Today was one of those few and far between days where the air was still, worries were forgotten, and everywhere you looked seemed to be at peace. I had decided to use this opportunity to meditate in the forest.

It was nice meditating. I didn't really care about anything while I was doing it, and I could focus on keeping my mind busy with a philosophical musing. The musings were always nonsensical and inapplicable, but thinking of them was an amusing past time for me. I don't know, I'm kinda weird sometimes. Today I was thinking of something a little more practical, how to make myself stronger. I know my jutsu weren't exactly suited for fighting at this point, but I just needed to learn stronger ninjutsu. At this level of my progress as a ninja, powerful genjutsu was hard to accomplish. I was extremely proud of my latest accomplishment however, a jutsu used to reverse genjutsu. It would be very useful against another genjutsu user, if I came across one. Then again, I would have to prepare against enemies who used more of a "brute-strength" approach to fighting. I didn't like it, but I may have to train raiton techniques. Doton just isn't very versatile when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. I guess I just wasn't a very powerful ninja...yet.

I tried clearing my mind.
Breath in. Breath out.
Breath in. Breath out.
I tried to think of ideas for jutsu by thinking of scenarios I could encounter.
Ok,... if I face someone who uses...seijutsu...how would I beat them?

I continued this for a couple more hours, sitting in quiet meditation, occasionally falling asleep for a bit. I couldn't help it, my schedule didn't give me a lot of time to sleep.

I decided to get up and wander around a bit. I knew I was somewhat close to the border, but I didn't know where exactly. I did not want to cross it, but I did want to see if there were any markings. I couldn't find anything exactly, so I started to head back.

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It was a rather calm day, the sun was shining and the sky was dotted with the occasional cloud. Since his encounter with the Lady Risu, the young blonde had come to stay within the hidden leaf village, though his solitary training still took place within the well known dense forest. Dressed in a dark set of clothing he had changed his weaponry slightly since losing to Lamya or passing her little test. He carried too much, but still needed it all. The young man wasn't a shinobi of the leaf village, but a simple wanderer with a desire. He wanted strength.

The blonde Myugan was spending the daylight out training, balancing atop what appeared to be a large steel ball doing push ups. He had a collection of weapons only some of which he didn't keep sealed away in his new scroll. A yellow golden cloth wrapped around his waist with a small ball adorned with a pair of wings. This was his newest creation, a puppet named Gamma. Two chain weapons known as meteor hammers hung from his waist hidden underneath the cloth of Gamma. Hanging on his back, a longsword and shield. Worn on his arms were a set of armor based puppets that remained mostly hidden by his sleeves. Finally a pair of windmill shuriken one on each of his lower legs. Most people chose to avoid him in town when wearing so much in terms of offensive steel, but it was normal for him.

So far the day was uneventful, no one appearing to disrupt what was an attempt to improve his ability. However a young boy from the village would require a little socializing. Giving the boy a look over while still balancing upside down on the steel ball before offering a greeting. "Hello, are you lost? Little far from the village aren't you?" The age difference between the two was apparent. Bunshichi himself being eighteen years old now. He could only guess how old this boy was, maybe thirteen or close to it.

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I was heading back when I noticed a glint of light coming from my left. I had a little time to kill, so I decided to investigate. As I groped my way through a bush to the source of the glint, I heard a voice.

"Hello, are you lost? Little far from the village aren't you?"

I looked up. There, upside down on a great steel ball was a weapon-clad person that looked about five or so years older than me. I quickly searched for a headband signifying which village he was from, but I found nothing.

Is this guy trying to hide his village, or could he be a wanderer? Maybe he wasn't even a ninja. But then, why did he carry so many weapons? Could he be...a missing-nin?

I hoped not. I was just out of the academy, and I hadn't even met my sensei yet! No, I couldn't think like that. It was probably just a friendly wanderer training in the woods. I didn't let any expression show as I calmly responded.

"My name is Kaitu Burasu of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Who are you and what is your business in these woods?"

I put a hand behind my back and covertly grabbed a kunai. This guy was a little too suspicious for me to let my guard down. I knew it was a ninja's duty, among other things,to protect their village, but I didn't think I would be defending it so soon. I continued steadying my breath as discreetly as possible. I was getting way too caught up with this train of thought. Until he made a move, I would have no proof against him.

I looked him over again. He had a sash with a ball with wings connected to it, and a sword and shield strapped onto his back. He seemed to be proficient in bukijutsu, or at least getting to that point. The shield would bother me, but as long as I could stay out of the sword's range, I should be okay. I specialized in mid-range combat anyways, so me keeping my distance would put him at a disadvantage. At least theoretically. This was all assuming that he didn't have any mid or long range attacking capability himself. He did have two windmill shuriken, but I could probably block those. Probably.

If anything, this analysis was good even if I didn't end up fighting him. Visualizing a battle could sometimes end a fight before it started.

Wordcount: 431+366=797/2000

Kaito Burasu of the village hidden in the leaves. Coming from such a young boy it wasn't impressive. "Kaitu Burasu. Call me Bunshichi and my business is my own, now run home before you get hurt. I don't want to play babysitter. So go on, go home." It didn't matter where he was from, such a young ninja was no more then cannon fodder in his mind. Konoha seemed to open to allow it's ninja of low rank to carelessly wander. They should be kept inside and trained so as not to die against their first real opponent.

It didn't escape his notice when the boy grabbed an item from behind his back. Most likely a small weapon, possibly a kunai or some shuriken. Did the boy think he could hold his own against a complete stranger? While he'd take him on if he showed any further signs, he didn't want to have to explain himself to the village's anbu. More then likely though Lamya had someone watching him probably just to keep track of his training. The woman didn't seem concerned about him other then just to use him.

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"Kaitu Burasu. Call me Bunshichi and my business is my own, now run home before you get hurt. I don't want to play babysitter. So go on, go home."

I was actually more annoyed than any other emotion right now. I had identified myself as a ninja of Konoha and he still hadn't given the reasoning for him being in the Land of Fire. as far as I was concerned, he was a foreign spy or a wandering bandit.

"I'm afraid I need to know your purpose for being here before I can leave. Or at least proof that you are allowed to be in this area."

It was at this point I fully realized that I was confronting this man without any backup. My hands started to shake. I honestly wasn’t sure whether it was caused by fear or excitement. I guessed that it was a little of both. I hadn’t expected to go into my first real battle today, and it was still possible that they would relent and tell me they’re business, if I was lucky. Otherwise, I would have to try and take him down in order to bring him in for questioning. Which was something I was not looking forward to doing this early.

I kept the kunai behind my back, but I could tell that he had spotted it. It didn't matter. At least now he knew that I was planning to attack if he didn't tell me the information I desired. Everything would just depend on his next move, whether he makes one or not.

Wordcount: 270+797=1067/2000