out, and just what sort of warrior she really was. She had managed to come through each of those tests, not unscathed, but tempered, honed, focused. She had to endure the forge to become hardened to battle, toughen her heart as well as her body.

Even so, it was cold. She continued to occasionally shift from step to step, a combination of restlessness and a refusal to let the cold lull her into inactivity. She would defeat this weather the same way she faced any other foe. with determination and forthright action! She certainly couldn't cut the cold away, but she could challenge the cold, refuse to give in until the last moment. And that was what she had planned. All the while, she listened as Reiko commented on what had been his training exercise that she had inadvertently interrupted. She looked around, seeing the drifts of snow, tasting the thin air, feeling the frigid wind. This could be a suitable location to train one's skills, she could see that much. "I see. I assume you chose a locale with thinner air to better test your control over the Raiton element? As a ninja of Kumogakure, that is one of your village's specialties, is it not?" Her own home village's specialty could not be practiced in such a location, at least not easily. Her own skill with the sword was something different, it was her homeland's renown with flower techniques that were widely acknowledged. Techniques such as that had no place in the midst of a lingering winter, however. Both because the flowers themselves could not handle the cold, and wouldn't last long enough to be of use, and also the simple fact that flowers didn't grow in a field of snow. Any attempt to use such techniques would only inform the enemy of the user's skills, negating a potential advantage. That was one reason she had felt drawn to the sword. It was self-sufficient, not reliant upon any one environment to be useful. That, and she felt that the simple honor and chivalry of being a student of the path of the blade held a deep-rooted appeal that she had yet to fully understand. Perhaps there was something in her history that would harken back to such a time? She had no way of knowing. For now, she simply threw herself wholeheartedly into her chosen specialty, and the results spoke for themselves. Even if she was not well-known, she knew of her accomplishments. And that was enough, enough to keep her moving forward, to keep her walking that same path, to discover new strength and gain new prowess with her blades.
[610 + 2104 = 2714 out of ??? ]

Hidden Summit
"Bisaigakure? It doesn't have any one great specialty, but if it's known for anything, I would have to say flowers. Beautiful yet lethal, a delicate balance." Even though she was estranged from her home all these years, she still held a spot in her heart for those lush vistas. Seas of vibrant colors in the spring and summer, oranges, reds, yellows, blues and more, all in abundance as the village lived up to it's namesake. Occasionally a visitor would think the inhabitants were merely tree-hugging hippies or some other harmless sort. Only to find that when push came to shove, they would show that those pretty petals hid savage thorns. And while Hidden Nano, Bisaigakure, did indeed have techniques ranging through many of the elements, it was the flowers that they were known for. That, too, had shaped parts of her own style, momentary flourishes that harkened back to that same motif. Her personal blade, even the flurry of black rose petals that would be seen when she used the Body Flicker, all of those came from her roots.

This particular flower was still growing, still spreading it's roots before it would eventually reach out to the sun. The journey was hard, but rewarding in a simple sense. The pure joy that came from living for it's own sake, that came from experiencing the highs and the lows of the world in equal measure. A wise traveler had once said 'This world is ugly. That is what makes it beautiful.' As time went on, she came to realize more and more that that was absolutely true. It was only by flaws that perfection could be glimpsed. And it was only through seeing what was ugly that one could see what was beautiful. In her travels, she had seen acts of brutality, open warfare and the hollow sorrow that came after. Children orphaned by war, rampant poverty and starvation. She had seen all of this, and helped when she could. And at other times, she had stepped into the light, witnessed those moments of simple contentment, of joy, of happiness. It had only been after witnessing those darker times that she had truly been able to see those lighter moments.

She gave a slight shake of her head, slipping out of that reverie and returning to the conversation that was actually happening. Too many months, years, spent with herself as her only company had led to a rather contemplative habit. At times, she would slip into internal thought, and time in the real world would seem to jump ahead, as did her progress on the road. It helped pass the time, which was welcome, but the lack of attention could be problematic. She still had to take care of that, one of these days.
[465 + 2714 = 3179 out of ??? ]

Mamichi wandered around after the tug she was feeling from her body not exactly sure where it was taking her, it often found her in the oddest places sometimes Hedoro had been there recently sometimes it was long after she’d been gone her beautiful pestilence having long ravaged the area. Mamichi had gotten there quickly enough once to find a bit of her slime Mamichi knew it was a terrible idea but she absorbed it anyway. When she woke up a week later she’d learned her lesson, well after about the fifth time she learned the lesson a bit stupid when it came to Hedoro, the fact she survived it five times was quite remarkable probably because of them both being Maliae that saved her from turning into a pile of slush, ironic that being one saved her from being one. It was always fun to note such ironic situations like that. How being something would stop you from being that which you already were. Like how drunks often built a resistance to alcohol’s affects on their bodies, almost like practice makes perfect in the most corrupt way. While Mamichi wasn’t quite a virulent as Hedoro was she did have a bit of foulness to her, and on deeper thought that was probably brought on by consuming pieces of left over Hedoro that she found whenever she followed after these tugs. Those events had been her plain knocked out and feeling like crap for about a week or two afterward.

250 = 250

Hidden Summit
"A challenge?" Tamao was a bit surprised by the unexpected request. She hadn't even considered testing her blades here of all places. But now that Reiko suggested it, she could see the idea had merit. She had not had much experience with true cold-weather fighting, that would definitely make things more interesting. The youth standing in front of her seemed determined, so even if he wasn't as experienced, his willpower might ensure he was a good match.

She thought it over for only another moment before coming to a decision. One who walked the path of the sword accepted every challenge that lay before them, to deny one was to deny oneself. So she nodded, inclining her head as she stopped her restless shifting. "Alright, let us test our strength. I accept." Reiko was the one who had issued the challenge, that meant the first move was his. She took another look at her surroundings before moving back a handful of steps, to give them a proper span of empty space between the two of them. Duels may not have kept all of their formality that they had once possessed, but she still knew some of the old customs and standards. Who would make the first move, and how much space should be between the combatants, these and a few other tidbits she had garnered, both from her travels and also from studies. She shifted into a ready stance, one arm raised as if she was already holding a blade. She was not, but the posture, plus the ability she had already shown Reiko would be enough to tell him that would change in an instant.

She watched him closely, mask expressionless as the wind continued to blow, causing her cloak's leading edge to snap and flap erratically. She knew he was from Kumogakure. Would he lead with a Raiton technique, or did he have a different specialty? He hadn't divulged all of his skills, just as she hadn't revealed all of her own abilities. The rest would be discovered in battle. Her other hand came out, gesturing for Reiko to come at her, in the universal gesture for a ready opponent. This match was set to begin, and she was expecting it would be an interesting one. She didn't know why, but there was something about this Reiko Seldab... Something that seemed to be distinctly different, like he was a foreigner in every sense of the word. She had encountered shinobi, kunoichi, warriors from all over the Five Great Nations. But this... this was something different.
[428 + 3179 out of ??? ]

He wasn't around when Hedoro had taken over the world for that brief being of time. But he never seen anything like this. The boy of sand only looked at her and he watned to touch her for some reason. He never seen a composite of element besides himself and she was composed of sort of liquid. He looked at her and his first thought was to still touch her. As he looked and he started to walk in a circle around her. Satasuri only managed to ask one question. His voice seemed to be that of his when he was a child again. He didn't seem to be afraid of her. He never needed to feel fear from someoen like him.

"I am Satasuri...who are you?"

Satasuri said with a bit of curoisty. As he looked at her in through the visors of his containment suit. He figured he could exit it at anytime. The life around him was abundent..but he didn't want mom to get mad at him. It always took more chakra to hold him together outside of the suit. But he really only wore the suit to make humans more comfortable around him. They didn't feel comfortable in his true form. He was sand after all. He stared at her for a moment longer. The boy of sand and the girl of water. Where they monsters... Or simply children in a new world filled with other monsters. He hoped ti was the second..but he thought it was the first one to be exact.

"You are a monster like me.."

satasuri said with a smile behind his containment mask. Or what would be a smile. If he could smile. He shrugged his shoulders as he kept pacing around her trying to figure out what she was exactly.

"Yes." Reiko nodded, making himself more clear as to what he wanted out of this experience. It took a while for Tamao to give Reiko's answer before she accepted. Just those words alone made the Miyanari swordsman excited and amped up. "Alright let's do it!" A Chuunin shinobi, going one on one with an ANBU swordswoman... If the stories were true from his peers, then Tamao would be one of the toughest people he would face on his stay here. The Miyanari swordsman heard about how the ANBU units were what Jounin ranked shinobi had nightmares about. Even though they excelled in their skill, the Miyanari swordsman heard about how they specialized in assasination along with punishment; tortue to be precise. Being part of this squad didn't require any traits that were uncontrollable such as having demon blood or being a descendant of a powerful species. All one really needed was skill to succeed. The only challenging part would be that the user's skill would have to attract the Kage's attention; something that could be done with enormous effort. The ANBU swordswoman took the steps she needed to give them room for their test of strength.

The Miyanari stood where he was allowing Tamao to obtain the space she needed. Once then she got into a stance that implied she had her weapon ready for combat; seeing as how her blade had the ability to be summoned at will similar to Reiko's signature weapon. His second pair of eyes, the ryuugan took over in this fight. Reiko may not have been able to get a reading on the chakra Tamao posesse at the moment but he was still able to better analyze her as they would fight. Seconds went by and told Reiko that he was going to be the first one to make a move. Some situations the first move was usually the last; that happened a lot back at the Xim academy. "No doubt she knows kumogakure is all about electricity and is probably expecting it...but where? Hand motions most likely." he thought. The Miyanari swordsman unleashed his dual Cryptic Claws at 4 feet, weighing 3 pounds and now containing gaps in the blade, increasing the speed of the blades even further. He extended his right arm, holding his blade sideways towards Tamao for a few seconds before he channeled the chakra needed for his next attack. And without any warning or notification, 5 bolts of electricity quickly shot from the blade towards the ANBU swordswoman. One went towards the gesturing hand of Tamao, the next 2 curved, aiming towards the shoulders of Tamao while the last two shot towards her quadriceps (Laser circus: uses his storm release create several bright beams of electricity that shoot at his enemy. A halo of bright energy spreads from Darui's hands as he uses this technique. The beams are able to alter their direction after being shot.((Need to Know Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration)):1100 skill Points.


Each bolt had the potential to send pain throughout the entire body, temporarily stun and shaking of the body. One shot was bad enough but all connecting at once would be brutal pain, cauing smoke to emanate from her body; though Reiko had a hunch that was unlikely. Plus temporarily rapid heartbeat; what electricity usually carried when it entered a living being. If she were to attempt to block with her blade, then unless it had another quality Reiko didn't know about, the metal would conduct the electricity and still cause damage towards her. The same fashion electricity did when it shocked someone in water. By not requiring hand signals to launch his attacks perhaps he had an advantage of suprise over Tamao; on the other hand there was so much underneath the surface of the swordswoman that Reiko didn't know about.

words this post=637
3624+637=4261 words.
60,100-550=59,950

Reiko: 59,950/60,100