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Ryu walked into the dojo smiling. This would not be too bad. All he needed to do was do some training to finish his training at this school and move on to the next one. He knew that he had a lot to do before he could complete his training however. A whole lot. Looking around the Dojo he saw that it had not changed since he had last trained there. Still impeccably clean, still dim lighting, still the same Adon Sagat. Ryu Gouken liked Sagat for the same reason that he hated him; Adon Sagat was a no nonsense teacher. Ryu knew that from the beginning when he first started training with him. Now he would be reminded of that. Adon Sagat smiled when the sun hit his eyes as the door opened. "Well, well, if it is not the prodigal son returned." Ryu sighed as he slapping his his right fist into his left hand and bowing his head in a stance of respect and salutation. What he got in return was a punch in the face. Ryu felt the biting pain of the uppercut to his nose and went flying to the ground. He laid there for a second before getting back up. He was honestly surprised that his nose was not broken. Maybe the guy had finally grown soft. Ryu was wrong. "Pushups!!! Do not stop until I say so or you might as well leave. I am not in the habit of training those who do not take my martial arts seriously and I do not plan on ever taking up that habit!" Ryu groaned quietly as he quickly got on the ground and began to do pushups. He knew that his could be torture or a walk in the park simply because Ryu was so used to doing pushups. He could do probably do sixty or seventy without getting tired, get to a hundred before it gets hard. However after that he had to keep going and then it will be hell. He got through twenty without a hitch when Adon stopped looking at him and turned to the rest of the students and continued to teach. Ryu was confused and stopped. "Did I say stop!!! If your tired then you can get the hell out. Otherwise get back to it and do not stop until I say so." Ryu quickly got back to doing pushups. He was not even going to watch. That made Ryu worried. That might just mean that Ryu was not going to pass this test. He kept going and passed through sixty without a hitch a few minutes later. Then he started breathing harder. He knew that he could only go so far and now he knew just how far. Over the next few moments his breathing became even more labored and he had passed one hundred pushups. By one hundred thirty Ryu stopped keeping count. His muscles were burning and he was already starting to operate at full capacity. He could last- no he could not afford to estimate how much more he could do. He had to keep going if he wanted to finish his training here. He was breathing raggedly, all of this was not fun at all. Finally after who know how much time, Ryu heard the words that he was hoping for beyond all else. "You can stop now," Adon Sagat said without even looking up from his other students. Ryu fell to the ground. He was breathing hard. His nerves were on fire, but other than that he could not feel a thing. he could barely control his arms. He was really run down at this point, but he had passed the sensei's test and that was all that mattered. "I hope you do not think that you are done to day," Sagat said, still not looking up. "Get your butt off of that ground and get over here for your lesson." Ryu got up, barely able to move his arms, and went over to the group of students surrounding the master.

243+680=923

Takeover of Hidden Arts

"Well now. It's time we take down this ugly piece of s**t in the center of the village, don't you think? Nexus.. Do the honors.." Reaver says, as he turns on the shoulder of the Statue of Yamai that resided in the center of the village, raising his foot and slamming it into the head as he knocks it from it's shoulders with one swift kick. Grinning he leaps from the statue and does a perfect backflip backwards and onto the ground, before turning with a flourish of the long black cloak he wore, and beginning to walk away from the village slowly. Though not actually leaving, he was simply clearing distance from the explosion that was going to come a few seconds later. They did not intend to do too much here, simply take it over and defeat the purposes of the Organization that held this place. Grinning, as another male dressed in a long black cloak extended a hand, touching the stone statue and then waiting a moment as the entire statue exploded into a large firey explosion of shrapnel and debree. The take over of this village had begun, with three figures standing cloaked in black and prepared to do what was needed to take this village over as their own.

Satsuri blew into the town of Hidden Arts. He didn't much care for this town. There wasn't enough sand in this village however it let him be away from mother..that was his only joy in life some day. She was always to worried about him if he was going to get out of his suit. he wanted to learn some Tai Jutsus. He wanted to be strong like the rest of his faimly.. or some people that were in his family.

"Meh.. This is boring.."

Satsuri looked around all he saw was people practicing Tai Jutsu. He then looked up to see the statue of The Angru statue. He didn't liek them not at all. He only looked he had a letter from a man that promised to create change. But he had to get stronger first at no matter the cause.

"We have to get stronger.."

Satsuri said as he started to walk through the village.

Satsuri only gave a blank look through his containment suit. He couldn't give expressions so he didn't exactly looked scared. But not even in his boots he was shaking. He was to prepared for this moment and he only started to twist the dials on his suits. This would make the sand in his body harder. As it formed an almost solid compound. He looked up at the person as he swung out both of his hands two long blades started to form from the sleeves of his shirt.

"Whatever."

Satsuri said with a blank look through his helmet. He wasn't that strong. But he was ready to fight for himself. He was going to show this guy what was what.

Satsuri only looked at the man once again. He figured this guy. Maybe out of his league. More Possible he was way out of his league. However this guy was dissing him something hardcore style and he wasn't going to let that stand not even for a moment. He only grunted in his suit.

"The One thing that pisses me off about strong and old guys like you..You're all so cocky."

Satsuri looked and the blades stop glistening off the moon light. He was going to chop this guy up into a million pieces if he wasn't careful. The suit was as tight as it was going to get to get. Giving him maximum movement that he could have. Satsuri looked at him as he gave a brief smile behind his mask. He let out a brief but cold stare. This was it for him Life or death. But those words they didn't mean anything to him.. not any more. The nine Year old only stared outward for a moment.

Satsuri only looked at the guy with him. He grabbed him. Tossed him all and all was trying to kill the kid made of sand. But that would all end soon enough. Once the guy thought he grabbed him hsi body would turn into a viel of sand. He would perform the substituion jutsu. Satsuri only landed at a tree away from thsi guy. Satusri only stared at the new enemy. He wondered who thsi guy was and what he was doing here. His blades onyl started to get brighter as he looked at the Soul Eater for the last time as he only wondered if he was doing the right thing by retreating. Who was he kidding of coarse he was doing the right hting by retreating. This guy could defeat him with ease. He heard nightmares about Death EAters and Death Swallores. Born with evil in their heart and wanted to do nothing but kill the world. Satsuri only started to press the dials in his suit as he became looser. He looked nad eventuall he would blow away in the wind.

Kawari was currently seated on an empty stretch of deck aboard the ferry. She had left Hidden Stone promptly after her discovery, feeling that there had been nothing else for her to learn at that point in time. If that notion was later proven wrong, then so be it. for the moment, however, she would journey to another village, and see if she could find something new to add to her repertoire. She felt marginally confident in her combat ability, but the estimates of her effectiveness were still showing a decided gap between where she should be, and where she was. experience would do a lot to bolster those numbers. As well, finding new techniques, combinations and strategies would do a great deal toward improving her self-designated standing.

She had chosen this ferry at random, not really bothering to think through where her next destination should be. When she looked over the various departure times, she had generated a random number and ended up on this particular ferry. It seemed seaworthy enough, though it could definitely use a good drydock cleaning. But it would get the job done. She had overheard several of the other passengers talking amongst themselves. They had looked like rather dangerous sorts. Not the type that was big and imposing, like Jirobo had been. No, they were the type that seemed to fit what was needed in a true ninja. stealth, skill, and an utter lack of morals. She could easily believe any one of them capable of sliding a knife into another's back for no reason other than to get some more elbow room on the cramped ferry.

as well, she could picture any of them trying the same thing on her. They had seemed to ignore her at first, but as time passed on, it seemed their annoyance at being crowded would drive them to attacking even a seemingly ordinary girl like her. Because kit was true, she didn't really look like much of a warrior. She couldn't put on muscles without actually changing her form with a concerted effort, and her natural form was more sleek than muscular. as well, she didn't seem to be carrying any weapons, or anything else worthy of the thugs' respect or fear. All in all, from a logical standpoint, she couldn't fault them for thinking her an easy mark.

They would eventually give in and try to attack her. There was no doubt about that, she could tell it for a fact, by the look in their eyes and the level of tension in their bodies. She let herself remain at ease physically, but sent the proper signals to bring her full systems online in preparation. When they attacked, she would have to strike back savagely. Perhaps more than was strictly necessary, to make absolutely sure they learned their lesson, rather than think it a fluke or bad luck. She lowered her head slightly, feigning sleep, wondering if that small signal would be enough to spur them into action, to make them attack when she was actually ready for them.

A soft creak of loosely-fitted boards proved her hunch correct. She timed their approach, and waited to sense the minute difference in temperature from them standing over her, casting her in shade. Her eyes sprang open and she fixed the lead thug with a glare. He seemed a bit surprised at her sudden alertness, but didn't dare show weakness in front of his fellows. He muttered that it was nothing personal, and pulled out a wickedly sharp dagger. His cohorts stepped back a short distance, both to stay out of the way and to help block the scene from any of the other passengers who might deign to look in their direction.

The lead thug might have hoped the girl would be afraid of the shiny knife, but Kawari had seen more fearsome weapons many times before. She hopped to her feet, not even looking at the blade. The thug seemed at a loss for a moment, and waved the blade, trying to grab her attention and frighten her, like she was supposed to be. She was having none of that. she raised her right arm, the form-fitting black glove sparkling lightly in the sun. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't sparkling, it was sparking. Tiny bolts of electric current ran up and down her forearm, and a moment later it visibly altered. Where before her arm and hand looked perfectly normal for someone her apparent age, now it was a fearsome clawed weapon of destruction. A glowing circle on the back of her hand emitted a misting blue light, and the sharp tips of claws seemed to shine more than the thug's paltry blade. She let a faint smirk come across her face, and in that same instant, struck.

Even though she could have, she did not try for a lethal attack. It was just as well, the thug had been puzzling over her smirk and lost crucial seconds of reaction time. Her claws stabbed deeply into the flesh of his shoulder, digging into the socket joint with a sickening crunch. The thug's face paled drastically, and he sank to his knees with a whimper like a kicked dog. Kawari stared impassively down at him before ripping her hand free, blood spreading rapidly over the deep wound she had inflicted.

The thug called for his friends, and they helped him hobble away, leaving a steady trickle of blood in their wake. Now that the pecking order had been set, Kawari felt safe enough to get a little rest. Before she did, though, she leaned over the edge fot he ferry, and dipped her hand into the cool water for a long moment. She swished her fingers through the water, washing the blood off before pulling her hand back up. It looked clean now, so she shifted it back to it's normal form, and settled in for a long wait. The ferry still had quite a ways to go before reaching their destination. Quite a few of the other passengers had of course noticed the altercation, and were now stealing glances at her, as if expecting her to go berserk and attack any of them. Foolishness.

Time passed, and as it did, land grew visible ahead of the ferry. It would be far too convenient for the village itself to be right there at the docks. Far too convenient, and far too vulnerable. Most of the hidden villages were actually hidden, after all. The lived in secrecy, to keep their secrets to themselves and lessen the risk of enemy ninja discovering them. So they kept their villages hidden away, to only be found by those determined enough, or those who had been shown the way. It seemed the safest way to protect the village, along with the more standard types of protections that were large walls and armed patrols.

During this moment of reverie, the ferry had closed the distance to the docks, and one of the crewmen had lashed a rope to the mooring. With that completed, the passengers were free to disembark. Kawari was one of the first to leave, and everyone else gave her a wide berth, the memory of what she had done still fresh in their minds. Their opinions didn't make the slightest difference to her,it was very likely she would never see any of them again. So she just left the ferry and went right on walking. She didn't know precisely where the hidden village was, but she had an approximate location. That would have to be enough to go on, if she wanted to find the location under her own power. She had no real problem with asking people for directions or anything, the only real problems were that it become harder to keep her objective a secret the more people she had to ask. As well, as previous incidents had already proven, she wasn't exactly very sociable. Perhaps it was her programming, perhaps it was just bad luck. But people didn't really seem to feel at ease with her, and that made finding out things like directions difficult.

So that meant she would try to find out what she needed to know under her own power. If she went too long with no results, then she would have to try to find someone who would be willing to talk to her, tell her what she wanted to know. But for now, she would search. She called up a rough map of the area and began inspecting it. There seemed a fair number of general areas that could be eliminated immediately, due to one reason or another. Whether it was too exposed, or any of a number of different reasons. Even so, there was a huge amount of land left to be checked. She wouldn't search through it's entirety by foot, such a practice would be unwieldy at best, and downright dangerous at worst. She needed to eliminate more areas from the list of candidates, narrow the choices down as much as possible.

She began marking off areas of the map, increasing the general range of modifiers she was using to try to find the right place to begin her search. Time continued on it's merry way while she did this, morning giving way to afternoon. Only then did she finally have the list narrowed down to a half dozen different locations. Hopefully at least one of them would prove fruitful, would prove to be the location of the hidden village. With that decided, she prepared to set out once more. The nearest location wasn't very far away, it would be only a few minutes' run if she put her all into it.

She set off at a rapid pace, leaping over boulders, jumping onto a tree branch to spring forward over a fast-moving river. Her progress was almost silent, which was surprising considering just how much metal she was composed of. A few minutes later, she slowed to a stealthy creep, and hid behind a large tree for a long moment before peering around it. She was currently near the edge of a swampy forest. The ground was muddy, though still solid enough to walk on in most places. It seemed possible that a village could have been put in place here, where people would generally not wander into without good reason. Moving slowly forward, she kept her attention focused on her surroundings. So far, she didn't see anything that seemed to indicate the presence of a village of any size, but that did not mean that it wasn't there. Just that she wasn't looking hard enough. She spotted a nearby rise and approached it slowly. She would scale it's height, and see if the raised vantage point would reveal anything else in the area.

It took only a moment to get to the top of the small hillock, where she slowly spun in a full circle, looking in all directions to see if anything seemed out of place or unnatural. The first rotation revealed nothing but stunted and sickly looking trees, or patches of bubbling, stinking muck. Something seemed a bit off, however, so she began doing several more rotations. Slower, and constantly comparing what she saw to the previous rotations. There would have to be some changes that would reveal themselves, if her hunch was correct. And sure enough, there was. One particular area had changed it's general hue between the different times she had glanced over it. Those spots of discoloration seemed to create a near perfect circle. Perhaps that was a sign she was looking in the right direction? There seemed only one way to readily find out.

She walked forward, in the same direction as the spot of discoloration. If her rangefinder was correct, the spot was actually fairly large, a solid eight feet diameter and at least ten yards away from where she currently stood. As she got closer, the spot seemed to writhe and churn faintly, like steam rising from a hot cup of coffee. When she was only a few feet from it, she stopped her approach for a moment, and simply looked at it. Her own senses extended into ranges at least somewhat beyond a normal human's. Not enough to make her sure she was detecting absolutely everything from this phenomenon, but enough that she at least felt confident that she was noticing all of the important stuff. Whether the phenomenon gave off light in the beyond infrared range or not, that didn't matter to her.

After inspecting the phenomenon for a long moment, she took another step forward. Raising one arm, she moved her hand closer to what she believed to be the surface of the oddity. Waiting just a moment from hesitation, she slowly sank her hand into the mist-like substance. Nothing seemed to happen, she couldn't feel anything on her hand. Neither did there seem to be a temperature change or anything. Feeling bolstered by this finding, she stepped fully through the mist. Upon opening her eyes, she was surprised to find a whole, completely different scene laying in front of her. Rather than a dismal swampland, there was a bustling village, only a few dozen yards ahead of her.

She stared in amazement at the secret village, and wondered how in the world it had been hidden so well, so completely. That swirl of odd mist, that had to have been a clue. But how was it done? Was it something that could be replicated,w as it something that she could learn to do to hide herself should a reason arise? Impossible to say. Overall, it seemed unlikely. Since she was forever relegated to Taijutsu, not Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, such a complete manipulation of illusion and reality seemed decidedly impossible for her. That didn't mean she wouldn't try, far from it. All that it meant was that she couldn't actually do it. She could still try to find out how it was done. That way, if someone used it against her, or if someone wanted the knowledge badly enough to pay for it, then she would be well prepared.

After silently inspecting what she could see from where she was, Kawari moved forward, actually entering the village itself. It looked quite a bit different from all of the other locations she had already been to. There were a few people scattered here and there within, but something about them seemed different, unwell. Many of them had bandages wrapped around their arms or legs, their bodies or even their heads. had they just finished fending off an outside attack, and were still healing? Or had there been a traitor?

Despite the assumption that they would respond no better than anyone else, she approached one such bandaged individual, and asked what had happened. He seemed about as friendly as a strange ninja could get, and cheerfully explained that he had just finished an especially grueling training regimen. Kawari asked if the bandages were from working out too hard, or a weapon mishap. He actually laughed at that, shaking his head vigorously. It had been nothing like that, the bandages were proof of how he had been training. he narrowed his eyes slightly as he guessed she wasn't from the area.

Since he seemed to have already guessed it, Kawari saw no reason to lie, and nodded her head. Yes, she was a wanderer, traveling the land in search of useful techniques to add to her roster. The friendly stranger nodded at that, more or less what he had expected. He asked what her specialty was, and she admitted it was Taijutsu. He seemed to ponder that for a moment, before making a decision. He offered to teach her a few techniques from the village, if she would do him a little favor. She knew better than to immediately agree, and asked what the favor was first. He grinned, having expected that small act of precaution. He needed something delivered to his sister in another village, but didn't have the money to mail it. As well, he was in the middle of his lessons, and couldn't leave the village. So if it meant getting the package delivered, he was more than willing to reveal a few of the village's techniques to an outsider.

Kawari pondered the decision for a long moment. On one hand, it could be something nefarious. She could wind up getting in trouble for delivering something dangerous. Then again, it could be perfectly innocent. Lots of people living in different villages from their siblings, didn't they? Even if it was something underhanded, she was confident in her own skills, at least confident enough to believe herself able to get out of any problematic situation that might arise, should she end up getting in trouble.

Finally, she made her decision. Even though she had some misgivings, she decided to go along with the request. the man grinned, before dashing off. he returned a few moments later, clutching a small parcel wrapped tightly in plain brown paper. He carefully handed it to her, and then immediately went into his side of the bargain. He enumerated a few of the village's techniques, and then went into full explanations on how each technique was used, how it was performed. Since Kawari was a Taijutsu specialist, there weren't a huge amount of techniques she could make full use of, but there were a few. She listened carefully, making notes as needed. Once the stranger finished his lecture, he performed each technique, showing how they were done. After that, it was Kawari's turn to attempt the techniques she had just learned. Once again, she had caught on remarkably quickly, successfully performing each technique on the first try. the young man congratulated her, and thanked her for agreeing to deliver the package. He was about to go off and return to his own duties when Kawari stopped him. he seemed a bit worried at what she might have to say, but when she just asked what his sister's address was, he relaxed. He rattled off the address quickly, like he'd known it all his life. He probably had. He ran off before she had another chance to stop him. Kawari just shrugged and went on her way, leaving the village. She had a package to deliver, no matter how suspicious the job seemed to be. She'd get rid of it as soon as she possibly could, and then continue on with her own task.




Leaving the village hadn't been terribly difficult, she just retraced her steps. Along the way, she inspected the package carefully. She still wasn't sure that the stranger had been someone she could trust or not. They may have taught her what she had wanted to know, but the situation just seemed far too coincidental for her to feel alright about it. She didn't want to open the package, at least not yet. She had plenty of ways to discover more about it without opening it, however.

Now that she had gone a decent distance away from the village, she felt it safe enough to risk pausing in her travels enough to focus a little more on the suspicious parcel. It wasn't terribly big, maybe about six inches each way, and only weighed about a pound or so. The stranger hadn't said it was fragile, so she gave it an experimental shake. Nothing seemed to rattle around within it. Whatever was within refused to shift around, no matter which way she tilted it. Running out of ways to immediately test the parcel, she decided to try again later, and resumed her journey.

As she did, she ended up returning to the docks. The stranger's sister lived in a different village, one that was quite a distance away. She'd have to take a ferry again. With any luck, she wouldn't have another incident like the last time. That had been a little too much of a hassle, just to make sure that hooligans wouldn't bother her. She didn't want to have to deal with something like that every time she ended up taking a ferry somewhere. The odds of such an incident happening each time approached the astronomical. Even so, she knew enough about fate and coincidence that it seemed far more likely than what the odds portrayed.

During her ruminations, she reached the docks, and once more she found the right ferry. Once more she settled down directly on the planks of the deck, rather than confine herself to the crowded seating areas. The ferry was not due to leave for some time yet, but she didn't really have anything else to do, so she decided to simply wait where she was. Hopefully she wouldn't be in anyone's way, or any other problems.

As she waited, she grew more complacent, and ended up taking a short nap. She awoke when more people began arriving, wary of being bothered while seemingly asleep. Thankfully, nobody seemed to want to try anything like that. Neither did they seem to recognize her from the last ferry ride, either. That suited her just fine. She still kept a fairly close eye on the other passengers, but none of them seemed the type to want to start any trouble. They all appeared, for the most part, perfectly ordinary people. Some certainly appeared to be trained in the ways of the ninja, but they appeared to have their own matters to deal with, rather than going rogue and starting trouble without cause.

Finally, the ferry set out. This one was in slightly better condition than the last, but it still traveled at about the same rate of speed. That is to say, not terribly fast at all. But it was cheap, and that was important. Kawari didn't have a lot of money, so she had to cut corners where she could. One of those corners being unnecessary meals. She could eat like a human, but she didn't have to. generally, that was only to be used when she would be spending a fair amount of time with them, to help make them think of her as human, or at least close to human. Now that she was, by and large, on her own, she didn't have to worry about such things very often. It might be a little boring, but her normal meals consisting of raw energy and assorted scrap metals would be good enough.

The ferry was still a long way from shore, there was no land visible in any direction. Several of the other passengers started to chat amongst themselves, while others remained quiet. Kawari was one of the latter. Instead, she pulled out the parcel once more and continued inspecting it. It seemed unlikely that there was much more she could discover just by looking at it, but she wasn't about to give up. She ramped up her olfactory sense's power and took a judicious sniff of the parcel. There were quite a few scents mingled into it, some simply from being handled. Others were a little more difficult to identify. Even though her sense of smell was currently much stronger than a normal human's, it still wasn't as strong as others. A dead end. It seemed that her only real options remaining were to open it, or just deliver it and hope for the best. Neither particularly appealed to her, but which would be the lesser of two evils?

She set the parcel down once more and leaned back against the ferry's railing, letting her head tilt back to look up into the sky. There were a few fat, puffy clouds slowly chugging across the azure background, it looked like it would be a beautiful day. That was a shame. If it were raining, the parcel could have gotten wet. She would have had to had opened it then, to try to dry it, right? No, they never would have believed that, that was just a silly idea. Did she have it in her to open the parcel, then close it up again as perfectly as if it had never been opened? She didn't know the question for sure, but it seemed probable. She could inspect every piece of tape, every fold and crease, and could then recreate them exactly when she re-packaged the parcel. But even then, would there be a layer to the wrappings that she wouldn't have known about? Or something inside that, once opened, could not be wrapped up again? This was a troublesome question. It might just be safer to try delivering it and be done with it. Whatever trouble might arise from that could very well be less trouble than whatever would happen if she opened it up on her own.

Kawari was so deep in thought that she hadn't even noticed the growing turbulence. The waves were getting higher, the sky was getting darker. Odd, considering the sky had appeared so perfect only a few moments ago. The ferry began to rock, and Kawari finally snapped back to full wakefulness as a big raindrop hit her directly on the forehead. She looked around in confusion for a moment, hearing the other passengers grumbling to themselves and each other, about being stuck on a boat in a thunderstorm. She frowned, that didn't sound good. And since the weather had been so perfect before, it sounded suspicious, too. But why? Was there a Ninjutsu technique to change the weather? Well yes, there actually was. But would anyone actually on the ferry have a reason to use such a technique? why would they do such a thing? She looked around, inspecting the faces and body language of the other passengers. none of them seemed at ease, as if they had expected something like this.

Of course, it could just mean that they were a skilled actor or actress, but she preferred to think it meant that none of the other visible passengers were the attacker. She got to her feet, automatically adjusting to keep herself balanced as the ferry rocked and rolled. She moved closer to one of the staff, and asked if all of the passengers had been accounted for. They were busy, but still did a quick head count, and were able to verify that yes, there were the same number now as had boarded. Kawari thanked them and stepped back out of their way as they struggled with the rigging.

So the attacker was not on the ferry. Then where? She moved back to the railing and turned her gaze out to sea, focusing all of her rather considerable visual acuity to the task. Finally, she spotted a small black speck some distance away, just barely visible through the now pouring rain. She tried to magnify the image, but it was difficult, as the speck kept dipping behind one wave or shrouded by a torrent of rain. She kept at it, storing each snap-second image into a compiled film. Extrapolating what she could see with balance reports and listing, she was able to estimate that there were three or four people aboard what seemed to be a smaller boat, likely equipped with a motor, as no sail or wheel were visible. She wasn't sure if she should announce the presence of the boat, so remained quiet for the moment.

Moments later, the boat had gotten closer, close enough for her to see the four were wearing ragged and soaked clothing, and all armed with knives or kunai. Privateers! She turned to raise the alarm, but it was too late. A series of grappling hooks were thrown, latching on to the railing firmly. She rushed to one, snapping the spar free before tossing it back at the enemy boat. Likewise for the second. The third, she just hadn't had time to get to. Even as she approached, one of the enemies clambered on board. They were a large fellow, grizzled and rough, with a cruel look to their face.

The bandit leered at her, before raising a hand to backhand her out of the way. Normally, she wouldn't just stand there and let herself be struck, but she needed to know what they were after. So when the beefy hand came down, she threw herself back just as it would hit her. She managed to avoid the brunt of the blow, while the thug still seemed to think he'd knocked her out. she remained where she lay, sprawled against the railing, eyes barely open as she watched the other bandits board the ferry. By now, the other passengers had noticed and were raising a ruckus, yelling, screaming and pleading.

The bandits spent only a moment in enforcing their rule on the ferry, and a moment later, the storm abated, proving they had been the cause of it. Now that the rain had ceased, normal voices would have been perfectly audible. Nonetheless, the leader of the bandits insisted on yelling. He demanded the complete surrender of everyone on the ship, as well as the handing over of any and all valuables. This all seemed rather rehearsed, showing that the bandits had done this before. then the speech seemed to shift into something a little more unique. The bandit leader demanded that whoever was playing courier needed to hand over their package immediately, or he would set the ferry on fire and let them all burn or drown. The other passengers looked at each other in horror, none of them were a courier!

As nobody stepped forward to reveal themselves, panic grew. The passengers were each afraid that the courier was another one of them, who was just not revealing themselves, being willing to let everyone else be sacrificed. Of course, the courier would seem to be Kawari, who was still feigning unconsciousness. The fact that the bandits were here now, demanding the parcel gave her some vital information. the parcel was important, very important. So it wasn't boobytrapped, at the least. If bandits wanted it, it had to be valuable, either in raw value, or in what it could be exchanged for. All the more reason she couldn't hand it over.

She opened her eyes a little wider and took in the positions of everyone. What she was about to attempt would be the pinnacle of folly. But what other choice did she really have? She refused to hand her parcel over, not to bandits at least. She would have to stay silent as long as possible, and then once noticed, move fast and without even an instant of hesitation. Quietly, she got to her feet. She was currently standing behind the large bandit, he would be the first. She would have vengeance. Her arm began shifting, fully transforming into a spiked, edged instrument of war and destruction. Showing no hesitation, she whipped her clawed fist forward in a savage punch that penetrated the bandit's neck, punching through the front of his throat with a splatter of blood. He gurgled in shock, the pain driving him to his knees instantly. She ripped her hand free and spun to face the second bandit. The second bandit still appeared somewhat in shock at the sudden attack, giving her all the opportunity she needed. she rushed him, her clawed hand palm forward, giving him a sharp shove. Normally not such a serious attack. Much more serious when he was at the rear of the ferry, and the motor was still going down below. The bandit let out a shrill scream as he stumbled back and fell over the railing. Kawari didn't spare him a glance, to see what happened next.

The other two bandits were already reacting. One pulled out a large blade and rushed for her, intent on cutting her in half. She parried as well as she could, but he seemed skilled. One cut after another appeared on her. She avoided any major injuries, but even so, those cuts hurt! Making an angry sound in the back of her throat, she swung her arm to meet the sword on it's next downswing, and bit back a cry from the pain. She had managed to meet the blade on it's flat side, but it still cut deeply into her arm. Only for an instant, however. As it bit into her, she hardened her arm and flexed, snapping the blade in half. The tip of the blade still embedded in her arm, she growled and lashed out with a vicious haymaker to the thug's face, sending him sprawling in a heap to the deck.

That was number three. She was preparing to attack the fourth when she was forced to pause. they were standing behind a crowd of the other passengers, holding their dagger to the throat of one of their hostages. Kawari wasn't quite sure what to do, did she dare continue and risk others' lives? Even if she listened to what the bandit said, there was no guarantee they would let anyone go after they left. As a matter of fact, it was almost assured they would try to eliminate any witnesses to prevent them getting caught. That settled it. She would give the bandit one chance to surrender. If they didn't, she would have to attack, no matter how many victims the bandit claimed. She vowed silently to herself that for every innocent they killed, she would make them wish for death, however.

Remaining where she was, she told the bandit he couldn't possibly escape, that she had already used a wireless transmission to call for help. If he gave up right now, she would let him leave before the ANBU came here. To his credit, the bandit leader seemed to consider the offer for a moment before grimacing as if he had bit into a lemon. He shook his head roughly, saying that he really would kill the hostages if she didn't surrender. Kawari only shook her head and took a single step forward. Having his bluff called, the bandit leader was left with two choices. Admit defeat and surrender, or actually do what he said and kill the hostage. He was a hard-bitten type, he had killed many times before. Yet even he felt something a little distasteful about killing a helpless hostage. He hesitated. That hesitation was all the time Kawari needed. She rushed forward, ducking low before springing up, lashing out with a foot in a fierce kick to the man's chin. the hostage screamed as the bandit's hand spasmed, the knife cutting them lightly on the cheek before he fell to the deck with a thump.

Kawari landed neatly, and looked at the fallen bandits for a moment. then she called for rope to tie them up. Nobody moved. She repeated her request, with a little more volume this time. That seemed to do the trick. One of the staff rushed up a moment later with a large coil of rope. She carefully tied up the two still living bandits, making sure to search them thoroughly first. The first one she had attacked was already dead, having suffocated from blood in their lungs. The fourth, the one who had fallen over the edge, was nowhere in site. Whether they had gotten caught by the motor's blades or just swam off, she didn't know, or particularly care. She already had two still living prisoners to interrogate. Maybe they could tell her what was so important about her parcel?

Once more, it seemed her actions had estranged her to the rest of the ferry's occupants. For the most part. The hostage who had gotten the cut had taken it personally that she hadn't somehow managed to stop such a small injury. they had seemingly delighted in yelling at her until they went hoarse, and only stopped when she finally met their eyes, a dark expression on her face. Kawari got to her feet, and picked up the two prisoners. Enough waiting. She carried both of them, one in each hand, and walked to the side of the boat. Shifting her grip to the ends of ropes, she lowered the prisoners into the cold water, bit by bit. That woke them up, all right. With a shouted oath, the leader came to first and glared murderously up at Kawari. She appeared to not be fazed in the slightest. Instead, she just calmly asked why they had come after her. He didn't want to answer, so he got dunked again. She then asked the thug, who said he didn't have a clue. He got dunked too.

She brought them up and asked again. Again no answer. So she dunked them again. And again, and again. after the first half hour, they were looking much the worse for wear. The thug couldn't stop shivering, and his lips were turning blue. The leader was holding up better, but only marginally. finally, just before another dunk, he gave in, and admitted what she wanted to know. He spoke of how they had been hired to seize the parcel of someone traveling from the village where she had been, traveling by ferry. There had only been a few ferries leaving that die, so several bands had been sent out, he was only in charge of this group.

She asked what was so important about the parcel, but he claimed to not know, saying the one who had hired them hadn't said. Had in fact ordered them to not even open it themselves. they probably wouldn't have listened to that, of course, but it also meant they didn't know what they were even after. Or so he claimed. Kawari subjected him to a few more dunks, just to make sure he wasn't being stubborn. Sometime between the fifteenth and twenty-third, both of the bandits had passed out. Disgusted at how weak they were, she tossed their half-frozen forms back onto the deck. they were of no more interest to her now.

She didn't help when one of the staff reluctantly threw a pair of blankets over the hypothermic bandits, nor did she protest the action. She didn't care if they lived or died, they had no more use to her. Finally, land came into view, the ordeal was almost over. It was obvious the other passengers wanted to hurry and get away, too. Once they docked, she let the panicked humans dismount first, then she calmly left the ferry, after making sure that her parcel was still safely stowed away. She left the docks without even a single look back. There was no reason to. Instead, she set out for her next destination, to drop off this accursed parcel and hopefully be done with all of the trouble it had attracted. So it was valuable, big deal. So were plenty of other things, why did bandits have to come after her?

There was a tiny village based around the docks where she stepped off of the ferry. An inn, a tavern, a few houses and assorted smaller shops, that was about it. Mostly people trying to get tourists to part with a little bit of their money before reaching their true destinations. As she walked past a small book store, she glanced down and saw a newspaper's headline. "Black River Gang Still At Large." Curious, she picked up the paper and quickly read through the article, devoting it to memory before the clerk could even get mad at her for browsing. Setting the paper down, she continued walking, now thinking over what she had just read.

Apparently the Black River Gang, or Black Rivers, was a large gang that had killed dozens of times already, and constantly eluded police and ANBU teams. they all wore part of their groups' namesake, a Black River armband, which was described as an ash-gray band with black piping. Recalling the bandits she had fought with, she spotted that same armband on the leader. She hadn't recalled seeing one on any of the others. Wait, there was one other. Back on her first ferry ride, that thug that had tried to attack her had been wearing one too. So they both were a part of the same organization, then? Interesting. If that was the case, then the odds were pretty good that she would run into the Black rivers a few more times over her life. unless she went on the offensive, and tried to wipe them out before they could take her out. Such an idea seemed foolish, though. After all, if they were an entire gang, even able to elude the famed ANBU, what difference could she do? She was just a lowly Genin, and one that couldn't even use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. She was a rank amateur. How in the world could she be expected to take them out when so many others had already failed, and lost their lives?

Perhaps it would be best to not even try to fight them now? After all, could they really follow her trail so easily? She was just one single person in a land full of people. Surely she could lose any pursuers with a little creativity. And she was constantly getting stronger, so by the time she had to fight, maybe she would be able to scare them off, rather than risk getting killed? Hard to say. They had come after her, and after her parcel. The first time they attacked her, did they know she would get that parcel? Impossible, even she hadn't known she would have gotten it. No, that had to have been a coincidence. But then, why? why would they have targeted her from the beginning like that? Really, ever since she had left Hidden Sound. Did that make a difference, had she done something there to get this large gang set on destroying her? She couldn't think of anything she had done that had been all that bad.

It seemed there was nothing else she could do about it now, so she just focused on reaching her destination as quickly as she could. She'd try to ignore her curiosity over the parcel, and hand it off as fast as possible. Even so, she was virtually positive that the Black Rivers would make at least one more attack on her before she reached her goal. So she kept her guard up as she continued on her journey. Looking around, she noticed she had walked into a forest. That would obscure vision, both hers, and anyone watching her. If she was being followed, now would be the time to try to lose them. So she quickened her pace, and set off at an angle to the direction she had originally been going. She clambered up a tree, her fingers forming sharp, rugged claws to make climbing effortless.

Once at the level of the tree's upper branches, she set off, leaping nimbly from slender limb to slender limb, her grace and speed belying the fact that she was made of metal. Either she was that good, or those branches were much sturdier than they looked. Taking this route, she made excellent time, covering a great deal of ground. Finally, the forest began to grow thin, and she had to return to ground level. Hopefully that sojourn had waylayed any pursuers. She vectored in on her original heading and resumed her forced march.

This village, Hidden Arts, seemed quite a bit different from many of the other hidden villages. For starters, it did not rely on secrecy. It made no attempts of hiding where it was. No, it was supposed to have a natural defense, set up so only the chosen could make it in. And just who were these chosen? She wasn't sure. From what she had heard, the entire village was devoted to Taijutsu and it's studies. But did that mean that anyone who used Taijutsu was welcome? Or were there more stringent limits? She would find out soon enough. That was where she was heading.

Hidden Arts. She would have eventually headed there, for her own training. Was she skilled enough to undertake that training now? She was still pretty inexperienced overall. She had only been in a few true battles, and none of them had her in any real danger. That she knew of. So was she prepared for what could come? Impossible to say just yet. The foremost factor in finding out would be seeing if she were even allowed to enter the village. Whatever method of security the village possessed, if it was capable of keeping her out, whether through force or rules, then that would quickly shoot her plans down.

She continued walking forward, the forest having long ago disappeared entirely in favor of beaten earth. Small spots of scraggly brush and wispy grass were spattered along the ground, but overall, it was a very dun-colored landscape. The ground beneath her was solid, packed tight from what would have had to have been decades of transit. No wagon tracks cut into the baked earth, so it was likely all completely done by feet. That was a lot of traffic. She looked forward, and wondered if she might be able to see the village after climbing that large hill ahead of her.

It seemed a bit different from a normal hill, it actually seemed more like a hill with a gap that had been plugged by a large pile of earth. No matter, she could still climb it. As she approached, however, she began to detect traces of life, nearby, but in hiding. She didn't want to set whoever it was off, so she feigned ignorance of their locations, and just happened to walk closer to them. If they were the Black River bandits, she would attack the instant she saw the armbands. And if she didn't see the armbands? Well then, she wouldn't attack. She'd still stay cautious, however. After all, just because both of the altercations she'd been dragged into had involved the Black River bandits, there was no reason to assume they were the only ones who had an interest in her, nor that they were the only ruffians about.

She got closer and closer to the suspected location of the hidden strangers, when they stepped out of hiding. She quickly scanned both of them, and felt a small amount of relief when she did not find an armband on either one of them. Both seemed to dress fairly uniquely, wearing simple martial artists' gis and bands across their foreheads. One was a large, hulking fellow, rippling with oiled muscles, while the other was a short and slender lady. Both looked quite capable, so she hoped they weren't enemies. She didn't let down her guard, just in case.

A moment later, it would appear her concern was unneeded. The large one grinned at her, throwing an arm to the side, pointing roughly at the large mass of earth a short distance away. He loudly welcomed her to Hidden Arts. She must have appeared confused, for the small one stepped forward and tried to explain it again. That she was just outside of Hidden Arts, and that, should she prove capable, she was more than welcome to stay and train for as long as she might like. That sounded promising, but the limit of capable gave her concern. She asked how she was supposed to prove such a thing, and the two shared a knowing smirk. The small one moved to the side, and punched the large mound of earth roughly. A solid boom sounded, and a small crack appeared in the pile of earth. It was no pile of earth, it was an enormous boulder!

She looked at the mammoth rock for a long moment, futilely trying to guess at it's true size, and weight. Both must be truly astounding! She looked back at the small one, the unspoken question obvious. The small one nodded, confirming that yes, the only way to gain access to the village was to use her own power and make a path through the boulder. No Ninjutsu or Genjutsu allowed. She shook her head slightly at this, not believing she was capable of such a feat. She had to try, though. She had a package to deliver. She asked if she could be allowed a guest pass, just to give her enough time to deliver a package. The small one shook her head, that wasn't allowed. Maybe that was why the stranger in the last village had been so eager to pass the job on to her? Either that, or a healthy fear of the Black Rivers.

there seemed no room for negotiations, so Kawari spent a long moment looking over the boulder. From just this one angle, it was virtually impossible to figure out if there was any one way through that would be thinner than the rest. No, this was a straightforward challenge, one requiring raw power, and the knowledge of how to best use it. Well, there was nothing left for her to do but to try it. She stepped closer to the boulder and spent a few moments rapping her knuckles against it. It seemed like perfectly ordinary rock, no special surprises or substances. That was still more than enough, however. She braced herself, and sent a command to her limbs to transform. She needed muscles, and lots of them. She needed power. Taxing her metal reserves to their utmost, her gears and pistons rearranged to provide a direct source of power, even as her arms and legs thickened with metallic muscles. The large one and smaller one appeared somewhat impressed, but only slightly.

Kawari paid them no mind, focusing on the large and seemingly impossible task in front of her. She began to gather internal energy, sending much of it out to the relevant pistons before raising her arm and folding her hand into a tight fist. Cocking her arm back, she twisted her body slightly, enough to give her some added torsion, and pressure. She waited, letting the energy build up until it almost seemed to radiate as visible light from her arm. And then she struck! Her fist lashed forward almost faster than human sight could keep up with it, striking the rock with a tremendous crash. A second later, the crash repeated, as the remainder of her energy flashed out through the concentrating lenses in her arm, focused through one of her clan techniques, the aptly named Concentrated Chakra technique. It gathered her internal energy as chakra, and focused it repeatedly through variously angled lenses until it had truly destructive power. It having followed up her already powerful punch by only a fraction of an instant took full advantage of the lack of kinetic friction, delivering it's full kinetic impact to the already damaged point where she had struck.

She stepped back, breathing hard as ominous cracks and groans sounded from her arm's workings. That had done her some considerable damage, she'd have to spend some time recuperating to allow her body to repair itself. For now, she was more interested in seeing how well she had fared against the rock. Stepping back a little farther, she closed her eyes for an instant. She almost found herself unable to look. What if she hadn't been good enough, what if she had done almost no damage? That would stop her delivery right then and there. Not to mention the large hit to her pride that it would also mean. could she handle such a failure? hard to say. To know, she had to open her eyes. Slowly, she did. As they came back into focus, she inspected the boulder. At first, she wasn't sure what she was seeing.

As she continued to gaze at it, the realization hit her. She'd done it! The boulder lay roughly against either side of the village's walls, a tremendous crack having split it completely in half. Even as she watched, smaller rocks and gravel showered down ti work at filling in the base of the crack. Still feeling the effects of the punch, she slowly turned back to look at the large one and small one, to see if she had passed the test, if she had succeeded at their little initiation. They both had shocked looks on their faces, perhaps nobody had done quite so well in a long time? It took her a moment of trying to get their attention before the small one shook her head and nodded slowly, perhaps in shock. But that was good enough for her.

Kawari made sure her parcel was still safe, and then gingerly picked her way over the loose and shifting bed of gravel that constituted her royal road into Hidden Arts. After she had gone out of sight, the large one and small one spoke quietly in surprise at what she had done. They wouldn't soon be forgetting the display she had given them!

It took Kawari several moments to extricate herself from the bed of gravel and actually enter the village. Once she did so, she looked around for a long moment, simply taking in the atmosphere, and loading up a rough blueprint of the village. It seemed simple enough, though there were quite a few signs advertising various training dojos. She could hear children playing, and when she focused on them, she realized they were all wearing arm and leg weights while playing tag. Training certainly began early here!