Welcome to Gaia! ::

[Bye Obscure! emo ]
Akai slowly shakes his head as they both speak a little to him, before they would simply vanish from his sights again and move away. He had about the same plan in mind as he turned and dashed off towards the village itself in a swift fashion. His long whit ehair trailing out behind him as he soon makes his way through the forests and then into Hidden Leaf Village. Once he arrived at the village, Akai slowed his pace and then slowly walked into the village and looked around. He hadn't been here in quite some time, and so he really only wondered what he might be able to do here that could be even remotely exciting for him. As he slowly wanders through the streets of the village Akai's lips slowly crease into a tight frown. He really disliked larger villages, and everything about them seemed to writhe with annoyance due to all the shinobi and civilians that were housed in this area. With a slightly deeper frown, Akai turns a corner and brings his cold gray gaze onto that of the base for the Konoha Corps. With a slight chuckle Akai walks inside the building as he casually looks around the area. There was nothing for him to be used to about this place, and that was why he came back so often. Walking into this village now, Akai chuckles and instantly manages to block the strike of one of the members, who seemed to be trying to take him out before it was too late or something. Either way, Akai slams his fist into their chest. Causing them rocket backwards and into a wall with a loud banging sound. It really made my day that they were rather weak in both appearance, and reality. As he walks through the entire area, making sure to block or dodge any more attacks that were sent his way, he finally reaches the leader and they begin talking. In only a few more minutes upon arrival, Akai brings a hand out and shakes the man before him's hand as he chuckles a little darkly. He had become that of a Military Policemen, in only an hour or so. It was a grand achievement for him, to say the least. Now that he was a part of the group, he turned and then walks over to where the equipment would be. Grabbing the needed things that he wanted, before he slowly began to strap them on. His entire look changing once again as he cracks his neck and fixes the collar of his Chakra Tack Vest. Once everything was on, and warn correctly, Akai turns and then begins walking out of the area and heading away from this place. He did not need to worry about anything that might attack him now, for he was a police officer in most senses though at the same time he was still his normal assassin like fighting self. With a slight chuckle he walks out of the front doors and then heads slowly away from this area and towards the docks where he could leave and continue living in a decent area where it was lacking in fighting and almost always peaceful. Heading down one of the more narrow streets, he looks around and then towards the Docks that he could see in the distance. Once they were within sight, it was as easy as taking off into a run as he dodges anything that gets into his path before he reaches that end and skids to a halt. With one final look at Hidden Leaf Village, he then boards a a boat at the docks and then sits down in order to see what would happen now that he was here.
[630 *2
Total:: 4090 CP Cashed.]

Tamao woke up, the sun shining into the room she had been given. She could hear the birds chirping, as well as the varied sounds of a village, just beginning to wake up. She stretched and then went to wash up, expecting today would be another long day of helping the blacksmith smith her new swords. They had gotten a good start, these past few days, but there was still a lot of work to be done. She wanted the best, and the blacksmith seemed to agree, already having scrapped numerous blades that had held a fatal flaw that only his trained eye had been able to detect. If she would have tried this on her own, the swords would have been laughably fragile, likely breaking on their very first swing. But this way, this way she could get those blades she had thought and dreamed of, those blades that she knew would further her own skills, and help guide her along this path of the sword. This path, she knew, was a dangerous one. but the rewards would be great, if she could stay on it, and never falter. Yes, she would have to avoid temptation, no matter how honeyed the words of her enemies, she had to perceive the true meaning of what they told her. Like that stranger in white, who had tried to talk her into joining their organization. What had they called it, 'Friend'? The name had sounded fairly innocent, but then again, names could be very deceiving. Regardless, she had listened to the stranger's words, and she had let her instincts guide her reply. Sure enough, what they had said may have sounded good, but the truth would have meant forsaking her training, all these years of devotion to the sword. She couldn't throw that away, that was as much a part of her as any other section of her life. So even though it meant technically declaring herself an enemy of them, she had refused their request to join 'Friend'. Yes, that would mean at some point 'Friend' would amass it's forces and try to take her swords from her by force. So be it. She was constantly striving to make herself stronger, when they came, she would show them just how strong she had become. If nothing else, fighting them off would prove to be good training, as well. She would face them, head on, as was only proper for a practitioner of the sword. She wiped her face, drying off the water she'd splashed against her face as she tried to finish waking up. She couldn't afford to let herself be distracted by thoughts of the future. Right now, she had a duty to help in the creation of her swords, and that was what she had to think about. As it was, she didn't have to be at the forge for another thirty minutes, that was easily enough time for some basic amenities. Basic amenities being, namely, a brief workout, practicing with one of her swords, and then cleaning up, and finishing her routine with a cup of very strong coffee. She didn't particularly care for the taste, but it really helped wake her up, she could hardly consider herself awake without a cup of it in her. Once all of that was done, she fixed up her outfit a little, adjusting her clothes to a slightly more comfortable fit, and made sure her hagoromo was still present. Some would say wearing such a gaudy, flowing ribbon was the height of foolishness, especially if she would be working in a forge, with super-heated metals. But yet she insisted upon it, and as of now, had yet to damage her hagoromo, she wasn't even sure if she could damage it. It was a rather unique accessory, it seemed to move as if it was alive, and it could do things no ordinary ribbon could ever hope to do. Then again, an ordinary ribbon could not hope at all, so that was really just splitting hairs. As it stood, it was a very special hagoromo, and she kept it with her, even while pulling on the thick leather apron the blacksmith had given her, to prevent the worst of any possible burns from happening. As it was, she had only narrowly avoided getting several painful burns on her forearms, and actually did get one rather painful burn. But she had simply gone to find a local medical ninja. After all, some of the most famous medical ninja of all lived here in Hidden Leaf, so it wasn't very difficult at all to find at least one of them, or a student of one of them, at any given time. A brief application of a healing technique, and her arm had been as good as new. With that in mind, she tightened the cinch of the strap that would help hold the leather apron in place, and then carefully made her way down to the forge. Carefully, because she had yet to master walking normally while wearing the heavy and restrictive garment. The master of the forge seemed to wear it constantly, and could move as nimbly as a man half his age, but she was no where close to that level of control just yet. With that thought finishing it's run through her mind, she was at the forge. The blacksmith greeted her gruffly, but then again, gruff seemed to be the only mode he had. She replied warmly, and with that out of the way, they got to work. It was good, hard work, the kind that made one work up a sweat, but could still look back on and be proud of oneself for having done it. At least that was the way Tamao thought about it, it helped to motivate her when her armf elt like it would grow so tired and heavy that it might fall right off, from having lifted and swung the heavy mallet hundreds of times without stopping to rest. Her face was almost completely covered in streaks and smears of coal dust and soot, from her having tried to use her forearms to wipe the sweat out of her eyes. As a result, the first time she had looked in a mirror after that first day of work, she had let out a shriek so shrill that it had almost broken several of the nearest window panes. But now, she was used to it, at least somewhat. Of course, she still made sure to shower very thoroughly every night, but even so, sometimes it felt like she'd never scrub those black marks away. She tried not to dwell on it too much, telling herself that they were merely proof that she was working hard, that she was pouring her blood, sweat and tears into her blades. And she meant that very literally. She had obviously worked up a sweat every day, and she had shed a few tears of pain and frustration at first. As well, she had managed to somehow cut herself the third day, when she was trying to judge the edge on one of the unfinished swords. Odd, it hadn't even been all that sharp, yet it had still managed to open a gash on her finger over an inch long. That had meant, of course, another trip to the nearest medical ninja, who by that point had already begun to become friends with her. They had usually talked a little while they were tending her various injuries, and as luck would have it, they had actually moved to Leaf from Hidden Nano as well! They got to talking for a while longer, talking about their goals, and what they wished to accomplish during their travels and training. The medical ninja, their name was Genko, said that they wanted to become a really wonderful and splendid medical ninja, so that when they returned home to Hidden Nao, they could heal anyone, bring anyone back from the cusp of death. Hearing this made Tamao pause. Yes, she was walking the path of the sword. That did technically mean that she walked the path of warfare and death. Even so, that didn't mean she liked fighting, nor did she like, or approve of, needless killing. Finally she admitted that her own calling was as such, she pursued excellence through her swords. At that, Genko smiled softly, he had already figured it out, the telltale injuries of working at a forge, combined with the economy of her movements made it appear obvious she used a sword. She blushed a little, she felt embarrassed that somebody she barely knew was able to tell something like that about her from just such a few small pieces of information. They continued to chat until Tamao realized she was late, and the master of the forge would likely be getting annoyed at her continued absence. Genko called out to her, hoping to see her soon. But not too soon. She laughed a little, having understood the joke. After all, if she were to see him again, it would likely mean she would have injured herself once more. Tamao shook her head, and tried not to think of those times in the past, refocusing on her actions in the present. Up rises the hammer. Wait for a moment, making sure the angle is right. Then bring it crashing down to strike the red-hot metal, held securely in sturdy tongs. Clang! Sparks fly as the metals collide. A moment later, dip the flattened metal into water to cool it, then stick it back into the fire pit to begin the process all voer. Eventually the blade would be flattened and folded over itself over and over, until all the impurities would be hammered out, and it would be a truly magnificent blade. And after that, they could do the detail work, the engraving, choosing a hilt, finding the proper wood for the grip, making sure the cross guard was tightly fastened, and countless other details that were just as important as crafting the blade itself. As the days went by, Tamao grew more and more adept in the ways of smithing, until eventually the master of the forge almost viewed her as a daughter, and even gave her the welcome task of waking up early to fire the forge, to begin it in the act of heating up for the long day of smithing. She took to this and all her other tasks easily, finding she was rapidly gaining muscles that she never knew she had before. Thankfully, this didn't change her figure very much at all, she still possessed the gentle curves that almost made her appear a few years younger than she really was. She continued to occasionally mess up in the act of smithing, but luckily it was never something serious. As time went on, she slipped more and more into her role until she finally felt she could call that small room above the forge a home away from home. She would work long hours in the forge, and then relax for a little while before eating dinner and going to bed early. Sometimes she would go out for a late walk, when the sun was just beginning to set, making everyone's shadows lengthen and stretch out like living creatures. One of those shadows was especially active, as it belonged to a member of the Nara clan, famous for their shadow manipulating arts. Sometimes on her walks, she'd find Genko, and the two of them would walk side by side, discussing what had happened to each of them since the last time they met. It was never anything truly dangerous or exciting, just the general day to day lives of simple people, leading simple yet fulfilling lives. She began to learn the names of her neighbors, as well as several fo the shop keepers that she did business with regularly. As well, the master of the forge, only two weeks after they met, finally gave her his name as well. He was none other than the famous Saeki Norishige. He said that he hadn't mentioned his name before because he hadn't been sure that she wasn't just another spy sent by his own teacher's rival, sent to learn their secrets. She shook her head fervently at this, that simply wasn't true. He nodded, he'd watched her carefully over the past two weeks, and knew she was not an enemy. With that, he formally welcomed her as his foremost apprentice, his striker. Tamao thanked him gratefully, that was a true honor. When he first said his name, it had taken her a moment to recognize it, but she did recognize it. He was, in fact, a very famous swordsmith, rumored to be the foremost disciple of the legendary swordsmith Goro Nyudo. To think she would have found such a wonderful and excellent teacher by chance! She returned to her work with zeal, wanting to prove to her mentor that she was a worthy student. The days continued to go by, one blending into the next. She continued to hone her skills under the watchful eye of Saeki, and sharing the occasional chat with Genko. Life was nice and peaceful for a while, but she still remembered why she was doing all of this. She had to make those swords, so she could strive for greater power and ability. In the hopes that one day, when she met with the supposed god Loki once more, she could perhaps stand against him to defend humanity. As well, she needed power to defend herself from the organization known only as Friend. Even here in Hidden Leaf, not very much at all was known about the group, so she was still more or less in the dark about them. The stranger had told her Friend's goals, but aside from that, there was very little that she did actually know. But that was okay, the reverse would hopefully prove true as well. She was no famous ninja, no world reknowned fighter, so there was little reason to think that friend would know anything about her. Aside from the fact that she possessed some of what they called the demonic weapons, that is. They wouldn't know much else about her, so perhaps she could use that to her advantage. But for now, she had to focus on crafting thjese swords. And once they were finally finished, she would have to train with them, to become accustomed to their grip, their heft, so that she could use them as well as any of her other swords. Some people might say a sword is a sword, but she knew that wasn't true. Some swords were of a higher quality than another, and each sword had it's own grip, weight, range, and numerous other factors. So it would be virtually impossible to find two swords so similar that training in the use of one would automatically make one skilled in the second blade as well. Maybe at a basic level of skill, but to truly master the blade, mcuh time and effort would have to be put into using it, to discover the blade's personality. Yes, personality. Even as an inanimate object, swords were believed to house a soul, a personality. Some swords were passive they would just do as the wielder wished, acting at their command, and so forth. Others were contrary blades, even in the hands of a skilled swordsman, they could seemingly turn away from the desired path and cut into something completely different, whether for better or for worse. Yes, every blade was unique, and when one studied them for long enough, and used them for long enough, they could begin to see and sense those things. That was why tamao took her blades so seriously, because she could sense the souls that resided within them, the spirits that assured her that yes, they were very powerful blades, and that if she stayed true to them, they would help her achieve great power and skill. She believed them, she knew that these blades at least would not lie to her. Other blades, blades crafted purely to take lives and shed blood, they would lie to her. But not these blades. As well, she had even managed to sign a contract with a summoned being, one who was much more experienced in the arts of smithing swords and using them. She had yet to call him forth into battle, but she had been considering calling him forth to help her train. Once her swords were finished, she did want to test her blades against his. She didn't know if she would win or not, but she would indeed give Archer a run for his money. She hoped. These were some of the thoughts that ran through her mind when she wasn't busy helping her mentor in the forge, or doing any of a number of other tasks. Chopping wood for the fires to heat the forge, fetching fresh water to dip the only partially created swords into, she was even tasked with fixing the meals for both her and her mentor. She had to wake up when it was still dark out, and didn't get to bed until fairly late each night. But despite the long hours of constant work, she seemed to thrive, knowing that everything she was doing was for a concrete goal, that she was making herself stronger, and more experienced. Soon, several of the blades she had desired were finished, and they were left with the final blade. Undoubtedly it would be the most difficult of all of them, because the metal used in it was exceedingly difficult to manipulate without specialized equipment. But when she had asked her master about it, he had only said it was possible. She accepted him at his word, so did not worry about it any further. Her master instructed her to take a day off, to catch up on some much needed rest. She knew better than to question his orders, so she simply nodded. Unused to having an entire day of free time, she ended up wandering the village for a while, until she finally happened to come across Genko. He didn't seem busy either, so the two of them continued to wander the village, now side by side. They discussed all manner of little things, like they did every time, but this time, Genko seemed a little nervous. Tamao tried asking him what was wrong, but he only blushed and said it was nothing. A little disappointed that he didn't want to tell her, she tried not to dwell on it. Instead, she realized she was feeling kind of hungry, so when she saw the now all too familiar sign of Ichiraku Ramen, she couldn't help pointing it out and suggest stopping for a bite to eat, her treat. Genko looked like he wanted to say something, or to refuse the offer, but in the end he only weakly nodded, and followed her into the ramen shop. Once they both took a seat at the counter, they called out their orders to the man running the place. Tamao couldn't remember if he had introduced himself to her or not. Only a moment later, their food was ready, so they both dug in with gusto. As always, the ramen at Ichiraku was very good. Or even delicious. They talked a little as they ate, but overall they both just enjoyed their meals. Once finished, Tamao began to dig into her pocket for her coin purse, but Genko stopped her, saying he'd take care of it. She tried protesting, saying it had been her offer to pay for the both of them, but he wouldn't have it. She sighed, but didn't let it bother her, after all, it was just a quick meal of ramen, it's not like it was very expensive or anything. So she thanked him for his generosity, and then thanked the owner of the shop for the delicious meal. With that, the two of them set out once more. There was still plenty of time left in the day, so they let their feet choose their own path, and soon found themselves at the edge of the village. In front of them stood the colossal doors that would elad away from Hidden Leaf. And behind them was the hustle and bustle of city life, the noise and the activity. After talking about it for a while, they both thought taking a break from life in the village sounded like a good idea, have some peace and quiet for a change. Luckily, they wouldn't need anything special to either leave or to re-enter the village, so they just waved farewell to the few shinboi who were standing guard, an ever present reminder that even in peaceful times like these, there could be enemies anywhere. Tamao felt a chill run through her, and wondered if that thoguht would prove to be an omen of things to come. If that might possibly mean that Friend was already on her trail. She sighed, and let her pace slow down a little. A moment later, Genko noticed and turned back to face her, having taken a slight lead from the brief lapse in attention that her slowdown had caused. He moved back to face her, and asked what was wrong. She shook her head, and said it was nothing. He tried to get her to admit it, and in the end she relented, she'd tell at least part of the problem. Resuming walking, she explained a bit more about her own unique path of the sword, as well as her brief encounter with the stranger dressed in white, and the organization Friend. As she talked, she realized that, ompared to these past few peaceful days, her tale sounded incredible, and not necessarily in the good way. It sounded like something right out of a movie! She said that she didn't expect Genko to believe her, compared to these serene days she'd been blessed with, she could scarcely believe it herself, either. But Genko surprised her by saying he did believe her. Her eyes widened as she stared at him, he was looking at her very seriously. She felt her cheeks turn a faint pink, and tried to avert her eyes, to look away, but found she couldn't. He took another step closer, and reached out a hand. She watched the hand move closer, only to falter and pull back before making it halfway. She sighed with relief, things had been getting much too serious for a simple walk on the edge of the village. She smiled and tried to pass off her story as just that, a story. He seemed a little skeptical, but seemed to go along with it, saying that if that was the case, she could have a great future as a story teller, he had really believed it. With that, the aura of seriousness that had seemed to envelop the two of them was lifted, and they returned to simply enjoying the peace and quiet of a tranquil walk through a forest. There were the soft sounds of birds chirping, the chatter of squirrels and the babble of a nearby brook. But very few of the sounds of the village made it this far, if they just looked away from the village, it was almost like they were in another world, a secret world. A world of nature, unspoiled by humanity and it's ever growing expansionism. They stopped every so often to admire a particularly majestic piece of scenery, or to laugh as they watched squirrels chase one another. They even found a wild raspberry bush, and they both tried a few of the bitter and tangy spheres. Later, Genko surprised Tamao by finding a beautiful forest flower and slipping it into her hair. She blushed furiously at the contact, and mumbled out a bashful thanks. He only flashed a small smile of his own, and let his hand linger a moment longer than was necessary against her cheek. Tamao could feel her heart racing, and she was positive her cheeks were just as red as the raspberries they had found earlier. They walked in a silence that felt much more awkward than usual, until finally they had ended up returning to the gate of Hidden Leaf. They had actually managed to circle around the entire village in only a few short hours of casual strolling! Taking this as an opportunity, Tamao turned to face Genko, still blushing furiously. She could feel the flower in her hair tickle her cheek slightly, and knew she had to do something, now! She managed to thank him for a wonderful time, but added that she really had to be going. Before he had a chance to say anything in return, she managed to say a farewell before dashing off deep into the village. Genko watched her go with a mix of emotions on his face. Surprise, satisfaction and maybe a little disappointment. Had he been hoping for something more to happen? Regardless, he casually made his way deeper into the village as well, he had duties that he had to get to. Several moments later, Tamao finally reached the relative safety of her new home, the blacksmith's. She slipped inside, hoping to go up to her room without being spotted, but it was no use. Only an instant after she closed the door behind her, Saeki stood in front of her. He didn't say anything, just watched as she made her way up to her room. She knew he could see the flower, but why hadn't he said anything? Somehow, his silence was even worse than anything that he could have said. She soon reached her room, and thankfully slipped inside before falling onto her bed. Only to realize that might damage the flower. She'd have to find a small vase or something, to see if she could keep it alive for a while. Looking at it as she carefully set it on her bedside desk, she lay down once more, her emotions in turmoil, as she tried to figure out just what in the world had happened. It had started so innocently, it had just been a walk between two friends. But she couldn't fool herself, the way Genko was acting, it was clear he had something more than friends on his mind. She gulped nervously, having not had any experience with anything like that before. Well, maybe not anything, there had been that one time back in the academy. Actually, now that she thought about it, there had been two times she had felt like this, although it hadn't been nearly as intense one of those times. That one had been very shortly after she had arrived, she had been waiting to see who would end up being her roommate. After much less time than she would have thought, her roommate had arrived. She was a very nervous girl, she had looked rather down on her luck, wearing assorted grey rags. They did match her silvery grey hair, though, and served to highlight her hazel gold eyes. They hadn't stayed together for very long, as a matter of fact, she thought it had only been two or three days before the strange girl had vanished completely. She had been a little saddened at the time, but she had also been kept very busy, busy enough that she didn't have time to think of such things. And of course, the enxt time that she had felt this way, this way that made her heart beat faster and her face redden, was again in the academy. But that time, the other person had been very unusual, very unusual indeed. Clad head to toe in rags, like she had been afraid of letting the world see her. It had taken a lot of work, virtually their entire stay in the academy, but she had eventually gotten the strange girl to open up to her, coinciding with their graduation from the academy. The day after, just before they both left for parts unknown, that had been something she never would have expected. In the end, it was a memory that was both bitter and sweet. Thinking back, imagining those times once more, she wondered how that strange girl was doing, if she still had all of that fear and rage locked away within her, or if she had managed to get rid of it, to find reconciliation, or at least absolution. She hoped so. She had been able to tell, that under all of those dark feelings, that strange girl had just been a frightened child, lashing out because it was all that she knew how to do. When they first met, she hadn't even known how to read! Those days had been fun, a blessing out of the blue. The girl had taken to their private lessons swimmingly, learning voraciously after Tamao had finally taught her how to understand those odd symbols on the paper, rather than trying to eat them. But those times had, like all others, had to eventually end. They had parted ways, but she had kept a hope inside that one day they might meet again. She snapped out of her reverie and looked around, staring out of her window for a while. It was getting late, although they sky had yet to begin darkening. Even so, after all that had happened today, she just wanted to go to bed, she didn't even want to stay up to eat. Normally it would be her job to make supper, just like the other meals, but right now, she couldn't even bring herself to get up from her bed, let alone leave her room and do something that complicated. Hopefully her master would forgive her impertinence. For now, she just snuggled a little deeper into her bed, not even bothering with throwing the covers over her, or changing into her pajamas. She did slip her shoes off, though. Soon, she fell asleep, and remained so until the next morning. When that morning rolled around, she got up just as early as usual, a single day of vacation not enough to throw her off from her duties. She quickly got up, washed up and changed her clothes before descending the stairs to start the fires for the forge and all of the assorted other duties she was responsible. But before she had a chance to begin, she stopped in her track, as her master was already hard at work, with the forge already fully fired up. She approached, still tightening her leather apron, asking if she had overslept. He didn't reply until he was done with the series of hammer blows that he rained down upon the glowing metal that would eventually become a sword. Only then did he turn to face her, and gesture to the side. There, laying on top of the table, was the last sword of hers. He'd made it by himself, without her help? She asked him why, if she was his helper, his striker, why had he done it alone? He didn't answer for a long moment, but then finally relented and explained. The metal for that sword was exceptionally difficult to work with, nearly as much so as the metal of legend, adamantium. As such, she wouldn't have been able to help, she was still not experienced enough to help with a project that difficult. Her face fell a little as she heard her master's explanation, but tried not to let it depress her, she trusted his judgment, and if it meant that her sword was made properly, then so be it. She asked what he wanted her to do to help him now, and he raised an eyebrow quizzically. He asked if she hadn't just been helping to have her swords done, wasn't she going to leave now? She shook her head, denying that. At first, she had thought that was the case, but now, now she was starting to enjoy the work of a blacksmith's striker. She knew she would still have to leave eventually, but she had hoped she could remain a while longer, learn some more before that day came. Her master just shook his head slightly, before telling her to do as she liked. She thanked him exuberantly, and the rest of the day was spent busily helping him fashion the swords, stain the handles, fix the meals, fetch water, and the numerous other tasks that were her duty. The next few days were just as busy, and she welcomed the work, it meant she was too busy to think for too long about Genko. She hadn't even seen him for almost a week now, she had somehow managed to avoid injuring herself lately. She hoped that meant she was getting better at her job! But of course, no sooner had she thought that, and mentally congratulated herself on her accomplishment, then she dropped the tongs holding the red-hot metal that would become something she didn't immediately recognize, and ended up hurting herself. The pain was intense, the hot metal had hit her knee solidly, hurting her both from the force of impact, as well as the savage heat. Blinking back tears, she managed to tell her master she would return shortly, once her injury was taken care of. With that, she set out, staggering through the village, doing her best not to put any weight on her bad leg. She had hoped to find a medical ninja aside from Genko, but of course her luck wouldn't hear of it. She found him almost instantly, and he quickly rushed to her side, upon seeing how hurt she was. Without waiting to hear what happened, he instantly began treating her wound, using a complicated healing technique that slowly began to erase the white-hot pain from her. Wiping the half shed tears from her eyes, she thanked him, before moving to a sitting position as he finished the technique. He told her it wasn't a problem, he was glad to help. Then he blushed and looked away, before asking, in a quiet voice, if she had been avoiding him. She couldn't answer for a moment, before admitting she wasn't sure. Yes, she had been very busy, but if she had really wanted to, she probably could have made the time to go see him. In a voice just as quiet as Genko's, she admitted she was a little nervous, she'd never been too close to a boy before, especially not if there was a romantic overtone. Genko was surprised to hear that, he had been positive she had had countless dates, that the boys couldn't have left her alone. She shook her head vigorously, denying that vehemently. She thought perhaps it was because of her focus on the path of the sword, maybe the boys were just intimidated or something? She spoke the idea aloud, but was still a little surprised when she saw Genko nod his head. He said at first, he had thought she was a little imposing, when he first met her, she had seemed so calm and in control, that she seemed older than she was, like she was beyond such a mortal condition like love or even like. Tamao's eye twitched a little at the sideways comment about looking older, but let it slide, not wanting to think too much about it. Instead, she asked if he still thought that, and sighed with relief when it was his turn to vigorously shake his head. He said that that wasn't true at all, he knew know what she was really like. He knew she was a fun girl, that believe strongly in working towards her future, and that she had very strict discipline. Tamao's eyes widened a little, she had no idea that was what he had thought about her. She could feel herself blushing a little at the unexpected praise, if indeed praise it was. She could see he was blushing a little, too, so she tried to think of something to say to change the subject, before things would begin to get uncomfortable, like they had been the last time they had met. In the end, the only thing she could think of to say was that her and her master had finally finished making her swords she'd commissioned. Genko's face flickered across an odd emotion for a second, but it was gone so fast she thought she must have imagined it. He didn't say anything for a little while, which grew into a longer while. Finally, he turned away, ground his toe into the dirt, and turned back to face her, with a serious look on his face. He moved a little closer, though thankfully not as close as he had the last time. He didn't try to grab her or anything either. His voise was just as intense, though, maybe more so. He asked if she couldn't just give up the path of the sword? He knew that if she could do that, and permanently live the life of a normal person, he could make her happy. She blushed furiously at that, that sounded an awful lot like a, like a proposition! He went on to say that if she could just do that, if she could give up her swords, then he could make her happy, he could protect her and be strong enough for the both of them. Tamao was dumbfounded, did he realize what he was really saying, how fast he was moving? She interrupted before he could go any further, thanking him for saying those things. But it wouldn't be the same. True strength came from within, not from relying on another person. Genko, however, turned her logic back around on her, saying if that was true, then she shouldn't be relying on swords, either. Tamao was a little surprised, that actually almost made sense. Or rather, it did make sense, but she didn't want to accept it. She had made a pledge to her swords, and if she couldn't keep her word to herself, then how could she expect to give her word to another person? She tried telling this to Genko, but he seemed different, like he was taking this debate way too seriously, like it was something of grave importance. She had to admit, the way he was acting, it was almost a little scary. She pulled back a little, and luckily, that seemed to snap Genko out of his intense mood. He blinked in surprise, and wiped his face, before apologizing, sometimes he tended to get carried away when he started debating things. He said he should probably get going, and that her injury was fully healed. But before he walked off, he turned back to face her once more, and asked if they could meet again soon. Tamao debated it for a brief moment, but then nodded, agreeing that they could meet again soon. Genko smiled and hurried off to make his rounds, while she returned to the forge to get back to work. The rest of the day went fairly quickly, luckily there were no further accidents. Neither was her mind occupied with thoughts of Genko, it was that perfect level of business that kept one from daydreaming but didn't rush them. That night, once she had finished making the meal for both of them, Tamao sat at the table opposite from her master. They ate in silence, and only when they had both finished, and the dishes were put in the sink, did Tamao ask saeki a question that had been beginning to bother her. She had her own answer, but she wanted to hear what he might say, too. She asked him if swords were evil. He stared at her for a long time, long enough that she wondered if she'd asked a foolish question, Just as she was about to apologize and tell him to forget about it, he answered. He had thought his answer through thoroughly, and now summed it up. He said that yes, some swords were evil. But it was more than that, a sword could only truly be evil when crafted by a swordsmith with a dark heart, and wielded by a warrior with an equally dark heart. If an evil sword were to be wielded by someone of a pure heart, it's evil would be restricted, and it would not be as dangerous to the world. But even so, it would still be evil. That being said, each sword had it's own basic core of personality, so a sword, even a sword crafted by a holy master, could still somehow end up with a seed of evil. Those swords were some of the worst, for their evil was tricky and devious. He could see his answer troubled Tamao, and, in an unexpected show of sympathy, he assured her that evil swords often got themselves destroyed, and usually left a taint of darkness wherever they went. And he couldn't sense a taint like that from her, so none of her swords were evil. Tamao sighed with relief, she had been a little worried at the start of his explanation. But if he didn't sense any evil from her swords, then that was good, it meant she could continue to trust them implicitly. She was a little sorry for doubting them, they had never failed her yet, but somehow, Genko's words had spooked her a little. Something about him had felt different. Shaking her head a little, she got up and took care of the dishes, before deciding to have a nice hot bath before going to bed. As she lay back in the tub full of hot water, she sighed, feeling the stress and tension leech out of her body. She sighed and stayed there for a good long while, before finally getting out, drying off, and pulling on her pajamas. From there, she had a cold glass of milk to help cool her down, and then she went to bed. Before actually falling asleep, however, she rolled onto her side and looked at the flower sitting on her bedside table. It was still alive, she had found a small vase and put it in it with some water. Just what was it about Genko that made her feel this way? And why had he seemed so different today? Those were questions she couldn't answer, so instead of try, she just rolled over once more and began to drift off to sleep. The next day began virtually the same as all of the other days that she had spent in her home away from home, with her blacksmith master. She woke up before dawn, and began her chores after only a brief moment spent waking up and getting ready. Water to fetch, the fires to stoke, the meal to prepare, she went about it with the same zeal and determination that she did every other day. Once the forge was fully fired up, her master made his appearance, and the two of them quietly got to work. Of course, the work itself was anything but quiet, with clanging metal and the hiss of water on super heated metal. But neither of them actually spoke, aside from an occasional brief command or request. Tamao knew, logically, that she was still more or less a stranger to her master, but even so, she still could almost see him as a surrogate father figure. Gruff, of course, and very strict. But he was fair, and despite not showing it, she could tell he didn't dislike her presence. As the day wore on, and the sun reached it's highest point before beginnign to sink again, they reached a dearth of orders, so with no further objects to craft, they decided to call it a day, cool down the forge early and get a little more rest before the next day. Just before Tamao left the forge, her master beckoned her to stay a moment, he had something to tell her. Or rather, to give her. It was a small scrap of paper with a simple message on it. she had seen her master's handwriting before, so she knew it wasn't his. But then, who had written it? It was just five simple words, 'Meet me in the forest', ended with a single G. It took her only an instant to realize that must mean genko. But why would he call her out there, rather than meet with her in the village like they did so many other times? Something about this felt wrong, felt different. Maybe it was something important? She asked her master if she could go, and he merely inclined his head, indicating she could. As she rushed off, she was too far out of earshot to hear his mumbled farewell. "Take care, young one. We will not see each other again." But even if she would have heard those words, she would not have known just what Saeki meant by them. Instead, she was rushing with all due speed to the gate out of the village, to meet Genko. Even though his message had only said the forest, she knew precisely where he would be. That same spot where he'd stopped and surprised her with his ardor before. She shook her head as she sped up, wondering what in the world could be wrong. At her current speed it took only a few moments to reach the target location. And sure enough, Genko was there. But he looked... different, somehow. Then it hit her, his clothes were different. He wasn't wearing the same outfit he had all those other days, now he was wearing something different. Something about it bothered her, but she didn't know what it was, or why. She stopped short upon seeing the grim smirk on his face. Something was wrong. When he saw her stop, his grin deepened, and he moved away from the tree he had been leaning against. In a voice that was still his, yet the tone was much colder, darker, he welcomed her. Tamao knew now for sure that something was very wrong. She asked why he'd called her to this place. He only shook his head, called her naive, and then explained. He asked again that she throw away the demon weapons that bound her to their sinister ways. When he said that, Tamao felt a chill run down her spine. Demon weapons? That was what that white clad stranger had called them. did that mean? She had to know. "Are you... Are you from Friend?" Genko slowly clapped, utterly audacious and arrogant. "Indeed I am. I had thought it would be more kind to seduce you into giving up those demon weapons, but you were just too stubborn. Now we have to do this by force. Too bad, really, you would have made a fine pet." Everything blurred before Tamao's eyes, it took her a moment to realize it was her tears. "This, all of this, it was all a game, all lies?!" Genko didn't answer verbally, instead he produced a pair of short swords, wickedly curved, and went into an aggressive stance. Tamao's tears increased, could this really be happening, it wasn't a dream or a nightmare? She found herself rooted to the spot, she couldn't even react when Genko rushed at her. Even when one of the blades lashed out and cut a painful wound in her arm, all she did was get knocked sprawling to the side. As white hot pain coursed through her body, her tears increased. She looked up at Genko, could he really be doing this? His face had twisted into a malicious mask of cruelty, and she suddenly felt a chill as she finally perceived his true character. It was true, he had just been tricking her, misleading her. Rage, sorrow and despair filled her, and she finally moved. Getting slowly to her feet, she took a sloppy stance, and a blade appeared in each hand. She didn't want to, but if he insisted on fighting her, then she had no choice. Tears still clouding her vision, she rushed towards him, before lashing out in a sloppy display of swordsmanship that would have shamed her at any other time. Genko deflected each of her wild strikes, before sending her sprawling once more with an unceremonious kick to the gut. She coughed raggedly a few times, but got to her feet and charged once more. Only to be sent sprawling again. This happened over and over, until finally she had several more deep cuts, and just as many painful bruises. Finally, a cold calm descended over her. She knew she had to approach this with all of the discipline she had learned and acquired, not with this new heart she had come to settle into. She exhaled deeply, and readied her grip on her blades once more. She rushed towards Genko once more, but this time it was him who was sent sprawling. They exchanged blows several more times, with the tide of the battle continuing to shift. Until finally, Genko was in just as poor condition as she was. The next exchange would likely be the last. After they had crossed paths, Genko sported a horribly deep cut to the chest, a mortal blow. But rather than fall over, his hands glowed for a moment as he used his medical ninjutsu to heal his entire body. Frowning, Tamao readied herself for another assault. If he could heal, then she had to attack with everything she had, she could hold nothing back. Calming herself, she rushed forward, speeding up to a phenomenal degree. A moment later, it was done. Genko lay on the ground, unmoving. Tamao wiped her eyes one last time, and let her swords return to their place. She slowly walked back into the village, her injuries slowing her down even more. Rather than get her injuries treated, or tell her master what had happened, she retreated into her room, and simply lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Tears flowed freely as she struggled to come to terms with what had happened. Why? Why had he done what he did, why had he tricked her? She remained like this, virtually unmoving, not even getting up to eat or drink, for four days. Only then had she come to grips with everything, only then did she finally feel she could move on. Once she had, she coolly treated her wounds, which were already healing on their own. She donned a new outfit, including several new items that she had just recently earned and acquired during her stay. The first was a flowing black cloak. The second, an Anbu mask, she'd just finished personalizing it shortly before everything had gone horribly wrong. She placed it slowly on her face, and gathered the last of her few, meager belongings. She left a note to her master, to explain her absence. she would not say farewell in person. With that, she left the place she had called home, leaving nothing behind. In that empty room, a forgotten flower lay dying. Even as a chill wind rushed through the room, it's final petal fell slowly onto the bedside table.
(8700)

Inori would leave her room at a local inn as it was about time for her to start her training . She figured that she would make her way toward the market place first and grab a box lunch for her training . Today Inori was planning on learning a large amount of jutsu . Including a couple of medical jutsu so that she could become more adapt to the calling of the medical nin . She also wanted to learn a vast array of jutsu that would come in handy with her poison abilities .

Ichigo and Kengan both stepped off the ship to Hidden Leaf. They had learned a great deal while in Hidden Moon. All in all they had learned a great deal and now they had to somehow get to work. They needed to finish there training before continuing on their journey. That made things incredibly entertaining. Looking around they both smiled. THey had both been in Hidden Leaf on a number of occasions, however, this time they would be learning from people they have never learned from before. IT seemed that becoming Jounin was not the only thing that changed about the pair. THey both seemed to have grown a lot older over the short amount of time coming out of the exam. That was the most interesting thing about the whole thing. Kengan was the first one to talk. "Well this is where our paths part for the time being. You do your training and I do mine. We come back until it is done, just like Valkyrie did with her own training. We are in for hell, that is all there is to it." All Ichigo did was nod. Kengan was telling him stuff that he already knew. "I will see you soon, brother." With that the two went on there seperate ways.

214

~:Orochimaru:~

Orochimaru could only think of what trouble he could cause in the Hidden Leaf Village. After all, he did look almost exactly like his leader, the infamous Orochimaru. He could think of how the people would react just by getting a glimpse of his face. All this stress wasn’t exactly healthy for anyone, so Orochimaru decided to take some it away with a little Saki. After his several gulps of Saki, he stepped off of the boat and onto Leaf village grounds. As he wondered through the village, the villages couldn’t help but to stare. Some looked at him with fear and others with hatred. Orochimaru ignored the glares and waved to the happy villagers as he continued to walk into the forest. Orochimaru walked around in the forest knowing that some kind of trouble would come upon him. From his past experiences it always had, it was like Orochimaru had the curse of being attacked in the forest. Orochimaru walked on noticing that he hadn’t been attacked yet and started to think he wasn’t going to get any training in, but then three ninja appeared in front of him and stole his pack of Saki and two took off farther into the forest as one stayed. “umm why exactly did you take my Saki!?” Orochimaru never liked it when he didn’t get a chance to drink all his Saki, but when it was stolen it always made him mad. “ because there are others who need it more then you” the ninja said as he then drew a large hammer that was twice Orochimaru’s size. “give me. My…Saki!” Orochimaru then jumped up and kicked the ninja in the head then followed up with four swift punches to the large ninja’s torso. The ninja stumbled back giving Orochimaru a huge opening. Orochimaru took the opening as he then spun around and punched the ninja in the stomach. He spun around in order to add momentum and force to his blow, which the large hammer wielding ninja did not expect. The blow sent the large ninja flying through the trunk of a thick tree and sent the tree crashing down. Orochimaru escaped the tree but the large ninja was buried under the various twigs, branches, and bark of the large tree. Orochimaru, thinking the fight was over, began to run deeper into the forest in order to catch the other two but Orochimaru heard something as the ninja under the tree began to push the debris out of his way and he began to stand. Orochimaru watched in complete awe as the ninja was unscathed and all that was cut was his shirt and pants. Orochimaru then realized that the ninja’s expression didn’t responded in order to be feeling much pain from his blows. “ why is it that I’m always stuck with the freaks” Orochimaru then laughed at his own remark as he watched the large ninja do nothing but hold on to his hammer and stand in a loose pose. Orochimaru then unsheathed his sword and ran at the ninja knowing that no matter how hard a ninja’s skin was, it could not deflect a blade of Orochimaru’s sword’s caliber. Orochimaru then jumped up. Spun slightly, and came down with his blade attempting to hack the ninja’s arms off from the shoulder down. The ninja saw Orochimaru’s move coming and then quickly swung his hammer upwards, Orochimaru was not ready seeing as though the hammer moved at very surprising speed especially for a weapon of its type and size. Orochimaru tried to block with his blade but his blade was pushed into his body by the force as he was still thrown by the blow and smacked into a tree going through it completely and leaving a large indent on the one behind it. “damnit…he’s strong” Orochimaru then jumped up and began to catch his breath as he had a large bruise on his back that might fatally harm his battle chances if he continued to take injuries there. Orochimaru had no idea how to beat the ninja for he had both strength and speed along with a great defense. Orochimaru then watched the ninja run towards him Orochimaru then moved and began to run as he ninja appeared next to him running, the ninja attempted to hit Orochimaru with his hammer. Orochimaru dodged it so easily that he could have landed on the top of the hammer before its swing was done, but Orochimaru didn’t know if the ninja was playing a trick and trying to trap Orochimaru by swinging so slowly or if the swing from before was a fluke of some kind. Orochimaru then flipped back wards landing few feet away from the ninja. Suddenly the hammer whizzed at Orochimaru, but Orochimaru just moved backwards it was so close that the hammer brushed against Orochimaru’s hair. Orochimaru was now confused, because the first time the ninja swung it was fast the second time it was incredibly slow then the third time it was fast, he then concluded that it must be something that works in sequence and according to the pattern the slow swing was next. The ninja then ran at Orochimaru and swung his hammer and it was indeed slow again. This time Orochimaru stepped in and stabbed one of his sword into the ninja’s stomach, but as he went to stab the other the ninja swiftly smacked Orochimaru upwards with the giant hammer making him let go of his sword. Orochimaru went flipping into the air leaving a thin stream of blood flowing from his mouth. Orochimaru smiled as the next swing would be slow so Orochimaru then flipped forward rapidly with his sword facing outwards, causing him to have a buzz saw like affect. Orochimaru was about to hit the ninja before he was again hit with a swift blow to Orochimaru’s side , Orochimaru had time to grab hold of the hilt of his sword still inside the ninja letting him avoid flying away. The force form the blow, however continued to push Orochimaru causing the sword to rip from the ninja. Orochimaru was still sent flying and made him come to a rolling stop. Orochimaru then stood up, now bleeding from his forehead and the blood ran from his hair down to his chin. “I don’t get it…what happened to the pattern “ The ninja then ran at Orochimaru and swung his hammer Orochimaru dodged it easily , but then the ninja continued to run and swung it slowly Again Orochimaru dodged it and cut the back of the ninjas knees making him stumble and fall. Orochimaru then ran at the ninja as he began to rise to his feet but was swung at by a swift attack Orochimaru had to fall backwards in order to just avoid the hammer’s blow straight to his face. The ninja then ran at Orochimaru and swung his hammer slowly letting Orochimaru roll out the wait but then the ninja stopped moving and swung a lot faster sending Orochimaru rolling faster and farther then planed. Orochimaru then realized something as he gasped for air because of the intensity of the blow, The ninja swung faster when standing still and swung slower when in motion. Orochimaru then grinned as he was going to slap himself for not noticing sooner. Orochimaru was interrupted as the ninja ran at him and swung slowly, Orochimaru then rolled and jumped back. Orochimaru then waited for the ninja to run at him and when he was still moving Orochimaru appeared in front of him and sent a large and strong slash from both his sword cutting open the large ninja’s stomach. Orochimaru was sprinkled by blood as he then cut off the hand that the ninja held his hammer in. Orochimaru then smiled as he then stabbed his blade into the ninja and began to ram the ninja into a tree and pinned him to the tree by the two blade. Orochimaru then smiled as he looked at the ninja. A sinister grin came upon Orochimaru’s face as he then took out a shuriken. Orochimaru then went to stab the ninja in the head but was grabbed by the ninjas free hand and began to choke Orochimaru. The ninja then began to choke Orochimaru with his incredible strength. “sh-s**t.. I shouldn’t have been so cocky!” Orochimaru then began to bleed from his mouth as the ninja continually squeezed on Orochimaru’s neck attempting to snap it. Orochimaru then kicked the under arm of the ninja and then his grip loosened Orochimaru ripped away from the hand and kicked the ninja’s head into the tree he was pinned on, n din doing this Orochimaru flipped backwards off the ninjas head and created some space. Orochimaru then began to catch his breath as he almost began to fear for his life. Orochimaru hadn’t gotten some Saki in awhile so his confident mind frame was slowly vanishing. The ninja then ripped the sword from his body only coughing up slight blood and tossed them to the side. The ninja then picked up the hammer with his free hand and ran at Orochimaru. Orochimaru got ready to dodge the hammer but the ninja flicked his stub of a hand at Orochimaru and flicked blood into Orochimaru’s eyes. Orochimaru couldn’t see the hammer and was hit by the slow attack, but the attack had a lot more force the fast ones it was so much it made Orochimaru’s body go numb for a moment as he cried out in pain and was sent flying a good distance. Orochimaru tried to look at were the ninja was but couldn’t see past the thick, dark, blood in his eyes so he began to try and wipe it away. Orochimaru couldn’t get the blood out because when he began he was hit with another huge hammer attack sending him flying. Orochimaru then used his heavenly blade technique and lost his sight so that the blood would not be an issue. Orochimaru then heard the large foot steps as he then got on all fours and jumped up avoiding a slow hammer attack. Orochimaru then landed on the hammer and jumped off to kick the ninja in the face. Orochimaru’s attack connected to the ninja’s face and sent the ninja to the ground. Orochimaru then grabbed the ninja’s feet and swung him around forcefully as the wind could be heard coming from the ninjas swinging body. Orochimaru then let go of the ninjas legs and sent him flying into a large rock smashing it to pebbles. Orochimaru then ran at the ninja and as the ninja climbed to his feet he was tackled by Orochimaru back to the floor. Orochimaru’s sight returned as the blood was now out of his eyes range. Orochimaru then sent a barrage of punches to the ninja while pinning the ninja down, the punches caused the ninja’s face, nose, lip, and eye to bleed. Orochimaru was then thrown off the ninja and was kicked while on the ground in the ribs causing Orochimaru to cough up some blood. Orochimaru looked up with a scowl as the ninja sent a giant slam from his hammer down causing a giant dust cloud. Once the dust cleared Orochimaru was gone and the only thing that was in his place was just the hammer, and a large crater. Orochimaru rolled out the way and then flipped up wards and kicked the ninja in his back. Orochimaru then jumped up , grabbed the ninja by the top of his head and swung him around. Orochimaru then threw him into a tree and began to send a flurry of punches into the ninja’s back causing the tree the slightly crack and crumble. The ninja then swung his hammer around and almost hit Orochimaru, but Orochimaru ducked and sent his fist crashing into the stomach of the ninja. The ninja then dropped his hammer and sent a smashing elbow into the top of Orochimaru’s head, but Orochimaru slightly moved making the elbow connect with Orochimaru’s shoulder and sent him to the ground. Orochimaru knew if he was hit on the head by the ninja’s elbow then he would either be dead or out cold. Orochimaru then tumbled backwards, creating some space, he then threw a demon wind shuriken at the ninja while he had something wrapped around the middle of the shuriken. Orochimaru pulled his right finger in a certain way at a certain time that made the demon wind shuriken go in a type of spiral motion. The shuriken went around the ninja grinding its blade into the ninja’s flesh and leaving deep spiraling wounds around the ninja. The shuriken then stopped and appeared to hang off of nothing, but was really on a thin steel wire Orochimaru had wrapped around the shuriken. The ninja was then trapped by the wire as the shuriken spun around the ninja. Once the ninja was trapped Orochimaru took out a kunai knife and pinned his end of the wire to the ground to keep the hold on the ninjas binding. Orochimaru then charged a mass of chakra in his right palm and looked at the ninja with a sinister smile. “so …are you ready to die?” Orochimaru then grasped the chakra like a baseball as he then ran forward at the trapped ninja. Orochimaru’s feet could be heard brushing off the loose dirt that was stirred up from the power of the chakra causing the dust to slightly swirl around his chakra. “this is the end for you!” Orochimaru then reached the ninja and crammed the chakra into the ninja’s chest sending the ninja ripping from the wire and spiraling into and through three tree then buried under the debris from the destroyed trees.” Just like I said, it was the end for you” Orochimaru then crouched over and began to take deep breaths. Orochimaru then smile as he began to stumble on, but again he heard rustling under the trees various parts and pieces. Orochimaru then sent a chilling glare at the ruble as a barely alive ninja just was able to break from the debris. The ninja looked as if he was already in the middle of death, but he was instead alive and still wanting a fight. Orochimaru then caught his breath slightly and began to speak “ why do you continue to fight, instead of staying down and saving your life?” The ninja didn’t answer Orochimaru but gave him a look that Orochimaru knew all to well. Because he was also one who would keep fighting even if fighting would be the death of him. Orochimaru simply looked at the ninja as the ninja barely was able to stand on his own two feet and not only that but was slightly leaning on a piece of a large tree that collapsed. Orochimaru began to leave and allow the ninja to live but he knew that that would dishonor the ninja so Orochimaru threw a kunai at the ninja’s head, hitting him point blank, and killing him. Orochimaru then picked up all the shurikens and things he could find and his sword. Orochimaru then smiled as he collapsed onto the grass and fell into a weary slumber. After a day of straight rest Orochimaru awoke. Orochimaru could tell by the grass that he had been sleeping for way to long. Orochimaru got up, still slightly hurt , but he was well enough to fight and according to what he saw in the exams everyone else was still a lot stronger than him so he didn’t have the time for rest if he planned to catch up to everyone else’s level. Orochimaru knew he was one of the stronger ones in his village, but the villages that were a lot bigger and use to battle had a lot stronger ninja then him. Orochimaru then took off farther into the forest. His steps could be heard through the whole way because the forest had for some reason, grown deafly silent. Orochimaru knew very well that there was a lot of wild life in the hidden Leaf village, most of them birds, so when nothing made a noise he went on the logical choice and unsheathed his sword before anyone could surprise him. Orochimaru then heard wrestling in the trees above and as a leaf brushed against his shoulder a ninja flying around on a glider came down using some kind of fire style jutsu as flames burst from his mouth. Orochimaru then saw the ninja as the flames came closer to him and Orochimaru side jumped out the way. Orochimaru then threw two shurikens at the ninja . The ninja voided the shurikens and let go of the glider. Orochimaru watched as the ninja attempted to land on top of him so Orochimaru side jumped again and the ninja landed on the ground and created a large dust cloud around himself. Orochimaru watched as flames then shot from the dust surprising Orochimaru so much that he barely had time to move. Orochimaru got away from the attack but a part of his left arm was now scorched, which would hinder his blade handling with his left arm by a good amount. Orochimaru then ran at the ninja as the ninja then began to do some more hand signs. Orochimaru readied his blade as flames burst from the ninja’s mouth. Orochimaru twirled around his blade, creating a type of shield. Orochimaru’ shield was working as the blade absorbed the flames, but then Orochimaru’s scorch mark on his left arm made him feel a jolt of pain as he then slightly broke his shield by the pain in his left arm and some of the flames got through, pushing him away and also slightly scorching his left torso and his bottom part of his left cheek. “ damnit!” Orochimaru then picked up his blade and tried to run at the ninja gain, but then the ninja took out a small tank of oil and threw it at Orochimaru. Orochimaru was hit by the bottle and it shattered causing oil to spill all over Orochimaru. Orochimaru knew if he was hit by another fire attack he’d be good as dead. Orochimaru then ran at the ninja attempting to attack before he could perform the hand signs, but the ninja got the hand signs off as he inhaled and released a large breath of fire at Orochimaru. Orochimaru was prepared though as he then flipped into the air with a type of spiral move, the flames were so close they scorched his blade, but his blade merely became red as heat built up inside its steel. Orochimaru then landed behind the ninja and slashed his blade. As Orochimaru hit the ninja not even mark was made, but then Orochimaru slashed with his blade, heated blade and created a large gash on the ninja’s back. Orochimaru then realized that a blade couldn’t pierce the ninja’s skin, but anything heated could. Orochimaru then jumped back knowing that the ninja would turn around with a counter attack. Orochimaru was right as the ninja then flipped backwards trying to kick Orochimaru in his face, but Orochimaru was left unscathed from the counter attack. Orochimaru then threw a few shurikens at the ninja and as expected, the shurikens bounced off his skin like a blow dart to a battle tank. Orochimaru then got in closer and again as expected the ninja performed a fire attack after doing a fast sequence of hand signs. Orochimaru unzipped his pack, took it off his belt and swiftly pushed the open pack into the flames then jumped away before the flames could take any real affect on Orochimaru, or the bag he had. Orochimaru then reached in and picked up a sizzling shuriken that glowed red from the flames being absorbed into the shuriken. Orochimaru’s hand began to burn as he knew because of the heat, but he tried his best to ignore it as he grabbed three more and threw all four shurikens. The shurikens left burns into Orochimaru’s palm . Orochimaru only smiled as the ninja believed the shurikens not to pierce his skin but then was stabbed by all four in his arm. The ninja yelled in pain as he swiftly ripped the shurikens from hi arm and threw them back. Orochimaru smacked all the shurikens away with his blade, but the ninja only threw them in order to bide time as the ninja then did hand signs and formed a earth wall around him, then the wall smashed into the ninjas body. Orochimaru was shocked at how the ninja decided to take his own life just to not be beaten. “ pathetic” Orochimaru then began to walk away but then the wall bursts and the ninja’s skin wall made out of earth now. “ so it was a jutsu that allowed you to meld with the element you summoned huh?” Orochimaru then picked up a heated kunai knife and threw it at the ninja’s head. The ninja took the blade head on as the kunai broke on contact. “s**t..it seems as though his weakness changes every time he uses this jutsu, which is why my blade could only hurt him heated before. That means that the weakness is the element!” Orochimaru then picked up a large stone and threw it, but the ninja absorbed the rock and retracted into the ground. “ damn must have only been a twist of fate that his weakness happened to be heated material” Orochimaru then looked around and then was hit by a giant earth fist from under him, sending him flipping into the air uncontrollably. Orochimaru flipped for a good few yards up before gravity ripped him back down. The earth ninja then came up from the ground and grabbed Orochimaru as he was about to hit the ground. Orochimaru tried to cut the arm with his heated blade but his skin was just to thick. Orochimaru then knew that the only way he could defeat this elemental ninja was to use his own skills against him. Orochimaru then swung his body in a certain way so that his feet would land on the ninjas face. Orochimaru then began to kick the ninja in the face multiple times, his blows getting faster and faster. “let go you damn overgrown plant!” Orochimaru then began to kick faster and faster, delivering about five kicks per three seconds. Orochimaru then began to let out a battle cry as his legs moved the fastest he had ever seen. The ninja’ even though his skin was thick, began to feel pain because of the repeated pressure put on one point of the body. Like when you tap a pencil on a part of your knuckle until it begins to slightly hurt. Orochimaru then continued until the ninja smacked Orochimaru away, as the ninjas face began to slightly bleed, but the blood was black and goopy like oil. Orochimaru then began to smell oil around the time the ninja began to bleed. “ so the weakness is always fire. Its just one has the outward effect against fire and the other change has an inward effect. Orochimaru then looked around for a way to harness some fire, but realized that he had no fire style jutsus at all and his heated weapons will not have any effect on pure oil. Orochimaru then ran at the ninja , jumped up and stabbed his blade in to the bleeding spot of the ninja. As he expected the heated blade had no affect so before he could be grabbed again Orochimaru kicked off the ninja’s chest and created some space between the two. Orochimaru then watched as the ninja’s feet were somehow rooted to the ground. Orochimaru then realized that the transformation somehow allowed the ninja to become one with a certain area of the ground. Orochimaru then smiled as the ninja’s rooted feet seemed to move as if they were sucking nutrients from the ground and the viewable veins on his body moved around as if the nutrients were being passed through the body by the veins. Orochimaru then dismissed the idea because he had never heard of any jutsu that did that so Orochimaru just smiled at the earth ninja. The ninja opened his mouth as the inside was pure black then pieces of hardened beyond normal capacity bark shot from the ninja’s mouth. Orochimaru then barely dodged them as one grazed his still burn shoulder and caused him to slightly bleed. The bark pieces were moving way to fast to be normal and were way to strong. Orochimaru then looked at them and watched as the bark crumbled to ah and was sucked up by the ground. Orochimaru then ran at the ninja and once he was in distance Orochimaru stepped off the ninja’s still shoulder and propelled himself into the air attempting to crash down with a great double attack. Orochimaru then readied his blade but was attacked by another barrage of wooden kunai knives. Orochimaru managed to smack most of them away but the force of them was to great for his scorched, and cut left arm so it threw his left arm backwards and gouged the bark piece deep into Orochimaru’s arm. Orochimaru had to retreat from his sky attack because of his new pain full injury so he back flipped into a nearby large tree, Orochimaru concealed himself in the leaves which would give him some time to recover. Orochimaru attempted to rip the bark piece from his arm but it was too painful and he knew that if he ripped it out then he would loose more blood then he would if he would have left it in. Orochimaru left the bark piece in as he looked at the other ices be sucked into the earth again. Orochimaru then thought the piece in his arm would turn to ash but it didn’t. Orochimaru then looked closely as a bark piece was in the ninjas shoulder from Orochimaru smacking it down. Orochimaru then noticed that again, the element that is spit out can pierce the skin of the body. Orochimaru then smiled as he jumped from the tree having recovered enough for another round between the two ninja. Orochimaru could only move his right arm for his left arm had received too much damage for even to be able to feel it anymore. As Orochimaru realized the complete unfeeling of his left arm the ninja made of earth, and other materials slid at Orochimaru as he couldn’t run because his feet were in the ground like roots. Orochimaru then ran at the ninja with his right blade readied and his left blade lying on the ground. Orochimaru then slashed at the ninja slightly scratching the skin’s surface. Orochimaru then jumped up and kicked the ninja in his chest were Orochimaru had cut him. This made the ninja slightly stumble back but as he regained his balance Orochimaru then sent another slash at the same spot and kicked it twice. This made the ninja stumble back even more. Orochimaru then kicked the ninja in the chest a few more times before the last kick which kicked him off the ninja’s chest and let him create some space. The last kick caused the ninja to stumble back and almost fall but a stump shot up and allowed the ninja to lean against it. Orochimaru was breathing hard because he just in acted a long and hard show of skill. Orochimaru then regained his breath as he then swirled around and kicked the ninja in his chest again. The ninja this time grabbed Orochimaru’s foot and threw him into a tree throwing him through it. Orochimaru then jumped up and ran back at the ninja this time when he was about to kick he threw his body into the air his left arm dangling freely because of the numbness Orochimaru could barely control which way it went. Orochimaru then came down in a diagonal way with a kick that took the earth ninja off guard and allowed Orochimaru to kick the ninja in the back of his head Orochimaru then placed his hand on the ninjas head as he began to stumble and Orochimaru front flipped off the ninja’s head and caused Orochimaru’s heel to crash right into the stumbling ninja’s face sending him in a complete different way sending the ninja falling backwards but he was again caught by a stump before he cold hit the ground. Orochimaru hit the ground and tried to swirl around and kick the ninja but the earth ninja was already pushed up by the stump and delivered a large earth fist slamming into Orochimaru. Orochimaru gasped loudly as he was smashed by the earth fist and slammed into the earth on the ground. Orochimaru again took a quick gasp of air as he was then smacked away by a large earth hand. Orochimaru rolled and as the bark gouged in his arm rolled across a stray root from a large tree it sparked. Orochimaru then raised up, breathing hard, and had an idea. Orochimaru threw two kunai at the ninja as he began to begin his plan. The ninjas deflected the kunai and slid forward at great speeds. Orochimaru smiled as he then braced himself. As the ninja drew closer Orochimaru ripped the bark from his arm yelling out in pain then ran at the ninja at a low stance. Orochimaru then slashed the bark piece against the root from before as the bark sparked. Orochimaru slashed it again and it sparked. The ninja was now in front of Orochimaru with a large earth hammer fist swinging at him. Orochimaru then slashed the bark piece against the wood again making it ignite into a flame. Orochimaru then dodged the hammer and stabbed the bark into the ninja’s neck Orochimaru did this because he knew that the bark could pierce the ninja’s skin from before when he accidentally smacked it into the ninja’s shoulder. Orochimaru then jumped back as the ninja’s veins began to rumble around as the ninja looked into the sky and opened its mouth flames shot out as the oil in its body ignited and caused the ninja to be covered in flames. The ninja then hit the ground still on fire. One of the ninja’s legs was out of the ground and began to shrivel up, but the other leg was still in the ground and the veins on it was still pulsing. Orochimaru believed that the ninja was dead. Orochimaru watched the ninja burn on the ground. Orochimaru then began to walk away ,but then the Ninja then rose up as the leg that was pulled from the grand fell off. The ninja’s veins were pulsing franticly from the one leg still in the ground, Orochimaru then knew that the ninja was only alive from that energy its taking from the ground. Orochimaru then ran and rammed the flaming ninja. Orochimaru’s clothes began to slightly scorch as he continued to run and he then ran the ninja off a cliff that lead to a small river, sense the ninja was removed from land he instantly shriveled up like the one leg did and when he hit the water he dispersed like dust thrown into a pool. “ …another freak” Orochimaru then turned around and jumped into the top of a tree, being sheltered by the leaves, Orochimaru then took out some medical supplies and give himself stitches then sealed off the deep wound with a medical bandage. Orochimaru rested in the tree for a moment then fell asleep in the tree. This time he was in a deeper sleep then before as he knew that each ninja has been stronger the farther down they were, so Orochimaru figured that the ninja that was the one holding his Saki was the strongest of thee three so Orochimaru would need his strength back in order to battle them. Orochimaru knew that he was going through to much trouble for some Saki, but it wasn’t just for the Saki. It was for training, pushing his body like he was now would defiantly count as training and after this training session was over Orochimaru knew that if he wasn’t dead he would have grown a lot in strength. So Orochimaru went to sleep in the tree in order to recover as his snoring could be heard as some stray leaves fell onto his still face, but were blown away by a deep snore, then brought back. He awoke the next morning in shock,” What? I overslept! Damnit! That means those damn ninja escaped!” Orochimaru stood to his feet to realize that he was no longer in the tree, but on the forest floor. He had fallen several feet out of the tree and onto the ground while he was asleep. “That had to have been the strongest Saki I have ever drunken in my lifetime.” Orochimaru said in amazement. At this time he was returning to his cold personality, and he figured it best if he were to leave the village before he started some trouble with the villagers. Rather than venturing back through the village directly to the docks, Orochimaru wondered along the outskirts to get to the docks and take his leave.

5570+5229=10799

Hido looked around, sighed, and left.

Ranmaru needed to train as fast as possible. Plain and simple, he needed to train for the chuunin exam. He also needed to help her friend train. Ranmaru knew that he had failed to train in this place several times, but now it was inperative. Ranmaru made it off of the boat at the docks and moved down the main street. He did not make it a block before stopping. One of the things the a big village like Hidden leaf was known for was its ramen and he had just made it to one of the best ramen stands in hidden leaf. He sat down and ordered a meal.

Pork Ramen is one Ranmaru's favorite kinds. So was beef ramen. in fact there was very few kinds of Ramen that Akira did not like to eat. He was going to enjoy the pork ramen that he ordered, but he would have a long time to wait if his memory reminded him. He would have time to wait, time to think about where he was going to stay before hurrying to the exam grounds. He was a little dissapointed with himself for being held up like this. He had bags to put in an inn while he stayed here. However, one thing that he respected was his stomach.

He was always a big eater and because of that he is a a huge guy. He is bigger than most ninja, far bigger. He is also stronger. What he needed to be was faster. That was one of the maing reasons why he came to hidden leaf. Speed was something that he lacked very much. Ranmaru could not change that much, but he would try to change it a lot while he was in Hidden leaf. While deep in thought, his meal came. he only noticed when he heard the bowl on the counter. He turned around in his seat so that he faced the bowl and smiled at the chef.

Ranmaru knew that he was going to enjoy this meal. He started eating the meal. True to form, the ramen was delicious. Ranmaru finished the ramen within a matter of minutes and set out to do his training once again. However, before he could begin to train, he needed to put his stuff back down. It was fortunate for Ranmaru to find an inn in a place like hidden leaf. It was especially fortunate for Ranmaru to find a place so close to the docks for a quick getaway. Paying for the room and setting his clothes down he suddenly realized something new.

This was the first time Ranmaru had gone anywhere without his huge case of weapons. Ranmaru was quite surprised that he did not even notice that it was gone. IT was weird for him. He wondered what that was about. Maybe something had changed since the battle with Ares and then Loki. It was possible, but who knows. Still, Ranmaru really did not have time to think about it. He had work to do. It bothered him, however, that he would not even notice the lack of weight on his back. He could run at full speed with the thing but that did not mean that it was light as a feather.

Ranmaru sighed. He left his room and locked the door. He would figure everything out later, when he had time. Ranmaru walked out of the inn and continued his walk. He would keep walking until he made his way to a training groud, one of the many training grounds in Hidden leaf. Akira had told him to train in Hidden Leaf a long time ago, a very long time ago. He knew where to start, but he did not want to start there. He did not want to start there because he really did not like the group that he should start training with. Also, he was getting tired of being so ambiguous.

653

Ryuko's eyes twitched a few times as she arrived at the front gates of the village. Her left hand was placed on the hilt of her sword, always having it be a nervous old habit, while her right held out her passport papers to the guards. Thanks to Matsuri her paper work had a fake name on it. Even a fake birth date, and village too. If her old village knew she was alive,.. It wasn't going to be a pretty picture least to say. Or so she figured. Giving the guard a fake smile she walked on threw the gates , then turned to wait for Matsuri and Zeru to enter. Taking a few steps backwards she had already noticed something different about the village. They seemed to have more ninja's and a higher rate of security since she had last been here. ' Well it seems that are dear beloved kage has finally gotten some sence in his brain,' Thinking this as a small smirk appeared on her face. "Well Zeru, anything you wanted to find first or is this going to be an all out training?" Asking this as she turned back to look towards Zeru, still getting use to his new body. " I might get training here later but first I need to visit some old graves. You know, just too pay some respects to old friends,..." A small hint of anger was heard at the last bit however it was most likely because she hated it here.






"I want to visit the hospital before we go if that's alright with you two?" Matsuri asked with a clam smile. Hidden Sand and Hidden Leaf where allies right now so she had yet to be questioned on why she was here. " I also might have to talk to the kage here since I am in town,.. Muttering this as she glanced towards the ground. The meeting with the villages where boring but it really was the only way she could promise peace between them.