Zeref held the notebook from his child home in his hands, the pages filled with a langue he did not understand, or maybe it was more of a code, either way there was no way to decode it without a key. The only words Zeref was able to make out was a name, Shinoda Syan. At firest Zeref had no clue who that was but during his short travels while training he had discovered that the name belongs to that of one of the old Daimyō who used to run the country. Zeref wasn't sure of the connection this man had his with father, or if he would be able to help, but but it was a start.

Zeref had sent a raven to summon his team make Takehiro, although Zeref wasn't a fan of allowing others to know of help on personal quest, he might need help. Takehiro was there when Zerefs home was destroyed by a trap laid by his father, so he was already somewhat aware of what was going on. Zeref also knew Takehiro enjoyed a challenge, and what could be a harder challenge then tracking down a former Daimyō and squeezing him for information? Zeref smirked a bit and slide the book into his small pouch, and leaned back on a tree to await his teammates arrival. 

post- 224

Tomohiro spent the early time of his day in his family mines. Dust, dirt, and grime soiled his work clothes. The work was a good stress reliever to take his mind off of his current problems. He hadn’t gotten the chance to meditate today and it showed. The stress he felt wasn’t as severe as it was weeks prior. A lot had been on his mind a lot was trying to find alternative ways to train his body. The stress he had seemed to through off his personal balance, but he refused to let it get him down. Working in the mines also helped out his clan with the extra coal that was needed. It also helped him stay out of the view of all of the people that traveled here for the chuunin exams. There were too many people here for his liking. The Konoha shinobi really sent fury through his brow. It was a disdain that lasted generations and he rather have not encountered any of them.

After spending numerous hours in the mines, he made his way back home. He removed his filthy clothes and separated them from the rest of his dirty laundry. His next step was to hit the shower. The time he took in the shower had been spent with his mind wandering to things happening around him. A couple of his siblings had fallen ill, but he wasn’t sure if it was due to overworking themselves or just something viral. Most of his family being related could have played a part in it. Some clans did have some illnesses that may have been related to genealogy. There clan did do the best to not pair up individuals who were too closely related, but that didn’t always stop things from going wrong with their bodies.

The shower had played a huge role in relaxing his body and mind. Tomohiro put on a change of clothes sporting a trench coat on top of his full body suit. He attached his blade to his hip as he prepared to leave his apartment. A raven appeared to him that knocked on his window as he was about to leave. The raven had a note attached to its leg which he grabbed after opening it’s window. He read through it before making his mind to meet his teammate. It had been awhile since he had spoken to Zeref. A meeting between the two of them was probably a long time coming. Tomohiro let the raven out as he made his way to the outskirts of the village.

He traveled a ways into the the wilderness making his way to Zeref’s location. Like Zeref, the details were scarce, but he figured that the meeting would have to have a good reason. Tomohiro walked as he noticed Zeref leaning against a tree. He waited a moment before he said anything. Tomohiro still had some people skills that he needed to fix.

“Zeref, it’s been awhile.”

WC: 502

Zeref looked up hearing his teammates footsteps and nodded slightly. "Yes it has, I was away training and gathering information on this." Zeref pulled out the note boot they got from his home before it was destroyed. Zeref stood up tucking the book back into his pouch. "Turns out it was coded but I found a name with in the text, Shinoda Syan. He used to be the ruler of this country about thirty years ago, now hes just some old man living in the northern mountains. I figured he is my best place to start to figuring out what is written in this book, and what my father was up to." Zeref smirked slightly as he spoke. "I figured you would be down for a bit of a challenge, as well as discovering why you almost died when you tailed me. Zeref was betting on his teammates somewhat short temper, as well as the fact he liked to fight when the odds are not in his favor. "Besides what better way to test our new found rank then going up against what could be a traitor to our fine outstanding country?" Zeref turned and started to walk down the north path way, he didn't bother to look to see if Takahiro was following, either he would do it with him, or he would go alone, one way or another Zeref was determined got find more answers.

The small village where Syan lived was a bit far away, and pretty remote. According to Zerefs sources it was only home to about one hundred people of varying ages, but Zeref had a feeling the small village was more than just that. Why would a man like Syan live so far away in such a small village, just one more question to the list really. "Congrats on making Chuunin, was starting to worry that I was going to get to far ahead of you for you to be able to follow me."  Out of everyone in the village Takahiro was the closest Zeref had to a friend, and this was mostly because they both thought alike when it came to fighting and missions. Zeref didn't have to play nice, or even really care about Takahiro outside of missions. No need for small talks about dreams, or hobbies, no it was point A to point B, get in and get out.

post- 400
total- 624
(sorry its taking a while to post, abit busy over here again)

Tomohiro raised an eyebrow as he heard the name, Shinoda Syan. He wondered what could come of hunting the old daimyo down. There was nothing that he had against finding the old man, but he wasn’t sure any good would come of it. A sigh emerged from him as his teammate knew him well enough that he wouldn’t turn down a challenge. Tomohiro had really slacked off on his training and found that this would be a good opportunity to stretch his blade arm. Tomohiro didn’t take too kindly to Zeref’s mocking, but he choose to keep his comments to himself.

“Thanks…” he responded.

The young chuunin wondered what he was getting into. He wondered if they would be punished for their actions. These kind of things didn’t always turn out the way one planned. Probably the reason why Zeref wanted him to come along. Tomohiro would nod slightly as he placed his hand gently on the hilt of his rusted blade. He felt that Zeref may be the death of him one day, but it really wasn’t that much of a bother. His wish was to get stronger and he wasn’t going to let anything get in his way of that. Finding physical and inner strength was important to him. There were many limits that he needed to break to move up to the next level. He wanted to move on to the next rank, but also understood that he required a lot of patience. It did take him years to reach the rank of chuunin. Moving onward wouldn’t be as easy as snapping your fingers.

“Do you plan on killing him? I’m pretty sure he won’t be that easy to get to. Either way I accept your challenge.”

Tomohiro had quite a number of question he wanted to ask, but dared not to. He knew that Zeref had been searching for his on answers to his past. Tomohiro had been dealing his own past issues, but his didn’t extend to others. There was a warm feeling that he felt within as he was slightly ready to take on new opponents. Whatever laid ahead for him, he wouldn’t resist to take it head on. He looked down at his blade knowing that his knew blade was in the process of being forged. There was a slight agitation that he wouldn’t be able to drench his knew weapon in blood just yet. A small grimace spread on Tomohiro’s face as he stretched his neck side to side.

“Let’s get to it then. Now, you have me a bit antsy and curious. Let’s go visit this traitor.”

452/954

Zeref shrugged slightly at Tomohiros question about killing Shinoda Syan "Kill him, no, that is not my plan, I simply want some answers. How I get those answers is all up to him however." Zeref thought for a moment as he continued down the road with Tomohiro next to him. "In all honesty it is unlikely we will be able to kill him. If my understanding is right, his power lies in others, most likely a small group of guards surround him at all times. Zeref looked over at Tomohiro slightly. "And, he will most likely know we are there for him, if he already doesn't know we are coming. After all he worked with my father. Zeref thought back to his many moments with his father, and then to the night his families compound was destroyed. If his father had such insight to lay down traps for years after his death, he could only guess what the man who hired his father was capably of. "The plan is simple, we try and sneak our way in, take out anyone who is in the way as quick and quietly as possible, and ask the old man a few questions. We will go over it in more detail once we are closer. That was plan A, Zeref already had a B laid out, and it was most likely the one that would happen, he would just hope Tomohiro could stomach it, and keep up.

"So I heard the chuunin Exams were in our village this year, any promising up and comers joining our ranks?" Zeref and Tomohiro were half of a team already, but Zeref had other plans now, new plans for him that involved Tomohiro and possibly their team leader, but what he needed was more information for now, of both future tools, or those who may get in his way. "Did our fearless teamleader return from her mission from the mist village yet? Zeref took a slight left onto an old beaten path that lead north towards the mountain where the village Syan lived was located. If they kept the pace they had so far they would be there by night fall with time to spare.

post- 368
Total-992

It was a little disappointing that they would get to kill him. He let out a small breath trying to think of what he could do to entertain himself. It wasn’t like him to be this jittery. He apparently didn’t burn off enough energy in the mines. This was a bit unlike him to be this antsy. Listening to his partner speak about sneaking, would do just fine. Tomohiro hoped he knew what they were sneaking into. He trusted in their strength, but he did care too much for dying just to find answers. There wasn’t much fun if there many risk to go along with it, so he figured. At least he didn’t have to go through this alone.

At the mention of the chuunin exams Tomohiro felt goosebumps and a shiver travel down his spine. The idea of all of the Konoha shinobi roaming his village was highly disturbing. He hesitated before replying, but relaxed a bit after he asked about Mizuki. He wasn’t too sure what she was doing at this time. He honestly wasn’t sure how to form his feelings into words. There were a lot of mixed emotions flowing through him. It was to the point that he had to take a deep breath to gather his thoughts.

“I heard that that they were interesting to say the least. I myself stayed on the outskirts of the village training. Last I heard, there were rumors that Mizuki was going to are had been promoted to a special jounin. She was here for the chuunin exams, so I assume that she has gotten back. There have also been an influx of shinobi since the Hidden Sand was demolished. There’s also a shinobi I met that has some potential. He’s a genin by the name of Hyde. The kid may make a good addition to our team.”

Tomohiro almost forgot about Hyde. The young man was very strange. His arrogance reminded him of Zeref to an extent. Both were very blunt, but not quite the same. Even after the meeting him, he was still a bit unsure about how he thought of the genin. Though, he was curious about how the kid would develop as a shinobi.

378/1332

Total WC: 1332

[Exit Thread/Inactivity]

Training Jutsu:

[1125/1125][-25%/Clan Buff] Fire Style: Kojin’s Purging Stream

207 unused WC