The morning was setting in over the lake already, causing it to shine and shimmer as the fishes underneath the surface swam about happy as possible. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the world on a day like today, one could even forget, just for a while, what was going on in Kirigakure, or rather, what had gone on. The mizukage killed by a missing-nin... if he continued to go after kages, it would only be so long until Zastin's uncle came under threat and he couldn't let that threat lie. He had to be alive, so he could beat him and prove himself a remarkable person in his own right. As such, Zastin stood on the side of the lake, training his skills. Whilst he might be no Taijutsu ninja, he knew he would need to train his body like they did, if only to have the basic ninja skills kept up. As for now he was kicking a tree on the west bank of the lake, a groove already created by his strong blows against the trunk. He was panting slightly, having been doing this for a long time, but he didn't seem to want to give up any time soon. After all, a ninja who gave up without completing what he needed to was guaranteed to never be able to fight the Tsuchikage on equal ground. he couldn't just let all the training go to his swords and his birds.

"Two hundred and twenty six, Two hundred and twenty seven, Two hundred and twenty eight...." he murmured to himself as he continued to kick. He would stop at two hundred and fifty, and go onto agility aiding exercises to allow him to dodge attacks better. That sounded like a plan for his daily exercise routine. With this, he should be able to reach chuunin within a month or two, even if he had been ill when they were assigning people to go to the Chuunin exams. He knew a way to get in by sheer impressiveness, by completing enough missions, but he'd never be able to finish enough missions if he stayed weak and useless.

It had been days since Moussa's last visit to the hospital. Ever since the new Tsuchikage was elected the village had erupted into life. His help was no longer needed at the hospital; his duty lay purely in the shinobi world from this point on. Now was the time of year that alot of genin were coming out of the academy, Moussa had already gotten to know one of them: "Arashi Nekomotze" a fine lad he was, a brilliant candidate for the future Tsuchikage! Well of course it was Moussa's plan to claim that after the Tsuchikage resigned, and it was in his best interest to serve the Tsuchikage loyally until that day came upon him, until then Moussa intended to become the captain of ANBU in Iwa, what a perfect way to serve the Tsuchikage. But when Moussa become Tsuchikage, Arashi is sure to be the heir to his position!

After dwelling on his goals in life, Moussa had completed a circle of thought, and his train of thought had come to a stop at the station "Genin Graduation". He usually got excited at this time of year, as Moussa longed for a student to accompany him on his travels. One thing that always came on Moussa's mind was a quote he had heard "If you have no interest in learning, nobody can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you" Moussa was looking for a student who practiced the latter. Moussa decided that now was a good time to look for a student, but where? Moussa sat down and thought where he could find a hard working student. Then it hit him....Gisei Lake! Moussa had always trained there.

Moussa waked through the thick wood that surrounded the lake, thinking of it as an adventure. He somehow hoped that he would get lost in the wood, and have to survive on his own, fighting monsters and demons and rouges....Of course that wasnt going to happen. After walking for what seemed to be an eternity, Moussa came to a clearing, and the smell of the clean Lake water hit him. Such a wonderful smell it was, of such a wonderful lake. Gisei Lake was the pride of the people, and they kept it in a state to be proud of. Just as Moussa was getting lost in his own mind he saw someone not too much younger than him, punching trees. Now that looked like a hard worker, a worthy student! Moussa approached the child, trying to seem like a friend.
"You look like you're working hard! Such is the trait of all great ninja! How are you today, my name's Moussa, nice to meet you!"

There was a cracking of sticks underfoot, the small rythmic beat of footsteps, and suddenly a voice behind him. Zastin spun around on the spot, turning to look up at the strange older man. He seemed to recognize the man from somewhere... did he work with his uncle? Still, he didn't quite like the tone that the man was speaking with, it seemed too friendly. It wasn't one of legitimate interest, it sounded like he was trying to be friends with him. Normally people only wanted to be friends with him if they wanted something. He was seriously wishing that he had his swords with him right now, might stop the man from being so damn patronizing but as it stood he was stuck on the back foot.

"I'm Zastin..." he said, obviously a little suspicious and not too happy about being surprised like this. His eyes traced the man's body, looking for the signs of any secreted weapons on his body. As he noticed, there was the sign of a small scalpel on the back of his hand. He was a medic.
"Nice to meet you too, Moussa-san." He was trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation without making it too obvious he didn't like the man's company. Maybe he could claim that he was busy with training? Or maybe he could just walk off.... no, that would shine badly on his uncle and they'd get into an argument again.... there had to be something. Oh for one of his birds right now.

Moussa stabbed himself in the face.....not literally, but he just knew that he had done the same thing with this boy than he had done with all the genin. His approach was way to kind, he was treating the boy like he was eight years old. Moussa was constantly forgetting that genin were more mature than academy students. He just about opened his mouth when he recognized the kid "You're Tsuchikage-Sama's nephew arent you! Oh, and sorry for the strange appraoch kid, I do that sometimes.

Moussa thought the kid looked familiar, but damn. This kid was probably the current heir to the Tsuchikage's position. He could tell, the kid was hard working, but he could tell the kid was more of a close range person by the way he was training strength. The kid seemed to be trying to wriggle away to get back to his training, such is natural. Moussa took a step back and sat down. "Dont mind me kid, just watching"

Oh crap sticks.... the man had noticed that he was the nephew of the Tsuchikage, and now he was apologizing. Zastin audibly sighed, and put his hand up slightly, as if rejecting the apology
"No need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong.." he said, clearly sounding bored, before the man sat down and decided to continue watching. Well, this was going to get awkward quickly. He moved back, deciding that he had done enough combat training, moving back to where the man was standing, before stretching his leg slightly. He wanted to try something quickly.

Running off with a burst of speed, he started running up the tree, trying to use his chakra to catch the tree's surface with his feet. It seemed to work for the first five seconds... before he started to slip. Using his last second of grip to jump, he moved up the tree, his hands moving up to wrap around a branch, swinging on it like a crossbeam, and span around it once before leaping up, and landing on his feet on the limb itself. He allowed himself a brief grin, before looking down at the ninja.
"So, Moussa-san, who are you and how do you know who I am?" He asked, a little interested but still not too involved in the situation, keeping his distance slightly.