Of youth and illusions [Semi private spar.]

Age : 33 Posts : 544

The massive forest just outside the village gates was the perfect training, and often playground, for many young shinobi of the village hidden in the leaves. It was close enough that if trouble happened the village guards could be called upon to help those in need, but far enough that no one would be hurt by stray weapons or jutsu during training. Of course, certain katon based jutsu needed to be used carefully unless one wanted to start a forest fire. Thankfully, it had rained a few days before so the forest wasn't likely to catch fire unless someone with great katon based jutsu just went on a pyromaniac spree.

Kiyomi was not a pyromaniac ,as of yet, so there was no threat to the woods from her one katon based justu. Besides she was practicing her physical skills for now. A wooden training post she had drug out here was the target of her daggers thrusts and slashes. Multiple chunks had been taking out of the poor block of wood by the various dagger cuts, kunai, and arrows that had been striking it for the better part of an hour.

With a sigh the blonde sheathed her dagger and yanked out the other weapons. Even though she lacked physical strength it didn't take much effort to sink a razor sharp steel weapon into a human's soft flesh. It took real strength to stagger an opponent with a blow from a fist. With some trepidation she took up a fighting stance and begin to kick the dummy. At first it wasn't so bad, but after the tenth strike her leg began to get sore from hitting the solid block. Even with some cloth around it to help cushion the blows didn't take much of the force out of it.

Grunting she switched to her fists for a short time, but those too began to ache from the repetitive attacks. Taijutsu wasn't something she thought she'd ever be able to master. Still, she tried to improve it just enough to get by, but it didn't seem to help all that much. Taking a break. There was a small creek nearby so she walked over to it and knelt by it to dip her sore hands into the cool waters. The sensation helped to relieve the dull ache. Hot from the effort she cupped some water and let it fall into her long hair. "Much better." She ran more of the cool liquid over her hands, then her face as she knelt by the stream listening to the birdsong in the area, wondering what her team was doing. Training alone was just so lonely.

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

Oh the joys of going to a new country where you have no idea what would happen. The joys of going to a country where the lay out was brand new, and each and every curve of detail was outstandingly beautiful. The fire country was a brand new world for Mokuzai Kyuusaisha. The land of his so called clan that he belonged to. Using the world ‘clan’ as loosely as he could possibly muster. Would someone who really had the blood of Senju take him as a clan member even if he was just nothing but a lab rat? It wouldn’t really matter in all honesty if he had got accepted or not. It wasn’t his plan to get into Konoha and work from the inside. He liked having free will and the ‘no strings attached’ sort of deal going on. It was one of the main perks of being a nukenin after all. No one to command him on what to do, and no one to rely on –that- much. He did have a partnership to get going, and he didn’t need any hindrance when it came to his plans for Tensu or whatever he and Tenshi came up with. It was all a blur to him when he had to go back and think about all he had done in the past few weeks. There wasn’t really a set plan on what they wanted to do besides coming to the fire country while Tenshi talked with the Mizukage.

“Aish.” Mokuzai muttered with utter boredom. It was more than difficult to keep his attention on something when there was absolutely nothing to do at all. Walking and humming can only do so much for a man. His pearly hue coat fabric traced the back of his knees with a gust of wind that churned its direction. His brown pools traced the forest line of the surrounding area. “Trees, trees and more trees. Have I never felt more at home than now.” He flicked the bark off a nearby tree, causing him to chuckle ever so softly. This was more of a play at his heritage and his abilities rather than being serious about having stepping into nature. Skipping around a much larger tree, Mokuzai bit his lower lip roughly, drawing a small sample of blood. What if he was being watched right now? What would happen if he was being tracked at this very moment and didn’t even know it? This really caused a large smirk to play at his lips before taking off his head band and sliding it in the depth of his coat pockets. There was no other rush that he could think of that really matched the feeling of being watched; besides killing of course. Shaking his head, Mokuzai had to get some of his thoughts back into control before starting a reckless yelling fit which would really give his position away to others. This is not how an assassin would work to get to his prey.

This is not how a hunter works. No, no. This is how a hunter lives. Fixing the hood of his jacket to barely caress his reverse crown, Mokuzai turned his head in the direction of sounds that echoed throughout the forest. From what little he could make out of it, it must have been farmers getting wood for their fires, or local villagers cleaning up the forest so they can build more. Who knows? With the curiosity that he already had, it only made it right for him to want to check things out. “Let’s go see what my play thing is today, shall we?” He muttered to his self trying to seem like he was with other people. It calmed his mind, and really kept him on his goal to figure out what were making these chopping sounds. Placing his feet on a tree’s trunk, Mokuzai tilted his body upwards and started to trek up the tree quickly, jumping from branch to branch; keeping his eyes on the ground and his ears open to hear the sound that slowly started to die out. “No, no, no! Not now! I can’t let my prey do this!” He tilted his body at his waist, jumping on one last branch before seeing an open field with a small creek running down the side. His eye lids slowly slitted so that he could focus on a single target at a time; one of the things that he picked up with Tenshi when they wiped out the village together. His eyes flickered brightly once he saw a small figure nearby the stream.

Blonde hair was the very first thing he saw, and mighty long must he had. The figure was slim, and crouched so that it’s hands were in the water. Was this the object making the sound from earlier? Was this the prey that he was looking for all this time? “Watch it be a kid.” He chuckled, shaking his head before softly dropping to the balls of his feet off the tree. Using his stealth that he built up from multiple missions dealing with going into people’s houses, and other villages; Mokuzai tried to keep as silent as he could until the started to see the form of the figure, more and more.

“Well. Shit.” He stated loudly for the figure to hear while he folded his arms and tapped his feet on the earth. “A girl. Here alone? How wonderful must that be.” He rolled on his heels, smiling softly trying to put on an act while he looked around the area. “You’re training, I see?” He spoke while he pointed to the markings on the trees. “And with your hands in the water, you must be using them for a lot more than handsigns and make up.” He stuck out his tongue fiercly, slowly approaching the girl with one of his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, and the other extended out towards her in a fashionable greeting.

“Mokuzai Kyuu-“ He paused, coughing slightly before thinking of a plan. “Senju. Mokuzai Senju.” Why not use that to play around with some?

Age : 33 Posts : 544

The possibility of running into someone was decent out here. Kiyomi wasn't far from the gates, so she shouldn't have been surprised by someone approaching her. The rather loud curse made her jump despite that fact. No one really expected for some random stranger to appear and curse behind them did they? Thankfully, she didn't gasp or anything, she just jumped upright. The Yamanaka spun on her heels to face the new arrival ready to fight, but since the stranger wasn't approaching her weapons drawn she dropped the stance.

The stranger was, or would be, handsome by her standards. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Let's face it every woman likes tall dark handsome men at one point or another. He was...confident from the way he was simply strolling up. Why wouldn't he be confident? He was armed, and his muscles were chiseled as if from a master sculpture. Truthfully, Kiyomi would have swooned over him with her girlfriends if not for the fact he made her jump, was approaching with his tongue stuck out in some weird manner, and made a crack about applying make up. Three strikes within the first five seconds of meeting someone. Dude just had to have set a record somewhere.

Then the big point, was he had slipped in his introduction as if he was trying to hide something. A fairly big slip up to, but she had been wide open for an attack. If he was an enemy or an assassin she'd likely be injured or dead by now, so not wanting to be rude she dried her hands on her shirt and shook his. "Yamanaka Kiyomi." She of course knew of the Senju clan. Everyone knew of them, but still she'd never heard of him, nor seen him around the village. Of course Konoha was a large village so it was understandable if she hadn't seen or heard of him before.

"Yes, uh I was just practicing some taijutsu...Can I help you with something?" He must want something, why else would anyone approach a stranger in the woods? Aside from nefarious deeds that she'd rather not contemplate at the moment.

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

~~"Yamanaka Kiyomi."~~ Oh, another one. They seemed to be spread out a bit compared to the other clans that he has met over time. First the Mizukage, and now this little chick. “Lord.” He shook his head in disbelief, laughing softly before tilting his neck up towards the sky looking down upon them. How majestic it was to take a few seconds and really take in such a view from some places. “ Yamanaka, huh? So you’re one of those mind bending people or whatever. Cool, cool.” He nodded softly while he placed his slim digits in the back of his pants. It wasn’t a tight fit, but it kept his hands from moving while he talked. He seemed to do that a lot and from Tenshi pointing that out towards him, he really needed to work on that some. “Me? What I’m doing here for? Ah, well you see.” He rolled his shoulders a few times before dropping his arms out of his pockets and letting a warm breath escape past his lips. “I’m just looking over the country and all. I don’t get to do this outside of the village much, so I take what time I can.” Oh the joys of acting out a fake persona. It was really fun for him to do so, and he honestly enjoyed it way too much from getting into character. To play with human emotions like this was just a little hobby he picked up as he went through the various countries.

“Kiyomi is a pretty cute name.” The more quickly he changed the subject on why he was here, the better. So why not try to get the conversation about her and see what he could find out about this girl. “You seem to fit the Yamanka clan genes. The blonde hair, the eye hue; people would be able to see what you are from a mile away.” He proceeded to walk around the girl in a circle; not bearing too close to her to make her move back towards the water. He tugged on the collar of his shirt to expose his chest slightly; just merely teasing the girl to get her distracted, albeit attempt to get her distracted. His brown pools shot across the ground back towards the legs of the woman. “So you were the one making all those sounds just from your physical activities? Such a nifty woman you are. Cook, clean and can kick ass.”

A smirk played at his lips before stopping his trek around her and popping his back. He was a talkative little brat, but in all honesty he was just trying to keep someone actively have their attention on him. No matter the form of it. Bad, good or just an annoying sense that they got off of him; as long as he had it, he was happy. Taking in a deep breath, he had to keep this act of being from Konoha up.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t ask anything about a squad, or what part of the village he was from. Mokuzai had no idea how this village operated compared to kirigakure. Seeing as they were the 5 great nations, it had to be a little similar right? Nothing really too off putting, but he would have to be careful with his words. “I’ve never seen Yamanka really succeed at taijutsu. I do however; think it’s pretty decent of you to try to be good at something you could never really succeed with. Against a man you would fall. No matter how good you were.” He couldn’t really help to control his little sexist and derogatory remarks that were deep within his nature. He has always thought of a woman only as a pleasurable experience and for those that have no ambition of their own. He couldn’t imagine settling down and actually starting to have offspring with someone he would consider his half. What would exactly be a half to a lab experiment anyway? A rat or something, or some mentally unstable patient in a hospital. Mokuzai didn’t even feel human so that sort of emotion was really distant and uncommon for him to experience anyway. With a simple shrug, he bit his lower lip before letting it pop into place. Maybe he could sway the girl to give a little information about konoha.

“So tell me, the kage is doing well, right? As well as the other genin?” He simple lowered his body onto the ground, brining one knee up to his chest to allow his elbow to rest on the joint. He didn’t get to rest all that often, so he took what he had when he got the chance. Looking up the girls figure slowly, he squinted his eyes when he locked his gaze with hers. Nothing really special about the girl, but her eyes really caught his attention. They were much different from Inoshi’s. Softer and more calm. “Tell me about yourself, while we’re out here. I have no place to go, and nothing to do, so I have all the-“ He cut his self off before he got too into character. He wasn’t really a konoha ninja, so he had to somewhat cut his self off from the way he was thinking. The only thing he made up so far was his last name, and not wearing his head band. If she started to ask where his was, then that is when the whole situation gets sketchy.

Age : 33 Posts : 544

Kiyomi nodded at the strange lad once he reiterated the fact she was a Yamanaka. "Yes you could say we bend minds." It was more like they read and then simply forced their will upon the victim, but he had the general idea so there was no need to correct him. Kiyomi kept her gaze on him at all times and watched him fidget around like her younger cousins. The boy just couldn't seem to sit still for too long. Either his mouth or his limbs needed to be moving. His lie, worked well enough. Kiyomi understood not having much free time, so the lie about just wanting to look over the country worked. Why in the world would she thing a rogue shinobi would simply appear right in front of her?

Her ears reddened a bit at the compliment, but thankfully her long hair hid her ears from view. "Thank for the compliment. My clan's pretty easy to spot, but honestly I'm not trying to hide my heritage either." All it would take was some hair dye or the transformation technique and she'd be able to walk around without being noticed as a Yamanaka. Being a shinobi had its perks and the learning the art of disguise was one of them. Kiyomi never liked having anyone stand behind her so she kept him within her sight at all times mirroring his circling pace. The movement of his collar didn't go unnoticed, but it went a little under appreciated. He was being a bit weird so the little show of skin wasn't enough to take her mind off the fact some guy she just met was walking circles around her.

The comment on cooking, cleaning, and kicking ass made her chuckle a bit."You're too kind. I'm far better at fighting than I am at cooking though." Kiyomi was only an average cook and able to make simple meals. Her genjutsu and ninjutsu where the focus of her training effort for now, cooking could wait. He was seemingly too nice, then he had to make some comments that were just down right rude. Could he be bipolar? She thought to herself. "Not many in the clan focus on Taijutsu, but there are some that do."

The sexist remark annoyed her, but she wasn't one who generally rose to petty insults based on sex. Most girl's in her profession ran into sexism at one point or another. "I'm not good at taijutsu, but there are plenty girls who are. Our Fifth Hokage was the strongest person alive during her time, so I don't see what gender has to do with strength in a certain field of jutsu." Tsunade could crush almost anything with a single punch from what the records said. Kiyomi doubted any men in her time had the gall to tell her she was weak just because she was a woman.

Moving on from the possibly slippery slope of debating sexes she shrugged at the question as he knelt. The way he stared at her was a little unnerving, but she stared right back unflinching as she spoke. "The lady hokage is doing good, and the other genin are fine as well. I don't know why you need to ask me that though. Surely you can visit with old class mates or see them on missions. Perhaps you like to do solo missions?" Many shinobi were like that and didn't like relying on others. He was just so strange. Asking questions then stopping mid sentence for some reason. "Why are you so interested in me? Are you just bored or do you really want to know?"

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

This was going rather smooth for him; a lot more than he had expected. Either this girl was really gullible to lies, or he was just –that- good of an actor. This caused a bigger smirk on his face to grow. He had to quit stopping mid sentence and throwing everything off course. A lot of bad things could happen once she figured out who he was, or what he was. He didn’t have to time to get rid of a body in this country; he didn’t know if people could sense him at this very moment. He wasn’t =that= close to konoha, but if he were to mess with his plan some, he was sure special ops would be out here in no time. He wouldn’t last long with special ops, but at least he knew he could take out the girl, or use her as a hostage for some bribing with the village. Konoha was a little more open than kirigakure, and with a woman as hokage, he was sure that he could get some things from her if he took a hostage. “I don’t like working with teams, so I asked the kage if I could work alone with only some supervision. I don’t have a sensei, or anyone to rely on. It’s just me myself and I.” He stood up slowly, looking the girl over again before shaking his head. She was going to find out sooner or later and it was getting a little difficult to hide everything.

He could only lie so much before thinking he was going to mess up his story. All it would take to destroy the lie he had set with the girl would be his headband. Once he strapped that one just above his right temple, it would be game over for his act and the girl would more than likely get hostile. Even though that did sound a ton more fun than this little act; he didn’t feel like having his funeral in the fire country. If he was going to die, it was going to be in the water country or at least back in Taigakure. That was if he even had a body left over. They way he fought were really something to behold in action. It was actually very simple. But from how he executed it, it allowed him to look like a master at dodging and moving around the battle field quite easily. Sure he didn’t have the speed of taijutsu users, but his body had the strength to take hits when he needed to. His jutsu and fuuninjutsu abilities had his back when he was moving around the area. He could set up traps, or just unleash hell when he wanted to. As long as there was no fire; then only then he would get paranoid and try everything to get away from the area. Taking in a deep breath, he smiled brightly at her question for him. How it irked him to act so cheerful.

He just couldn’t bear his grin anymore, dropping all expression from his face before he took his cold gaze towards her. Nothing on his body moved; not his chest from breathing, or his eyes from blinking. “What I’m doing here.” He slowly slipped his hand inside of his coat, pulling out a black fabric that dropped past his wrist while he pulled out his headband, slowly wrapping it around his head and twisting it to his right crown; showing the Taigakaure symbol with the line through the arrows. “I heard prey, and I wanted to see what it would be like.” He clenched his jaw slightly, looking over the area and spinning on his toes. He finally could act like his self again and nothing made him happier. A large and gusty laugh came from his throat while he hopped around for a bit. “You are a gullible little fuck, you know that? You don’t need to believe everything you hear. You just stood there, and believed everything I said before asking where my headband was. That’s the very first thing you ask a fellow ninja. You idiot.” He shook his head before flapping the sides of his coat. Oh he was going to get really into it now. The joys of being a sadistic fucker, right?

Cocking his neck a few times, he leaned his back away from the girl until he heard his bones pop. Allowing him to release a deep groan from his lips. “You’re what.. 13? Or something like that. You’re not older than, I. Have you lived your life so fair to the fullest or do you always act like you just did now? Have you ever been near a killer, before? A ninja with no ties to the world. No strings to another village, no feelings for another?” He approached her slowly with his hands tapping on his hips. He was going to play for a bit before everything got serious, he needed to get some information out of the girl. “If I really wanted to kill you; you wouldn’t have heard me curse. That’s how close I was to you before you even noticed me. Do you not realize you could have died moments ago? You would have seen your maker! Then I could have hid your body in the water and make it look like a wild animal got to you. I’m sure Kyoto would like a little something to eat sometime.

Sticking out his tongue, Mokuzai started to let out a darkened laugh. Echoing throughout the forest before he suddenly stopped, twitching his head slightly from the adrenaline. “Tell me, Kiyomi. Do you believe in a higher power? I’m sure I can destroy that God as well. The other village I leveled prayed that me and my partner were to be destroyed, but rather children, women and husbands were in fact the ones to perish after all. You should have heard their screams in the fire.”

Age : 33 Posts : 544

"That's a shame you have don't have anyone to depend on other than yourself. It always helps to have someone to talk to or a teammate to confide in." Kiyomi found comfort in confiding in her elders or teammates. Having someone able to give advice helped people make fewer mistakes in life, since they had likely made the same mistakes they made. A sense of pity came over her for the strange lad. He may be kinda a dick, but perhaps it was because he didn't have anyone to rely on.

The sense of pity was crushed under a sense of foreboding as his expression became cold and his hand went into his jacket. She stepped back three paces and had her hands ready to draw a weapon. His headband made her realize how close she had come to death, and how close she was now. The man was an enemy shinobi with either orders to scout the village, kill her, or he was just crazy and wandering about. It could be all three for all she knew, so she was ready to fight for her life.

Her hands were in behind her, since for now she opted away for opening an attack with something physical. Instead she had her hand on a smoke bomb. He was right, she couldn't overpower him with physical strength, but she could take him with her mind. If given the chance her mind transfer would end this fight in an instant and she could walk him to the gates and turn him over to the guard. Her genjutsu could allow her to attack or escape depending on the situation. Truthfully, escape was the better option. She wouldn't have to go far to reach the wall and get help. It was likely that there would be an investigation if a katon or paper bomb was used out here.

He had lost the advantage of surprise, and if he had truly wanted to kill her he'd have already done so. He may just be playing with her. A chilling thought, but she was different now. No longer would she freeze up in the face of danger. The last time she did that her brother died because of that. The thought made a slow anger burn in her belly, but her features remained calm and passive. ...Judging by his bragging and trash talk he may have some confidence issues. Especially if a weak woman talks back to him. Anger causes people to make mistakes. Let's see how well I can handle this.

Kiyomi ignored his attempts ,or what she thought were attempts, at intimidation. Instead of showing fear a smirk that could only be described as the "shit eating grin" came across her lips. "Shut up you idiot. Why would I believe anything you say? Only a fool would come up behind an enemy shinobi then announce their presence and the brag about being able to kill them. You've lost the advantage you had. Second, I'm fourteen I just felt the need to correct you. Third, slow me down if the numbers are getting too high for you, I didn't ask for your headband because not every shinobi carries it out in the open. Plus who would think a rogue shinobi would simply walk up and shake hands with them? I was just being polite, something a tongue waggling muscle bound tree hugger wouldn't understand."

His comment on Kyoto made her nervous, but she kept it hidden. Who or whatever Kyoto was they could have attacked by now and ended her. The mystery Kyoto would have to wait to be discovered later. With her free hand she held up four fingers. "Fourth, I do believe in a higher power, but it's your power which I doubt. You're bragging you killed a village of people? Congratulations, you probably killed people who weren't trained to fight shinobi. An academy student can do what you did or have claimed to do. Why don't you share your real name? Or perhaps you already have, but you're such a small time creep that no one really knows it." Shooting down his so called accomplishments was something that many hot heads couldn't take. "And finally fifth, you aren't shit compared to what I've seen little boy. You're just a yappy dog barking loudly so bigger dogs don't come and eat you."

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

~~"Shut up you idiot. Why would I believe anything you say?”~~ This, this little sentence caused him to go into laughter than made him grip his shirt. She was just proving to him that she was a hypocrite like his self, and other people around him. He shook his head lightly once he heard all that she had to say; he may be a dick, but he at least let the women finish their sentences before he started to dissect into them over time. “You were believing me to be a shinobi of the leaf a few minutes ago, were you not? If anything that shows that you were believing some things that I was saying before I pulled this little fellow out.” He honestly was going to see how long it would take her to figure out that he was not around from here. She probably would have took him to the gates if he played it right, but with him being alone without Tenshi, it wouldn’t have been a very good plan to initiate just yet. Konoha was much bigger and active than Kirigakure, and it really made him curious on what and who were to reside inside. What was the current Hokage like? Man, woman how would he know. He would take a chance to see the leader if he could, but at this moment, the little girl in front of him was starting to get on his nerves rom her tongue. “Only a Ninja who wants to play around with their prey would want to announce their presence when they had a chance to stay silent.”

He folded his arms in front of his chest before perking out his lips. She was a feisty little one, and he kind of liked it. Mokuzai wasn’t one to get talked back to often and when he did; he took full advantage of it. He cocked his head to the left to pop a little air pressure out of his limb. Oh how this day was turning out to be a little more interesting than he thought it would be. Only a few hours into the fire country and this is how he is greeted. “Fantastic.” He thought to his self before drawing in a deep breath through his nose. “ I know I lost the advantage I had. I don’t need the advantage. Not for you, not for anyone really. Unless I was purely told to stay stealthy and take people out with utter silence.” He shrugged slightly before continuing to answer back to her statements. He was starting to enjoy this little tongue lashing between him and this little girl. “You seem younger than what you state. Especially how you choose to use your insults. If you were a little more mature, you would refrain from such useless words.” He chuckled softly before rubbing the back of his neck. He was really starting to seem more and more hypocritical from his own words.

“Exactly, who would think a rogue ninja from the hidden waterfall would be out here, shaking hands with a gullible leaf ninja anyway? That was the first time I touched someone before killing them, that was the first time I made my presence known to another before I took their life. You should feel special.” He nodded softly. The girl just kept agitating him with the insults she threw at him. “Kyuusaisha is my last name.” He spoke softly, spinning around on his toes before jumping 3 meters towards here, being able to look at her face for a few seconds before going by the pond and placing his hand in the water. “I wouldn’t know if they were trained to fight shinobi or not to be honest. They were slaughtered in their sleep. My partner was the only one that actually killed people that ran. I snuck in and took out the higher ranked people in the village. Tenshi is faster, but I’m more efficient with staying slient.” He stood up slowly, wiping his hand on his coat before turning his body to have his chest face towards the girl. “You must have not seen a lot of shit then. I don’t expect a ninja from the leaf to see a lot anyway. With their rich ways of training genin, and making sure that their ninja are top notch and making them forget real ninja code.” He smirked, looking over her figure a few more times before looking over towards a trunk of a tree, squinting his eyes over the item and turning his attention back to her.

“Any more statements that you want me to correct while we’re out here?” He shrugged his shoulders and looked over her arms behind her body. “ Now, now. If you’re thinking about attacking or using some weird jutsu, think about this for a second. If, and I use this term loosely, wanted to attack you; I wouldn’t be here holding conversation with ou right now, would I? Unless you think I’m one of those types to distract someone and then attack them when they have no idea.” He laughed softly from the thought. The amount of work that took for him to do would be insane. He might be crazy, but the laziness factor came into play here.

“I just got here. Calm your woman instincts for a bit, and then you can figure out more about me if you so desire. Unless you call me little boy again, then I will follow up my words by bringing Kyoto here. I am not worried about others coming here. We can be quick and simple, or slightly peaceful with our conversation. If this is how leaf ninja usually act, then the Hokage really needs to work on their students manners.” His tongue traced the outer line of his lips. He was starting to get a little anxious with how this girl acts, and it was really making him excited from the thought of her doing something hostile. It would only mean that he would be defending his self.

Age : 33 Posts : 544

Kiyomi listened to him and her expression was that of someone listening to an idiot blather on and on. Just as she was trying to mess with him ,and try to get inside his head, he was doing the same thing. Sadly, it seemed both of them weren't very good at it. Kiyomi wasn't an interrogator, because she didn't need to be. All she had to do was place her hand on someone's head and she could read their mind and that was that. That was the reason she hadn't started taking some of the more subtle lessons her father told her to take. Why make guesses about people when you could just read their mind? Of course the thought of reading a insane person's mind was enough to make her skin crawl.

"You really are a talkative guy aren't you?" She asked after he finally stopped talking. He may just very well be crazy, but she didn't like him getting near the water of the creek. Some suiton jutsu relied on a water source and the stream would supply him ample ammunition. However, if she tried to stop him it would only spark a fight. Kiyomi wasn't one to start a fight, she preferred to react and then counter. "Pride always comes before the fall Senju. From what I've heard you seem to have quite a lot of it. I'm surprised you head hasn't swollen to the size of a melon and exploded under the strain of that massive ego."

She cocked her head. "Although, I'm surprised you took the easy job of sneaking up on people and killing them when they slept, opposed to fighting someone face to face. From all that talk you think of yourself as pretty strong. Then you say you don't rely on anyone, but then you add that your partner did this and you keep mentioning a Kyoto. You're not alone and you're obviously not strong enough to accomplish missions by yourself. Even ones where you have to hunt down civilians." She tsked as if she was talking down to a naughty child.

All his talk of peace and manners actually made her giggle. "You're talking of peace and manners after how you've been acting and the stories you told me. You're not a shinobi you're just a murderer or a liar who talks big for attention. If you really had any pride you'd take down an opponent face to face without anyone's aid. Does this little girl scare you so much you have to call for a partner to help you." She had kept him in her sights at all times, and her hand never left her pouch. She was ready at any moment to dodge or strike.

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

This girl really knew how to hit some spots that irked him. He tried to keep his cool and expression the same while he listened to her talk. Mokuzai didn’t really pay attention from her words; why should he? All he was here for was to see the fire country, if a girl got in a way, then so be it. “You speak as if you know strength.” He started to talk heel to toe, with his arms out like wings while he walked the edge of the pond. “Strength doesn’t just mean sheer strength, honey bun. It’s about planning, about smarts, knowing different ways to go about something. If you doubt my strength, why don’t you just come after me and I’ll show you what you want to know? You’re along your village walls, so if you do get maimed; you won’t be far from a hospital.” He stopped moving before turning his gaze towards the girl. The amount of annoyance he was getting from her was just too damn high! No one talks to him like that; not even Tenshi. He obviously had an advantage out here; a Pond, Earth, and Wood. A Senju couldn’t be much happier than this to be honest. Being Yamanaka she must have not been able to get close to people. He brought up both of his arms with his palms facing the sky. “If you want to settle this, I wouldn’t mind a bit. You could just tell your village about what threat is building up.”

Mokuzai let a sigh escape from his mouth over time. She just wouldn’t believe him about taking out people. “You’re not scaring me at all. Do I show that expression on my face or body language? I’m not the one with my hand in my pouch ready to pull something out, now am I?” He licked the tip of his lip again, if she wanted to get him to stop talking, she knew how to. It was unusual for him not to jump on the girl and take her out where she stood. “Are you blabbing like that just because you’re terrified, or you are caught from being surprised?” As long as he could keep the conversation going, he could keep his anger under control. The moment that they stop talking; it’s going to get messy. He clenched his jaw tightly and blinked slowly whiole his eyes shifted from her to the ground. The distance wasn’t that far away from each other, at least 4 or 5 feet give or take a few inches. “You’re so naïve. You probably haven’t been out of this country and you think you’ve seen a lot more than me. You don’t know all the nukenin out there, do you? How strong they are; what they are capable of compared to village ninja. You see.”

He coughed again, covering his mouth before he sneezed as well. This fire country weather was really affecting him some. “Unlike village ninja, rogues don’t have rules to follow. They don’t have anything holding them back from doing what they want to do.” Hopefully these last few statements would get to the girl; He would hate to have to mess up such a pretty face. His body language stayed the same over all from the start of the conversation, to the near end. If she was going to keep her hand in the pouch, then so be it. He can easily keep his distance and still get to her if he wanted to. He was in no rush to get somewhere, so why would he rush this conversation to end?

“If you think I’m lying, I don’t understand why you’re just standing there, not moving an inch, and keep calling me full of myself in my head.” He just kept aging on and on with the girl, he wasn’t about to step down from his pedestal and make her the one that wins. Nah, she only blabbering about lies and what she thought she knew. “You have yet to meet the devil yet, sweetums.”

He shook his head softly before pointing at his chest. "Don't call me Senju, either."

Age : 33 Posts : 544

"I don't start fights I finish them. As much as you call me naive all this time you have been informing more and more about yourself." The were speculations, but perhaps she'd hit a mark and unnerve the man. "As for my body language there is a difference between fear and caution. If I was afraid I'd have left by now and you'd have never caught up with me. Having my hand in my pouch means I'm ready to defend myself from your perverted advances." She didn't like how he had been sizing her up, or his nicknames for her such as sweet ums.

"Now aside from the fact you've never had a decent conversation with a female in your life I've been able to deduce other facts about you. For instance you've already said you're a Senjuu. Which means you can use wood style. To use wood style you must have doton and suiton releases, which explains why you've been edging closer to the water, likely in preparation for a water based justu. Aside from the fact that you know my clan "mind bends" you don't know what kind of jutsu I can use." Her fuuton and genjutsu would be what she relied on against him. Katon wasn't a element she had really mastered and knew only the one jutsu. Plus, it would get shut down by his suiton jutsu, but perhaps it could smash through his wood release.

"Since you're a rogue that means you likely do have more experience fighting, but that doesn't make you better. Especially if you brag about killing people in their sleep. That could mean you don't like a face to face fight and prefer to strike from the shadows. A fine tactic, but that means you aren't confident in your face to face combat. Since you keep talking that further reiterates that fact. Since you also say you can't rely on anyone that must mean something else. Either your parents abandoned you or you grew up without knowing them. That's very sad. I'm sure that someone would have gotten you some help for your mental state, but honestly you can't fix stupid." She edged a pace to her left bringing herself closer to the forest. If it came to a fight, she was going to keep him engaged for a few moments, but then make a break for the wall. No need to risk her life when help wasn't far away.

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

“You’re a smart little girl, you know what? Knowing what elements make up Mokuton. Pretty impressive.” He wasn’t lying when he was saying that. She did impress him somewhat when she was figuring out his elements. “You just don’t know what other little things I have up my sleeves, now do you? I could be an up close fighter; only making you believe that I keep in the shadows. How do you know I’ve been honest the whole time?” He was getting a little antsy with how she was adding onto his anger. Was there a reason why this girl just kept adding onto his annoyance that he already felt from her? Dropping his arms to his sides, Mokuzai fixed his headband on his temple while he continued to listen to the girl blab on about whatever she was talking about. He honestly started to zone out once she started talking about fighting face to face or whatever. He didn’t care; she was starting to bore him until she started to talk about one thing. ~~“Either your parents abandoned you or you grew up without them.”~~ His eyes widened from those words. A sharp pain went down his spine before he suddenly dropped to his knees near the bank of the water.

Gripping on the side of his head, a large pain felt shriek escaped passed his lips while his upper body twitched and flickered about. The pain that he felt go to the base of his neck was massive; almost numbing in a way. His body tilted forward, letting his arms hand loosely while little gusts of wind blew his hair and coat around. His breathing was deep and slow, while his mind was more active than he has been. Flash backs ensued in his head like a movie. The very first flash back that he saw was of a middle aged man, looking down at him and smiling; his hand grasping the older males. Words were spoken but, not heard. Only lips could be read, and Mokuzai could only make out a few words here and there. No attention could really help him out when he needed it the most.

A bright light covered his eyes before another flash back came into picture. Glass came in front of him while he pressed his hands against the structure. “The lab.” He muttered while his voice echoed; men and women in large white coats surrounded the glass before pressing torches against the glass as a threat. His outside body tensed up, allowing the lining of his muscle structure to show through his shirt. Veins ran up his neck, before his pupils were dilated. The pain still existed in the back of his neck; but the laughter that came from his throat did not signal pain at all. It was like he heard the funniest joke that has ever been told.

The laughter suddenly stopped while his body went backwards; limp into the water. Slowly sinking away from the surface. Stopping his breathing, Mokuzai’s inner thoughts were still being inflicted by images going through his brain. Were these his memories? Some were blurred, others looked like shattered glass. He didn’t know, and this allowed rage to build up inside his body. Was he living a fake life? All that he knew could have been faked, or been a dream this whole time. Was he really partners with Tenshi? Was Tensu really becoming a real thing? Was this body even real? Who knew. Only Mokuzai could act on these thoughts, and he would act quickly.

His body slowly started to go to the surface, edging on the bank; rocking back and forth with the ripples. Maybe if he could keep this act up, he’d be able to catch her off guard and end things. His eyes slowly started to open, quickly fixing their gaze on the younger female. The rage that ran through his pupils could be seen when eh violently pushes his self up with a push of his palm. Getting on his knees, he bit the inside of his hand, just between his thumb and index finger; just enough to draw blood. Pressing his hand on the ground, black markings came about around his digits. “ Kuchiyose no Jutsu.” His simply muttered with a low tone. A puff of black smoke came up around him, before a wolf howl echoed throughout the area. Before the smoke could even clear, a large white mist covered the area around the girl, Mokuzai, and the newcomer. Looking down at Kyoto, Mokuzai got on his feet, keeping near the water for support of his water techniques. Kyoto slowly stepped behind him, allowing the water to collect on his blue tinted fur. With his skin enveloped in water, Kyoto moved away from Mokuzai, darting towards the position that the girl was last seen at. Snarls and growls were the only words that he would release from his muzzle, hopefully making the girl move around so Mokuzai could see her brief movements from her silhouette in the mist. Mokuzai focused on his hands, allowing them to precisely do the hand signs he was focusing on; if he had to take her out, he needed to keep his focus on his hand signs. Holding out his right hand, His skin shot up before hardening into a wooden spike, reaching two meters in reach, formed in his hand.

If he could make her think that he was still near the pond, then he would be able to head for the trees to get a better look at his surroundings. Sprinting towards the tree lining just behind him, his feet kept his movements slient, only letting his silhouette show form in the mist for a few seconds. If he was going to fit this girl; he needed to make his surrounding known.

Kyoto stopped in his place, keeping his blue fur drenched with the coating of water from the pond. Pressing his paw in the ground, black lines appeared around his form, with another black smoke enveloping his body. Kneeling down with his elbows on his knees, Mokuzai started to speak again.

“Come prove your words, little girl.”

jutsu used(moku):

jutsu used(kyoto):

8/25cp (Kyoto)

67/80 cp (Mokuzai)

Age : 33 Posts : 544

It seemed Kiyomi had hit a nerve. Not even hit a nerve she had apparently zoned in on his greatest weakness and shot it down like a bolt from a god. As his eyes widened and Kiyomi's hand withdrew the tool she was grasping. Truthfully, she could have sent a blade flying at him, but thankfully for the Senju her blood lust wasn't on his level. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to deal damage she opted to escape instead. The smoke bomb exploded blocking her from view in an instant.

In the cover of the smoke she formed the hand seal needed for the most basic of academy techniques. With chakra flowing through her feet she leaped into the tree as silent as a cat and vanished into the branches and headed towards the wall. No more doubt about it, the Senju was legit insane. One should always try to avoid a fight with a crazy person. They often had no regard for their own well being so there attacks became all the more deadly.

The best plan was to escape and get the guards after him. A group of chuunin would have a better chance of stopping him without getting hurt than she did. By the time he had finished laughing, having his mental episode, and summoning his wolf, then his wolf using its jutsu she'd have a pretty good head start. However, until she was on the wall or ran into another. As she ran the fog from the hidden mist became thicker, but that only helped her as well.

It wouldn't be hard the guards to figure out something was amiss when they spotted that part of the forest was covered in mist when the rest wasn't. Kinda a big tell that someone was doing something they shouldn't. In case they still didn't get the message Kiyomi threw a tagged kunai into a tree as she practically flew by it. Then she stuck an exploding pouch into the branch she just leaped off with another kunai. She counted to six before forming the hand seal and detonating them. She was far outside the blast radius and it was unlikely she caught either of them in the blast. That wasn't the purpose though.

In the fog it would likely distract her opponent and attract anyone hearing the two explosions increasing the likelihood of someone coming to investigate faster. The mist helped make her sneak easier through the forest as well. Kiyomi favored stealth to a straight fight anyways, and she knew these woods far better than the newcomer. All I have to do is not get caught off guard and once I meet up with a guardsman or woman we can turn the tide and put that insane fucker in an asylum. Her ears strained as she raced along the trees waiting for the telltale sound of a rushing justu, projectile, or even the sound of a foot hitting hard against the bark of the trees.

Jutsu used: Tree Climbing -1 Cp
Tools used: 2kunai, paper bomb, and exploding pouch.

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

If anything the fog was only meant to hide his advances. He could care less if the girl ran or stayed in the spot that she needed to. Closing his mouth, Kyoto let the fog slowly subside; allowing them to get a good look over the area. As soon as the last bit of fog cleared up, and explosion ran through their ears. Either that was a signal for the village that they were so close to, or it was an accident from the girl. Mokuzai could easily check it out his self, but why would he need to get his self caught when he basically has a tracker to his left. As Kyoto was a wolf, his sense of smell should have the capabilities of at least getting the direction that the girl was running in. It didn’t matter if he tracked the girl fully, as long as he got the initial position of the girl, everything would be a lot better than they were currently. Mokuzai slowly stood up, fixing his coat and spinning the wooden spike in his palm.

This Yamanaka was really getting to him. Even if she was the type to run and hide and see what would happen, it only proved her to be a hypocrite when he actually came out and wanted to openly confront her. “Women are such a hassle, Kyoto.” He spoke while walking towards the lining of the forest. That was both a lie and honesty from the lips of Mokuzai. He treasured women as a pleasurable experience for anyone and everything to enjoy. Even other women if they were into that sort of thing! There is nothing like a woman’s touch, or voice to calm anything down. This Kiyomi girl made everything seem like it was a lie. Talking down to a man, a much, much stronger man, and then taking off for the village. Kyoto paced behind Mokuzai and tilted his head up once he started to talk about women.

How would a wolf know about the human feelings? He didn’t even care to listen to much more of Mokuzai’s little testimony any longer. “So when are you going to tell me to ‘scatter’ and track down the girl? I know that is what you want me to do. Make up your mind before I go back to the shrine.” Kyoto pressed his right paw on the inner lining of the forest, placing his nose on the ground and taking a few whiffs of air up his nostrils. Mokuzai smirked before patting the fur of Kyoto, feeling the dampened hairs that laid rest on his body. “Go on, boy. Scatter.” He commented with a mocking sweet tone. He knew it bugged Kyoto, and it was only a playful mock. Mokuzai knew if he really wanted to fuck around with him, all he would have to do is call him pup or something a little degrading.

Kyoto growled from the petting of his fur before shooting off into the forest. His strides were long and quick, allowing him to cut through the forest lining pretty quickly. Howls escaped from his muzzle here and there to see if he could pick up any sudden movement of the girl. He did catch her scent, but it was very weak to his own senses. Either she was moving quickly, or she wasn’t on the ground. The wall of the village was nearby, and if they would have gotten any closer, it would only make things a lot more dangerous than they needed to be. Mokuzai did send out a signal to the girl, and she would be letting the black ops and other ninja know in Konohagakure.

“Kyoto!” Mokuzai cupped his hands over his mouth, bouncing on his toes a few times before letting the wood drop from his hand. “She got the point, let’s move on. We don’t need to stay here much longer.” Taking the headband off his head, Mokuzai placed the forehead protector In the inner pocket of his coat. He wasn’t about to start trouble with a whole village all by his low some self. It was a suicide mission, and something he didn’t really have respect for. Once Kyoto came to his side, Mokuzai cocked his neck a few times before hearing a pop of his bones. “Let’s head back to the mountains. It’s about to rain soon anyway.”

[Exit]

Age : 33 Posts : 544

The howls from the wolf summon answered the question of who Kyoto was at least. Since she was up in trees she wasn't as worried about getting attacked by the canine. While shinobi hounds could run along the tree tops they weren't as agile as their human companions. Having hands made it far easier to simply grab a limb and change direction. Thanks to the head start though she only heard the howl. She never really saw it since they gave up before even getting within sight of her.

Kiyomi got within a few hundred meters of the massive walls before she was intercepted by some of the guards. She raised her arms to follow protocol. Even if she belong to the village the guards didn't know if she was an enemy in disguise. Questions were asked, such as who was the current kage to harder ones about who was the teacher at the academy when she was growing up. ID was requested as was her head band for inspection to see if they were forged.

Once those were out of the way they took her to the station for more tests and questions. It didn't take long for them to confirm who she was thanks to one of her cousins being in the guard house and reading her mind really quickly. With that out of the way describing what had just transpired became easy. She had stared at the lad for what seemed like minutes so describing his physical features was no problem. His mental state on the other hand was a tad harder since he seemed to be bipolar. It took around an hour, but she was confident that she had provided an accurate description of him, so it would only be a matter of time before he was caught. If he was still in the area that is.

The day had started out promising to be a dull training filled day. It had turned into a near death experience. That would only grow more common for a shinobi as their skills increased as did their fame. More and more people wanted you dead. Life can never be simple as a shinobi can it? It was a harrowing trial, but she had made it through unscathed and managed to make her opponent have a mental breakdown with words alone. That was a win in her book. Of course having trouble sleeping for the next few days kinda detracted from that win.

[Exit.]