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"So, Zaon, what're you gonna teach me?" asked Exo. "The well respected Hana Shuriken. When surrounded by flowers, the flowers become as hard as steel. You will have control of these hard shuriken-like flowers, which you can hurl at enemies," said Zaon. "Sounds cool, but some what---" Exo was cut short by Zaon. "Sound what gay?! Is that what you were gonna say? Because I won't teach you if you think I'm gay!" "I didn't say that! Why are you so sensitive?!" asked Exo. "I know what you're thinking! I'm sensitive because I'm gay! Well, I'M NOT GAY ALRIGHT!!! STOP CALLING ME GAY!! I DON'T LIKE----" "GEEZ! SHUT UP!!! IT WON'T STOP!!!" The argument continued long into the day. "You know something...we haven't gotten any training in. Can we put your sexual preferences aside so we can train?" "I guess so...let's learn!" said Zaon. He took me through the handsigns, the formation, the whole nine yards. But it still felt weird being taught by a gay guy. When I think about it, some of the worlds greatest people are gay. Prince, Little Richard and Drago (just kidding, don't kill me)

Hana Shuriken 2 of 6

I didn't know what Zaon had in store. But I had faith in Spyder, he and I were a team. He was the only thing I had that tied me to Avalon. Oh yeah, and Rylen.

"Are you ready?" asked Zaon. "Hell yeah! Let's get this show on the road, man!" said Exo. They both started their handsigns at the same time. A large, blue vortex appeared over Zaon's head. A small shape, no bigger than Zaon was in the distance. Exo couldn't get a good look. It then rushed out at Exo. It was an angel, his summon was an angel. Before the summon reached Exo and attacked him, Spyder emerged from the ground and slapped the summon into a tree. "Is that the best you can do?" asked Exo. "Come on, Wingz. Let's show him the beauty and grace of a true a** kicking!" said Zaon. "Spyder, we should let them know how we get down. If we haven't already!" said Exo. "Are you insane? This fight was over before it started!" said Zaon. "I'll say!" said Exo.

Hana Shuriken 4 of 6

The flower pedals were falling fast, so that's how I had to think. Wingz had broken free from spider's web trap. And with Spyder injured, it was like two against one. Zaon had already started to do the handsigns neccesary to use hana Shuriken.

Exo hurried and tried to catch up with Zaon. But Zaon executed the technique first. A huge wave of steel like flower pedals were heading for Exo. Spyder took the hit. "Hmm...touching..." said Zaon. "SPYDER!!! ARE YOU OKAY!!!" yelled Exo. Spyder layed there. "Here we go!!!!" he had completed the handsign and sent a large stampede of pedals towards Zaon. Zaon did the same. Most of the pedals countered each other, but others hit the fighters. After the pedal storm stopped, the two men stood there. Zaon fell to his knees. "Good job.....Hidden Leaf." "What?" asked Exo. "Lee and Ace are in the Hidden Leaf," said Zaon. Exo ran to the docks.


Hana Shuriken 6 of 6

Nemu woke up, feeling even more confused now than ever. What was going on? Her whole mind felt fuzzy, even more so than usual. Somehow, she got to her feet, and noticed she had rolled off of the bench she had been sitting on before falling asleep. The day had proceeded without her, it was not getting closer to night. She carefully got to her feet, making tentative steps until she was steady enough to walk unaided. She didn't know what had happened, but at least it seemed to have worn off by now.
(Hana Shuriken: 1/6)

As she walked, Nemu felt a little bit better, but she still felt a little woozy. And she was so hungry! She knew she'd eaten good earlier, but it felt like she hadn't eaten anything all day. Now she had two tasks to do, first she had to find a place to stay, then she had to find something to eat. No, wait, scratch that, food first, then a bed. She looked around, wondering if she should head back to that same restaurant she'd been to earlier. Their food had been really good, if she remembered right. But where was it? She couldn't really remember, she hadn't been here long enough to memorize the area.
(Hana Shuriken: 2/6)

Nemu began going up and down various roads, trying to find a part of town she recognized. She didn't see too many people, otherwise she'd just ask someone for directions. That, and she didn't know any of the names of places here yet, not even the restaurant she had been at. So she just kept searching. It wasn't a huge village, it couldn't take that long to search, right? She should be able to find what she needed before it got dark out. At least she hoped so. If not, then her first night away from home wasn't going to be enarly as fun as she had originally thought it would be.
(Hana Shuriken: 3/6)

There it was! She'd been searching for a while, and now she finally managed to find the same restaurant she'd been at earlier. Going inside, she wasted no time in finding an empty seat and sitting down. Waiting for service, she tried to think of somethign that sounded good. Nothing immediately came to mind. Maybe someone could recommend a regional specialty? As she thought, a waitress approached, ready to take her order. She still hadn't decided, so she asked for some advice. The waitress ran down the list of specials for the day, and Nemu listened closely. Lots of the different foods sounded good, but what one should she try?
(Hana Shuriken: 4/6)

Finally, she decided on a simple meal. Just a light vegetarian fare, prepared the local Nano style. It sounded pretty good, and substantial enough to be a real meal. She placed her order, and then had to wait just a short amount of time as she waited for it to arrive. As she did so, she got up from her seat and struck up a conversation with a waiter who didn't seem to be busy at the moment. She asked if he could recommend a good palce for the night, for a travelling kunoichi. He had to think about it, but he did think of one, and was even nice enough to draw her a map to get there.
(Hana Shuriken: 5/6)

Just as she sat down again, her food arrived, and she dove in. She had worked up quite an appetite, although she still wasn't precisely sure why. Maybe it was just from the excitement of moving to a new place for a time, seeing new faces and new places. But whatever the reason, hopefully it wouldn't continue her entire time away from home. If she were to start putting on weight... Well, it was something to be avoided at all costs. Once she was finished with her meal, she payed the bill along with a tip, and left, eager to get to her home away from home.
(Hana Shuriken: 6/6)

Nemu had been exploring the village for most of the morning, she'd already managed to find a lot of places she'd like to spend more time exploring. But before she did that, she still had to see about finding a new Inn. Was the Sleeping Lion the only Inn in town? No wonder the prices were so high? Then again, Nano was supposed to be a wealthy village, maybe that's why the prices were high? In the end, the reason didn't really matter, the result did. If it really was the only Inn, then she was sort of wasting her time. But then again, she would have wanted to explore more of the village anyways. So in the end, it only determined the length of her stay.
(Kyouka Sai: 1/8 )

Oh, what was this? This place looked interesting. Nemu couldn't help herself, she went ahead and stepped inside. It looked to be maybe a book store? She could see lots of shelves, but what was on them? Once she was inside, it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the lower lighting, as the sun had to filter through the windows and the shades. It made the entire place look kind of dusky and dusty. She poked around for a while, but didn't find anything to really grab her attention, so she moved on. She would remember it, though, maybe if she had more time, she'd stop back for another look.
(Kyouka Sai: 2/8 )

Nemu decided to take a break, she'd been doing a lot of walking already this morning. If she did too much, maybe the same thing that happened yesterday would happen again, and it had just been confusing. She'd rather avoid having whatever it was happen again. That loss of focus and control was a big deal, both to her as a ninja, and to her as a regular person.
She tried looking around for a good place to stop and relax, but it seemed she'd wandered into a more residential part of town. Sure, she could probably find a place in this area, but it'd be easier to head back to the main part of the city, where there were all those benches and such. Ah well, her rest would have to wait just a little bit longer.
(Kyouka Sai: 3/8 )

Nemu sat down gratefully, sighing a little as she leaned back. She wasn't really that tired, but there was no need to push herself until she actually was, right? If that happened she could be caught flat-footed when something big happened. As to what that something big might actually be, she couldn't say, but it could happen. That much she knew. Things could always happen.
She decided to just people-watch for a while, maybe spot someone who might know where a different Inn was. There were a fair bit of people going back and forth, none of them looked very busy, but quite a few of them still looked like they'd rather not be bothered. She'd wait a bit longer, maybe she'd still find someone she could talk to.
(Kyouka Sai: 4/8 )

It had taken some time, but eventually Nemu found someone who looked nice enough that they wouldn't bite her head off if she asked them a question. She went up to them, and after getting their attention, went straight for her dilemma. She was a traveller, needed a place to stay, and cheaper was better so she could stay longer. They thought for a moment and gave her an answer. Try the 'Sleeping Lion'. She mentioned how she already had, it was a titch pricey for her. This stumped them for a little bit, then they remembered a second Inn. It was kind of out of the way, and it wasn't as nice as other Inns, but there was another one she could check.
(Kyouka Sai: 5/8 )

Nemu felt up to moving around again, so she stood up, stretched a little and enjoyed a ray of sunshine, basking in it's warmth. Ready to resume her trek, she set out, hoping the directions she had gotten would be good enough to get her to her location. On the way, she manahed to find an outdoor food cart selling oden. Even though it really wasn't the season for it, it smelled good so she stepped up and had an impulsive lunch. After enjoying her repast, she paid and was on her way once more. She hadn't been walking much longer when she came to a stop. Was that it?
(Kyouka Sai: 6/8 )

Nemu approached the building in question, wondering if it could possibly be the Inn that she'd been told about. It looked okay, but a little... unpolished. Okay, that was being nice, it looked abandoned. She went up to the doro and tried to enter, but it was locked. Had this been a wasted trip? She sighed, and noticed a small paper taped to one of the windows. Moving closer, she glanced over it, giving it a quick read. Oh, that's what happened. The owner had apparantly gone on a vacation of their own, and hadn't returned yet. It was quite a while since they'd been gone, maybe something had happened? Whether malicious or just jappenstance, the end result was that this had been another dead end for her. Oh well, back to the Sleeping Lion.
(Kyouka Sai: 7/8 )

Nemu had been walking for a while, when she realized that she was being followed. She wasn't sure who it was, so she tried to ignore them. Maybe it was just a coincidence, maybe they just needed to go the same way she was going. But no, she took a few extra turns, looping about in a circuitous route that led her away from the Inn. Even so, she still felt that same presence behind her. She quickened her pace a little, hopefully not enough to be noticed, and turned a corner. Pressing herself flat against the wall, she waited to see if anyone would fall for such an obvious trick, to show who they were. Of course, they hadn't. She waited a slong as she dared, then resumed moving. There it was again, she could feel a pair of eyes boring a hole in her back. Who was it, why were they following her?!
(Kyouka Sai: 8/8 )

Things seemed like they were back to normal now, and Nemu was trying to put that inceident out of her memories. She was on vacation precisely because she didn't want to worry about all this sort of thing. She finished her drink and enjoyed the ambience of the place a little longer before paying her bill and moving on. Getting up, she wondered if she should just go to her room, call it quits early, and go to sleep. That sounded pretty tempting, so she set out, headed for the Inn. She'd already made this route a few times before, so she got there a little faster than she otherwise might have. Stepping inside, she wondered if everything would go smoothly.
(Hyakka Hyouran: 1/7)

Thank goodness! She was still a little on edge from earlier, so she had beenw orried that the Inn might have been booked up, or something like that. But apparantly it was the slow season, there were still lots of room for rent. She was even able to get the same room she'd used the night before. It may not be her own room at Konoha, but at least it would be somewhat familiar. She went ahead and went to her room, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. She sighed, and slumped against the inside of her door, falling to the floor. She had had a pretty rough day, especially considering nothing had actually happened.
(Hyakka Hyouran: 2/7)

Well, when things were getting stressful, there was only one thing a girl like her could do to really calm down. A bath! A nice hot bath, to wash away the stress and worries. Unfortunately her room didn't have a private bath, so it looked like her adventure for the day wasn't done quite yet. One last stop before bed, and then she'd be all set to sleep the night away. But as for now, to the onsen!
Nemu grabbed her bag and left her room yet again. Wow, it felt like she'd been doing nothing but coming and going all day! She went back down to the concierge and asked for directions to the onsen. After getting them, she set out for her Mission: Bathtime. The trip was totally uneventful, she got there without mishap.
(Hyakka Hyouran: 3/7)

Ah, the onsen. One of the things that gave someone true happiness, they were truly a gift from the gods. Just hot water, really, but the effect it had on people was staggering. Just the thought of being in an onsen was enough to help Nemu relax, and she hadn't even gotten there yet! She did get there after a little confusion, she had turned right when her directions said left, but otherwise nothing bad happened. Looking up at the entrance to the onsen, Nemu couldn't help but smile. She hadn't been to a pbulic bath house in quite some time, but she remembered it with fond memories. Stepping inside, she wasn't disappointed, it looked a lot like the one she used to frequent in Konoha. A large counter ran the long way through the center of the lobby, dividing men and women to sepearte sides. Thank goodness it wasn't mixed bathing!
(Hyakka Hyouran: 4/7)

Nemu went ahead and gave the person on the counter her fee, and then went into the changing room. She got ready pretty quickly, exchanging her clothes for a towel and wash set. She stepped through the next set of doors into the actual bath, and was struck at just how beautiful everything looked. The steam rising from the water, the faint scent of mineral-rich water and the burbling sounds from the lion head fountain in the corner, the wave of heat she could feel just stepping into the room. She sighed, already feeling more relaxed, and moved off to the side a little. It took a little time, but she'd scrubbed up and rinsed herself off, then slipped into the hot water. Ooh, it felt wonderful!
(Hyakka Hyouran: 5/7)

Nemu lounged back, resting her head against the water's edge. The feeling of the hot water against her skin was absolutely leeching the tension from her, she felt rejuvenated. Why hadn't she done this earlier? This was even better than the one at Konoha, now that she thought about it. But she didn't want to think, she wanted to veg. She shoved the thoughts out of her mind, closing her eyes and submerging a little further, making bubbling sounds as she exhaled under water. She sort of zoned out for a while, not quite awake, but not yet asleep. She was just sort of there. And that suited her, this was the sort of relaxation she had been missing. She raised her head a little so she could breath in, and sighed in contentment. This was heaven!
(Hyakka Hyouran: 6/7)

After a good long soak, Nemu finally had to admit, enough was enough. It was possible to have too much of a good thing, after all. And heaven forbid she overdose on onsen, and get bored of them! So she slipped out of the water and dried off, pulling on a big fluffy robe. Stepping out into the lobby area, she grabbed a drink from a nearby cooler, it had been part of the fee she'd payed. Yum, milk coffee, the perfect thing to finish off the lingering heat from a long bath. She felt at least three years younger, this had been just what she needed. She bid the hostess a farewell, promising to visit again before she left the village, and went to her new home. As relaxed as she was, it felt like no time at all before she hopped into bed, and fell asleep, utterly content.
(Hyakka Hyouran: 7/7)

She'd been running for some time now, and hadn't really gotten tired yet. Sure, she'd been taking it easy, not moving terribly fast, but still! It made her feel a little better about herself, if nothing else she was a good runner. Not a terribly useful skill under most occasions, but it did come in handy from time to time. She slowed for a moment as she yawned, and frowned a little. Of course, no matter how good she became, with that little problem, she could never become truly great.
(Bubble Trap: 1/6)

But that was alright, she didn't really care about becoming great. Sure, it'd be nice and it could make things more fun, but it would also likely cause more trouble than she'd be willing to deal with. Why, just look at other famous ninja. The Kages, for instance. They were the leaders of their villages, generally the strongest ninja in the village. And what did that get them? They became they main target of any naughty person who tried to attack the village. She didn't want to have to deal with something like that!
(Bubble Trap: 2/6)

Of course, it probably wasn't terribly high on the list of the Kages' favorite activities either, but it came with the job. And even on a smaller level, any ninja who became especially skilled in any particular technique would become targetted by people interested in that skill. Either they wished to learn it, or test themselves against the master of it, or even to try to eliminate it. Again, she could barely imagine anything less fun. She probably didn't have to worry about that, the only skills she really had were falling asleep and a slight knack for Genjutsu.
(Bubble Trap: 3/6)

And ever since the odd resurgence in family memebers of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans, Genjutsu practitioners were becoming slowly obsolete. That was fine with her, being obsolete meant being unnoticed, so even if she became a noticeably adept Genjutsu user, maybe bad people wouldn't bother with her? Wait, what was she doing? She had been thinking so hard about the topic, she had stopped running! She shook her head and resumed her running, eager to amke up for the time she'd spent daydreaming. Really! Her, a ninja of importance?
(Bubble Trap: 4/6)

She tried to not think about much while she was running, but a simple route led to a distracted mind, and she soon found her thoughts straying back to all manner of memories. Good times, bad times, they both appeared behind her eyes as she recalled them. She gave up and let herself remember. How she'd played ninja as a child, throwing pinecones and acorns and jumping around like crazy before falling asleep; how she'd been so happy when she was first admitted to the Academy. How she had been so crushed the first time she'd been held back, since she had slept through so many classes; how she wondered what was wrong with her, that she fell asleep so often.
(Bubble Trap: 5/6)

But she didn't stay sad for too long, overall she had more good memories than bad ones. Each time an especially bitter memory came to the surface, at least three sweet ones did the same to counteract it. She managed to keep running while she remembered all these many different things, and soon came to a halt. She must have circled the entire village five or six times by now, surely that was a good start? If not, then too bad, she didn't want to do any more. If she wiped herself out now, then what was the point in starting so early?
(Bubble Trap: 6/6)