Welcome to Gaia! ::

Notwen smiled, then proceeded to laugh at Nova's reaction to his statement. It seemed it was something that he deeply wanted ever since the incident in the VIP room. The aspiring swordsman's excitement reached the point where he stood up and loudly declared how epic the fact that they were all going to be teamed up together would be. He noticed that he was disturbing most people in the small restaurant and quickly apologized.
At least he knows when to catch himself, thought the dark-skinned blonde with a chuckle after he heard Takeshi's side joke. Nova went on to tell Takeshi how the Uchiha had been the first person to show him any type of kindness and would be happy to be team mates. Nova seemed to have some trouble for a while in keeping his emotions in check, but eventually got a hold on himself and apologized to Gorosei for his rowdiness. Takeshi also stated how honored he would be to join the team, and added another joke about the team not having any shortage of energy. Notwen finished off the rest of his dumplings before speaking to both genin. "Well the good thing is that the two of you balance each other out in terms of personality. Since we are a team i suppose we can get to know each other. I was about to go to the mission offices to see if i could go on a small errand to keep me occupied for some time, but remembered that all missions were put on hold until further notice. So i guess we can start training as a unit." Notwen waited until Takeshi was done with his meal before calling Gorosei over and paying for all of their meals. After thanking the cook for the delicious food, the dark-skinned blonde got up from the long table and beckoned to the genin to meet him outside. Once the three were congregated outside, Notwen spoke again. "I don't feel like going somewhere extreme like the Magnetic Cliffs, just a place to do light training. You guys have any ideas?"

While Nova had gotten all excited in the restaurant, Takeshi had finished most of his dumplings, all his soup and his tea. He'd listened to Notwen speak about how he and Nova balanced each other personality wise, and then his thoughts about going to do some light training. It seemed like his didn't want to do all that much traveling though since he also noted that he didn't want to go anywhere like the magnetic cliffs. He thought about it while he finished off his last few dumplings then shook his head. He had only trained on the magnetic cliffs and in his back yard which wouldn't be able to support the three of them training in a tactic anyways. He'd heard Nova speak about a lake close to here, and the way it sounded made it seem like a good training area. It was only seconds though that his train of thought was interupted by Nova going off about a team name. Takeshi didn't see a cause for one but he let him go on about it and then just shrugged his shoulders. "I've only done training at the magnetic cliffs and at home so the lake seems like the best place for training to me."
Nova's line count before joining in with Notwen -- 76
Notwen & Nova's line count together -- 109
Notwen, Nova, and Takeshi's Line count together -- 221

Nova smiled as he began to lead the way through the crowded village and into the forest that leaded to the lake. Eventually he arrived to the lake with his new comrades and began to tell them all about the enviorment. "Well here we are boys. Over there is a stone wall that i used a lot over there. It use to look a little better but i guess i did finally do what i intended" He said as he raised up his bandaged arms to show them what he was talking about. "I don't think it may have been the best training but then again i didn't have a mentor back then ither. I use the boulders that i caused and do laps around the lake with them." He said as he pointed at the foot made path. "And finally there is the lake. It is very calm and has a small island in the center. Useually its very peaceful around here and only slightly breezy once in a while." He said completeing his introduction. "So does this get the seal of approval?" he asked as he waited for their responses.

Notwen followed Nova in silence as he led them to the lake he had been training at for the past year. The village was unusually crowded which slowed their trip slightly. The dark-skinned blonde waved back and smiled at several villagers who he had gotten to know after becoming a Chuunin. He had spent his last birthday in their company and it was not too long left before it came around again. Smiling inwardly, Notwen proceeded to follow Nova into the forest he had mentioned. The trees that grew there were exclusively spaced-out pines. Several cones littered the ground, releasing the spicy aroma whenever they were treaded on or cracked open while falling from their tall parents. Notwen made sure he absorbed every detail, from the place where they entered to the trajectory of their travel and specific areas he marked as check points. Soon enough the three-eyed Uchiha detected the smell of fresh water among the scent of pines.
We’re close… he thought. About two minutes later they emerged at the vast lake shore. Nova proceeded to give his guests a brief tour of the area. Notwen examined the scenery twice over while Takeshi voiced his thoughts about there being enough room for them to move around. It was a pretty spacious location. The lake was big enough to hold a medium-sized island at its center so he guessed the lake was more or less shaped like a doughnut. Upon walking up to the surface he noted that the water got slightly murkier toward the deeper parts before it began to get shallow on the island side. There was enough space to swim and use long range techniques. Nodding with satisfaction Notwen turned to face his new team mates. “You sure are lucky to have found this spot, Nova. It’s pretty top-notch for any type of exercise.” He focused his chakra to the soles of his feet and walked a few feet on the surface of the lake before turning around to face his team mates again. “Your first training exercise is to try to subdue me in any way possible and it starts effective immediately. Don’t hold back because I sure won’t.” The dark-skinned blonde shifted his body into a defensive battle stance. He wanted to see where they were in terms of strength and battle skill. Also Notwen wanted to see how much his Taijutsu had improved under General Rai Oh’s tutelage. Flexing his new prosthetic arm, the Uchiha readied himself for his two opponents.

As Cruxis entered the gates of Hidden Cloud Village, he allowed his chakra to settle, dismissing the use of his sky dance technique. For once, he wanted some degree of quiet in order to read the message he'd received. With a brisk walking pace, the gennin kept a note of the area via his peripherals. What he needed to find was a tea shop, or perhaps a bookstore; somewhere with a calm atmosphere he wouldn't be immediately disturbed in.
The village seemed crowded today; and so Cruxis had some trouble finding a quiet spot to read. Thankfully he found his seclusion in a shop called the Tea Weavil, located slightly on the outskirts of town, which offered him just the right amount of solitude. Ordering a fresh batch of vanilla chai tea from the shop; Cruxis waited somewhat impatiently for his tea, subconsciously drumming on the scroll case with a sharp one-two-three-four pattern while he waited. In truth, he was delaying reading the message, yet was anxious to know just what had been written within it. When his tea was ready, Cruxis carried the pot to a back corner of the room, poured the tea to fill his cup about halfway, and took a slow sip of tea before taking a deep breath and flipping out a small mack knife kept at his belt to break the seal on the scroll case.
He retracted the blade and returned it to its place, then placed a palm firmly on the scroll case and twisted, opening the case with a small 'pop!', which he shifted uneasily at. Cruxis glanced both ways, seeing if anyone had noticed... nothing; likely the sound had been amplified from adrenaline in his systems... With the top removed, Cruxis carefully reached in to take out the rolled message, and pressed it down against the table as he unrolled it in order to flatten it out.

You have been assigned a rare task. A noble house in Sunagakure has requested an outside assassination to be done, without a ninja. Strictly speaking, assassins are only ninjas, thus one must be trained in the arts without yet being registered with a shinobi license. As an Academy Student who has not yet entered our registry or been assigned to a team; you are qualified for this duty.
Secondly, your previous travels as a performer allows you entry without need of stealth. When an assassination is committed, the first targets for search would be shinobi from the outside; and thus as a performer you have the ability to avoid immediate searches.
Should you choose to accept this mission, your superior will meet you at the date and location enclosed to escort you towards Sunagakure. Once within, you shall eliminate the target before the tenth day. Upon completion of the mission, you are to escape with as little attention as possible.

Cruxis read the target's name, glanced over the enclosed photograph, and noted the meeting date before placing everything back in the scroll case and securely fastening the top shut. 'Assassination?', the shiver went up his spine, and suddenly the tea did not seem so appetizing. 'Qualifications aside, I can't just kill someone.. Can I?'
'You can, and you will. The story pushed you in this direction for a reason.'
'Oh hell... you again... No. I'm not just going to assassinate someone without knowing the reason behind it. Story or not, can't you at least write in some way for me to know why I'm doing this?'
'I could write a Hunter-nin stabbing you in the back for questioning orders. Trust me, this mission will do you some good if you want to avoid trouble in the future.'
'Screw the cryptic messages. We both know I have to take a mission I'm requested... It's only a B rank assassination, likely due to the difficult circumstances surrounding it as opposed to the assassinee's ability to fight back. That they don't want a ninja involved implies a large, probably illegal, catch to this.'
'Or they don't want a war starting because a ninja was involved'
'Thank you for that clue.'
'You can consider it a clue if you want to... Your tea is getting cold by the way.'
'Well then you might as well get back to writing my story unless you're feeling particularly sadistic and want me to drink a batch of bitter cold tea.'
Cruxis's inner debate lasted long enough for the tea to grow chilled and bitter; and so he left it alone on the table, leaving ryo tucked under the teapot as he left the shop and began to walk the streets... The unease would not leave him though; and instead he ran. The wind caught his hair and brushed through it as the boy ran down the streets towards the outside of town. He jumped and took to the air, pushing a thermal of chakra under himself to maintain his flight before giving another push to ascend higher. Distance was never a true issue, as Cruxis had a fairly strong control over his chakra - however altitude was something he had to take care of. The higher he was, the more chakra he had to keep pushed under himself in order to maintain his height. While he did not lose it per say, he did stretch his chakra thinner by ascending higher, and thus more concentration was required to maintain the pressure needed to stay in the air. Cruxis could safely ascend about fifteen feet without too much difficulty, and he was about double this distance up at the moment.
With a silent swear to himself, Cruxis carefully lowered his altitude to twenty-five feet, just above the treeline of pines. Along a nearby lake his eyes saw two shadows; though he could not make them out at this distance. He focused himself and his eyes widened before transferring from steel-blue to the golden hue of the activated Ryuugan eye. The details became more focused and he could make out a few more details than he could before. One was dark skinned and blond, and wore the signature vest of a chuunin; the other appeared to be a gennin, and if Cruxis was to hazard a guess, a kaguya based off of his appearance.
He was about two-hundred feet away from the two combatants, and carefully landed within the treelines, deciding to watch the battle between the two and see what he could learn. Battles were the best way to get ideas for his developments; particularly watching taijutsu fighters. The trouble with them was they continued to swing their fists no matter how many illusions you put around them. It was an interesting thing to note, and so Cruxis had been debating ways to remove this hazard to his focus. Muscle memory could go off even if the mind was otherwise ensnared; a difficult thing to combat.
'Alright you guys... let's see just what you have in store to see.

Nova had been letting his partner take the first move as he exmined the movemets of Takeshi as well as Notwen. He watched as Takeshi had made the first move and landed a hit on Notwen's abdomin. Notwen quickly countered the attacks as he did a backflip hitting Takeshi in the head with his trailing leg that had fire follow before landingon his head spinning them around before throwing Takeshi at Nova. As Takeshi approched Nova braced himsef planting his deet into the ground. He caught him as he reached Nova. Nova placed Takeshi back on the ground "Alright sorry about the delay just trying to think. Im not the quickest at reacting but i got an idea." He said as he looked bak at Notwen. He closed his eyes as he began to activate the byakugan. As he opened them he could see the whole serroundings and began to formulate a plan. He saw the sand which e wold be able to make a dust storm which would restrict everyone's vision. "So how are you with close quarters without being able to see?" He said as he began to charge towards the sandy shore of the lake. He did a baseball slide and used his hands to add more sand into the mix. As the sand began to get thrown into the air he used some of his wind element to add more of the spread of the sand causeing a huge cloud to cover the lake. He stood up nd charged across the lake to where he last saw Notwen. He le his stricks go crazy in the dust hopeing that he would hit anything but after a few combos he began to think. "Well if i can't seem to find him this way the only way to know where he is if he actually is still in the lake is to see his footsteps under water. Time for a swim." Nova got into the water and began swimming around serching for Notwen's feet.

Notwen was surprised to see Nova catch Takeshi and put him on the ground. It appeared that his head wasn't in the clouds after all. The dark-skinned blonde observed the two have a short exchange of words before the young swordsman began to rush at the lake. He had executed a sliding maneuver that would kick up sand into the air and make smoke screen of sorts. After the cover had been established Nova ran in and was lost to view. Notwen braced himself for the possibility of being attacked from the thick cloud of sand and dust, but nothing came out.
What is he up to? wondered the three-eyed Uchiha before shifting his attention to Takeshi, who also ran into the dust cloud only to reappear on the island side. Then realization dawned on him. They must have expected me to come down right away. Well, i guess it's unfair to be flying around while they're earthbound. Before making his intended move, Notwen closed his eyes and wove the Crown Chakra hand seal. This had the effect of establishing a sphere around himself where he could detect any living thing based on their consciousness, which appeared as a bright point in his mind's eye. He spread the area of effect to cover the entire area from where he was floating to half-way into the pine forest. There were three large bright points of light, signifying human consciousness: One stationary on the island(Takeshi), one moving around directly below him(Nova), and another stationary one over by the pines. So it is a person. I wonder what brings them here... At least i can tell there isn't any hostile thoughts emanating from them.

After formulating a quick plan Notwen went into action.
"Nesshou Bunshin: Duos!" he said while weaving a short set of seals. Two balls of fire revolved around his body while he weaved another set of seals. The dark-skinned blonde's body became engulfed in red-orange flames before he propelled himself forcefully into the water. His trajectory was aimed in a way that would put him between Takeshi and Nova. Upon hitting the water a pillar of steam mingled with the dust cloud, moistening it and weighing it down to the point that the particles were to heavy to remain airborne. A small, yet powerful wave had surged out from the Uchiha's impact area which would push Nova a good distance away. Once the steam had cleared three Notwens were standing back to back in a thin, steaming circle. They walked outwards, away from each other and drew their modified Hiramekarei's. Two of the dark-skinned blondes began to join their own swords together at the hilt, creating a double-ended spear-looking weapon, then they began twirling the modified weapons until they thrummed. "You guys had your chance to be on the offensive, now it's my turn." said the Notwen in the middle. "I've been working on this technique for seven months and it's still in its testing stages. The weapon you see is the Hiramekarei, one of the legendary swords of the Mist, which i have made my own. Try to avoid this move the best way you can. Here i go!" As if on cue, the buzz saw-like weapons were now exuding an orange aura. This aura began to intensify and grow until the swords themselves were hidden in a sphere composed of it. The original Notwen thrust his arms out to either side, and at the same time the clones seemed to phase into the technique, leaving behind the weapons. Anyone with the Sharingan or Byakugan would be able to see the chakra threads between the orbs and the dark-skinned blonde's hands. "Sirocco's Tempest!" With a twist of his torso and a pivot of his legs Notwen sent the technique at his opponents. If they dodged it he would trigger the technique's activation, which would cause the orb to expand and create a vortex of chakra-enhanced thermal energy that would burn anything that was caught within a six-foot radius. Another method, though more difficult was to ensnare the opponent in the chakra threads and have the technique circle around them until it struck them directly, which would undoubtedly kill or badly injure the genin so he wouldn't be using that variant.

Takeshi didn't have to wait too long for Notwen to start doing something. He'd made a hand seal in which wasn't all that common, in fact it was the first time Takeshi had seen this particular seal used. He didn't know exactly what was happening, but then soon he started to make more hand seals. This time he could actually see what was happening with Notwen up there in the skies. Two flaming balls emerged and started to float around him, eventually covering him in the flame. He suddenly started to drop down from the sky and landed in the water. Steam poured from around the area he hit, which caused the dust around him to absorb the steam and fall out from the air. Takeshi was kinda glad that there was no more sand to worry about, since dealing with that bone layer in front of his eyes was something that he didn't like making. He really wasn't going to have time to remove it though as once the steam and dust settled, he saw three Notwens. Takeshi sighed as one of him was a good challenge, but three would be a very good test of his abilities. Two of them started to walk out; one at Takeshi himself, and the other at Nova who was on the other side of Notwen from him. He gritted his teeth slightly as he knew that if he needed to help Nova (or visa versa) it would be a really hard feat to get around two Notwens. Then the stationary Notwen started to speak. It seemed that Notwen was going to go on the offensive now, and it seemed that he had a very powerful weapon that was going to be the center of the skill. He watched as the two Notwens become absorbed into a spinning mass of the blade that he was using. After the Notwens were absorbed, the orbs started to fly towards their respective targets. Takeshi started to back away slowly as the sphere came towards him, then turned to run for a bit. The sphere was comming closer and closer, but something was odd about it. Takeshi's back was just starting to get warm, then he had an idea in which he hoped would work. As soon as Takeshi reached the edge of the island, he jumped and dove into the water and quickly swam to the deepest section he could find while holding his breath as best as he could.