[center] Nazari Sutā, Jounin of Team of Sutā/Aniru [center]

There was a lot of work to do with her team, Shu needed to see that he couldn't disrespect one of his sensei and Kazen who still acted like a Genin needed to grow up. The second member of her squads, Kentachi, she had yet to form an opinion on as the first meeting was tonight without any distractions from her partner or Shu. They needed to bond, to be able to come to an understanding of each other and Nazari knew just how to put them on the right path to do so. It was something she kept from Kazen, she would reveal her plans soon enough to them all and then hopefully some progress would have been made.

Takeshi Fujiwara

It was just an instant but it seemed like a couple of minutes, mid-air flying at the real Kakashi he took in the situation. Another Kakashi without bells on its tail was ripping apart webs and Kumoga clones. Naoto came running out of the woods, he looked winded. Only a few webs were left, still about two Kumoga's and at least three Kakashi's. Takeshi hoped that his Kakashi was the real one instead of Naoto's. It’s his leg stuck in one of the webs Takeshi saw his chance as it presented him and he jumped at the tail of the panther. "Mineeee!" he yelled as his hand reached for the bells.

Ezuri Hyuuga

Ezuri moaned. his back was stiff and felt a bit nauseous. He had to squeeze his eyes together against the bright light above his head. slowly but steadily his eyes got used to the bright light and he could discern some shadows. multiple ones, faces! Ezuri started to freak out and panic, fourteen serious faces one from an older woman and thirteen from girl from twelve up to his age. What were they doing, Ezuri started to move but froze up when a stinging pain spread throughout his body, his leg being the epicenter of the pain. "hey, stay still!" called one of the girl "How are we supposed to heal you if you move around all the time!" yelled another. "s-sumimasen" whispered Ezuri shyly and did his best to lie still for the rest of the treatment.

After that the medical Nin students were done with his treatment they brought him to a hospital room where he fell asleep. As soon as Ezuri woke up he jumped out of bed and looked at his leg, completely healed. Ezuri was as happy as can be and could not wait to get training, maybe even checking out that teahouse, Azumi. then he noticed the small note on the nightstand next to his bed. It was from Kiyomi-san, if he wanted to meet her at a cafe at the outskirts of town.

Kazen Aniru

training day yesterday didn't exactly go as planned. she nearly killed their only student. stupid stupid Kazen, is what she told herself all nth last night. but today is a new day, fresh, all is forgotten and forgiven right? Kazen got out of bed, showered, got dressed and bolted out of the door, she was supposed to meet Nazari early today, before anyone else got there. Kazen saw Nazari for a distance and took a leap from a great distance "NA-CHAN!" yelled Kazen as she flew at Nazari at great speed.

Tora Hatake and Kakashi the Panther

The Tora clone disguised as Kakashi decided now was enough, and she transformed back to her normal self and gave Kumoga a smile "You handled me very well. Good job. but you should always ensure your opponent cannot do any seals even by making sure that they cannot even move their fingers." She said, and because Kakashi was slightly wider than her it allowed her to move her arms slightly, but just enough to barely reach each other, and do a single seal which made a couple of smoke tags on her activate with an explosion, and the Tora clone was gone.

The Kakashi clone that Naoto followed had quickly avoided her and reached the clearing just in time to see Takeshi jump on the real Kakashi, who now remained still due to the amount of webs holding him. Its eyes followed carefully as Takeshi would grab both bells, and smiled as the clone appeared to know something the genin did not. The clone vanished and only the real Kakashi remained, who felt Takeshi grab his tail and take something off it. He let out a sigh before looking at Naoto and Kumoga "You two might want to hurry back to Hatake. I mean, Takeshi only has one bell." He said before poofing away, and Takeshi would see one of the bells in his hand also vanishing in a poof of smoke.

Tora, who was mostly aware of the situation due to her clone, went and jumped up a tree's branches and tied the bell to the highest branch before beginning to go down the branches and placing smoke tags and explosive tags on different branches, aiming to serve as distractions. She placed the tags on places which would not hurt the genin, but if they used the Tree Climbing techniques near them, or any kind of jutsu, the tags would activate, exploding different branches or causing a distraction and block the view with smoke.

Landing back on the ground, Tora waited to see who will be the first to reach her and reach the bell. From what her clone saw, she already had a guess on who got the first bell, but she decided that without her clone watching them, that anything can happen on the way. She was also curious to see if the remaining two will continue to work together, or will they start to try and reach the bell first.

Meisa Ichi,.
Yondaime Hokage Assistant

Shadow clone with most of Team 4

Now all three had sworn their oath. Katsuko however caused a frown at the shadow clone. He was less inclined unlike the others to swear his loyalty to the Hokage as member of the Ghost ANBU. But the shadow clone already could guess why. Both Ryo as Yumi were more or less orphans. From their files, Meisa had learned that both weren't raised in a caring family. Ryo as orphan and Yumi with a mother that kind of abused her. Like many children that never had much affection in their youth, it wasn't strange to see that they were easy to accept their fate, because they were aware that their own lives were at stake.

Katsuko was a different story. The shadow clone formed a few handsignals. The sealing lines on the ground, underneath the feet of the three members of Team 4 would approach them. ''As members of the Ghost ANBU, I can't allow you to reveal any details about it. The sealing will now move inside your body to form a protection. If any of you ever speaks of this, the chakra will move to your heart to cause it to stop. Instantly. There is nothing you can do about it. This is your duty.'' The clone coldy explained to them. None of the ANBU that were stationed to oversee the situation from the shadows were able to overhear the words. They were just there in case Meisa would need help in controlling Team 4. Each of the three would feel a tremendous pain. Only they wouldn't be able to pass out. ''Now each of you will be ''marked''. You have been accepted into the service of the Ghost ANBU. Because of your services, each of you has one day to spend time with your beloved ones. Tomorrow, each of you must report at the Hokage Office for duty. You're allowed to take one bag of belongings with you. Know that this is a courtesy because of your previous achievements. Now, go and remember.''

The shadow clone slowly brought her hands together. Each of the three would feel a tremendous pain again. ''There is now way you can escape this duty. One word about this and you die instantly.'' The cold tone of the shadow clone made it clear. She wasn't joking around. With a poof, the shadow clone vanished, transmitting the experience and knowledge to the real Meisa.

---

Meisa, the original one.

Meisa was on her way to the hospital. Already she was thinking on what she could do. If the host of the Kyuubi was gone, they would need to set up a perimeter first. Who ever had kidnapped the Kyuubi, he or she or maybe they had no friendly affection for Konohagakure. That was a given one. But the reason why was making Meisa upset. Countries used Tailed Beasts as weapons. Konohagakure was no exception. Kiyomi was a fine example of how a stable and deadly jinchuriki should be like in Meisa's opinion.

Hisoka then commanded that Zakito should meet with her at the Hokage Office, while also commanding the jounins. While Hisoka would command the ANBU. Meisa wanted to reply that she would head back to the Hokage Office, but saying that would be a waste of breath. Hisoka knew already she would as soon as she would hear his orders. Turning around, Meisa then received the information. The foundation of the Ghost ANBU had been formed. Not moving, Meisa stood frozen on top of a rooftop. Her eyes were focused in the direction of the Hokage Office. The plan of the Hokage was now being formed. Tomorrow, they would have a more specialized kind of ANBU at the ready.

On her way back, Meisa was soon informed that Tsubasa had reported for duty. Meisa thought about it. Walking into the Hokage Office building, she would order the messenger ANBU that he would need to tell Tsubasa to come to the office of the Hokage himself. Pressing her right index and middle finger at her earphone, Meisa then would inform Zakito. ''Zakito-sama, I will be in the office of the Hokage. Would you be so kind to meet me there?'' Meisa requested as she would there herself. The sealing trap would need to be set up for Tsubasa after all.~

Yumi Hasewaga
Konohagakure ANBU of Team 4.

Member of the Ghost ANBU

The pain was unlike any other pain. It was like something inside just died and then was revived, only to die in a horrible manner again. The sealing didn't allow them to move as the same sealing would force its way into their body. Yumi saw how the black formula on the ground slowly went into their body. Wishing for the first time of her life she that she would just pass out due pain, Yumi realized this wouldn't happen when Meisa spoke. Breathing even became hard. Nothing, even not her ANBU training had ever prepared her for this kind of pain. Once it was done, she sighed softly as she leaned forward. Both her hands were set against her knees as she tried to breath normally again. The pain hadn't vanished at all. Moving was troublesome and that while Yumi was used to pain. Flexing her fingers slowly, she noticed how the pain slowly faded away.

Clutching her stomach with her left hand, Yumi briefly looked at the two others. She had one day? Leo was likely with his team or training. Sakamoto was on duty, just like Kiyomi was. There weren't much other people she would take the whole day with. Turning her back to her two team members, Yumi slowly walked towards the staircase. She would use this day to prepare something for Leo. If she wouldn't be able to see him anymore, she would make sure he would inherit something of her. Something to make sure he would be able to remember her by. Her left hand was still at her stomach area. The pain was still there, reminding her that she had one day to be ''alive''.

A day she had to use to make sure her sibling would be able to keep progressing further down the path he would chose.

Meeting a New Team Member!

A Collab Between ChromeHound and Nytefall

Participants: Takeshi Shun
& Shiro Konton
Location:
Krigakure - Ninja Academy
Plot: Takeshi returns to the academy to find out who his newest student is.
====================================================================

Takeshi stepped into the academy, walking through the old halls. Not much had changed since he had walked these same halls as a child. Thinking back to those days brought a small smile to his lips. Takeshi made his way to the office of Instructor Mataki. He had received a note upon his return from the mission with Natsume instructing him to come to the academy immediately to receive a replacement student for his team. Wondering just who this student would be, Takeshi approached the door to Mataki's office and knocked crisply. Well, he would know soon enough.

==# Mira Konton's Training Dojo #==

Shiro pounded her fists into the sand filled punching bag sweat slowly dripping down her face. Bringing her fists to her face she panted slightly. "Come on Shiro, Keep going! If you don't push yourself how do you expect to beat your opponent?!" Shiro sighed loudly her shoulders sagging. She had been training for over 6 hours since the early morning. So far all she had managed to do was tire herself out and bloody her fists. Shiro's grandma was the one who was coaching her and more importantly shouting at her at the moment. "I can tell you're not even trying, you did all of that yesterday but toad only 2." Her grandmother pointed at a pile in the far corner of the training room. It was full of about 4 sand bags all burst, their sand littering the floor.

It was true Shiro was holding back, despite her size she packed one hell of a punch. Hanging her head slightly she thought about what she had been told a few weeks ago by her old sensei. She would be joining her new team today and as soon as her grandmother had heard this she had started training her even harder. Snapping back into reality she yelled in rage and punched the punching bag the sand bag exploded sending sand and cloth everywhere. Shiro looked at the mess, then at the clock. She had about an hour left until she had to meet her new sensei. Her grandmother noticed Shiro's gaze smiling inwardly. "Alright you proved your point. Go get a shower and get ready for your meeting." Shiro cheered as she ripped off her boxing tape and ran to the shower.

Having showered she put on her usual ninja attire. Making sure that she had everything attached correctly. She dashed out of the door grabbing a sweet roll before she left. As she dashed through the city she looked at her watch. "Crap, I'm gonna be late!" Thankfully shiro did not have far to go in fact she was already there and still running. Directly at ninja standing outside the office she was supposed to have been in. Grinding her heels into the ground she stopped in front of the ninja. Straightening her clothes she coughed quietly. "Sorry about that, could you scoot to the left or right a bit I needed to be in that room about 10 minutes ago."

==# Ninja Academy #==

Staring at the girl who had suddenly made her entrance in front of him, Takeshi cocked his head to the side, a quizzical look on his face. He wondered briefly what her rush was, but then realization hit him. Smiling, a small twinkle in his eye, Takeshi stepped back and gestured towards the door. "After you." Was all he said, his voice full of amusement.

Shiro thanked the ninja before knocking on the door with her knuckles. Shiro found the look that the ninja had gave her rather strange and she was curious as to why he was outside Mataki's office. "If you don't mind me asking but what are you here for?"

He thought about answering fully, but Takeshi was still a little curious and so he simply said, "I am here for a meeting with Instructor Mataki. How about yourself?" His tone was still amused but Takeshi offered no further information.

Shiro grinned raising her fist in the air. "I am here to meet my new sensei and start my training to become a ninja! Once I'm a proper ninja I can leave the village and search for my mother and father!" Shiro blushed lowering her hands to her sides she mumbled "Ignore that, I was being childish"

His smile simply widened at the girl's outburst. She had spirit, he'd give her that. Her desire to leave the village should have caused concern, but Takeshi understood the girl's motivation. Before he could form a reply, the door in front of them opened. Instructor Mataki stood framed in the doorway. Beaming the man stepped forwards. "Ah, Takeshi, Shiro! I see you two are already acquainted! This will be easier then. Please, come inside and have a seat." Stepping back into his office, Mataki took a seat behind his large wooden desk. He waved the two inside the room and gestured towards the chairs at the front of the desk.

Shiro was dumbstruck for a moment as she looked the ninja who she now knew the name of. "Wait a minute, if you're here to see. Oh." Shiro walked into the office sitting down in the seat that Mataki had pointed to. Shiro chuckled nervously. "So I guess that means that you are my sensei then, Takeshi was it?"

Walking into the office after Shiro, Takeshi chuckled on the inside. So his assumption had been correct after all. Sitting down he looked at the girl and smiled. Offering his hand he said, "Takeshi Shun, and it does indeed mean that I am your sensei. Hopefully that isn't too disappointing." His smile and light hearted tone let her know that he was joking. He already knew her first name, but he hoped that she would also tell him her last name, so that he could find out at least a little more about her.

Shiro was really annoyed with herself. She accepted the hand and returned his smile even if it was forced. She felt extremely stupid right now and was trying her best to hide it. "Oh yes, my name is Shiro Konton. You probably already knew that but, there it is." Shiro was unsure what to say next and the whole situation that she had created was making her feel very awkward.

"Well Shiro Konton, it is a pleasure to meet you." Takeshi's smile remained on his face as he turned back to Mataki. "So, Instructor, was there something else you were wanting to discuss?"

Mataki smiled back at the pair in front of him. He wondered how long the two had been standing by his door as it appeared they hadn't even had time for introductions. "Yes, sorry. Aside from introducing you two to each other, I wanted to talk to you a tiny bit about a new mission for your team.

Takeshi nodded. He had assumed as much. It was rare to be summoned just for a meeting with a new team member. Usually they would just send a name and some info, and Takeshi would have to go and find her on his own. His glance went from Mataki to Shiro. He could tell that she was a little uncomfortable but he wasn't too sure why. Takeshi hoped that he hadn't made a bad first impression. He was still struggling to try and get Natsume to speak more than two words at a time, and he hoped that he hadn't made Shiro so uncomfortable that she would be the same way. "I've got time. How about you Shiro?"

Shiro snapped out off her awkward bubble. "Yeah I have plenty of time. My grandmother has had me training since the crack of dawn. So this is the first chance I've had at having a good sit down and rest" Shiro was slightly confused by Mataki's words. "Mission wait I join my new team and get sent on a mission straight away? Awesome!"

Smiling, Takeshi turned back to Mataki. He had certainly been right about the girl having spirit. "So Mataki, what do you have for us?" Takeshi asked. It would be interesting to see why they were being sent out right away again. Takeshi hadn't even had time to settle once he'd arrived back from his mission with Natsume.

Clearing his throat, Mataki spoke. "I am aware that you have just returned from a mission, and normally we would give you time to relax before sending you out again, however there is something that needs to be taken care of immediately." Pausing, Mataki took a breath. "There have been a few attacks on the outskirts of the city, mostly random acts of destruction and vandalism. But it has been getting more frequent and growing closer to the city core. At first we thought it was just vandals causing trouble, but now we're not so sure. It seems to be getting more destructive, and there has been a lot of symbols of the Mizukage being defaced. We are starting to believe that it may be a group with anger towards the new leadership and we want to deal with this before it becomes a larger problem. That is where you and your team come in."

Takeshi listened closely as Mataki spoke. This seemed like it had the potential to be a more dangerous mission than suited for one team. Especially one that hadn't had much time to train together. "How quickly are we being sent out?" He asked, hoping to find out at least a little more. Matake responded quickly. "You will likely have a couple of days to prepare before heading out. We would like to send you out with another team, as this mission may prove to be larger than we thought. We are hoping to get Mika Hayashi's team to work with you, however they also came back from a mission not long ago so we will have to see if we can make this work. If we cannot join your two teams then I am afraid we will have to send your team alone. I will inform you shortly as to how we will proceed. I'd advise you to take this time to train and get to know each other. Any questions?"

Shiro saluted Mataki "Yes sir your orders are understood and acknowledge! I will ensure that I train myself for this mission and of course meet and train with my teammates. Sir!" Shiro giggled slightly, while she was messing about she couldn't wait to meet and beat up her team mates. First impressions were important her grandmother had told her. If you don't establish your strength from the get go then you could end up with a knife in the back or a team mate that thinks you are weak. Shiro would not have that. She may have to tone her ass kicking down as they were her team mates but the only way she could test their strength was to get her hands dirty. "So, when will I be meeting my team mates then?"

Takeshi had to surpress a small laugh at the girl's enthusiasm. "I can take you to meet them as soon as this meeting is finished if you feel up to it?" He figured that he already knew what her answer would be but it was always better to check. Takeshi wondered briefly if Natsume was going to be comfortable to meet her newest teammate. He also wondered if his other student would actually show up to a meeting. Turning back to Mataki, Takeshi asked, "Is there anything else Mataki?"

Chuckling at Shiro's response. Mataki turned back to respond to Takeshi. "No. That will be all for now Takeshi. Thank you for coming in, Shiro, thank you as well. I hope you find your new team to be satisfactory."

Shiro beamed at Takeshi and at Mataki. "I am more than ready to meet my team mates sensei." Shiro bowed to Mataki "It was not trouble at all, I'm sure i'll enjoy my self and train hard with my new sensei"

Rising to his feet, Takeshi bowed slightly to Mataki. "Thank you for meeting with us Mataki-san." Turning to Shiro he smiled. "Well, shall we get going?" He would wait for the girl's reaction before turning to leave.

Shiro got of her chair and bowed one more time before turning to Takeshi and saying. "Alright lets go!"

=====
=========================================================

Outside the Academy

=========================================================
=====

Exiting the building, Takeshi glanced back at Shiro. It was still early in the day, and Takeshi wasn't sure if he would be able to get a hold of Natsume in order to meet up. "So, Shiro, it is still quite early. What would you say to a little training before we meet up with the others?" He looked ahead and continued walking waiting for her response. If she said yes he would take them to the training fields. If she instead wanted to meet her new teammates, Takeshi would see about arranging a meet up.

Shiro had followed Takeshi and had thought over what he had said about meeting the rest of his team mates or doing some training before they met up with them. She thought for a moment, a grin appearing accross her face. "Sensei this training thing that you suggested. Would it involve sparing? I know you are a high ranking ninja but I can't really tell how strong you are until we throw down. Though, that is just my opinion."

Why did they always think of sparring first? Takeshi thought to himself, grinning despite the thought. "I suppose it could Shiro. I take it you would like to train first then?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Takeshi altered their course slightly, making their way out towards the training fields now. Though he was a little tired after coming straight from a mission, Takeshi never minded the chance to train. It got his mind working, and kept him busy. With Mika being busy, he didn't really have anything else to do with his spare time either.

They reached the training field unmolested. Shiro could feel all of her built up energy comming to the surface as she stretched her arms,legs and finally touching her toes. "Well, I've been training since dawn so I'm pumped and ready to go" Shiro brought her fist in from of her face and did a few practice punches. Her fists darting out into the air as she warmed her arms up.

As he watched the girl do her brief stretching and warm up, Takeshi simply stood and yawned slightly. With his arms crossed over his chest, Takeshi cocked his head to the side. The girl certainly did have a lot of fire in her. "Well, if you feel you are ready I suppose we could start then."He said, making no move. He would wait for the girl to react. It would be interesting to see what she would do.

"Well seeing how you’re a Jōnin I should put my all into the little tussle. Hidden Technique: Crimson Resolve." Pulling out her kunai knife she slice the back of her left and right hand, after making the hand sign the blood spread and hardened around her fists. Shiro's fists now had a red shine to them and with nothing more said she lunged at her opponent. Going for a gut shot first than an uppercut, should they miss which Shiro knew they probably would she would simply regain her defensive stance.

So, the girl had Blood release. Interesting. Takeshi had heard of the release, but never seen it used. He raised one eyebrow ever so slightly and then watched as Shiro charged at him. Takeshi waited until she swung before very swiftly moving out of the way of both attacks. He kept his arms crossed, and when he had finished his movement it would appear as if he had simply maintained his posture, but somehow shifted back several feet. He made no move to strike at Shiro, not yet. He was interested to see what she would do with her unique release. Keeping his eyes on her, Takeshi raised his one eyebrow again, smiling.

Shiro chuckled at her Sensei's smile, though it did tick her off for him to dodge her attack and still be crossing his arms. " Well I guess I can bleed a little bit more. I can show you what the Konton clan can do"

Shiro moved in for a similar attack as before aiming for his gut than the uppercut however when she dashed in to perform the punch instead of punching him in the stomach she swung her arm accross his chest. As she did so the blood on her fist travelled up to her forearm, creating a sharp axe head increasing the range of her attack by quite a lot. As she swung her arm she performed a quick jab to his ribcage. Shiro imagined though that a ninja of his calibre would dodge such an attack. This would only fuel her appetite to try to hurt him more.

Instead of dodging her attack, Takeshi simply stepped into it, avoiding the range added by her strange blood-forged axe head. Grabbing the girl's wrist, Takeshi spun, throwing out his hip in a move that was meant to throw the girl over onto her back. So far her control over the blood release was impressive, and it appeared as if she was quite used to it. Shiro had also shown the ability to be able to adapt her fighting style if an attack failed previously. All of these were good signs, and Takeshi smiled inwardly as he attempted to throw the girl.

Shiro was not worried when her wrist was grabbed and she was thrown over his back it gave her a great opputunity. As she went over his back she placed her free hand on her back. "The great thing sensei about using your body as a weapon is that you'll have to cut my arms and legs off to disarm me. Hidden Technique: Crimson Resolve." The blood on her the palm of her free hand became spiked and with her hand on her sensei's back would be certain to pierce his skin. Once she had complete this manoeuvre she would regain her defensive stance. Inspecting the damage if any that had happened to her sense.

Feeling her hand on his back, used his body blow release to quickly expel chakra from that position. He had timed it well, as the spikes were stopped from penetrating his skin by the sudden burst of chakra. Turning as Shiro landed, Takeshi folded his arms across his chest once again. "Just be careful not to talk too much during a fight Shiro. You may give away more than you'd like." Though he did not show it, Takeshi was mildly impressed by her ability to adapt on the fly. She was a quick thinker, but she had to be careful not to talk as much as she was.

" Yeah I guess you have a point there. Hidden Technique: Lightning Crimson. I wouldn't be surprised if you dodged this but, I'll find out I guess."[b] Tiger - Dragon - Monkey - Dragon. Taking a deep breath she focuses on her sensei's location. In the blink of an eye she had dashed at him aiming for his his skull with a simple hay-maker.

Hmm, so she could move quite fast as well. He thought to himself as he watched her spring forwards. Had Takeshi not been quite fast himself he may have been caught more off guard by the sudden attack. However, speed was Takeshi's domain. Moving with great speed, he stepped out of the way of the attack. Sweeping his leg out, he aimed to kick out her leg as she charged.

The problem with her being fast like this was that she did not have a great deal of control and saw her sensei's foot not too late but she had no way of avoiding it. Now airborn and flying through the air at some speed she performed a combat roll bringing her feet into the ground to slow herself down. [b]"Wow sensei, you literally just tripped me up. Hidden Technique: Lightning Crimson." With her increased speed she dashed at Takeshi bringing her leg up into a round house kick. " Shiro's Technique: Fists of Fury."[b] With her increased speed her fist would seem like a blur to the untrained eye as she brought fist after fist at her sensei.

Bouncing back she canceled her Lightning Crimson, compared to her sensei Shiro was a lot more beaten up due to the techniques drawbacks.

Takeshi stepped back, out of the way of her kick. He still had not had to use near his full speed, but he was impressed at the speed Shiro showed for a genin. However, as he dodged her fists somewhat effortlessly, he noticed that the enhanced speed was taking its toll. He imagined that it must have had to do with her blood release, and a part of him was worried. He knew that the release often caused internal damage to the user, and Takeshi did not want his student to injure herself trying to prove her worth.

Watching as she stepped back, Takeshi raised his hand. Sending out a surge of lightning, he aimed to purposely miss, but not by much. He was too close to try using the technique on his newest student for real, as it would be incredibly difficult to dodge if aimed to injure. But Takeshi simply wanted to startle the girl.

Shiro saw the lightning leaving his hand dodging to the side she activated Lighting Crimson again pulling out a kunai she drew iy across her shoulders, than activating Crimson resolve the blood hardened and warped to for spiked shoulder pads. Using her enhanced speed she dashed at her sensei intending to shoulder barge and skewer him. However if he dodged she would use her close proximity to the ground to alter her attack into a round house kick.

Sighing as the girl chose to charge him again, Takeshi waited until she was a little closer before spinning rapidly. Using his Great Whirlwind Defense, Takeshi released chakra from every point on his body, causing a physical barrier that would throw any attack backwards with some force. Takeshi had toned down the spin a fair bit, so that he wouldn't cause too much harm to Shiro. Most likely if she hit the barrier she would just bounce off it a few feet, and potentially lose her footing.

Shiro almost charged straight into the barrier she was able to push off from the ground with her hands and go straight over the top of the barrier, landing rather awkwardly on the other side. Canceling Crimson Lightning she felt a slight pain in her ankle from where she had landed. [b]" Okay, okay sensei I surrender. I do really want to continue but I need to show control when I fight people. If I carry on fighting I will probably end up hurting myself a lot." Shiro bowed to her sensei the wound she had inflicted on herself being banaged by her hardened blood.

Slowing his spin down, Takeshi came to a halt. It appeared as if Shiro had injured herself when she landed. Stepping towards her, he spoke gently. "You did well Shiro. There are things that we can work on, but you showed a lot of promise." Bending down he looked at her wounds. It appeared as if her blood had hardened, causing the wounds to be sealed. Interesting. He thought to himself. Gesturing he spoke, "Let me see your wounds Shiro-san. This release of yours looks like it takes quite a toll on you, am I right?"

"Well Crimson Lightning works by forcing blood into my muscles increasing their mass and allowing me to push my self a lot harder. As for crimson Resolve it's just the manipulation of blood into a hardened form. I am fine though." Shiro none the less showed her hands this exposed the other scars along her hands and arms if he looked well enough.

Seeing her many wounds, Takeshi felt a slight twinge of sadness for the girl. Using the Healing Technique, he set about healing the wounds she had received from today. He could not do a lot about the other wounds, most of which had already scarred over. Lifting his head, Takeshi spoke softly. "I doubt that I need to tell you this Shiro, but you need to be careful with your techniques. Using them without proper control on the battlefield can cause you more harm than they are worth. And then you will end up being more of a liability to your teammates. It is clear that you are skilled Shiro, but I want you to work on control. Okay?"

Shiro scoffed "You starting to sound like my grandmother. Shiro you can't go around flinging your blood everywhere. I know my limits sensei, I've fought with worst injuries then a twisted ankle. I know that I push my self a lot when I fight but only because I want see how far I can push myself and learn more about this technique and how I can use it on the battlefield" To illustrate her point she let the blood from her wound form into bubble that rose above her head, before falling back towards the ground and being absorbed back into the wounds they had come from. "Besides I barely feel pain"

Watching as she demonstrated her skill over the release, Takeshi sighed. He couldn't well blame the girl for wanting to push herself. After all, he had done much of the same when he was a genin. However, her release made things a little different, as every one of her techniques caused damage to herself. Debating on the proper words, Takeshi finally spoke. "I can understand your motivation Shiro-san. Just promise me that if we are to get into an actual fight out there, that you will try and show a little more restraint. I will do everything that I can to help you develop your skills while training, but if we are in an actual fight, I need you to excercise a little more caution." His words were not harsh, nor was his tone disappointed in any way. He just needed Shiro to understand that her ability could cause her to become wounded much faster, and in a real battle he might not always be able to look out for her. "Just because you do not feel the pain does not mean that it is not affecting you. Always keep that in mind Shiro." He added gently.

"Oh, I still feel pain. I just don't notice the minor things like a cut" Shiro looked distant for a moment. "There's not a lot of people in my clan left, most people don't know their limits and end up bleeding to death. Others have been created chemical reaction withing their own blood and blown themselves up. It's scary to think of all the things I could do. But you have a point I'll be more careful in the future."

Shiro sat down on the grass, looking up at her sense. "So these team mates of mine. What are they like?"

Smiling as she finally agreed to be more careful, Takeshi still felt saddened by her release. In many ways it sounded more like a curse than a blessing, and he would not wish it upon anyone. Making a solemn promise to ensure that he trained Shiro enough that she would not befall a similar fate, Takeshi thought about how best to answer her question. "Well, to be honest I have only really spent time talking with Natsume... If you can call it talking." He paused. "To be honest with you Shiro, you are the only one I can actually say I've had a real conversation with. Natsume, I fear, has to overcome a lot of personal stuff before she will be able to open up, and Jizo... Well I haven't had a real chance to talk with him yet."

Shiro eyed Takeshi slyly [b]"Ya know sensei, I could talk to her let her feel at ease. A bit of girl on girl bonding." Shiro winked at Takeshi "If you know what I mean" Shiro was just teasing sensei and wanted to see how he would react to this.

Letting out a small chuckle, Takeshi smiled. "I would honestly love to see that Shiro. Though, I think you may find her a tough nut to crack." He was glad that at least one member of his team was easy enough to get along with. Takeshi knew that it wasn't a sensei's job to be friends with his students, but he had always felt that a strong bond between teacher and students was essential to success. Thinking of something else, Takeshi said, "I will also have to warn you. When we are working together with Mika's team... She can have a tendency to be... How can I put this... Over the top, with some of her reactions. Just follow my lead around her and it should be alright. She is a very capable shinobi and we are lucky to get a chance to work with her and her team."

Shiro shook out of her sly look and laughed. "Well, I look forward to meeting them I guess. You've made me curious as to her poking limit. But to be on the safe side I'll follow your lead as you suggested"

Laughing again, he responded. "That is probably for the best. Believe me when I say she is not the kind of person you want to cross." His tone grew slightly more serious as he said that last part. He wanted Shiro to understand that Mika was definitely not the person to joke around with... well, unless you were him. Somehow he had managed to avoid her murderous intent, a feat that continously surprised him. "If you can Shiro, try to be friendly with Natsume. I am worried that she won't take too kindly to others right away, especially ones that show agression towards her. Not saying that you would, but I just want to avoid any conflict upon meeting each other."

"Well Sensei I will try, but I cannot promise anything. I'm joking!" Shiro was still sitting down and fell backwards onto her back looking up at the sky take fascination in how bland it was looking today. "Well I hope that you Sensei, can help me to become a great ninja and give me the strength to find my parents. Where ever they are and whatevers happened to them."

Smiling warmly, Takeshi glanced over at the girl. She certainly seemed willing to learn, and it helped that she didn't seem to have a problem with communicating either. "I have faith that you will one day become a great kunoichi. And when that day comes Shiro-san, you will not have to search for them alone." Looking up, Takeshi let out a small sigh. He hoped that he would be able to bring his team together, and get them to work alongside one another. Thinking back to his own sensei, Takeshi wondered how he had made it all seem so easy.

"This is the second time you have brought up your parents to me Shiro. Would you mind telling me a little bit about them?" Takeshi wanted to understand Shiro's motivation a little more. Perhaps if she explained, he would be able to find a way to reach her better. A way to motivate her to learn more control.

Shiro's smile disappeared instantly when Takeshi asked for information about her parents. Her face darkened as she looked away and at the ground. "M-my Parents?" Shiro may talk have talk a lot about finding her parents alive but secretly she hoped they were dead. They put her as a child, through hell and back to shape her into the ninja she was and still they thought of her as a failure. Her smile returned as she looked back up at Takeshi. "My parents? They are a very rare pair who possess a unique version of the blood release. They were feared in battle able to manipulate their blood to cut at a molecular level. They did though, while I was only young push me very hard constantly testing me and punishing me if I did not meet their standards. I suppose you could call them cruel but what they did made me stronger and respect them as ninjas. But not a parents. I guess the reason that I want to find them is to question them really and find out where they went all these years." Shiro shuddered at the memories that talking about her parent brought up. She was a very strong girl and most things didn't phase her, this though was something that had affected her during her young childhood.

Noticing how Shiro's mood changed at the mention of her parents, Takeshi grew silent. Simply listening as she spoke, he waited until she had said her piece. Looking at Shiro, Takeshi felt a mixture of sorrow and understanding. He hated how the shinobi way often caused elders to train the new generation in harsher ways, hoping to prepare them faster, but he understood how it was often a necessary task.

Sighing to himself, Takeshi locked eyes with Shiro. "I have a feeling that you would be an excellent shinobi regardless of how hard they pushed you Shiro-san. I do not know your parents, and so I apologize if I speak poorly here. I have known many shinobi, and I have been around long enough to understand how this world works. We have been brought up in a time and place where we are forced to become something other than what we desire. We are forced to do things in the name of duty, things that cause us pain and make us question why. It isn't until we have gone through these things that we can fully appreciate what they have done for us." Glancing away for a moment, Takeshi tried to gather his thoughts. Though he could understand Shiro's pain, he would never pretend to know exactly what she had gone through. "I am truly sorry for what was done to you Shiro-san. But I hope that you will understand that I will not be the same as your parents. I do not believe in punishing people until they achieve results. For me, well... I have always taken the view that rewards lead to better results. I know that may be an unpopular view here in Kirigakure, but I stand by my beliefs. If you promise to work for it Shiro, I will promise to train you to the best of my ability so that, when the time comes, you will be able to confront your parents without fear. And I truly hope that, by that time, you will no longer be alone, you will have your friends, your teammates to help you. People that care for you Shiro, and people that want to help you because they care, not just because it benefits them." Reaching out, Takeshi placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, offering her a reassuring smile.

Shiro smiled at Takeshi when he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Thanks Sensei, that reassures me a lot though my grandmother is always there to help me. She pushes me as hard as my parents did but she doesn't punish me if I do something wrong." Shiro got up her ankle now a lot better. "I feel really stupid though for being defeated by a twisted ankle, I guess some of my tecniques need streamlining and testing so that they don't cause such silly injuries."

"Then I am glad that you have your grandmother." Withdrawing his hand, Takeshi stood alongside Shiro. "That's the beautiful thing about training. We can make sure to work on those things before getting you into an actual fight. That way you aren't liable to injure yourself in the middle of a mission." Pondering to himself for a long moment, Takeshi truly hoped that he would be able to help the girl develop her skills. Blood Release was not something he was familiar with, and he was afraid that he would not be able to provide much help on developing its techniques.

"Well..." Takeshi started, "I suppose we should go meet the others now." Smiling he stood. Stretching himself out, Takeshi looked out across the field. He hoped that today turned out well...

Konoha Team 7
Kensuke Nimatsu

His attention was drawn from the upset Sachiko as Ezuri woke up and started moving, quickly told by a 9-year old to stay still with an authority that baffled Kensuke beyond reason. The Hyuga obeyed meekly, fixing the situation rather quickly. The rather surprising outcome of this allowed him to go after Sachiko to ... do what? It was a part of his job to get hurt, and Sachiko should know that perfectly well, being a shinobi herself. Why was she so concerned about him then? He felt guilty for making her this concerned, but that scratch, he hadn't even noticed it, so incredibly superficial was it. Sighing in frustration because he simply couldn't find out why she was so upset about it he returned to the entry desk. Women!

He arrived to see her welcoming some old woman who came for a treatment of sorts, and politely and patiently waited, leaning against the wall. Once she had helped the woman on her way, Kensuke approached her, noticing she looked as if nothing had ever been wrong at all. "You know, being a shinobi, getting hurt is a risk of the job, right?" He carefully asked her, upon which she punched him in the shoulder. "Ofcourse I do, you dummy. I'm a shinobi myself. I just meant that you should take better care of yourself. Unlike tools it cannot be replaced." She answered semi-seriously against her own will. She had tried to sound playfully, but couldn't quite hide the fact that Kensuke was so oblivious about. Luckily his utter lack of social skills made him sigh in relief. "I know, I know." He replied, shrugging. Turning around and leaning against the wall, he then chose to remain silent. He felt as if an awkward silence had fallen between them, but he could not point out why. The same counted for Sachiko, but she thought she knew exactly why.

"Anyways, I'm a bit concerned about that genin. We had a set-up mission where we would execute a number of 'released' convicts, a relatively difficult mission for such fresh graduates. But certainly one we should be capable of doing. All of the genin had the required skills to survive unscathed, but... Not the required mind it seemed. Teamwork was an unachievable ideal it seemed, and they all basically ran off in another direction as we attacked. You can observe the results." Kensuke started, making Sachiko blush in surprise a moment, not that he noticed anyways, before she picked up on his conversation. "Well then maybe this thaught them that teamwork is essential?" She replied, to which he raised his shoulders. "Let's hope so." He answered, incapable of thinknig too much when the entire fact of the attacked hospital was still on his mind. Both of them felt little incentive to continue bantering, so he apologized and left to see Ezuri before leaving.

He was asleep and in a fine condition, and one of the medical nin had added a small letter from Kiyomi on the desk next to his bed. What had Kiyomi to do with his genin? Leaving the building after a friendly nod to Sachiko, he decided to go home. The Hokage would spend the rest of the day on the incident of the hospital and he could always file in his report tomorrow.

Niji Yakei - Sometimes being right is a bad thing...

It was genuinely relieving that Shinichi would help her to the best of his ability, even if it was just his word and nothing more it helped her feel better about this entire mess. She followed alongside him as they walked, not yet realising how accurate her statement had been until he stopped. Unsure as to why Shinichi had stopped, Niji continued walking a moment longer due to the sentence not registering in her head for a few seconds.

But as soon as it clicked, she turned around on her heel and looked at him in mild confusion that slowly became realisation to the fact that what she'd said jokingly was almost a perfect match to Shinichi. But the weirdest thing was that it didn't exactly scare her that he had a life filled with death prior to this, all shinobi's lives would be slowly filled with death whether they liked it or not, it was more concerning that he'd been keeping so quiet about it and had needed to change his name to hide from it... But now he was feeling as bad, if not worse, than she had not five minutes ago. Now he needed reassurance from her, someone to confide in.

”I’m not him anymore…”

What didn't help was that he was looking right at her as he said it, meeting her gaze and no doubt trying to see how she was reacting to it all. She simply steeled herself on the inside and held out her hand, palm facing him in a "stop" gesture. "Of course you aren't, you're Shinichi Kyousuke. And because of that you'll never be, or have to be, Kazuma ever again. Since I met you you've been Shinichi, you taught myself and Kamiria as Shinichi, when got out of Kumogakure not two years ago to avoid that war you were Shinichi. It doesn't matter who you used to be anymore because the only side of you I've known and need to know is Shinichi, you don't need to worry about who you were. Who you've become now and who you're going to be is more important, Shinichi Kyousuke; a dedicated shinobi of Kumogakure, who knows, you could be raikage at some point. But what you are no longer, is Kazuma." She finished with a brief pause. "I know my pep-talks aren't the best, but it's better than me staying quiet or trying to say I understand how you feel... You can never understand how another person feels. But what I can do is reinforce to you what you need to know, you're not him and never will be ever again... If you somehow became him again, I'd take you down until you came to your senses. You can trust me to do that."

She wasn't entirely sure if he'd respond to that well or not, but at least she tried to help him, maybe it was the thought that counted?
___________________________________

Kumogatarui Dobustu - Wait what? He was her all along!?

The first of many things to catch the little kunoichi off guard right now was when Kakashi turned into Hatake-Sensei, which lead to the second thing, Hatake-Sensei managing to set off some smoke tags and obscure her clone's dispelling, which wrought a brief yelp and a flailing of arms from Kumoga as she was covered in smoke. A short bout of coughing would follow as she stumbled out and saw what was before her, Kakashi's bell in Takeshi's hand, but there was only one, there was meant to be two! Could bells now make shadow clones!? How many tricks did Hatake-Sensei have up her sleeves?

Kakashi's suggestion, along with Naoto's arrival, brought a sense of urgency from Kumoga as she dispelled her last two clones, whom splashed into the dirt after the chakra vanished. "Shiratori-san! We have to go see Hatake-sensei, Fujiwara-san has one bell but there's meant to be a second... Are you okay to continue?" She was meant to be the leader here, apparently, and a good leader would make sure the team was well, right? Yeah, if she wanted to look like a good leader she'd have to make sure the others were well... But she didn't want to be a leader, did she? She wanted to stand at the back and let someone else lead.

"Fujiwara-san, how about you? Are you feeling well also?" Kumoga asked whilst stood near Naoto, looking her over to see if she was well or not, she seemed tired which was a worry. But hopefully the girl would be fine. "We best hurry."

Sho Deshuga

The Water Whip thing would have worked were it not for the stupid Fuuma Shuriken that Kira had going on. That thing had to be removed. Sho took brief notice of the Amekage's Assistant appearing in the field again, but since he wasn't stopping the fight or doing anything of remote interest that had to do with him Sho decided it was not worth his attention. The Fuuma Shuriken was where it was at. That thing had to disappear. It was pretty sure what was going on because unless Kira had some strange Kekkei Genkei that allowed her to move objects freely through the air - which was, face it, unlikely - the thing was being controlled by a string. Maybe he should have taken up kenjutsu during those years then he could just cut through the wire with ease. But he couldn't do that.

Instead of jumping backwards to avoid the weapon all together Sho actually moved towards Kira. Time for big risks. Risks that could cost his legs. He jumped up as the Fuuma Shuriken was about to pass behind him and whipped out a kunai. He flipped backwards but instead of landing out of the range he attempted to land on the weapon. The blades of a Fuuma were meant to cut sideways meaning he should be fine landing on top of it. He just had to time it right.

Which it seemed he had. Almost with grace he landed on the weapon and send it down into the ground. As he landed he used the kunai to cut the wire that was now coming under pressure before standing up and raising the weapon from the ground. He tested his arm and then threw the thing straight back to Kira, but not before he had formed some seals of his own and had created a Water Whip to attach to the blade.

Takeshi Fujiwara

Flying at the panther, who was still trying to get his leg out of the webbing, Takeshi knew he was gonna make it. He took the bells of the panthers tail and held them both up high, widely grinning. The bells ringed softly. Then the panther said something and poofed away along with one of the bells, Takeshi looked at his hand with big eyes of surprise, where did that other bell go. Lowering his arm again the bell rang again. Well, at least we got one he thought. As the smoke of the tags and additional smoke of the clones cleared Takeshi saw Naoto arrive as well, she looked winded. Takeshi walked over to her and lied his hand on her shoulder "rest" he said gently.

Kumoga asked him if he was ready to go and get the second bell, as soon as Naoto caught her breath. He smiled warmly and stuck up his thumb, he was ready as he'll ever be. Having one of the bells raised his spirit to unusual heights. He didn't mind Kumoga take the lead, but he'd prefer to have the lead next time. Take some weight of the shoulders of the girls. He bound the bell to his sash. Takeshi nodded at Kumoga's remark that they'd be best to hurry. Takeshi looked at Naoto to see if she needed any help before the three of them went to see Hatake-sensei.

Katsuko Moto

As Meisa began explaining the situation and the lines on the ground began to work their way into Katsuko's body, he stared into the clone's eyes with surprising intensity. His fierce expression was matched by his red eyes, but he didn't move an inch. Even with the searing pain, he stood his ground with his fists clenched as the only sign he even felt the sealing. As soon as she left, Katsuko closed his eyes for a moment, before taking his hand up to his ear and removing his earphone communicator. As a way of venting, he crushed the tiny device in his hand, letting the tiny pieces fall to the ground. He could feel the seal on his heart. The disturbance of his natural state. Once again, he clenched his fists, before looking back at Ryo and Yumi.

Yumi was already walking away, but Ryo was still there. "I'm going to spend my last day with my family," Katsuko informed him as he looked ahead once more. Though his expression wasn't as fierce as before, his irises were still red. "It looks like rain tomorrow..." There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but that seemed to not make a difference. Without waiting for a goodbye, Katsuko began to walk away, his fists still at his side. As he began making his way home, he couldn't help but feel that he was carrying more weight now. Each step was heavier. But he knew what he had to do now. I don't like it, but I have no choice but to go along with this for now, he thought to himself, jumping down to the street once he was at the edge of the rooftop. This isn't the future I had in mind. The plan. I'm going to break Mom's heart...

Kira Sami

He dares to use my own weapons against me? Kira scowled as Sho picked up the fuuma shuriken. It was impressive that he managed to hit it out of the air by landing on it, but he had some nerve to throw it back at her. Kira reached toward her back, removing the other fuuma shuriken. Rather quickly, she tossed it directly at the incoming fuuma shuriken. She knew that he was going to be able to control it with the water whip he created, but it seemed to make no difference. After throwing the fuuma shuriken, Kira charged forward after it.

However, as soon as it crashed into the other fuuma shuriken, Kira pulled hard on a wire. The two fuuma shuriken had bounced off each other, but with her pull she regained control of her weapon very quickly and sent it careening toward herself. Rather than control it further, or even sidestep, Kira let go of the wire that was holding it and placed one hand on the saya of her katana and the other on the hilt. As she continued headlong toward Sho, the fuuma shuriken passed by Kira, barely missing her. It's true target was someone behind her: Rini. While Kira closed in on Sho, her second fuuma shuriken was heading directly toward Rini. If you want to get close to me so bad, I'll grant your wish.

Naoto Shiratori

One of the clones turned out to be Tora, which shocked Naoto, but Takeshi still managed to grab the bells from the panther's tail. Naoto let out a small cheer, before the one of the bells dissipated in a small cloud of smoke, along with the panther. Takeshi walked over to her, and put his hand on her shoulder. He said something about her needing to rest, but Naoto just stared at the hand on her shoulder, obviously not enjoying the sensation. After a long pause she finally said, "Ok, I just need to catch my breath," She sat down, and slowly her breathing returned to normal. After the small break, Naoto proclaimed that she was ready, again looking to Kumoga for instructions on what their next move was.

Kumogatauri Dobustu - Time for action, and seeing Sensei

Naoto was okay, she just needed to catch her breath, and Takeshi was excited and eager for more action... Understandable, he'd managed to grab the bells from Kakashi's tail, even if there were only really just one. Now herself and Naoto had to go get the other bell, and maybe a third if there was one? Who knew, maybe there was only one bell?

But time for pondering such intricacies was over, they had to go see Hatake-Sensei as soon as possible, Kakashi had even recommended it... That was also a surprise, that Kakashi could talk. "For now we must go see Hatake-Sensei and show her that we got the bell." She then turned her head to look to Kakashi, but he'd poofed away already at the same time the bell went. "Maybe this will be the end of the exercise, but if we're meant to have two bells, maybe Hatake-Sensei has another plan for us today... Let's go." She spoke with a firm nod, but inside she almost felt bad for not having gotten the bells herself, that had to be pushed down however as she lead the way back to the training field.

As she lead the way back Kumoga frowned inwardly, if the test was of who could get the bells and that there would be a second bell to acquire on the way back, she wasn't certain if she actually wanted the bell or not... The praise for getting the bell would be nice, no doubt, but surely she could praise herself enough for being able to put on a strong facade as a leader, being able to fake the calm and the control that one would have despite her internal struggle with leadership. She didn't really need the bell, did she? "...Shiratori-san? If there is a second bell, do you want to claim it?" There would be a brief time to talk in the forest as they headed back towards the training field, so maybe they could decide who should have it on the way?

Ryo Katsu
Konohagakure Chuunin | Team 4

Member of the Ghost ANBU.

Ryo was biting his lower lip. This situation wasn't to his liking, but he had seen no way out of it. Besides, he wouldn't chicken out if there was a way to. His muscles trembled due the pain as he leaned a bit forward. Yet, he felt little regret at the moment. He had done this to safe not only his life, but to continue his duty. Thinking about it, he would die anyways. If it was now or later. With Yumi first leaving and then Katsuko, Ryo wanted to say something. Only to be silent when Katsuko said what he was going to do. He was going to spend his last day with his family. Ryo lowered his head, like he had just been defeated.

Family?

He hadn't worried about it for a long time. He had experienced so many things that he had forgotten about his situation. How strange it sounded, he only realized it now. He had none. Sure, he had friends that stood at his side and were always ready. But in these situations, he had nobody to rely on. Everybody had their family. Though he saw Katsuko and Kensuke as brothers and to some extent even Tsubasa as an older sister, Ryo could now see the illussion he had held up for himself. They had their families and loved ones. Who was there for him?

Midori.

The memories of Midori brought briefly a smile on his lips. The time that they had spent together were memories he truly cherished. Only then to remember a detail. She was in Kumogakure. Thus he wouldn't even be able to spend a day with her. His last day alive. He would be alone. If it wasn't depressing enough that he had no family, it was now like it was somehow slammed into his face. Not crying, he felt like he would. Simply, he would leave for his own apartment. First over the rooftops, but after some distance, he would take it to the streets. Landing on the ground without any trouble, Ryo looked around him. People were minding their own business. Like nobody looked after him. It made Ryo stand still, in the midst of the street. Nobody that called out to him or wanted to spend a day with him. It was just like those years back.

He had worked hard for the bonds he had now. Today would be the last day he would have most of them. But even while he had worked all these years for them, tomorrow they would mean nothing. Ryo stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants as his head was lowered. It troubled the mind of the young man. Strange. Like his efforts for a better life and such goals were nothing worth. They had been taken away, just like that. Or they would be. Confused, Ryo felt something on his cheek. Rubbing his left hand over his cheek, he didn't care about it anymore. Or at least, that was what he tried to tell himself. He didn't want to care about everybody. Nobody cared for him. If they did, where were they now?

No, they were with families and people they wanted to spend the day with.

Not with him.

Continueing to walk towards his home, Ryo thought about what he had been through. Training for the chuunin exams, missions with team Sayomi and getting placed into another mission. Losing contact with Katsuko for quite a long time and the war with Sunagakure. The Elders taking over Konohagakure, the march from Keishi to the Rice capital. The fight there and everything. Was it all for nothing? Ryo wondered about it. He had always lost something, but gained so much in return. Kensuke, Tsubasa, Sayomi, Katsuko and Midori. Of course, there were more people he had became friends with. But it was just that it seemed so pointless.

Opening the door of his appartement, Ryo looked around. Closing the door, he went to his own room. He knew what he was going to do. First he would arrange something. Ryo wouldn't sever his bonds just like that. No, he would try to give them one more memento of him. Two people he really cared for. Sitting down on his bed, Ryo sighed. A glance to his right and he noticed the photo frame he really loved. It had the picture of Team Sayomi. Slowly, his hand went towards it. And then turned it around, not wanting to see it anymore.

''So this is it. Guess I should arrange this first.'' Ryo picked up a kunai. He looked at the weapon that he had pulled out of the holster. Pricking his thumb, he would set the first step of his ''goodbye''. Already he felt something warm moving over his cheeks. Without anybody around, he felt no shame in crying.

Shu Iba

The sun filtered through the window above Shu's head, slowing waking him up. The rhythmic sound of a blacksmith hammer could be heard outside, as Shu's father worked away on his forge. As Shu rubbed his eyes, his brain began to process that today was going to be another day of training, leading a small smile to grace his face. He slowly got up, and donned the standard genin uniform, before heading out to the training field. He arrived around the time practice was supposed to start, and began looking for his sensei.

Katsumi, Kumo ANBU Member

After breifing with the Raikage, something she felt proud of and eager to begin her mission, but first she had to pay a visit with this diplomat. Looking at the address she was given, she scanned over the roof tops of the village until she found the one that matched the photo, beginning her descent down from the roof of the Raikages office and towards the house. It wasn't long before she arrived at the said diplomats residence and was knocking on the door patiently, waiting for him to answer.

A moment later, an old man opened the door nervously and eyed her. "Hello..." the diplomat said cautiously. Katsumi bowed her head before looking him in the eyes and squaring her shoulders. "May I help you?" he asked, still eying her.

"The Raikage has given orders to escort and guard you to the Snow Country within the next two days. I am here to inform you to be ready to depart from the village at first light tomorrow, any questions?" Katsumi asked in a rather uniform tone. She wasn't sure why she asked him if he had any questions, she didn't really leave any room for him to question. "Your safety will be ensured on the path we choose to take, yours and the gift you will be presenting Daimyo. Myself, as well as nearly four teams of ANBU will be ensuring your safety," Katsumi said in the same uniform tone. The last tidbit of information was added to hopefully calm his nerves, he looked startled by the news.

"First light is awfully early, are you sure that we can't depart at a later time? Maybe at noon, noon is a lovely time," he asked, she could hear the hopefulness in his voice as he tried to persuade her to change her mind. Sadly for him, there was no changing her mind once it was made. The degree of hardness in her eyes stopped him from continuing his attempts as he bowed his head in defeat, it was a fight that he would not win. "First light, I will be waiting at the gate at first light as requested of you, ma'am," he said, before closing the door. With a nod, she turned to leave as well, heading towards the ANBU head quarters, where she would inform those who were told to be on the four teams that they were to be ready to leave with the gift at first light as well.

Naoto Shiratori

Naoto hummed a tune as they walked, enjoying the rhythmic sound of hearing Kumoga talk, though she didn't quite understand what was being said. However, Naoto perked up, and started listening when her name was spoken. Kumoga asked if she wanted to claim the second bell, assuming another was indeed there. Naoto smiled at Kumoga, and spoke in a hushed tone. "I think that the person who is in the best position to grab it should claim it. I don't think we should build plans around this, while ignoring one of the most important factors: convenience. Whoever is in the right spot at the right time should claim the bell as their own. That is not to say we shouldn't build a plan, but I don't think we should make it one person's sole responsibility to grab the bell." Naoto explained, then giggled lightly before saying, "Besides this is just a form of warm-up before we get to kill things."