It was a clouded day, as was usually the case in Kumogakure, but the rain stayed away for a change. In fact, even the sun seemed to pierce through on occasions, bathing the area in warmth. Shadow and light were having a performance on their own as the new batch of academy students were training under the supervising eye of a newly appointed special jounin - Mizuki. Dummies had been installed upon which training with shuriken and kunai were being performed, and protruding boulders formed the ideal target for chakra molding exercises.

Wearing a simple white dress bound together with a ditto silken sash that allowed her to attach her own belt pouch and katana, the newly appointed teacher had her hands folded behind her back, holding a clipboard with notes while she eyed the progress of the students. On her shoulder, perched on a leather shoulder protector sat a grey hawk motionlessly watching the movement of the projectiles as if calculating when and where she could strike to steal away one of them as if they were mere prey ripe for the picking.

Mizuki walked through the groups of students, evaluating their general skill and giving them some pointers. The level of ability to use throwing weapons differed greatly, giving a quick idea who would choose the shuriken over the senbon in time, but a few of them truly stood out despite their youth and inexperience. She complimented the students on a job well done, showing them the level of skill they could achieve in time with a little demonstration of her own speed. Leaving the kids in awe, she urged them on to pick up where they had left and inspired them to surpass their own skill while they were training. Naturally, where some excelled, others downright did a horrible job as well, proving their inefficiency and lack of talent in weapon fighting. Halting near the students, she explained them the right way of throwing, helping a few figuring out the right way of hand movement and generally encouraging them to keep on practising. What they lacked in weapon talent, they would surely make up in chakra molding ability.

Eventually reaching yet another group that was trying hard to give shape to the first few jutsu every shinobi would have to know, Mizuki found it much harder to explain how to mold chakra properly despite being an ace at it herself. Still, she would proceed to explain the tenketsu and provide an accurate explanation on how chakra functioned within the body, quietly thanking Lin, her missing mentor and an expert in medical jutsu, for the lessons she had given her back in the days. Providing a few demonstrations with raiton chakra, she did note it would be mostly a matter of practice before they would master the basics of chakra molding - a practice that should not be discarded as students were obliged to know the basic jutsu before graduating as a genin.

Having run through all the groups, Mizuki's notes were rather filled with observations and grades of every student currently present, so she revised them again to be sure her findings matched with what she was still seeing at this moment.

---

534

Raphael stood on his balcony looking out across the village, the sun just barely visible behind the large clouds in the sky occasionally sharing it's warmth with the world below it. Raphael did not really care for the weather, but it was something he had become accustomed to during his time in the village. Raphael shrugged heading back into his apartment and grabbing his gear, strapping his windmill shuriken to his back and making sure his normal Shuriken and Kunai were in their pouches on his belt before he headed out. The boy was in his typical attire, his silk black sleeveless shirt that bares the symbol of the Kozai, with white pants with a black belt that held his Kumogakure Headband on the front and black shoes. He also wore a long white cloak jacket that hangs down to his knees, covering the windmill shuriken on his back.

The young shinobi walked somberly through the village his mind wandering as he thought back on all that had happened in the past few weeks since his arrival in the hidden cloud village. The boy was more than proud of his accomplishments, he believed he had earned it but it meant nothing to him as he had no one to really share it with. His thoughts then took a turn towards his mother and sister back at the Kozai Estate, his biggest regret was that he did not make the time to visit them before he left Kaze no Kuni. He would have to make an effort to return to them soon and tell them everything that had happened to him in the months since he left home, his recent rise in the ranks of the cloud shinobi as well as explaining why he did not return sooner. His biggest hope was that his sister would find it in her heart to forgive him for not being there like he had promised when she completed her awakening, so much had happened with the destruction of Suna, his apparent coma for weeks afterwards, and his unwillingness to let his family see him as weak. The boy ran from it all he fled the land of Wind and came to the village hidden in the cloud seeking guidance as well as protection, he hoped that with a Kage as powerful as the Raikage was rumored to be be would be safe.

Raphael was pulled away from his thoughts of home by the sound of children, looking around he realized he was near the academy. The boy rounded the corner of the academy to see a bunch of kids outside looking like they were practicing throwing Kunai or Shuriken, when one of the kids hit anywhere on one of the dummies the boy heard clapping and compliments coming from the other children. Raphael was pleasantly surprised by the children's kindness to each other, considering how horrible his own personal experience at the academy in Sunagakure had been. Walking a bit further around the building he saw more children who were molding chakra, or at the very least trying to mold chakra though their efforts seemed to yield little results they kept trying and the other kids provided positive encouragement. Raphael was standing in the middle of the street by the academy when he saw the person teaching the class, he could not be for certain with her back to him but it looked like Mizuki with her hawk on her shoulder. He was not sure until he saw her face when she turned around and started to walk back through the practicing children, they only met once but he remembered her because she was interesting. It may have been mainly because of his upbringing but the boy loved learning things about stuff he did not know, Mizuki and her Raiu clan fit that because he knew nothing about them until she told him during their mission. He waited until she looked up from her clipboard before he tried to get her attention by waving, "hey Mizuki, how are you doing?"

If the girl recognized him he would walk over to her, "so what's going on here?" He asked looking to all the kids whose attention he had drawn by calling out to their teacher from across the street. The boy would smile as the kids began to crowd around them, all of them eager to know what was going on, however the boy would keep an eye on the hawk on the girls shoulder as he did not want it to attack him.

---

762

As training progressed, the students were slowly getting the hang of the basics and as such the true aces did not take long to reveal themselves. Cheers and clapping was being heard as the day was nearing the end, pride visible on those who had achieved to hit the centre of the target at a distance that was to be considered challenging for kids of their rank. As exhaustion and boredom was slowly setting in, some giving up on their lacklustre performance to watch the aces in envy, Mizuki decided to raise the difficulty a little just for the aces of projectile throwing. Taking out a single senbon, she held it between her fingers and showed it to the others.

"This is a singing senbon. When thrown, it seems to whistle as it flies through the air. When hit with another senbon, there is a distinct clear reverbration.", she explained before throwing the senbon straight in the middle of the practice target. "Take your shuriken or senbon... and let's see who of you two can make it sing by the end of the lesson."

To demonstrate it, she took another senbon and threw it at the first one. As the two hit, a lilting sound as if someone had hit a champagne glass with their nails resonated through the air. As the kids looked at each other in amazement, the aces prepared themselves, their pride and hopes bolstered by the other kids who were watching with expectation. With senbon being so thin and small, a true challenge had been given, with only slightly more than five minutes remaining to succeed.

As the first attempts at hitting failed, Mizuki heard her name. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw Raphael wave at her, and waved back at him in response, not moving from her spot as she watched over the eager students. With him getting closer, the attention of the kids faltered, moving from the singing senbon challenge to the chuunin and their sensei, much to the aces' demise who slightly pouted at the thought of not having their reputation being recognised any longer. As such, they too hopped into the crowd, trying to catch Raphael's attention for the challenge ahead as they wanted to prove to everyone what great shinobi they would become.

"Raphael-san. It's a pleasure to see you. How have you been doing lately?", the kunoichi asked while bowing in his direction, upon which the grey hawk decided to fly off to find more 'solid' ground to dig its claws in, landing on one of the target dummies' head instead. After Raphael would have replied, she would introduce the class of academy students to him, explaining their current training and the offered challenge, subtly nudging the aces to remain concentrated with the challenge at hand since a shinobi should not be distracted so easily.

"Would you like to show them your throwing skills after the lesson is over, Raphael-san?"

---

498
Total: 1032

"I am doing very well thank you for asking," the boy replied as he in turn returned her bow though it would not show on his face he was overly happy that the hawk on the girl's shoulder had moved to a different perch, as he would no longer have to worry about upsetting it on accident. When the question arose about him showing off his throwing skills, Raphael thought for a few seconds to give a dramatic build up for the kids, "ah sure why not, let me just warm up a little first." The boy said as he moved though the clearing the children made to a spot in front of the dummies, stretching out his arms and back as he surveyed the area and got a handle on his surroundings. There were four dummies in total and Mizuki's hawk sat on the head of the one on the middle right, Raphael would make a mental note about where the bird sat so that he could avoid it as he took out three of his Kaminari Shuriken from the pouch on the back of his belt. Unlike the shuriken that the children had been using these shurikens were rounded with saw like edges and were meant to cause pain to the unfortunate opponent that fell victim to them. Raphael took a deep breath in, releasing it as he looked down at the ground he did not need to look back up he knew where the targets stood and he knew what was going to happen next. With two shuriken in his left hand and one in his right he pulled his arms close to his chest taking in another breath as he dropped lower and released the shuriken, as soon as they had left his hand more took their place. Raphael had thrown all nine of his shuriken and they had already reached their target before the boy looked up again seeing all nine of the shuriken sticking out of the chestin close clusters of three on three of the dummies however the one in which the hawk stood was untouched. "You see when you practice long enough throwing shuriken becomes like second nature to you. I did not try to focus on the target and aim like I use to do when I was younger, I knew where the shuriken needed to go, I visualized them hitting their target, and as I released them from my hands they knew where they needed to go." Raphael let out a laugh as he began rubbing the back of his head with his left hand, something he did when he was nervous though something that he had not done in a while. He was not sure if it was because he was talking to all the children or if it was because a superior was watching and listening as well. "Now don't think that just because you can hit a stationary target that you are some badass shinobi," the boy paused looking to the girl and mouthing the word sorry to her for saying badass in front of the children, "umm, what I mean to say is just because you hit a target like this does not mean you can hit a moving target just a easily, it takes skills and focusing those skills, and even then there will still be times that you miss. The most important thing is you understand that everyone makes mistakes even shinobi like me, but you have to learn from your past mistakes if you want to move towards the future. And just because your good with one thing does not mean your great with everything, for instance I am good with shuriken however I am terrible with senbons. It is important that as a shinobi that you know your strength and weaknesses so that you can better compliment your strengths and cover your weaknesses."

Raphael would stop talking as he felt he was just rambling on and on now and he did not want to take the lesson away from the actual teacher, the boy would bow back and let Mizuki take over directing her class.

---

1458

After a brief display of skill, where Raphael used nine shuriken to hit three different targets in three swift movements. Eyes wide, mouths agape, the kids could not believe what they saw, some even joking that 'Raphael-sempai was even better than sensei' because she had only demonstrated with one senbon at a time. Mizuki chuckled at the wondrous world these kids found themselves at, completely oblivious of how skill and shinobi rank generally were entwined, and did not correct them. At that point, Raphael started to explain in length how he had managed to hit all three targets so easily, yet warning that hitting stationary targets did not make a skilled shinobi out of a person just yet. He apologised quietly for having used the word 'badass', upon which Mizuki raised her eyebrows and enlarged her eyes briefly in a mock warning yet much to the kids' amusement. He then continuing about how talents were different for everyone, emphasising unknowingly what Mizuki had mentioned before. As the kids recognised the lesson brief glances were taken at Mizuki, who briefly nodded, before they eagerly continued listening at the shuriken prodigy in front of them. Finishing his explanation, Mizuki nodded sagely at her class.

"So you see, students, what I'm teaching you is not something I made up. All those who have become skilled shinobi have once started at your position, and trained hard to surpass their own limits. With that said, class for today is over. Please do not forget your belongings and swiftly make your way home."

Nodding as inspiration struck, a collective 'Hai, sensei' was heard, followed by a ruckus as the kids gathered their things under loud talk and laughter before most of them moved direction home. A couple of them, mostly the throwing aces, seemed to linger around, vying for some attention from Raphael as he seemed to have truly inspired them to surpass even his talents - Raphael would have his share of new rivals. Finishing writing down the last notes on her papers, Mizuki stowed her papers away in her own bag, throwing it over her shoulders.

"Were you looking for lessons as well, Raphael-san? Or did you aim to become a new teacher with that explanatory talent of yours? We may have room for both in the academy.", she asked him with a hint of amusement in her voice.

She did not believe it was Raphael's intention to actually visit the academy, but one could never exclude such options. Few chuunin had interest in teaching a bunch of kids just yet, preferring to improve upon their skill and experience first, but it would certainly not be unheard off that a few shinobi simply got 'stuck' as chuunin or special jounin just because they focused on improving the future rather than themselves. Mizuki certainly did not have the intention, already too occupied with a handful of other duties that required almost all of her time.

---

493
Total: 1525

As Mizuki spoke to her students Raphael collected his shuriken from the dummies, admiring his handy work on getting them clustered so closely together in the center of the chest of the dummies. After their sensei dismissed the class most of the students grabbed their things and headed home as instructed, however there were three students that ran over to Raphael and began asking him different questions all at once. The young shinobi was taken more than a little off guard by the bombardment of questions coming at him, after a quick glance over to Mizuki to see her writing some stuff down so he figured he could entertain the kids for a little longer. Turning back to the children he pulled a shuriken out for each of them to hold and see the differences in the shurikens, before giving them permission to use them to practice for a few minutes while he waited for Mizuki to finish with what she was doing. He did his best to stifle his laughter as they all tried to imitate him in what he had done during his demonstration by not looking at the target. The two boys missed landing their shuriken in the bushes behind the dummy, the girl that was among them however surprised him the most by hitting the target in the far left side. Raphael clapped briefly to congratulate the girls which only made the boy's hurry to the bushes to retrieve their shuriken and try it again. After a few more attempts they all had improved more than Raphael thought possible, perhaps it was a drive to impress him or maybe he inspired them to improve just as Tenjin had done for him. Once he saw Mizuki walking towards them the young shinobi called the kids back to him, getting his shuriken back from them and giving them a few quick tips on how they could improve. With a quick thank you to Raphael and a bow to both him and Mizuki, the three were off and on their way home.

Raphael could not help but give a slight chuckle at Mizuki's words, he had never even given a seconds thought about teaching. It was not that he had anything against teaching, he had the utmost respect for teachers and all they provided he just never felt he would be a good teacher. "Well I believe everyone has room for more lessons, as there is always something new for you to learn." The boy answered with a smile, "but to be honest with you I have never thought I would be good enough to be a teacher. Most of what I told those kids was just what my teachers taught me when I was in the academy, and again I am really sorry for letting the BA word slip back there, it was completely uncalled for and I should of paid better attention to my words." Raphael would of dropped his smile by this point as he needed his words to come off as serious, mainly due to the fact that Mizuki was the boy's superior and he did not want to get in trouble but also because he was truly sorry as he did not mean to say the word. The boy would then motion towards the street, "I was actually just out for a stroll, if you would care to join me we could talk some. Of course that is if you are not busy," the boy said hoping that she would accompany him.

If Mizuki had somewhere she wanted to go the boy would follow her, if not and she allowed him to lead the way they would eventual find their way to the 369 cloud diner which was Raphael's favorite place to grab a meal.

---

2093

Hearing Raphael's words, Mizuki nodded in agreement. Yes, there was always room for improvement and growth, no matter the rank of a shinobi. Those who ceased learning had chosen to let others surpass them. This was not necessarily a bad thing either as the body would sooner or later simply grow too old for most things a shinobi did, but it also meant their days of glory would come to an end as they stepped out of society's rhythm.

"A healthy attitude. A teacher who refused to learn should no longer be a teacher. But even then, is passing on the knowledge of our elders not simply what everyone does? All I taught these kids were things I was told by my sensei as well, with that difference that now I hold the experience and skill to pass it onto others with confidence."

As for the slip-up, Mizuki was fairly certain these kids were used to far worse when their parents and teachers weren't listening. Such was usually the case, as she knew from experience. But Raphael was right that paying attention to one's language was of importance during teaching as everything said was supposed to be remembered. Unfortunately, an uncouth mouth would linger far easier than a tenfold repetition of sage advice.

"It's alright. Just be more careful next time. We wouldn't like the kids to think such words should form the base of their shinobi training, even though we can both agree your little show was certainly 'badass'. I'm afraid you'll be the talk of the next coming lessons, having left such an impression on the students."

It was mostly a question of what exactly would linger around. Hopefully they had more eyes and ears for his shuriken talent than for the word, though she wouldn't be surprised if a couple of boys would use it as their new go-to noun in hopes to impress the girls about how cool they were using such adult words. It was not like her past as a little girl wasn't filled with that same sort of behaviour...

From behind, the hawk's cry could be heard before it took off into the air to land onto Mizuki's out-stretched hand. Stroking Zhinu affectionately on the head for a moment, she eventually rose her hand so the bird could take off again. "Way home, Zhinu.", she commanded, upon which the bird quickly left to vanish from sight as it made its way home, a last cry echoing in the sky above. "You're in luck. Class just ended, so I'm free until I need to pick up my night patrol shift since I didn't really plan anything. Was there anything you had in mind?", she asked Raphael as she started to walk towards the road.

---

478
Total: 2003

The cry of the hawk drew Raphael's attention back to the dummy upon which it was perched before the girl answered his question, he watched as the hawk took off from the dummy landing on Mizuki's arm. After a few moments of stroking the hawk's head Mizuki sent the bird home, Raphael would watch as the avian vanished into the distance with a final cry as if it was saying good bye. "Well I am just walking around, I guess you could say I am site seeing, even though I know where everything is." The boy said with a chuckle as he turned and began walking with Mizuki towards the street, "if I am being honest with you though I am rather glad I ran into you again. I was hoping you could tell me more about yourself and your clan, that is if you do not mind telling me. I guess you could say it comes back to the whole learning things, I love to learn about new stuff it was one of the reasons I came here seeing as most of this land is unknown to my clan." Raphael would continue walking though his voice would fall silent as his mind once again thought back to those he had left behind in the land of wind and he wondered when or if he would see them again. He missed his family more than he thought he would, and he wondered what they have been doing since he left. By now his sister would no doubt had finished her clan training, but with the destruction of the hidden sand village he wondered where they would of sent her to complete her shinobi training. More likely then not they would send her to Konohagakure as it would of been the closest village with Sunagakure now gone, of course it was also possible that she never left the Estate and followed in their mothers steps and become something other than a shinobi. Everything was speculation of course as he would not know anything about what had transpired with them until he saw them again, pushing the thoughts of his family and his longing to return home to them aside Raphael turned his attention back to Mizuki as she began answering his question.

As the pair walked the clouds covering the sky began opening more revealing more warmth from the sun as it's light spread across the village. As they continued walking they eventually walked in front of the Cloud 369 diner, a favorite of Raphael and as the smell of the delicious food reached Raphael's nose he felt his stomach begin to growl. Looking to the diner Raphael would lick his lips before turning back to the girl, "hey Mizuki, care to stop for a bite to eat?" He asked trying his best not to let his hunger show in case she was not hungry, as he would continue to walk with her if she chose not to stop at the diner.

---

2599

So Raphael wanted to know even more about the Raiu? Mizuki remembered she had talked about the Raiu clan to Raphael before, but to recall what exactly she had been saying..? That was much harder to do. She recalled having mentioned the history briefly and having shown a brief flash of Storm Release, but if that didn't suffice, then what exactly was he hinting at? Did he wanted to know where he could find her clan? Was it about the dojo her father held? Or was he curious about the how and why of their KKG? The kunoichi could certainly understand his hunger for knowledge, even commending him for it, but she could not simply reveal everything either as every clan had their own secrets only taught to their own.

"I wouldn't mind talking about the Raiu clan but what exactly are you wishing to know? I explained you its history in a nutshell, but if you want an elaborate timeline I'm afraid I might have to seek out the clan head's library as I don't know all of the details of the past."

She could talk his ears off about ninjutsu, perhaps, since that was a specialisation the Raiu were almost forced to pick up considering the extensive training Storm Release required from each member of the clan, but that surely would end up boring the chuunin as it was hardly anything else but droning repetition of chakra training exercises. Perhaps she could speak about the dojo and the various kenjutsu styles her father had brought to life, but so far Raphael had not revealed himself to be much of a weapon-oriented shinobi. In fact, was he not an unarmed specialist?

As she tried to figure out what to talk about on the matter of the Raiu clan, they passed the Cloud 369 diner that seemed to attract Raphael's attention, giving him a pensive look for a short moment. As he seemed to be lost in thoughts, she caught the soft growl from his stomach, which prompted him to ask her out for a meal.

"I'm fine with that. Thank you for the invitation.", she nodded, smiling softly. She didn't wish for the poor guy to suffer starvation at a moment as this. Herself, she had her food already prepared at home, but since she usually ate lightly, Mizuki guessed an exception to her usual eating habits wouldn't hurt her. It wasn't like she'd pick up something difficult to digest to begin with, and so she followed Raphael into the diner.

---

434
Total: 2437

The atmosphere of Cloud 369 was just as it always was, calm and serene no matter what was going on outside in the village the one thing Raphael could count on was the serenity of the Restaurant. Even during the crowded time of the chuunin exams when Raphael would get overwhelmed with the crowd he always knew he could drop in here and find peace. Despite their good food not the Restaurant hardly ever had very many customers, which Raphael accounted to the price of the food but he deemed it worthy of the price. It was not that it was a fine dining restaurant but more of like a social gathering spot for those like Raphael that understood that the best food came at a price and were willing to pay it, Raphael usually ate alone watching the different people and eavesdropping on their conversations which was how he found out about most of what he knew of the village. The chef knew how to cook anything that one could think of and make it more delicious than the boy ever could imagine, this was by far his favorite spot in the entire village. As the pair walked in Raphael's nostrils were instantly filled with the sweet aroma of the restaurant's many different items causing his mouth to begin to water in anticipation. It reminded him of why he loved the place so much, Raphael knew the routine they just needed to pick a seat and one of the waiters would get to them to take their order as soon as possible. Raphael was fine with that as it would give the pair more time to talk that way, he would lead Mizuki to the table next to the window and closest to the door where he usually sat when he came in. He would offer Mizuki her seat before he would sit down, after all his mother raised a gentleman.

Once they were seated Raphael would return to the conversation they were having before his stomach drew him to the restaurant. "Well anything you could tell me, I would be grateful for as it would help me better understand everything. What was it like for you growing up in a clan in a place where it is renowned for a Raikage? What kind of training does your clan do? How was your relationship with your parents? Does your clan run by a leader, or is it like some other clans I read about that are governor by a councup or elders or whatever? What is it like being able to wield your elements?" Raphael would pause realizing that he had just bombarded the girl with questions, "I am terribly sorry to ask you so many questions. I think it's something about my clan, you see back at the Kozai Estate we have this library filled with books on all different kinds of clans in the world. Members have travelled out and on their journeys recorded different encounters they had with the various clans, and I spent most of my childhood reading those books and thinking that if I ever found myself faced with the unknown I would learn as much as I could about them and record my own book just as my ancestors did." The boy would pause once again unsure how the girl would feel about sharing clan information with him as he was still a stranger to the girl. "Of course if you don't want to I completely understand, and you do not have to share anything that you do not want to," the boy added with a smile hoping that the girl did not find him to be a nutcase that was just rambling on and on.

---

3226

She had passed the restaurant before but had never dined here and was not familiar with its interior or reputation. So as they stepped inside the 369 Cloud, Mizuki's eyes took in the whole environment, eyes instantly looking to register anything that could offer danger an opening. More a force of habit as a shinobi whose 'hobby' was patrolling Kumogakure than actually feeling uncomfortable, she did recognise a couple of faces, exchanging a brief nod and smile with them before she followed Raphael to his chosen seat where he offered her a chair.

"Such a gentleman. Yours have become a rare breed.", she smiled admirable, thanking him as she sat down.

The air was heavy with the smell of cooked food, and though she was not hungry, it drove her to check the menu anyway in hopes to find a little something. With both seated, Mizuki took the menu cards, offered one to Raphael and kept one for herself as Raphael proceeded to shower her with a whole bunch of questions. Where she had expected the questions to go about the clan itself and its KKG, its reputation or general position, Raphael's question were completely different. He asked questions as if he tried to experience the clan to its full extend.

She looked at him in surprise, upon which he apologised and explained where such curiosity came from. Talking about the Kozai, the library and how he wanted to step into the footsteps of his ancestors, and with the preceding questions, it looked much like the Kozai family were a family of chroniclers of sorts. From what she heard, the amount of details the Kozai estate held made them both a treasure of knowledge and information, and potentially equally dangerous.

Mizuki's eyes overlooked the menu while she thought about how to go about his questions. She didn't want to leave the boy at the top of his seating, hoping for an answer that would never come. It was just that the nature of his questions, though simple in approach, triggered a lot of memories on a more personal level. To him, the Raiu clan was a topic of fascination. To her, it was life itself. And that made it much harder to explain it.

What was it like to grow up as a Raiu...?

"To begin, our clan is a collective of a few families. We generally bear the same family name, but that doesn't mean every one of us follows the same principles, training or shares the same dreams. We're not large in number, but we are persistent, with two things that we keep holding in common. Firstly, our KKG and therefore our intense ninjutsu training. Secondly, our perseverance both as a clan loyal to Kumogakure and as protectors or similar positions and philosophies."

This, at least, had been nothing different to her or her family. It was the essence of the Raiu clan that all of them shared. But then came the differences. Her father held a dojo and had always been fascinated by kenjutsu styles, running closer with Kumogakure's reliance on weapons, but the same could not be said by the other families who strongly relied on ninjutsu, joined the ANBU or simply remained restless as times of peace seemed to dull their motivations.

"My family owns a dojo where my father teaches several arts such as taijutsu, various kenjutsu styles, iaijutsu and kiaijutsu. He has always been fascinated by such traditional arts and has made it his passion. In time, he expects me to take over as I've been trained in kenjutsu, iaijutsu and kiaijutsu since childhood."

And that was where all the memories started. Hours of holding up the blade to 'conquer' it, hours of concentration until she could cut a falling leave in twain with one swift strike, hours upon hours of repeating the basic kata, the duels with her sister, the duels with her father, the failures... and the victories, her sister being taught one of her father's sword styles while she was taught the other, the expectations, the discipline... There was so much she could talk about it would simply be impossible to explain it all properly without having Raphael meet up at the dojo and its immediate vicinity.

"To write down clan lore with such eye for detail it would seem you have lived there... You have admirable goals, Raphael-san, but to answer them all I would need days. Spoken word would do it little honour, so perhaps I could invite you on the Raiu's grounds?"

If she could point out the tree which still bore the marks where her katana had struck, failing to cut the falling leaf in two, or where the first of her ranton beams had left behind a scorch mark... If he could see the dojo with his own eyes, he would not simply be able to write but to feel the disciplined air that lingered there.  If he could see one of the trainings at the dojo, he would be able to take a glimpse at the various kenjutsu styles, see the blood, sweat and tears shed to achieve perfectioned precision. Such images would tell more than the thousands of words she'd share in answer of his questions.

---

885
Total: 3322

Raphael would wait patiently as the girl looked over the menu for the restaurant as if she was trying to piece together what to tell him, Raphael had been to the restaurant so much he did not need to look over the menu mostly because he knew all of the restaurants dishes but also because he always ordered the same meal ever since he had found it. When Mizuki began to speak the boy would furiously write down quick notes that he could add with previous information he had and what he may possibly learn later to make a full dossier of the Raiu Clan for his records. When the girl stopped talking the boy could see the distance in her eyes as if she was somewhere far away from her body, when she spoke again her offer caught the boy off guard to be given a chance to see an actual compound of another clan was something the boy would often dream about but he never thought it would truly happen. The boy would sit his pen down in his notebook closing it and placing it on the table in front of him, "I would be honored to be given the chance to see the Raiu Grounds in person, but are you sure such a thing would be allowed?" He asked her with sincerity in his voice, one of the reasons he never thought he would be able to witness a Clan's compound first hand was due to the fact that he had tried many times in the past with some of the clans that lived around the village hidden in the sand and was turned away as was most outsiders. His mind was racing with all the possibilities of everything he could learn both from the chance to see the Raiu Compound as well as the chance of meeting other member's of Mizuki's clan that could also help him in his desire to catalogue the Clan's of the world.

His thoughts would be interrupted by the waitress who came to take their order, "Are you guy's ready to order?" She asked in a bubbly tone, it was obvious to Raphael that the girl was new for the simple fact that he did not recognize her which was saying something considering how much he came here. Of course since he did not recognize her it would be assumed that the woman would not know him either, and therefore would not know his usual order. "Yes I will have the Daifuku mochi and some tea," the boy would state as the waitress wrote down his order before looking to Mizuki. Once the waitress had both orders she would depart to the kitchen returning with their drinks and informing them that their meal would be out shortly, once the woman had left them Raphael would notice that the very few customers that were there when the pair had arrive was gone leaving Mizuki and himself alone in the vast restaurant. With the waitress now gone the boy would turn back to the conversation they were having before the interruption, "Mizuki would it truly be possible for me to see the Raiu Grounds to actually be inside the Clan's compound? Because I have never been among another clan like that before and I believe it would be a great experience for myself, as well as a great addition to the book." he stated patting his notebook with a smile upon his face.

---

3812

Could he truly be allowed inside? To some extend. She couldn't speak for all of the places as every family had its own ideas on that matter, but she knew her father would hardly mind. After all, the clan's dojo was on the Raiu compound and plenty of people came to visit it either as potential students or as actual students. The kenjutsu styles taught by the Raiu were found nowhere else, and it was her father's pride to teach them to as many as possible.

"To some extend. I can invite you to our little part, but chances are slim the other families would allow you on their grounds without a good reference. The Raiu tend to hide what should not be seen, even in public places. The ranton's bright nature teaches us to hide in plain sight."

As she finished her words, a waitress appeared, asking them if they knew what they'd take. Mizuki hadn't quite chosen yet and opted to order something alike to Raphael. She wasn't one to order confectioneries often considering how occupied she usually was, but ume daifuku and a cup of lotus tea at this time of the day wasn't such a bad idea. The waitress nodded once she had the two orders and sauntered off to take care of them.

"I could show you the lane of jacaranda trees that lead into our training grounds. There is the Raiu dojo that you could attend to, as well as our small smithy where we take care of general reparations and maintenance of weapons. It's not much in comparison to the entire compound, but I doubt I can give you more without the consent of the other families. Does this sound acceptable?"

The waitress returned to bring them their order, upon which Mizuki took the spoon and gently toiled in the cup of tea, watching the ripples formed in the clear liquid before she took a sip from the hot beverage.

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336
Total: 3658

The smile on the boy's face grew more pronounced at Mizuki's words, "yes, yes, yes that would be most acceptable and appreciated Mizuki." The boy said his excitement obvious in the sound of his voice, he would take whatever he could get even if it was just a glimpse of the clan itself. When the waitress brought out their food Raphael would lower his head and say a quick thanks to Raava before starting to devour his food as if he had not had food in several days. This of course was not the case he had eaten, just not today, and when the boy is hungry little can control him. Once he had scarfed down most of his food the boy was able to regain his composer, "I apologize for that, usually I eat alone and don't really think about my manners." The boy stated fully ashamed of his behaviour and his lack of manners, he would then continue to eat however more mindful of his appearance and not eating like a simpleton. The boy would remain silent as he ate, unless Mizuki asked a question of him in which he would answer truthfully to her as he had nothing to hide from her.

Once they both finished their meal, Raphael would call for the check and pay for both of the meals. On his way out he would turn to Mizuki, "I will await word from you Lady Mizuki." Although of course the boy had wished they could go right that second, he also understood that Mizuki had just finished teaching a class of students and would probably like some peace and alone time as he would of. So with that said he would head out and return home his notebook tight within his grasp, waiting for the addition of the Raiu Clan.

{Exit Thread}

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4120
Speed trained from C-1 to C-3: 1300 words | 275 Ryo
E-Rank Jutsu Ginkaze: 500 words | 50 Ryo
D-Rank Jutsu Sasayaku Kaze: 750 Words | 80 Ryo
B-Rank Jutsu Kazeruku: 1500 Words | 200 Ryo
Total Cost: 4050 Words | 605-5% = 575 Ryo
70 words discarded

It was heart-warming to see the chuunin so happy with the little bit she could offer and as such she returned him the smile. She took another sip of her tea as her mind thought about a good time to invite Raphael, and how she would go about explaining everything in such a way he could make use of the info  so as to add it to his library. Though she couldn't say what exactly he'd need to complete his works, the idea of having the Raiu immortalised in some way felt like a good move.

Taking a bite from her peach filled daifuku that showed she aimed to savour the confectionery, Raphael was obviously starved and scarfed down the daifuku with great speed and hunger apparent in his eyes. It was when he had almost finished that he apologised for his improper ways of eating, upon which she smiled and nodded faintly. Though Mizuki generally refrained from eating as such, it wasn't like she wasn't used to it. Her sister, uncontrolled as she tended to be, and even her mother, against all expectations, tended to hold eating contests to see who could wolf down their meal the fastest when hungry. And miraculously, it didn't filthy the surroundings even though their cheek and the table really looked as if a battle had taken place.

"Do not worry, Raphael-san. My sister would still beat you in a contest.", she said with a hint of amusement. Naturally, she finished her meal some ten minutes after Raphael, regularly taking a sip of the tea in front of her. When they finished their meal, Raphael was so kind to pay for both of the meals, which she thanked him for with a polite bow, and eventually the two left the restaurant to part ways.

"Keep well, Raphael-san. I'll send you a letter with the date, time and place as soon as I can."

She bowed as they said their goodbyes and then made her own way home.

---

[EXIT]

342
Total: 4000

Training: