Mizara found herself wandering on the outskirts of Kirigakure. She never really had time to explore beyond her previous knowledge of the village, so when she found the opportunity to do so, Mizara took it without any hesitation. Training had become rather tedious for her in the past few days, results seeming to come slower and slower as she progressed further. Mizara believed that she was reaching her peak of what she could do as a genin, but she didn't want to stop where she was at. However, she had to allow herself some time for leisurely activities, bogging herself down with work and other strenuous things would only wear her out in the end, and make her progression on becoming more powerful, that much longer. Strolling through the wilderness around the village, she stumbled upon a tree that had a rusted kunai lodged into the side of it. The bark around the kunai's pierced point was stripped, and tattered, as if the weapon had been infused with chakra of some sort. The kunai had been rusting there for a while it seemed, since there was no sign of the original metal among the copper hue. Mizara assumed she was in the Nukenin Graveyard, which wasn't a graveyard in essence, it was just an area around the diameter of the village that was plagued by numerous battles that included traitorous shinobi and those trying to apprehend them. Of course, that was probably how the area had received its name. It made sense. Mizara felt sort of odd wondering into this place, as if she weren't safe for some reason. Though, she had never really been afraid of anything that was substantial, and there probably was no reason to be scared of this particular instance either. Mizara shook her head quickly, shooing off all negative thoughts and emotions that floated through her mind. Thinking negatively would only maae her act rash if she were to find herself in a bad situation.

The mist that blanketed the ground like snow was sort of ominous. but Mizara continued to keep a calm mind and listened as her feet snapped various branches with each step. The sound of the branches made the forest less creepy seeing how it broke the silence. Mizara sighed heavily as she looked up at the now dimming light of the sky. Assuming it was as late as she thought, Mizara might have had to go back to the village before she was questioned on why she had been out for so long. The thought of defecting from the village never crossed her mind, ever since she moved to Kiri, she had grown to love the place more and more. She never really had a place to call her own before, so it made her happy knowing she could call a place home for once. Mizara's family had their own goals while they were in Kiri, and it didn't surprise her that they differed from her own. Mizara wanted to get as strong as possible so that she could servie Kiri in the future, however, it was difficult to get stronger due to the lack of instruction she had over the years. Since she traveled with the Hattori clan, there was no time to teach the younger generation about being a shinobi, so Mizara didn't have the traditional knowledge that ever other ninja had. Mizara basically trained herself with reading material and random tips from other shinobi of higher rank. Though no one ever had the time to teach her directly. It was disheartening. None of that mattered now though, she needed to relax and not dwell on trivial things, that's what she was here for, right? Mizara snickered to herself, thinking about how irrational she was being at the moment, and continue to traverse through the woods, hoping to find something interesting to observe or do.

WC: 655
TWC: 655

Times had been tough for the Mizukage.

It had become a common practice for Aya recently to take long walks in the nukenin graveyard, though there was a sinister plot behind such a mundane action. The walk was in order to isolate herself, a deliberate act of vulnerability chartered into her regime under the guise of patrol in order to give her enemies such a time that they would be able to strike her without leading on members of the public, leading them into unrest and out-rage at the thought of their beloved Kage under attack. It had been but a few hours on patrol today before she had come under attack, ninja wearing blood-red capes with the brand of the Daimyo burned into the back of their necks. each of them held weapons which ranged from daggers to swords and from spears to cross-bows. Each of them seemed to be cut from the same cloth, weapons of B rank quality made in the fires of her own country. The realization burned into Aya's mind, as she became angry, the squad seemed to be made of the same criminals which had been used in the Seven Bells war, prisoners taken by the Daimyo's men as they had not made the same 'no prisoner' commitement as Aya had...

This was becoming too much.

Aya drew her blade and activated her sage mode, facing down the band of organized brigands, the mob were disheveled, did the Daimyo's advisor really believe that this would be what it took to bring her down? This was a joke. Aya opened her mouth and issued a single verbal warning to each of them men, they had seen her in action before, what she was capable of. None of them stood a chance, but not a single word was uttered in response, their hands shaking as their bodies seemed to move without their own order. The crossbowmen were the first to level their weapons and fire, Aya stood in the middle of the web of bolts as they came toward her, spinning with her gauntleted hands she swiped one of the bolts out of the air as she ducked and caught another with the spinning momentum and her free hand, taking each of the bolts in turn having rotated a full 180 degrees she threw them back in the direction of their owners.

The tossing of the projectiles was faster than the weapons themselves, scoring each of them in the neck before they were each able to react as Aya drew her own weapon, changeling, releasing the string and extending the collapsible pole her deadly shape-shifting sword became a bow of considerable strength. Taking a fist-full of her finely made arrows she knocked them one by one with a piston like movement as she opened fire on the enemy ninja, before many of them had taken a second step towards her. In a flash, her quiver was empty, as Aya landed on a single knee, the men whom had stood against her stumbled to a halt before dropping to the ground. An arrow penetrating through each of their chests striking the nerve cluster just north of the heart, each of the men were clinically dead before their bodies struck the ground, their minds lost in wonder at what had even struck them. Their legs gave way underneath them like they had turned to stone, toppling the men and women as they hit the ground hard, dust spilling out i every direction as Aya moved to reclaim her highly priced arrows...

It was only in the eerie silence before Aya's senses could dull from the fight that she heard someone nearby, looking around and listening she could hear the trodding of feet across the forest ground some sixty feet away. Aya knocked her next arrow to her bow-string and aimed it in a direction as a Genin strode out of the foliage. They seemed young, new, and different than the other Genin that Aya had seen, and it was most definitely not the place where one of them should be, Aya had already had to deal with one hostage situation when it came to the people who were attempting to end her life, she wasn't about to allow a second one to happen. Hesitating for a moment when it came to lower her bow, Aya paused, before allowing the bow string to relax once again, returning her arrow to its quiver and collapsing Changeling back into its sword shape, sheathing it at her side as she approached the girl.

Aya looked like she meant business, wearing her mask in its full mode, covering her entire face in clad iron underneath a hooded long coat which hung openly, only bound by a single golden chain which cut across her collar. Combined with her baggy black pants as well as her upper chest being bound in bandages, the only other apparel on her person was her weapons. Two hilts sat on one hip, one belonging to the Kusanagi, the other to the Raijin blade. While her own sword Changeling hung at her other side. The wedding band dagger hugging a sheath wrapped around her calf while her fuma shuriken was collapsed behind her as well as her arrow quiver. The Mizukage's alabaster skin almost radiated in the low light as she opened her mouth to speak, tilting her mask to a side as it projected her own voice, rather than that of another.

"Genin, what on earth are you doing here? This place is way too dangerous for you to be roaming about in without a proper escort. Where's your tutor or friends? Do you have any idea the kind of danger you could be in right now?"

As aya spoke, she was not blind to the fact that there were almost a dozen dead bodies of rogue ninja behind her that she had slaughtered moments ago. Each of them about as powerful as the special jounin of her own village, if not a little worse trained.

Training Stuff:

[1023 words]

Mizara continued to entertain her own thoughts as she made her way through the forest. There wasn't much to look at, she realized at one point, anything interesting found was of the same likeness of everything before it. However, it didn't keep her from wandering, she needed something to do in her spare time, and since she already found herself in the Nukenin Graveyard, there was no reason to travel back to the village and do anything else. At that point, she'd just be wasting time. Mizara heard some sounds off in the distance that she couldn't quite make out, which didn't really bother her. It would have been odd to Mizara had there not been mysterious sounds sprouting from the bowels of a dark forest such as the one she was in. That's what made this activity somewhat fun. She enjoyed being captivated by her surroundings no matter where she went, so something as trite as a little sound just interested her more.

As she walked further into the forest, she couldn't help but feel a little off-put despite her lack of fear concerning the strange place. Something didn't sit right with her. Purely a gut feeling, however one not to be dismissed, considering she didn't get them often. Mizara slowed her step as she came into a clearing and looked around. The soft mist in the air made the scenery a slight blur before her. To her surprise, she still jumped when she heard a familiar, yet demanding voice come from one side of her. Turning quickly, and a hand flicking briefly to a kunai, she laid her eyes on someone she had never expected to see in this place.

Clad in her full sage form, stood the Mizukage of Kirigakure. Never in Mizara's life did she ever believe she would meet the Kage face to face. Let alone in a place such as the one they were in. Mizara didn't show any signs of surprise or excitement; at least she didn't think she did. Even if Ayakashi was the Mizukage, she was just another person like Mizara or anyone else. That might have sounded disrespectful to some people, but Mizara didn't really care, everyone has their opinions. Mizara realized her hand was hovering over her one and only kunai, and fumbled to correct her posture since she was still looking quite defensive. It was one thing to appear as if you were attacking someone, it's another thing when that someone is the Mizukage - Most likely the strongest Shinobi in existence. Mizara found herself bowing ever so slightly, just enough for the gesture to come across without her actually having to take her eyes off Ayakashi.

Mizara hesitated a moment more before answering Aya's rapid fire questions. She wasn't sure whether or not the Kage was concerned or upset, however Mizara felt rather fine here in the forest and was confused why it was still considered dangerous after all this time. Mizara didn't ask this directly though, if Ayakashi said it was dangerous, it probably was.

That idea was confirmed by what she saw next. Mizara, being especially perceptive of most things, managed to observe the multitude of corpses laying behind the Mizukage. In attempt to avoid this subject, Mizara decided not to say anything about it; It was none of her business after all.

Mizara looked at the sage mask of Ayakashi and spoke as calmly as she could in the situation.

"Well, I thought I would have a little look around and explore a bit since I had the day off from training and such. I understand the place is dangerous, but I felt confident - Though I suppose that doesn't make up for the fact that I should have someone with me regardless..." Mizara paused, looking at the hardened dirt on the ground sheepishly.

"My apologies. As for a tutor or friends, I lack both of those currently. I mostly find myself training alone; And I try to make friends, but I guess I'm not exactly the best candidate for such a role." She finished, looking back up at the Mizukage with a sad smile on her face. "I can return to the village if you would like me to, ma'am." Mizara added quickly to appease Aya.

Mizara hoped she wasn't in any sort of trouble, she didn't want to be on bad terms with the Mizukage, that wouldn't look too good in any sense. Though, Mizara was confident she would be okay.

WC: 771
TWC: 1426

Ayakashi couldn't believe her ears, the child that was before her seemed to be so relaxed and borderline cocky about their skills that she could not help but muster a worried frown as she crinkled her nose. Overconfidence was a very bad trait for a genin, it could quickly lead to death, but it was something that most Genin went through once they had a taste of the supernatural. A Genin first learned how to harness the magical power of chakra and quickly developed a god complex around hiss friends who were perhaps younger or not quite able to do so yet. This was especially true for those who not only were able to perform the minor academy jutsu, but those who were naturally talented tended to go one step further. Aya noted that the Girl had seen the pile of corpses behind her, from the battle ANBU had begun to arrive and erase them one by one with the techniques that were taught as part of their station.

Aya thought to herself of how best to address this issue. Smiling, before raising a single hand and clicking her fingers...

Around her almost thirty of her ANBU corps fell into ranks behind her, with a second hand motion they all nodded and formed a circle around the two of them about thirty meters wide. Aya removed her mask and continued to smile at the young ninja, her smile broadening as she was about to teach the lesson of the child's life. This area was unfortunately one of the largest landmasses in the country, so it was almost impossible to patrol the entire area, even with kirigakure's sheer sum of ninja. The mutiple mile thick band which rotated completely around the village hidden in the mist which comprised the 'nukenin graveyard' was more of an area of convenience, similar to the area around the konohagakure barrier that they were oh so proud of. The plan was to show this Genin the kind of things that could happen to a ninja out in the wild here, and show them just how confident that they would be in that situation.

"Confident you say? Well, if you are, you're better than me... I'm intrigued! So, lets see just how confident you are... each of these ANBU around you are of a rank that would be consistent well above the average shinobi in the ninja world working for any of the other villages. Each of them is trained, experienced, and has mastered a wide array of jutsu and techniques as well as having come into their own fighting style which has been refined through missions and encounters on an almost weekly basis. It's their job to go looking for trouble, unlike the jounin of the city who are able to rest and take a sense of pleasure and peace in times without strife. I want you to show me how confident you are against the dangers which they commonly face in this country...

So, ANBU, tell us your tales of war...

are you ready? Genin?"

What began to happen next would be interesting to behold, all in sync, the ANBU would put their hands together and inhale as one, chakra forming in their lungs as they exhaled, breathing out the chakra enhanced mist so well known by the village to obscure vision. Ayakashi's soft blue glow could still be seen, painting symbols across the mist in a pale blue glow almost like she was a shadow puppet and this was some form of kabuki play. Aya hoped that the genin was ready for this trial, as he was about to experience what it meant to be a ninja of the village hidden in the mist in one of the harshest ways possible. And, it would be a little bit of fun and training for the kid, learning what ANBU in the country did and how they overcame their struggles with narrative told by them.

[666 words]

Mizara didn't feel very intimidated by the Mizukage, rather she just felt safe around her. Though she had never been in the presence of Ayakashi before, it was nice aura that the woman gave off about herself. Mizara had always believed that if anyone was every in any sort of trouble that the Mizukage would help out to her best abilities. She hadn't been in Kirigakure for long, but she was sure that the Kage wasn't heartless. In all ways Mizara could think of, she looked up to the Mizukage completely. She hadn't heard a single thing negative about her and thought that was amazing.

That being said, Mizara still wanted to appease the Mizukage as much as possible. So if she was asked to leave and go back to the village, she would. There was no reason to cause any trouble for herself, or the Kage. That just wouldn't look good at all. So Mizara waited for her order to leave the area, or any sort of scolding she might receive. Either way, she was going to stay completely obedient.

So when Ayakashi signaled for ANBU to appear, it surprised Mizara quite a bit. What was this all about? Mizara looked around at all the various ANBU members and found herself actually becoming intimidated despite her previous feelings when it was just her and the Mizukage. She tried her best not to show her unease, it wouldn't be wise of her to appear weak in any form or fashion in this situation. Mizara did't want to embarrass herself.

The Mizukage began to speak of the troubles and hardships that the ANBU members went through every day to protect the village of Kirigakure. Mizara understood a little about what the ANBU did, but did not know to its full extent about what went on behind the scenes. Things like that slipped passed her grasp, mainly because she would rather not have herself involved. However, now that it was being presented to her first hand, it was probably best that she listened. What happened next made Mizara physically shudder, regardless of how hard she was attempting to hold back from looking weak. Mizara watched closely as the ANBU simultaneously put their hands together and begin to inhale. When they all exhaled at the same time, a thick mist began to fill the area around them all. After a brief moment, the mist was so thick that Mizara couldn't make out anyone who had previously been in the circle of ANBU. The only thing slightly visible was a blue glow protruding from the spot that the Mizukage was standing. Mizara braced herself, unsure of the events that were about to take place. She assumed that this was supposed to be some sort of test given by the Kage, however Mizara couldn't make out exactly what she had planned.

It was completely beyond Mizara to run from stressful situations, she always tried to tackle her issues head on. Mizara attempted to calm her mind of everything before anything else happened, she didn't want to be anxious when being tested. Especially by someone of the Mizukage's standing.

WC: 536
TWC: 1962

What happened next would likely shock everyone, through the mist, Aya's colour would begin to fade, and lights where all the ANBU were standing would begin to light up, what was about to come to pass was a story, something which had happened to a singular ANBU member, the voice spoken through his mask was neutral, factual, dead and emotionless. Throwing his voice so that it seemed like he was speaking from all angles around Mizara rather than from a single direction. The shadows around her to begin with would not move, but, as he would retell the story the faceless anbu within the mist, little more than dancing faceless specters would, move to fill the roles that were being mentioned as they were said. Much like a story-teller, telling a tale of events as they unfolded in reality. Aya would stand back, falling into rank with all of them and allowing them to tell their stories, she would ensure that the illusion would not be too hard on the Genin, she seemed caught off guard, which was exactly what the Mizukage was hoping to achieve.

If this genin could pass this test, and deal with everything that had been thrown her way, then, she would have earned her right to walk these woods alone. As well as Aya's respect. And so the ANBU began, two shadows, each fell in either side of Mizara, their colourless glow becoming blue, a colour which seemed friendly and familiar, while a third, red shadow appeared before her, facing her, the red was that of blood, hostile and angered:

"The mission was simple, we were told that there had been a missing ninja attempting to escape the city, myself and my squad attempted to chase them down. The convert's own squad had attempted to bring them back once before and failed to convince them, so, the parameters were to either apprehend, or eliminate the target, with whatever force that we deemed necessary at the time."

The ninja bathed in red drew a sword, cornered with his back to a tree as he prepared to face down the three of his aggressors, a fight which, as Mizara was representing the main character of the story, as an ANBU, she would know that it would be a fight that she would not possibly be able to loose.

"However, as ANBU, our identities are hidden, many times even from each other as our teams are assembled uniquely for our talents, so that we could best succeed in our mission. I was chosen for my ability to track ninja, while my other team-mates had knowledge of the traitor's kekkei Genkai... I could not have possibly known that each of them had previously been members of the clan the traitor had spawned from, and, through their honour to their clan, placing it over the village, each in turn, turned on me, and attempted to stab me in the back and leave me for dead. "

To either side of Mizara, the two blue glowing shadows faded to purple, and then to red, before two wakizashi were drawn rapidly and attempted to be bought into her sides, while the shadow representing the traitor lunged head on with his blade for Mizara's chest with a devastating thrust. The ninja here had been betrayed by his own squad-mates as other ANBU turned against him. Yet, he stood here telling the story, so, it could already be assumed that he had managed to defeat all of his opponents that day, or he had been forced to retreat and escape... The three pronged attack on Mizara from the shadows would have been quick, but not beyond  her ability to react to, these ANBU were pulling their punches in order to prioritize the story that they were telling, rather than simply crush a lower ranking ninja, each of their strikes and speeds were in actuality little more than a full rank above Mizara's own.

"I had little choice, the three of them had surrounded me and had struck from every angle, I knew that there was nowhere I was able to run to, they had me cornered, so, I drew my blade and prepared myself to die for the country that I had sworn to protect.Terrified, but like a demon I would fight these ninja, Until either them, or I stopped breathing. No matter what, if I fell, I had resolved to take them with me..."

The ANBU could not hide some of the emotion from his voice, he was still speaking in neutral tones, making him impossible mis-read, but his voice was beginning to shake a little as he remembered, like the memories that this was dredging up were almost painful to remember. It was apparent by virtue of the story alone that this ANBU had come close to death that day, and however he managed to overcome his enemies, it had taken everything that was available to him at the time to be able to come out on top in the end. But, although he had managed to overcome his opponents, could Mizara do the same, unless she accepted right there that death could very well be a possibility, the fear of death and the resolve to fight on had kept this ninja alive to fight another day...

Mizara would have to learn the same lesson... and she could not believe that Aya intended to spare her if she failed to comply or avoid the attacks closing in on her.

[927]

The mist was very irritating to Mizara. She did not like feeling isolated at all. So when the Mizukage's blue glow faded away, Mizara took a step back and became slightly ore vigilant than she had been before. Then the shadows of the ANBU began to emerge in the places that they were standing in before the mist had been summoned. This didn't settle Mizara's nerves in the slightest, she was still weary of the situation. She had to be, if she wasn't ready for anything, it could spell the end of her. Regardless of whether or not the Mizukage would harm her.

Two shadows appeared on either side of Mizara, the same blue glow, yet more faint, sprouting from their bodies seemed to signal that they were friendly. However a third shadow accompanied by a red color fell in front of Mizara, and her hand immediately found the hilt of her kunai hanging by her side. She didn't draw it, but she was prepared to assuming anything were to happen.

Mizara was sure that this was an illusion, but she didn't underestimate the power of the Mizukgae or her ANBU. Anything seemed to be possible within this jutsu, even physical harm. Mizara focused on her surroundings in case anything were to change.

As the story continued, she attempted to listen as much as she possibly could as she payed close attention to her surroundings. She didn't want to leave her guard down for even a second. She wanted to give her full attention to the story, but it seemed as if she was about to be thrown completely into the middle of it. As the main character. Mizara understood that this would likely be a fight that the ANBU member had experienced in his lifetime. She became weary as she knew that there wasn't much she could do, knowing that she was new to being a shinobi. Though Mizara wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

When the red shadow before her drew a sword, Mizara gripped the handle of the kunai her hand was hovering over and slightly removed it from its hold.

It wasn't long before the two companions that Mizara had on her sides began to turn the same red color as the shadow before her. She gritted her teeth and attempted to keep an eye on all three of them, it was very likely that she was in trouble at the moment, and that getting out of it would prove to be difficult. The two shadows on her sides drew their swords, thrusting them at Mizara, while the shadow representing the traitor had done the same. Mizara was cornered, with the only way out being directly behind her.

Mizara knew that the shinobi had survived the situation. That much was obvious only because he was there telling the story. The only thing stopping Mizara from acting confidently was the wonder of how he managed to escape the immensely difficult challenge.

Pushing off of her planted right foot, she threw herself backwards away from the three lunging blades. Landing not far from her starting position, but enough to escape the initial attack. She finally drew her kunai and held it up defensively in her right hand, standing low in a ready position. Mizara's face was flushed red, thinking about how the man's comrades could betray him like that. It wasn't fair.

Mizara knew she had to prove herself to the Mizukage and everyone watching. This was the only chance she was likely to receive.

WC: 602
TWC: 2564

Ayakashi watched the Genin move, slow in comparison to her attackers but not impossibly slow, her resolve seemed shaken and her mind seemed to be racing as she dodged back in an attempt to avoid the conflict. But there was no fleeing from this fight, unknown to her, the ANBU had formed a protective barrier around the battle, which was the prime reason for none of the mist being able to dissipate, keeping the mistique of the battle intact as well as the facelessness of the ANBU that she was fighting against. The three red-hued opponents looked as though they were to make another advance, each of them being ninja from kirigakure meant that they were skilled in the use of water techniques, and each of them having known and trained with one another meant that no doubt they had honed their team-work to devastating standards. The first of them held his hands together for a moment, creating a hand-seal as a glowing water whip expanded from his palms, allowing him to grip it tightly and swing it forward for Mizara in an attempt to gash open her upper thighs with the deadly swing.

The Second of the ninja Jumped high above his comrade, creating another handseal, taking moisture from the mist around them and coiling it into a wave which he hurled down at his opponent, looking to cut off any attempt at advancing on the trio, attempting to make her retreat further as the crushing water wave jutsu would likely slam into the earth in front of her and push her back to lead her into the third and final part of their devastating team-work. Unless the girl had a keen eye, the ground behind her would be wet, and the third of the comrades would have prepared a third and final jutsu, well known throughout the land of kirigakure. The skill was the water prison jutsu, waiting for her to simply step backwards into before it would attempt to swallow her up within its spherical mass.

"The three ninja I fought were each skilled in the arts of Suiton techniques and Ninjutsu, they were artistic in their ability to control the environment which gave them a distinct advantage in the battle, though there was a single flaw which led to their downfall... Something minor, something widely overlooked by ANBU, and by those who wielded that element. It took some time to figure out though... but it gave me the power i needed."

Trapped or not the two not holding the prison in place would charge head first with a powerful and lightning quick series of strikes with their swords, using their size as an advantage as well as the range of their weapons. Should the prison have taken hold, they would swing their blades, attempting to plunge them into the water that would trap mizara in an attempt to slash her open from the inside of the orb. The thoughts behind their attacks were methodical and well thought out, like they had done this before, this exact combination of blows many, many times in the past.

Though she would not be able to see it, the art of the obscuring mist and the narritive of the story combined with the anbu telling it from the side-line began to spark a golden yellow from behind the conflict, a hint to a chakra nature which had allowed him to overpower these powerful ninja. There was a reason he was chosen for this mission, Kirigakure hand-picked their squads, and the fact that the two traitors had once had such a close bond with the missing ninja, meant that they had similar natures... though the protagonist was different, he was tasked as the executioner, which meant that he was picked for his ability to do so.

Raiton, was a powerful weapon against suiton...

(Finish this story in this post, either loosing to them men or succeeding, you chose what's right for you.)

[668 words]

[Bai training B-A 2450 + 3284 = 5734 / 3000 words total... A-S 2734 / 4500]

[inactive thread, exit thread]