Ruvaak awoke in the early morning hours well before the sun rose, taking a quick shower before grabbing a couple of the rice balls the inn keeper's wife had made, stuffing them into his bag on his way out the door, he had a long day ahead of him and these will come in handy later on when he started getting hungry. There were only a few days until the exams and he should prepare for it getting in some last minute training would be great to get him ready for it and to get in the right frame of mind for the competition and what it may hold as well as who he may have to face. As he started out of the gate of the village he thought of all the training he had been doing to this point and what all he had learned, the man he met in the Tower of Heaven that thought him the use of the blade who he later learned was the Raikage himself, and the great Sannin Kenji the master of the Scythe, as well as what he had picked up from others within the village, all of this was preparing him for this The Chuunin Exams, the best place to test everything that he had learned.

.Ruvaak took his time walking along the path leading away from the village mentally preparing himself for the training he was about to pursue, while looking for the perfect place to train. The sun had already been up for about 3 hours and the heat from it was beginning to increase as he continued walking around the wilderness of Kamini no Kuni looking for a good spot to train, that's when he found it. There was a large clearing of about 50 meters from the look of it with multiple boulders scattered across it there were even small pebbles making a circle around the area as if someone had made this their training area before or it still belonged to them and he was going to be trespassing. Ruvaak didn't care if he was or not, this was the perfect spot for him to get in his last minute training for the Chuunin Exams, if this area's owner did happen to return or something he would cross that bridge when he got there and deal with it then, for now he needed to focus on his training and nothing else. Ruvaak walked to the center of this man made ring, as he walked he swung his arm slightly grabbing his talisman as it hit his hand, with his talisman securely in his grasp he began focusing his chakra to create his blade. The last time he had done this was to create a Katana, this time he created a Jian, a sword he had once seen his Uncle wield back in Valyria when he was younger. Ruvaak had not used a jian before but it was close enough to the katana that he could wield it with ease. He started with slow motions focusing mostly on his muscles, one of the greatest things Ruvaak had learned it that muscle memories is one of the most important things to have when in combat. But more than that was the ability to do more than just use his blade in battle he had to be ready for anything, but he needed to get himself ready with the blade first and wield it as an extension of himself.

Ruvaak spent many hours practicing his form, every precise muscle contraction and his placement in the motion. After some time he decided to take a quick break to get a drink of water before moving to the next part of his training, walking over to the small shaded area on the left side of where he had been practicing. Reaching down and grabbing his water with his free hand and taking a long drink before placing it back down and wiping the sweat off his face before turning back and walking to the center of the ring. It was time for the next step of his training he didn't want to be limited when it came time for the exams so he had to try something new something he had never done before. Ruvaak took his stance in standby ready for what he planned next, he began pumping his chakra into his still formed blade charging it as he faced the boulder closest to him within about 5 meters. Once he was ready he drew his sword up, taking a hard swing while trying to force the built up chakra from the charged blade at the boulder, however to his dismay nothing happened. He tried again swing his sword back the other way, still nothing happened he just swung at air, "ugh why isn't it working" Ruvaak said aloud to himself as no one else was around.

Ruvaak paced slowly in a small circle around where he was standing still holding the charged blade as he tried to clear his mind and focus on what it was that he was trying to do. Standing back in position taking a deep breath, a last minute attempt to clear his mind before readying himself to take another swing at the boulder. As he swung his sword once again he used all his will power to force the excess chakra from his blade and into the boulder, to his surprise this time it worked at least somewhat the excess chakra came out from the blade for a few meters dissipating before reaching the boulder. "Yes!" Ruvaak exclaimed at the sight of it the first sign of progress towards his technique, using what built up chakra was left in his blade he began focusing himself again before trying his technique once more this time it got a little further before dissipating still not reaching the boulder in front of him. Ruvaak knew he was close to it he had to make this next one count, charging his blade once again to get ready. With his blade charged once again he positioned himself and took his swing forcing the chakra from the blade and into the boulder, causing the wave of chakra to slice through the air towards the boulder, delivering a blow to the boulder Ruvaak cried out in joy at the excitement of his technique. Upon inspecting the boulder he noticed that the blast only delivered about a half inch cut to the stone, a little less than what he was expecting or hoping, but still progress. Still holding his blade, Ruvaak walked over to the shaded area again grabbing his water and taking a big drink from it, wiping the sweat from his forehead and looking around him thinking of what to try next, while he sat his water down and began searching for one of the Rice Balls that was in his bag.

---

Word Count: 1159
learning new jutsu: 900(QL/SC) Complete
Words Remaining: 259

Jutsu:

Ruvaak finished off his rice ball and grabbed his water taking another drink of water before sitting it down and returning to the center of the area he is using to prepare himself for what was to come in the Chuunin exams, he needed to be at top performance in his ability if he wanted to walk away as the winner and the only way he knew to achieve that goal was to train until he couldn't stand it any longer. Now back in the center of the ring like area Ruvaak resumed his stance and began his training once again, still moving slow focusing on every contraction of his muscles as he moved through each movement of his blade. He broke down the motions, making every inch of a movement a step, stopping on each one and focusing with all his will on the position of his muscles and the feeling of the step before moving a few more inches. He did this over and over again with each motion for a very long period of time, wanting to make sure he was comfortable with the movements. Once he was comfortable with his blade movements he began speeding it up until after about 20 minutes he was moving his blade around at normal speed, at which point he began to add more body movement to his work out pumping his legs and swaying back and forth and side to side. His movements maintained fluidity with his blade acting as an extension of his arm as he moved through his motions his thoughts began to drift back to his Uncle in Valyria and the hours that he had watched his uncle practice with his own Jian and the fluid motions that his uncle had done, Ruvaak was trying his best to mimic the movements just from memory but that was the benefit to having an Idetic memory, things are never forgotten. Still there was no way his technique was a good as the original from his uncle considering it had been many months since Ruvaak had even seen his uncle.

As Ruvaak worked through the motions he remembered from his uncle he also remembered what it was that the man from the Tower had told him when he was first learning how to actually wield a sword. "The first tactic of combat: anything can be used in battle. Don't let anyone fool you that a fight of the swords is just that, you fight for one thing initially: victory." An image of the man appeared in his head as Ruvaak heard the voice of the man filled his ears at the thought, the man was right Ruvaak needed to be ready with more than just his blade arm, Ruvaak envisioned an opponent he was locked in battle with and different defenses to the opponent's attacks as well as openings in his opponent's defense all the while trying to maintain the fluidity of his movements as well as mark his weak points throughout the movements so that he could improve them as he continued on with his training.

---

Word Count: 521
Total Count: 780
Next Goal: 7000

As Ruvaak continued fighting the invisible opponent his mind raced with all the possibilities that an opponent might try working out the best way to defend against an attack such as that as his imaginary opponent performed the attack and Ruvaak observed it in his mind recalling every blade wielder's movements that he had ever seen from his uncle all the way to the present day here in Kumogakure.  But keeping in mind that an opponent would just use their blade every now and again to keep his pretend spar interesting he would imagine his opponent using something other than his blade whether it was a kick, a punch, an elbow, or even imagining a jutsu that he had seen people use in the past, whether against him in a spar or him witnessing it in a passing spar he prepared himself for it all. Ruvaak let each and every movement flow through his body to the point that if someone were to happen by it might appear to them as if he was dancing with a strange glowing almost see through stick or something like that. Ruvaak soon began picking up speed with his movements as he continued on with his imaginary fight, however since the fight was pretty much against mind his imaginary opponent was a interesting challenge for him as it would increase it's speed to when Ruvaak increased his own and counter-striking just as he would expect an opponent to react. Everything around him slowly began to fade away from him, as he was locked in this imaginary sword fight against his imaginary opponent with no face due to Ruvaak creating it from his imagination, a combination of every shinobi he had ever met, all their skills and techniques that he had witnessed all in this opponent that he was now locked into a match with, his ultimate challenge before the exams, before his world would change around him.

Ruvaak was lost in his imaginary world of a fight against this fantastic opponent completely oblivious to the world around him, for how many hours he wasn't sure but when he snapped out of it he realized that his breathing was beginning to come in short rasps breaths and he felt the soreness of his muscles, deciding it best to rest for now Ruvaak turned and walked over to the small shaded area where his stuff laid, as the invisible opponent faded from his thoughts. Ruvaak allowed the talisman to slid from his grasp as he walked to his pack, looking up to the sky to see that the sun would be setting soon, grabbing the towel from his pack Ruvaak wiped away the sweat from his face and arms as he knelt down on the ground digging into his pack for some more Rice balls. Having grabbed a couple out before laying back against a boulder that was behind him, taking a deep breath before snacking down on the rice balls. Night was about to fall and Ruvaak needed to get a fire going now that he had rested a little while, heading off to the nearby trees looking for some fallen branches and some kindling. Once the fire was going Ruvaak grabbed one more Rice ball out of his pack laying back on a small rock he will be using as his pillow and looking up at the stars while he finished off his rice ball taking a drink of water from his newly filled canteen, from the river not too far from where he was, this is by far the best place to train he thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

---

Word count: 614
Total Count: 1394
Word Goal: 7000

Ruvaak awoke before the sun had even began to rise, still dark from the night with his small fire now died out from not being added too while he slept. Stretching out as he sat up, popping his back and neck as well, after a few minutes he got up and walked down to the river he had found the day before to get cleaned up a little bit before he continued with his training. When he got to the river he removed his clothing and washed himself quickly in the river, before coming out, dressing and returning to his small campsite grabbing a rice ball from his pack and stretching his arms and legs readying himself for his day of training. As Ruvaak walked to the center of the ring he thought about how he was going to start his training off on this beautiful day, as he grabbed his talisman and began focusing his chakra back into it to form his Jian.

By the time he had reached the center of the ring where he began his training the day before, he had already formed his Jian and was swinging it around him as he walked. Ruvaak decided to continue on from the day before and imagined up his would be opponent from the day before, the faceless man with skills that were far better than his own. The sun had still not risen when it came time for his would be match to begin he bowed before his would be opponent before returning to his stance ready both in mind and body for the training ahead of him. His opponent dashed at him and Ruvaak readied himself and the would be fight ensued as Ruvaak began blocking, counter-striking, and striking at his would be opponent all the while moving so fluidly that it was as if he was dancing across the ring in the moonlight with his blade in hand. Ruvaak soon began to feel as if his would be opponent had a mind of it's own as it was doing things that would almost catch him in an opening, as if his subconscious had taken over his would be opponent as a way to point out flaws in his form to improve himself or something. It did not take long before the world around him faded away and Ruvaak felt as if his would be opponent was real and the world took shape of the chuunin exams in his mind a crowd of people all gathered to watch the show as he faced off against his would be opponent, sweat trickling down his face as he continued to fight his would be opponent with the sound of people cheering all around him.

---

Word Count: 458
Total Count: 1852
Goal Count: 7000
Chakra: 100/150

Ruvaak moved as if the fight was real as if his life hung in the balance, and that if his would be opponent was able to strike him it could be his death. With every strike he made his would be opponent was able to not only block but counter sometimes in ways that Ruvaak didn't even think of causing him to lose his footing and stumble backwards, Ruvaak's mind was completely lost in his own delusion that he was actually facing off against his would be opponent in a fight to the death with a crowd of people surrounding them as they fought, all of them cheering "Ruvaak! Ruvaak! Ruvaak!" as the combat continued between him and his would be opponent. As Ruvaak sat locked in combat his mind was tranquil yet the fire within himself to win still burned with great rage, he had found his center now he just had to win. His movements were as swift as the coursing river that he had cleaned himself in earlier before he began his training, with each attack he made against his would be opponent Ruvaak put all of his force behind it showing the strength of the fire he had within himself. If someone were to walk by at this precise moment in time Ruvaak would look like a complete idiot fighting the air all around him and waving around a see through sword as if he was battling someone only he could see, which would be true to the point that only he could see his would be opponent because his opponent was all in his head. It wasn't until Ruvaak slipped up and left a spot open that he came back to reality, the would be opponent hit the opening that was his heart but the blade passed straight through him with no damage, that is what brought Ruvaak's brain back to reality because he wasn't dead and his would be opponent faded back into nothingness, the crowd faded away and he stood there in the clearing covered in sweat, his breathing coming in short rasps breaths as he looked across the horizon to see the sun just now rising up to awaken the rest of the world.

Ruvaak realized he needed to take a break and walked over to the area where his stuff was sitting, his break was going to be a short one so he kept his hand on his talisman keeping his chakra Jian activated while he got a drink of water and maybe a rice ball. When he got to his pack he bent down and grabbed his canteen taking a long drink before sitting it down and reaching into his pack for a rice ball, his mind was still racing from the would be opponent's movements and attacks it was as if it had a mind of it's own and was separate from him even though it was just his imagination that the would be opponent was made from and he wasn't real or had a mind of his own, Ruvaak couldn't help but get the feeling that this would be opponent of his was not under his control but something else. Of course Ruvaak did not realized it at the time he was both right and wrong at the same time although he consciously does not control his opponent, his subconscious however was controlling it point out his flaws and weaknesses to help him better himself. Ruvaak thought himself crazy for thinking that his imagination had a mind of it's own and pushed the thoughts from his mind, he had to readied himself for the next round where he would face the would be opponent once more.

---

Word Count: 628
Total Count: 2480
Goal Count: 7000
Chakra: 95/150

Ruvaak's heart was still racing as he finished off his rice ball, and prepared himself mentally to face his would be opponent once again. Wielding a blade was much harder than the bow and even his imagination was better than him with the blade, he had to be at his best if he was going to come out on top at the chuunin exams. Ruvaak did his best to steady his heart as he started back to the center of the ring, once there he resumed his stance and readied himself to fight. As he started his would be opponent was not there it was just him working on his own as he danced across the ringed area where he trained. His blade was part of his arm and his body was as fluid as the water in the nearby river, as he moved through the motions of his training with his blade never stopping always moving and always flowing, he wanted his best and he would get to his best by pushing himself to his limits and beyond. As he continued through the motions of the dance his thoughts drifted back to the young girl he met when he had first arrived in Kumogakure Ame. He remembered standing there as he watched her train with her own blade the way she moved the way she wielded her blade with such force and control, he soon began to mimic the memories of the girl however not completely he gave it his own flavor as his and the girls movements were different and hers would not flow with the rest of his, so he gave it his own twist and soon he was dancing all over the field where he was training, to the observer it would appear as if he was simply dancing, not training himself with his sword, it was simply a beautiful sight to see almost like magic.

Now with his mind ready and his body in motion his faceless opponent returned to continue their duel, Ruvaak began to pick up speed as he stabbed and sliced at his would be opponent, with each attack he took behind it stood a great deal of force that held the intention of killing his would be opponent and ending the fight proving to himself that he was ready for the chuunin exams. Ruvaak held in his mind the words of Sanosuke the only thing that matters is Victory as he continued on with his would be opponent matching him at every turn of the blade it was almost impossible for Ruvaak to land a hit on him. No matter what he tried the faceless man was one step ahead of him and it began to seem like Ruvaak would be meeting the end of his imagination's blade by the end of this would be fight. Ruvaak shook his head pushing those thoughts from his mind as he continued to face against his would be opponent, and it wasn't long before the world faded away once again and was replaced by the crowd of cheering spectators all chanting his name as he faced off against his would be opponent. No matter how fast he moved his would be opponent was faster and was always a step ahead of him as no matter what he tried he was met with the would be opponent either blocking the strike or evading the strike not saying that his would be opponent was real but if it blocked his mind would act as if it met a blade and stop his swing as well as when his would be opponent struck out at him.

---

Word Count: 612
Total Count: 3092
Goal Count: 7000
Chakra: 90/150

Sweat was rolling down his face as he continued on with his would be fight with his faceless imagination of his opponent, feeling the cool breeze hit his face as he stood off against his would be opponent wondering what he should try next. It was clear to him that his imagination had gotten away from him and was clearly skilled in all accounts with the blade just as he had imagined, but not everyone wields a blade there was a chance that none of his opponents in the tournament would wield a blade, he had to get clever and have his imagination run with things that he might encounter in the tournament instead of just training himself with a blade against a blade, he needed to be flexible in the upcoming tournament and that meant whatever might be thrown at him. Ruvaak thought back to his first encounter with the incredible Ame though she did use a blade she also used other jutsu and his spar against the arrogant and mouthy jounin Zetsume and the way he fought, the kind and honorable Sanin Kenji that taught him to use a scythe, and the great and wise Raikage Sanosuke who help him find his path to the way of the blade and it was that path that had brought him to this. Ruvaak's memories flooded with all that he had witnessed in terms of combat applying everything to his would be opponent, the faceless man who was the best of everything and the worst of nothing, the ultimate test of his own abilities to prove to himself that he was ready for the Chuunin Exams.

Ruvaak wiped the sweat from his brow with his free arm, now that his opponent was ready for his ultimate test it came time for the would be fight to continue. Just as the thought crossed his mind his would be opponent appeared before him wielding a scythe and charging right for him, "keeping me on my toes" Ruvaak said aloud though there was no one to hear him in this secluded spot in which he was currently training. Ruvaak moved quickly blocking the strike from the scythe before he tried to knee his would be opponent in the gut, but it sidestepped away before suddenly there were 3 javelin like spears hovering around it, the same thing that Ame had used on him in their spar. This is working out well Ruvaak thought to himself as he dodged the first javelin, of course he knew that he didn't have to dodge it as it was all in his head it couldn't really hurt him. However that wasn't the point was it, the point of this was to prepare him for what was to come and to do that he had act as though everything that his would be opponent did would kill him or it would hurt him if he got hit by it just like it would when he is actually fighting in the finals against real people with the same ambition as his, to win and attain the Chuunin Rank.

---

Word Count: 522
Total Count: 3614
Goal Count: 7000
Chakra: 85/150

The second spear crashed down at the spot where he was just standing as he dove to the side away from the strike, before he got his footing Ruvaak's would be opponent was on top of him with the scythe coming down with it for a kill strike. Thinking quickly Ruvaak blocked the strike with his blade and swept his feet under his would be opponent trying to knock the faceless man down but the man was too fast and dodged it moving back. When Ruvaak stood the would be opponent's weapon had changed and the would be opponent came charging at him with it's own Jian before disappearing from in front of Ruvaak, this caught him off guard as he did not remember anyone doing something like that before, which considering he remembers everything he sees is really saying something, when suddenly he saw the imaginary blade of the would be opponent out of the corner of his eye coming up from behind him. Ducking quickly Ruvaak barely getting away from the would be opponent putting a little distance between them before turning on a dime to face the would be opponent once again while be began charging his blade with some extra chakra as he swings it at the would be opponent and releasing the chakra from the blade sending it in a way at him to take it down. The strike dissipated before it reached Ruvaak's would be opponent, "Damn it!" Ruvaak said allowed he didn't realize that he wasn't close enough to it for his attack to work he wasn't thinking clearly and these would be the kind of mistakes that would cost him the exams and that he could not allow to happen.

The strain of his training was showing, he was getting careless not thinking thing through, or maybe he was just pushing himself too far. Taking a deep breath Ruvaak released the image of his faceless opponent letting it fade from his mind before walking over to where his stuff was lying grabbing his water jug taking a long drink before sitting down in the shade. Just as the day before his pack was sitting where now that the sun was up the small patch of grass to the left side of the field stood in the shade of the only tree in the area, now that he was sitting in the shade and was starting to relax Ruvaak thought about what had just happened out there in his training, why did he not think his attack though why did he put too much distance between him and his would be opponent. His mind was a wreck with the multiple thoughts as to what went wrong and why, finally he took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts from his mind he should not dwell on the past mistakes he simply needs to learn from it and not make the same mistake again. Ruvaak took a deep breath before reaching into his pack and grabbing a rice roll taking a big bite from it before laying back on a boulder sitting next to the tree looking across the field and trying to think of what to do next.

---

Word Count: 542
Total Count: 4156
Goal Count: 7000
Chakra: 65/150

As Ruvaak laid back on the boulder his mind began to wander away from him with thoughts of the exams and what it might bring, he had already noticed the increase in population in Kumogakure in the preparation of the exams but he wondered how many of the new faces that he had seen would be participating in the exams and who just came to watch. He had heard stories from other Unmei who had traveled in the past talk about the Chuunin exams, however they were only spectators to the event none of them had ever entered. This put a great pressure on Ruvaak's mind as with him entering the exams as a participant he became the first Unmei to have ever entered and that brings with it the magnitude of the enter clan on his back to prove to the outside world just what the children of Valyria were capable of and if he should fail in that mission he would be shamed beyond any other failure that could of happened to him. The mere thought of failing his clan put a knot in Ruvaak's stomach, the pressure was unimaginable and he was only 13, maybe this is why the others had never participated they didn't want the pressure of failing the entire clan or something to that nature. Ruvaak had even more to lose than the others however, he was the son of Darien one of the greatest Unmei to have lived since Ryuzaki as well as the brother of the head of the clan Ruvaak's uncle Andreios the man who took him under his wing and taught him everything he would need to know before his journey began, Ruvaak wasn't sure he could live with himself if he failed his uncle or disgraced the name of his father.

This sparked a new fire within Ruvaak he refused to be a failure, he refused to give in to the fear of defeat and he refused to allow these thoughts to get the better of him. He was Ruvaak Unmei son of Darien and nephew of Andreios, he was taught how to shoot a bow by one of the greatest marksmen to have lived, he was trained in the art of kenjutsu by the man that he later discovered was the great Raikage himself, and he was taught the art of Onojutsu by the great Sanin Kenji. He had the knowledge and the determination to win, now he just needed to hone his skills to the point where he would be flawless and not have to worry about mistakes, at the same time however he also needed to make sure he didn't push himself too far because that's when mistakes happen and if that was to happen in the Chuunin exams it would cost him dearly, he had to be at his best no matter what it took. Standing back up with his chakra blade still in his right hand he grabbed his water taking one last swig from the container before sitting it down and walking back to the center of the area to resume his training, he still had a few more hours of sunlight and he was going to make the best of it before calling it a day.

As he stood in the center of his training arena Ruvaak took a deep long breath holding it in until he was ready before exhaling and successfully clearing his mind of all doubts or any other issue that might have been on his mind so that he could resume training with a level head. He needed to be strategic in the exams if he wanted to be able to win he couldn't let emotions get the better of him or he would most certainly lose, so in order for him to succeed he needed to maintain a level head at all times. As he stood there with his mind emptied of doubt his imagination began constructing his would be opponent again, all the skills he had ever witnessed with some modifications made here or there and also the skills of his opponent were raised well above that of Ruvaak himself to give him more of a challenge, all of this designed by the mind of Ruvaak for him to pretend to fight he was glad he had such a mind. When it came to the would be opponents face however Ruvaak drew a blank, the skills of the would be opponent were that of multiple people and he couldn't put a face to that, and so just as before the would be opponent became the faceless man standing in front of Ruvaak only this time he didn't see it holding any weapon as it always had before. This time the would be opponent just stood there as if it was waiting for an order or something, Ruvaak readied himself and willed the would be opponent to attack with his mind, however it just stood there taking a few steps towards it only made it take steps back and Ruvaak couldn't figure out what was going on with his head that would cause the would be opponent, his imagination to just stand there.

Growing irritated with the situation Ruvaak charged at the would be opponent taking a power swing with his sword at it's head, only to watch it disappear before appearing off to the side. "What the hell is going on?" Ruvaak asked himself as he walked towards his would be opponent again, and then as if his subconscious was answering his question the thought ran through his mind, Level headed remember, at that Ruvaak stopped approaching his would be opponent and thought to himself for a minute. Quickly realizing that an opponent in the exams might use a tactic similar to this as a trap or something, and this was his subconscious was preparing him for it or something. Taking another deep breath Ruvaak exhaled trying to clear his mind once again before turning to his would be opponent with his blade at the ready. He couldn't always rely on his opponent attacking first and he couldn't just attack without a strategy and so Ruvaak watched his would be opponent for a few minutes before he decided on what to do and then he launched his attack

---

Word Count: 1066
Total Count: 5222
Goal Count: 7000
Chakra: 60/150

Moving as fast as he could he launched himself at his would be opponent doing his best to close the gap that was between them, once he got close to it however Ruvaak saw a sword spring to life from his would be opponent's hand and blocked his strike. Ruvaak had prepared for this of course before he launched his attack and quickly moved to his plan b of moving to kick the would be opponent in the face, hitting nothing but air as the would be opponent dodged the strike and was quickly in position for a counter strike to Ruvaak's vulnerable side while his foot was still in the air coming down. Ruvaak did the only thing he could think of using the foot that was still on the ground to launch himself back away from his would be opponent spinning in mid air and landing with both feet on the ground and himself in the ready position to defend himself from an attack, his thoughts still clear of distractions he did his best to work out what to try next. The would be opponent struck first this time the gap between them was closed in a matter of seconds, reminding Ruvaak of the speed of the man he trained with in the tower, as the strike came down Ruvaak pumped his chakra into the blade overloading it before shouting out, "Hansha!" he knew the technique was unnecessary considering the conditions of his current fight but the fact remained that he had to be ready for any situation and that included a follow up to an attack reflected by his hansha. The would be opponent's blade met with Ruvaak's and as soon as the impact was made the blade bounced off of his own and his would be opponent stumbled backwards a few steps where he was met with Ruvaak's blade once again, aimed for his midsection while it was off guard, unfortunately his would be opponent recovered far to fast for his strike to land and was deflected while his would be opponent spun away putting distance between the two of them.

Soon the two were reengaged in their sword fight always blocking and countering only to be blocked and countered by the other, no matter what Ruvaak tried his would be opponent had an answer for it and was able to meet it and counter, that's not to say that Ruvaak was not doing the same to it which he found weird considering he imagined an opponent much stronger than himself to test himself which would mean that his would be opponent was holding back but why? It was just a byproduct of his own imagination it made no sense to him at all that his would be opponent would be acting like a real opponent or whatever you want to call it, it was just his imagination it could not hurt him and it could not think on its own it was not real it just wasn't. Still as the continued dancing across the battlefield Ruvaak could not help but to think of it as a real person someone that was much stronger than himself and had much more skills than himself. It was then that he saw something that he knew was impossible, the would be opponent's blade sparked to life surrounding it's blade in Raiton chakra as sparks flew out from it, this wasn't the impossible thing though he had seen that before what he could not believe is that the Raiton surrounding it's blade was black. He had heard stories of the black raiton from his uncle growing up but he had never witnessed it before and the fact that he was seeing it on his would be opponent's blade was inconceivable, it actually brought a smile to his face something he had never seen yet was in his imagination for his would be opponent was very interesting. The problem was is he only knew of it from the stories he heard from his uncle he had no concept of the actual workings of it or how it really appears to an opponent how it acts or anything of the like so for him to get a realistic idea of how it would work he would need to witness someone using such a power, not just stories about it from a childhood besides the fact that no one in the chuunin exams would have this power therefore making it pointless as for training for what to expect. The would be opponent faded from his visual as his mind became clouded by so many thoughts again and the preparation for the exams. There was still one problem he might face in the tournament something that he had not really faced before, Genjutsu he knew that there were some Genin that knew how to use powerful genjutsu attacks that would be capable of taking people out of the running however he had only ever faced one genjutsu attack and that was from the loud mouth jounin Zetsume. Of course Ruvaak knew nothing of the application of the technique or what exactly it did or anything like that he knew absolutely nothing about genjutsu and that could be a problem, how could be prepare himself for something that he knew nothing about or seen before.

---

Word Count: 902
Total Count: 6124
Goal Count: 7000
Chakra: 40/150

Exhaustion was setting in he had been training for two days now and his muscles were already sore the thoughts of genjutsu did not disway him, he just came to the realization that he could not prepare for that which he did not know and he would not try to pursue it any further. Releasing his grip on his talisman he allowed it to fall down dangling once again from his bracelet as his sword faded away, he was please with himself and his training as he gathered his supplies back up and started his way back to the village of Kumogakure to get some real rest in one of the nice beds from the inn, no doubt he would have to buy a new room since he had been gone with so many people visiting for the exams he hoped there would still be a room open for him to stay. Along the way he passed a hot spring he was still sweaty from his training and he smelled terrible since he could not stand the smell of himself any longer he decided to take a break and soak in the hot spring before returning to Kumogakure as there was still some sunlight left in the sky. After folding up his clothes and putting them close by where he would be he dipped himself into the hot spring letting the water flow over him, he could not tell how hot it actually was but he could feel the tension in his muscles subsiding and relaxing which was what he truly needed.

By the time Ruvaak got out of the hot spring the sun was setting and the sky was beginning to become dark as the stars began to appear in the sky. After drying off and getting dressed Ruvaak continued on his journey back to the village of Kumogakure and hopes of finding a nice warm bed for him to rest in and relax for a few more days before the Chuunin exams begin, he just hoped that the nice Innkeeper and his wife from the Sleeping Giant Inn still had a room available for him. As he neared the village's gate he could still see many travelers arriving in Kumogakure, many more than were here when he had left for training two days ago, making him believe his chances of finding a room at the sleeping giant become slimmer and slimmer. As he approached the gate he saw the guards checking visas of all the visitors to the village, he walked up to the one that was on duty the day he had set out on his journey to go training hoping that he would recognize him and allow him to avoid the hassle of all the interrogation about why he was here considering he had already been here for a few months.

He got lucky and the guard waved him through and on he went to the sleeping giant inn to hopefully find himself a room for a few more days, he had been wondering why he had stayed here in Kumogakure feeling as if there was something still here for him to find or do whatever it was and now he realized what it was that he had been waiting for the Chuunin Exams here in the village where he was as if destiny was shining on him. He would compete in the Chuunin exams and afterwards travel out and see the rest of the world as he continued his journey, but first he needed rest and for that he needed a bed and so he walked through the door of the sleeping giant inn and headed straight for the front desk to ask for a room.

"Ah, Ruvaak good to see you again. I was afraid you had left us and went to another inn." came the voice of the Innkeeper over the small crowd in the lobby, "no sir I would never do that after how kind you and your wife have been since I arrived. I just went out of the village to do some training before the exams I was wondering if you had any rooms available so I could get some rest before it begins." Ruvaak said with a bow to the innkeeper. The innkeeper just grinned wider at Ruvaak as he stood back up straight, "your room is still waiting for you young Ruvaak, we kept it just for you would not let a single person rent it out from under you. We are in your debt for what you have done for us and that room will be there for you always." The man said as he took Ruvaak's pack from him and started walking towards the door to Ruvaak's room, the man and his wife was always so kind to him it was one of the things he liked most about Kumogakure the people who live here are the kindest he had ever met. As the man left Ruvaak in his room the man turned back to him still with a smile on his face, "good luck in the exams child, I'll be cheering for you" and with that he shut the door and Ruvaak soon passed out on the bed quickly drifting off to dreamland getting rest for the coming exams and the test as well as people he would have to face in order to come out on top and move on with the rest of his journey.

---

Word Count: 916
Total Count: 7040
Train Bukijutsu from B-Rank to A-Rank: 3000/3000 Complete
Train Bukijutsu from A-Rank to S-Rank: 4000/4000 Complete
Words Remaining: 40