Dray stood and looked at the height of the building like it was never ending. The building's top could not be well seen as the mist above was a bit thicker than usual. Dray looked at the structure of the building and compared it to konoha's administration building. The training with the Gin- lady was once vigorous one. Immediately dray walked into kirigakure no sato through the village gates after been questioned by the shinobis at the gate, the lady, gin was the one who came to receive dray. She told him that she was going to be his guide through the village since this was his first time in the village. Dray asked her if there was any fun place like a sparring area in kirigakure and perhaps, she herself could teach him a thing or two. The duo got to a specific location. One that seemed to have swamps around it and other people training too. The spar between dray and gin soon began as the two of them exhibited their skills but dray himself could not deny the fact that he was no where near gin's level. He did not take it as a disgrace that she was better than him for he still had so much room for improvement. The silver haired female dropped dray off at the kirigakure administration building and told him that the mizukage wanted to see him. Dray wondered how this was so but on a second thought, he obeyed her. He remembered that at first, the girl gin had come from no where to receive him so it was definetly possible that the village head also knew that he was around.

The buildings in kirigakure were much unlike those in konoha. The buildings and shops were much more taller and a few tall building could be seen too though the administration building seemed to be the tallest in the village and it was also in the center of the village too. Dray sighed and proceeded to enter the building. He was a young but tall and muscular konoha chunin who loved the color green. He was a senju that loved the forest itself. The kimono armour he was wearing was green in color and even the hairs on his head were green in color. Dray had no fears. He had received permission to travel from the hokage sousetsu senju, one of his clan members and he also heard that kirigakure and konohagakure had good relations but he was not sure so he knew he was safe. Dray walked into the administration building of the village hidden in the mist. The first he saw was a lady at a table opposite the door who was definetly the receptionist. Dray walked up to her with both of his hands folded in the sleeves of his green kimono armour. He explained to the lady that Gin directed him to see the mizukage. The lady then told dray that the mizukage was waiting for him already and that she was on the last floor which was the highest room in the building.

Dray turned to the direction of the grand stair case in the center of the large room and began to climb it. It was one tall stair case that refused to end but after some minutes, dray got to where seemed to be the last floor of the administration building as he took in a deep breath through his nostrils and exhaled through his mouth. Dray withdrew his right hand from the sleeve of his kimono armour on the left side and he softly knocked on the door of the room three times and awaited the reply he would get while putting his hand back into his sleeve.
WC:623

   The sweat soaked sheets clang to Aya's pale frame as she twisted in her bed, her fingers grasping at the silks, her knuckles bleach white as she applied the full force of her grip. As within her mind pictures of a limitless impossible graveyard extended in every direction. She could feel the weight of death in every direction as a plethora of graves peppered the war torn landscape which could barely be considered the City of Kirigakure no Sato. The graves changed on an individual basis, some shrines, others small rock formations, others singular planks of cedar raising from the earth and marked with a single shinto charm as a blessing to the grave site, while others, were little more than shallow dig overs with a ninjas' headband hung from a weapon that was stabbed into the ground as their headstone... Aya could taste ash in the air as she surveyed the land, seeing the weapon of Dameon shikyo... a shrine belonging to Strafe Aisu... Kaguzas grave... a grave for Yuudai... her own mother... Tenmei... Gin... ... ... everyone she knew and loved there was a grave for and many many more which expanded to the limits of Aya's own vision. Walking between them were horrific visions of mysterious red samurai in their hundreds, all closing in on Aya, each of them bearing the menacing brand of the Daimyo on their arms, scolded into their armour... Aya could feel the weight of their presence as she took a step backwards, only to find that she was surrounded by them... in this graveyard of all of the people she once knew and cared for... she was alone, and facing down an impossible force... Until they appeared...

The sinister specters of two women cloaked from head to toe in rich crimson, unable to see their faces, though one of them bore a shield, the other, no visible weapon. A third appeared to another rooftop to the east of her, a long spear on his back, as finally, to the north... HE showed his face. The adversary, Zhuge, the sleeping dragon, knowledge which would never be remembered crossed the mind of Aya as revelations that would soon come to pass were as known truth in her dreams. The demonic man stood with his arms folded, a star blazing brightly over his head under the light of the moon which caught his eyes which began to swirl in an unnatural chakra, looking like spiraling galaxies bought to life by an unknown force. This man, this demon, smiled at the Mizukage, as he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Lady, Mizukage... It seems you have finally met your mach, all of this, was your doing... Your insolence... your incompetence... your pride and stubbornness led to the demise of your people, and your once glorified city, and now we are the ones who have absolute control. You are but a girl, playing at being a leader like a child plays with her dolls. You should never have been made Mizukage of the land of mist... falling to every trap, every stratagem in my arsenal, you did not have the boldness to strike at opportunity, you did not have the courage to face down adversity, nor the wisdom to deflect my onslaughts... and now, your village is ash, and your people are dead, their blood... is on your hands.

You killed them Aya...


"

Aya looked down to her own hands, stained and dripping red with the blood of her people, it was only then that the sky darkened, and what came next was a rain, hundreds of arrows fell upon her like a thundering waterfall as she was struck, searing pain flowed through her chest as she looked to see long black foreign looking bolts extending out from herself... though the pain did not seem real, it seemed distant, and hollow, though, she believed it was real, and that was all that mattered... falling backwards, it was not the earth that Aya hit, but water, as she fell into the river which flowed through Kirigakure, struggling, drowning in the fast moving current, weak, and paralyzed, she was carried down stream, seeing not only the men in red, and Zhuge as she floated past them, but many others as well, she saw Gan Ning standing on the shore, watching her float past with his fierce and blazing amber gold eyes and crooked smile, mizuru and Io in tow... pushed under the water by the weight of her many failures as a Mizukage, when she arose again she passed Uchiha Haos' shadowy form, standing with the Schichiouza who stood beside him until a wave crashed down on Aya... forcing herself up again, there was a sight she never expected to see, and an experience she did not expect to feel... Aya felt light, as she was cast from the river, to fall from a cliff overlooking the sea, but there, on its edge, as she hung in the air for but a moment... was a man with a knife, wearing a silver mask, with the waves of kiri in its forehead, crossed out... His empty gaze abyssal, like the void staring into Ayas very soul... and she was afraid...

"The monsters always come back Ayakashi... ... ...

Always..."

Aya woke with a gasp fractions of seconds before her body would have crashed into the rocks at the base of the waterfall. Her eyes searched her cold, lonely room for any sign of life, finding only the expansive form of Bai, curled around himself, his bold silver eyes open and staring at Aya, watching over her while she slept, wordlessly. His eyes reminiscent of those the Hyuuga named their legendary Doujutsu after no doubt... Aya sat up, as her silent guardian without a word watched her slide on her black, long Gi as well as her boots. He watched her bind her upper body in bandages and slip on the cloak of the mizukage, only buttoning across the golden chain which kept it wrapped around her. Picking up her belts and her sheaths, she clipped the belts around her waist and over her shoulder, sheathing Kusanagi and the Raijin sword to her left hip, and changeling on the sheath to her right. Taking her mask, she placed it over the mouth of the sheath which held changeling, allowing it to hang off her belt as she then moved to pick up her gloves, not bothering with her Fuuma shuriken today, or her armour. Finally, Aya slid on the cold steel of her gloves, which, in one small act, felt like all of her worries were washed away, never to be felt again. The gloves of her mothers make, were the incarnations of her mother's love, and will to protect her daughter, and they had served Aya well... Bai looked to Aya, still bandaged  from his wounds, but the chakra within the bandages, as well as the herbs were working around the clock to bring the tiger to his full strength.

"You're plagued by your dreams Ayakashi-san... your chakras are not in balance... I can smell the inner conflict, but worry not... you will resolve them soon... Have faith..."

Aya trusted the words of Bai, she had been thinking that the Tiger had been seeking her out when it was caught in a violent assault where he was wounded, but, now recovering, he was restoring his strength quickly. Aya began to leave her house, moving to the administration building where she was told that there seemed to be a new person in the village. A ronin Senju by the reports from the sensory ninja of the village. Aya had always a great respect for the Senju, considering Yui was one of the Genin under her wing and her tutelage. She wanted to see this chuunin if she could at all afford it... Each senju it seemed in this day and age was a fount of youth and knowledge, so she wondered what she would find this time, and what new adventure lay in wait... So, sitting and waiting in the administration building, it was not long until she had the pleasure of hearing the knock rapping upon her chamber door. Inviting the boy in, she stood tall. Bai-hu was sitting at her side, his deep, luminescent silver eyes staring down the new entrant as he approached, wearing his large, armoured green kimono. Although it was hard to discern, Ayas mother was a master smith of armours and weapons, and she could see the material and the subtle curves and weight of his armour in how it moved and acted to the gust caused from the pressure change as he entered the room. Aya smiled.

"Welcome to Kirigakure. I was hoping i would be able to see you before the day is out... so, what brings you to this enigmatic place? I'm sure it was not the weather, as, although we live in the tropics, you will very rarely find a sunny day in the village hidden in the mist... we tend to be a little more gloomy. "

Aya spoke, as she offered the entrant a seat and a drink, soon discovering that this senju was not from konoha, placing a damper on her political plans.

1567 words... Training Bai-hu. C-B 1567/ 2000

Dray thought as he waited for a reply from inside the room. He calmed his nerves and straightened his head. There was no reason to be paranoid, he told himself. He wondered why the mizukage would want to see him but dray understood that it was only normal to meet with the mizukage afterall, they were all shinobis. No one was to be trusted. He was in kirigakure so the mizukage had all the rights to summon him. Dray wondered what this mizukage was like. Was she a male or a female. He knew that he had not heard of any female kages due to the fact that this was his first time going out of konohagakure no sato. The village hidden in the mist had been his home right from birth. The land where his parents and younger sisters lost their life. Only if his father had possessed the much treasured mokuton release, perhaps, he would have protected his family and saved the day but probably not everyone were lucky. His father was just a higly experienced swordsman but still, the opponent proved better than him.

The scene of their death was heartbreaking. Dray did not get to hear his mother's last words neither did he hear his sisters'. The few words that his father had said to him clung to his soul like they were a part of his spine, deciding his every movement. Dray lived as an orphan for years and even right now, he was still an orphan except for the fact that he had the senjus as his family members now. How painful it was, to graduate the academy with just one or two friends because nobody wanted to associate with an orphan. Dray did not take it up against them neither did he burn with anger instead, he accepted their feelings of hatred towards him and turned it into perserverance. Dray vowed to become a respectable ninja of the leaf. Someone worthy to stand on the front lines of his village and fight in a war yet coming out victorious. He wanted to one day be close to the hokage, to be worthy of being called a leaf shinobi by the hokage himself, to be an ambassador of the leaf and to be respected by the citizens of any nation he walked into.

His plans had been going well enough for now. He had worked his way up and even if he did not partake in the previous chunin exams that were held in takigakure just like the other leaf genins had done, he still did his best and presented himself to the hokage- sousetsu senju and this particular leader of the leaf village deemed it fit to promote dray to the rank of chunin. Now, dray had added another feather to his owl wings. He was now free to travel to any village he wanted so far he had permission. Dray was planning on training with the shinobis in kirigakure for a while before proceeding on his quest. The battle against Claymore, his familiy's killer. Dray had been augmenting his skills silently and he only fought those who were worth it. He lived his shinobi life based on the principle of the owl's flight. A method that made him excel in whatever project he embarked on. Now, immediately he heard a word, he was going to go inside the room, act like a matured chunin of the leaf and come out with a calm look.

The one who dray supposed to be the mizukage invited dray in as he walked into the room and stood before the leader of the hidden mist village. The mizukage was a female with somewhat pale with skin and black long hairs. Her only visible attire was the long cloak of office which dray recognized due to it's similarity to the hokages'. She seemed to be well versed in bukijutsu as dray could see two sheaths with swords in them hanging by her waist. Her silver golves reflected the light rays in the room as dray looked below the desk to see her black boots. Her dressing was moderate but her height was....... Dray could not help but smile within himself. Little wonder why the admistration building was this tall. Dray held nothing but a calm look on his face making his thoughts difficult to read. To the side of the mizukage was a suprising creature with silvery skin. One not seen to often as dray's eyes clashed with its'.

"Welcome to Kirigakure. I was hoping I would be able to see you before the day is out... so, what brings you to this enigmatic place? I'm sure it was not the weather, as, although we live in the tropics, you will very rarely find a sunny day in the village hidden in the mist... we tend to be a little more gloomy. " she said to dray. Dray was very much relieved that he was not at all met with a hostile action or rude welcoming perhaps due to the fact that he stood matured or maybe it was just her showing a little courtsey. Dray could not help but wonder why she described 'her' village as been mysterious. The village only looked different due to the fact that he had not been anywhere or seen any other places apart from konoha or maybe she was being truthful and he was yet to see anything in this particular village- kirigakure.
My name is Dray Senju and the pleasure is all mine lord mizukage for you have welcomed me with such brightness. dray would say as he would slightly bow to the mizukage cause if you talked about manners, he had that. He would continue after raising his head. I come to kirigakure with the hope of augmenting my shinobi skills due to what I hear about kirigakure being the home of strength. The ferocious capital where being one of the best is possible. Think not that I am a ronin or a missing ninja as I have earlier received the permission from my hokage to travel down here besides, even if I was a ronin or a missing ninja, the shame of being casted out of the village or leaving the village on my own would not allow me to proudly wear the konohagakure no sato shinobi head band. dray would conclude as he would point to the head band attached to the red loin that was firmly tied around his waist to hold his plain green kimono armour in perfect place.
WC:1100

Ayakashi thought to herself, raising an eyebrow at his statements, Bai-hu looking at the ninja with a questionable gaze before looking back to Ayakashi, in which Aya turned and looked back at the brilliant white tiger with the same confused look. It was rather rare to hear a person potentially declare themselves a missing ninja, although it was strange and unheard of, he did not seem to be showing any malice toward Aya and the country, and he seemed to have arrived with Gin, which was, no doubt not co-incidental, the Sannin and Seven swords woman of the country was known to have an interesting taste when it came to her travelling companions, and it seemed that this person who had entered Aya's abode was no different than the rest. Aya stood, standing to her full height of nearly 6 foot. Raising her hands above her head and interlacing her fingers as she stretched to the heavens, her dark blue hair falling down her front, long, silken, and colorful... Her arms fell to her sides as she stepped around her chair, taking her finger and stroking it up the side and along the varnished cedar of the tall and proper chair which rose up to just underneath her chest as looked. Turning her attention to the boy who stood before her once again, Aya's eyes from her standing position was now able to take in everything the boy had to offer, she could tell somewhat immediately that he was not any form of master of martial combat, his stature, frame, and muscle formation was not consistent with the amount of physical training it would require to gain that level of power.

"So which are you?" Aya began, beginning to walk out from behind her desk and moving to a location to the side, she was trying to get a better look at him, her three sheaths at her sides as she moved to one of the filing cabinets in the large ovular room, allowing her weight to fall backwards as she leaned against it, folding her arms across her chest. The woman before him was matured, thirty, aside from the scars which covered her lower body, revealed by her open cloak with very little beneath it, she had seen battle, choosing instead to stitch the wounds and allow them to scar, rather than have them healed with chakra from the villages medical ninja. "Are you a Missing ninja, or a Ronin...? You do understand the difference I assume, and you do understand the country you have entered, this is the land of the hunter ninja, the country whose greatest export is ninja, to hunt down and eradicate the missing ninja of other nations, and the tools to do the same... I would be willing to show you a degree of mercy if you're honest, but, I just want you to know... that i really... really... hate liars..."

Aya's lone eye changed from being friendly to staring daggers through the chuunin in her presence, the look from her sapphire eye became like a poison which threatened to consume the ninja before her, attempting to strike fear, and therefore truth into him. As she stood, the room around them began to get colder, Aya's breath huffing out a light fog as Dray Senju's breath would begin to take on the same cosmetic effect. Aya's chakra was beginning to churn, and Bai-hu, in the mean time, had lifted his body from the ground and slunk toward the open veranda at the back of the office, leaping down to the roof of a nearby building, sliding down the slick tiles to jump to another tree and then to the ground, where he sleuthed between the side streets and out of sight, heading for the ANBU office to attain information on the ninja who had entered Aya's office, to see if there had been any information spread about him. There was a very real chance there would be none, but, the word missing ninja was a venom in the country which had been burned to the ground twice by one missing ninja, and waged war against by the other, though, the chuunin did get some points for honesty, though perhaps a couple more points for stupidity.  

How Dray answered would be paramount, Aya had no issue with Ronin ninja, she herslef was also behind the scenes known to harbor a couple of missing ninja, Gin being one of them, who had been assimilated into the ranks of Kirigakure as a seven swordsman, strafe aisu, who had even left the land of Kirigakure only to return later. Aya knew first hand that the trials and tribulations of the heart were not something she was or should be able to judge another ninja on, as matters of the heart were always the most complicated and confusing... but each of those ninja since, had pledged themselves to her country... so she was able to keep her friends close, and her enemies employed, that way, she would be better able to keep the keenest of eyes on them just in case she should be wrong about their commitment. She could not simply accept the word of someone who claims they could be a missing ninja, and having ties to the Hokage. Aya knew a lot about Soousetsu, though she had never met him, but, she had difficulty believing that one of them men who were paramount in bringing down Hao, as well as helping her against Gan Ning would be so casual about allowing a missing ninja to wander wild and free unchecked wearing the konoha headband. Aya had tracked down many missing ninja who wore their headband, it gave them access to other villages, and was a handy disguise. Only the strongest, or most cocky of missing ninjas crossed out the pattern on their headbant to brand themselves as such...

She couldn't be sure about this one...

1001 words

Bai Training C-B complete! 2568/2000

568 training moving on

The mizukage looked on easy with dray's reply though he wondered if he might have said something wrong. He had tried his best to look modest but things did not look like they would do well. Dray spotted her eye brow go upwards like she was contemplating on his words. Dray felt the situation was not turning out in his favour as he sighted the silvery tiger gaze at him before looking at the mizukage and the mizukage in turn returned the look.
Dray wondered why he felt that hostility was coming towards him. He searched himself once again where he stood and he was even sure that he had been as opened as he could ever be so why else was he feeling uneasy.
The woman now seemed to stand to her full height which was just a few inches above dray despite the fact that he was still a teenager, his height was intimidating to even his peer group.
Dray wondered if the mizukage was somehow choreographing as she raised her hands over her head and did some of pattern with her finger allowing her long hair to fall down.. Dray looked at her every move with hawk like eyes. In this kind of situation, he was not ready to miss anything because a slight loss of information could cost him more than he would ever except. A shinobi was meant to be very perspective in his own understanding.

Her arms finally fell to her sides as dray saw her step around her chair, feeling the chair at different inches. Dray knew this act and he knew it wasn't going to be good.
"So which are you?" the mizukage would ask as the question would pierce through dray's very skin as she would then walk out behind her desk and move away from it to one of the well designed cabinet in the spacious room before leaning on it and folding her hands across her chest. Dray felt uneasy with the woman's behaviour but still, he did not fret. He did not lift his eyes off her as he observed her clearly from his standing point. She looked to be very much older than dray yet her skin showed no sign of wrinkle neither did her posture show much of being feminine. She looked well built though she would probably be immediately recognized as a female. She looked at dray once more as the words would flow out of her mouth.. "Are you a Missing ninja, or a Ronin...? You do understand the difference I assume, and you do understand the country you have entered, this is the land of the hunter ninja, the country whose greatest export is ninja, to hunt down and eradicate the missing ninja of other nations, and the tools to do the same... I would be willing to show you a degree of mercy if you're honest, but, I just want you to know... that i really... really... hate liars..."

Dray wondered why she would think of him in any of those two categories. His statement had indirectly established the fact that he was a shinobi of the leaf or did she interpret it differently? Dray was confused but the expression could not be easily read on his face. How else was he supposed to explain to her, he wondered. She spoke to him like he had heard of kirigakure no sato before. If he was to say that he knew that the land hidden in mist was known for hunting missing ninjas, then he would have spoken a very big lie because all his life up till now had been spent in konohagakure no sato, the land of nature itself. He felt embarrased with her talking about showing him a bit of mercy but there was nothing he could do about it, he was on her land so he had to play by her rules.
Just like a predator closing in on it's prey, her eyes would narrow to dray's standing position probablt trying to send a shrill down his spine but that was far from it. He knew fear when he saw it. Facial looks alone did not portray fear to him rather, what that person could do would.

The situation was getting hotter as the room was getting colder as the mizukage lifted her self from the cabinet she had been resting on and stood upright. All of a sudden, the room seemed to be an artic region as the mizukage's breath changed into a light visible fog. Not only would the changes be visible on her but on dray too as his face and entire skin would begin to turn whitish due to the temperature of the room. Even with his eyes fixated on her, he would catch a slight glimpse of the silver tiger that left it's previous position and maneuvered beautifully to leave the location as all these would be seen by dray due to his standing position that gave him a perfect arc- like view.
Dray would remain in his standing position with his eyes still fixed on the mizukage. It was an eye battle. He would not let himself get intimidated. It was when he showed fear that the mizukage's suspicions would grow larger. He was a proud chunin of the leaf, all his years of being a shinobi, falling and rising, taking on everything that the world threw at him at his early age due to the fact that he was an orphan. He respected what this woman would have passed through to be where she was today but that did not mean she would not respect a fully fledged chunin like him because he was sure that she was once a chunin too.

Dray had to dig into the soil and make his foundation solid. He had to firmly establish the fact that he was not a ronin and neither was he a missing ninja. He well knew that the mizukage would definetly overpower him. Not because he had seen her fight before or heard tale of her victory but just because of the title she held, it was one to fear. Where he stood, he would flow his hands confidently trying to send a body message that he was not afraid and that he was sure of who he was. At this moment, the annoyance of not his words not being accepted would cause him to channel unseen chakra into the ground, into the air and to whatever direction vegetation was as the little plants in the room would rise upwards in their places as if trying to grasp sunlight. Even the vegetation outside of the office would rise as it would be seen from the windows with the same thing happening to the trees.

"I am a shinobi of konohagakure no sato. A fully flegde chunin, not a ronin or a missing ninja. I have no idea that the land hidden in mist hunts missing ninja and I dont think I need that knowledge if you understand what I mean... By the way, its cold in here and am not used to the temperature but am sure I'll adjust during my stay in kiri if you do allow me.... Dray would say with seriousness in his voice not to be misunderstood for rudeness.
WC:1236

ayakashi seemed appeased by his answer, from what she could tell he was not lying, and as her feline entered the room to sit down beside them, Baiho seemed rather fine with his presence also, lying down having stretched out his muscles and having felt like he had recovered somewhat from the ordeals he had gone through in the past. Still keeping an open eye on the ninja, Ayakashi moved to sit back down at her chair, looking to the paperwork and signing him in officially as someone who was fine to be here, a chuunin of konoha could be useful in the mean time, but, perhaps he would learn not to mince words with dangerous people. Such close encounters were something which the careless entered, and the careless in the ninja world quickly became the dead over time.

looking up at him Aya handed over a parchment which he would be able to flash to most who got in the way, signed by the mizukage herself that he had a place here until he saw fit to leave. With an added note which, in code, mentioned that those who he presented this to, were to be suspicious of his movements, and to ensure that he was in fact, not up to no good.

"This is a document which will get you where you need to be, You;; be fine here, the weather comes and goes, we have a few sunny days a year, they're nice. I hope to see you around Dray, just dont get into any trouble while you're here and we will be fine."

Ayakashi, after Dray had left, would move out of he area to once again find Bai hu, the proud tiger which had been skulking around her office since she had managed to rescue him from his fate. The tiger would not be found too far away, resting in the mist, almost invisible against the dancing shadows of the village as the Mizukage lay a soft and gentle hand on his fur, looking over him as he seemed to be slowly recovering from his many wounds. His mobiity coming back from his scarring and the life of his chakra re-energizing and humming beneath the surface. This legendary creature, symbolizing the wind itself was not to be trifled with as one of the many sons of the god of the heavens Huang Long. But such secrets never meant for the ears of humankind. Yukidama, as Aya's mother affectionately named him, looked up at Ayakashi,beginning to mutter under his breath.

"Is it truly wise, to allow this man into your realm?"

"Wise? No... Kind... yes."

"Kindness? Such a weak sentiment would bring ruin to a nation, this land was once ruled with strength, and honor."

"It was ruled with blood, and suffering... Kindness as pooled our strengths, bound us together so that we fight as one... something the past leaders could not have hoped to understand. A Nation of men who stand alone could not hope to breach a country united by kindness."

Bai grumbled deep in thought before closing his eyes and moving to rest once more... Aya smiled, walking off back to her office and leaping into the distance, as Bai opened a single eye to see her off, looking at the ground in wonder...

"A nation as one... ... ... Interesting"

[exit thread]

1133 words passed on.

exit thread