"I spotted that thing a mile away!"

"First of all it is not a thing, it is a lightning mountain frog."

"The deal was not who could remember the name of the slimy hopping entree, it was who could find it first."

Yeah, and I can see your gloating coming a mile away."

"I mean, I found it so fast. Our instructors always said you were the observant one. I cannot see how that is when I caught one of the most elusive animals in Kumogakure in no time."

The Genin would babble on for 5 minutes bragging about his accomplishments. Riding on cloud 9 he decided to place the case on the table. Embers flickered in the eyes of the frog that sat inside the glass box. It was faced with the intense glares of the two Genin.

"Difficult to beleive something so ugly is hard to find."

"Even more difficult to believe you're too stupid to realize the crap urine(you're in). This was not supposed to happen dufus. You were not supposed to find it nor capture it... neither was I. You see it's red eyes... myth has it that when a lightning mountain frog is captured, it will not leave the person who caught it until they suffer tremendous pain."

"Give me a break... you can't expect me to buy that crate of hog wash. On my Raikage you're the biggest sore loser I know."

There was a buzz surrounding the Kumo Cafe. The villagers were surrounding the cafe like a storm cloud. All jockying to get inside to see the rare animal. They Genin who was the owner now was absolutely elated thanks to the attention. Pulled in against his will was Kenji, his interest in the crowd couldn't be curbed. The Sanin parted the sea of citizens and made inside and to the table of the two Genin. The two Genin were in awe by their Sanin being in their presence. Just as Kenji was about to speak a commotion could be heard outside of the cafe.

Kenji looked back towards the entrance. "What's going on out there?"

"Some boy is claiming to know the truth about the lightning mountain frog and wants the person to meet him outside and prove his worth."

Who is this guy outside... could he really know the truth about this being...

Ruvaak's mind wandered as he walked through the village enjoying the scenery, the village was beautiful and Ruvaak wanted to see the entirety of it before he moved on, wanting to see every shop, house, dog, person, he wanted to see everything. He had been walking around since before the sun was up starting at the gate and working his way through the village up the mountain until he reached the top and was able to look over the entire village. It was now noon when he came across a Cafe that a lot of people seemed to be trying to get to, Ruvaak could hear parts of conversations of the people crowded around the cafe "did you hear they caught a lightning mountain frog" lightning mountain frog Ruvaak thought to himself what the hell was that "I got to see whats going on" he said to himself turning and heading for the cafe he tried to push his way through the crowd but there were too many people in his way and he wasn't tall enough to see over them or strong enough to make them move out of the way. It was then that Ruvaak saw a tall strange man with blue hair wearing all white with a black belt walk up to the cafe and the other people just seemed to move out of his way letting him pass, Ruvaak tried to follow but the crowd of people went straight back to their spot once the man was through, whoever he was he must be very important for the villagers to just move out of his way. Ruvaak tried once again to push himself through the crowd but to no avail, it seems that he wasn't going to be able to get in the cafe to see the mysterious animal that everyone was so keen to get to see for themselves. It was then that the idea popped in his head and he said "That's not a real Lightning Mountain Frog, I know all about them and their lying its a fake, tell whoever is in there that I know all about the Lightning Mountain Frog and I dare him to come out and show me so i can prove its worth" Ruvaak had no idea what he was talking about, but he was hoping his words would be convincing enough that whoever had the frog would bring it out just so he can see it for himself, of course if it was a real Lightning Mountain Frog then he would look like a complete idiot for saying it was a fake. He also wanted to find out who that man with the blue hair was and why it was that the crowd just parted out of his way, what made him so important? Ruvaak's mind was racing at a mile a second with all the possibilities of the man's identity letting his imagination get away from him. Snapping himself back to reality the crowd had seemed to move outwards around him so that now he was standing in the middle of a circle of people with a pathway to the door of the cafe open for those inside to come out, what have a I got myself into Ruvaak thought to himself as he looked to the door.

---

WC: 558

Kenji looked down at the two boys. "After you two, I know you guys are interested in this person." "YES SANIN-SAN! RIGHT AWAY!!" They rushed to their feet and nearly stumbled out the door. This was sure to be interesting. For a long time, the secrets of the Lightning Mountain Frog had been held dear to Kumogakure. Now, the actual beast was in the hands of a mere child and furthermore, someone was claiming to know of its ability. This day is turning out to be interesting. The once clamoring cafe was now squeamishly silent. The crowd had parted from in front of the cafe and made a clear path from the entrance to the where the mystery man stood. Standing next to each other were the two genin, one holding the case with the frog inside. Kenji exited soon after, impatiently wanting his gaze to fall upon this person. The air outside was still as if the atmosphere too was holding its breath.

He's just a boy himself!! Kenji growled internally as their was no way a scrawny kid could know how to file taxes let alone the truth of the Lightning Mountain Frog. Anger was slowly going away and was being replaced with mischief. He decided to toy with kid. "You have earned an audience with Kumogakure's Sanin. Impressive. Will you please share with us what you know... the details of this glorious animal has been locked up long enough, it's time the people understand its greatness." His grin was drenched in contempt for the boy's falsehood. What door would his words open up now?

As the boys exited the cafe Ruvaak saw one of them holding a small case with a frog inside, that looks just like the frogs that he use to use as target practice back in Valyria, at the site of the red eyes of the frog Ruvaak had no doubt that the target practice of the Unmei were the so called legendary animals of Kumogakure Ruvaak couldn't help but smile a little.

Ruvaak was going to say something when the blue haired man came from the cafe so he waited to see what the man would say, so a Sannin is it interesting that means he is one of Kumo's best and strongest. After the man finished talking Ruvaak couldn't help but laugh a little under his breath, "Alright look I don't know anything about this things glory or greatness, but I do know it" Ruvaak paused a second to gauge the reaction of the crowd, for the moment they were still silent but Ruvaak could feel their eyes all on him, "I come from a small village named Valyria up through the mountain range, and these frogs roam the area all over in all actuality growing up we use them as target practice because there are so many of them and they move so fast that actually hit one is an accomplishment and meant that we were ready to further our training." Ruvaak could hear the mumbles of the crowd they probably didn't believe him but he didn't care because he knows the truth.

Ruvaak looked back to the man with a smile saying, "so like I said I know nothing about any special frog I just know the target practice" he then looked out to the crowd and saw the disbelief in their faces and could hear their mummers, "I know you probably don't believe me thats fine, I will just shut my mouth and move on" Ruvaak said as he turned back to the two boys hold the frog and the blue haired man, "I'm sorry for wasting your time, but there is nothing special about that frog, they may be rare around here but they are all over from where I come from, and to be honest if I saw one of those outside this village I would test my skills and see how long it took me to hit it." After he had finished talking he bowed slightly to the boys and the man before he started turning to walk away.

---

WC: 423/981

A bead of sweat formed on Kenji's forehead... he really does know the truth... I would've never guessed that this kid was from Valyria. It was definitely true.. the truth was that all the stories were myth. All the glitter was taken from the Lightning Mountain Frog in a mere minute. Many days of laughter stemmed from the amusement they found in the villagers making up feats they had witnessed the frog doing. Some would say that the frog was capable of mind control, others said that he had a poison stare that could leave you ill if you looked into its eyes too long. Kumogakure was quite creative when they wanted to be.

Hold on for a second. Gosh, it was fun while it lasted. The kid is right, the only thing special about this frog is its speed. 

A continuous gasp went through the crowd. The two boys that had found the frog were mumbling to each other. 

Hmm, I could use someone with your aim and traveling experience. Also, you were not afraid to tell the hurtful truth in front of all these people and a Sanin. My name is Kenji. I have been ordered to cultivate talent within Kumogakure. The process has begun as I already have a few shinobi I'm working with. 

The crowd was stunned by the turn of events. 

How would you like to train with me for a few weeks, and perhaps afterwards join me on some missions?


It was true that this guy had potential. To hit this beast was no easy task. Kenji was eager to get past the name and rank stage and see what this kid could do and if he was really ready to train with the Lion Sage himself.

Ruvaak stopped at the man's words, so he believed him and he knew the truth himself, why then did he make such a spectacle of frog and hearing all about it, was he trying to see if I was a liar? The gasps of the crowd was uncanny more so than at Ruvaak's words for this came from the great Sannin of Kumogakure so it must be true. Ruvaak was surprised at the man's small praise of himself, 'so he wants me on some kind of team? does he not realize that I am not a Kumo-Nin' thinking for a second before speaking as he didn't want to disrespect the Sannin. "My name is Unmei, Ruvaak I am just a low rank nin compared to someone with your skill level, and although it would be an honor for me to train with you and learn from you, I must inform you that I am not really a Kumo-Nin as I said I am from the village of Valyria, I am just a wanderer" Ruvaak paused for a short second making sure he wasn't going to say anything that could be offensive before continuing "I am not sure I would fit in with the ninja of Kumo, I have never worked with anyone and have ever only looked after myself"

Ruvaak looked at the man "If I am still welcomed though despite me not being a Kumo-Nin I would be honored to train with you and go on missions with you as I am always up for challenges and the chance to learn from a Sannin would be one of the greatest experiences of my life" he said as he bowed again to him.

---

WC:291/1272

Kenji smiled as he glanced down and away. "I can relate to your lifestyle very much Ruuvak. Being a shinobi of my caliber I am always being sent away either as a soldier or a diplomat, the point is I am a bit of a wanderer myself. So yes, you're still welcomed to train with me. How about we head inside and get something to eat, my treat, and we can talk about expectations, the things you would like to get out of our training."

Kenji gestured for Ruuvak to follow him inside the café. The crowd stood in awe that this guy out of no where was getting the opportunity to train with Kenji. The two ninja sat down inside. Murmuring could be heard outside. As the two waited for a waiter Kenji decided to give a brief description of himself. "As somewhat of a foreigner you're probably not familiar with the classic Kumo nin, so I'll enlighten. Through history, the majority of Kumo-nin have been masters of weaponry, and most have had an affinity towards lightning... with that being said I am quite a classic Kumo-nin as I am a weapon specialists and my elemental affinity is lightning."

The waitress came skipping to the table. She leaned over to the point where her nose was almost touching Ruuvak's.

"I've never seen you here before!"

"Please, could you just take our orders" He said with a smile. "I'll have the Shocking Blueberry Bagel with a Thunder Storm coco."

"And for you!"

Ruvaak was ecstatic when the man said he would still be welcome to train with him, although he did his best to maintain his composer. As the man ushered him inside Ruvaak could hear the murmuring of the crowd, the jealousy in their voice, that he a stranger to Kumogakure would be graced with the honor of training under one of their great Sanins. As they sat down at their booth the man began to explain some stuff about the Kumo-Nin and that he himself was just like them. The waitress came skipping to the table smiling at Kenji before leaning in real close to Ruvaak invading his personal space with her face talking of how she had never seen him before. When Kenji spoke the waitress stood back up and wrote down his order before turning back to Ruvaak and asking what he would like. "Um.. I'll take the same", once the waitress left and the two were alone again Ruvaak turned his attention back to the Sanin, "Well Kenji I am a bit of a weapon specialist, the Unmei have a great affinity for chakra weapons and my bow is one of my favorite, but that's not to say I am not interested in other arts of weaponry." Ruvaak took a moment's pause before continuing "As far as elements I do not possess an affinity for any of them but work solely with my basic chakra, one day through when I have full control of my chakra the Elders of the Unmei says that my element will find me and I will be the vessel to its power."

As Ruvaak finished talking the waitress returned to the table with their order sitting it down in front of them, "Enjoy, let me know if you need anything else" she said with a smile before skipping off again. Ruvaak turned again to the man, "so what kind of weapons do you work with exactly?" he asked before taking a sip of his coco.

---

WC: 337/1609

"No elemental affinity as of right now huh, you'll definitely have to work harder since you'll have less easy weaknesses to exploit." Kenji took a sip of his drink. "Ahh, I was hoping you would announce an interest in weapons. I wouldn't have a taken you for a bow user though. I myself specialize in using katanas, bows, and unorthodox weapons like scythes." After some time a look of slight sadness started to show.

"I often have to apologize to the villagers... they expect a lot from me domestically. However, my set of skills are often best used abroad. There are times I do wish I had more time to be home so I could enjoy the people and cultivate more young promising shinobi like yourself. Anyway, what has been your impression of Kumogakure so far?"

"Kumo is amazing and everyone here has been nice to me, it reminds me of my home only much larger and of course built into the side of a mountain." Ruvaak told the man as he bit into his bagel "I've met a lot of the villagers and helped some as well all in all Kumo is just simply beautiful, it's hard to put into words how wonderful the village is, I've learned so much since I arrived here and met so many nice people" Ruvaak finish taking another bite from his bagel. Ruvaak sat there wondering about the man and what exactly made him so special to the village, he looked like an ordinary man with nothing real special about him from the outside, however the man's mention of using scythes did spark an interest in Ruvaak he had often wondered about the use of unorthodox weapons but he wasn't sure he would be able to use his chakra to create such a unique weapon without seeing it in action for himself, maybe just maybe this man could show him what it is that he needs to know or at least show him how the scythe works so that he could learn how to wield it himself. As Ruvaak watched the man sitting across the table from him he wondered how best to ask the man about it, he didn't want to come off rude or demanding about the idea but if the man would be willing to train him then it would be a great milestone in his training. Ruvaak decided to just be blunt about the situation and ask him straight out, "Would you be willing to train me in the use of Unorthodox weapons?" Ruvaak blurted out to the man unable to control himself then trying his best to apologize to the man for the rudeness of his outburst Ruvaak added in, "I'm sorry its just I've often wonder about weapons that are unique, but I've never been able to try it out as I don't have a weapon to base it off for me to direct my chakra to create and it would be a great help to see one up close or even in action." Ruvaak ended his apology with a slight head bow that looked more like a low head nod before taking another drink of his coco.

---

WC: 405/2014

Kenji glanced down at the two rings on his finger. The one on his left hand was his wedding ring and the one on the right hand was the ring of Supekutoru. Sapphire was Kenji's favorite gem, and it currently rested on his finger. "It would be a nice start to our campaign together don't you think... me teaching you Onojutsu today. Also, it kind of has to be today, since I'll be on the road today on mission."

He was expecting this to be too much, this be their very first meeting and everything, but learning the basics of Onojutsu was no big task. "After we finish our drinks, what do you say we go to the weapons shop and spar with some of the scythes."

If Ruuvak accepted, they would leave shortly after they finished their coco. 

They arrived to the weapons shop. "Hi there, may I rent one of your standard scythes."

"For you Kenji, please borrow for as long as you want free of charge."

Kenji nodded and grabbed a standard scythe. They moved outside to the back of the shop where they had sparring grounds. Kenji cautiously handed the weapon to Ruuvak. "As you know, scythes are very awkward, so they require extra caution for beginners."

Kenji stepped backwards, away from Ruuvak. The further he walked away, the more the ring on his right hand began to glow. While still facing Ruuvak, the ring was fully illuminated and while in it's blue hue state of light, it morphed into a large scythe into his hand. The Sanin held it high. 

"This is Supekutoru. Not many people have seen this weapon and lived." Kenji smiled and lowered it.

"Alright, let's get to the basics. The strengths of a scythe is it's range and size. It allows you to control distance and often times overpower opponents. Also, though it is awkward to yield, it is even more awkward to defend, so that can also be used to your advantage. Now for the cons; it's bulky, so it requires strength. Like I said, it's awkward, so it requires extra precision and focus. There is a way around all of the cons. For strength and awkwardness, the way to circumvent this is to use it sparingly. Only draw a scythe when you have a clear vision and plan of how you want to use it. It is not a weapon that should be used for the entire duration of a bout if it is to be most effective. Finally, know how to change range with the scythe so you are not vulnerable in close just in case someone is agile enough to maneuver by you. It is important to understand grip changes, which I'll show you so that you can easily switch between long and short range. Whew, let's get started."

Kenji and Ruuvak would go over the basic stances, grips, and a few maneuvers. Ruuvak struggled a little at first just due to the awkwardness, but he caught on extremely quick. Probably due to his experience with other weapons.

Once their lesson was complete, Kenji was sad to inform Ruuvak that he had to be getting ready to leave Kumogakure for shinobi business. "You did fantastic. Alright Ruuvak, I must be leaving town now on official Kumogakure shinobi business. If you were a true Kumo nin I could probably make a case for you to tag along. Anyway, I shouldn't gone too long, if you still in town when I get back I look forward to working with you some more. Take care."

When the man agreed to show him Onojutsu, Ruvaak was so overjoyed the he quickly finished off his drink and the last bite from his bagel eager to reach the weapons shop to spar with the man. The walk was short both of them remained quite until they reached the shop, where kenji asked to borrow one of their standard scythes, Ruvaak's excitement was at its peak and he almost couldn't contain himself as they walked to the back of the building where their was a small sparring ring. The man passed the scythe over to Ruvaak and began explaining somethings about it, while he listened to the man he did his best to get a feel for the weapon but the man was right it was very awkward and was nothing like a blade or a bow like he had handled before, this was going to take some work. When the man had finished telling him to use caution handling the weapon he began to take some steps back, as he did Ruvaak noticed that the ring on his finger was beginning to glow a blue hue until in the light of the ring it changed and the next thing Ruvaak knew the man was holding a scythe of his own. The man's scythe was much different from the one Ruvaak was currently in possession of, slightly longer than the standard with a ill looking blade and spikes on the back side, inside the blade of the man's scythe sat small little gem like objects that gave off the same blue hue that the man's ring had given off before it suddenly turned into the scythe, the entire appearance of the blade made Ruvaak's stomach turn a little at the sight of it, the man's scythe was by all accounts the most beautiful weapon Ruvaak had seen during his entire journey and just by looking at the weapon Ruvaak could tell that the weapon was made for the man, as he held it up high over his head the man explained to Ruvaak that it was Supekutoru and how many didn't live to tell about it, in the back of his mind Ruvaak hoped that he would live after this and that it didn't get too out of hand.

Now that they were ready to begin the man explained the ins and outs of the weapon before they actually got started and explained how best to use the weapon, grip changes, how to only attack when there was a clear line of vision, so on and so forth, which all is fairly easy in theory however putting the theory to practice was the hardest part of any training. Once the man had finished explaining everything that he believed Ruvaak should know before they started he began showing him the different stances before asking Ruvaak to mimic him in the stance. Ruvaak didn't have much trouble with the standby stance as it reminded him a lot of the man that taught him to use a katana inside the Tower of Heaven, and although the stance was not the same it did the same thing as the other it ensured that if attacked the wielder would be ready to defend at a second's notice and not be harmed in the act. The other stances however were a bit more difficult for him to get use to, it was nothing like holding a sword or a bow and the fact that it was a real weapon and not one made out of his chakra made it all the harder for him to use. Ruvaak wasn't use to the weight of weapons, sure his chakra weapons he created had the same functions and durabilities as a true weapon however there was no weight to them the chakra was easy to flow and maneuver like it was an extension of his own body, but this weapon had weight and threw him off as the blade at the tip of the long stick weighted more than the bottom of the stick and was hard for Ruvaak to find a balance to it. Ruvaak struggled with the hand positions and the stances until maybe two and a half hours had passed, when he was finally comfortable holding the weapon in all the different stances and all the different hand placements that the man showed him to do, after he was able to demonstrate them all to the man without a mess up the man felt he was finally ready to learn some maneuvers.

The maneuvers were a lot more difficult than the stances or the hand placement's on the staff of the scythe, and the man's point of using caution was soon present as with the first couple of maneuvers the scythe slipped from Ruvaak's grasp and when flying through the air, a couple of times the scythe almost hit the man who was quick enough to avoid it before making Ruvaak retrieve the scythe and try again, emphasizing the importance of his grip being perfect so that the blade didn't slip from his grasp like that. Ruvaak couldn't help but feel as if learning this would of been a lot simpler if he had just created a scythe with his chakra, then he wouldn't have to worry about the weight of the weapon throwing him off as it was now and his grip would have been a lot easier to keep firm as the weapon would of been tied to his talisman. Ruvaak pushed the thoughts from his mind as he didn't care for taking the easy path, he was glad he was learning Onojutsu with a real weapon after all he can't depend on his chakra all the time as that would develop into a weakness and he could be caught vulnerable, or worst he could exert all the chakra from his body and then be up a creak without a paddle so to speak. So in truth he needed to learn how to wield real weapons and not just the chakra based ones he had been using, perhaps he should go shopping for a katana or maybe even a scythe of his own so that he could use them and not rely on his chakra for every situation. It took longer than Ruvaak would of hoped before he was starting to get the hang of the scythe, he only hoped that the man would be disapproval about his scythe wielding and tell him that the scythe wasn't for him or that he wasn't ready to learn Onojutsu, this was a major milestone of his journey he had to do his best and he had to prove to himself that he can do anything that he sat his mind to, just as his father had done, at least that was what his uncle had told him. Ruvaak performed the maneuvers that the man had shown him listening to the man on the notes he would make about his position or his grip on the scythe, doing his best to make the corrections that the man required until finally he performed every maneuver without the man telling him he did something wrong. They continued through the maneuvers a couple of more times before the man called their lesson to a close, saying that he had important Kumo-Business. Of course Ruvaak understood, the man was bound by honor and duty to his village who knows maybe one day the two of them could go on a mission together. The man said he wouldn't be gone too long and that he would return soon, Ruvaak could only hope that the man would return before he left the village on his own, "I will continue practicing what you have taught me Kenji" Ruvaak said to the man with a low bow to show the man the respect Ruvaak had for the man "if I shall leave before you return please know I will return and I will keep what you have taught me here today and better myself so that when I do return I can show you how much I have improved."

After the man left to go on his mission Ruvaak remained at the training area behind the weapons shop to continue practicing a little longer, working his way through all the maneuvers and hand switches that the man had taught him over and over and over again, he wanted to make sure he wasn't going to forget it all in the morning it was a lot to take in and even more so to do. Ruvaak practiced himself to exhaustion, the sun was setting when the shopkeeper came out and requested the return of his scythe as Kenji had left and the man didn't know Ruvaak. Ruvaak happily returned the scythe to the man and started on his way too the inn for a good rest, today had been a very amazing day if he did say so himself he met a great and powerful shinobi who had taught him how to wield a scythe and Ruvaak hoped that he had also made a friend in the man that helped him on his way to learning Onojutsu and that they would indeed meet again, hopefully sooner rather than later.

---

Word Count: 1570/3584
Learning Onojutsu: -1500
Perception from D-1 to D-3: -850
Words Remaining: 1234
Ryo Cost: 125
Exit Thread