Verdandi was ensuring to give proper attentions to the pupils that continuously requested to meet with her. She had some time off after the war and was certainly willing to lend a had here and there. While she could understand that the Aisu Clansmen wanted an audience with the Yuki's princess. Verd had no idea what the Kaguya kid could want from her. But she seemed to have taken specific interest into becoming stronger. Connecting more so with Chigetsu and Haka than with Verd. Admittingly Dandi didn't hold it against her. But Verd was supposedly well known in bringing forth the potential of certain individuals. She did so with Chi for sure and certainly had a positive influence on Haka's training as well. To be requested for a little exploration of skills was certainly not a bad idea. However, Verd wouldn't simply do it for the laugh in it and randomly meet somewhere. She enjoyed it to be thematic. So, when she was requested to meet the child of the bone clan, Verd didn't pick without mistake the Nukenin Graveyard as a location for their meetup. Verdandi chuckled to herself. Despite it NOT being a real graveyard, she knew a few wonderful places around here. Dark ones. Nasty and scary ones. Perfectly befitting the little crazy nuts tastes. Avalanche was roaming around. Sniffing the ground. He motioned as he must have smelled a wild hare. Verd nodded, letting him go forth as the large monster indulged in his predatory instincts.

While ava was busy hunting some snacks before dinner. Verd would check on the nearby guard post. The spot where she was supposed to meet the youngling. It wasn't far off the Kiri village. A little walk of a few minutes. Still the change of biome and environment would be clearly spookier than back in Kiri. This was, after all the zone where the bloody mist gained its name from. Especially to the Yuki Clan this place had a very unique meaning. The villages of the first reported ice users in Kiri came from here. Merciless murderers indeed. A little side story for the sake of empathy between her usually more lawful oriented senses with chaotic little devil she was supposed to meet. Verd walked a bit around the guard post. Eventually sat down with one and started drinking some of their tea. Chit chatting about the suna war and what had happened recently. Asking them if any new fun stuff had happened in the graveyard field but apparently it was all nice and easy. Verd would nap a bit in one of the chairs there until the Kaguya would show up. Avalanche casually going after his own business not far away. Verd would not. Bow down politely as it was common to her and gazed at Tokko. "Well well, if it isn't the bone child." She chuckled, pretty sure she remembered her being quite… sassy last time. "I heard you have been looking for me? Any specific desires my young friend?"


510

Tokko of the Hoshigaki was an interesting flavor to say the least. It seemed each person who came across her had a different impression of her personality, which was not necessarily a bad thing for the purposes of subterfuge. The child of predation and blood would make her way to so-called Nukenin Graveyard. This place, being significantly more dark and dreary than most locations near Kirigakure, gave Tokko some idea of what the potent ice user, Verdandi, thought of her. Had she invited Tokko here to lecture of the “negative” outcomes of the blood mist?  Hopefully that was not the case. Too many throughout her time in the academy and discussions with her parents had tried to write off the power and strength of those harsh systems employed by the Hidden Mist in the past.

The simple fact that Kirigakure had employed and been home to individuals as deadly and powerful as the Seven Ninja Swordsman should have been enough to explain to someone the power violence and intense trials had upon developing a cutthroat, effective military force. Unfortunately for people like Tokko, it was not enough to outweigh the Fever dreams of love, peace, companionship and that sort of thing. From a psychiatric standpoint, Tokko was very weird. Her parents had provided all of the love and nurturing she could have needed. Her teachers within the academy had taught her exactly the same things the other kids learned. And even so, it seemed she had developed much like someone who had never been loved or cared for at all. Her mind frame was that of someone with a deep psychopathy. She had never quite found where to stand on love and compassion. Her mind only found invigoration and wonder at tales of violence and unrest as a youngster and that fed into who she was today.

She wore her blonde hair in a ponytail today, different from the usual messy buns she would sport when in a hurry. Her genin uniform fit nicely, and movement within it felt natural. The only drawback to the uniform being that it was unfortunately expensive to have it repaired constantly from repeated use of her kekkei genkai, the shikotsumyaku. Bones protruding through her body and clothing at high speeds with limited control resulted in many many tattered garb. It was only a blessing that Tokko found fashion and intense shopping adventures to be excessive and boring. She was able to replace her clothing at a relatively low cost only due to that fact.

As Tokko made her way through the wooded area, spotting rusted weaponry and long oxidized blood stains all about. It wasn’t a true graveyard. This is where deserters came to die. A fate Tokko was sure they deserved, and would never have to worry about herself. As she approached Verdandi, the woman would speak down to her, referring to Tokko as a child and proclaiming that the girl herself had requested to meet with the icey one. With the most innocent and obliviously sweet tones of voice, Tokko would say “I..I was under the impression that you had requested me, Ms. Verdandi.”

---

525

Verdandi didn't like Tokko to say the least. But she didn't have to. Not yet at least. Maybe the two of them would someday get along. For some weird reason, Verdandi's lover had taken quite the liking to her. She was probably about as insane as he was, but Chi always knew where his place was when Verdandi shook her whip and made sure that decisions of moral and calm or gentle nature would sometimes benefit the group further over than just mindlessly slaughtering the enemy. Verdandi was however, neither saint nor an angel. She would point to a little wooden log and sit herself down. She had prepared a campfire and would not use her flint to ignite it. Sitting down and wishing for her student to do the same. "Mhmm we probably got setup then. Nevertheless, I think we should set a few things clear. So, we can properly function as a team no?" Verd would stir with something into the flames a little. Letting them catch up and start to shine and burn brightly away. "I've set you under Chi's supervision cause I'm sure he fits you best. But I am still supposed to supervise all of you. Give and take if any of you… doesn't make it to Chuunin." Verd chuckled to herself. She knew Tokko was a talented one. She wouldn't be one of those who failed. But to tease the kid a little and exhale some reactions from her to figure about her personality. Surely could be quite fun.

"So how do you suggest we do this hmm?" Verdandi would speak quite calmly. She was a murderer too. At least in the eyes of many enemies of the bloody mist. She was a criminal, to those opposing her goals. A monster, to those not willing to understand the purity and clean perfection of ice and frost and how cleanly it can freeze, suffocate, crush and kill an enemy. Verdandi's visible eye, the other once again hidden beneath her forehead protector, would glimmer in a shine that Tokko could easily recognize as the same psychopathic glare she would find in her own eyes, or in Haka's, or Chi's stare. "I think we can get along quite well, as long as I know that when I command you to do something, you will do it. If I can't count on my squad to work with me. I will have trouble organizing our tactics. If I have to guess you not playing your part. I have to work around without you. That doesn't sound efficient. So, I'll allow you to exhale your concerns to my… teachings and we do this the old way." She chuckled and stood up. By now Tokko must have realized that, despite this not being a graveyard, Verdandi had lead the young Genin to a place where hundreds of dead were buried. The number of skeletons and bones in the earth was insane. "If you can defeat me, you can take my place and lead the squad, how does that sound?"


520 / 1030

Tokko didn't seem very recipient towards Verdandi's invitation. The icy princess wasn't quite sure how to approach this one. She seemed overly passive. Massive ego. Didn't show any reaction towards authority. Didn't show any connection over loyalty. A seemingly odd smile on her lips. Probably to hide her true emotions? Verd had a dozen highly trained sensors to figure out whomever was standing in front of her. But still she couldn't get smart out of this one. Their spar would be cut short. She'd behave. Act thankful for the lesson. But also walk away without sharing a single bit of empathy back to Verdandi. What should she do about that? There was nothing in particular wrong with the bone lady other than a certain… lack of interest or motivation. Verd would shake her head. She just couldn't figure her out like, at all. It was both disturbing and frustrating. But eventually Chigetsu would have more luck training her than Verd. Maybe the two of them were just a bad fit of personalities to begin with.

Verdandi casually made herself to be on her way back home. New students would be waiting for her the coming days. Some probably a bit more promising than this one. Not that they were necessarily bad to begin with. She just generally had a rather dismissive attitude over them making it to the next round and actually reaching the perils of becoming Chunin. The failure quote was too high to really bother with it for too long. Getting emotionally attached to newbies like that… it was sad to say so but that was a rather dangerous thing to do. Most of times Verd would find herself disappointed in the result. Feeling that her effort was eventually wasted on all of it. But another set of newbies was ready. Verd would probably once again feel herself attached to one if not all of them and the whole spiral of watching them fail would most likely start once again. But maybe. Just maybe. That’s the way it supposed to be? To actually get attached and feel with them. So that at least someone had empathy with their failure. But does it really comfort them to know that? That. Was the rather questionable part.

[EXIT]


180 / 1410

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