There was no need to travel along the main road, for where he was going he didn’t need roads. Hideyo broke through the low hanging branches of trees as he marched along the wide landscape. His destination was the Hidden Cloud village. The very place his clan had once resided in but departed from it nearly a hundred years ago. It was the first place he would start his search for a new home for his clan. They’d been without a village for a couple of generations but the elders had all given up on the world. Seeing how the debate for finding a new home was a rising issue within his clan, Hideyo thought it best to strike out and discover one for himself. The sad fact about his search was that he would have to find the hidden villages all by his lonesome.

Out in the real world there was no one to help guide him. His parents had taught him that much, and tried their best to train them harshly and strictly to best prepare him and his siblings against the hard nature of the world. So far his lessons had proven to have taught him well. He’d made it pretty far from his home. The light of dawn was peaking over the mountain tops. It wouldn’t be too long until someone came to realize his absence. Soon they would be on his tail. Not because of his failure of covering his tracks, but because the Lightning Country is the closest neighboring nation to his own home, the Land of Frost.

The real surprise so far in his travels was how warm the weather was compared to his home. Maybe there was a higher elevation but he simply could not understand it. The Lightning Country stood to the northeastern border of the Land of Frost. Surely, he had thought, it would be colder here. Instead he had found his winter clothing to be a bit much. Instead he was quite comfortable in a few underlays and silk robe. The dark fabric was a gift of his mother’s from his latest birthday. It kept him warm while in the cool climate of the Lightning Country, but it still required a jacket to best retain his body heat when he was back home. Strange how climates and environments of the two places differed from how he had expected them to be. He prayed it was a sign that his doubts about going to the Hidden Cloud for refuge being safe were wrong as well. It certainly would make his life a lot easier.

Leaving his clan’s stronghold was a bold and risky endeavor. Probably the riskiest one he would ever commit in his lifetime. Abandoning the clan meant death on sight. In other words, defection. His family would have to disown him and swear on oath that they forsook him as would all of his siblings. Still trudging through the woods, he wondered how his family would take the news. This would be the first time such a thing had happened in his family, although defection from the clan was nothing new. Others had done it, and others had been killed because of it. There were old tales, scary little stories to frighten the young ones early on, that there existed one who had survived outside the clan. Escaped and living within the shinobi world. Somehow, Hideyo doubted the story’s words. Even if they were true, he was certain the story was so old that the Exiled Kojima was nothing more than a bump in the ground.

The woodlands were growing sparser as he climbed the mountainside, its slopes getting steeper and steeper. Looking ahead, he couldn’t even begin to see the peak of the mountain where he traveled as it was hidden well by low hanging clouds. ”Please be on this mountain, please be on this mountain,” he pleaded aloud, more to himself than anything. And if the Hidden Cloud village was not on this mountain, his search for the village could very well take days, maybe even a couple weeks. He doubted it would take any longer than ten days. There weren’t many mountains that were covered by clouds on average. In fact, it was because of such a fact that he had started his search on the mountain most covered with clouds. A good assumption, plus it happened to be one of the closer cloud-covered peaks to his home.

However, Hideyo was soon to realize just how close he was to the Hidden Cloud, or rather, how close the Hidden Cloud was to him...


Post: 693

Grey clouds swirled around the mountain as they always did, hinting at rain but not giving it. The ground was still damp from the previous rain as it always was and Ame's boots slid across the mud slightly. Her hair was plastered to her cheeks and hung limp over her forehead protector, still damp from the journey there. Her muscles throbbed and the taste of ozone lingered in the air from the raiton jutsus she had just been practicing.

Ameryuu huffed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Kaminari no Kuni's rice paddies had always been strangely steamy and she had never been able to figure out why. She looked out across the rice paddies and took a deep breath. The air down there wasn't as thin as in the village and it was always nice to get a lungful every now and again. It was almost freeing, just seeing the wide expanse of fields and it's workers. To her it had always been the best place to train in, despite the humidity. She had already forsaken her usual jacket due to the heat and was wandering around in just her bindings and under shirt. She hummed, taking another gulp from her water bottle before continuing her kenjutsu katas.

Lately her mind had been preoccupied with thoughts of her recent defiance. Any kind of 'going against tradition' was highly frowned upon in her family, and while there was a sense of lingering doubt somewhere underneath all the pride at her actions, she was certain she had done the right thing in helping the ronin find his way around Kumo. Sure she had shirked off her afternoon training session at the clan compound but it had been worth it. She had never felt so alive. Being out here now made her feel a bit giddy, knowing that she technically wasn't supposed to be training anywhere else other than home. Of course when she got back she was sure to be facing some serious consequences. Rebellion was never taken lightly.

Her blade flashed in the sunlight of a few parting clouds. Direct sunlight was a hard thing to find in and around Kumo, but not impossible. She had found herself a little breakaway, a hiding spot if you will, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. She moved through another kata with practised easy, stretching her muscles and twisting herself as she saw fit. Her katana became an extension of herself and she let it pull her into the patterns it deemed necessary. Old and strife of battle history as it was, she had not faced a situation in which she was forced to use it to kill. Perhaps later when she was well acquainted with the need to slaughter, would the blade taste fading life again.

A sudden pulse of awareness hit her and she stopped dead, her eyes straining to find what she had felt through the mist. Ame's Kekkei Genkai helped her identify that it was certainly a shinobi that was coming her way, but she didn't recognize the electrical signals of anyone she had met before. She wondered if it was perhaps another Ronin, as she had seemed to encounter quite a few of those recently. Whether the were friendly or hostile was another question. Here outside of the village walls she had no outside protection. She could not cry for help. She picked up her discarded weapon holsters, strapping them around her waist before pursuing the matter.

She moved forward cautiously, hoping not to end up dead for her efforts. "Hello? Who's there? I know you're there!" She held her breath as she waited for an answer, silently praying to Raijin that she would not be met with a kunai to her jugular instead.

---

*634/2000*

A slight haze was building up, killing what far sight Hideyo could make of the area. Things were growing dimmer as the cloud cover made the sunlight fade in and out over the time that he hiked up the mountain. The long march was somehow disheartening as he couldn't keep his mind off the steep risk he was putting himself through. All for a family that might not even accept his struggle and risk that he was sacrificing for them. And then he was going to a hidden shinobi village. Hideyo had no idea how a shinobi village would react to someone like him, or even if they would accept visitors. Being in the bubble that was the Kojima Clan Residence, he had no way of knowing what current events had transpired or what policies certain nations had. For all he knew, he could be killed on sight for being considered a possible threat.

Sujin was caught up in his thoughts, he hadn't been aware as to his proximity to another person until their voice broke his train of thought. He froze at the words. They came from somewhere up ahead of him, northeast of his position. Searching with his eyes in the general direction of the voice, he couldn't make out who the voice belonged to. Deciding the safest bet was to reply sooner than the other might figure him to be hostile was the best choice. "Hello?!" he called back. "I mean no harm! I'm looking for the Village Hidden in the Clouds!"

The sweat beaded down his exposed forehead, hair clamping to his skin as he searched for the body belonging to the voice. He kept his hands open and free, arms held out in front of him in show that he wouldn't reach for his kunai or shuriken. His main hope was that he had lucked upon a ninja of the Hidden Cloud, his second hope was that he would be led to the village. However he had his worries as well. Instead of a ninja of the Hidden Cloud it could be some other person, possibly a hostile threat to his life. Bandit or not, he needed to see this other person and make for certain who he was confronting. In any case, his biggest worry was that a shot would come out of the mist hanging around him and kill him before he ever got sight of the other being. Yet another risk was taken today. How many does that make it now?


Post: 424
Total: 1,117

OOC:

Ame came closer to the voice, still not quite trusting. Anyone could be looking for Kumo, whether they were hostile or not. The slick ground compressed under her boots as she walked and she kept her hand in a tight grip on her katana. Her heart was thumping quickly, both from anticipation and her recent training. In situations like these all she could count on was blind faith. Hopefully it would leave her alive. "You're not quite there yet." She slid into a patch of less mist and looked into the face of a boy not much older than herself. He stood with his arms open and hands away from any weapons but she wasn't quite so reassured yet. His electrical signals were frantic along his torso - he was just as nervous as she was.


She tilted her head slightly, taking in his appearance, the lack of hitai-ate or general shinobi gear. He was either a very well disguised Nukenin, a Ronin or a civilian who had gotten lost on the way up the mountain. She dismissed the last one, as he stood with a certain tightness to his posture that gave away the truth of training. How much she could not tell though, but she expected B-ranked to S-ranked criminals would be able to hide the proof of their skill slightly better. Would have had to have had years of practice doing so in order to avoid detection. Should she trust him? Escort him up the mountain and to the village? He would have to deal with the guards at the gate in any case, but what if he was someone powerful enough to overcome them? She could be labeled traitor for bringing someone so dangerous into the village.


"What business do you have with the Cloud?" She steadied her voice, erasing her nervousness from it and lifting her chin in appraisal. She didn't know what kind of answer to expect in return. It could be hostility, so her grip on her sword never lessened. She had good reflexes and just hoped that if he did intend to attack she wold be able to get away and close enough to the village to gain help.

---

*372 words ~ 1006/2000*

OOC:

The voice called out to him again. Closer now. Through the veil of mist in the woods, came a skinny girl with katana blade out. Her dark blue hair was matted with sweat, clinging along her face. A half grin perked upon his lips as he spotted the Hidden Cloud forehead protector that she wore. So he had finally found a ninja of the Hidden Cloud. His luck had turned around, all he had to do was convince her to take him back to her village. Hideyo watched her carefully as he constructed his next words carefully. Her breathing seemed to be steadying, so her brain was probably thinking a mile a minute just as he was, she would be wary.

He lowered his hands a bit, stepping closer to her to talk normally and rotating his hands into a more pleading gesture. As he did so, he could feel his chakra expending itself. The girl, she has a bloodline? A twig snapped underfoot and he froze, the noise a simultaneous reaction to his own as he realized what was happening to him. Having only heard about such a thing happening within his clan was one thing, but to finally feel it happening to himself was another. All of the Kojima were told and made aware of what their ability was that ran through their veins, a power passed down through generations. Hideyo had heard about it plenty as the very ability was the reason the elders thought that no village would ever allow them asylum or spot within the shinobi forces. However, he had never before felt himself be drained as living with his clan for all of his life had made him unaware of how his bloodline worked.

With his chakra draining, he needed to find a moment where he could concentrate and hide his bloodline. With this being the first time his clan's presence would be met with the outside world in nearly a hundred years, he doubted this girl would be immediately aware of what was going on like he was. However, his want to hide his ability was more to make sure nothing could be concluded about himself. what people conclude was out of his control, but he could keep them from immediately knowing what was going on. If the secrets of his clan were exposed while he was away, there would surely be heavy repercussions to face when he came back to the elders.

Playing it off, he would continue making sure that nothing was suspected of him for now, but he would be truthful for his reasons in finding the Village Hidden in the Clouds. "My clan has been without a village to call home for many decades now, and I was seeking Kumo to judge if my clan could belong there. That is my sole purpose."

The girl seemed to be very quizzical about the situation, as was to be expected. Yet her appearance seemed to be roughly near or around his own age. Could such a girl be very powerful? Hideyo had no knowledge of how the hidden villages trained their own, so for all he knew this girl could be deadly. Judging by the manner of how she held her katana, she at least knew how to handle the weapon. There was no need to find out how well she could fight with it, not when such a fight would only hinder him and his goals. His hope was that this girl would believe him and lead him back to the village.


Post: 593
Total: 1,710

Chakra 140/150:

Ame cocked her head to the left, and furrowed her eyebrows. A clan messenger then? She knew well Kumo's history of bad clan relations, lived the products of it every day. It wasn't hard to believe that some other clan had been forsaken of their home in the past. Had it not been for her clan's political finesse when it came to dealing with the upper echelons of civilian leaders, they would have surely lost their battle over control of the village by now. The Daimyo was in the palm of their hand, and though the Raikage didn't trust them (she didn't blame her sensei, she didn't trust them either) their political connections were enough to keep them in Kumo. Of course there had been many a time which she had doubted they would stay for long. The brutal fratricide of the clan head's wife (at his own hand) had nearly gotten them exile. Subsequently, Ame felt herself feel a bit less hostile towards this ronin, but only very slightly. In a world where one of Kiri's most powerful killers was 10 years old, she had no room for error of judgement. The moment she dropped her guard it could be her last, and she outright refused to die in the rice paddies only a few kilometers from the village. 

She felt a strange pulse against her chakra, unlike the usual feeling of people's electrical signals, and it made her pause in confusion. She looked at the boy and a small twitch of worry passed over his features before disappearing again. She noticed the tremble in his nervous system and narrowed her eyes. Could everything he had said be a lie? It was already rather obvious he was hiding something. Shinobi spoke in half truths, all she had to figure out was which half was the right one to believe and which wasn't. She let out a steady breath and unsheathed her katana, holding the blade close to her chest and running her finger along it's blade edge. It wasn't sharp enough to do much more than shallow cuts, but if she was desperate a cool, clean cut to the jugular would be sufficient. The sight of the blade calmed her somewhat, and her own fingers sparked slightly as they came in contact with it, a familiar and reassuring sight.

She pushed her hair back and away from her flushed face, brushing off the sweat as well. Her right hand remained clasping the katana, and one handed parries could be relied on if he tried to catch her off guard. She wanted to believe him, she really did, but she was no longer the innocent girl she was at age seven. Things had changed to rapidly, had melted her down and re-shaped her before she had a chance to say 'stop' and she stood here now as the leftover pieces. A quiet, courteous girl who trusted little and had family less. If he was here, she was sure her friend would have already welcomed the stranger into their midst, would have put her at ease, but he is not, and it is her decision alone.

"State your name stranger, where you hail from too. Then maybe I'll take you to the village. I hope you understand my wariness. Young girl on her own out here as I am." And she smiled a little smile of reassurance. For him or for herself she wasn't sure.

---

*589 words ~ 1595/2000*

His chakra dwindled a bit again, the feeling seemed to be constant, a slow but large drain from his chakra. Whoever this girl was, she was indeed someone to watch out for. At least he knew he would be in capable hands. However, her age might become a problem if she had to vouch for him when coming up to the first checkpoint, if there was one, at the entrance to the hidden village.

The girl cocked her head more at his words, thinking on them. He could see gears were turning behind those eyes of hers. She was making judgements on him. Not that he was against judging someone. In this life that was all one could do, and what everyone had to do, to keep themselves properly distanced from others. It was a survival tactic ingrained in all people. Hideyo just hoped that her judgement of him would be favorable enough to get him back to her village.

She took one hand off her sword to push her hair back and off her face to keep her eyes unhindered. Her katana remained steady even with the one hand, a sign of chiseled skill. Perhaps she had been practicing instead of patrolling. It would explain the large amount of sweat she had. Her free hand had wiped a bit of it off the top of her face as she had pushed back the hair, making her hand a bit sweaty. He wondered how that might affect her grip on the katana, but best to hold off on looking for such an answer until another day.

And then she spoke again. More questions. All of them quite necessary to continue. Hideyo dropped his arms to his sides and would bow his head a few degrees to the girl. "Hideyo Kojima. I hail from the Land of Frost, once home to the Hidden Frost, but such is the state of the nation that the village has been disbanded since before I was born."

He raised his head back up, his eyes taking a moment to look around him. "So you're alone out here? Interesting." If the girl was truly alone, then she couldn't be on patrol. Usually patrols were in groups, weren't they? Perhaps she was so powerful of a girl that she only needed to be alone on patrol. Or maybe his other guess of being out to hone her skills was the true reason behind her solitude. Time could only tell what truth there was behind her words.


Post: 422
Total: 2,132

Chakra 130/150:

Ame was surprised by his tiny bow, unused to any kind of respect towards her. In her clan she was nothing, and people from outside of it simply treated her like a normal person. She wiped her sweaty hand on her pants, shifting the grip on her katana slightly. It was obvious that the boy was as wary of her as she was of him, but she didn't exactly blame him. It was a natural part of being a shinobi. She felt a bit off kilter for a moment, and things around her felt a bit off. She blinked, wondering if it was her training catching up, as her senses felt a bit dulled. She was used to the constant hyper-awareness she'd lived her life with since her graduation day, and to have it oddly taper as it was - well she felt robbed. 

She studied the boy further, trying to figure out if he was causing the odd sensation and realised that she couldn't feel any of the electrical currents running through his synapses. She turned her concentration inwards and shuddered almost imperceptibly when she realised she couldn't even feel her own. It felt wrong, to not know exactly what it was her body was doing. Maybe she was going crazy, but she had never heard of a clan member ever losing their abilities once they'd awakened it. It simply couldn't have been her imagination. A genjutsu perhaps? No, she would have sensed it. What was it that this boy was doing to her?

She took a sharp breath. "Well, Hideyo-san, care to tell me exactly what you're doing? If what you say is true and you are here on friendly terms, is it wise for you to be implementing jutsus against one of the people to whom you are appealing? I know that Frost Country has been home to samurai, but never have I come across a technique such as this." She could only speculate of course, as he had neglected to reveal much about the shinobi side of his family, but it was obvious that whatever he was doing it was powerful.

"I may be alone, but shinobi travel in and out of the village using this path all the time. You're lucky it was I you met along this road and not someone who would have been less willing to listen to you. Had I been with my sensei and teammate I can assure you that by now you would be safely locked away for interrogation." Kameko would protest the unfairness of it, sure, but Sanosuke knew the dangers of foreign nin who had no prior clearance and Ame herself barely trusted freely.

---

*456 words ~ 2051/2000*

Dang, this blasted girl wouldn't just accept him for what he said he was. Especially now that she noticed her bloodline was being effected. Not that it was completely his fault, it was just his bloodline crossing over hers. Really, he didn't like it more than she did, but at the same time he couldn't let her in on his secret. If only he could have a moment without her studying him so much. He only needed a moment to turn his kekkei genkai against itself, yet she might think his concentration meant that he was preparing an attack. Such a thing would only make the situation worse.

Hideyo had to get the suspicion off him. Quickly he put his arms back up in defense of himself as the girl questioned him. "I swear, I haven't done anything. I'm not using any jutsu," he countered to her accusation. That much was true, no jutsu was being pulled off. What was happening between them was something he couldn't control like a jutsu. "In fact, I thought you were because my chakra feels weird and when you said you were alone then it could only have been you causing it."

She had spoken about having him locked away and interrogated. Was that really true? He was looking for an asylum, not a cell in a prison. And interrogation? How long could he hold out information about his clan and what they could do? Maybe it was just his opinion, but he had rather not find out the answer to such questions.

"Look, I can assure you that I only mean to seek a new home for my clan. I'm not looking for anything else." Hideyo hoped he could persuade the girl to better trust him. Yet he had no idea what changes she was facing because of his bloodline. All he knew was that he had to get her off of looking at him so he could perform his dormancy technique. Otherwise he couldn't be sure if he would get to the Hidden Cloud village or not. "Please, you mentioned this area can be with other shinobi. Perhaps it's best if we make our way to the village."

He'd motion with one arm for the girl to lead on, if she would allow. Upon which he would make use of a free moment to hide away his ability. It had been reckless of him to not have done it earlier, especially when coming upon a village well known for strong shinobi. How could he not have suspected to run into one with a strong bloodline? Yet he had never before witnessed how it worked, or how it met with another person of whom it affected. Now, he understood.


Post: 466
Total: 2,598

Chakra 120/150:

Ame was greatly suspicious of the boy, but he seemed decidedly desperate about his situation. He had tried to shift the blame to herself, but she knew full well that her jutsu didn't have any kind of effect on other shinobi. It was not her. Still, with her own bloodline limit being one that had to be consciously deactivated, she understood that perhaps his also took immediate effect. She took a couple steps backwards so that he would be well out of her range and turned her perception inwards once again, breathing a sigh of relief as she found her own nervous system's familiar buzz. She looked at him once again and reluctantly sheathed her katana at her waist. She usually kept it slung across her back, but it was easier to reach at her side and she didn't trust him yet.

"Fine, I'll take you up to the village. We aren't very far from it in any case. Also, I know you're lying about the jutsu thing, but I can feel my electrical signals now so I'll let it go." She ran to grab her discarded jacket and pulled it on, adjusting her weapon holsters around her waist so that they weren't underneath it. The patch of sunlight she had been training in had disappeared again and the sky was darkening quickly. With the grey clouds had come a slight chill in the air and goosebumps had begun to develop along her arms in the breeze, so putting on something longsleeved was necessary. Ame stepped onto the road itself, a long dirt road leading straight up the mountain and to the Eastern Gates. She turned back to Hideyo and raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, aren't you coming? You seemed very excited to be escorted to the village earlier." She let a small smile pull at the corners of her mouth, trying to give him a reason to relax a bit. 

She wondered if he would be let into the village without any paperwork. Judging by the fact that he had said he was 'looking for a home for his clan' she assumed that he was none but a ronin. He was probably hoping that people would just trust him. She hoped he had had the sense to get travelling documents or perhaps a pass to get into the village or he may end up stuck their being interviewed for a while. Prior clearance was often a must. She didn't want to leave him at the mercy of the administrative shinobi, as they could be rather intimidating (and that was just when requesting or handing in missions). Her friend had never told her what it was like going through the administration process, but she didn't think it would be entirely pleasant.

The walk wasn't that long, a kilometer at most, and the leisurely pace suited her after her tough training regime. She made sure to walk besides Hideyo, if not slightly behind him, still not completely sure if he was trustworthy or not. They made good time, and despite the incline and the spitting rain (which had started up quickly once they'd hit slightly thinner air) Ame felt refreshed when she reached the top. She smiled and waved to the sentries once she could see them. She was well aware that they could have sensed her a long time ago, but they knew her, both as a fellow shinobi and through her family, so she didn't worry much. They gave the boy she was escorting a few funny looks though before both of them were stopped at the gate. Ame explained how she found Hideyo at the rice paddies and how he'd come as a messenger for his clan for some reason or the other. The guards at the gate allowed her to go on, but they said that Hideyo's credibility would have to be checked before he would be allowed into the village proper. Ame smiled at the boy, waving a small goodbye. She had a feeling he would be in good hands. Besides, surely nothing could go that wrong...

Could it?

---

*700 words ~ 2751 total*

Training: 


Speed: D-1 ~> D-2 (400 words)
Reaction Time: D ~> D-3 (1175 words)
Endurance: D ~> D-3 (1175 words)

Total: 2750 words
Unused: 1 word

He saw her taking a few steps back. What was the girl doing? Was she testing something? She had to be on to him by now, feeling a bit off with however he was affecting her with his own kekkei genkai. Not that he meant to affect her in any way, but he also couldn’t just let her figure out a piece on his kekkei genkai. Yet he didn’t realize himself what the range was. So instead he waited too long to make a step forward and she had already escaped the range, the feeling noted by his chakra turning stagnant. The feeling was a welcome surprise though, as he felt a bit drained by it all. “Maybe it’s not so bad she’s out of the range,” he thought to himself.

She finally agreed to take him back to the village hidden in the clouds. Her sword was sheathed at her waist. Yet she called him out about his effect on her. Still, he knew she was quite wrong about her judgement, even if it did have some sturdy foundation. He would have to remember that this girl was hard to trick, and having quite the deductive skills beyond her years.

While her intelligence boded well for the respect deserved of the Hidden Cloud, Hideyo wondered how long his clan’s secret was to last, or if he was certain it had ever been a secret when they had lived with other shinobi. Just judging from this instance, he could see that shinobi of such caliber in detection and chakra awareness must have surely figured out what his clan did. Thinking about it now, it made sense that they would have known, as it was often told that the other clans felt threatened and complained often about the Kojima when they had been a part of Hidden Cloud over a hundred years prior.

The girl retreated for a moment, turning around to grab her jacket. Taking this brief chance, he honed his chakra inward, relying on the teachings and practices that had been taught to him when he was younger. Never til now, had he ever thought he would need to use it.

Gathering her things, she called out for him to follow, and that he did. Quickly and with purpose, he closely followed the girl back to the village.

“You know,” Hideyo finally spoke up. “I swear on my life I never performed a jutsu on you now. Maybe there will come a time when we can show each other our jutsu, but I wouldn’t dare do so now. Believe me.”

No matter what, he would be taken to the village and have to deal with whatever customs or foreign policies they might have. So most likely he would have to dish out the same spiel he had given the girl when he arrived. Yet this was momentous for him as he was now beginning to fulfill what he had journeyed out for. A new home.



Post: 502
Total: 3,100
Train Speed, Endurance, Perception, and Reaction Time from E Rank to D Rank: 3,000/3,000

115/150: