Jamie was sitting on the edge of the bank of the river as it flowed passed. He was wearing a swimming trunks of sorts that was short, as he took a few deep breathes as the wind blew through his hair. The water was flowing as he heard the light splashes of the small stones and rocks that were bombarded by its unrelenting flow, as he took deep breathes in and out slowly calming himself as he took in the nature around him. After some time he became lost in thoughts of days long passed in the flicker of fragmented dreams.

Long ago he was all alone under the guidance of the old lady, he followed her everywhere until the day when she left. He felt like a lost leaf falling on the river as the fire lost its flame in the cold of the winter night. The river was unforgiving as the leaf made its way down the endless stream as the moon reflected in the rivers darkness as the stones in its path crashed. The leaf withstood and the leaf endured as it made its way to the land of dreams as it fell down the water falls and the emotions like tears flow down unending. In this world of fire where do I belong as a leaf in the wind, as I catch a light i flicker in flames for a moment before burning out into ash as my dust becomes nothing more then a memory long forgotten.

Jamie opened his eyes as his mind seemed more calm then usual as his chakra was flowing through his entire body peacefully. It was unclear what he would do now that it was time for him to train as he kept sitting with his legs crossed as he felt it was time to step up his training soon as he stood up and looked to the sky as the moon was facing down on him as the sun had already gone down. He was shivering in the cold as he endured this chilling feeling as he took one small step into the rushing river water before taking a second step. He reached the center as he moved to face against the current and slowly sat down as he felt the water hit him against his chest and splash to his face as the end he chose was a bit deep. He closed his eyes and took his time to focus as he was bothered a bit by the bombardment, but he had no choice if he wanted to become stronger.

(431)

Ah the Naka River...This was the place where it happened, eh Nii-san?

It had been long since the man whom had been known as the Sword Saint of Konoha had come to this place, often painful memories tending to assult him when he decided to return. He hadn't been here since that day...

How long has it been Nii-san? Almost fifteen years now...time really does go by too fast...almost half of my life he has been dead...

When he had been a much younger man, this had been his favourite place to train, coming here often with his mentors and friends; Takeshi Uzumaki, Sousetsu Senju, Ukiyo Senju, and many more over the years. It had been a special place for the man whom would become the Seventeenth Hokage for the first half of his life, but ever since that fateful night, the night where his love had been taken from him, it was a place that only brought him sorrow. He knew that in order to truly move forward with his life, he needed to take a step back and stop thinking on such things, but that was easier said than done. He came here on this day in order to face his demons head on, not wishing to allow them to control him any longer.

The lower robe that he wore flowed in the wind, the yellow fabric that draped off of them a bright spot against the black of the main robe. His chest was bare, wind showing off the seals and scars that adorned his upper body, while his white robe with the red kanji (seventeen) and flames that marked him as a Hokage covered his arms and back. His long dark hair was tied back with a red ribbon, and the both of them were wild as the wind ripped them to the side as well. Around his neck was the headband of the Aoi Bara, the rose amidst the steel taking the place of the Konoha symbol. The man, Mitsuo Sarutobi, watched the flow of the river, standing ankle deep in the water to feel the pulse of life coming from it.

His inharent power caused the water near him to evaporate, an interesting effect that would show itself to any who witnessed him, and the temprature around him was naturally hotter than anywhere else, the caged power of the Hellfire Drake wishing to unleash, being held back by the seals that kept it on a leash.

"This place is no longer my home, it has not been for a long time...I'm sorry Kimaru, I have failed you..."

He was lost in thought, not noticing the young boy nearby who was also visiting the area this day. He would breath in deeply, the winds around him reacting to his chakra as they began to move in a circle around him. His eyes closed and he simply felt the winds moving around and through him. His mind was troubled, the memories of that day flooding back to them, but as each bad memory assailed his mind, he would push it away and replace it with a good memory, a memory of Kimaru, or of Strafe, or of Sousetsu or Ukiyo, of his friends and loved ones, so that he would associate this place with only good things once again...

(565)

Splash after splash and crash after crash of small streaming river waves hit against him for a while and then something strange happened. There was a slight warmth to the water that seemed unnatural, had Jamie achieved a new form of enlightenment or had he risen to a new level in his meditation as he was trying to master his chakra flow even more as he kept his focus. The water also seemed a bit less, but in a rushing river a bit less was not always noticeable as he began to wonder what was going on as the ice cold river began to feel more like a lukewarm stream on a cold day.

Jamie finally opened his eyes as he looked on to see something he never expected to see in his entire life. There was a man on fire so to speak, his aura seemed great like that of a Kage as he wondered who this man was. He saw scars that were enough to kill most mortal men as he began to wonder whether this was a man or a god standing some distance away from him. The water steaming around the man as if he was burning with passion or raging with emotion so strong it effected his very surroundings.

He watched as the man took in a deep breathe as the winds reacted and began to circle around him in a way he never knew was possible. The burning winds moving as if he was not even there, but at the same time showing his awesome presence unlike anything known to the naive Jamie. Just when he thought he was learning more about the world, this man appeared before him. He was filled with fear as he began to wonder if he was in danger as he stood up slowly looking around as he did not bring his weapons with him for this simple training as his heart was racing in a panic.

Should he run away or simply stay. Right now he knew he had no way of escaping and clearly would not win a fight without at least his trusty sword as he took a deep breathe as he slowly moved to get out of the water his nerves were getting to him as he tripped on the river bank hitting the grassy ground with a thud as he kicked up some water into the air. His heart pounding loud as he would look towards the man in hopes of not being spotted or even worse as he did not know what he would do if this man was in fact a criminal of sorts. He would just lay there looking up towards the man in order to determine what to do, he had to remain calm, he had to survive and he may have to do his best to run away.

(479)
[910]

Mitsuo's concentration was broken by the sound of rustling nearby. He knew that someone was around, but they weren't powerful enough to register as a threat to him. He chose not to allow this person to bother him, but at the same time he knew it would be difficult to continue what he was trying to do, and he instead thought he might see who was there and mess with them a little bit. he very silently activated his Wings of the Saint jutsu, showing an outline of the child, for it truly was a child, who was standing on the side of the river in the wind. He had a soft spot for children, but it wouldn't change his mind on this day. With his back turned to the boy he would bite his bottom lip and make it bleed, letting the blood pool in his hand and activating one of the seals that he had on him at all times, this one being his summoning contract for one of the most legendary creatures in the shinobi realms. It was the descendant of the summon of Mitsuo's ancestor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and like Hiruzen, Mitsuo was lucky enough to have a contract with this magnificent creature.

The winds would whip up stronger than ever, picking up the water and creating a cyclone as a flash of light would appear in the middle of it, the voice inside of the cyclone bellowing out;

"You always have the worst timing, Lord Sarutobi. You manage to pull me whenever I am in the middle of something, like eating diner or reading a book." The water would begin to fall in order to reveal the creature beneath. He was nearly half a foot taller than Mitsuo and tremendously muscular under the dark fur on his body. His eyes glowed red and his red cloak and armour accents complimented them well, white hair flowing along with his cloak. He was balancing on his staff, seemingly unaffected by the wind or the water, and gracefully crouched with no issue. His gaze was directed towards the young boy, before darting briefly towards Mitsuo with a confused look on his face and then back to the boy. This creature was the Monkey King Eizo, and he was Mitsuo's guardian. He had been called to battle many times, but had also been called in order to simply talk or train. "Is this a joke Mitsuo? You brought me here to deal with a child?"

Mitsuo smirked and looked towards his old friend, allowing the wind around him to steady as he folded his arms, debris and water falling back down to its place. "This child is spying on me I think, dearest Monkey King. I know not who he is or what his intentions are, but if he is keeping an eye on the Sword Saint of Konoha, he must know about the bounty on my head, and that makes him a threat." His voice was stern and serious, but Eizo could tell that he meant none of it. The Monkey King cocked his head and smirked as well before pressing his staff into the ground, launching himself to stand directly in front of the young boy.

"Do you hear that boy? The Seventeenth Hokage believes you to be a spy. You'd better speak and tell us why you're here." As he said that, Mitsuo's hands raised out to either side of his body as he touched a pair of seals, flowing a small amount of chakra through them. In an instant his left hand held one of his twinblades, Justice, and in his right hand was clutched the handle of his chain whip, the fiery blade known as Penance. He stepped out of the water, slowly advancing towards the young boy.

"Answer child. Who are you, and why are you here?"

1216

(385/420 chakra)

Jamie noticed something change in the air, his heart was still racing as he did not move a muscle as he took a silent deep breathe to calm himself down. The winds seemed fierce as the water had risen like a typhoon raging around as this man was like the master of the storm. A flash of light like the heavens that descend to the earth, the light rises from the waters in a cascade of malevolence as a voice came from the depths of this madness. Jamie's mind could not keep up with the situation, his best course of action was to be at whatever this man's mercy was as the voice he heard spoke.

The being whose appearance was hidden as if a spirit born from the eye of the storm, it called this scarred man Lord Sarutobi, as he did not know much about anyone with that name. When the water fell he could get a glimpse of red glowing eyes as his imagination began to see it as a crimson blood ruby as if the gods themselves had descended upon the earth. The large dark furry beasts true form was that of a giant monkey, at that moment lost deep within his fear was also the sense of laughter that refused to come out. His reason was being questioned as he could not believe what was going on he was struggling to move his hands together, in this mess there was a strong man who made the world burn by merely standing there, and a giant monkey who looked like the avatar of a lord who was hell bent on this world's destruction.

The name Mitsuo was also mentioned as he became confused as he tried to figure out if it was Mitsuo Sarutobi or Sarutobi Mitsuo as his mind was struggling to catch up he kept moving his hands together as slow as it was he had no choice but to believe. The monkey asked if he could hear what they were saying as he got his hands together in the classical formation used for a basic academy skill. He simply said, "kai" as there would be a moment of silence as he would continue with the words.

"Jamie, of the Leaf" as his mind had completely lost all reason and he began to believe that anything was possible. His genjutsu kai had proven to fail so either it was an illusion from which he could never escape, or it was reality and this man and monkey were really as monstrous as they appeared. His body was actually shivering now as his knees were shaking slightly he lowered his arms to his sides not bothering to raise his guard after his failed kai.

The man was approaching him as he just looked at the violent monster who was heading towards him, he began to wonder if this was the end of his life as he began to think back to the past as his eyes closed for a moment

Flashback Theme

Jamie remembered long ago being raised in the middle of nowhere clueless about the world around him as the old lady always told him to watch her and learn. The day would come when she would leave him behind as he ventured forth entering a land of trees and a village with a will of fire. As he would walk through the streets he would meet a strange boy who would give him some bread and a place to stay for a while.

As time passed he learned about taking missions to make money to look after himself. He later would meet a lady by the river, she had hair green like grass and would give him some awful tea that would make him feel better. He felt like he could do anything when he was with her as he found his resolve, it was then that he began taking more missions and eventually after injuring himself a few times he met his brother Shippo, the one who shared his fate as a woman who would like a mother with an unshakable maternal instinct would adopt him into their family. A weak boy taken into a clan of strong and wild wolves, the Inuzuka clan as he began to wonder why she took him in as he worked hard to try and not let her down. He met the Hokage, a man who was knowledgeable and respectable, a man who made him feel like every word he said mattered and that whatever you did was far too important to take lightly.

He then remembered Ashi, the woman who was his mother now, as all his friends appeared in his head he wondered if he was good enough.

*************************************************************************************************

He would then open his eyes as he blinked through his entire life as it flashed before his eyes as his fate now stood in the hands of this man, as he did not even hear the words about sword saint and the hokage as he resisted the urge to cry. His heart nearly stopped beating as his nerves were shocked and he was now frozen with fear, while at the same time accepting his fate.

(880)
[1790]

Chakra = 150 - 5 = 145
Genjutsu Kai failed...

Contradictory to the usual innocent look Airi seemed to have, Airi was holding a spear today. Standing on top of the river's flow, chakra flowing through her feet, she walked down the stream slowly, eyes fixated on movement right under the water's surface. She had been hungry for fish and thought that catching some would be a good idea, bringing them home so her mother could prepare them. It hadn't been as easy as she had hoped it would be, almost making her regret she had even started the whole endeavour to begin with, as so far she had only been able to catch three fishes. She definitely needed a few more if everyone wanted to be sated.

At a moment's notice, her spear pierced the surface, missing a passing fish by a hair again. Airi sighed, wiped the sweat from her forehead and leaned somewhat on the spear as she contemplated why exactly this was so difficult. She had seen her grandfather do it so often, rarely missing a single fish. Was she just this slow? Was her technique off? It was hard to tell without the advice of an expert on the matter. She contemplated the use of one of her own jutsu, but even though she'd be able to move freely in the waters with it, she couldn't exactly see clearer under water with it. Airi eyed the few fishes she had caught within the satchel that rested around her shoulders. Three fish. It was better than nothing.

Taking a break of it all, Airi hopped to the side, bare feet landing on the soft soil of the river bank. Perhaps she'd try again a bit later, but for now she'd simply take a walk and rest her tired arms for a bit. Flipping the spear in her hands, she dug the point of the makeshift baton softly in the ground with every new step.

After about a fifteen minute walk, she spotted a couple of people at the river bank and the oddest of phenomenons she had ever laid eyes upon. Near the strange man, the water seemed to evaporate, and there was a giant monkey next to him. For one reason or another, they had weapons drawn, threatening the young kid next to them. Were they threatening a kid? And... was that Jamie? Having hard to believe the situation that seemed to unfold before her, Airi ran as fast as her feet could carry her in hopes that her eyes were deceiving her. However, as she approached, she had the unfortunate confirmation that yes, some mean monkey and a tough guy were threatening Jamie.

Feeling predator's instinct boiling up, she was already of a mind to drive them away somehow, but as she got closer still, that instinct almost felt like crawling in a cage as she felt the power emanating from the two. For a reason or another, she felt like she was supposed to know that monkey. From a picture, or from her grandfather's stories, perhaps. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she was fairly certain that monkey was not just any kind of monkey. And that man... didn't he looked eerily a lot like the seventeenth Hokage?

As her mind attempted to reconcile the pieces, her drive to beat them up in protection of Jamie had already left her to such a point she could almost feel her legs trembling at the thought of having to face people way above her league, but her courage - the Senju's renowned courage - didn't stop her from ending one step in front of Jamie, her hand seemingly reaching out towards Jamie in a protective gesture.

"Yo, brothers. Threatening Jamie like this isn't cool."

Standing this close, she could almost taste the heat in the air around Mitsuo. The oppressive heat of a summer sun unbound. Too much to handle for all but the toughest plants, strong enough to lull most pets to an exhausted sleep. The man looked, indeed, like the seventeenth Hokage, but instead of a Konoha headband, he bore one she was not familiar with. It wasn't one of any other reputed Village, it was one of... yes, of what exactly? His clothes, his weapons screamed out the man was rich, and attaining such richdom meant the man had to be talented.

"Aren't you a former Hokage?", she tried, hoping to press upon the notion that a man of his power and stature shouldn't be bullying the younger ones like this. The question remained still. Was he truly the seventeenth Hokage to begin with?

---

781

His short steps continued, one after another, as he waited for the young boy to answer him. He noticed that his chakra signature went up just a little bit, perhaps trying to use some kind of technique. Mitsuo wondered what he thought he could use to defend himself against the Hellfire Drake and the Monkey King. He heard the boy exclaim his name and allegiance, Jamie of the Leaf, before something happened that changed everything for Mitsuo. He could see the boy trembling, his lip starting to quiver, the reddening of his face, all indicators of one simple thing that Mitsuo simply couldn’t deal with. This boy was going to cry. Mitsuo hadn’t thought of this as being something that might happen, but as soon as he realised that was the case, he simply couldn’t continue his facade.

He remembered many years back, when Kaia-Mai was a little girl, when he found her. She was so small, so terrified, and she was crying. Mitsuo had no interest in being a father, but he knew he couldn’t simply leave that poor innocent child there to die, and he made one of the greatest decisions in his entire life. He took that girl in, and ever since then he had never been able to see a child suffer, to see one who was in pain or sad, without trying to help them. It had led to one of his more hostile exchanges with Sanosuke Flint, the former Raikage (which was a title above his status to be sure), when Flint had accused him of trying to harm a child of the village. Mitsuo nearly struck down the man then and there, and had the Mizukage, who was a woman who Mitsuo had great respect for, not told him to stay his hand and take the child elsewhere, he would have.

Mitsuo didn’t notice, then, when someone else had started approaching, another younger ninja who seemed brave yet terrified at the same time. Eizo looked towards the new comer, her words completely being lost to Mitsuo but the exceptional hearing of the Monkey King unable to miss it. Eizo had noticed the shift in Mitsuo, he knew exactly what had happened, as he had been around for Mitsuo raising Kaia, and he knew how much Mitsuo loved children. He would jump up once more, springing himself off of the ground with his staff and twirling it in the air before coming to land on top of the staff directly in front of the girl who had joined them, perched crouching on it with both feet.

“Worry not, young one. I can sense your bravery, but that foolish man means no harm to the child.” He pointed towards the two of them, inviting the girl to watch as Mitsuo had resealed his weapons and touched his hand to his chest, applying a seal that would shut off his chakra, making the heat that radiates off of him vanish as well. He moved came up close to the young Jamie, dropping to his knees with tears in his own eyes, and without thinking about it, wrapped his arms around the child and held him close. Mitsuo would speak softly into the child’s ear.

“I am sorry Jamie, please don’t be afraid. I mean you no harm. I was just playing with you. Don’t be sad...Please don’t cry…” It was just like that day. Mitsuo couldn’t help but think of his daughter and this boy had broken his heart. Eizo shook his head at the sight of the mighty Hellfire Drake, the Sword Saint of Konoha, the Seventeenth Hokage, Leader of the Aoi Bara, brought low because of a sad kid.

“Lord Sarutobi please...compose yourself. These two don’t need to see you like this…”

(1858)

Jamie was expecting to die, it was finally the end of his life. He was so close to death he was even seeing visions of Airi hidden beneath the watery silhouette clouding his eyes. It was almost as if she was right there before him as his sense of sound had all but left him as he thought he heard her say his name. Did she also die, was she calling out to him from this other world he read about high in the heavens.

He would faintly hear the sound of a large staff hitting the ground as he wondered if that was the sound of his heart exploding from his chest. His eyes nearly looked void of all life at this point as they began to overflow. Soon all the heat would vanish as Jamie thought all the life was sucked out of him as he felt the chill of death and then like an explosion he cried out as he felt something grab hold of him. "aaaahhh!!!" as the tears shot out as his heart was racing way faster then before, he thought he accepted it but he could still cry out in fear. He heard an apology, some soft words telling him not to be afraid as he sniffled while having his tears flow like the river. He was a bit shocked and he felt that the hug was gentle and soft as he sneezed a bit before noticing that Airi was actually there and the monkey and he was still alive.

"you not going to kill me?" as he finally let out the words as he was still dazed and confused as he looked towards Airi and the man and the monkey. He was not sure if he was seeing things still, but he already tried to kai once and failed. He began to feel his heart slow down and his legs that were quivering gave way as his nervousness finally hit a point, his nerves were too shocked at the intensity of the moment as he took a deep breathe breathing rather heavily as he was still panicking as nearly passed out from the intensity of all the feelings he had built up at that moment. He kept crying for a while longer as he tried to look away from Airi feeling a bit embarrassed as he softly said. "Hi, Airi"

(397)
[2187]

She wasn't sure if she would be ready to face this man, but the monkey next to him spoke up instead. This foolish man meant no harm? She blinked at the Monkey King, not too sure she understood this well. He certainly seemed to have drawn his weapons, but as Jamie sobbed and almost begged for his life, the man's facade crumbled along with it. He sealed his chakra, sheathed his weapons and embraced Jamie to console him, leaving Airi looking silly as it were.

For a few seconds, Airi could only look dumbfoundedly at the situation, missing every and all context. Had she been too fast to jump in? Was this a game? From the way Jamie suddenly screamed as Mitsuo embraced him, she wouldn't have believed this, but she couldn't exactly feel a murderous intent or anything. The man truly was gentle in his embrace, and so Airi looked back at the Monkey King as he requested Mitsuo to compose himself.

Wait. Isn't that the Monkey King?

She remembered the pictures her grandfather had sketched based on the description he'd have heard. Stories of stories of stories... While her grandfather had never truly laid eyes on this monkey, he had certainly heard stories about him and had drawn a sketch based on that. It wasn't all too accurate, as it lacked the black colour of his fur and the red gaze of his eyes, but the armour and the pole certainly seemed very alike.

Jamie, who had lowered his scream into a remaining sob suddenly greeted her, thus snapping the girl out of her own thoughts. So he had only noticed now that she was here? She sighed softly at the idiocy of it all. A powerful man threatening a boy, but not really. Jamie screaming for his life, but not really. And a Monkey King, maybe?

"Hey Jamie.", she greeted him back. "Are you alright?"

Now that the context didn't seem to depict Mitsuo as the bully, she was genuinely worried Jamie had suffered some ill and that Mitsuo had just been there trying to figure out what could have been wrong. There was no saying why he had to do so with weapons drawn, but that, too, could just have been a misunderstanding. In the end, the situation felt more confusing than it should have been.

That said, Airi also wanted to know one more thing, even if she wouldn't be able to brag about it to her grandfather if the monkey in front of her really turned out to be the real legend of the countless stories. She looked at the Monkey King again, resting her free hand on her thigh and slightly tilting her head.

"Are you... the fabled Monkey King?", she simply asked the monkey somehow balancing on the staff he wielded.

He certainly had a very good sense of balance.

---

487
Total: 1268

Eizo’s words struck him as he held the boy close, letting go slightly and wiping a tear from beneath his eye. He stood up and put his hands on the boy’s shoulders, giving a soft and reassuring smile before saying; “I’m sorry to have scared you, Jamie of the Leaf. I am not going to kill you, I would never harm a child. I am Mitsuo Sarutobi, Seventeenth Hokage and someone who clearly doesn’t know what is funny. I need to get accustomed to social graces once more.” He stood up, brushing dust off of his knees and sighing softly, looking around for this Airi, but what he saw shocked him more than just a little bit.

Standing close to him, too close for comfort in this case, was a young girl. She had long green hair and amber eyes, and a smell that reminded him too much of…

His blade shot up into the air, The Messiah, the Skyplitter,. Ukiyo stood, roots ready to take place inside of Tsuyo’s face. Mitsuo called to her to stop, but she refused to listen. The blade came down, severing the small senju girl with the green hair who smelled like flowers in twain. As he moved towards her, he held her body in his arms, her blood staining his hands and clothing, tears running down his face at what he had done. He had chosen the Aoi Bara...and he would regret it for the rest of his life…

He stood there dumbstruck as Ukiyo stood in front of him once more, looking up at him with that same look, the same smell, the same…

No wait, the eyes are different, aren’t they Nii-san? It can’t be her…

When she addressed Eizo, her voice was similar but different, even the way she stood, now that he saw it, was different.

“Ah yes, an introduction. I am indeed The Monkey King. My name is Eizo.” Eizo flipped off of his staff into a back flip, grabbing it with his feet and tossing it into the air, spinning it like a baton. He landed in a low bow, standing in front of the girl as his nose would nearly touch the ground. Without hesitation his tail would lash out, coiling around the staff as it fell and halting it in place before he would straighten himself back up and take the staff in his hand once more, leaning on it like a walking stick now. He looked over to Mitsuo, who was still staring at the young green haired girl. “And did I hear young Jamie refer to you as Airi?”

The name didn’t process in Mitsuo’s brain. To him, that was Ukiyo. There were no ifs ands or buts about it. She had come back to haunt him, because even for all their differences, he could feel the same gentle kindness, the same alluence for nature, the same feeling he always felt when looking at the young Senju, his best friend. He missed her so and fell to his knees once more, his face pale and his body trembling.

“Damnit Mitsuo. What is wrong with you?” Eizo snapped his fingers in front of Mitsuo’s face as he simply stared and managed to let out one word, the words trembling as they escaped from his throat.

“U..Ukiyo…”

(2427)

Jamie was still shocked and confused as he sniffled a bit more before getting a hold of himself. Airi greeted him back and asked him if he was alright as he simply gave a light nod. He remained within the embrace of this large and scary man who was apparently not going to kill him as he let go slightly as he finally wiped the tears from his eyes with his arm before flicking his arm to let the tears fall to the floor.

Then as the man stood up he put his hands on Jamie's shoulders as he got a bit nervous again not moving at all as he was still a bit scared of this guy. The man apologized for scaring him and said he was not going to kill Jamie and that he would never harm a child. His name was Sarutobi Mitsuo the Seventeenth Hokage, as Jamie tried to remember how many Hokage there were in the first place.

Jamie had a somewhat confused, but curious look on his face as the man dusted himself off and sighed like some really old man who had no idea what he was doing.  As the strong man fell to his knees the monkey seemed to be trying to do something by snapping his fingers as Airi and the monkey man seemed to be getting along rather well as far as Jamie knew.

The man was lost in some confusion as he said the name Ukiyo, it was unclear what was going on as Jamie had cleared up his eyes a bit it looked like the old man was really bothered by something. He then stepped in front of Mitsuo as he was giving Airi a strange look, he may have still been scared of the old man. However Jamie did not want anything strange or bad happening to his friend Airi as he then spoke up for the first time really clearly after a sniff or two.

He placed the palm of his hand on his chest as he spoke up "I am Jamie!" as he then extended the hand to point towards the one he was fixated on. "That is Airi!" as he tried to think on what was going on. He would point to himself again and Airi again as he would repeat the next line while pointing back and forth. "I am Jamie, That is Airi, Jamie, Airi..." as he hoped he got through to the old man who seemed to be going through some weird mental breakdown. Though if one paid attention they would notice that Jamie's right foot was fidgeting and tapping slightly. He knew there was nothing he could do if the man had gone crazy, but he did not want to see anything bad happen to Airi as he stood there with determination in his eyes. His fear overshadowed by his resolve.

(483)
[2187]

The Monkey King. It was the Monkey King. She had never heard of him having an actual name other than Monkey King, but here she was, hearing its very name. For a moment, Airi forgot to breathe as the tales about this fabled creature flooded her mind. The Monkey King, with the strength of a thousand bears, who could move mountains with a single hand, create storms on the water by exhaling and who could maintain perfect balance on his tail or index... While surely most was only slightly exaggerated, at least the balance part seemed pretty accurate.

Realising that the monkey had asked her a question concerning her name, she slowly released her breath and returned to reality. She nodded as his question.

"Yes, that's right. I'm Airi. Airi Senju.", she confirmed the Monkey King's question. "My grandfather Hayato told me a lot of stories about you. I'm not sure he actually ever met you face to face, but he certainly seemed to know a big deal about the Monkey King and its inhumane strength and dexterity."

She wanted to tell more. She wanted to share these stories, if only to see how true they were, but she felt a burning gaze in her direction. As she turned to look what was happening, the Hokage stared at her with such haunted eyes she involuntarily took a step away from him and pulled her spear a little closer to her body. Just in case... He didn't seem to have any harmful intents, but the name he uttered confused her even more. Ukiyo? Who was that? Hadn't he heard that her name was Airi?

Jamie tried to explain the situations as he gestured to himself, named himself, pointed towards her and named her. He did so a few times, as if he was talking to an illiterate person with below average intelligence. She would have stopped him, but she felt so out of place with the adult's strange behaviour she could say little against Jamie's attempt to explain things.

"Ah, yes. I'm Airi.", she repeated. "I'm sorry, bro, you must have me confused with someone else."

She wasn't sure if repeating her name would help the man as he stared at her like he had seen a ghost - generally not the sort of reaction people showed around her. Airi hoped it wasn't something bad though. The last thing she'd want was to be a someone's bad memory, but she was curious all together. Who exactly was this Ukiyo and how did the girl relate to Airi that it left the man fazed to such extend?

---

448
= 1716

It was happening all over again. He felt wet, soaked to the bone nearly as the sound and feeling of rain crashed down around him, muffling the sounds of everything else. A male voice spoke, telling him that their target was this way, and that we had to reach him quickly. The voice was vaguely familiar, and he looked towards the source, seeing the wolf’s mask and the black cloak with the blue rose on it. The silver hair coming up from over the mask helped Mitsuo to realize who it was who was speaking to him. His name was Tsuyo Hyuga, and he was the leader of the organization known as the Aoi Bara. Mitsuo had joined them fairly recently, joining them after the death of his lover, Kimaru. When Kimaru had died, Mitsuo had faked his death and left for Iwa, by chance running into Kimaru’s brother in Tsuyo. Tsuyo invited him to join his organization, and Mitsuo had found many chances to make himself useful, but he had been told that they were bringing a new member into the fold, and that his skills may come in handy in the event that he was being targeted.

There had been a rumour that someone had been targeting Uchiha for their eyes, and apparently the new recruit was a member of that clan, and Mitsuo had been asked to come along because he was considered to be the assassin of the Aoi Bara. There was a third member with them, a man that Mitsuo hadn’t interacted with up until this point. His name was Daraku, and Mitsuo knew little to nothing about him.With their attire, he looked the same as the other two, though the blonde hair above his mask made him stand out slightly. Mitsuo was hidden by his shroud of shadows, obscuring his appearance and location and making him impossible to pinpoint or recognize. He was a shadow’s shadow moving through the rain.

The closer they got to the scene, the worse things seemed to get. Tsuyo waved Mitsuo to stay back as they approached, sensing two distinctly different chakras. One was the burning anger of an Uchiha, which was impossible to miss, but the other was one that Mitsuo was much more familiar with. It was a chakra signature that he knew intimately, as it was one of his best friends and had been since he was a young genin. This was Ukiyo Senju, the girl whom he had trained with since childhood, and someone whom he considered to be closer to him than anyone else. Time slowed as he saw what unfolded in front of him. Ukiyo reached out to attack the Uchiha, Daraku and Tsuyo charged into her, Mitsuo knowing they were falling into a trap. His cloak of the will activated, burning the water around him, and he watched as Tsuyo and Daraku stopped dead in their tracks. She would pull the eyes from Syekren’s head as Mitsuo gripped The Messiah, the Skysplitter blade, and when she turned on Tsuyo, Mitsuo yelled out his warning. She didn’t heed it, and as quickly as the fight had started, it would end as Mitsuo brought his blade down, severing her in twain and removing the leg and arm from Tsuyo as well, also destroying his eyes in the process.

Mitsuo ran forward, falling to his knees in front of Ukiyo, his arms reaching out to scoop her remains into them. The vacuum effect of his blade had done its job, and there wasn’t much left, but he held onto what he had as tight as he could, keeping his best friend as close to him as he could. He couldn’t believe what he had just done, soaked in Ukiyo’s blood and holding her tattered remains in his arms. He would never get her back, and instead of saving his best friend and cutting down the villainous individuals whom he had been spending his time with as of late, he had instead chosen a life of pain and misery. The pain would never leave him, and as he whirled back to reality that pain came crashing over him once more…

Jamie was speaking, but he didn’t hear it. Eizo was snapping, but it made no difference. The girl held her spear closer, the girl who was definitely Ukiyo, but couldn’t be. There was no way it was true, and yet it had to be. Mitsuo felt his world spinning around him, nausea taking over as he felt like he was going to fall unconscious. Darkness was overtaking him and he couldn’t allow himself to fall in front of the child. He put his hands together and activated the Body Flicker Technique, putting as much distance between him and the others as he possibly could before throwing up and collapsing onto the ground…

Eizo watched as Mitsuo vanished, looking towards Airi and Jamie with a quizzical look on his face, concern wracking him as he sighed. “I apologize young ones...Lord Sarutobi has lived a dark and pain filled life, and you, young girl, look much like his best friend. She was a powerful shinobi of the Senju clan, and she met a grizzly end that Mitsuo has blamed himself for ever since...I must go to him and make sure he is okay. You two please stay safe…” With those words he spun his staff and disappeared in a puff of smoke, showing up once more by Mitsuo’s side and picking up his oldest friend. He would vanish from the plane of the Shinobi and go back to the Monkey Village, making his way towards a pool of healing water and putting Mitsuo inside of it. The other members of the village would try to get a look, but Eizo allowed nobody to come near him, protecting his friend’s dignity from prying eyes...

{Exit Thread}

3423
Winds of Righteous Fury S Rank Jutsu - 2250
End - A1 -> A2 - 1035

After everything that happened the monkey told them to stay safe as Jamie tilted his head slightly in a way that begged the question. 'What just happened' as he looked back to Airi, then in the direction he thought the monkey went and then back to Airi again. "Airi, do you know what was going on?" as he looked at her with his eyes slightly puffy from the earlier crying.

From bursting to tears to screaming in fears, now Jamie was lost in the confusion of a situation that did not seem to make any sense at all. Could Airi be the voice of reason, the one to clear his thoughts and make him see the world as it was meant to be seen again. The large man with scars so bad you would think that a hole was blasted through his chest and that they dropped the entire forest on top of this man's head, and still failed to let this strange man rest in peace.

The seventeenth hokage was not too many kage's ago as he began to wonder how old this man really was since he looked old, but not old enough to be the seventeenth or was he. Either way he would probably have to get back to his meditation soon, the only question now was would Airi be joining him or would she leave him all alone here after they had once again met.

(241)
[2428]

"I.. have no idea.", Airi said, still confused herself and somewhat disappointed she hadn't been able to talk with the Monkey King like she had wanted. She really wanted to know to what extend all these stories were true, but... Airi sighed. At least she had seen the Monkey King. Even if it was only a once in a lifetime opportunity, it was one more than her grandfather. A thought that brought her more pain than happiness, considering it all.

The Monkey King's answer to what happened cleared most of the confusing fog, even if it left her with more questions than answers. She looked very much like someone he had once known. A Senju with that, and a powerful shinobi. She wasn't sure what to feel about this. One part of her felt diminished at the fact that she could just as much be 'one of the many' Senju, but there was another part that shoved that notion of the table in favour of concern for the stranger. To have her appearance make him so violently ill all of a sudden... what sort of past had he experienced that he still suffered the consequences of it today?

Suddenly feeling sad herself, Airi decided that it would be best to return home for the day. She had a few fish to deliver and, perhaps, her father would be able to tell her more about this Mitsuo and Ukiyo - who exactly were they, and what was their role in the Village?

"I'm sorry, Jamie. I'll be going home for now. Stay safe, okay?"

She ruffled his hair amicably as the spear and fish didn't quite allow her to give him a hug, and walked away to return home.

---

[EXIT]

293
Total: 2009

Training:

Even Airi did not really know as she apologized to Jamie telling him to stay safe as she went on her way home. She ruffled his hair as he looked down blushing slightly, he resisted smiling as usual. As she walked away he shouted out from a distance, "Bye Airi!!" as he waved to her before turning away as he went back to his training.

He began meditating in the river again as he pictured all the strange moves the monkey did and began practicing the forms with his eyes closed only to splash and fall, with a crash of the small as he decided that he would need to learn more then just kyujutsu as he realized that even if he could shoot from a distance, what would he do against an agile monkey and would his sword be a match for a long staff. Jamie had a lot more growing to do, at least emotionally and skillfully.

(159)
[2587]

1000 (Training C-Rank Jutsu Spit Fire)
+1500 (Training Bojutsu from Mitsuo/Monkey)
2500 TOTAL

EXIT THREAD