The humidity was daunting in this area of the world.. Mizu no Kuni, the land of water. It was only natural that place was moist but Shikon didn't like it. He could feel the moisture seeping under his clothe, soaking his skin, quite annoying for him.


Why was right. He was in the land of water for the simple reason that he needed to get stronger, he knew it wasn't the bloody mist anymore but the rigorous terrain was a nice place to train his skills. And the shadows were bountiful. He wiped his hand across his forehead, the water droplets attaching to his gloves and sinking into the material that he could feel stick against his skin. His feet had their fair share of the mud as well.

Shikon trudged on through the land, waiting to come across the village for an Inn he could stay at for a while. He needed a nice hot bath after his journey led him here.

The wilderness of Mizu no Kuni was something that Nousagi was incredibly familiar with despite having lived in the shelter of the main city Kirigakure for most of his life. His brother, Usagi, had made sure of that when he had kidnapped Nousagi and their sister Rini from the safety of the walls, taking them to explore the world against the will of the village.  In fact, the wilderness was something that he preferred because of this. He missed it, despite his current loyalty to the village though he still did not see his brother as an enemy or evil. But the wilderness was all together more calming, to a point anyway; Away from the busy hustle and bustle of the city. Away from his two younger twin brothers who’s only goal in life seemed to be making his life a living hell.

Currently Nousagi was perched in a tree, not caring that the water droplets were soaking him through and sticking to his clothing and skin. There was a certain soothing nature to the water. Cleansing and calming as he meditated. Taking a deep breath he concentrated to it, and then opened his eyes when he heard the footfalls sticking in the mud. It was clearly someone not used to walking in the area. A foreigner. The thought made him curious. There weren’t many who traveled to the village without a cause, so he was going to make his personal goal, finding out why the individual had come to the area. Perhaps he was someone with an art. That would be nice.


Slipping from the tree branch that he had been sitting on, Nousagi dropped to the ground, carefully, so that mud would not mar his clothes. Sure, water he could enjoy because it was cleanly, but mud was something he detested. It got everywhere and was dirty. There was no elegance in that. Still, living in the area, he’d grown adept at keeping it off of his belongings. Smiling, he approached the new face. “Hey, there. You look a little lost. Perhaps I can help you out? ”

Icy blue eyes fell on the face that appeared before Shikon, he stopped in his tracks, placing a hand on his hip and letting the other one dangle at his side with finesse. It was a stance he generally took when approached by people he didn't know. The stand allowed him quick access to his pouch whereas he could cast ninpo with his other while overall looking relaxed. He kept his muscles loose but ready to move at a moments notice.


His face had a taste of disgust in it, the mud on the bottom of his feet were starting to ring around the end of his pants and it was quite the annoyance. He didn't like the feeling of being dirty, sweating and water were one thing, but dirt was another he couldn't bear the fact he was forcing himself to do this.

He sighed a little bit and smiled afterwards.

The gaze that Nousagi received from the other was a little more tense and cold than what he had expected, but it was something that was understandable. He was a new individual to the dark haired boy in what would he would most likely consider to be a harsh environment, while Nousagi was used to the constantly wet atmosphere. After all, the area around and in Kirigakure was still healing from  the battles that had recently ended, and there were countless bandits wandering around hoping for easy targets. Taking a deep breath, ready to strike if he had to, Nousagi showed the other boy his hands showing that he didn’t mean any harm.

“I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself first, jumping down from a tree must have startled you. It’s a pleasure to meet you though. My name’s Nousagi. I’m a Kirigakure genin, so I’m familiar with the area. I can show you the ropes if you’d like.” The Kaguya responded helpfully, giving Shikon what he hoped would be read as a kind smile rather than his natural pouting lips.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips at the comment about the mud and he looked down at the ground before speaking, his feet shifting a little. Yes, there was a thin rim of mud where his boots met the ground, but there was none anywhere else. He was mostly clean and that was enough for him. It was easy enough to wash the bottom of his boots; and he would the moment that he got home. “The mud’s not actually that hard to keep off yourself, you simply need to be light on your feet." He paused for a moment and took a few steps in an example, his movements almost having a dance-like quality to them. "When you’re just beginning you could use a technique that’s called the supernatural walking practice if you need to to walk on top of it. It’s taught in the academy here as a basic technique, maybe you’ve been taught it as well? You seem like you’re more than a simple civilian.”

At the mention of the supernatural walking technique he looked down towards his feet and raised an eyebrow. Of course he knew the technique but it never occurred to him the technique would stick to the mud like it would water, it didn't seem logical.

Shikon focused his chakra toward his feet and took a few steps around, noticing the mud not attaching to his feet like it did through his trudges earlier. He smiled a bit towards Nousagi and the icy blue eyes didn't seem so tense anymore, but he was a shinobi, he'd always be on guard in foreign areas such as this, but this person seemed more of an ally than an enemy.


Shikon took a few more steps towards Nousagi, his hands no longer near his pouch but rather inside of his pockets, from which you could see the outline of his hands and tell no items were inside. He looked at Nousagi and smiled lightly towards him in a gentle gesture. Shikon wanted to make friends, not create enemies.

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[ Ooc: Be sure to display what jutsu you use in the bottom of your post and show what your chakra levels are, Shi. :) ]

Seeing that he had been right about the stranger, Nousagi’s smile widened. He had hoped that there had been more to the stranger that had met the eye that would make him interesting. Sure, the way that he was dressed gave away that he was probably a shinobi, but one couldn’t be sure completely until seeing evidence. And, Nousagi wasn’t one to assume things before knowing for sure. He was glad that the other boy was most definitely a shinobi, it meant that he knew how the artistry worked, and he was incredibly curious about what  Shikon was most proficient in. What elements were his chakras? What weapons did he use? How did he fight? Did he even like to fight? All of these questions circled in Nousagi’s mind as he studied the shinobi who was new to the area.

“The technique works on all sorts of terrain, trees, buildings, water, mud, etcetera. You only need to know how to use it. It’s something that I have actually taught at the academy, so I’m very familiar with the technique itself and how it works.”   Nousagi looked down at his feet and then to Shikon’s again before continuing on. “But, I’ve also been living here basically my whole life, so I’m just used to walking in the mud in a way that keeps it off my clothes. Like I said, if you’re light enough on your feet you’ll be able to keep it away without using the technique. I’ve never really used the technique to stay out of the mud myself, but it’s something that people not from the village find helpful.”  

As Shikon approached him though, for just a moment, Nousagi’s eyes narrowed, suspicious even though it was clear that he wasn’t going to attack. Kirigakure shinobi always ready for anything in this area after what had happened recently. There were still struggles despite the appearance of piece. This shinobi in front of him could simply be biding his time. Still, he wasn’t closed off to the idea of making a friend so he began to relax again. He could always jump into a fight quickly. Nousagi smiled and gave a soft chuckle. “I don’t need a favor.”  Nousagi shrugged. “Just helping out someone new to the area. Where are you from?”   He asked, allowing himself to be curious.

[[ I just noticed I can rank up my stats so this is considering my entire wordcounts for the thread up to this point. ]]

Shikon notice his eyes narrow as he walked towards him. It was only natural he guessed, he did mention some fighting took place and the area sustained a lot of damage. Shikon didn't see it before but he did now. He listened carefully to how Nousagi spoke, the technique, not needing favors. Nothing out of the ordinary of course.


Shikon couldn't notice that Nousagi had two dots placed evenly on his forehead. He found it a bit odd to have something like that on your forehead. It was one thing for the Inuzaka to have fangs on their face but two red dots was another. To Shikon it indicated Nousagi knew more than a couple tricks. Makeup or not it was too small to be for show, and too big for secrecy.


His icy blue eyes just looked at Nousagi, in a way that was friendly but otherwise demanded answers.

The Land of Fire, the country of Konohagakure. That wasn’t a village he was very familiar with, having not really had any involvement with shinobi from the village. But he did have at least some knowledge of it, most of it from what he had learned in the academy or heard from his time with his brother. Nousagi studied the other boy in a little puzzlement. Why on earth would someone from a mild-weathered climate come to such a humid and temperamental one? Experience he supposed. It would be good to train in all terrains. He nodded. “Well, welcome to Mizu no Kuni. You’ve traveled a long way from home, even if you’re not a shinobi from Konohagakure. I’m sure you’ll be able to train here fairly well.”

Nousagi paused for a moment then grimaced a bit at the question and shook his head with a bit of a sigh. “Ah… no, well, there was a battle recently, but it’s been over for quite a while now. What you see, the burn marks and other such battle scars are simply remnants of it. Most of the enemies have been gone for quite some time now, either dead or having fled from the battlefield, abandoning their cause. Only thing you have to worry about now are bandits who have been taking advantage of the chaos to sneak up on people who are unaware.” Nousagi frowned, looking a little grim.

The battles had affected what he had had planned for the future. He could no longer learn about the Kaguya clan at the temple, at least not completely. The temples had been ruined, not being kept out of the line of fire. The kaguya temple that could have given him so much information was crumbling away into the moist earth and it angered him that such artistry had fallen so very low. And, he didn’t know if it would ever be restored to it’s glory once again. The elder members of their clan seemed to either be uninterested, or they simply didn’t have the funds. Either way, they didn’t seem to be doing anything about it. He glanced for a moment in the direction of the temples for a moment before looking back at Shikon. “I’ll be honest. I’m not entirely supposed to be out here. The Lady Mizukage is quite particular right now about where lower ranking shinobi can go. She doesn’t want us to be harmed without reason.”

Nousagi shrugged a little bit when he finished speaking. It was something that Ayakashi demanded that Nousagi couldn’t bring himself to follow. She meant well, she really did, but Nousagi was bold and wild-hearted after spending two years away from the village with his rogue brother when he had abandoned Kirigakure and kidnapped both Nousagi and their younger sister Rini.  They’d been known as the Wild Rabbits. He smiled. “ The wilderness outside of the village is actually something that I’m quite familiar with, actually. I actually feel more at home here, so I simply come out here to relax and get away from the city. Unless of course I come across someone, in which case I either approach, or observe until I can determine whether they are a threat or not.”He paused for a moment before his brutal honesty got the better of him once more. “ The fact that I’m here in front of you, means I think that you’re someone of more of a friendly nature.”

Shikon listened to Nousagi's encrypted story. He knew his facial expressions and the way he looked away indicated something deeper than what he was telling Shikon. Shikons expression fell to a state of empathy, he couldn't imagine the pain one might go through with the devastation of his home.

He ran a hand through his hair a bit before letting it fall to his side again. He spent enough time socalizing and he needed to train at least a little bit before the sun fell and it became dark, he still hadn't made it to the village to rent out a room in the inn. He sighed a little bit closing his eyes.

He smiled a bit before opening his eyes towards Nousagi.


He shifted on his feet, gripping at his clothes to try to separate them from his skin, but with each pull it seemed to just stick even more than the last time, it was such an annoyance. Shikon would be glad his training is completed and left for a drier place, he couldn't imagine going to Amegakure.

In a taunting way Shikon looked at Nousagi in a grim way to taunt him, his eyes narrowed towards him. He wanted this and he didn't want to pass up this opportunity. The makeup was reason enough, but he needed to gauge the strength of the shinobi in this village. Of course one shinobi couldn't represent a villiage strength, but it did represent who they let become a shinobi.

The look of Shikon’s face falling from curiosity to empathy bothered Nousagi a little bit. Pity wasn’t something that he took very well, nor did he want it with his job. Bad things happened when one had this life, and one had to find a way to live with it. Death and destruction were common place and it was a shinobi’s job to simply attempt to prevent it, but they couldn’t prevent everything. Shinobi could be bothered by what went on, but they weren’t supposed to display their sadness to the world. One rule that shinobi were always supposed to follow was that they weren’t supposed to cry. Displaying such emotion was a weakness.

“A spar…hmmm...” Nousagi contemplated the idea, his brow creasing a little, his tattoos moving closer together for a brief moment before his brow smoothed out. He didn’t know if that was such a good idea. Then again, perhaps it would be advantageous, to learn more about this boy in front of him. He’d have to keep his bloodline out of it as best he could though. Displaying it would be showing all of his cards, and he didn’t want to do give everything away right off the bat. Usually it was advantageous to keep something secret about oneself until you really had to display it against your enemy.

Though, he did wonder what the boy would think if he began displaying the bone techniques of his Kaguya bloodline. Would the other boy be afraid? Would he know of the Kaguya line that was described as violent warmongers? It seemed obvious that he didn’t know of the markings of the clan in the form of the two red dots that had been tattooed on his forehead. Yes, he was missing the red rim around his eyes, but the red dots were usually enough to display that he was part of the brutal bone manipulating clan. He gave a soft hum before chuckling at the teasing nature that Shikon goaded him with.

“I suppose a friendly spar would be nice, Shikon. I’m never too busy to train. Is there anything at all that you’d like to be kept out of the fight?” He asked, unsure if Shikon wanted to be careful about how they fought. Nousagi wasn’t really worried, pain itself, he couldn’t feel though he could see the blood. If he was injured he could always go to the hospital and get patched up before things got too bad. “Or do you want to go all out?”

[[ Sorry if its short ;[ ]]

Shikon smiled and chuckled at the question, things were getting interesting and he liked it. He waved a hand through his hair, the moisture from his strands stuck to his hand like glue. He waved his hand off to the left to whip away the water before he placed it on his hip, taking his other hand to separate the collar of his shirt from his skin.


He stared at Nousagi for a bit, examining him and what possible movements he might make. Was he more of a taijutsu user? Maybe genjutsu like himself, or even more of ninjutsu? The question rolled through his mind as he formed a more, unorthodox stance. He placed on hand on his hip, fingers rolling over in case he needed the hand to form a seal or overall grab something from his pouch. One hand in his pocket to hide for later, lifting one foot on its toes in order to push off from the ground.

It wasn't normal but for an enemy that he knew nothing about, their first strike would tell him all he needed to know.

[ Nah! Don't worry about length! Write however much you want to write, Shikon~ It's all good. :) <3 I have a tendency to get carried away when I write. ]

"Yeah, death’s out of the question." Nousagi smiled and nodded in complete agreement to Shikon as he watched the dark haired male. At least, hopefully death would be out of the question for the both of them. It wasn’t like he knew the other shinobi’s goal in this place. What might be introduced as a simply friendly spar might conclude with a death if malicious intent was the goal on Shikon’s behalf. Still, Nousagi wasn’t really one to assume such things, as much as that could be seen as gullible in the world that they lived in. He’d rather learn things by himself and gather his own opinions, and he definitely didn’t think that people were inherently evil or good. Good or evil was connotated by the sides that each individual was on. If they both didn’t have a reason to kill each other, then no deaths would take place in their spar. But if Shikon did have that in mind, then that would have to come to pass on one of their ends.

Gaging Shikon, he had to be about an inch or so shorter than he was and probably just a little more heavy, though Nousagi was never entirely perfect at determining heights or weights by just looking at the others he was against. But his estimations, variable as they were, were still helpful when he was trying to turn an enemies movements against themselves.  Nousagi could feel his bones popping and cracking almost as if they had a mind of their own in anticipation for the spar in front of him. Hopefully this would be the first could fight that he had had in a while. The only person he really sparred with anymore was his sister Rini, and they already knew each other’s movements too well to really have a good fight that would press their abilities in new ways. .

Rolling his shoulders, Nousagi dropped into his typical fighting stance, hands raised in loose fists, his left leg in front of his right about shoulder width apart, left foot light in the mud while his right secured him and anticipated moving forward ready to push him forward. The stance that he watched Shikon take as a little strange, but all shinobi developed their own stances, adjusting to their surroundings and their enemies. He smiled, hopefully this would make for an interesting fight, though, looking at him it was fairly clear that he wasn’t entirely familiar with fighting with Taijutsu.

At the words that Shikon was ready to go, Nousagi was already moving, darting towards Shikon without another word. If it was time to fight, it was no longer time to talk. When he was one and a half meters from the other teen, he spun, jumping lightly a little bit to push up from the ground, spinning in the air as he brought one foot, then the second foot towards Shikon’s head then chest respectively as he reached to draw out a kunai  from his pouch to give himself a better blocking ability.

[[ I apologize for your wait ! ]]

With one hand in his pocket he would hold a seal in his hands that activated his transparency jutsu, drifting into the surrounding he rolled his left hand to his pouch to grip a kunai. Shikon moved off towards the right with his raised foot pushing off the ground. Nousagi was a Taijutsu type, for now. Shikon smiled a bit in the shadows as he watched Nousagi hit the air with no prevail. It was a perfect opportunity to strike.

Shikon lifted both his feet onto their toes and darted forward into Nousagi. A foot away his body would appear at the side of Nousagi with the kunai aimed to strike limply at his chest, noticeably so because he didn't intend any harm. Shikon always had a distinct way to make people recognize intentions with gestures. The kunai was not angled correctly to even cause a cut, any shinobi could notice such a thing.

Icy blue eyes looked at the body before him in no particular manner, he needed to see any slight movement in order to react properly. He was much weaker than his other peers but it didn't stop him from being a close combat fighter. He had enough skill to do so without being too badly injured. Though right now he was holding back, he needed to know what Nousagi was capable of before he could unveil anything more.

Shikon always had this type of mentality, frail yet smart. You had to be in this type of world, with the type of person you were. Shikon could only imagine the future and never thought of himself too weak for any opponent. He was a Nara, and he would always know a strategy for any opponent. He smiled at Nousagi for a moment, awaiting the next move as if it were a game of Shogi.

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