The Village Hidden in the Twilight was more than a moniker for the Yukage... it was a deadline. The Yukage had as of late picked up intelligence that even the Mist's own was upset about the growth and would likely try to procure talented ninjas underneath their ranks, Let alone the other lands and villages. Her advisors called her paranoid but she knew better. Tapping into the mysterious supply of chakra these lands gathered, along with her own allowed her to cover the land hidden in the twilight in genjutsu as well. With a deep breath, "Focus"she exhaled, sitting with her legs crossed, dark skin glistening beneath the moon. Dragon-Serpent-Bird-Sage. Her hands smoothly and quickly entered each signal,and she released.A translucent barrier enveloped the entirety of the Mist. The barrier sparkled and then dissipated from view.

She stood off and patted the dust. "Good...now all those subpar ninja who pass by our border will see nothing beyond a broken hollowed out bridge that dips into the waters edge... Those who know better though will see fears into fruition..."She smiled her half dastardly smirk but in all seriousness she knew that as much energy she expended into this genjutsu, most ninjas had considerable prowess. At most this would stop E or D rank ninja (genin) on reconaissance. C and above? Well thats were things started to get tricky. She looked up to the moon and did a quick prayer before heading back to her office.

---
Yuuto was up early this morning, behind his small hut, practicing in the forest. Shooting a Sharp pointed bone like kunai out of his palm, He hit his mark and just as quickly pulls it out of the tree and starts practicing his taijutsu with it. Jump. Reverse Spin. Slash. Flip Back. Gain some Distance, Yuuto. Reabsorb...Jump and Shoot Again!. This time he missed his mark. He also didn't appreciate the time it takes for him to fully absorb his bone and shoot it out again. As the last of his line, It was up to Yuuto to help protect the town that had given him a sense of family... Although he lived alone, towns people would always check that he had enough food. They would prod him about moving closer into the heart of the village but as much as Yuuto said no, he appreciated the offer.

Frustrated in himself, it was getting about that time to reconvene with his shinobi advisor, Kiragi, known for her water based techniques... Yuuto went down by the waters edge and freshened up, slipping into his shinobi outfit, by now noticing that the sun had at least hit its mark at ten. If one thing was his weakness it was letting his mind wander while freshining up. He almost yelp and he ran back into the forest and took to the trees to hasten his venture to the schoold lot. He could already see his instructors upset face . Hopefully his teammates were late as well so he wouldn't get the brunt of the punishment!

Yuta tossed and turned in his sleep. He hid his head under the blanket trying to block out the sunlight creeping through the curtains of his curtains. When that failed, he let out a sigh. He slowly sat up in his bed and stretched. The night before, Yuta stayed awake practicing his chakra control. He took a deep breath and crawled out of bed.

Yuta walked across the floor of his small apartment. He glanced at a letter on his dresser. It was from his mother. Yuta slowly reached for it. It arrived last night while Yuta was training deep in the woods. He unrolled the scroll and read it. The paper gave off his mother's scent. It reminded him of home. The letter said that his younger brother and sister were doing well and that she was keeping them occupied to avoid them messing with Farmer Yuma's piglets. His father and uncle were working diligently to keep the peace and that they had been an excellent job at it.

Yuta believed his mother's words but could tell she was hiding something. There was a certain tone to the letter that unsettled him. Like, "We're okay. We still have a target on our backs but we will be fine. Worry about yourself." He picked his head up and looked out the window. The sun was higher; it was probably around the ten o' clock hour.

"Crap!" Yuta exclaimed. He rushed to prepare for the meeting with his advisor, Kiragi. He quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and threw his clothes on. He grabbed his katana from its stand and holstered in on his back. He opened the window to his room and, with no hesitation, jumped from the window to the nearest rooftop. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Yuta raced to the schoolyard.

'Hopefully, I'm not the only one who's late,' Yuta thought.

Haruna sat quietly under the tree of her new home. School children passed her by and she didn't pay them any mind. Of course, there wasn't anyone to tell her that she shouldn't reside there or when to run to school. She lived alone. The village had been gracious enough to appoint her someone to make sure she had her basic needs. Unfortunately, it was only the basics. Hiyaritoshita (Hiyari-san) only spoke to Haruna when scheduled to. Their interactions made her feel like a plant. Just make sure she had her light, her water, food, and nothing else. It didn't matter. Haruna treated this all the same. Just means to an end.

"Play their game... Play it until the right piece is on the field." She thought to herself. Her visible eye fixated straight ahead at the gates to the town.

Her mind always lingered to her home. The smell of ore, the soot that her and her family were always covered him. The sound of the wind turbines. The little things like children running along dirt road in their sandals was the music box tune she loved. If only it was still there.

Her eye wandered to her hands. The fact that she was here and they were because of her ability killed her inside.

"Why didn't everyone have the Chrysalis?" Another thought poked her in her side. "Why am I here?"

A series of sad thoughts filled her mind. Dragged her further away from her light memory and the feet running by. More pain filled her head, along with screaming. The cold filled her deep down. The motivation was slipping further and further away.

"He'll pay!" A voice within rang out.

The rage within centered her again. There was no time for pity or sadness. There was only time to get revenge. Haruna's lean body rose up from the ground. Her walk started off like a stalk of a ghoul. Her arms low to the ground, her back in a hunch, and head fixed in the direction she should go. Haruna had no concept of time or importance, just a where and that she wouldn't be alone.

(She was very late)

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Yuta tip towing into the middle of the schoolyard's open field after making his way out of the forest. In a flash Haruna was present and the same could be said of Yuuto. "Ōtsutsuki, Takahiro & Takara...You're all late."


"If you think this is still academy days you're sorely mistaken. You're not children anymore. You'll show up on time or find a new instructor. Kiragi's face was serious but internally she had a different outlook on the issue. haha...only i can't quit because the Yukage would literally have my head on this one... Teaching is definitely a drag...I'd rather be on a real mission right now but 'For the sake of the village you must put your pride aside and inspire the young' blah blah blah. I'm not even the teaching type! She's just forcing us jonins into it because of this impending war....sighhh!

"I was going to take it easy on you the first day and say only 20 laps around the school but since you guys have a blatant disrespect for my time, we're going to skip the warm-up. It'll be 50 laps around the school and after, shuriken practice throws (she pointed twrds the old shed behind the school)...until your arms fall off. And don't you dare slack off."She said this with a smirk and then poofed away (unbeknownst to them in the trees). Sitting at the edge of the forest on one of the tallest branches, she went through her folder. Information of each member of her squad was printed on the paper. Reading through the information, she took out her fine brush and started scribbling information.

Yuuto sighed and scratched the back of his head. What a terrible first impression he had just laid out for his sensei. Luckily his teammates had no room to judge as they were late too. He realized their teach didn't even try to introduce them to each other...probably because she was so pissed...
"Erm...I'm Yu-" A shuriken whizzed by barely missing Yuuto's head.

A voice bellowed "I SAID NO SLACKING OFF!"

Yuuto flinched and then with a quickness started on his first lap around the school.

If she was younger, that gaze would have scared her. If she was who she was before the trauma, she would gripe about being late and the punishment. None of that phased her. She didn't even look at her teammates. Her body moved on its own. It was like a daze.

"Do the request. Do not complain." She told herself as she continued on.

She was still running in her ghoul like haunt. She made sure to conserve her energy. She kept thinking of the crystallize Chakra creeping over her skin as the attack happened. The cold tickle over her skin. Her classmate's movement disjointed the thought. She didn't realize he was there.

"Just another distraction."

The shuriken was all motivation Yuta needed to start running. The school grounds stretched over seven miles and running fifty miles was more than cruel and unusual punishment. The was the first time this new squad had been assembled since they were announced; and on the first day all three members were late.

'This is going to be a lot of fun,' he thought.

The trio had finished their fifth lap.

"Well, she seems nice," Yuta said between breaths. "Since we have time to kill, I'm Yuta."

Hesitantly Yuuto decided to keep the pace with Yuta. There was no reason to go all out early on...well besides some death shurikens thrown his way. "...I'm... Yuuto."He said arms thrown back. Tenth Lap done. He noticed the female teammate hadn't even acknowledged them but Yuuto chalked it up to diligence. I probably should be more like her when it comes to it but... at this point getting to know my teammates probably wouldn't cause any more damage. He had resolved himself to continue the conversation but didn't know what else to say. Struggling to time breathes and talking at the same time it was around lap twenty Yuuto said, "I'm never being late again." and then proceeded to trip over a stray branch near the shed stumbling into some underbrush. Fresh Cuts along his arm with blood surfacing, as the momentum pushed him a good 12 feet and back seemingly rammed against a tree.

Kiragi noticed him and had to stifle a laugh. That one definitely reminded her of herself during her own days as a genin. Noticeably different than what happened to her though as she could see he had extended two claw-like bones from his back into the tree's trunk, to stop his movement. So that's the Kaguya clan Kekkai Genkai huh.... She continued to watch the scene unfold, resolving to get somewhat of a grasp on this teams character dynamics.

Arms slightly aching, Yuuto breathed a sigh of relief. Couldve been a lot worse had he not reacted just in time.

The counter in her head logged the laps automatically. She didn't think about how many she was on, yet she knew.

"Must get through this." The voice in her head boomed.

Without thinking, she nodded in agreement.

After a few more laps, she noticed the two others running about the same speed. She only noticed them again because they had become one big mass in her peripheral. She craned her neck to look at them talking to each other. Something she had not done in a bit. Chatting with someone who seemed to enjoy the conversation. Her right leg swung the wrong way when she looked at them. The balance that she worked so hard to maintain was now gone.

"W-Whoa!" She screamed instinctively and tried to right herself

The trio collected themselves after they fell trying to catch the other from falling. Brushing off the dirt, they continued their run. When they finished their fiftieth lap, they were exhausted. Yuta's lungs felt as if they would explode. He'd ran fifty laps before but at his own pace. Running at the pace of his trainer was much more strenuous.

Yuta looked at the others who seemed just as spent as he felt.

"I wonder what she's gonna have us do next," he said to his teammates.