Zeref sat cross legged on a stone pillar about ten feet in height, and only wide enough to sit or stand. He wore his newly created Kōton gauntlets, resting them on his knees, his eyes closed. The hair on the back of his neck standing up from the small charge of electricity in the air, every few seconds a crack of thunder echoes through the area as a bolt of lightning struck one of several rods in the area. Despite the sound snapping through the air, Zeref stayed in his meditative state thinking back to the harsh teachings of his father.

"Listen closely boy, you have one purpose in life. To serve, to be a obedient dog of war." Noc, Zerefs father looked down at the beaten boy no older then eight. "Beyond that, you are nothing, just a tool, a weapon made to be pointed in a direction and unleashed." The boy looked at his father with hateful eyes, but only spoke two words. "Yes father."

Zerefs father trained him, taught him how to survive, kill, fight, at least up until his death partly at Zerefs hands. Since that day Zerefs only goal was to get strong enough to never be under someone else's thumb, to never be used for the purpose his father tried to turn him into. As of now Zeref was a shinobi of kumogakure, even without his father it seemed fate wanted Zeref to be a weapon, someones weapon, Zeref would only be a pawn of the higher ranks of the village for so long, for now he needed to be a pawn to be able to get stronger till the time was right.

Zeref allowed his mind to wander as he continued to meditate from his past, to his present and then to plans for his future. He had already started to plan his rise to power, it was only a matter of time until he reached his goals or died trying. Zeref would leave a body in his wake if needed, what ever suited his needs the most, he was able to mold to fit any role only time would tell what he would become.

"Damn it boy, again, this time do it as I ordered!" The words came from a harsh older man, Zerefs father Noc. Zeref a mere boy of ten, his upper body bare, dripping with blood, sweat and rain, stood up picking up a steel blade. After a moment Zeref lunged at his father aiming to pierce him through the stomach. In response Noc side stepped, bring the hilt of his own sword on the back of Zerefs skull knocking him down. Zeref laid face down in the mud, blood dripping from the back of his skull. "Pathetic, useless, and weak. You should of died instead of that woman, at least i had use of her."  The woman he spoke of was Zerefs mother, just another tool in Nocs eyes. Noc started to walk back towards the house leaving his son in the mud. Hearing him speak of his mother always pissed off Zeref. At the mention of her Zeref rose to a single knee breathing heavy, he drove the blade into the dirt and a split second later a steel spike erupted just in front of Noc slicing his cheek. "Tsk, can't even kill me while my back is turned?." Noc twisted and flung his blade at Zeref catching him in the collar piercing through his back.

Dispute the thunder and lightning all around him, Zeref remained in a perfect meditative state, his mind flashing between past, present and future. There have been rumors of conflict spreading through other villages, as well as his own, rumors of power hungry kages, and a man on a purging mission, Zeref was only loyal to his own needs. Zeref has been weighing the odds between how likely it would be that he could survive a war on  Kumogakure side. The village, from what he has seen was lacking in power, and in numbers, but did that have allies? Could they create allies? Only time would tell of what will come of the village, and were Zeref will place himself. Something was coming, Zeref could feel it, more and more shinobi were joining the village almost like the village was preparing for something.

Not only that the village has been sending himself along with one another Genin Tomohiro on missions, mission that usually only chunin would take, or when they did send genin it had a no kill order attached. With the last mission completed, both Zeref and Tomohiro had spilled blood at the villagers orders. It wasn't the first time Zeref has killed before.

A man, Noc, stood against a wall his arms crossed over his chest. The room was dimly lite, with only a single chair in the middle, tied to the chair was a beaten and bloody man his head hanging limply. Just in front of the man stood a sliver haired boy roughly the age of eleven. "Do it boy, you got the information, now end it." Zeref looked to Noc,
his father and then back to the tied up man, with out a second guess and slit the mans throat spraying blood all of himself, a wickid smile crossed Nocs face.

Zeref couldn't help but think that the village was up to something, placing the two together on missions was on thing since they were on a team, but sending the two alone of higher ranking missions was another. They never went with their other teammate, nor their senei, that is one thing that was puzzling Zeref, it was something he had to figure out, he didn't like being used. It was one thing to just tell him to do this or that, but to try and pull his strings from the shadows was a completely different matter. Zeref wouldn't allow it.

1014

There he stood on a raging battlefield. Shinobi of all backgrounds waged battle. He swung a steel sword sword that was foreign to him. His eyes saw death and carnage as friends and foe fell beside him. Screams of torment and screams of battle could be heard around him. Tomohiro clothes were black with violet samurai armor. He ran through the battlefield taking on any who would dare fight him. The fighting excited him and kept him moving forward. He swung his sword like a guillotine everyone falling in one or two swings. The Nakir stood in a clearing as he looked behind him. The army of shinobi seemed to fend off the attacking forces. The attempted to drawback as they held up a white banner.

The white banner of surrender became a refuge for the enemy forces. The shinobi behind him cheered as they rallied behind him. Tomohiro stood at the front of the army, but not alone. He stood next to his younger brother who had seemed to be much older. They met eyes as he saw his brothers eyes emitted a dull purple light with snake like slits.

“Brother should we pursue,” his brother asked.

“Cut them down!” he yelled.

---

The army of men yelled behind him. He formed a tiger seal and released a mighty flame that consumed the retreating faction. Tomohiro exhumed a large grey flame that purged the battlefield of weakness and pain. Everything went up in flames before him. As the attack ceased, everything in it’s path had been devour. No men or even husk of men remained to give testimony of the pain of being purged. The enemy flag had been dropped by the person carrying it as he retreated. One person wearing black armor appeared on the other side. The person lifted a spear emitting flames.

The individual launched the spear toward Tomohiro. Before he could react, the spear ran him through. He fell to his knees as the figure in black armor appeared in front and whispered in his ear. He looked up to see the face of a younger version of his grandmother. The voice said, “You can’t stop what’s already started.”

Tomohiro had awoken straight up from his bed as thunder shook his apartment. He rubbed his eyes as hard as he could without hurting himself. The dream he had shook his very being. The adrenaline flowed through him like a gaping dam. Deep heaves emerged from his breath as he tried to take in as much air as possible. He stood up from his bed and bent himself over his knees. The feeling would slowly start passing. It was a feeling that he needed to fight. The urge to crush anyone and anything that got in his way. He took another deep breath as his pulse steadied. The voice of his grandfather echoed in the back of his head, “You need to meditate young Hiro. The bloodlust will overtake you if you don’t meditate.”

The young Nakir stood up from his bed and put some clothes on. He checked the time and realized he had only been asleep for three hours. Once dressed, he looked outside of his bedroom window to the sky. Lightning had been shooting overhead through the clouds. Tomohiro moved on from his bedroom and went to his fridge to grab a bottle of water. The water went down smoothly as it took out the dryness of his throat. He remembered that he left his kasa in his bedroom, but figured he would just wear his hood today.

The dream greatly disturbed him. It wasn’t very often that he did dream. Most of his dreams were centered around relaxing and spending quality time with his family. This was definitely on the other side of the spectrum. He figured it was due to the recent events that had transpired. His grandfather said that strength came with sacrifice, but he hoped that he didn’t me his mind. There were always a few wild cards in the clan, but boy he didn’t want to be one of them. He did know that the few members of his clan that had became filled with bloodlust left the village to try and tame it. Not many of them came back that he knew of.

Tomohiro exited his apartment and began wandering the village to try and distract them. There were a lot of people out today. At this moment, he didn’t need to be around too many people. That was the absolute last thing he needed to be around. He needed to go where not many would travel occasionally. He would make his way to the Thunder Grounds. There were the gods sent down spears of lightning and shook the very earth beneath their feet. A place where he could clear his mind.

Once he made it to the Thunder Grounds, he noticed the outline of a person. That person seemed to up on a stone pillar. As he got closer, he noticed it was teammate, Zeref. It was the second time he had seen him outside of going on missions. He felt no need to meet up with him and didn’t really try to get to know him. The experienced genin looked up toward his teammate without saying anything at first. He was sure to interrupt him or keep pressing his way forward. Tomohiro climbed his way up a stone pillar and kind of sat there dangling his legs off of the side. His eyes closed as he tried to clear his mind some more, but opened them to nothing. A sigh emerged from his throat as he was deeply and internally troubled. Staying calm was who he was, but he wondered how to cope. A lot of people on their first kill became sick, but how many actually enjoyed it?

982

"Yes, the boy is coming along nicely, I do believe he will be one of your bests assists in the future." Zeref could hear his fathers voice from down the hall as he moved closer. "Yes, the bloodline of the clan is very strong in him, one of the strongest in a great deal of time." Zeref stopped walking, the door was cracked, he could see his father standing in front of three men, one seemed important, the other two like body guards. "He has a bit of a, backbone to him still, but that will be fixed when the seal is placed." Zeref tried to see who it was with his father, the floor creaked alerting the group in the room he was spying. A moment later Zerefs father swung open the door with a frown, then everything went black, the last thing he saw was a sheath of a sword to the right.

The memory was odd, he always wondered who his father was speaking to, who were they talking about. Zeref assumed it was him, but he never got a hard answer to that. If it was about him, in what way was he supposed to be of use to someone? His father always stated he was nothing but a weapon, but Zeref always assumed it was a weapon for his father. What was the seal that they spoke of as well, Zeref never remembered his father being to skilled in the art of sealing, so many questions, and not enough answers. Questions of his past, and questions about the current status of the village. Zeref needed answers to many things, and it was about time he started to get to the bottom of one or two of them.

Zeref opened his eyes slowly, he heard footsteps while he was meditating, it was odd more people found themselves here. Looking around he caught the figure climbing up a pillar, with a flash of lighting he was able to make out who it was, Tomohiro, his teammate. At least it wasn't a lot girl, or someone to bothersome. The air Tomohiro gave off was one of being trouble, they had just came back from their mission not to long ago, where they had to kill some bandits, perhaps he was having the same questioning thoughts as Zeref. Zeref stood up taking a step off of his pillar, landing with a light thud on the ground below. He made his way over to Tomohiro and the pillar he was now sitting on. "Something troubling you Tomohiro? You seemed conflicted." Zeref wasn't one for feelings or caring, but if someone he was always paired with was having mental issues, it could become an issue for Zeref. The more unhealthy someone is, mentally or physically, the harder a mission would be, and more at risk it could put Zeref if the mission was a difficult one.

487/1501

Elin had been hoping to use the thunder grounds for his extensive training, he had to get back into shape and all he could see was this idiot taking up his space. He took a deep breathe and exercised patience as he did a few warm up stretches, he first stretched his arms and then his neck, then a bit on his ankles and then his calves. He wondered if people enjoyed wasting time thinking instead of doing things, what was this world coming to. They already went through two different Kage since the last chuunin exams with Sano being the butt of every joke and Lin being so formal and just vanishing like some girl ditching her position to go on a shopping spree. He had met with her before she left and did not even get what he wanted, he was really annoyed as he still had to meet with the new Kage known as Hastur Miyamoto. He did not care about his title on winning the exams or on this stupid war, he was tired of this as he decided he needed to train so he could one day become the new Kage of the village.

"hey!! you in my spot!" as he was in a really foul mood today as he approached the two who may have been genin or perhaps they were jounin, not like it mattered if they knew what was good for them they would listen to him as he approached. He was fully armed with a rather large number of weapons and his trusty back pack. He had a kusarigami, two swords re-adjusted in their sheathes. He had a bow nicely over his shoulder and several many kunai all equipped as he looked like a mini walking armory, he wanted to perfect his white edge style and these two were in his way right now.

317 words

Something was troubling him. He was quite sure how to put it in words at first. He sighed as he decided to start where it would make some sense at least. There had been quite a few things troubling him, but he decided to go with the biggest and most current one. His bloodlust. Tomohiro looked up to the sky before he started his little spill of his problems. There was some hesitation before he started. Telling his problems to a teammate wasn’t what he was about. It was slightly out of character for him. His problems were usually kept to himself. Keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself was probably part of the problem, but he would continue anyway.

“It’s the last mission we completed. You seem to handle it well. The death of others that is. It was the first time I took human lives. Unlike many others, it took a slight toll on me. I love it. The feeling of live leaving the body and finding darkness…” he started before a voice below him cut him off.

Tomohiro cut his eyes downward to take view who disturbed him and his squadmates conversation. It looked like a kid, but he wouldn’t pay him any mind. He turned his he head back to Zeref and would continue.

“The sight of blood is exciting. The way it moves when exiting the body. I need to control it. I know there’s a time and place for everything. I seem to not be able to focus enough outside of combat. I’m calm, but thirsty for combat at the same time.”

This had been one of the first times that Tomohiro had told of his true feelings. He felt that his feelings and emotions showed weakness. His mother had taught him to remove his emotions out of fighting, but over the years he found that fighting with his emotions made sense. His brother tried to teach him from that perspective as well, but the seeds of knowledge got blown away like sand in a storm. Tomohiro knew that if he continued on, he would probably be locked up and only released when something needed to die.

The idea of being a dog of war didn’t sit well with him. No man was to totally rule who he was or so he thought. He would be a guardian or protector. Even a ravage beast would attack its master. He didn't want to attack the people who brought him up this far unless there truly was a need for it. That’s probably a hint of what his dream meant, but he couldn’t totally grasp the meaning of the dream. It was probably not a question for Zeref. He would hold back his uncertainty of his dream for another. Though, for now he would hope to find some kind of resolve talking with his teammate.

488/1470

Zeref listened closely to Tomohiro, and about how it was indeed his first time ever taking a life from another. Zeref has killed before, and even his first time didn't effect him since by then he was already a bit numb from such feelings, but not in the sense that he enjoyed it, to him it was just something that had to be done like breathing. Zeref wes about to answer when another voice yelled out, something about them being in his spot. Zeref turned and looked at what looked like a young bot, maybe around the age of ten or so. Zeref did't really care for words coming from that of a child, though with the hostile nature of the boys voice, and looks, he wasn't one to spare him if he tried anything stupid. Zeref turned back Tomohiro disregarding the boy. "Truth be told, it's just something I try not to think about. The mission called for the men to be put down, so I followed. It didn't excite me, or really effect me either way. I got the same feeling as I did when doing any other mission, all that matters is getting it done, with in reason."

Zeref would do as he was ordered for now, it served him to follow the leaders of the village, but once it became a him or them, or put his best interests on the line he would fight back. "I wish I could say, or do something to help, but it's really something you need to figure out on your own. No one else can tell you how to feel when it comes to death or killing. You just gotta make sure it's not something that can control you and your action.

300/1801

Tomohiro listened to the words of his teammate. There had been truth to what he had been told. He definitely would need to figure it out on his own. No one could truly walk him through how to deal with it. Some people it took years, while others days. He wasn’t sure which one it would be. The way he fought was alright overzealous. Once he entered a fight, there wasn’t much stopping him. It was part the reason why he didn’t spar with his younger siblings. The instinct within him to keep fighting was almost unquenchable.

There wasn’t much for him to do at the moment, but accept that this was now a part of him. Everyone had to experience death, but not all could deliver it. He figured that if he was going to be a reaper, he might as well be one for his village. With everything going on the world, he wasn’t sure what he should do. There was no reason for him to leave the village. That would just put an unwanted target on his back. Now was the perfect time to focus on himself and finding control. He knew that his kenjutsu required focus. Maintaining a balance in chakra was also key. Irregularities would not cut it.

“Thanks, Zeref. You’re right. This is something I have to figure out on my own. I think the only way for me to figure it out will be to keep fighting and control my urges that way.”

Tomohiro looked back toward the sky as white and sometimes purple lightning streaked across it. As he paid attention, it seemed to smooth him. This was probably the reason Zeref chose to be here. He could even hear the rain in the distance. The sounds of nature had their own way finding harmony with one another. He took a deep breath as he continued to attempt to seek inner peace within himself. Tomohiro closed his eyes again and took in the sounds that he heard. Peace had been found in it to a degree. The sounds of chaos and the quiet sounds of rain hitting the earth seemed to purge him of his insecurities. This must be what his grandfather had meant years ago. Though, he knew that complete peace was a lie.

The young Nakir opened his eyes and looked down on the kid. He stood up on the pillar and hopped down to the earth. The rusted katana at his side had been gripped hard as he stood in front of the intruder. Tomohiro pushed the blade up with his thumb only revealing a portion of it. Then, he let the blade fall back into its bamboo sheath. He waved his hand in the air as he walked away. The desire to attack the shinobi had fled. It was probably for the best. Taking a life today would have been exciting, but he needed some control. Though he questioned leaving. He wasn’t sure if his comrade would attack or not. There was a slight hope that Zeref’s self control outweighed his at the moment. A deep sighed passed through his lips as he started making his way to the Nakir compound to train.

[Thread Exit]
543/2013

2000/2000 [Towards B-Rank->A-Rank Ninjutsu Spec Training]

13 words unused

Zeref watched Tomohiro reflect at his words, tilting his head upwards to watch the crack of thunder as lightning raced across the sky. Either Tomohiro would beat the beast that was growing inside of him, or it would take control of him and Zeref would put him down if it caused a problem, either way it wouldn't effect Zerefs plan in the long run. He would simply find someone else to help him with his goals, nothing more nothing less. Zeref nodded to his Tomohiros words he spoke, "Glad my words could help even a little. Sensei may have more insight on the matter, but that's up to you if you want to bring him into the matter. He seems to know a lot so I'm sure he will notice one way or another. I'm sure you can figure it out yourself, if not I'll be there to stop you if you get out of hand"

As Tomohiro stood up, zeref made sure to take a few steps back from the pillar his his teammate was on, a few seconds later his teammate stepped off and fell to the ground. The moment Tomohiro landed his eyes went to the arrogant child his body turned to face the boy, his hand gripping his sheath as his thumb pushed out the blade slightly. Zeref, not caring one way or another turned towards the boy as well, his arms crossed over his chest. Zeref wasn't one to attack for no reason, but if his teammate wanted to silence an annoying bug he would follow, after all Tomohiro was a tool at Zerefs disposal, and they worked well together during mission so there was no reason to let him get killed, not when there was still use for him. A slight click was heard behind Zeref, he knew that sound well, Tomohiro had let his blade fall back into it's resting position, Tomohiro wouldn't attempt at another life today. Zeref put his hands behind his head watching his teammate leave the thunder grounds without saying another word.

Dropping his hands Zeref turned towards the loud mouth boy who was shouting earlier. "You would be wise to watch who you puff your chest at kid, you could end up crossing someone who isn't scared to separate head from neck." Zeref kept his tone friendly and light, which made his words seem less threatening or maybe more since he is able to say such things without a change in tone or pitch. Just as Tomohiro must of realized, the loud boy wasn't worth much attention despite his loudness, dog would bark and yip after all, it was their nature. The ones you had to be more careful were the ones who had complete control, emotion, thoughts, and words. The yapping boy wasn't even worth more then a passing glance, shockingly Zeref didn't even want to use him as a tool or stepping stone to reach his own goals. No the boy would be more of a hindrance then an asset. Zeref turned his back to the boy, feeling no threat from him, he started to head towards the path that lead back to the village. "Place is all yours kid, don't get hurt, or stay late I'm sure your parents would get worried. Zeref put his hand in the air slightly giving the pup a wave goodbye as he left the area. It was getting a bit late, and Zeref had a few missions to turn in, as well as pick up one or two more to do. 

606/2407
Thread exit/thread end
Using 2000 for elemental training.
Doton from C to B rank

This was really annoying for him, not only did they ignore him they were just leaving him alone and running away to their moms. What happened to the days when Kumogakure had real men as shinobi, now it was just a bunch of snot nosed kids who play pretend as he did not get it at all. Speaking of separating head from neck, what had they been teaching these beginners in the academy lately, and they wondered why they were in such dire states. If only Sanosuke had focused on his duties to the village instead of chasing after women all around the world, especially his obsession with one woman who stood out as he sighed deep down in his mind. As time would pass he soon stretched for a bit as he would watch to see just how much talk they both were as he took out his kusarigama's scythe edge holding it by the handle as he wondered if he could still use his white edge style to perfection to maybe teach these kids a lesson.

"You guys are really disrespectful for a bunch of genin wannabe's"


317 + 191 = 508 words

Elin did not understand why they were wasting time here as they both ran away, whether they left because they had to or because they knew he was going to teach them a lesson they would never forget was unclear. What Elin knew then was that they were both weak and would need to learn a lot before ever thinking of becoming higher ranking shinobi as they needed to train their minds better as he began his strength training.


Close Thread

508 + 79 = 587 words

575 words used to train Strength C - C1