Fuyuko had been enjoying a long stay in Konoha so far. Staying there together with Takao was a true blessing and overshadowed her cravings for the unique weather that was only really known on the islands of the land of water. The cold, gloom filled misty mornings that the people of the land most often woke up to were, to her, just another perfect way to wake up. Not having it seen for weeks made her realize how much she actually missed that kind of morning. Because unlike here, the mornings in the land of fire were filled with warmth and clear skies. However despite her realization of how much she missed the weather patterns of her home country, she still desired being with her lover more than anything else. Sometimes things you love have to make way for the person you love after all.

Waking up this morning in her own bed was somewhat weird though, the last time she was here her bed was filled by the bodies of two, herself and Takao. Being in it alone now made it feel a lot more spacious and empty. Luckily this would be the last day she would be in the village before she would make her way back to the village hidden in leaves. She was in the country upon request of the administration building. They mostly gave her classified information to inform her of things that had happened or might happen. She was part of the ANBU of the mist village and while she wasn’t currently really in the country, that didn’t mean she should be out of the loop of things. However she cared very little about such things at this point in time, she had her own vigilante story going on in the land of fire that took most of her attention. Combine that with the fact that as time passed she started to detest the governing body more and more, she just did the bare minimum that was requested and no more.

With her duties fulfilled for the time being Fuyuko made her way out of her empty house again and as she did she recalled something. The time for the chuunin exams to happen was drawing closer and closer and so she decided to give a visit to the training grounds of the village. While she detested the governing body, she still loved her country. And just because the old guard was ‘corrupt’ and heartless didn’t mean the next generation had to be like them. With those thoughts in mind she went to the ground to see if there were people there that needed some pointers.

Those thoughts sparked a memory inside of her when she was still young and ignorant of the world. Where she got some help from the Mizukage herself on more than one front. She was giving some food for thought back then by the villages leader as well as some pointers on how to let your body flow in combat.

Arriving at the training grounds Fuyuko saw a couple of kids training there. Some of them could be old enough to participate in the exams but there were also people there that were just little academy children. With her kind heart Fuyuko first went to the little kids, they would most likely need the least amount of time to improve or continue their training. They were still young and hadn’t grown into any habits most likely, so the small habits they had were easiest to break out off. A couple of minutes later and her showing how to do it the kids continued their training and already showed improvement. It put a smile on her face as Fuyuko watched over them for a bit longer from the distance to make sure they stuck to the things that she was teaching them.


wc 646

It had been rough for Akiyama the past few weeks. Having recently killed for the first time while on a mission he had been having a great many thoughts as to what kind of person this made him. Furthermore he had only been made to kill more on his next mission, those this time out of anger. The path of a cold killer seemed laid out before him, the same path the vast majority of shinobi from Kirigakure seemed to walk with such casual ease. Rolling over in his bed he stared at his clock for a moment. The time for his morning training had long since past and he knew it, though his feelings towards it seemed shallow at best. The removal of life seemed to be a double edged sword to Akiyama. For every life he ended it seemed as though the joy of his own was being slowly cut away. He had tried to lie to himself, tell himself that he could just be like Kaito, or any of the other members of his generation who cared little for the lives that were lost.

Pulling himself to the edge of his bed he swung his legs to the side, the bottoms of his feet chilling at the touch of the cold hard wood floor. A soft sigh escaping his lips he hoisted himself up and began to dress himself in his usual fashion. Tying his sheathed sword tightly to his left hip he would proceed out of his room, passing his mother with a simple nod as he continued out the front door without so much as grabbing breakfast on the go. His parents were shinobi as well, and dutiful in their mission to protect their village. However, they were much like the rest of his clan, solid like stone to their very core, if lacking quite a bit of ambition. They could not fathom the feelings that rushed through Akiyama's mind. The near constant sensation of slick, wet hands that forced him to relive the sensation of blood on his hands. He had lived so long, much longer than most in the village without so much as seeing death personally, and it made the transition hard.

To reach where Akiyama wanted to be however, he knew the path was paved and bathed in the blood of the nations enemies. This was a simple fact of life that he would need to become accustomed to. Afterall, who would abide by such a weak willed shinobi among the ranks of the Seven Swordsmen? Entering the training grounds Akiyama would remove himself from any nearby children, training their basic techniques as they always did in the mornings. Instead, Akiyama would isolate himself, finding the same simple wooden block that always seemed to give him a good warm up. Striking it casually with his fist the pain surged through the skin on his knuckles and down into the rest of his hand. It was a familiar pain, one that Akiyama could focus on, and lose himself in. Throwing a series of punches at the wood while cycling in kicks, elbows, and knees he would dance around the old block that seemed to take the beating any shinobi threw at it. It was a simple exercise, but simple is what Akiyama needed more than anything now.

Yasubei, knowing that he wasn't exactly the kind of thing wanted in Kirigakure being a human puppet himself and dealing with corpses often, some might argue that he defiled them,  was careful anytime he entered Kirigakure. At first it was only out of necessity he'd enter to get embalming supplies or other medical goods, but each time he'd enter with a disguise or under the effects of the transformation technique to appear human or at least not as himself. As the weeks passed and no one approached him he slowly grew more and more bold. While he was unable to have his work flaunted, as it would possibly oust him since he'd never been subtle about who or what he was before coming to Mizu no Kuni, he didn't worry to much because for the most part the ninja here didn't seem to mind him.

Today he simply wandered around people watching he'd spent a lot of time going through the village, but never actually saw any of it as he'd spent so much time simply minding his business so as to not attract any attention to himself. That wasn't the case to day though as he moved around in one of his newer models of puppets. a small two foot tall animalistic puppet. His core lodged well inside of it he used the basic henge to make the puppet seemed to be flesh and blood despite it's strange shape. With its joints and strange mechanisms concealed to passersby and the addition of a black hooded cloak, one not dissimilar from the one that he'd worn at the last chunin exams, Yasu thought he looked incredibly camouflaged with the people around him. He saw little revealing him as a human other than the horns that were extending from his hood and his height.

As he strolled through the village waves of people cut through the air over him, every member of the crowd either too concerned about something they themselves had too do or too used to the shenanigans of shinobi to make themselves care about the tiny figure submerged in the dense crowd. A memory washed over Yasu, it was one of the rare occurrences that the memory actually belonged to him. He remembered the Karisuma from ages ago and wondered how she'd been fairing. It seemed as  if no time had passed to him each day since his first blurring together. Each day seeming like it had only just ended. His last exams, his first day outside of Kaze no Kuni, The siege that sundered his home country and razed it till it was glass. It all seemed as if it had just happened.

Yasubei wasn't one to linger even for a moment on the past, the memory of the Karisuma was triggered simply by being in her village and he wouldn't give it any more thought than that. As he continued sight seeing over the course of the next hour he eventually found his way to the training grounds. Here he saw aspiring genin training with an instructor watching over them. The face of the instructor was familiar yet alien. This was something that happened often to Yasu, yet every time it took him a moment to comprehend. He'd circle around the training grounds attempting to not interrupt anyone training and would approach the familiar face.

A very burlesque, almost sultry baritone voice would escape the little tiger's mouth as gloved claws would reach out to tap Fuyuko on the leg, if she hadn't already taken notice of the smaller figure. "I beg your pardon. Might you be Fuyuko?" If she turned and answered he'd figure out what had changed. It was age. She wasn't frozen in time like he was, the poor creature. He didn't normally approach others like this, let alone people who he'd fought before. He would simply see how she answered first, before he decided on what he'd follow up with.

[WC= 680]
-5 chakra [Henge - E-Rank]

Little Tiger:

[Exiting Thread]