Zetsume opened his eyes to the bright light that shone through his window of his small built house he made for himself. The house was no larger than most people's room. He liked the smallness of it for some odd reason. Maybe it was the fact that he lived in large houses with too much space while growing up. Repede was already awake when Zetsume strode out of his bed. The door to the house was designed so the dog could open and close it himself and the dog was outside laying in the early sunshine. Zetsume looked at him, but the dog laid there taking a small nap. After getting dressed and grabbing his gear, Zetsume walked out of the house. With a small whistle towards Repede, the dog followed. His home was quite far away from the walls of the village and Zetsume preferred it this way. To watch the village from this angle meant constant fear of being under attack, but also meant he could be a first line of defense. As an Archer, it is preferred to keep distance, even from your own village. Just one of the many bad habits that he picked up while growing up. Zetsume decided he would keep his promise to help Mizuki to learn Kyujutsu. The day was going to be beautiful with a slight over cast to give the land a brief moment of cooling down from the sun's rays. Zetsume turned to his trusted pal to speak to him, "Alright buddy, go find Raiu Mizuki.
Bring her to me, I shall get the preparations ready for her learning."

Repede gave a small yelp of approval but also gave him a small glare before setting off. The dog could not speak, but understood humans and how they were. Especially when it came to Zetsume. His glare was to remind Zetsume that he will bite him in his sleep if he tried anything too dangerous. Zetsume shrugged it off and began to build dummies for practice. It was best to start with non-movable targets than moving ones. He would be done with the task while Repede set off to find Mizuki.

It was a somewhat long walk to the village however Repede did not mind the walk. He got to sight see, plus he could stall and get attention from people. Even while he was trying to track Mizuki's scent, he often stopped at people that knew who he was. People in the village loved Repede and his spoiled attention seeking self. He was even being distracted by kids that asked to see a trick. Repede knew a few but would only show one to them before getting back on the search. When he finds Mizuki he will indubitably try for attention before urging her to follow him to Zetsume where he was preparing for their arrival.

Raiu Mizuki (Invited)

WC:481

Mizuki stretched as she woke, and looked outside. Bright light filtered through the thin curtains. It looked like a sunny day. Stepping out of bed, Mizuki picked out fresh clothes and dressed herself, and groomed her hair before she tied it into ponytail. She had chosen a white shirt and blue skirt reaching to her ankles. Moving on, she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, giving a peck to her father as she passed him.

"Hey, Mimi."
"Hi, dad."
"You look awake.", he said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Hm. I've been thinking a lot."
"I know what you mean."
"Would you like some toast?"
"Oh. Sure."

Proceeding to prepare some toasts and a scrambled egg, she served the two of them. They enjoyed their break, quietude sharing their meal for a while. Mizuki wasn't sure what to do today. She had visited her mother at the hospital, and seeing how her health hadn't improved yet hadn't put her in the best of moods. She knew she couldn't hurry her training or her growth, but at times as these she wished she could.

"Plans today?", her father suddenly asked.
"I think I'll clean the house while I wait for news of Zix-san."
"Zix-san?", he thought for a while. "Oh, Zetsume?"
"You know of him?"
"Stories mostly, since we've not been in the same squad. Jounin. Archer with a sharp eye and a dog with sharp teeth. I think he has a chakra bow, too.", he thought for a while, continuing with a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. "Oh, you found yourself a husband?"
"W-what? No! He's willing to teach me Kyujutsu."
"Kyujutsu? Oh. He certainly is a good choice, be sure to learn well."
"Yes, father."
"I'm confident you will. In any case, I should leave. I won't be home until tomorrow evening." Mizuki raised a questioning eyebrow. "I've been called to perform a few executions for a magistrate. Which reminds me... we should continue your practice on that upon my return."
"Yes, father."
"Thank you for the meal, Mimi.", he said, as he stood up, pressing a kiss on her forehead. Even if both of them knew Mizuki didn't like executions, there were more reasons to keep up this traditions than there were to deny them. Traditions, reputation, lineage, Village strength... these were just a few. A few too many.

Her father left, leaving Mizuki alone. After another moment of quietude, Mizuki stood up and walked outside, taking in the fresh air and the sight of the jacaranda trees in the distance. A dog seemed to run up the road, seemingly certain of the route he wanted to take and as he came closer, he happily barked at a familiar sight he recognised. Repede? Mizuki narrowed her eyes. Yes, Repede, indeed.

Barely slowing down, the dog came to a standstill by half sliding over the wooden flooring Mizuki stood on, his nails skittering. He barked happily again, tail wagging with such a force, Mizuki wondered if he'd have an affinity for Fuuton chakra as she could see small grains of dust make way by the wind it created.

"Hey, handsome.", she said, crouching down to pat his head and rub his ears. Repede didn't need to think twice about that sort of attention, halting all tail activity as he allowed the personal service by this maiden. "What brings you here? Don't tell me you ditched Zix-san just to see me."

Repede barked, tail wagging, as if saying he had done exactly just that, unlocking a giggle from Mizuki. After a few more seconds of petting, the dog decided it was time to remember his duty and sprinted away towards the path only to halt and look back with a posture that could only imply she was being too slow to his liking. Why wasn't she following just yet?

Mizuki looked curiously at the dog, wondering what his intentions were, but as he barked to urge her, looking back and forth at the way he was showing her, she decided to go get her katana. Disappearing inside the house, Repede seemed dumb-struck at the contradiction of Mizuki's actions to what he meant, and ran back to bark once more.

She reappeared, katana at her side this time, and apologised to Repede before following him the whole road back towards Zetsume.

wc 744

Zetsume had been working hard on the dummies, some where placed side by side. Others were far off in the distance. He had plans for all of these dummies. Zetsume even hung targets from branches of trees that were around. For her to fully understand what it means to be an archer, she would have to fight like he did, but first the basics were necessary. The sun was high in the sky before he noticed any traces of his dog and Mizuki. From a distance he could see them walking towards him. Repede was prancing like he was on cloud nine, classic Repede. Zetsume was a little infuriated at the fact it took Repede almost three times the time it would normally take to get someone and bring them this far out. Perhaps he got distracted like he normally does. When the dog is not on the defensive, he was just an animal begging for attention from anywhere. This probably stems from Zetsume's lack of showing true affection or it was just in the dog's nature to do so. Zetsume for awhile before they showed up was actually worried something had happened during their travels outside the walls to close to where he lived. His house was just beyond the hill to the left where he was, or to the right of where they were walking. Zetsume walked over to greet them, trying to act like he was not upset at Repede's lack of punctual timing. With a small smile he spoke to Mizuki, "Hello Mizuki, what a beautiful day it is huh? Sorry for bringing you this far outside the village. It would be better this way,we would not want friendly fire to happen now would we. Before we start, perhaps it would help for me to show you why my clan excels so well at archery. Like your bow, ours is also made of chakra. Though I am sure you cannot use it as frequently as I can. Here look."

Zetsume paused for a moment before summoning his chakra bow and preparing four arrows. It radiated a brilliant light before he drew back two arrows in the bow one of Raiton and one of Katon nature. He however, did not empower the shots. With a quick fluid movement, his arrows landed upon the marked dummies far off in the distance before vanishing where they landed only moments after. Zetsume smiled a bit as he looked back at her. It was not the strongest arrow within his capabilities, though maybe he would show her something cooler later. Till then he dissipated his bow and reformed it only to make it vanish again.

"You see, this bow that I can make is not really a jutsu but more of an item. At the expense of how much chakra I have, I can summon This bow at a whim and dismiss them without spending chakra. Unlike your bow, we can keep ours up indefinitely and swap between elements that we possess. Even with such an ability, most of my clansmen are cowards. Hence my seclusion from the Kyodara estate. Anyways, I need you to shoot those targets. As you can see they are placed specifically apart to really judge distance. Once I see how you shoot, I can help you correct mistakes and once you can prove you can hit a non-moving target, we shall move to something a little more difficult. Once you are ready, please begin."

Zetsume would watch her closely for angling issues, distance troubles, and sheer power of her bow. Really he needed to know more about it and its capabilities before really judging. None the less, should she pass the first part... The real training begins. Unless empowered, his arrows were weak but infinite. For him, the simple fact of that was quite something. Still, he would observe her closely and try to spot any minor mistakes if there were any. Either way, practice makes perfect. The dummies were spaced out ten meters apart with the last one being quite far off. She could not hit them all, but the idea would be nice to see from a genin. Repede sat close to Mizuki and just kept looking around and up at her. He knew this was not the time to get attention but still, she was quite kind to him and he enjoyed every second of it.

WC:738
Total:1219

Jutsu/Items used (2 Arrows stocked) 255/255 chakra:

After a long walk with Repede showing off about every trick of his paw, they arrived close to a house hidden beyond the hills. It seemed like a tranquil area, ways out the busy fair of the Village's streets and roads. A place where the grass was abundant and the plants could grow in peace, leaving plenty of room for an energetic animal as Repede to run around and tire himself out as he chased whatever caught his attention. Mizuki wasn't really accustomed to such peaceful areas, but it felt nice... for a change.

As she took sight of Zetsume, the dog ran up to his master. Her training would begin soon, and as such she took a deep breathe and focused her mind before she had even spoken to him. Briefly before she arrived, she took in the environment to see what preparation he had taken. A bunch of dummies had been placed on seemingly random place, some of them hidden well enough to only be noticed when one was really looking for them. Shinobi dummies - they really were everywhere.

"Good day, Zix-san.", she greeted her new teacher with a bow. "It is a good day, indeed."

Zix gave a brief introduction, explaining the difference of his chakra bow with hers and increasing Mizuki's thoughts that it was, in fact, a part of Zix's KKG. The speed with which he summoned and dispelled the bow was not something she could achieve with her self-made jutsu. Not even with intense training, she assumed. However, she wasn't too sure why Zix called his former clansmen cowards. Was this just out of spite? She couldn't tell, since she didn't have much information on or experience with the Kyodora, or knew Zetsume well-enough to draw realistic conclusions.

When he stated she'd have to hit every of the dummies to assess her skill, she nodded and proceeded to summon her own ranton bow. Forming the hand seals as the first time she had shown them, she clapped her hands and the ranton light shone brightly. Parting her hands, a mixture of suiton and raiton battled in a race to shape the bow until it became a solid item in her hands. She had no real clue how to properly shoot a bow, but from the few shots Zetsume had shown, she did her best to imitate the position as good as she possibly can. Pulling back her bow - the first time she actually used the jutsu - a ranton arrow shaped itself, and was released.

The first shot had little success, seemingly end up way out the direction she had intended. Correcting herself, she pulled the string a little harder, aiming a little higher and tried again. Though it came closer, the arrow still didn't hit. Slightly embarrassed, she wondered what exactly she was doing wrong.

"I'm sorry, sensei. It seems I must be doing something wrong."

Was it her footing? Her positioning? Maybe her aiming or her arm? She wasn't sure, since as far as she knew she had copied Zetsume's position as good as she could. It could be something else still, a hidden trick she wasn't aware of.

wc 542 + 744
= 1286

Chakra 140//150:

Zetsume let a little frown show at Mizuki's attempts to shoot a bow. Her form was all wrong not to mention he felt like she had never shot a bow before. When Mizuki turned to him to apologize and ask for more guidance he quickly vanished his frown into a half smile. It was his attempt to be more social like Repede would like him to be instead of the distant man he knew he was. With a deep sigh, he spoke to her in a calm manner, "Is this your first time shooting a bow?" The question was rhetorical since he could tell she was either very new or just starting her actual practice with a bow. Due to his perfectionist personality, watching her fail was a bit annoying but he would not let that show out of fear what Repede would do. For some reason the dog enjoyed Mizuki's company, and Zetsume did not want his dog to bite him while he slept soundly. He knew the dog would. He held his hand up as if not to answer his previous question and spoke before Mizuki could, "It is your form that is stopping you from hitting what you are aiming at,here watch me closely."

Zetsume re-summoned his bow standing with his left foot out and right foot back and his body turned sideways towards his target. His back was straight and his elbow that drew the arrow back was perfectly horizontal as the arrow flew from his bow in an arc landing on the furthest dummy in the distance. He dispelled his bow and spoke to her again,  "See just like that, do not feel bad, if you saw me swing a sword I am sure you would have quite the chuckle at a jounin struggling. At least I know Repede would enjoy it seeing that."

Deep in his mind he wanted to learn how to be proficient in other areas of Bukijutsu. He knew not how to swing a sword properly but he would be damned if he did not know how to shoot at a standing still target. Zetsume motioned her to try again, and should she fail, he would make her try again. This deep out here, he had to keep his ears and eyes open for possible attacks. It would be a shame if someone tried to attack his student, oh the horrors they would face should such a thing happen. He did not wish to expose Mizuki to that, but if it did happen he would promptly smite anyone who showed signs of violence. It was in his nature to shoot first and ask questions later. Well more like shoot, shoot, shoot, and when you think they are dead shoot again for safe measure.

"Now clear your mind, take away all distractions. Visualize your target and practice your form. Before you shoot, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. When your breath has left you, shoot the bow. I have faith in you Mizuki, you should have more faith in yourself. You must keep practicing and striving for a higher goal."

He gave her a small smile with two thumbs up as he waited for his new student to try again. Repede seemed happier with Zetsume's mood, he just hoped the dog would not be mad at him for what will come later.

WC:566
Total:1219

Jutsu/Items used (1 Arrow stocked) 255/255 chakra::

Her form, huh? She was under the impression she had copied it, but perhaps there was something else still. Zetsume showed it again to her, and she copied it again. Left foot out, right foot back. Body turned sideways? Check. She straightened her back a little more, pulled back the bow and shot. The arrow seemed to do a little better, somewhat swaying as it moved towards its target. For some reason. There was no wind, right? She took a breath and tried again. This time, though still not hitting, the arrow flew in a straight line just next to the dummy. A matter of adjusting her aim now, she guessed. Hearing Zetsume mention he'd do just as horrible with a katana, she smilingly raised an eyebrow.

"I'd like to see that.", she said with a chuckle. "A jounin swinging a sword like a genin."

She eyed her form again, listening in to the last few hints. Her breathing. That one was just like her kenjutsu kata. Breath in with every defence, breath out with ever strike. Chi had to flow so the body's movement would be smoothened. Funny how this wasn't much different.

Mizuki breathed in, and out, letting go another shot and saw her arrow hit the dummy with a poor 'thunk', leaving a small burn mark where it hit by the arrow's ranton nature. She considered that with a little more power and aim, she might actually hit this one. Trying again, she pulled back an arrow, breathed in, and breathed out, letting go the arrow. It seemed to fly in a good arc, hitting the dummy once more. It wasn't quite the spot she was supposed to hit, but she was getting closer little by little.

She tried a few times more, getting closer slightly, but at some point all she ended up doing was shooting around the core. Once too high, then too low, then just to the left. Mizuki frowned. Why couldn't she get any closer? She could see the target clearly, yet even if she seemingly aimed at the same spot, all it did was just... hit around the target.

She lowered her bow for a moment, looking pointedly at the dummy as if it would spill its answers under her stare. Her poor aim had to be blamed on something subtle, but what? Raising her bow again, she tried a few times more, but it didn't seem to improve. She guessed she'd have to wait for that perfection until another lesson. At least she was hitting the closest dummy for a change. Actually, she was hitting it quite frequently, considering the burn marks left behind by the arrows.


wc: 455 + 1286
= 1741

Chakra 130/150:

Zetsume was watching and felt like Mizuki was making pretty good progress, but she was far away from being able to use it decently in combat unless she attacks while hidden. Repede's ears seemed to perk up when she said she would like to see him swing a sword. The dog was now on a mission to find something, and began to wonder around looking for the right thing. Zetsume paid not much attention to it other than the fact they should always be on guard this far away from the village. With luck she would become proficient enough for him to teach her how this applies to combat, well at least from his stand point. He fought with tricks and deception. Genjutsu was really reliant on his combat aside from his offensive range. The distance was one thing that seemed to always save him when he was in combat. The sheer fact he could kill others without their knowledge was daunting sometimes. For the ones that did not die though... Perhaps they would wish they had.

Mizuki's progress further and her aim was getting better. Zetsume looked at her as she seemed to be puzzled at why she could not his exactly where she wanted. To be honest, it was this kind of feeling that Zetsume never got to feel. From a young age he was always punctual and a perfectionist when it came to things like that. Still even with all his accomplishments, his family always frowned. Their jealous lot wanted to hold him back and he escaped from such a thing. To be able to expand without others judgement was a nice thing and he would have to try not to advise Mizuki in the similar manner he was. "It is okay not being able to hit exactly where you want. The fact you actually hit them means a lot in combat. If you noticed targets are on on the chest which is why it is always best to aim for center body mass when going for a kill.
Even from these non perfect hits, you would have wounded them or possibly disarmed the arm they are familiar with. Then again, that is why I guess I always aim for the legs. Sort of hard to reach me if you can not move to me. haha...", his joke was ill and he knew it was. He scratched the back of his head and laughed a little as Repede came walking forward. In his mouth was the prize he had been looking for. Walking in front of the two of them and laid the skin on the ground and barked at Zetsume. With one eye wide open Zetsume looked down at the dog in a confused way. The dog nipped at his hand then barked again. Zetsume understood what he wanted and knelt down to pick up this stick. It would be of average size that someone of Zetsume's height would use. The moment he picked it up Repede knelt down in an aggressive stance and growled at Zetsume. With a smile Zetsume spoke again, "Alright boy you're on."

Zetsume assumed what he would figure to be a stance. The stick was light enough to be held one handed and he other arm was held out as he motioned Repede to come at him. The dog, was however more planned that Zix had intended. Repede baited Zetsume into grabbing the stick just to make him focus on using that as a weapon. The dog knew Zetsume had never held a sword nor knew exactly how to swing it. Repede inched closer before faking a lunge at Zetsume who fell for it and began to swing the stick. Repede used that chance to then jump and bite the arm Zetsume was using to hold the stick causing him to drop it, but not hard enough to hurt all that much. More of the bite that is just proof for the dog to show Zetsume that he could have done more. Repede then let go and jumped back in defiant. Zetsume rubbed his arm where the dog chomped down a little.

Zetsume smiled a little and shook his head before speaking, " Yea, yea, You win.
No need to rub it in my face with that grin you have." Both Repede and Zetsume knew however this kind of combat was not his expertise. If he had fought how he was trained, Repede would have never stood a chance. Zetsume would use this to his advantage. "See, even he can beat me due to lack of training. Do not give up, I see improvement already. All you have to do is keep trying and practicing. Once you can get the basics down, I can show you some tricks that I use in combat." With a hearty smile he looked at her and stocked four more arrows from his ability. Repede was gloating and sat on the stump nearby with his head held high in victory. For now, this dog would get his win. Maybe somewhere deep down Zetsume wanted him to win, or maybe it was the fact he knew he could never hurt Repede. It was sometimes his only friend and family.

WC:875
Total:2660

Arrows (5 Stocked):

As with everything, it was a matter of practice. That reminded Mizuki of all the times she had to practice her kata. A full year of kata repetition with the boken before she was even allowed to execute her form on someone else. Then came the small fights. Strike, parry, retaliate. Slash, stab. Dodge, counter, stab. Another year passed just to get those 'live' training sessions mastered. To think that even today she still performed her kata with her own weapon. After all these years. The base never changed.

But here, she wasn't sure what the kata of the bow was. How many forms were there for shooting a bow? How many stances? Shooting close or shooting far, there seemed to be little difference in how it was done. Left foot out, right foot back. Body turned sideways, back straight, arm horizontal. Breathe in, breathe out. Release. Thunk. That was a torn flank.

Left foot out, right foot back. Body turned sideways, back straight, arm horizontal. Breathe in, breathe out. Release. Thunk. A pierced stomach.

Feet. Body. Arms. Breathe in, breathe out. Thunk. Ripped throat.

Mizuki blnked. That might have been her first deadly shot, even if she aimed for the big centre on his stomach. Suddenly feeling a bit squeasy, Mizuki could see the head of the puppet roll off. Separated. Just like the head she had cut off during the B rank mission. The only good thing about that whole situation was that her Art of Execution had been flawless - her father would have been proud. But to take a life... it didn't sit comfortable with her.

Zetsume's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned her head to pay attention. So the first point of archery was to hit your target. Even if it was his hand, or his arm. Every hit was a potential crippling. At least that wasn't different from fighting with a katana. Even if the arm wasn't severed, a slashed tendon or even a deep wound could be enough to turn the tide of battle. Mizuki guessed any form of bukijutsu would have that sort of rule.

She laughed softly at Zetsume's joke. Legs, kneecaps. She guessed it would be one of those things that would stick forever between them. Sensei Kneecapper. Even if she didn't want to, she had already a nickname for her kyujutsu sensei. If he'd ever wield a sword, it would probably be the first area he'd hit perfectly as well.

Then Repede came back with a stick. She guessed he had become jealous from all the arrows he couldn't come bring back or something along those lines, but when Zetsume picked it up and used it as a makeshift sword, she raised an eyebrow questioningly. Zetsume's strike was... dreary, but probably just as much done so on purpose since it was just a mock fight. Even then, Repede won the fight and Zetsume yielded quickly.

Mizuki giggled at the sight. With all her training and missions, she had found little time to really... enjoy life. Heh, but these two. She could see their friendship and care for each other. It was heartwarming.

With their little game done, Mizuki returned to her archery training. She could hit the first target quite well, and thus decided to move on to another one. If anything, she had to be able to hit targets at various distances.

Feet. Body. Arms. Breathe in, breathe out. And a miss.

So she had to readjust her aim again. Since the arrows arced slightly, and the target was a little further away, she aimed a little higher. Breathe in, breathe out. Release the arrow. A torn ear. Not quite what she aimed for, but at least she considered her stance to be quite good if she could hit quite regularly. It was a matter of finding proper aim now - something she found still hard to figure out.

wc 664 + 1741
= 2405

Chakra 125/150:

Zetsume pondered on why Mizuki was having such trouble shooting down these dummies. For him the simplicity of it made him question if it was really this hard. Then again it was quite simple for him to see things easy when he had been using this style for years and years. Never once did he ever think about how hard it must be for someone who is new to this thing to try and do it. It was a little late in the afternoon and Zetsume was getting hungry. The village was a decent walk from where he was, so it would just be far more simple to go to his house and prepare a small meal for the three of them to enjoy. Zetsume motioned towards Repede to listen to him before speaking to the dog; "Keep an eye around here Repede,I am going to make a stop by the house real quick. It goes without saying, but make sure she stays safe okay?"

Repede gave out a small yelp to give reassurance to Zetsume that he heard his request. Zetsume gave a small wave towards Mizuki before walking towards his house which was just beyond a few hills. He did not really want to leave the two of them alone, for he worried for the worst. Zetsume though also knew the importance of staying well fed during training so the body can properly use the food to replenish the body. It was not long until he made it to his house and began to prepare some food. For today, they would enjoy some homemade steak fries and grilled hamburgers. Zetsume made sure to season the meat well before starting to grill them. The smell that came from the grill was mouth watering to say the least. The entire cooking process took no more than thirty minutes as Zetsume was always punctual and quick about his work even if it was making food. Grabbing a rather large box, he filled the box with assortments of condiments for the hamburgers. He placed the cooked meat in a container, and the steak fries in a different container. Zetsume then proceeded to walk back with his rather large amount of food.

Repede, during the time of keeping watch on Mizuki had no intentions of letting her train during his watch. Instead the pooch went up to her with ears back and a sad puppy look as he looked up at her hoping she would pet him. Without Zetsume around to tell him to stop or to behave, the dog would undoubtedly do this to her. Repede if he gained affection or not would then lay on the ground rather close to her keeping his ears and nose on alert. Despite being slightly distracted by his urge to be loved, he knew his duty and would not face the wrath of Zetsume. Even though he knew that Zetsume would never harm him, he did not want Zetsume to be in another event of turmoil that could cause him to become even more cold than he was. For the dog felt like this training was making Zetsume lighten up, which was something not even he could do. Perhaps it was the fact that Zetsume was so interested in helping people from his village that the chances he got to do so always lifted his spirits. Then again, it could be the fact that he would feel as though the burden of the world was being lifted from him as people from his village would get stronger. It was a heavy burden on his mind that he was indeed not strong enough to really save anyone, just kill them. Zetsume did not have the strength to spare a life once he has condemned them to death by any means he wants. Repede never noticed how cold Zetsume was getting until recently and did not know how to alleviate such a thing from him. Repede indeed did love Zetsume as much as any animal would for someone who saved their life, gave them purpose, and showed them how to help others. Repede will always be in debt to him for that, yet these recent changes in Zetsume's personality seemed to weigh heavy on the dogs mind as he laid near Mizuki with his head on his paws looking around. His ears and nose seemed to perk when he smelt the amazing smell of food and his tail began to ferociously wag when Zetsume came back from over the hill.

Zetsume gave a small wave to the two before showing up with his food. He then would offer to Mizuki pulling out his containers that held food and handed her a paper plate telling her to eat as much as she wanted. There was enough food to feed at least ten people. Repede, not being bashful barked at Zetsume to fix his food. Giving a small laugh, Zetsume grabbed two juicy burgers and cut them up into pieces before handing it to Repede to scarf down which happened in just moments. Zetsume then fixed his burger the way he wanted using the asorted condiments and grabbed some fries and sat down to eat. He let the calmness of the wind sooth his body as he munched down on his food, deciding now would be a good time to learn more about Mizuki, the training could be on hold for awhile now.

"So Mizuki, tell me about yourself. I know not much of you, and I would like to know more. Like why did you choose this life? You could have easily just been a normal civilian. Why do you risk your life for people that sometimes wont appreciate the sacrifices you make to keep them safe. Trust me, I know all about making hard choices for the better of my own people. Once everyone viewed me more of a monster than a respected jounin, I moved out here to get away from such daunting looks and comments. People still love Repede though, which is a good thing. The dog needs as much love as the world can offer."

He took a bite of his hamburger before speaking again after he finished chewing. "To tell you the truth, I have no problem with how others look at me. They can call me a monster all day and night for all I care. I will do what I must to keep my people safe. Even if that means distancing myself from people to watch them from outside. Hence the house being so far away from the village. I would serve as an almost first line of defense, not to mention I have been under attack by bandits at my house before. I would rather they try it on me than innocent people. I know I am not innocent in the things I have done, I know that in my heart I do not feel bad for the things I do to people. Yet, deep down I can not help but to feel as though it is all for naught. No matter how many I slay in the name of peace for Kumogakure, more show up in the wake. It is like the stories of Hydra's. With each one I slay it seems that two more spring up. I just hope you find a different way to handle things than I do.

Zetsume stopped talking and went on to eat. Everything he spoke about was true to him and how he felt. Not many know the troubles that goes on in normal Shinobi's mind. Killing was all that we could do sometimes even if our hearts scream not to. Though despite all of this, he would gladly shoot down anyone that posed a threat to the people he actually cared about. Zetsume was one to not care for many people but those from his village. Repede, was kind to everyone unless Zetsume warned him to be wary. The food seemed to hit the spot as he pulled out a water bottle and gulped it down. The clouds covered the sun, making the air and world around them cooler for a bit. It was nice for him to enjoy company of others, and yet his mind still tried to hide the fact that she could die one day and it would be his fault for not being there. He could not help but to feel the burden of such a thing, because he indeed did love everyone from his village to the point that things that may not even happen worries him. Deep down this was the reason why he was helping Mizuki train, was because he did not want to see her get hurt. It would not be good for his mental stability if such a thing should happen.

WC:1473
Total:4133

(5 Arrows stocked)

Breathe in, breathe out. Another hit. But once again not at the heart of things.

It was odd, but even if it was her own chakra, the bow felt somewhat heavy. It made her think about her early training with her boken. What had her father said? "The first lesson is to conquer your own sword. If you can't do that, there's no point in learning kenjutsu." She had stood there for what had seemed like hours holding her boken in front of her. Standing still. Doing nothing, as she felt the wooden sword become heavier and heavier with every passing second until her muscles turned sour of pain. She had gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, somehow tried to regulate her breathing. She had to win it from her boken. Yet, several times she had failed. The boken clattered on the ground, and her father had turned his back in disapproval. Bitter tears she had cried, she had even thrown a tantrum. But today... she wielded her katana with such elegance and power that her father had decided to teach her the Arts of Execution. Mizuki eyed her bow. This was not different. Even if Zetsume wanted to teach her the art of kyujutsu, he did warn her he wasn't used to being a sensei. So she had to introduce her own lessons. Twist her father's teachings to benefit those of her new sensei. And this meant... first she'd have to fight a battle of the mind.

She adjusted her stance to what Zix-sensei had shown her and held her bow as if she was aiming. Not drawing a single arrow, she held this position for as long as she could, bow at the ready. Even if this bow was lighter due to it being pure chakra, the combination of holding the stance and maintaining the focus over her chakra made it equally difficult, if not even harder. Minutes past before she actually started to feel any strain, trained by her kenjutsu no doubt, and that was when the battle really began.

---

Time trickled slowly as seconds turned to minutes. As every heart beat sounded like a gong. As if every flow of her blood felt like a burning river hell-bent to break her. She could feel her muscles complain. The gaze of her father scrutinising her potential. Seven years old, she had been. An ideal age to learn the arts of the shinobi. To be trained in the traditions of the Raiu.

She felt as if it was punishment.

But it was not. To her father, it was a great honour to be taught the arts of Ranton. To be the next generation of kenjutsu masters in line. Even if it was a cruel, harsh discipline, all blood, sweat and tears would only serve to strengthen her. "Better sweat now so to avoid bleeding on the battlefield.", her father had always taught her. The harder she worked to achieve perfection, the less she would risk death on the field. A merciless training to achieve a merciful combat.

She had hated it. With a passion.

"You will not leave this dojo until you mastered the blade." And her father had meant it. Almost a full day she had been there, with nothing more than water. Not allowed to go to the toilet. No food. Only training and mastery to be achieved. She had screamed, cried, thrown a tantrum, but her father had not budged even once, his eyes fixed on her, his mind as quiet as the eye of the storm.

In the end, she had bowed to that storm and mastered her own boken.

---

This time, she would not bow before the storm. She would be the storm her father had aimed for her to become. She would not be defeated by her own bow. She would be master of it, like her father had wanted her to master everything she faced. She would not fail her kyujutsu sensei, but become a student worthy of praise. Feeling the bow suddenly become lighter, Mizuki knew she had won the battle of the mind with her weapon. The first path had been walked, and now the road towards mastery laid bare before her.

With renewed strength, she aimed for the dummy again and released another shot. Body and mind as one. No longer aiming for that one spot in the dummy, but for the goal behind it. The arrow hit, digging deeper than it had before and with a venomous sizzle before the arrow vanished. The burn mark was there, and ran into the wound of the dummy. Even if she hadn't hit the initial mark, she had somewhat found back her purpose and determination. A determination only broken by... the scent of grilled meat?

Her focus broken, Mizuki saw Repede whining pitifully for her attention as she picked up the scent of grilled meat. How long had she been fighting her own bow exactly? She couldn't tell. Somewhat distracted, she rubbed Repede's head and ears, which was happily received with a good sweeping of his tail, before she mentioned him she'd have to train more. With a growling mutter, Repede rested his head on his legs, not too far from her and sighed heavily as Mizuki returned to shooting target.

Shifting to a new distance once more, Mizuki shot arrow after arrow, making sure to maintain her form as instructed, and though she had yet to get accustomed to proper aiming, at least the arrows seemed to dig themselves profoundly within the targets. Deeper than before, their refuelled intent clear by the burn marks they left behind. The shots she fired became swifter and smoother as she slowly picked up the cadence of firing arrows, but her precision was still lacking. Nonetheless, by the time Zetsume returned to offer prepared food to the hungry, more than half the targets had been marked on several spots by her training.

Her eyes almost boggled out when she saw the amount of food he had prepared, wondering how much exactly the man - or Repede? - ate that he needed to prepare this much food. If anything, she wasn't the sort of person that ate a lot. Just... enough. Measured, perhaps, since eating too much only gorged the stomach and urged the body to tumble into a slumber. Still, since food had been prepared and offered, she'd consider it rude not to eat something. Picking the container and the paper plate, Mizuki filled it with fries and a small piece of hamburger, looked for vegetables she couldn't find and took a little bit of some spicy sauce so as not to offend the cook in front of her. Before actually starting her meal, she bowed and thanked Zetsume for his cooking.

Surprisingly, he asked about her. Her life, her reasons. Personal questions she wasn't really used to hear from... well, anyone, probably? Most people she spend time with knew who she was, and other than that she was usually doing the household since her sickened mother couldn't, or training to maintain her form and kata. Sure, she knew other people, but thinking about it... most of those were usually related to training as well. Like Lin-san, her squad leader and trainer who, lately had been increasingly more occupied the more the rumours about a new Raikage had risen.

She paused for a moment, dipping the fries in the spicy sauce before putting them into her mouth. Emptying her mouth before speaking, she answered his question, "I didn't exactly choose this life. I'm born Raiu, and therefore it is my solemn duty and tradition to keep our reputation high. We've often served as the front-line in wars, and the bodyguards of various Raikage and Daimyo. Today, my father often serves as an executioner for samurai, ronin, prisoners, or those willing to pay for his services, and expects me to follow in his footsteps."

Having given her answer, she listened to his explanation of his story and experience, eating the food she had been given. It was well seasoned, though somewhat odd in taste. She wasn't really used to a lump of pure meat as this, finding hers mostly prepared in various dishes at home or easily replaced with fish or chicken.

Zetsume's story was dark and saddening. To feel so forlorn despite doing his best for the Village, feeling so thankless, misunderstood. People were cruel, never really understanding what benefits they were given by those who made the sacrifices. In certain ways, the Raiu could tell plenty of those stories as they had often been the shock troops during wars, running in the front lines without so much as a thanks only to see how the clans with greater numbers claimed all honour and credit while, in fact, it had been the Raiu who sacrificed most of all.

"I'm afraid civilians can not understand the sacrifices we must make to maintain the defences of Kumogakure. When you speak of the Hydra, we should not forget that Kumogakure has suffered great losses against Kirigakure. Our Village is one of strife and turmoil, ever attracting those that seek to challenge our power and unearth our secret techniques. It may be maintained by few, but it remains recognised and respected by many even today. If anything... you are one of those few that keep up our Village's reputation, and for this I can only thank you, Zix-san."

She finished the last of fries and meat before taking a sip of water herself, her mind thinking about the last sentence Zetsume had said - he hoped she'd find a different way. She had a different way, but she was unsure if it would succeed.

"I believe a diplomatic approach may bring a good wind to our Village. It would allow us to recover our forces, bolster our economy and allow us to learn from our rivals without bloodshed. I'm just not sure how successful it will be."

wc 1685 + 2405
= 4090

Chakra 120/150:

((Food for 10 people... Zetsume needs to learn how to count again :O ))

Zetsume thought about what Mizuki had said deeply, because to some people they thought of him as indifferent. Something of an unequal equation that did not fit their agenda. He could not help but to think back on his first turning against the normal monotonous style of the Kyodara. He once had such pride in his fellow clansman but at an early age he learned exactly what most of them truly desired and it was not what they preach. During the long days of training as a kid, his father would constantly correct him. It was a reoccurring thing for his father to seem to want to teach and complain about other's lack of skill rather than actually being out there helping people. This sheer lack of emotional attachment is what displaces Zetsume from others. While a part of him wanted the acceptance of people from his village, the other side knew exactly what needed to be done for the better of his people. A rabid animal even if human, sometimes did not deserve the beauty of life. Repede grabbed a mouth full of burgers and munched on them a close distance to Mizuki, but not close enough to possibly get anything on her. It was almost programmed into Zetsume and the dog to be hyper polite at all times if possible. Though there were moments, such as when he spots an enemy where that whole demeanor changes and something a little more sinister takes over him. For Zetsume, it was easy to kill a stranger rather than someone from his village even if he knew not the person because the possibility will always be there. His mind raced from a few things to say, but mostly Zetsume would listen to Mizuki speak and pause for a decent while before cleaning his mouth with a napkin. With a hearty smile he spoke back to Mizuki, "I appreciate your kind words but they are lost on someone like me. Such praise will only instill the fact that while I have been training you in this area, I have neglected the fact that I always need to train to get stronger so that one day I can actually be worthy of such praise. Now,Repede on the other hand always enjoys such a thing."

Repede paused a moment during his feast to smile before going back to eating. The dog seemed to be especially hungry on this day. Zetsume quickly picked up where he left of after shaking his head a little at the dog, "I agree that a diplomatic approach is essentially better, however,
such things seem to never work as the conditions of humans consume all of us. People will strive for peace, and others chaos. This is why I do not trust people so easily as you would perhaps. I can hear your conviction in your voice that you are however not a threat yet. Considering your lineage and ties here, please do not be offended that I have analyzed your style thus far to ensure that if you happen to betray this village; I will be the one to hunt you. Do not take it personal, even the Raikage when I met her I tried to deduce the factor of betrayal. Repede, thinks you're great though, I am almost pretty sure the dog enjoys your company more than mine."

The dog gave a bark as if saying yes, as he just finished eating. He was indeed a lover animal deep down despite what Zetsume forced him into combat. The dog enjoyed helping people, including Zetsume, but did not per-say enjoy hurting people. More or less the dog was worried that if he did not follow through with the plans he or Zetsume could get hurt. Up until then his plans have worked out well thus far and seemed to be consistently that way. The dog trusted Zetsume and respected him, however the man did not really have an affectionate attitude. He was always tense and on edge most of the time. It is what made him, him.

Zetsume began to clean up the area nicely stacking things on an almost obsessive compulsive disorder style. He was just an organized fellow from the way he lived his life. Growing up you did not really leave a mess. After cleaning up in a rather timely fashion, he spoke again friendly to Mizuki, "I hope the food was to your liking, nothing special but very filling might I say. I suppose now would be a good time to explain a few things on Kyujutsu that have helped me along my travels and trials."

Zetsume formed his classic bow except this time it was of C rank and looked a bit lack luster from the previous. From there he spoke while drawing an arrow back and aiming at the same dummy Mizuki had at the  dead center of it near where the heart would be. His arrow landed a little off to where he had aimed for, but it still would have proved to be a rather fatal shot. The arrow was just a stocked D rank so the true damage would have been minimal, but he could have easily enhanced the arrow if he wanted to prove lethal prowess and not accuracy. With a small smile he spoke to her turning his head back. "You see, even I am a little off shooting at a bow near your caliber. While my shot was still fatal, it just shows that it is not entirely your fault should you be a little off. As you progress, should you, you will obtain further chakra controls to allow you to make stronger and faster bows."

After that he swapped his bow into the max he could at S rank and shot one enhanced A-rank arrow that flew so straight at the currently abused dummy that it blew a hole the size of his arrow through the dummy where he placed a circle that was exactly the size of the hole. For him it was the precision shot that he would randomly place on all the dummies. These shots did not necessarily represent kill or fatal shots, but rather disabling which also includes a few fatal shots. On this current dummy it was placed where the heart was. He then readied two more shots aiming at the further dummies. With one fluid like motion the arrows flew from his bow flying at two different targets. One shot into where the dummy person would have kneecaps, and the other arrow pierced right into the head of the dummy further behind the one that had it's poor knees hit. Zetsume dispelled his bow as he just used his remaining five arrows he stocked and smiled to Mizuki with a thumbs up. This was just the scope of what Zetsume could do though, he was more trained than he lead on to believe and sometimes keeping hidden weapons proves useful. He walked back to Mizuki,  "Honestly, just train in that aspect and keep your distance unless close combat is needed. Try out a different style and you might see how amazing it can be sometimes. For me its a lifestyle and not much of a style. I need to branch out and try something else, perhaps Kenjutsu. I like to deceive my enemies, and the false sense of one weaponry could be used to my advantage. It is just the will to want to learn it I suppose for me at this point. I can see its advantages in close quarters but I plan on not having to resort to that method if possible. Now that you sort of know where I stay, if you ever need help just come back here and look for me. Usually I am around here. Do be careful however, this is outside the walls and anything can happen out here."

Repede just sat there looking around making sure there were no signs of threat before putting his head on top of his paws and rested there for a bit. Closing his eyes and letting the sounds of the world consume his mind. He was listening intently for anything odd or out of the ordinary. It seemed like when Zetsume was not really up tight and on edge that the dog would take it upon himself to look out just in case. The dog was not just thinking about protecting Zetsume, but also Mizuki. The dog had grown fond of this shinobi and did not want harm to come to her. He would make sure that, that would never happen while he was around. Such determination was put into him from Zetsume. The two of them were determined to help and protect their people at any cost. Even if that means they should die in the process, better them than others. Should something approach, it would not go unnoticed by the two of them.

WC:1495
Total:5628

Chakra 180/255 (Enhanced 4 arrows to A rank:

(OOC: Repede, eats a lot. Sorry if short, though I left it open ended. If you want to keep practicing cool, if not you can always add a NPC out here. Bandits are not uncommon. Up to you, unless you want to end now to get your Social/Training.)

Mizuki was quite surprised to here how little trust he placed in his own Village members. To analyse the raikage, the other kumo-nin, just to find a possible threat or a smudge of a hint that might have them decide on defection... She'd almost call him paranoid, but perhaps it might be an interesting trait to have to become an ANBU of the Village. She couldn't say for certain if Zetsume would be interested, or if Lin would keep up the existence of the ANBU, but tracking down and taking out defectors sounded just like the job for her kyujutsu sensei.

As Zetsume cleaned up the table, Mizuki remembered she still had the house to clean. With her mother at the hospital and her father away for the day, she had the responsibility of keeping things tidy. It was a promise she had made before her father left just this morning, even.

"It's not something I'm used to eat, but it was tasty. Thank you for the meal.", she replied with a thankful bow. The meal had been filling despite its simplicity, but this big a lump of meat made her stomach feel a bit heavy. To think that Repede seemingly could keep eating meat, Mizuki could only wonder what sort of stomach the dog had.

Leaving the table and dusting off her dress, Zetsume picked up his lessons by adding a few more details and adding the deed to his claims. The quality of the bow and arrows helped determine the quality of precision. So not only did she have to become better at aiming, in Mizuki's case, her mastery of ranton chakra would be equally important since she used a summoned bow. And lastly, since this was a C rank jutsu, she was already bound to fail more often than someone with an S rank jutsu. She had yet a long road to go, it seemed, in so many ways. But perhaps the greatest question of them all was rather: would she ever make an S rank jutsu that summoned a bow or would she seek out a master smith instead?  It was a matter of paying with chakra or ryo...

Or perhaps a matter of deciding upon a fighting style. A lifestyle, even, if she heard Zetsume's choice of words. She guessed on that account, hers would still be the katana, since her decision on kyujutsu had already been that of a supportive means, a matter of having versatility, a question of having a backup option in case her katana wouldn't do it. Still, mastery of any sort required proper devotion. She'd have to train hard, no matter what weapon she prioritised.

That said, since this seemingly concluded the lessons for now, Mizuki decided it was time to go home. She'd mull over the lessons and insights as she returned to the dojo, give them a place in her mind in her meditation and keep them at heart the next time she'd pick up a bow. For now, she had a cleaning duty, and considering the size of the house and Raiu's dojo, it might as well take in the rest of the day.

"These lessons were certainly of help, Zix-san. I'd offer to teach you the Way of the Sword in return for your teachings, but since I'm but a genin I'll have to speak to my father about this first. Perhaps he might be willing to teach you.", she bowed towards her new sensei. "I'm afraid I have to leave, however. I promised my father to watch over the house in his absence."

Giving a last rub on the dog's head and a last bow to Zetsume, Mizuki made her way back home, her head filled with the explanations and teachings of Zetsume, as well as her own bit of experience. Starting tomorrow, she'd have to add kyujutsu practice in her training routine.


[Exit]

wc 667 + 4090
= 4757

Training:

((Nah, it's okay. I'll close it here, use the wc for kyujutsu and some library jutsu I wanted. Not sure what to with the social just yet though as I should have enough socials for rank up once I get to finish those with Lin.))

The meal seemed to go well, when the two finished. As she thanked him for the meal. Giving a small nod and smile, he tried to shrug it off as not much. It was a nice change of pace to be a little more social. Something that he lacked was proper social skills other than mannerism. Even growing up, he was mostly around his clan and did not speak to many others till much later in his life. When she spoke of helping him in some way, it was an interesting feeling. He wondered what it was like to be upfront with people in their combat. It was this kind of thing that would ultimately lead him to trying out the style of Kenjutsu. If it was perhaps something he was not interested fully in, he would give up possibly due to the bias within his combat. Deciding it was time for his reply after hearing her speak, he would keep it brief, "I wish you the best of luck Raiu, Mizuki. On that proposition, how about you just teach me it when your skills have improved even further than that. Maybe by then I will try to see what it is like up close, till then take care. Repede, see her home safely."

Zetsume stood up, his height outmatching hers as she pet the dog. The two gave a bow, and went their separate ways. In his heart, he wished her to come into no harm but knew that was still a childish dream for people that choose this life. He hoped that her kind heart does not outweigh the weight of how easy mistakes can be made if showing mercy. Zetsume saw first had once already exactly how strong a grudge and hatred can affect someone. It is worse than anything he has ever seen. Repede happily followed Mizuki back to her place and made sure it was an easy walk. At least she would not be alone. Even without Zetsume telling the dog to walk her home, he would because of how he was. The dog too worried for other's well being. Both the dog and Zetsume wondered what would become of his student in Kyujutsu. All they could do now was hope for the best, and trained themselves to an even more impressive state. The two went to sleep with the same fire they have for protecting others, except it shined a bit brighter from the fire being rekindled due to this encounter.

[Exit]

WC: 418
Total: 6046

((Sorry for the delay and short post. I did not need much for the 6k.))

Training: