The time of day was still extremely early morning, the forest and sky appearing to look as dark as night. Stars were still in the sky, along with the moon, as footsteps crunched on the unkempt grass. Walking through the pitch black forest, the ronin inhaled and exhaled, making his way to his usual spot in the forest. As Aethir came to a clearing, standing near a cliff, he watched as the dark blue sky slowly grew brighter on the horizon. He smiled as the sun was coming up, the ronin inhaling and exhaling deeply multiple times. He did this for a few times before the sun beamed on him, the man stopping as his blue eyes nearly looked purple from the golden rays... "Alright... Stretches." he nodded. But before he did stretches, he took off his brown jacket along with his red shirt, throwing them to the ground while inhaling and exhaling as he was getting comfortable. As he inhaled, he extended both arms forward slowly, feeling the tissues and veins move suddenly as he did this, his skin and muscles being stretched slowly and gently.  He then turned his arms over, retracting them back to his side, exhaling slowly. Aethir then tensed up one shoulder, moving it in a circular motion, slowly working to moving his elbow along, and soon his whole arm in the same direction. He did the same for his other arm, breathing and exhaling as he did this. He then went back to the first arm he did this to, but this time going in reverse. He then went reverse for his other arm, the man tossing his head to the left and right as he yawned. He soon rose his right leg slowly, bending it as he balanced himself on one leg ... He then did the same for his other leg, waiting approximately thirty seconds.

As he stretched, he started to think to himself. 'It's only at this time that no one is here to speak to me.' he lowered his leg as he stared at the sun rising before him, 'Not that I don't mind... I really don't... It's just that I prefer to stay to myself when exercising.' he told himself as he slowly bent over to touch his toes, his lower spine cracking and popping. 'I'd have to focus on what they're saying to not look like an idiot. Then I'd have to stop to respond to them...or else I might trip on words...' he went on with his listing as he bent his body backwards, more bones crackling as he did this. 'Yes...Training by yourself is the best way to gain results. But training with others is the best way to gain friendship. That is what I believe.' he nodded, finishing off his stretches with a few twists and turns. 'Pink hair...' he started to think as the sky began to brighten, showing a mix of dark blue, pink, purple, and orange. 'I haven't met anyone with pink hair I don't think...' he sighed, staring at the pinkish purple part of the sky. He didn't do it on purpose, but he started to think of all the people he's met on his two year journey so far. 'Nice people....all of them...' he nodded before staring at the yellowing part of the sky. 'Except that ANBU woman... She could of said 'please move' or something... No need to disable my arms...' he sighed with a smile, mentally forgiving the woman even though she didn't do anything wrong.

As he stood, his clothes resting on the ground, Aethir eyed the rising sun with a dull expression on his face. "Maybe I'll ignore everything. Live how I'd like... Ignore these 'answers' waiting for me... Maybe...I'll live in ignorant bliss..." Aethir spoke to himself before closing his eyes, pondering. "But I can't do that. It'll eat at me. Like a bad itch waiting to be scratched..." Almost agreeing with him, the wind blew past him as the sun rays continued to grace itself upon his skin. 'What's out there...?' he went back to mentally thinking, 'What's waiting in Iwagakure?' He continued to remain silent, closing his eyes as he inhaled and then exhaled. 'Damn it...' Aethir sighed, before shaking his head, looking down towards the edge of the cliff, eyeing the far away ground below, 'I can't relax... My body is stressed. If I train like this, I'll run out of energy quickly... I wonder...' He continued to inhale and exhale, trying to calm himself down both physically and mentally. 'I wonder if people who are about to die...feel it coming. If they feel death coming...Hmm...'

Word Count: 800

Toshiko woke up early in the morning in his rather large apartment. He looked around his room, and smiled at what he saw. A picture of him, and his mom upon his dresser. he felt a bit of joy that morning, a pleasant change. Toshiko wasn't just gonna sit there though. He made a promise to himself, his mom, and mostly everyone that he had already met. He was going to become hokage, and for once in his life he was going to make people believe in him. Sitting on his ass wasn't gonna help. He needed to train harder than he ever had in his time as a ninja. Then, Toshiko remembered Aethir. Since that day that they trained in the forest, Toshiko's skills had increased insanely. He was stronger, faster, and he could see and feel things better. At first, he'd need to be looking in the direction of his opponent to counter them, but now he could literally just feel it. Kind of like seeing through his feet and ears. It was strange, but it was one of the skills required to be a great ninja, and definitely required to become hokage. Toshiko got up from his bed, and took a shower. After doing so, he put on his ninja gear, and left his place. He wasn't going to the training grounds, nor the forest. It was time for something different. He was going to venture on to the very outskirts of the village, but with no intents of leaving. Toshiko jogged to the front gates, and jumped up to the top of them. He jumped down the wall, landing on both feet. It stung a bit, but nothing too serious. Toshiko ran towards the forest, and ran all the way to the other side of it. He had never ventured that far out. It felt scary, but exciting. Toshiko loved Konoha, but he had to explore every single inch of the world in front of him before he died. Toshiko left the forest, and eventually came up to a cliff. He could see someone, standing upon the cliff and staring out towards it. There was a waterfall right by it, and then rapid waters at the bottom of the cliff. As Toshiko got closer, he could make out the person to be none other than Aethir. Toshiko smiled once he saw him, and called out to him. "Hey Strawberry Sensei!"

Word Count: 412

Aethir's eyes were once again closed, running over his previous thoughts once again. 'And as for my...students... Hell, I can't believe I'm a teach...' Aethir sighed, inhaling...and exhaling once again. He felt his body relax, about to reach it's neutral status before hearing one of his students. The stress came back within his body, Aethir slowly opening his eyes. 'Maybe that's the cause...' he stared, the sun shining into in blue eyes, a look of annoyance on his face. As he turned to face Toshiko, he still had a slightly agitated look on his face, slowly blinking hard and smiling as he usually would, eyes opening again. His eyes and smile seemed...forced into a happy mood. He had secretly hoped he'd have this time of day to himself, alone in the forest. "Hello." he stated, eyeing the boy. "And what brings you here? Hmm?" his voice sounded...stressed, a bit cold and robotic. As if he focused on pronouncing every word to the letter, the ronin still eyeing the boy. The sun was now beaming on his back, outlining his body in a orange-golden light as his blue eyes stood out from his darkened frontal side, the strained smile still on his face, awaiting the boy's answer.

Word Count: 1018

Takumi had been in konoha for a little over a day now and was beginning to get restless, He had visited most of the tourist attractions already and decided to go out and train a little in the Forrest just out of konoha. He walked around his hotel room to gather the things he would need for the day. He yawned as he stripped off the clothing that he had worn to bed the previous night and searched his bags for some clean clothing. Sadly most of his clothes were dirty so he had to settle for a dark brown T-Shirt with the iwagakure village symbol on the chest and a pair of worn Blue jeans. He was after all on vacation so he did not feel the need to wear his iwa headband or Jounin Jacket. As he stepped out of the room he grabbed his swords and positioned then at his side.

He had not met many people yet so he did not have anybody to train with yet, but he was hoping to change that soon. He walked through the village admiring how active it was compared to his home village. He felt comfortable here, though he was unsure why. It might have had to do with the fact that his ancestor created this village so he felt a deep rooted connection with it. As he walked through the town he stopped at a vendor to get a snack, he had a bit of a sweet tooth and began to peruse the selection. After what seemed like hours he settled on a strawberry lollipop and began to walk again.

Finally after a long time of walking Takumi found an area that seemed to be devoid of life, thinking nobody was around he began his warm ups. Though he did not look it right now he was the Captain of Iwagakures ANBU Black Ops, so when he heard another person approaching he quickly hid in a tree and watched as a young male walked through the area he was just in. He seemed to be talking to himself for some reason but since it was none of his business he left him alone. Not long after the first man arrived another man showed up "Hey Strawberry Sensei!." Wait what had he just called him? Strawberry Sensei, who the hell names there kid strawberry. And as if struck by lightning he remembered the lollipop in his pocket and took it out, removing the wrapper he stuck it in his mouth and began to suck on it. He would not disturb them yet but he was not leaving either. "This Should be interesting"

WC: 444

Aethir slowly turned around, and seemed to be a bit agitated and annoyed. Was it Toshiko's fault? Toshiko didn't mean to bother him, he just wanted to say hi. After a bit, Aethir seemingly forced a happy face onto himself, and Toshiko could tell but still played along. Aethir greeted him, and then asked him what brought him there. He didn't sound as calm and chill as he usually did. More or so stressed, and out of line. That was strange. What was up with him? Toshiko then felt something strange. A tingling sensation that gave him goosebumps. As if someone was watching him. He turned around, scoping the area. He saw nothing, dismissed the thought, and turned back to Aethir. "Oh i just came out here to train. Not only that, but i got kinda tired of seeing Konoha. I wanted to see something different for a change. The forest and the training grounds have gotten boring. I want to go out and see all the other villages and the rest of the world hopefully. By the way, thanks a lot for that training session. I've gotten a lot stronger since then." After speaking, Toshiko would walk up next to Aethir, and sat down upon the edge of the cliff. He sighed, staring over and basking in the beauty of the scene in front of him. Toshiko looked back to Aethir for a moment, and smiled. Toshiko wanted to feel at peace for just a few moments. He breathed in deeply, and then exhaled. Things for once, were going okay. He was happy.

Word Count: 271

Aethir didn't move as he heard his student speak, hearing the sound of a wrapper far off as he eyed the boy, showing now signs of detecting anything. 'And then there's my brother...' he continued to smile, the boy walking past him to take in the scenery. Aethir...didn't turn to look at him, still eyeing the spot where he was intensely. 'I wonder if that's him.' As he finally began to process what Toshiko heard, Aethir ...still smiled, eyeing the spot where the student stood... "A lot strong? Really now...?" Aethir spoke, slowly turning, his blue eyes shimmering as the sunlight shined in them. Aethir eyed the smiling boy with his own strained smile, staring at him before nodding. "Your...Hokage will get upset if you go off and explore this far alone, especially at this time I'm sure." Aethir's smile slowly faded into a frown, his eyes remaining as they were. "You've gotten stronger since our first encounter, I'm sure." he eyed his student with a serious face.

'Teaching...'  "Well then, I'd like to see the fruits of your  training..."  'If it's the source of my stress. This uneasiness...Then maybe I should...' Aethir grinned almost wickedly, eyeing Toshiko.  'No...Hold on...I just got done lecturing this guy about killing and murdering...I'd be murdering him if I killed him now...' He then slowly put a hand to his head, a perplexed look on his face. 'Actually...Why the hell would I even dream of...' Aethir slowly chuckled, shaking his head. He wasn't sure why...or how he came to thinking that killing his poor student would make him feel better. "Yes. Let's see how you do, Toshiko." Aethir nodded, straightening his posture to stand tall, eyeing his student near the ledge, his facial expression returning to a more friendly and calm manner. "If you've gotten stronger... then this idea of mine should work. That is should!" Aethir hinted, smiling to his student, the usual smile on his face. 'That old man's getting to you...And your brother too... Don't forget what you stand for. Clear the mind...and focus.' he mentally coached himself, nodding to Toshiko as he suddenly broke into a sprint towards him. He would either grip the boy by the shirt collar, pulling him off the ledge as he jumped off it, or just jumped by himself, either way causing him to land on the river below, the Naka river, which flowed below and through Konoha's forest.

Word Count:1448

Aethir started to speak, saying that the hokage would get mad if he was venturing off alone this far at that time. Toshiko knew that, but simply dismissed it. "You've gotten stronger since our first encounter, I'm sure." Toshiko remembered during their very first fight, he had been pounded to a pulp. He was going to make sure that wasn't going to happen to him again. Not by aethir, and not by anyone. If a problem ever came his way, he'd be ready for it. Aethir then said that he wanted to see the fruits of Toshiko's training? Toshiko stared at him with a confused look upon his face. "What do you mean Strawberry Sensei? You want to spar again?" "If you've gotten stronger... then this idea of mine should work. That is should!" Toshiko didn't really have that much time to react. Aethir came running towards him full speed, and grabbed Toshiko by his shirt collar as he jumped off of the cliff into the waters below. Toshiko's face literally was flying back almost allowing his eyes and jaw to pop out as he fell down the mountain at great speed and force. Toshiko collided with the water, escaping from Aethir's grasp. The rapid current from the water was pulling him towards the waterfall at great speeds. Toshiko had his way out of this. Quickly He forced chakra into his feet underneath the water, and jumped up, landing on it and standing firmly using his chakra as some sort of gravity oblivious shoes. Toshiko was wet everywhere now, and he stared angrily at Aethir. "STRAWBERRY SENSEI WHAT THE HELL?!?! WE COULD HAVE DIED WHAT"S WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!"

Word Count: 294

Aethir landed, focusing his chakra into his feet. "This is perfect..." Aethir nodded, totally ignoring his student's cries as a very LARGE oval shadow passed beneath them. "Very good...It's here." Aethir grinned as the rushing water caused him to force his concentration to adjust to the swerving, rushing water. The ronin eyed the oval shadow in the water before it darted back over to him, a large red fish with golden scales rising to attempt to eat it's dinner. Aethir easily jumped out of the way as the teeth of the fish appeared to be lacking any ronin flesh, the fish staying above water for a good second before it's eyes stared at Toshiko. "Uh oh..." Aethir blinked as the fish dove again, the oval rushing pass beneath the boy, going down stream...before darting quickly back to the young genin. "Watch it, Toshiko~!" Aethir smiled. Of course if Toshiko failed to either dodge or defend himself, Aethir would save the boy from being grinded up into bloody chum. 'Even a baby Grand Coy is fearsome...If you're bitten or scraped by it's fins, it'll numb you body after a while...Maybe this wasn't a good idea...Nah, it was~' Aethir smiled, watching for the fish just in case Toshiko wasn't.

Word Count: 1669

Aethir seemed to ignore the cries coming out from Toshiko as he pondered to himself. Toshiko wasn't going to go for that. "HEY I KNOW YOU HEAR ME TALKING TO YOU ANSWER ME!!!" Just as Toshiko spoke, a large fish jumped out of the water attempting to swallow up Aethir. The fish stayed above water, turning it's sight unto Toshiko. Toshiko gulped loudly. The fish then came his way moving around him, and then swam directly towards him. It jumped out of the water, opening it's large mouth and attempting to turn Toshiko into it's next meal. Toshiko barely made it out of the way, jumping to his side as the beast was about to clomp down onto him. The large fish dove back into the water, giving Toshiko a moment to think of what to do next. Damn. A fish? What is it with strawberry sensei and these animals? The fish turned around, and lifted it's large head above the water. Toshiko had a idea, but there was only a slight chance that it would work. He ran across the water, and moved to the very edges of the lake they were on only inches away from the waterfall. Toshiko allowed the fish to get closer to him, and as it did he backed up until the very soles of his feet were hanging off the cliff. The fish was only inches away from him now. The fish jumped out of the water, opening it's mouth wide in a attempt to swallow Toshiko whole. Toshiko smiled, and allowed himself to fall backwards. His feet connected with the start of the waterfall standing sideways upon it. The fish completely missed him, falling off the cliff into the waterfall below Toshiko. Toshiko looked down at it as it fell and he stuck his tongue out. Toshiko then walked back up the waterfall, going back up to the lake on the level that he originally started on. He stared at Aethir with a smug look upon his face. "Alright then Strawberry Sensei. You think you can give me a actual challenge this time?" Toshiko might have spoken just a bit too soon. He turned around and moved back over to the edge leading towards the waterfall. The large fish wasn't done yet. It was fighting the current of the water, and literally forcing it's way back up through the waterfall. Toshiko ran back to the middle of the lake, and the fish made it's way back up to the lake as well. Toshiko was in complete shock. What?...... What am i gonna do? I need to think of something fast. I have to stop this thing, but i can't kill it. I just need to do something that will stop it. I can't knock it out or it's dead, and i can't take it out the water or it dies then too. I've only got one more thing, but it might hurt Strawberry Sensei..... Toshiko had to plan this out, and do it correctly. He had to commence his plan without harming himself or Aethir. He'd have to warn him at the last moment. He had it. The fish started going towards him just as Toshiko expected that he would. Toshiko smirked, and then jumped up into the air just as the fish was about to jump out. The fish followed, and Toshiko focused chakra into his palm in mid air. The chakra converted into a single bolt of lightning surging through his palm. The fish was right next to Toshiko at this time, and he was ready. Toshiko did a flip in the air, and landed a drop kick on the fishes head. The fish was sent flying back down, and landed in the water at the very bottom of the lake. At this time, Toshiko was plummeting back towards the earth with his hand and the lightning bolt held out directly towards the spot where the fish had landed. "Get off the water strawberry sensei!!!" Toshiko shot the beam of lightning out of his palm at full speed, and it landed on the water sending a slight shock wave through anyone or anything in it. The fish took it all the way on, and quickly got scared. It rapidly swam away from the immediate area. Toshiko had fended it off, and smiled. His plan had worked. He looked back towards Aethir, and gave him a nonchalant smile. "Well then strawberry sensei, what else do you have for me?"

Word Count: 785

END D-1 -> D-2 (400/400)

Spoiler:

Aethir smiled as he watched his student work, dodging and countering the fish and what not. 'Well at least he's gotten stronger since the centipede... He still can't lay a hit on me~...' Aethir stroked his ego for a bit then gasped as he saw Toshiko go down the waterfall. 'The fool...!!' Aethir gulped, not anticipating that the student would head down the waterfall into the Grand Coy's breeding ground. "Looks like I found lunch..." he commented, looking at the many small dots quickly hiding as he leaped off the waterfall. Toshiko commented about getting off the water as he shot lightning at the fish, Aethir eyeing the fish falling. As Aethir landed near his student, he heard him speak, able to tell that he was smiling from the way he spoke. "Training's over." he simply stated, sounding serious and firm. Just then, multiple ovals appeared underneath them as they stood above the nest, the ovals rushing past and around the two ninjas... "Stand where you are, completely still..." he spoke, forming a hand seal before creating clones of himself.

Aethir stood where he was, the clones standing near him, their eyes darting around. "Further apart." Aethir said, the clones inching away, forming a triangle around Toshiko. Then, together at the same time, the three Aethirs formed hand signs to create the lightening javelins he and Toshiko seemed to be so fond of. As they stood with three bolts around them each, Aethir waited, one of the giant fish leaping up to attempt to devour his clone. The clone quickly fired a javelin bolt at the fish, the fish immediately repelled back and floating on the surface of the water, unconscious. Then then distracted clone was saved by another close who had fired at another fish rising next to his legs. Aethir turned his head to the left, hearing the sudden splash of the water as he saw another baby grand coy rise to try and devour him, retorting with his own lightning javelin. The three Aethirs now had two bolts each, one clone soon running out as he had to protect himself from two fishes rising at both him and the prime Aethir. "Thanks..." Aethir nodded to his clone as the clone now entered his taijutsu stance, kicking and punching the fishes that dared to rise. 'That's right... The paralysis scales does nothing to clones made of raiton chakra...' Aethir nodded, firing a bolt at a fish while his other clone fired two other bolts at two more rising. Aethir fired his final bolt at one more fish, the area around him and Toshiko littered with unconscious baby Grand Coys, eleven to be exactly, two being knocked out from the clone's taijutsu attacks. Aethir and his clones waited, looking down into the water, trying to be sure if that was all the coys...

He formed another hand seal to create a water clone, Aethir telling it to dive down to look. And as it did, he waited...eventually being greeted with a large fish, a fully grown grand coy, it's red eye searching around the are as it rose with a bleeding clone in it's mouth. "FIRE!" Aethir pointed his finger at the adult grand coy, the raiton clones doing as they were told, firing all their shock bullets, forty-five bullets in total, at the beast's side. The adult grand coy eventually flopped on it's side floating from the barrage of shock bullets as the water clone Aethir dissolved into liquid, pain present on it's face. After all was said and done, Aethir prepared to dispersed his raiton clones, regaining their left over chakras... "Well that was...something..." Aethir smiled to Toshiko as his clones eyed him with a smile. The clones could feel their chakra shifting a bit as Aethir continued to focus, trying to gain their left over chakras as he planned... "Yes...I think that will do for exercise...Are you okay?" Aethir asked, maintaining absolute focus.

Word Count: 2342

Jutsu used:

Surprisingly, Toshiko had faced the challenge and beat it rather quickly. Last time, it took literally all of his strength and dedication to beat the snail and the centipede, whereas he was completely capable of defeating the fish without breaking a sweat. He smiled when he thought of it. It wasn't just luck or a chance, it meant that he was getting stronger. His skills were increasing at a rapid rate, and that was more than well for him. He needed to face his father, and then become hokage. If he kept growing at this rate, he'd be able to do it in no time. He felt proud of himself, but he couldn't let that go to his head. Not just yet. Aethir made his way towards Toshiko, and answered his question firmly lacking any signs of emotion. "Training's over." Training is over? Already? Hm.....What is he trying to pull? I can't tell. Is he lying so i don't expect what happens next, or has he legitimately not come up with anything else for me to do? I don't know. I know Strawberry sensei. He wouldn't just let me off easy like that......I'll see how this plays out.

Toshiko shrugged, and was just about to move off of the water and head back up the cliff. Just as he did, shadowy figures from underneath the water started to circulate around Toshiko and Aethir. "Stand where you are, completely still..." Toshiko didn't rebuttal, and simply complied standing completely still as his teacher formed a hand seal. Two clones of himself appeared, one upon each side of him. Toshiko stared in complete awe of the technique. Is that....Shadow Clone Jutsu? I've read of it, but i have never seen it up close before. It's like the doppelganger technique that i learned in the academy, but these things are actual physical manifestations. I think i'll have to learn this technique on my own sometime soon. Toshiko analyzed the clones, that literally took on every atom, every single part of the original Aethir and did it correctly. The now three Aethirs started forming chakra, and eventually turned into the technique that Toshiko knew well. It was the same technique that saved his ass more than once. It was the lightning javelin. Toshiko smiled as all three of them started to form it, and then watched as they threw them at the fish in the water. Toshiko jumped up into the air upon the lightning striking the water, and landed feet first upon the side of the cliff.

The fish came up above the water, unconscious. It saddened Toshiko to see the fish like that, but he shrugged it off. Toshiko then watched the fight play out before him, seeing Aethir and his clones fight off another fish and then a substantially larger one that appeared to be the adult. Aethir defeated them all. Toshiko smiled, and jumped back towards the water landing on it. Aethir and his clones turned and smiled at Toshiko, and spoke. Well that was...something..." "Yes...I think that will do for exercise...Are you okay?" Toshiko chuckled and smiled. "It sure will Strawberry Sensei. You're still the best. But i might just have to take that title away from you eventually!" Toshiko smiled and stuck his tongue out at Aethir. Just as it seemed that everything was over, there was a loud rumble that shook the very water underneath Toshiko's feet. Toshiko turned around, but saw nothing. "......What the hell is that?" the large rumble was heard once again, this time a bit closer. Toshiko looked towards the waterfall, and then saw it. There was a large sea serpent, coming up the waterfall and heading towards the lake. "You seeing this Strawberry Sensei?!" Toshiko was a bit shocked at first, but then he smiled, and turned back to Aethir. "Maybe this thing will be some fun! I'm gonna get my real workout in right now!" Toshiko nodded to his teacher, and then ran across the water towards the sea serpent that was now completely on the ground level of Toshiko.

Once it saw him, it gave off a insanely loud screech that shook the very area alone. It had made it abundantly clear that it was strong, and it wasn't something to be messed with. That's why Toshiko wanted to take it on. So he could show everyone else that he wasn't someone to be messed with either. Toshiko smiled at it, and then yelled out to it. "Okay! I'm gonna come at you with all that i got!!!" Toshiko jumped up high into the air, and caused himself to diagonally fall towards the sea serpent as he spun in the air. Toshiko came up with his leg, and kicked the sea serpent in the face. The sea serpent was sent aback, tumbling off of the current level and falling down the waterfall. It didn't stop there. It caught itself after falling down into the sea, and screeched up towards Toshiko as if it were taunting him and gesturing for him to come down. Toshiko didn't wait to comply. He ran off of the lake, and jumped down towards the sea. As he was in the air, the sea serpent started spitting out large waves of water towards Toshiko. Toshiko was hit by all of them, and went flying back towards the waterfall, crashing and hitting his head on a rock and plummeting down into the depths of the ocean.

The hit upon his head had left Toshiko completely incapacitated, leaving him incapable of defending himself for a few moments. .........Wha.......? Slowly, Toshiko realized that he was sinking down, reaching the bottom of the ocean. The sea serpent dove under water, and then rushed towards Toshiko. Toshiko couldn't do anything at all to defend himself. The sea serpent opened up it's mouth, and then bit down on Toshiko catching his chest and arms in it's teeth. Toshiko didn't feel any severe pain, just complete numbness. As if the beast's teeth were coated with a large amount of nova cane. The sea serpent then came back up air level with Toshiko still in it's mouth, and Toshiko began to gasp for air. He had lost all movement and control of his upper and lower torso. The sea serpent then threw it's head back, and hurdled Toshiko from it's mouth back towards the waterfall. Toshiko went flying, thinking that he didn't have much of a chance.

No.....I'm not gonna lose to this thing.....No!!!!! Toshiko willed himself out of the paralysis, landing on the rock underneath the water upon the water fall. He used it as a platform boost, and jumped back towards the sea serpent keeping the same amount of momentum. The sea serpent fired another wave of water towards him, and Toshiko moved to the side as he formed the tiger hand seal. He inhaled, filling his mouth and throat with chakra. Toshiko was right in front of the sea serpent as he exhaled, unleashing the jutsu upon the beast and engulfing it in flames. The beast screeched as all of it's skin was burned off, and it sunk back into the ocean. Toshiko fell towards the ground, landing on top of the water. What had he done? Did he kill it? He really really hoped that he didn't. He didn't even want to hurt it. He felt a pain in his chest as the realization that he could of took the beast's life away came to him, and he eagerly waited for the beast to reappear on the water. It was silent for a bit. Completely silent. Then seemingly out of nowhere, the waves started to move and the beast reappeared on the surface with it's wounds healed. It opened up it's mouth wide, and then it's insanely loud voice erupted onto the area echoing around it.

"You have managed to wound me, the Kyūkyoku no umi no shishi in battle. You are worthy." Toshiko stared at it for a few moments, wondering what it had meant. Then he realized that he had earned it's respect. He nodded, and the beast sunk back down into the water heading into the depths of the ocean. Toshiko sighed, and ran back up the waterfall heading towards Aethir. He smiled, and held the back of his head with both arms. "Well that was pretty fun i guess. How did i do Strawberry Sensei?"

Word Count: 1493

Spoiler:

Learned: Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu 1000/1000

END D-2-> D-3 (450/450)

Aethir eyes the boy once the clones have been dispersed, watching him...battle a sea...thing. Aethir shrugged, already walking away, leaving Toshiko to fend against the creature. 'What am I even doing?' he sighed, standing in front of the cliff he jumped off of. As he heard Toshiko come over to speak with him, he simply inhaled...then exhaled. 'Don't rip his adam's apple out, Aethir...he's just a kid...' he shook his head, smiling to Toshiko. 'Just a kid who just happened to be interrupting your early morning alone time. Right...' he nodded to Toshiko's question, beginning to walk up the side of the cliff, eventually making it back to where he was before the boy had arrived. 'Teaching...This teaching business is really...really...really starting to be up there...' he sighed, simply sitting on the cliff, eyeing the horizon again. He had a smile on his face, but his eyes appeared to be lost somewhere. His heart pounded quickly, as if being fueled with rage and sorrow at the same time, Aethir not sure what to do with himself. 'What's this feeling? This feeling of not getting anything done- It...It feels like I'm wasting time...' he closed his eyes, feeling a little bit...uneasy. The feeling of not doing anything really made Aethir feel a bit upset, but then again, what would be the difference if he didn't know about what he knew was waiting for him in Iwa or Suna? Aethir sighed, rubbing his forehead, waiting for his eager student to follow him up the cliff.

Word Count: 2611

Takumi opened his eyes and yawned, he must have nodded off while watching the two talking. As he stood he looked down and saw the two men still there though they looked as if they had just finished sparring. How takumi slept through the sound of two shinobi battling he did not know. He figured he had hid long enough, after all he was here on vacation not as a spy. Though he did not have to give away his rank, He was dressed in civilian clothes and did not have an visible weapons besides his swords on him. He jumped down out of tree and waved to the two shinobi, "Hello there, sorry for spying i am new to konoha and don't really know anybody around here. My Names Takumi pleased to meet you both."  

Now that he had revealed himself he would need to be careful, At the moment konoha and iwa were not on really friendly terms. Which was actually one of the reasons takumi came to konoha. He was sent here to help the iwa and konoha relationship. He smiled at both men while studying there body movement to make sure neither of them were going to attack him.

WC:204
TWC:648

Before Aethir answered his question, Toshiko felt another presence upon the area. He turned, and saw a strange guy walking towards him and Aethir. he was dressed in regular clothing, but had two swords on him. Where was he from? He looked like a villager, but he had weapons. Was he affiliated with anyone? Toshiko couldn't know for sure. He waved to Toshiko and Aethir, and then spoke. "Hello there, sorry for spying i am new to konoha and don't really know anybody around here. My Names Takumi pleased to meet you both." Toshiko couldn't read this guy that well. Where did he come from? He had been spying on them, but for what reason? Toshiko needed answers to all of these questions, but then figured that they would definitely come with time. Toshiko complied, greeting the man as well. "hey there. My name is Toshiko. Toshiko uzumaki. This is my sensei Aethir."

Word Count: 159

Aethir was silent, staring at the horizon until he heard another voice speak, causing his heart to jump suddenly. As this voice spoke, Aethir slowly turned to face it, eyeing them with a curious look on their face. "Ta...ku...mi..." Aethir stared at him before slowly nodded. "Takumi. Pleasure. As he said, I'm Aethir. Just Aethir." he nodded once more. He would reveal his last name like he usually world, however he wasn't too sure if he could really trust that name... "You say you're new to Konoha...?" he blinked, slowly tilting his head. He then stood up, looking over to where his jacket and red shirt was rest, the ronin slipping on the red shirt. "Ah...Well then, I have to ask... What brought you here to Konoha? And where are you from? Though..." Aethir bent over to pick up his jacket, shaking it free of any dirt or insects that may have crawled in. "You don't have to say. Just sparking a conversation you see." he nodded, slipping on the jacket, eventually offering a smile to the civilian appearing man. "You appear to be friendly...so I wouldn't mind hanging out with you...Though I'm curious..." Aethir took a step closer towards Takumi, pointing at him dramatically. "How do you feel...about strawberries...?" he eyed the person, awaiting an answer. It wasn't a trick question or anything... Aethir just...finds that he's better suited for people who love strawberries is all.

Word Count: 2863

Takumi smiled at Toshiko "Uzumaki huh, must be pretty cool being part of such a legendary clan huh?" Takumi was also a part of the well known clan but the first rule of a shinobi never say your last name unless you know you can trust the person. For all he knew Takumi was a rogue ninja that broke into the village. He nodded to the other man who called himself Aethir "Nice to meet you Aethir, and as for where i am from and my reason for being here i am from Iwagakure and i am here on vacation." Takumi thought the next question was a bit odd but he would answer anyway "Actually i love strawberry's, i have a few strawberry lollipops thought i bought in the village if you want one?" He said as he dug in his bad and pulled out a strawberry lollipop and held out to him. Then Takumi turned to the other boy named Toshiko and held out a lollipop for him as well "You want a lollipop?"

WC:176
TWC:824

Takumi then smiled at Toshiko, and spoke to him. "Uzumaki huh, must be pretty cool being part of such a legendary clan huh?" Toshiko smiled, and nonchalantly nodded in approval. Legendary? What does he mean legendary? I didn't know that Uzumaki was a legendary clan. Maybe i can learn more about it. But some other time. takumi then turned his attentions to Aethir as they spoke of their apparent liking the strawberries to each other. Upon Takumi's arrival, Toshiko thought that he could possibly be a threat to them, but now he realized that this guy seemed pretty nice. Despite this, he was kind of mysterious. He didn't seem that willing to put out that much information besides his first name. That made Toshiko quite curious , but despite that he simply shrugged it off. Takumi then dug in his bag, and pulled out a strawberry lollipop handing it to Toshiko. Toshiko smiled, and grabbed it. He was about to eat it, but then remembered how much Aethir enjoyed them."Thanks a lot Takumi, but Aethir enjoys these way more than i do." Toshiko turned to Aethir, and handed it to him with a smile upon his face.

Word Count: 208

Aethir blinked at the talk of Toshiko's last name. 'Uzumaki? ...It's...It's not just some weird pasta...?' Aethir looked at Toshiko with a raised eyebrow. 'Legendary...Ah well...This guy seems well versed in clan names...Maybe I can-' Takumi began to speak again as Aethir paid attention. He then heard a town name that he was oh so eager to know more about. Iwagakure. "Iwa...Iwagakure!" he began, taking a step closer to Takumi. "Do you know how to get there? Which way is it from Konoha...? What's it...like...?" The ronin slowly trailed off, eyeing the casually dressed man in front of him. He spoke of loving strawberries, Aethir's eyes growing wide at the site of...a strawberry lollipop. "Can I- ...Are they really- I don't have to pay anything do I?" the ronin blinked, slowly turning to see a lollipop extended out to him. He then grinned widely, chomping down on the lollipop as Takumi was holding it. He eventually too hold of the lollipop, grinding the crystals into dust, the hairs on Aethir's neck standing as he started to create a high picture squeal of some sort. Then the unexpected happened. Toshiko offered his lollipop to Aethir, the ronin swallowing the lollipop stick whole before munching down on Toshiko's. "OH...." he moaned loudly, grinding the strawberry crystals once more, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!!" ...The munching stopped before Aethir crouched, then shot back up screaming loudly, causing the birds and wildlife in the area to flock and awaken this early morning.

"NO!!!! ....IDEAAAAA!!!!!!" he roared, soon panting as he continued to savor the flavor of the lollipop. "Mmmph...N-No idea...Thank you kindly. B-Both of you~ Mmm...." He appeared to have a really...REALLY happy look on his face, the ronin failing to sense any stress in his body... Eventually, the ronin swallowed the stick whole, falling onto his rump and panting heavily. "G...God, I love strawberries..." he smiled, his now red tongue hanging lazily out of his mouth as he fell onto his back, resting with his eyes closed. "Thank you kindly, sir Takumi. And Toshiko. Yes." he nodded with a smile, opening his eyes to look at both of them. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Takumi... Yes..." he nodded, smiling to the casually dressed man. "I love strawberries...with a passion..." But regaining his serious train of thought, Aethir sat up to look at Takumi. "But how well versed are you with clan names...? Or did you just know Uzumaki? It'd help me out if you were a clan expert of some sort." he nodded with a smile, staring at the man. "Anywho...Toshiko, Takumi, take care." Aethir said before walking away, out of the forest, and back to his home.

Word Count: 3333