Asura yawned as he slowly raised his head off of his pillow. His eyes slowly opened, showing the blurry light peering through the tent. The blur started to clear as he shook his head from side to side, clearing his mind of the nightmares from last night, the sights of gigantic spiders crawling around him, vanishing, leaving his mind with the dream of a six-armed being, glowing with wrath. Asura tapped his forehead lightly with the palm of his head, his head aching, "Owww... Why today... Wait... I get to train today, at least something good comes of this... I'd better put some good work in if I am ever to get stronger." He quietly spoke in his low, styled, tone voice. He moved the blanket off of himself and tossed it to the side as he crawled out of the tent. He stood up and yawned, stretching his arms and legs, cracking his neck before throwing a few punches at the air. He packed up his things putting them away carefully before picking up his backpack. Asura sat himself on a rock, opening up his brother's book, the book was written by a 'Shintaro Senju' about a secret group.

The strange book was named "The Thousand-petaled War". Asura opened the book and started reading like he did every morning, starting out with a mythical tale of a other worldly beast who slew hundreds before splitting his power, throwing it to different villages, one of which was named 'Mabukai no Mai'. He started reading about the several members that exist in the group named 'Sahasrara', one of them, going by the name of Muladhara. It read in the book -- Muladhara has slate gray eyes and long black hair, which he keeps up in intricate white headpieces called kenseikan, which symbolize his nobility as the head of his Clan, wearing one on top of his head and another two on the right side. In addition to the standard shinobi uniform, he wears a white scarf, which is woven by the master weaver Tsuji Kuro III. The scarf is made from silver-white, windflower light silk and is a family heirloom, having been handed down from generation to generation and given to each head of the the Clan. -- Asura looked at the book with a faint face of confusion, question what he just read, remembering his father mention such a man, however it was this man that was the lowest of the group. Asura closed his book and stood up, taking a deep breath. His mind traced back to the book he had brought with him, before he went to bed the night before, he read further ahead in the book, which almost broke his mind.

From what Asura was told, the book was written before his father was born, and it was published just before his grandfather had passed over to the other world. The part he read the night before talked about Manipura, it talked about his appearance. -- Manipura looks much like his son, yet with a taller and bulkier frame and with much longer hair with a wild look. He has intricate markings of red symbols on his body which portrays him as a savage warrior. He wears a pair of silver intricately decorated gauntlets on his arms and his sword is sheathed horizontally behind his waist. He wears baggy white pants with remnants of armour and a torn white sash attached to them. -- Manipura looked a lot like Asura's father, Augus Senju, which is what shocked him. It was even worse as what he had read after, about Anahata, The Man of Heart was his nickname. -- Anahata is a large and broad individual with a bald head, red eyes, bushy eyebrows and a long black beard. He wears the standard uniform beneath a white, long-sleeved haori decorated with a Clan's emblem. The top of his uniform is open enough to expose his hairy chest. He also wears a large set of red prayer beads around his neck and a pair of single-toothed tengu geta. -- Asura liked this one, he reminded him of himself, believing in his heart, this one also didn't look like anyone Asura had met before. It was those two that both made Asura shocked to the core, and happy last night, before his nightmare, again.

Asura had his new look for the first time. He appeared as a tall, muscular man with sharp features, short hair that was once white but was dyed a different colour. With Asura's new look, his once white hair is now smoky grey, and instead of spiking forward it is going off to the side a little, with the chance of it staying down. Asura tends to brush his hair to keep it this way, otherwise it ruins the new look that Asura had put so much effort into. He wears a tight black shirt that has short sleeves and reaches to the mid-section of the neck. Over his shirt he wears a blood red hoodie, the sleeves are cut short to keep them at a similar level to the shirt below. Over the hoodie and the shirt is a strange vest with a dark beige colour, it have five straps, one around each shoulder and three around the waist. Over his whole outfit he wears a pure white jacket, long sleeved but rolled up to the elbow with a red circle on each shoulder, within the circle is a white symbol, showing the Konohagakure Symbol in the centre. Asura also wore black leather gloves that are designed for comfort in battle, they allow his fingers to move freely while still keeping a tightly fit look. He wears long baggy black trousers with a belt hidden under his blood red hoodie. Covering his feet all the way up to just below the knee, Asura wears dark grey/navy bluish leather boots, again, designed for comfort during battle. Over his left leg, at the thigh, is a dark grey/navy bluish leather strap with a holster to hold Asura's Kunai, going down the side of the strap is Asura's head band that he placed there, fitting it perfectly, keeping it from being scratched or damaged during battle and keeping his new look.

"Right, I'd better get going." He looked over to the river before turning and walking away from the waterfall. Asura walked along on the side walk, looking around as he passed by the shorter villagers, smiling as he wave to those who recognized him. He would occasionally look up to see the beautiful morning sky as he walked past the several homes between his camping ground and the market, hearing the villagers talk as he passed by, seeming to have not a care in the world. Asura turned the corner and passed by a Cafe, his eyes scanning the streets for a book store, he remembered about the event going on with the casino, he knew he had little to know money on him but he continued his path never the less. He quickly went into the clothes store nearby and got a new look before coming out of there again, walking back on his path to the village with no change, he seemed only curious.

Kusono's eyes flicked open slowly, the last shards of sleep still embedded in his eyes. He clenched his eyes shut, savoring the feeling of bliss as he stretched every muscle in his body from his face to his toes. His body convulsed as he threw his hands up, craned his neck, and cracked his fingers. Bellowing a monstrous yawn to signal the end of his morning ritual. The young Kaguya lazily slung his legs over the corner of the bed, shedding his sheets to the far side of his bed in a heap. He lifted his frame up, giving a much smaller stretch as he extended his height on his tippy-toes; stretching his arms behind his head. His neck produced an audible crack when he craned it, as did his spine.

The bathroom mirror above the sink shone Kusono's true colors. His long silver hair had not retained its shape from the night before. What should have been a neat poney tail as not a mess. His bangs had numerous cowlicks, most of his hair was matter to the side of his face from his sleeping position, but by some luck, the band that was supposed to keep his hair in order still clung to a few strands of hair. Kusono let out a "Ugh" at the site of himself. He reached up and stretched his eye lids open, looking carefully at his jade green eyes which where dulled by it's bloodshot surroundings. Bags where starting to form under his eyes, but nothing a few good nights of sleep couldn't fix. Kusono snorted, a waft of vodka caught in his nose gave him glimpses of the night before. Him, bottle in hand, had returned to the hotel through the balcony window and simply shed his clothes and decided to sleep it off. At least drunk Kusono was half way safe about his drunkenness. He had come to relaxfor a few day in Kumo, and he had done exactly that. But it was time to get back to business. Training was in order.

Eventually, he decided to opt for a shower, which he desperately needed. Opening the glass door, he clutched the silver bath knob in his hand, it was cold to the touch. Sending a shiver down his spine. He gave it a soft turn to the left, sending a stream of cold water into the shower. Kusono retracted his arm so the cold water would not hit him. After a minute or two, the room began to fill with steam, signaled by the mirror beginning to fog.

The warm water felt good against his milky white skin. A smile crept across his face as he slicked his hair back, where it reached at almost his glutes. It took him all of ten minutes to do his business. The bar of soap lathered him, cleaning him of his drunken escapades from last night.

Kusono shut off the water. Cool water ran down his face from his wet hair. He gathered a towel and wrapped his hair up. He smirked in the mirror at how stupid it looked. The towel looked like a high priest's hat. Another towel was used to dry his body and face. His hair usually needed far more time to dry, so Kusono moved on to his other bathroom duties. He brushed his teeth and took a relaxing piss.

His hair had almost dried, so he discarded the towel into a hamper. He took a comb through his hair numerous times. Insisting that it looked straight. Finishing, he put a portion of it in a poney tail, using a red tie. His bangs framed his face perfectly. But a few stray strands hung over his forehead where his clan markings where tattooed at. No matter, he looked and felt as good as ever. Kusono rooted through his draws and pulled on his normal attire of a black and red Kimono held together by a large braided purple belt. His bottoms where black pants with matching black ninja shoes.

Kusono took his leave of his hotel room by the waterfall and locked his door, making sure it was secure. He had planned to walk around the village and see how it looked in the day time. The only memory of the village he had was of the bar and club scenes at night. Hell, maybe he will even be able to get a sparring session in at a training ground further in the village. For now he would go to the market district, maybe get some supplies, then head out to train later.

So far the village looked almost identical to Kirigakure. Well, everything except the constant mist and close proximity to water at all sides. The villagers did their daily ins and outs of the day, working for their pay. Various ninja of Kumo were on patrol, making sure everything was in order. Markets ran as usual, and a village was just a village. Kusono walked through the market district, taking in all he could about Kumogakure. The shops had been opened up for a good few hours now, nearing their peak business hours. People of all ages where at the market, either running a stall, store, or stand, or buying the goods out of them. Everything from clothes to food was sold at one store or another. Anything bigger than a stall where stationed in booths that featured lofts above them. Some where bigger stores where multiple fronts where bought up to make a kind of market of their own. But those where few and far between.

Currently, Kusono decided to see how the fashion of the village differed from his home village. He walked casually to a store front, looking up to read a sign. Not paying attentian, Kusono bumped into a person without seeing him. "Watch where you're going." Kusono said, as he turned to face the person. He looked him up and down, noticing first that he had a Konoha headband. So he was a ninja, huh?

WC: 1005

Perception:C->C-1(430/575)
Reaction Time: C->C-1 (575/575)

Asura looked around slowly as he passed through the village, his eyes were  focused, looking at each and every villager closely. In the back of his mind, Asura could hear Vritra speak into his mind's ear, 'Oh? Isn't this great, same thing everyday... Just like the Leaf... Such a bore... Hmmm, I have an idea to lighten up our mood... We could Slaugh-...' Asura spoke out against Vritra, replying through his mind, 'No, I wont. I'm no killer so stop that!' He could hear the evil voice laughing in the back, almost giggling like a school girl, 'Oh, but you see... You could always give me control... And then they're all as good as dead, for sure, hehehehe.... We'd get to finally get to have some fun! Hahaha!' Asura lost focus as he walked, being distracted by the argument he was having with Vritra. He replied to the beast again, keeping his commanding tone as he sent it back to Vritra, 'No means no, I told you before, you are NEVER getting this body.' The two were going back an forth, Vritra throwing his evil suggestions into the air, and Asura remaining against it, without clear focus of where they were going. Asura had walked through a few puddles, causing water to splash up his leg but he never noticed.

At that point Asura was bumped into by a stranger, he turned his head to look at him, abruptly ending the argument. He heard those few words, "Watch where you're going." and he opened his mouth to speak, "Oh, sorry, just had a lot on my mind recently." He took a pause and a breath of air, noticing his attire and then the tattoos, "You don't look like you're from here, well, neither am I." He laughed faintly, using his hand to lightly scratch the back of his own head. Asura held out his other hand to the strange man, "I'm Asura, Asura Senju." He said with a faint smile.

"Oh, sorry, just had a lot on my mind recently."You don't look like you're from here, well, neither am I." The boy apologized, rubbing the back of his head and offering up a smile. His jacket sleeve had the emblem of Konoha, along with his headband. It was safe to assume this guy was a genin, possibly a chunnin but he doubted it. Most chunnin wore their vests. Especially around foreign villages such as Kumo. You never know when someone was going to put a kunai between your ribs, better to be safe than sorry. The boy adressed himself as Asura Senju. The Senju clan was one of the hallmark clans among Konoha, or that's what Kusono seemed to remember about them anyway. What was their ability? Plant, no, or maybe it was Fire? Whatever it was it wasn't immediately obvious by his looks or attire.

He extended a hand, waiting for Kusono to shake it, though being a possible enemy ninja, Kusono thought better of it. Without shading his hand Kusono addressed himself. "I'm am Kusono Kaguya, branch clansmen. You're right, I'm not from around here" Kusono said, tapping his headband that dangled around his neck with his pointer finger.

WC:203

Perception:C->C-1(575/575)
Reaction Time: C->C-1 (575/575)
Reaction Time: C-1->C-2 (145/600)

Asura looked at him, then looked down to his headband, "Kaguya...? I knew those forehead markings were familiar." Deep in Asura's mind, Vritra was laughing, 'Oh? Please make him an enemy, I want to break those Kaguya bones of his. Hahahaha.' Asura seemed a little annoyed, he replied to Vritra quicky, 'Shut up, stop filling my head with horrid ideas and thoughts of violence. I can't stand it!' He sent that shout through his mind back to Vritra. He focused again, retracting his hand, "Sorry, was just... Thinking. I have some troubles on my mind, so forgive me." He looked the man over again, "Well, I'm on my way to go and train, I need to advance my control over Earth and try to learn some new Earth techniques, or make some of my own. If you want, you can come and join me, I would enjoy the company. Training on your own does tend to get a bit boring to be honest. Plus it would be an honor to train with another Clan." He smiled lightly, shrugging a little as Vritra returned, 'Oh joy... Inviting him to go and play Ninja with you, are you?' Asura took some time to respond to this insult, 'Vritra, shut it. I need to train to acheive my dream, so quiet to you.'

"Well, I'm on my way to go and train, I need to advance my control over Earth and try to learn some new Earth techniques, or make some of my own. If you want, you can come and join me, I would enjoy the company. " A senju had earth element, was that their clan secret? Earth element was fairly common in Kiri, some ninja either started with water, or earth, fire being the rarest element in his village. Being an island nation, water natured chakra was far more useful than any other chakra nature. But Konoha was a heavily wooded area, dense with hundreds of miles long forest and other shrubbery. Not to mention it was a hotter climate. Kusono guessed earth and fire, or maybe lightning and fire where their main elements. Kusono's major element was lighting, that was one advantage he would have against his would-be opponent. He had to figure out his strengths. He was physically fit, but so where most other shinobi.The jacket he wore obscured his arms, if they where muscular he could tell if he was primarily a hand to hand fighter or not. But only time would tell. He would have to see for himself.

Kusnon snapped back to the boy talking, "Training on your own does tend to get a bit boring to be honest. Plus it would be an honor to train with another Clan." He was being honorable, or at least pretended to be. If he was genuinely honorable he would lean towards a hand to hand combat specialist, not favoring tricks like genjutsu. "Well looks like i'll get some training in after all, lead the way." Kusono said, lifting his hand to the training grounds.

WC: 290

Perception:C->C-1(575/575)
Reaction Time: C->C-1 (575/575)
Reaction Time: C-1->C-2 (435/600)

Deep in Asura's mind, he found his ultimate foe, the enemy of his sanity, Vritra. Asura feared this creature's motives, Vritra always wanted to take control of Asura's mind and nothing else, all the beast wanted was Chaos, there is no less he would settle for. Asura feared that if Vritra were to take his mind over, Asura would lose his humanity, Vritra would kill, or at least try. He feared breaking the vow to his family, feared hurting them if Vritra were to ever have control. Every second of every day, he could hear the beast tormenting him, talking to him, making the most evil suggestions, trying his best, to gain control. Asura nodded, "Well then. You'd better keep up... We're running to the Sky Point." Asura spoke in a calm tone with a faint smile, he turned around and started running, making his way to the Sky Point where he was aiming to train. He looked behind him to see if Kusono was even running. He turned to face his front, the wind blowing through his hair, it was rare that he got the chance to have a good run, running around each corner and eventually making out the village and on his way to the mountain he had heard rumours about.

Spoiler:

As Kusono lifted his hand to point to the training ground Asura took off, sprinting ahead of him. The kid was fast, but Kusono was faster by a lot. He could have easily lapsed him but chose to lag a few feet behind him since he didn't know where anything was located. Kumogakure was a lot different then Kirigakure based on it's architecture and the locations of it's landmarks. Kumogakure was mountainous and arid. Most of the village was built into the very stone of the mountains. It's structures where circular, spiral, and reaching toward the clouds. Kirigakure was wet with lively marshland, swamp, and bogs. Its buildings where dome shaped and cilindrical. Very few of the buildings where taller than a ten floors. But the amount of buildings making up the whole of the village outnumbered Kumogakure. It was a nice change of pace, seeing the world and exploring it. He only hoped this land bore strong ninja, or this trip would have been wasted.

Exit Thread

WC: 166

Perception:C->C-1(575/575)
Reaction Time: C->C-1 (575/575)
Reaction Time: C-1->C-2 (600/600)

Training complete