Ameryuu woke up with a start, the sound of thunder rumbling off in the far distance. It was still dark and when Ame turned her head the numbers on her clock made her dizzy. 3am on the dot. She flopped back down onto her covers and closed her eyes, trying to pretend that she couldn't hear the fierce sound of thunder or see the lightning flashing on the back of her eyelids. Sleeping through storms was practically impossible for her and she knew it, but she was still warm and comfortable and not quite ready to get out of bed yet. She knew that she wasn't the only one awake at the moment. Half, maybe two thirds of her family would be in the same position as herself right now, being acutely aware of the electrical current of the swirling storm above. Ame groaned into her pillow and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The sun wouldn't start rising for about another hour, but the likeliness of her being unconscious in this weather was too close to zero to bother. 

She stretched and yawned, raking a hand through her hair to keep it down. There wasn't much one could do at this time in the morning, but Ame supposed that she could meditate for a while. She hadn't sat and worked with 'Echo' in a while, due to her training in other areas and regular missions. She reached over and plucked the katana from it's stand next to her bed, laying it across her lap once she'd crossed her legs. She kept her blankets pulled up to her waist, not wanting to get too cold. Her window was still open from the night before, but it was the kind of storm that lacked wind, so the rain fell in thick, straight lines before hitting the ground and didn't threaten to make it's way past the eaves outside her room. It was a calming sound, and it helped Ame to focus.

Time ticked by as the rain continued to fall, slowly becoming softer. The sky lightened in anticipation of the rising run and soon Ame's room was awash with the glow of dawn, making her hair look almost purple with the intensity of the light. She heard the sound of cautious footsteps nearing her window, along with a familiar electrical signal once they were closer and a small round face popped up when she didn't say anything. "Nee-chan? Are you awake?" Ame opened one eye to spot her cousin looking at her with wide eyes and sighed. "Yes Homaru-kun, why are you awake? It's 4.30am." Her younger cousin pouted. He hopped up onto the windowsill and climbed into her bedroom, almost losing his balance. When she saw that he was still in his pyjamas she frowned. "It's cold out there, and yet you walk around in shorts? You're just lucky that we have eaves all around the compound walkways." He bounded up to her and invited himself into her bed, his cold feet making her shudder when they brushed against her. He blinked at her and stared solemnly. "Nee-chan, you're never around anymore, can you play with me today?" Ame smiled softly and ruffled his dark hair. "Sorry Homaru-kun, but today I'm training with a friend of mine. I'm teaching him Kenjutsu." The child huffed and snuggled into her side. "Still haven't taught me the sensory stuffs." Ame sighed. "I can't just teach that you know. You have to figure it out for yourself. Maybe if you studied and meditated more you would." She pinched his cheeks and slid Echo off her lap so that the blade wouldn't hurt him. She snuggled down under the covers with him and they lay there until her alarm clock blared, informing her that it was now 6am and she should get up. Ame left the boy where he was, noted that the rain was barely noticeable anymore and moved to get ready for the day, starting with a shower.

She dressed in her usual attire, her new red jacket (after the ruin of the last one was deemed unusable) and all her other bits, along with 'Echo' which she strapped to her back. She ran a quick brush through her hair, before turning around and kissing Homaru on the forehead. He opened one bleary blue eye to look at her before turning over and muttering a resigned 'have fun'. Ame laughed and said goodbye to her cousin, before exiting her home and wandering through the compound. People were already bustling about and getting ready for the day, and Ame waved to a couple of her relatives before jogging through the gates and out into the city.

The rain was only spitting now and it didn't bother Ame a bit. She was going to be early for the promised training session, sure, but she had already decided that she was going to train herself at the same time. Her muscles warmed and she jogged, keeping her pace sedate and easy. The Battle Plateau was on the same side of town as the Ryuzoji clan compound, so she didn't actually have very far to go, but it would be nice to get started on her warm-up before Elin appeared. The rain eventually tapered off completely, leaving the ground slick with water. The clouds were now broken in places and warm sunlight filtered down to the ground, making Ame hum in contentment. It looked like it was going to be a fine day.

She jogged over the flat stone that made up the plateau and paused to take a deep breath, fresh air filling her lungs. Ame drew her katana and gripped it easily, twisting it in her hand. She wondered if Elin had thought to bring a blade to practice with along with him. She had regretfully not thought to bring one along for him. She could have asked a relative to borrow a blade for the morning. Ame cursed her foolishness. She wasn't sure how she was going to teach the boy to use a sword without having one for him. She had a feeling that hers was a touch too long for him, and probably a bit heavy for his first time using one. Hopefully he had had the sense to borrow a weapon (preferably a wakizashi, considering his height) otherwise their training might end up stalled. 

Ame let out a breath and decided that she would just have to wait and see. She slid into a low stance and started practising her own katas, keeping her body tight and coiled, her movements quick so as to keep her body defended lest she be caught off guard. She would practice until Elin showed up, granted that he break her from her concentration in some way.

---

Words: 1162

He was excited as he stayed up late that night, he did not know why he could not find the monk who raised him. All he found when he explored was a note saying that he was sorry he had to go away, and that all the children had been adopted while others had went away on missions. He was not sure what had happened in the eight years he spent in the hospital, but it did explain a bit as to why they appeared less and less to visit him. He was looking out the window and the beautiful moon as he pretended to grab hold of it in his hand then let it go as if to set it free. His big red eyes reflected the light nicely as he looked around his new room. He had found this place thanks to help from one of the other kids who used to be with him.

His name was Hajime and he was apparently a basic messenger shinobi who specialised only he delivering messages or parcels and for that reason he knew his way around. When they were small he remembered Hajime always getting lost, even inside the house and it impressed him that someone who always got lost all the time, could now find people anywhere around the village. Though apparently it was not really that he was good at finding people but that he had developed a useful tracking jutsu and some high speed jutsu to reach his destinations faster.

Learning a bit from his friend he was told he was a bit childish for his age and also some what immature. When he asked about that his friend just said, that there was nothing wrong with it and that all that mattered was that he search for whatever he wants and takes it. He was not sure what he meant, but he understood that he needed to better himself and that he had to learn new and impressive ways to live in this world. Some time back he had a fight with a girl, a beautiful girl with blue hair and a name that spoke volumes about the pain and emotions she rained down upon this small child. He may be a small child on the out side, but in truth he was a sixteen year old teenage boy who was just a bit underdeveloped due to spending too much time recovering from his mysterious wounds. He was told a many few things after finding this place, the first thing he learnt was that he needed to start paying for the locations he would live in. He got a bit of pocket money which was left behind by the monk in glasses and some notes on a way to improve on his technique. He did not have the skills to use weapons the way he wanted, he did not want to be at the mercy of those with the large amounts of chakra to overwhelm their opponent with jutsu. He needed to become a shinobi who could learn all about the world and in the future he would need to live long enough to see the world he was searching for, one in which he can only see the beauty of this world.

A world where his family would not be torn apart, a future that has everyone he cares for together. A dream he could never even hope to achieve, but in the end what are we without our dreams. The night time drew to an end as he fell asleep deep in thought only to be woken up by the sound of birds chirping and a cat meowing. He opened his sleepy eyes slowly as he had fallen asleep at the edge of his bed looking out the window. The sunlight began to enter slowly as the light had begun to shine upon his little face, exposing his bright red eyes as his blonde hair hung over his face, a slight breeze as his window had been left slightly open. A room that only had a bed, a small round table and a little fridge which had some of his daily goods which were fresh milk, a bottle of juice and a few eggs and cheese. On the table were some basics like salt, sugar, tea even though he did not drink it and some cereal called Cloudy Crunch.

He slid off the bed slowly before falling off as his blanket cushioned his fall, he felt a bit lazy but he did not want to be late for his date with Ame. He struggled out of his blanket and then stood up slowly. His eyes were still a bit sleepy as he struggled to keep them open. He decided to do the only thing he could and just got undressed quick throwing his pajamas all over the floor and ran into the shower. He was about to enjoy himself when he realised he forgot to turn on the hot water as the cold water hit him he screamed as he ran back to turn the geyser on. Had his home not been a small rundown little house on its own the people would probably complain about the noise, although the land lady who let him stay there sometimes had the displeasure of hearing screams for several reasons, including him cutting his finger cooking and so on.

He finally got done in the shower as he was drying off with his towel, he wondered if Ame would be late since he recently learnt that girls spend three hours in the shower. Then he thought to himself she probably would just get up three hours earlier so he would never know. He then put on a loose t-shirt that he would not mind throwing away later and a shorts so that he would be able to move his legs freely. He put on socks and some loose sneakers which he thought were weird since they were not as good for sneaking as going barefoot was.

He then went to prepare his breakfast turning on the small fire stove as he got out the milk and put it into a small little stainless steel pot he got from the land lady along with other things. He looked around as the milk got warmer he had to make sure not to get it too warm. He then opened the box of Cloudy Crunch and then grabbed a bowl from the top of the fridge and placed it on the table. He poured the crunchies into the bowl as he noticed the milk was hot as he turned off the stove and took the milk and poured it into the bowl as he waited for it to cool down a bit. He searched around and found some sugar and showered a bit of the sugar over the milk. He then got his large spoon and began to eat his cereal slowly wondering what he would do later as he finished his final bite of cereal he stood up. He then was ready to begin leaving.

He took an umbrella he borrowed from the land lady as he stepped outside into the rain, the showering waters hit down in a way that was hard to explain. He made his way through to this old dojo where a familiar man met him, as he asked for a sword for training and got a wooden shinai for his troubles. It was lightweight and the man said it was nothing like a real sword and the length was a bit shorter then the sword he had seen on Ame. The man said he could come get a real sword once his learnt how to use the shinai correctly. He held it out a bit and swung it around like a mad child before putting it in the backpack he was also borrowing. He had a custom made backpack on order and had to earn money to get it later. When he was finally finished with the preparations he began to notice as the sky seemed to split open as the rain came to a stop.

He got a bit lost, but after asking a few directions here and there he finally got to the battle plateau, he was running as fast as he could even though he was not late. He felt like he might be as he ran and ran, then in the distance he saw someone with a sword he stopped at first thinking it was someone dangerous, but sadly the ground was still wet so he skid forward before crashing arm first into the ground as he slid in a puddle of water as his umbrella fell in front of the beautiful girl. As he looked up he blushed as he realised he had found her, and today they could finally enjoy their date for training. Even though his friend said that his idea of a date is actually not a date but just a training session. Then again Elin was just trying to get to grip with things and regain his calm mind that he used to have before the incident.

He hoped that the nature of his fall would not upset her, and fortunately the water was their to make sure he does not suffer any serious injuries



~Words 1561~

Ame couldn't quite remember exactly when she had first wielded a sword. She had been five, maybe four, but it wasn't really a case of wielding it then, more like swinging it around and hacking at things. The Ryuzoji Clan had no qualms with giving young children lethal weapons to practice with, but miraculously she had manged to never even cut herself on the blade. She could remember one incident where she had gone off into her typical day-dreaming state and accidentally sheared a few inches off of a fellow student's ponytail. She had been very sorry for doing so, of course, but the girl had never quite forgiven her for that particular folly. Ame moved through her katas with practiced ease, barely having to think about it anymore. She had long since passed the stage of her kenjutsu where each movement was either too loose or too tight. Now she only moved. She only felt. 

She heard the faint sound of someone approaching but was reluctant to stop practising yet. Once the person broke through her passive sensory range, Ame felt that it was Elin and halted her advance, turning and sliding her blade back into the holster across her back. She blinked as she watched Elin pause for a moment, continue to move forward looking completely off-balance before slipping and crashing to the ground in front of her. His umbrella landed in a puddle next to her with a splash. Ame winced and crouched down next to him to see if he was okay. "Elin? Are you okay?" She brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and offered him a hand to stand up with. Ame smiled at the blonde. "That was quite a nasty fall there, hey? Let's try and avoid more of those." Ame laughed lightheartedly. She turned her face sky, seeing that the cloud were parting slowly but surely. It would dry up here soon.

"So you ready to get started?" Ame had only ever given tips and pointers to younger cousins before. She had never actually taught anyone how to use a katana. She could remember how it had been taught to her though, though that method could possibly be a bit rough for Elin. Thinking of her cousins made her remember her silly cousin Homaru that morning. He reminded her of Elin a little bit, to be honest. True, they looked nothing alike but something about their personalities were similar. Ame noticed the hilt of a wooden shinai sticking out of the top of Elin's backpack and smiled. He had remembered to get a practice blade then. Ame brought out 'Echo' again and moved a few paces backwards from Elin. "Okay, let's start with the basics. This," Ame moved so that her katana was gripped properly between her hands, "Is the proper way to hold a sword." She motioned her head, inviting him to come and inspect how she was holding her katana. The grip seemed simply, almost annoyingly easy, but if you got it wrong an opponent could easily smack your weapon right out of your hands, and then you'd be in trouble. 

---

Words: 532 ~ 1694

She came pretty close to the small boy in order to inspect him to see if he was okay, as she asked him if he was okay as he just nodded as he blushed. He was always a bit nervous around Ame since he liked her a lot. He watched as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear before offering her hand to him. She seemed to laugh a bit as he allowed her to help him up as he felt warm inside. He enjoyed being around her and was getting a bit needy, but at the same time he was more motivated then ever to train under her and become someone she could be proud of. She must have felt the same way with her laugh that made him feel like laughing to as he looked to the side a bit resisting the urge to join in the laughter. She may not have noticed but even though he smiled and often seemed cheerful and a bit sad at times he hardly laughed at all. He had his reasons for this, mainly because he did not want to laugh due to being teased once even though he did give a giggle once or twice in front of Ame which was his failed attempts at holding it in.

It seems the times would now change as Ame asked if he wanted to get started as the boy looked up to her and then gave a serious look and nodded. His look seemed more defiant and stubborn then serious and focused, however when you look young no matter how serious a face you pull it always looks stubborn. He watched her get out her sword and pull a few paces back, he realised they were going to start soon as he pulled out the shinai holding it with one hand. She then said they were starting with the basics and he was not sure what she meant. He watched her put a good grip on the hilt of her Katana as she held it with both hands and said that was the correct way to hold the sword. He carefully moved to copy her as he focused on her grip and took a second or two in order to mimic it. She motioned for him to come closer and look at her grip, he lowered the shinai and when he looked he realised he was gripping the sword too close to the end and that he needs his grip to be closer to the blade as he looked to her then to her grip and then stood next to her and performed her method of holding the blade. However he was a bit nervous and his stance was a bit eratic, compared to his more skilful stance when he was holding a kunai. He was not used to using two handed weapons. While it could be used with one hand to get the best out of a sword always needed the synergy of two hands holding firmly as you put your weight into your attacks.

Having experience with a bow which is affected by the angle of the draw as well as the positioning of the arrow and the bow, the sword did not have the exact same principle. The way of the bow would always be to fight from a distance, while the way of the sword meant getting in close to cut down all your problems or to make a way through to your future. He looked down to his own grip, while his grip was right he was a bit too shaky and his balance was a bit off. He needed some guidance as he felt something was wrong.

~Words 1561 + 622 = 2183~

Ame bent down a little to expect the boy's grip. At first he had been slightly mistaken as to what the correct way to handle the blade was, but now he had copied her well enough. Of course it was one thing to copy another person's stance or technique and another thing entirely to understand exactly why it was done that way. Ame thought that the grip was passable, a little too shaky to really withstand a blow but other than that correct. The best way to test it was of course to hit her blade against his. The wooden shinai wasn't likely to hold out very well under the cutting power of her blade, or her strength, so she was opposed to doing as such. In the end she decided to take the butt of her katana and strike the blade sideways, waiting for a moment when Elin thought she was simply inspecting his grip. It would be a better test if he didn't expect the blow. Judging by his off-balance he would either allow the blade to fall from his grip or let the power behind the strike further shake his balance and perhaps even cause him to topple over. 

"Ah, you're stance is off. While you're grip is textbook correct," she had personally hated the textbooks, a live teacher was much better, "It is a bit shaky. Kenjutsu is less fluid that Taijutsu, if that is what you're basing it off. When in a correct stance you are at rest, but your muscles are coiled and ready for any last minute blow. In a battle of swords being unprepared is often fatal. Even when in a neutral position you must be able to defend yourself at any given moment." If Elin happened to drop the shinai Ame would pick it up and hand it back to him. If he had fallen she would help him up once again. She would instruct him to take up position again, giving him her 'at rest' position as an example to copy. She would then proceed to prod and poke at his positioning, pointing out flaws and adjusting his stance where necessary until he was suitably rigid. She didn't want him to completely lock up his muscles, as that would mean that his reaction time would be slowed, but a certain measure of preparedness was impertinent.

---

Words: 404 ~ 2098

Ame looked down at his grip and seemed to be satisfied with how he was holding the sword at the very least as he stood there nervously. As he stood there she surprised him as she hit the side of the shinai he was nervous and took a tighter grip even though it hurt his hands slightly as he nearly fell over as he sweated a bit from the shock. He really did not expect her to do that and it made his heart race as it could probably be heard if Ame chose to listen. The ground was almost all dried up, had it been a bit more wet he would have fallen for sure.

Right now his nerves were on edge as he was not sure why, but something just told him he had to hold on to the shinai as if his life depended on it. He was about to start bursting into tears when she told him his grip was correct but that his stance was off. She told him that kenjutsu was not as fluid as taijutsu, but her movements looked like a never ending flow of energy which was merely his inability to judge her true strength.

When she told him he had to be in rest but ready, which was confusing him a bit as he tried to interprete it inside his head. He began to wonder if she meant he had to stay focused, but not grip too much though if his grip was weak how would he hold the blade, but if he is too stiff how will he move. He then watched her take her at rest stance as he watched her and copied it as best he could. She then began to prod him as if to make sure his stance was correct as she prodded here and there while giving some advice and adjusting his stance in certain areas. He was stiff, but the attention and having her help out made it easier as he began to relax a bit more as he blushed while managing to keep his stance better each time. It was then when he realised at rest meant he needed to be calm so that his muscles would be relaxed, but focused so that his grip would be strong and so he could react when he needed to. It was fortunate that he was not very muscular as that would have probably brought other problems with it since some men were so full of muscle a stance like this would be near impossible.

He kept calm holding his stance firm, even though several prods were extremely ticklish as he resisted laughing which was beginning to bother him a bit as tears were building up as it reminded him of when the kids used to tease him at home. Tickling was probably the most powerful torture in the world, though he had learned to resist it for the most part. He began to wonder how much longer he would have to keep his stance as he felt like his legs were going to collapse if he kept this up.

~Words 2183 + 524 = 2707~

Ame was happy with Elin's stance. He seemed to be struggling a bit with the pressure of keeping himself coiled, but it was something you only got used to with experience. Ame had learned that the hard way. you couldn't expect everything to be easy on the first try. Life simply didn't work like that. She decided to move on to the next exercise, another crucial part of Kenjutsu. "Okay Elin, don't relax yet. I want you to swing the shinai for me, make a nice arch with it. Towards that bush." She gestured to his direction marker, moving herself so that she could properly see exactly what he would do with the swing. It was easy for beginners to simply forget about neutral position and give way to hacking at things like madmen, and Ame expected to working on the simple swing for a while until Elin got it right. It wasn't that Elin was incapable of such a thing, but muscles memory was somthing that had to be built up over time. 

She didn't want him to have to unlearn techniques later in life. It was always better to correct him now, when he could adjust things with ease. In a real fight not knowing how to apply force or even moving your sowrd in way that wasn't detrimental to your body would get you killed. Clean and simple. It was an important fact that needed to be drilled into your head as she perfected the art. True, kenjutsu was an art. But it was an art of killing, as most things were in the shinobi world. There was nothing one could do to change that fact from the truth of reality. Ame was prepared to help the boy with each inch that he moved forward with the shinai, making sure he was moving his his wrist correctly. She wouldn't want it to snap. She knew that it probably sounded like she was berating him and stopping him needlessly, but everything had a reason. She just had to drill it into him.

Each time she stopped him she would point out his error, help him fix it and shout, "Again!" To an outsider it may have looked cruel, but Ame knew it was for the best.

---

Words: 386 ~ 2484

It seems she was getting a bit more pleased with his stance as he kept his focus and concentration on what he was doing while looking to Ame as he blushed with her being close and him enjoying the attention some what as he shook his head once as if regaining his senses from some distraction. She then told him he could not start relaxing just yet as he looked to her a bit confused, but his eyes showed a deep sense of him paying close attention to her now. She told him to swing his shinai for her and to make a nice arch towards the bush.

He moved forward losing his stance before stopping himself and stepping back again before raising the blade before performing a downward slash, however with his stance he was not fully aware of the balance for it as he over swung falling a bit forward as he hit the ground. He was expecting her to comfort him or help him up but she fixed the position of his wrist and shouted at him to try again. He was shocked as he went back into his stance and was too surprised to reply. He swung again with a firmer stance but the angle was a bit off as the blade did not move straight but angled slightly due to his imbalance. He thought he finally succeeded when he heard those words shouted at him again, and again, and again.

She kept readjusting his wrist and even repositioned his shoulders, she told him things about moving his hips correctly and even his footwork was being scolded as his footwork was too stiff so she shouted him while adjusting his movements as he slashed. He enjoyed the closeness of the situation but that shout at the end kept ruining the moment over and over again. He was getting tired as she shouted again and he nodded and gave a swing but dropped the shinai as he fell over to his side. He did not even give her a chance to worry as he was half dazed mumbling to himself those words, "Again..." as he stood up shakily searching for his shinai as he picked it up and took his stance as the tears he nearly had early were gone as he focused some more blinking the water from his eyes. He took a stance and performed a technique he had only ever used with his kunai and shuriken.

The shinai began to gain a white glow as the boy seemed completely focused as he raised the blade as he moved his leg accordingly and using his weight completely gathering the energy from his footwork to the careful stance of his knees and the well put effort in his back, shoulder and arm muscles with a skilful wrist movement as he produced a slash which managed to look perfect, however the use of a technique caused the shinai to shatter upon completion as he was tired but still conscious he began falling towards Ame with the wood of the shinai splintering his hands as he was holding on to his consciousness which had begun to return.

Did she just create a little monster or did she awaken a beast. His skill was not polished, but it was clear he was moving forward in his skills. However these were no small baby steps, but giant leaps in the direction of his chosen path.

~Words 2707 + 575 = 3282~

Each time Elin made a mistake Ame would call him out on it. It was clear in his expression that that was not the reaction he had been expecting from Ame, but she remained firm in her resolve. Tough love was something people little appreciated, but it taught discipline nonetheless. Ame didn't doubt Elin's abilities as a shinobi, but he still seemed much too sheltered and expecting of sympathy to really survive out their in the real world. Of course she couldn't blame him for it, he having been confined to a hospital for the majority of his time as an official shinobi. She didn't blame him for it. But it was imperative that Elin got used to the uncaring nature of most people in society. Not everyone was willing to help him get up every time he fell down, and not everyone was going to see his cuteness and act on it in a way that was beneficial to him. Ame had learned that lesson very early on in life, and she was prepared to instill the same lesson in Elin as quickly as possible.

With the upcoming Chuunin exams Ame was sure that he would come up against some really tough opponents. Whether they gave him the opportunity to live or not would remain to be seen, and Ame knew she needed to harden the boy up before the time came. As tears filled the blonde's eyes from her harsh attitude towards him, Ame schooled her features. She didn't want the concern simmering under her skin to show on her face. He seemed to have become lethargic, his eyes blank. Her next shout was slightly more subdued than before as she watched him pick up the shinai. He mumbled something under his breath, adjusted his stance and raised the wooden blade up to slash forwards again. Something Ame hadn't at all expected happened, and the shinai glowed a bright white. Elin's slash was perfect, a well-controlled and tight arc. Unfortunately neither he nor the shinai seemed to be able to withstand the stress of being pushed as they were. The shinai shattered and Elin teetered dangerously. 

Ame rushed forwards, almost without thinking, and brought her arms to catch the petite boy. He was still conscious but only barely so. He obviously still wasn't used to such strenuous activity for so long a period of time. "Okay, I think it's time we cooled off for the day, hey?" Ame smiled warmly at the boy, hoping that he would be okay now that he wasn't in constant motion any longer.

---

Words: 442 ~ 2926

He could not see too well but he could smell something, the scent of someone warm and loving. Even though she seemed to be trying really hard to be cold, she still felt so warm. He heard her say something about them cooling off, but he did not want to lose this warm feeling as he spread out his arms and slowly hugged Ame as she could feel his tight affectionate hug. He still felt a bit dizzy as he struggled to look up a bit as he looked into Ame's eyes. He had become totally smitten with her, whether it was just a crush or whether it was more than that did not matter. The only thing that mattered was him spending time with the girl who set him free.

"Ame, I love you", as he smiled before hugging her some more and even tighter. How she would deal with this and the other question of how he was getting home since he was leaning nearly all his weight on her as his body was tired out from the training. Having to answer all his expectations was probably a form of pressure she had never had to deal with before, or at least she might have dealt with this before. Being loved unconditionally even though she had been so harsh towards him in the training, the trust that even when she nearly killed him in their spar he did not for a second believe that was the case. She was the light of his world, she was his moral compass and whatever she did now would leave a mark on this boy whose future was now in the hands of the girl he loved, Ameryuu of the Ryuuzoji Clan.

~Words 3282 + 291 = 3573~
TRAINING KENJUTSU = 1500/1500
TRAINING C-RANK JUTSU WHITE EDGE DEFENSE = 1000/1000
TRAINING C-RANK JUTSU WHITE EDGE SEARING BLADE = 1000/1000
573 Training words left

Elin seemed to be a bit delirious, as he pulled himself close to Ame. Ame froze, going completely stiff as the boy stared up at her and whispered those words. She ceased breathing, unable to understand what she could have possibly done to deserve hearing as much. A part inside of her that she'd hidden away from the world for nearly her whole life crumbled. A sobbing, shaking little girl. Ame broke down completely. She didn't, she really, really, didn't deserve to hear those words. After what she had done. After she had-. No. She felt tears gather at the corners of her eyes and then start to drip down her cheeks. No. Elin didn't deserve a friend like her. He was so kind, so innocent, in a world where innocence and kindness were sooner quashed than fostered. Where hers had been stripped from her with a single death at her own hands. She was terrible. Truly and utterly terrible. 

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

And as the droplets of rain fell once again, they hid her tears.

---

Words: 182 ~ 3108