Silently and patiently, the young ninja waited in the lobby of the Administration building for Kirigakure no sato. He'd been giving his decision a lot of thought for the past few days and had decided for the moment his skills would be serve the village he was currently residing in. In thanks, no small part, to the abundance of water surrounding the village and the many different ways people here utilized it as jutsu. His favorite element was being used so commonly that the young wanderer couldn't help but decide that he wanted to do his part around the village. And maybe learn a few new tricks to use on the enemies he may make in the future. It was then he decided to make an audience necessary with the current Mizukage. He'd gotten permission, now all he had to do was wait until he was to be seen.

He'd dressed as he normally would, but given that the temperature around the village hidden in the mist was slightly lower than he was used to, he'd dressed warm. He wore his netted shinobi shirt with a navy blue t-shirt over it, the t-shirt having a depiction of a dragon in water on it. He also wore navy blue pants, black socks and blue sneakers to tie his outfit together. Rogue had also taken the added precaution of wearing his ocean blue jacket, the sleeves having a scale sort of design upon them that would remind him of a dragon, and possibly anyone else who took the time to notice them. It was truly his best and favorite outfit to wear, and while it was cold, he hadn't zipped up the jacket so that his shirt could still be seen.

Speaking of being seen, when would he be invited into the office to talk with the leader of this village? He had been waiting a good twenty or so minutes and while he was not exactly impatient, this seemed to be taking longer than it needed to. He tried to be understanding of the mizukage's position but he had been too excited to take it into account when he arrived five minutes early for his meeting. Still, he couldn't hold it against the mizukage or the administration staff, since a wanderer looking to join the village wasn't exactly at the top of the list of priorities. He was sure there were other things that needed seen to before he did, such as criminals, defectors, ANBU, etcetera. Whatever they had going on, it was understandable he had to wait.

Rogue decided to pass the time by thinking of new ways to implement his kekkei genkai. He had always wondered if he could use the gills that he grew on the side of his neck during dragon kata to breathe underwater. That would make an exceptional assassination technique if only he could plan exactly how he would utilize it. He could possibly make it to breath underwater, and then drag someone underneath the surface and down to the bottom until the bubbles stopped, but the water would be situational. Was there a way to create a lake from chakra to use this jutsu more effectively? It seemed like something that may be possible but perhaps not something a simple genin  level ninja could do. Perhaps he could ask the Mizukage if they knew anything about it. After all, the land of waves would know more about water jutsu than anything.

He sat there, contemplating the uses of water ninjutsu and his kekkei genkai, going off into his own little mental world. He was so excited now at the possibilities of what he could do, a small smile creeping to his soft lips, the pink offset by the beautiful alabaster pigment of his skin. There was so much he wanted to learn and do as a ninja, so that he would become the strongest of the Shikiryu, and then the strongest of the ninja. But to be the best he had to do more than dream. He had to train and learn everything he could from those around him and above him. That's another reason he chose this meeting. He wanted to be trained by the best, and in this case that meant the Mizukage.

WC: 723

OOC: I tried for at least 1k and failed lol

The wanderer moved his dull blue eyes to the form of the woman who had dramatically landed where he imagined the middle of a set of stars was. Not really landing on the stairs, but rather as though she had jumped down, neglecting to take them at all. Rogue wasn't entirely impressed, she seemed a rather agile sort, but looked like any other female he'd seen in his travels. Even looked like a few he'd met during his days when he'd fought other members of his clan. That was, until she stood and strode towards him, hesitating only for a moment. She looked to be in her late twenties to him, but man was that the furthest thing from the most interesting part. As she'd stood and come closer, he noticed that she was a good few inches taller than he was at the very least, and her muscle tone, mass, the entire definition of her body made his look as though he'd taken the last six years off to lounge and do nothing with himself. He felt as though she was possibly the strongest woman he'd seen, but how strong was she entirely? He knew by the title she bore she'd have to be incredibly powerful, but he had no idea exactly how powerful that was.

Ayakashi Solstice. Or 'Aya' as she seemed to prefer.

Rogue's dull blue hues went from a beautiful cerulean blue to a slightly darker cobalt color, while he thought of everything that was going on in his mind about this woman. Rogue too stood, as he made to meet her as she approached. When she held out a platinum gloved hand for a shake, he returned the gesture, shaking at the elbow as she did, once and twice, then releasing as was customary. With the introduction of the Mizukage out of the way, he was feeling a bit sheepish to be honest. He was in the presence of the leader of the village hidden in the mist and barely had anything impressive to say or show for his worth. In all actuality, this was a last ditch decision on his part as he really enjoyed the village's look and was a user of water natured jutsu himself. He was not sure how else to introduce himself to someone so impressive, other than with how he'd been addressed in his clan.

"I am Rogue Shikiryu. Many have called me Ryos for reasons I'm unsure of. Possibly an easier way to remember who I am. But the majority of my clan members have taken to calling me 'The Water Dragon.' Due to the jutsu I employ and how my clan looks due to our.. er.. 'Special' kekkei genkai. I do enjoy mist, but I'd rather speak to you in your quarters."

And so it was that he was led up the very stairs that the Mizukage had ignored on her way to the meeting with him, climbing towards the top. It felt as if the stairs went on and on, never ending, but that was possibly due to the nervousness he now felt at being in her presence. The stairs eventually did end and they reached a room that was quite circular in fashion, with mannequins around the room with weapons and armors upon them. There were so many that Rogue had almost forgotten why he'd came. The wanderer looked around, moving from one to another, observing each mannequin and weapon in turn, trying to discern the uses and applications of everything he came across. Each piece of armor or each weapon more intriguing to him as the last. He was no weapon specialist, he was better with his fists than he was with any blade, but seeing everything here made him wish he'd picked up a skill or two that had to do with weapons and the armors he saw. He occasionally thought he'd seen dots of red on the ground, like blood, but wasn't observant enough to actually know what they were, nor did he care. He was interrupted in his curiosity by the Mizukage questioning his reason for coming to the nation.

"Truth be told, I was only wandering around the place when I came here. You see, I enjoy water more than most, it's a bit of a niche to me. Imagine my surprise when I entered here and found so many specialists that use the same chakra nature as me, and then I learn that this nation has plenty of it. Surrounded by the water in fact! I decided, I suppose, that I wished to join here, to try my hand at being a ninja of a village and learn from the strongest people I could find. I made a promise to some people to return when I was stronger, and if I can't learn from the strongest ninja I can find, how will I ever improve?"

After speaking, the wanderer continued to look around at the room, really taking everything in. It was a bit small, and as a rule Rogue didn't like being in places he felt closed in at. Ever since his time in the caves growing up, he preferred the outdoors. When it came to professional meetings such as this, however, he did wish to be more professional and so he dealt with being inside so that he could enjoy the talking in a controlled environment. This wouldn't drag on too dreadfully long, he assumed, so there was no need to get claustrophobic. He actually wasn't even claustrophobic now that he thought on it, he just didn't prefer to be indoors. It wasn't as though it was debilitating to him in the least, more of an annoyance than anything. He began to look around at the weapons and armors once more, trying to pay attention and not be too nosy, but his curiosity getting the best of him when it came to something he didn't understand.

WC: 1,014 + 723 = 1,737

OOC: Got it lel

Rogue listened intently to the Mizukage as he wandered from each set of armor and weaponry. They were all so diverse and finely made, or seemed like it as he had no way of knowing. He was not the discerning weapon user nor had he ever had use for armor in his lifetime, but the beauty of everything still entranced him. Aya began to talk of the village and how she was proud he chose this place to help him grow stronger on his journey through life. He smiled to her and she continued to say that many who come to the village with training already are asked what type of training they've received, where and to what extent they thing they're able to use their abilities. To be fair, Rogue hadn't thought about this detail at all. In fact, he didn't think he'd have to answer something like this when it came down to it. Before he could answer, she had then asked if he would like to be assessed by her himself , and if he took that option she could give him some pointers that would no doubt give him an edge in class or possibly even the odds.

She finished with a cheeky gleam and went about writing something down on the paper in front of her. She had drawn out a quill with a flourish and began writing in what looked like slightly messy, although artistic writing style. He wouldn't really pay attention to what was being written, mainly he would decide upon what he would say to her. He hadn't exactly thought about it before and in truth thought this would be a simple procedure with giving his name and power level or rank and being assigned a head band along with being told he would be watched for a time while in the village, as sort of a probation. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell her where he learned everything, it wasn't a closely guarded clan secret, but relatively speaking he didn't know how strong he was here, as in his clan he was one of the strongest of his age group growing up. If not the strongest, as he'd been undefeated. That bit though, would stay between him and those he called clan mate.

"I learned everything I know from my clan and extensive training with them. Truth be told, relatively I don't know how strong I am to a ninja but I'd guess I'd be about genin level. I am rather strong in my clan, but since we're scattered to the four winds I suppose that doesn't mean much. I think I'd rather take you up on your offer as getting pointers from the Mizukage herself and getting an assessment from her would prove more valuable than talking about myself. Learn by doing, right? I think we can get this show on the road together a lot easier than if I were to do this myself. Evening the odds does sound rather nice."

He chuckled after speaking,watching the Mizukage after she'd finished writing. He was quite nervous for what was to come of being assessed by the leader of a village herself, but hoped that he wouldn't be limping home with more bruises and broken bones than needed. Thinking of limping home: he still had to go and put money up for home on the islands later. This country had many outlying islands and he'd been offered a shack on one of the smaller ones for a modest fee. He just had to be able to make it there after this was over, if he could. The wanderer was completely lost in thought so it took him by surprise once the Mizukage had stood to come near him. He was unsure of what was going on, and thought they would have at least gone outside for her to test him, he tried to get ready to defend himself, but needn't have bothered.

He was quickly ushered out of the office and back down the stairs. He went with the Mizukage's directions to find himself in the backyard of the administration building where others were gathered, possibly for training purposes. With a wave of her hand, the Mizukage had cleared space for them, the people obediently moving away to allow an open arena of sorts for the two. Rogue stepped forward, looking around before he turned back to meet the eyes of the Mizukage. He backed up a bit as she told him to come with everything he had, so that she could assess his strengths, and tell his weaknesses. Getting training from the Mizukage was a blessing and while she would retaliate she would not be without limits put in place so that he need not feel threatened. This was all well and good, but he knew even his strongest jutsu was no match for the leader of the village hidden in the mist. Still, he was going to try his best to attack the woman in front of him and take her down.

Using my clan's favorite abilities, that is.

With a nod, the male held his arm up, opening his hand to have his palm pointing towards the sky. Rogue began to focus on his palm, drawing the energies within his body to knead and meld into suiton natured chakra, pushing into the palm of his hand. There was at first, a dot on his palm, growing to a marble of suiton chakra. It grew and grew, to the size of a baseball. This chakra orb glowed with water chakra and swirled with the latent energies within it. It was then that the male calmly shoved it to his face, chomping down and eating the orb in a few bites, ingesting the pure chakra. His body worked with the chakra, melding it and reforming it within his body to activate his latent dragon seed. With this, his elemental augmentation activated, causing shifts in his anatomy. Rogue would take of his jacket, throwing it to the ground to allow his shoulder blades to have suiton based chakra form on them, pushing outwards in the form of wings with a span of five meters total, each wing being two and a half meters in length. They would then solidify to become wings of a blue nature, being made of water.

With a quiet sigh, he'd stare to the mizukage, his cobalt hues now taking on a navy color, dark as his clothing. With a nod, he'd moved towards the target, forming hand seals before he'd have five clones of an intangible nature spawn in a line on either side. Three to his left, two to his right. They looked like the male in every way, down to the water wings as they rushed the Mizukage with him. At the last second the six of them would scatter, one in front, one behind, and two on each side. They'd stand at the ready, each one making a handseal as if focusing chakra. He knew he speed was no mach for the Mizukage but he just needed it to be enough for his next blow to land. Without a second thought, all six jumped into the air, looking down at the Mizukage before the next move. They wouldn't be able to fly, but they'd be in the air when the Mizukage made here move, hopefully giving some time to the ninja controlling them to use a jutsu should she attack the clones instead of him.

WC: 1,284 + 1,737 = 3,021

130/150:

It happened so fast, Rogue wasn't sure it had actually happened. His clones came down first, crashing around the Mizukage harmlessly. But she'd already known they were fake. He found this out when she punched the ground, throwing up debris and smog to conceal her movements. The clones faded and as Rogue landed three arrows flew at him. He barely had time to put his arms up in an 'x' formation in front of his face. The arrows hit their mark in the wanderer's arms and he cursed in pain. He'd not taken strikes like this from anyone before and wasn't used to such pain. With quiet indignation, he ripped out one arrow from his left arm and went to the two in his right. The mizukage was quickly on his tail, sprinting at him to close the distance. A blade was drawn and the male instinctively moved to his right as he went to rip the other arrows out of his arm. He was already bleeding and they'd just begun, and sure enough the Mizukage made a reversed swing with the blade in the position he'd just been in. Rogue was ready to jump in with a kick but something unexpected happened.

Hm, I could have thought this through better

It was hard to keep up as a strike to his jaw came. It hit hard and he fell back, hitting the ground from the strike. With a quick kick, his body was back up onto his own two feet, spitting out a bit of blood from a bleeding inner lip. He wasn't going to just lay there and take it. The mizukage spoke once more, saying that he left himself far too open and that his techniques were rather textbook. Well, that was quite the interesting though, coming from her, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. When she came again for a strike, he was ready. She moved past him, to attack from behind and the ninja jumped, focusing the chakra into his wings as he did so, giving one singular flap. With this his body moved backwards at fifteen meters a second, reaching the point where he was trying to get within two seconds or less. He was now twenty meters from the Mizukage, quietly watching her. He had to figure out exactly what he was going to do to stop the assault coming from his foe.

There wasn't much he could do at his level and he knew this. Already his lip hurt and was swelling slightly, while his forearms had blood trickling down them to his hands. He couldn't use his water dragon escape, nor his chakra orb eating technique again for a while, and he was wasting a lot of chakra by playing defensively. He didn't have much more he could actually do in this situation but he couldn't give up. All he had to do was bide his time and draw her in. He'd have to take another strike or two, but may be able to land his own if he played his cards right. Her speed, even when holding back, for outshone his and he was feeling the weight of each attack. She was definitely a foe worthy of battle and a teacher worthy of learning from. He had to show her now that he was a student worthy of being taught and a ninja worthy of joining her village. His last ditch effort was all he had and it would depend on how she closed the distance, if at all.

Perhaps a taunt

"You're holding back more than I thought! Come on, Mizukage-sama. I barely feel any of this!"

Rogue chuckled, wiping blood from his lip and spitting it upon the ground once more. It was obviously a bluff, but he had to play this tactfully. Should he be able to draw her in he'd get in what strikes he could before she inevitably incapacitated him. There was one thing to give up when you started getting hit. It was another to continue going even when the odds were against you and to show that you had the resolve to keep going. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of his surrender. She was either going to have to kill him or knock him out. Nothing else would let him stop this fight. He had a fire in his eyes and a fire in his gut. He was ready and he assumed his muay thai boxing stance, bouncing on the front of his feet, with his fists raised and head down, staring straight to the Mizukage. Cobalt eyes became a denim shade and were unwavering.

WC: 796 + 3,021 = 3,817

120/150:

She shook her head and spoke to him, calling him little sea horse. It was slightly annoying to hear this again but he didn't let it faze him. Instead, he watched her movements with his denim shaded hues, and she told him that if he wanted her to hold back to try 'this' and threw the tanto in his direction. The speed was much too fast for him to dodge, if he even saw it. It wasn't aimed for him apparently and he turned to see  that it had contacted a tree some five meters from his current position and split it with a single strike. An entire tree split without using chakra. His face showed concern but he changed it back to confident indignation before turning back towards his opponent. He was about to scoff at her and make another bluff but she had started running at him, anger in her eyes. His bluff had worked and given that she was holding back on her speed while she ran at him, he would have some time to crouch and ready himself for the impending attack.

He moved his wings towards his front to block and leaned forward, ready to move if needed. Then she did something he didn't expect and surprised him: she left the ground. Both feet had left the ground in a jump and she had moved her body like a spring, turning towards him with her fist. As she did that, he was already ducking down and moving forward to roll, stopping right under where her legs were. In the moments that followed everything would change: her head punch would have possibly knocked him out but he had moved and concentrated chakra into his wings. The wings expanded to six times their original wing span, being a total of thirty meters now, hardening in form. As he did this, his body spun, the wings slashing out towards the mizukage's form. Hoping to catch her stomach, chest, and legs. This close proximity mixed with his spinning and razor sharp wings meant that any normal ninja of his rank would have no chance but to get hit with this attack.

She's not at my rank though

As his body finished spinning he'd jump back two meters, shaking off the slight dizziness. His attack could have went one of two ways. Either it worked and she was hit with his attack, or it failed and he'd missed somehow. The second was likely given her immense speed and strength, completely outclassing him as a ninja. He couldn't know for sure at this point, however, as the spinning with his large wings had caused him to kick up a massive cloud of dust into the air, obscuring his view of the mizukage and hopefully doing the same for her view of him. While he had a moment, he checked his wounds for any signs of swelling or redness, finding little and cursing himself for not using his wings to block the arrows instead of taking them to his arms. He would have a lot of healing to do after this battle should he survive and there was little chance he'd be doing so before rising to get his training in. He was sure that after this battle he'd be hard pressed to heal in time to do anything else.

WC: 568 + 3,817 = 4,385

110/150:

He was inspecting his wounds when the dust broke from what could have been a punch from the Mizukage. Rogue wasn't expecting much from it but as he thought about that, he felt his body pushed back by a force like a truck into his chest. He coughed and rubbed the area around where he'd felt the push, looking back up at the Mizukage, coughing a bit. The male quickly got back into his ready stance as he was charged. It seemed that he completely missed the Mizukage with his wings' strikes. He would have to rectify that. He made a movement to swing with each wing, one after the other. The wanderer was not going to let the attacks that were coming land, if he could help it. It didn't matter though, as he swung a wing down, the strike from a kunai landed and his wing broke apart into water. The same thing happened as he swung with the other to intercept another strike. He was no without his wings and basically defenseless, while the Mizukage was on the attack.

Gritting his teeth, Rogue went into a defensive stance, blocking the strikes as best he could. They were completely chaotic and hard to track. he was met with slashes and punches, blood coming from his arms as he blocked, while he mostly ducked the punches. His clothing was being ripped up and it seemed like parts of it were freezing. The blade that he felt striking was colder than normal steel was and it completely confused him. He was watching the attacks and dodging them when he received an uppercut to the chest, causing him to slip back, trying to regain his stance. It was on the movement that Ayakashi capitalized, making a stab for his kidney. He was too slow to block it completely, moving his form away from it and trying to bring an arm down for protection but it mostly hit. He was then met with another uppercut to the chest, completely losing his footing and falling back onto the ground, coughing a bit.

Rogue stared up, trying to sit up but felt the full weight of the strikes he'd endured. The bleeding from the arrows were taking their toll on his body, as were the multiple shots to the chest he'd just taken, blood oozing from the new cuts and a large bruise forming on his chest. He wiped some blood from his jaw, huffing and puffing while reaching back to his kidney to assess the damage. There wasn't much damage there, but he was definitely bleeding because of the stab. Parts of his skin felt oddly cold and his shirt was in near tatters. It was his favorite one as well. Shaking his head and gritting his teeth, he pushed his body to sit up, trying to stand, despite the blood loss and pain. "Is.. is that all you.. got? Heh. I could deal with worse in my sleep. Let's go." He wheezed a bit and chuckled, pushing himself up a bit wobbly, onto his own feet again and raised his hands readily. He wasn't going to give in just because things were looking grim. The last thing he was going to do was just lay there and take a beating for the satisfaction of this village's leader. If he gave in now, it wouldn't just be his pride he was giving up on. It would be the promise he'd made and his word that he was giving up on. To give up on someone precious and to turn his back on his ninja way was not something he was going to put himself through today. For that reason and to that end, he was going to give the Mizukage hell and land at least one blow on her. Or he would die trying.

With that thought in his head, Rogue made his move forward. Due to blood loss and the wounds he'd suffered he was a bit slower than normal but he would not be stopped. He stepped forward and pulled his body to go faster, willing it to run. He yelled out a 'heaaaarrrrghh' and charged the Mizukage. He didn't know what to expect from this, but  he was hoping his erratic behaviour would cause a slip in the mizukage. Whether or not it did, he'd go on the offensive and kick towards her chest with a front kick, spinning on his back foot after and kicking towards her head. As soon as hit foot touched down he'd swing left, then right, and as his right came back he'd cross with his left. Once he'd done that combo his right leg would come up for a body kick. He'd continuously strike, aiming high, then low, trying to break through with an attack. His hands would move up to grapple her head, pulling down into his raising knees. No matter what he'd do everything in his power to land a strike. He would not be ignored.

WC: 853 + 4,385 = 5,238

This kid...

Aya couldn't tell in the moment how wounded the boy was, she was pulling a lot of her cuts, however the potent nature of her demonic ice corruption technique was scathing, it prevented him from bleeding due to the fact that the ice would creep over his skin out from the cuts, but it would make some range of movement difficult and painful if it would result in cracking the ice and frozen blood. The cold would feel hot to the touch as her blades would scathe across his skin stroke by stroke as she would tear through his wings, the water across their surfaces crumbling and shattering as they would cease to move any longer. The shot to the kidney was partially blocked, he was trying to keep up, but with this level of close range combat, Aya was beginning to understand that one of the reasons for his failure in this instance seemed to be his complete lack of trained physical characteristics. Whoever had trained him had done so in a manner that he was capable of using his chakra, but, his body had been neglected almost entirely.

'This wasn't looking good for him'

After relenting from the assault, Ayakashi would take a half step back and see what the boy would manage after weathering the assault, his lips curled into a smirk and he yet again taunted the mizukage which even began to eat away at her psyche. He knew that the only thing that was keeping him alive right now was her restraint in this fight... did he have a death-wish!? Ayakashi could not deal with the anger and frustration that was coursing through her brain right now. This child needed to be taught a lesson about not biting off more than he could chew. It was basic tact, and he didn't seem to have so much as that. Whom-ever had taught this child everything he knew needed to have a serious talking to about how to raise a ninja. Had this boy been sent on even the simplest of hunting or criminal missions, he would have been killed within a simple matter of time.

'but then his attack came'

It was a full front on assault, the crowd around him were wondering what kind of tactic the boy had behind his belt that would lead him to attempt an attack like this. Many within the audience seemingly knew that this attack would have to be a feint of some kind, he must have planned a substitution, or a body flicker or something within his rank to attempt to undermine the speed of the mizukage. But, Ayakashi knew better, no, this wasn't the culmination of deep thought or tactics, he was actually attempting to attack her head on with basic unenhanced strikes. Ayakashi would exhale, the final straw breaking the camels back at this point. Though she was certain that his flurry would constitute some level of martial skill, his fighting stance seemed to be fine and his kick seemed to be well performed. But, at this point, it wasn't enough.

In a flash, no longer moving at her 'test' speed, but rather now to the point of merely pulling her own punches, her speed and strength escalated to that of the pique of special jounin. Her upper body would rotate backwards, well out of the way of his attack as Ayakashi's left heel would no longer be in its bracing position. Before he was able to recoil his leg from the strike, Ayakashi would spin her upper body as her left leg would rotate and arc up like a pendulum as her body went down. Her heel and calf would expertly collide with his chest in such a manner that his ribs would physically crack in ludicrously painful complex fractures that would expand like spiderwebs in and around the ribs without causing any full thickness breaks. The kick would most definately force the wind from his lungs due to the impact with his diaphragm and even cause a hot sensation in his lower abdomen due to light internal bleeding.

This was a kick to 'end' the fight.

Finishing the spinning heel kick, Aya would rotate to standing as her opponent would no doubt either sink to or be launched to the floor from the force of the blow... she knew full well he would not be able to avoid or even attempt to block the kick at his level of training. The speed and force she used was specifically targeted for that fact. Not to mention that a child like him, there was no way he would be walking after that. This farce was over. Turning on her heel Ayakashi would turn back to the administration building, not so much as looking at rogue as she stopped to talk to him in a cold and unfeeling voice.

Rogue, it's clear to me that it would not only be dangerous and morally irresponsible on my part were i to accept you into our ranks, I would be putting other ninja at risk if they were to rely on your performance. The path of the shinobi, is not one that all men can aspire to walk, and it is to steep for a person such as you. Rogue, go home... And with that, believing that she was doing the child a favor by keeping him safe, Ayakashi would begin to leave their little arena, people around her looking shocked at what had just come to pass.

Rogue was getting angrier and angrier as he struck at the Mizukage. His blows didn't seem to be doing any damage at all.  Then she moved, and it was like a blur in his own vision. She was faster than he had ever expected her to move during this small test bout and he couldn't react to her suddenly being in a different place. Not quick enough, at least. He was still mid kick when she moved like lightning and spun her body. Her left leg moved like a pendulum vertically and came down with her movements and struck his chest with not just her heel, but her calf as well.  Upon the hit, he would feel a warmth spread on the inside of his abdomen, signalling some sort of internal bleeding, but that wasn't the worst bit. He had the wind knocked out of him and had felt cracks along his entire rib cage, feeling each fracture as though it was happening in slow motion. It was so quick and so precise that he hadn't expected such a thing.

The wanderer fell face first to the ground, and coughed up a bit of blood into the dirt. His jaw's wound was almost done bleeding, a lot of his dried crimson colored liquid becoming a crust on his face. His forearms had all but stopped bleeding as well, the platelets working to seal the wound off from the air. His kidney area was still bleeding, but what hurts most about all of this was his pride. The light bruise on his chest had become worse, deepening to a purple or brown shade.  He laid there, trying to catch his breath. The Mizukage began to walk away, stopping only to let out a cold speech to him, getting ready to leave once more. Put others in danger? Too steep for someone like him? Go.. home? The wanderer closed his eyes, tears welling up in them as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He couldn't go home. He'd promised them that he would become the strongest ninja, that he'd make something of himself.

Rogue's family and clansmen flashed before his eyes as he laid there for a moment. His rage building while he tried to move. "I can't... give up.. I made.. a promise. I won't.. I won't give in!" The wanderer coughed out a bit of blood again and pushed himself  up onto his hands and knees. He looked down at the ground while a few tears fell, he was so angry now that his eyes were already beginning to dry up. His sad demeanor being replaced by rage. He was no seahorse.. He was a dragon! He would not allow someone to think any less! He was determined to see this through and he pushed himself up onto one knee, concerned onlookers who began to get closer to check on him moving away. He was really going through with this, they shook their heads, almost sure that this time he'd die. But he couldn't die. Rogue had made a promise and he intended to see it through. The wanderer finally pushed himself up to stand, pushing a hand to his chest as he breathed heavily, wincing in pain. Either way, this may be his last attack.

He channeled raiton chakra into his finger tips. They coated his nails and extended into claw like lightning formations, giving off the chirping sound of crackling lightning. With his determination, he was able to stand and that would be enough to force his body to do more. He did just that, running at the retreating form of the Mizukage, his fist no longer clenched but open like an animal clawing. He reached her and clawed once at her back and then made multiple swipes in succession. His body was getting tired and it was hard to breathe, but he was going to continue until he couldn't go on any more, yelling angrily as he swiped with each hand in succession. He was not going back until he fulfilled his promise. "I refuse to give in! You won't stop me from keeping my promise and achieving my dream! I'll die before I let you or anyone else take what little I have from me!" The male continued striking, his vision going black at some points while he kept trying to land just one blow. He couldn't quit, not while he could still see, not while he could still breathe. Not while he could still fight.

WC: 770 + 5,238 = 6,008

95/150:

There would be a unanimously held breath as those who would have rushed to his aid backed off, not wanting to get in the way of his iron will. Ayakashi could hear his struggling, his panted breathing as he attempted to pull himself from the ground. But it was inconsequential, she knew it was over, she knew he would not be able to get up to strike again. The way she had struck him, his body would not be able to physically hold itself up without doing him even more grievous bodily damage, not to mention the pain and the strain that it would cause him would be something that Ayakashi herself would find difficult if she was in his position. So much so that the mizukage had a technique for fighting when her body had given up. So, it was over, she had begun to walk in the other direction, lost in her own mind and thinking. 'It's better this way, he won't have to grow up second best to all those around him, he wont need to live with the pain of his squad-mates dying around him who relied on his strength when he knew he could not perform on their par. It will take some time, but, he will come to terms with the decision when he has grown, and he may one day even thank me for the decision a long time from now...'




Ayakashi would feel the buzz of raiton in the air on the back of her neck... Her eyes shot wide like she had awakened from a nightmare... 'there is no way..!' The running footsteps of the boy charging towards her would trigger Ayakashi to spin just in time to see the raiton claws of her opponent roaring through the air in her direction, one after the other they would buzz through the mist, crackling like thunderbolts as Ayakashi would raise her arms to defend herself. His blows weren't even slower than they once were, they were faster, stronger, more precise rather than less. This effort was everything he had and everything he was humanly capable of... but... 'how can he even stand!? Yet alone channel chakra!' Ayakashi's hands would whip out, meeting him wrist to wrist and quickly deflecting the angered swipes as she would sway side to side to allow them to move past and beyond where she once was.




He wasn't relenting, fury burned in his eyes as Ayakashi actually felt herself take a step backwards due to his advance. Making her question even more... had he used a defensive technique to block her blow just in time? Perhaps she had not dealt the damage that she had to begin with... could it be, that he had tricked Ayakashi? Letting her senses expand for a moment Ayakashi would listen, using her advanced skills and focusing on the boy's chest when she would hear an almost distinct cracking sound, which would be the nail in the coffin for the Mizukage's psyche'. He hadn't fooled her, he was broken, winded, out of breath and yet he was basically only alive right now due to adrenaline coursing through his veins as his rib-cage with every swipe was threatening to collapse in on itself... 'Foolish child! You're going to kill yourself!' Ayakashi would scream inwardly as she would let out an angered scowl at his persistence. She knew she had to keep a firm exterior for those around her.




Finally, the emotional distress, confusion, worry and surprise accumulated, and one of the boy's lightning claws managed to rake across the bandages of Ayakashi's stomach. Prompting Ayakshi to need to end this now. Drawing in the chakra from all around her, she would enter her sage mode with a roaring cry. "Enough!"Rather than avoid his wrists and hands this time, Ayakashi would move to stop them, yet, as she would, she would watch as the boy before her would no doubt slump, having achieved his one objective. Rather than move to restrain him, Ayakashi would dip quickly in order to catch him as he fell. cradling him in a manner that would avoid damaging his injuries any more than he already had. As Ayakashi would wonder why he would have suddenly relented, before finally processing what had actually come to pass... 'he... he hit me? when?' She could feel the scathe on her stomache, a light barely registered burn on her skin, it was a blow none the less... 'was this his plan to begin with? to work me up so much that I'd lower my guard... hmmm, maybe...'

After listening to anything he had to say, any comment that would communicate a sense of victory or Duty Ayakashi would smile faintly. She needed to make a decision and quickly, but the fact of the matter was, he got up after taking a blow from the equivalent of a hunter ninja and continued to fight. Ayakashi doubted she could say the same for every genin in her country. If he had that kind of willpower, maybe he could overcome that adversity, but he would need special training, for sure, he would need to be taken to the breaking point time and time again just to 'contend' with others, but, just maybe, there was something special in there, something that the world desperately needed.



"Look, Rogue... you have some ok chakra control, your form is terrible, your strategy is beyond abhorrent, your body untrained and your skills in general are lacking in almost every level. I'd be lying if I said myself, and everyone in this nation who sees you will expect anything else than complete and utter failure from you... " She would pause, and let that sink in for a moment. So, rest... recover your strength... and prove us all wrong. Ayakashi smiled. "Little Seahorse... Maybe somewhere, deep down, there is a little dragon somewhere in you after all...'' With a wave Ayakashi would call the medics in and ask that the Genin be taken to the nearest military hospital for treatment... ''Tell Strafe that he has orders to handle his recovery himself, I want him in perfect shape. Because next week, his training with me is beginning...''

Ayakashi never thought she'd see the day where a Genin would so much as land a blow on a kage... ...






[Exit thread.]

Trained 3 A rank Jutsu

[6167 / 6000]
[]

She was just moving his strikes away by parrying his wrists with her own and leaning away from the blows. It was all he could do to stand now and she still completely negated his attacks seemingly effortlessly. He felt as though he was doing nothing with all his strength and this caused more anger within him. His heart was beating rapidly with the adrenaline, and his mind was becoming bleak, possibly from his injuries and blood loss. Still, he would not give in. No matter how many times she swayed and moved his hands from the way of hitting her, he'd try again and again. His strikes would find home if it killed him, this he swore to himself. He could not give up on himself or his dream. He'd made a promise and he was going to follow it through until his dying breath. He was panting, blood dripping from his mouth from his internal bleeding. His teeth were colored red with the blood and still he would not relent, he would not slow down. He would keep going until he could hold himself up no more. She was not going to treat him as though he was some babe, too weak to protect himself or others.

Something happened as she was parrying his attacks, and to his surprise, his claws finally found their mark. They raked across her stomach, hitting bandage and causing the damage that he was looking for. He'd done it. He'd finally landed a blow on the strongest ninja in the land, the Mizukage herself.  It was short lived, as with a roaring cry, she seemed to gather chakra from nowhere and shout enough, catching his wrists in mid swipe. But it was finally over, he had reached the limit of what he could take and he fell forward. His form was caught and cradled by the Mizukage, the chakra going to his hands finally dissipating into nothingness, the claws now gone. He breathed heavily, staring up at the mizukage, chuckling softly to himself. He had done what most would have only dreamed of: he'd struck the Mizukage and forced her to show a smidge of her true power. It was as though a giant weight was lifted off of him all at once and he couldn't help but feel happy with himself.

"Ha... I.. Unh. I got you. Hah haa haaa!"

He laughed deeply and happily, his eyes becoming a soft azure as he stared from the Mizukage to the sky. He had accomplished at least something. Part of him heard her talking to him,  telling him that people would expect him to fail, that they wouldn't think he was 'up to snuff' so to speak. He heard her say to rest, and prove them all wrong. This was something he could and would do. It was a new day dawning on the village hidden in the mist and it was his year: the year of the dragon. She called him little seahorse again, mentioning that maybe there was a dragon in him after all. He chuckled once more, fading from consciousness and slumping fully into the Mizukage's embrace. What went on around him next was of no concern to him, he'd accomplished his goal and from the sounds of it, had earned the respect of the village's leader herself. Things were going to change for him, he could feel it. It was nice to feel something other than the train of pain that hit him all at once, which caused him to finally pass out when he did.

He awoke, hours later within the hospital. He was wrapped up in bandages in multiple places, and a special sort of brace was around his abdomen and chest.  Rogue tilted his head up to look around, unsure of what was going on for a moment. It was all blurry and his head hurt. The wanderer turned his head to look at an IV drip bag that was being fed into him and he barely felt pain, despite his obvious injuries. He was probably induced with pain killers at this point, which was nice as it all came back to him: he'd had a test of power with the Mizukage, Ayakashi Solstice. From the look and feel of it, one would say he didn't do so well.  But when he thought back to the fight, he remembered the blow he had landed against someone so much more vastly powerful than he and smiled. Rogue quietly closed his eyes once more, drifting back to sleep as he felt the pride in himself that came from meeting one goal so far.

EXIT

786+6,008=6,794

Training: