...Once again, in the same town...with the same people in it... Konoha, the town of the leaf ninjas. At the same location....at the same random goods show...same ordinary people...entering and exiting the shop. Same ronin lying on the same bench...having the same look on his usual face. He rose the same strawberry candy, tasting the same strawberry flavor...which never...EVER got old for Aethir. "KONOHA!!!!!" he roared, people turning to look at him, "YOU'RE SO BORING!!!" Although rude, Aethir spoke the truth, too bored and tired to be polite... He was enjoying the strawberry candy as he rested in the shade of the shop, inhaling and exhaling. "So now what, ronin...?" Aethir sighed, looking off to the side as he munched and grind his candy up into dust. He pondered what his next move will be, regarding his progression in the shinobi world... "Maybe I should leave... Head to Iwagakure..." Aethir sighed, looking back up to the clear sky. He remembered what his brother had told him, something important being in Iwagakure... "Or maybe I should help Antanas in Kirigakure...Kid's going to be upset if I leave Konoha without him, I'm sure." he tossed his head back and forth, sighing loudly as he was at a crossroads. Antanas had some sort of ordeal going on in Kirigakure that he was sure he'd have to help with. "Ugh...choices..." the ronin sighed, closing his eyes as he felt the warm summer wind blow on him.

Word Count: 255

Toshiko was bored of everything. He hadn't done anything interesting in a long, long time and he was looking for some fun. He was walking the streets of Konoha, observing it's individuals as they came by. Everyone, and everything seemed normal. That was besides one thing. There was a man, and a weird looking one too. he was laying on a bench, and pondering about something crazy. "Maybe I should leave... Head to Iwagakure..." Was he....Was he thinking about leaving the village? To Toshiko's understanding, leaving the village to join another would give you a bounty, and you'd most likely be killed. Why would someone want to go through with doing that? "Or maybe I should help Antanas in Kirigakure...Kid's going to be upset if I leave Konoha without him, I'm sure." Hearing that made Toshiko stop dead in his tracks. Did he hear correctly? Yes, he was sure that he did. He heard the guy say Antanas's name. How did he know him, and was Antanas planning on betraying the village? Toshiko wasn't just going to stand there. He turned around, and prepared to speak.

"Hold on. I don't know who you are, or what you think you're talking about. What makes you think that you're just gonna leave this village when you feel like it? And i'll burn in hell before you take Antanas anywhere from this village. He's my friend, and i'm not gonna let him get killed because of you. I don't know how you know him, but you better rethink your plans because he isn't going anywhere!" Toshiko's boredom appeared to be cured, but now he was on a more serious tone. He got in a fighting stance, and prepared to battle with the man on the bench.

Word Count: 315

Aethir continued to think until he heard a voice speak to him. He didn't show any signs of listening, but he was indeed hearing what this boy had to say. He spoke of odd things... He was pretty sure he could come and go in many different villages as he pleased. He then slowly looked over to the boy, hearing him say that Antanas was his friend. 'Friend...? This guy...?' Aethir eyed the boy before smiling. 'So this is one of the friends he wants to protect? ...I see...Though he is pretty loud...' Aethir sighed as he sat up to look at the boy. He eyed him, examining his body before tilting his head. 'He's a little more sturdier than Antanas. I'd say he has some skill already...Hmm...' Finally, Aethir spoke verbally to the person. "What...are you even talking about...?" Aethir sighed, rubbing his forehead, almost as if he had a strawberry hangover. He eyed the boy before him with a tired smile.

"So you're one of the friends he wants to protect, hmm? Eh..." He suddenly inhaled, yawning as he sighed afterwards. "I'm just his teacher, I guess you could say. If you see him again, take note of his increased overall power." he spoke slowly, almost appearing to fall over and sleep. "Killed...? Who's getting killed? No... He's going to leave on his own with or without me to Kirigakure. So said the genin."  he sighed, stretching once more before laying his back against the bench. "But from the way you told me to rethink my plans, you make it seem like you could take me somehow... I doubt this." he tilted his head, smiling to the boy as he taunted him, almost expecting him to attack or retort angrily.

Word Count: 557

The man didn't seem to be listening, but in any case he responded to what Toshiko had said. He answered with a question, quietly asking if Toshiko was one of the friends that Antanas wanted to protect. he then said that he was Antanas's teacher. He said once Toshiko saw him again he could see his increase in power. Toshiko never knew that Antanas had his own teacher. "You're his teacher....?" "But from the way you told me to rethink my plans, you make it seem like you could take me somehow... I doubt this." What was this guy doing? Was he trying to egg Toshiko on? He smiled at Toshiko as well in a taunting manner. Was this guy looking for a fight? Toshiko was getting angry, but he wasn't stupid. His anger wasn't gonna get the best of him. While this was the case, he was still gonna fight the guy. "If you're really his teacher, then prove it. Let me see your skills in a fight!"

After speaking, Toshiko cocked his head to the side, filling his mouth with fire chakra. After completing it, he pushed his head forward, and opened his mouth fire 10 balls of flame directly at the strange man. If he was really the teacher that he claimed to be, he could counter this no problem.

Word Count: 235

Spoiler:

SPD E-2 -> E-3 (225/225)

At the mention of the word 'fight', Aethir couldn't help but grin, seeing the boy before him prepare some sort of retort. As he saw fire balls headed right for him, Aethir sat where he was, letting the jutsu travel a bit, showing his confidence in his own abilities. Quickly standing up though, he 'zipped' past each fireball, dodging quicker than what they could travel (sixteen (16) mp/s). To him, the fireballs appeared to be traveling slow, Aethir being trained to keep his eye on faster moving targets than these. He soon leaped high, jumping over who Aethir now knew was a ninja, landing about twelve meters away. "You know, I can't help but feel like there's a sense of hostility here..." he put his hands on his hips, sighing as he looked around at random spots in the sky. With a smile, he quickly waved a hand to the ninja's direction. "Oh, but do try again! I'm sure you'll get me this time." he nodded, rocking back and forth from the heel of his feet to his toes, and back again, almost taunting the ninja once again. 'So...' Aethir eyed the boy before him, thinking to himself. 'He's a ninja too...Hmm...I see...' the ronin eyed the ninja for any other attempt at attacking him.

Word Count: 782

Toshiko didn't expect what happened next. As the jutsu fired off, The strange man simply stood there for a few moments, and then started moving at rapid speed. he dodged each fire blast individually, and then after he dodged them all jumped high into the air right over Toshiko. Toshiko stared in shock, and then turned around to see the shinobi 12 meters away from him. Toshiko grimaced, and thought off to himself. Damn........What was that. We dodged all my attacks like they were nothing! He saw right through me. I've never seen another ninja do something like that before.....Who the hell is this guy? Toshiko stared off at the ninja, and then listened as he spoke. "You know, I can't help but feel like there's a sense of hostility here..." He put his hands on his hips and sighed. was he still taunting Toshiko? Toshiko didn't get it. What was this game he was playing? . "Oh, but do try again! I'm sure you'll get me this time." Toshiko grunted as he clenched his fists. He didn't like to be toyed with, and he wasn't gonna let this guy do that to him. Toshiko focused his chakra, and formed three spears of lightning. One on each side of him, and one above his head. Toshiko then ran towards the man, Jumped up, and spoke. "Let's see how you handle this!!" Toshiko fired all three of the spears directly at the man from right above him.

Word Count: 265

Spoiler:

Aethir's grin turned into a serious look as he noticed this person was using a jutsu all too familiar too him. As the boy had made lightning javelins, Aethir decided to create his own, two bolts on his side and one above him. However, unlike the boy, he didn't fire it all at once. Rather, he formed them into a much larger, single javelin, Aethir taking note of all three javelins thrown. 'There...' he spoke, launching the javelin as it crashed into each bolt, the larger bolt canceling out with the last bolt. As he saw the ninja still in the air, Aethir smiled as he pointed with his other finger, focusing chakra into the tip. He imagined a gun in darkness, the trigger pulling as it fired a bullet...And as a result, Aethir fired one shock bullet after another, being sure to aim at the boy in non-vital part of his body. If he were to get hit, it wouldn't be TOO bad... If he did or didn't, Aethir would be sure to keep his distance from the boy, about twelve meters away still.

Word Count: 974

Jutsu Used:

Jutsu Cooldown:

After the three lightning spears fired, The strange man came back with his own jutsu. He did the lightning javelin as well, but formed them into one large spear. He fired it at the three, negating both of their effects. What the.....What the hell is this guy? Toshiko was still in the air, and the man took advantage of that. He held out one finger focusing chakra into the tip. After that, he shot out chakra like there was no tomorrow in the form of small bullets. Toshiko couldn't even react. He got his by each one in his arms and legs, some in his chest. Each one knocked him back a bit, and after the last one fired. Toshiko coughed up a bit of spit. His body had a wave of shocks going through it, and he had a few burns on his arms and legs. Toshiko fell back to the ground, and landed hard right next to the man. He was twitching for a bit, and laid out upon the ground. "Damn......You....I'm not done......Not yet!!!" Toshiko slowly stood up. He wasn't going to lose this spar so easily. He was determined more than anything, and he wasn't gonna stop until he couldn't go on. Toshiko moved back a bit so there was a little bit of space between him and the strange man. He observed him for a minute. The man seemed to simply be toying with him, and he wasn't even using his full power. This guy was strong. Really strong. He didn't really have to put that much effort into fighting Toshiko. Toshiko wanted to admire him, but at this moment the two of them were enemies. Toshiko thought about all the jutsu that he had, realizing that he didn't have many options. Damn.....What am i gonna do? My mastered jutsu aren't gonna do that much to him. This guy....What's his deal? Every time i come at him he seems to have perfect counter. He's really skilled. I don't think i'm ready to take on a guy like that...... No. I'm gonna keep going! Even until my last amount of chakra, i won't stop!!!" Toshiko stared off at the guy. He only had a few more jutsu left to his name. That didn't matter. If he needed, he'd have to try out a few of his new ones. What if they didn't work? There was no guarantee considering the fact that he'd never really practiced them before. Regardless, it was worth a try. Toshiko stared off at the strange man. He was completely smug and nonchalant. It angered Toshiko greatly. He couldn't let that get to him though. He'd have to have a strategy going into his next move. This guy was fast. Really fast. Not only that, but he'd seem to have a lot of skill in his jutsu as well. Toshiko knew that that wasn't going to be the only thing this ninja knew how to do. He was experienced, and his power most likely exceeded that of Toshiko's. That wasn't going to deter him. He looked up at the array of buildings around him. If he was going to use this jutsu, he'd need a few things. Toshiko looked at his opponent, and then at the building. He jumped up into the air, and landed on the building. Toshiko looked at both of his hands. He was ready. He was ready to try out his very own jutsu. "Okay come on. I got this. All i have to do is focus my chakra into my palms, and emit the flames into my hands." Toshiko took in a deep breath, and then commenced his jutsu. He focused chakra into both of his palms, waiting for the flames to show up. Both his hands turned blue with his chakra, but the flames didn't ignite. He pushed more and more chakra into his palms, attempting to force his very own chakra into it's element of flames. The chakra upon his hands turned into the large Flames. Toshiko smiled, and nodded. He looked towards the edge of the building, still a bit hurt from his burns. He looked down at the man, and spoke. "Let's see how you handle this!! Fire Style" Toshiko clapped his hands together, forming the flames from each around both of them as he jumped off the building. "Fire Palm Jutsu!" Toshiko came down towards the earth as he pushed both hands forward, firing the flames at the man from right above him.

Word Count: 807

Spoiler:

750/750
Learned Fire Style: Fire Palm Jutsu

Aethir had his arms crossed as he stared at the ninja, noticing he was looking at the buildings. Aethir looked around himself as well, soon looking at the ninja now on top of one of the buildings. 'Hmm...he seems to be focusing on something big... Maybe...' Aethir tilted his head, eyeing the boy. As he saw fire form in the boy's palms, Aethir smiled as he...remained where he was, eyeing the fire as it was fired, now quickly coming closer to him. "Here goes..." Aethir smiled, feeling water form in his throat as he formed the tiger hand seal. He inhaled, then held his breath, eyes focusing on the orbs of fire. He then fired six balls of water form his mouth, two for the two fire balls to cancel them out, and four to aim at the once again midair ninja. Unless he had a way to move himself in midair, he was sure the ninja would get hit once again in non-vital areas. Aethir then backed away, staying five meters away as he suddenly spoke. "Nice trick." he laughed mockingly as he crossed his arms once again. "Have anything else?" Aethir smiled, eyeing the ninja with a more...respectable smile. As if Aethir was ready to acknowledged the ninja for his skills. 'I have to admit... That was a new jutsu in my book...' he shrugged, still eyeing the boy.

Word Count: 1210

Jutsu Used:

Jutsu Cooldown:

Toshiko fired his fire palm jutsu, and was met with yet another retaliation from the strange man. He filled his mouth with chakra that converted to water, and then fired it at Toshiko's jutsu. two of them negated the effects of Toshiko's jutsu, and the other 4 came directly at him. Toshiko took all the hits from the water balls on, and was sent flying back. He collided with the wall of the building he was previously on, and went sinking to the ground. He was pretty sore, but he wasn't done yet. He started shaking a bit. "No.......I.......I can't lose." Toshiko slowly started to get up, and stood up on his feet. He was disoriented, and was running out of chakra quickly. his wounds were making it hard for him to go on. He slowly walked up towards the man, and instead of a jutsu he held his hand back, and gave off a weak punch aimed at the mans chest. Regardless of whether or not this hit, Toshiko fell to the ground next to the man, and laid there incapacitated.

Word Count: 191

Aethir eyed the boy as he was on the ground, slowly rising to...deliver a weak punch to his chest. It stung a bit, he had to admit, but nothing life threatening as he fell to the ground next to him. Aethir stood where he was, not looking down at the boy as he pondered. 'Well...I'm not sure if Antanas would approve the beating of one's friends...but...' Aethir turned to look down at the boy with a smile, reaching into a jacket's pocket to grab a piece of wrapped strawberry candy. "Hey..." Aethir poke, poking the boy's head gently with the strawberry lollipop's stick. "Hey....er...I'll just live this here for you, okay guy? It's kind of like my...apology gift. Yes. As for Antanas, he said he wanted to protect his friends...I'm guessing that'd be you too." he nodded while placing the lollipop, standing up and slowly walking away. "So I helped him get strong you see. And well...That's the gist of the story. The story of this ronin..." He turned to see the boy still on the ground with the strawberry lollipop resting on his back. As he turned away, Aethir grinned, beginning his usual Konoha sprinting exercise, about to start heading the main gates of Konoha to test his speed. As he slowly began to walk, he continued to think of the boy lying on the ground, the words of Antanas coming to mind, wanting to protect his friends. Aethir shrugged, still walking away as he was nearing a corner of the streets of Konoha,  the Konoha gates in his sight. It was he that he was getting ready to do he usual speed training, about to sprint at his fastest out of the gate...However, he continued to eye the boy lying on the ground, feeling a little concerned.

Word Count: 1528
Perception: B -> B-1 700/700
Reaction Time: B -> B-1 700/700

Toshiko was on the ground, twitching a bit from the pain. Was this it for him? He had failed. He wasn't good enough for this guy. He wasn't good enough at all. He was weak. Too weak. He was a complete failure. He had to except that. No matter what he tried, he wasn't going to be capable of defeating this guy. "No........................No!!!!!" Toshiko started moving a bit, and then looked up to see the man eyeing him from afar. Toshiko promised himself that he wasn't going to give up. Toshiko slowly but surely made his way to his knees, and then stood up on both feet. "You think i'm going down that easy, then you've got another thing coming to you! I'm not losing this way, and if i do lose i'm not going down until i'm completely out of chakra! That's a promise!!" Toshiko took a step forward, and felt slight pain from the afflicted areas still dealing with the aftershock of the shock bullets and the water balls. Slowly, Toshiko started to jog towards Aethir, and once he reached him he did something a bit unexpected. He filled his mouth with flame chakra, and then once he reached Aethir he would attempt to kick him in the side. After doing so, Toshiko would jump into the air hovering directly over Aethir, and cock his head back. He would then open his mouth, firing 5 moderate sized flame balls aimed directly at Aethir. Toshiko didn't stop there. He pushed himself towards the ground, increasing the momentum and allowing him to hurdle towards the ground at a faster rate. He landed on both feet, hard. He felt a surge through his body that sent pain through his spine, but he endured it. He was now only a few inches away from Aethir. Toshiko would then fire the final 5 fire balls from directly in front of Aethir, awaiting the outcome of his attack.

Word Count: 342

Spoiler:

Aethir, still eyeing the boy, slowly straightened his posture, standing tall. As he saw the boy jog over to him, Aethir sighed. 'He can barely move. What does he think he can accomplish like this...? He's either got a strong will to fight...or he's an idiot.' Aethir continued to eye the boy as easily noticed the boy's attempt to kick him. He almost effortlessly brushed the kick away, now looking at the boy in the air, eyeing him with a dull expression on his face. 'This is the third time I've caught him in the air like this...Both previous attacks landed...' As the boy began to use that same fire jutsu from before, Aethir casually skipped out of the way of the projectiles, hopping further back away with every fireballs. The ronin then noticed the boy falling from the sky, now on the ground a few meters away, shooting five more fireballs at him. 'He might be telling the truth about fighting me when he's out of  chakra...' he sighed, watching the fireballs fly closer towards him, Aethir slowly crouching, a stance usually common for sprinters, 'But I really...really am too impatient...' he finished he thought before bursting at his maximum speed.

The ronin casually, nearly effortlessly, leaped out of the way of each fireball as he sprinted towards the boy. The gap between them was nonexistent as Aethir traveled at fifteen meters per second, arriving at the boy's position in a nearly less than a second. Now close to the boy, Aethir would deliver a swift left punch to the side of his face, a right hook to his other side, followed by another left punch to the boy's stomach, kneeing him in the chin with his left knee, and clasping both hands to double fist smash the top of the boy's head, only to unclasp his hands and ram both fists into the boy's collarbone areas, knocking him back and away a bit. He figured in the state the boy was in, and as unskilled as he was, he'd be able to get away with such a barrage of hits... He knew the damage wouldn't be anything life threatening. He just wanted to do enough damage to cause the boy to back off...or become unconscious.

Word Count:  1920

Toshiko could barely see as the man would literally move past all ten of the fire balls. He didn't stop there. He then bum rushed Toshiko, punching him in the face on each side. Toshiko spit up a bit of blood, and then felt a crushing blow to his stomach. Toshiko's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Aethir then attempted to knee Toshiko in the chin. Toshiko held up both of his hands, and blocked the knee. Aethir finally clasped both of his hands together, and then knocked them down onto Toshiko's skull. Toshiko felt a bit weary, and then fell to the ground. Aethir's hits had left their mark metaphorically and literally. Toshiko could barely move. Toshiko started slowly, slowly crawling over to Aethir, and then passed out right there upon the pavement. Some of the villagers came in, and took him to the medical ward.

Word Count: 151

Total Words: 2306

LEFT THREAD

Aethir stood where he was, eyeing the boy by his feet, eventually watched as he passed out, this time for sure. 'And that's why we don't pick on strangers my dear boy.' Aethir looked over to some villagers near him who were eyeing him as if he were a criminal on the wanted boards. Eventually, one of them, and old man, started to speak of teaching kids now a days a lesson. 'What is this old man on about...? And how did this even come to be ...?' Aethir eyed the old man as he slowly nodded, smiling to the man. "Ah well, no harm no foul! But ...I did harm him...Um...contradiction there..." As the old man began to depart, the villagers returning to their activities, Aethir had to ponder. 'I'm pretty sure we could have just talked it out...Me and that boy...Though he's pretty protective of his friend. What was his name...? Anta...An...something...' Aethir scratched the side of head, soon feeling some sort of liquid touching his scalp. He turned to look at his crimson red fingers shimmering in the sunlight. "Blood... It must be his...But I don't recall punching him that hard...Hmm..." The ronin simply inhaled and exhaled, walking back to the corner he was getting ready turn. "Maybe he's more squishy than I thought...? Hmm...I don't know..." He stopped at the corner, looking at his red splotched hands, sighing. "I should wash my hands before going out and training I think..." he shrugged, walking past the corner, going further down the road. "Wash my hands before Antanas wonders who's blood this is. Then I'll be in a bind~" he chuckled lightly, thinking about the scenario. "Oh you know, I kinda beaten up your friend. Don't know his name. But hey, let's continue our lessons~!" He stopped to laugh to himself, shaking his head before continuing to his home.

The ronin then stopped, staring at the ground as the winds of Konoha blew past him. 'But that boy... He had to of known he was outmatched from the way I've dodged.' he blinked, thinking more and more about the battle, possibly to the point of over thinking it. 'If he was really his friend, he'd fight to his dying breath...' Aethir's mind flashed the image of the beaten up boy on the ground by his leg. 'If he wasn't...he'd run. Hmm...I wonder if Anta...something...would do the same for that boy.' Aethir scratched the side of his head, more of the boy's blood ending up in his hair. "Damn it... That's it, time to just take a bath..." he sighed, walking down the path, eyeing his apartment area. 'But that's something to think about. Anta speaks of becoming strong to protect his friends...but how much is he willing to- ...Bah, why the hell am I even thinking this deeply about people I just met? ...Eh... The ronin finally concluded his insanely deep thinking session as he walked into the apartment area, climbing some stairs to reach the door at the end. He opened it, took off his bloody jacket and shirt, making his way right over to the bathroom as he carefully watched where he stepped, his house being littered with clothes. "Just run the water..." he sighed, washing his hands as the shower water began to run, warming up. "And relax...Yes..." he nodded to himself, stretching for a bit before proceeding with washing the blood from his body.

Word Count: 2523 (1123 available)
Strength: B -> B-1 700/700