She had almost forgot how terribly hot this place was. Well, almost. Her short-sleeved white top and her short black capri pants, which she had changed into at home, made the heat at least bearable.
Since no-one other than her was here, she didn't even have to look for a free spot to train. Misoka couldn't help but feel a small twinge of disappointment. It would have been nice to get to know some of Suna's genins or just to have someone to practise jutsus with. Whatever. She would meet her squad members soon enough, anyway. Speaking of squad, she hoped her sensei was a woman. As for the other two genins - well, would be great if they weren't too tall or ....
Quickly, Misoka cut her thoughts off. Annoyance rushed through her. Annoyance and anger, all directed at herself. She hated this fear of men which she still hadn't overcome. They say that you should face your fears in order to make them go away. No problem. She could do that. She probably had to anyway, having heard that squads usually consisted of two boys and one girl.

Still deep in thought, Misoka started with the warm-up; how ridiculous this may sound in such a hot place.

Heero wandered the sands in the training grounds Suna nin routinely went to train, What he was really surprised at was the shear lack of people. He looked around and found a area where he thought he would be alone. As he walked into the training area he picked up a wooden training sword out of one of the barrels and then continued threw. He started his basic sword drawing techniques, working as to get faster and faster the more he went. The sand buffeted him over and over but, he kept going. He had been out there only a little bit but the heat was starting to take its tole on his small body so he decided to take a water break. He opened his canteen and took a few giant gulps. Water always tasted good to him. He went to refill the canteen when he noticed A orange blond haired girl warming ups. From the looks of it he could tell she was a fellow genin. " Well I may as well say hello." He thought with a audible gulp. He was still very shy but he was trying to break that habit. He walked up to her trying to make eye contact but failing half the time as he looked at his feet with a blush, to make matters worse is it was once again someone taller then him. He wondered if he was the shortest Genin in suna but he put the thought aside. Gathering the courage to talk he walked up. " h..hi I..im He Heero. Nice to..to meet you." He stuttered. He made a mental note to work on the stuttering later but for now he was trying to meet someone new.

She had just finished her warm-ups when she heard a soft voice behind her. Misoka flinched and spun around, only to see a small boy standing in front of her. What did he say? He had spoken quietly, but she assumed it was something along the lines of, "Nice to meet you."
Not answering right away, Misoka examined him further. The fact that it was a male person made her feel a bit uneasy at first, but when she recognised that he was shorter than her and looked very young, she relaxed slightly.
"Nice to meet you, too," she finally replied with a small smile. How old was the boy? She quickly figured that he was a Genin like her, yet his short figure puzzled her. To be honest, however, she felt relieved that he was different from the tall, intimidating men she had come to know and fear in her life.
"Oh, I ... didn't introduce myself," Misoka called out nervously and hoped that he hadn't caught her looking him over. A slight blush crept up her cheeks. She bowed to the boy and said,"My name is Karisuma Misoka."
At that moment, it occured to her that she must've missed the boy's name. How impolite! What should she do? Simply don't use his name if not necessary? Ask him about it as if he hadn't told her in the first place? Ask him to say it one more time? But wouldn't that leave him thinking she hadn't been paying attention to him?
Misoka got caught up in her bizarre thoughts, which always happened when she talked to people of the other gender. Hey, but at least she could formulate proper sentences around this boy and didn't get so scared that she wanted to run away.
Back to his name. Crap, she really couldn't remember him saying it. After a few moments of awkward silence, she finally opened her mouth and just asked. "Um.. I, um, what was your name again? I.. probably.. didn't hear it before."
She was clearly embarrassed after that, though she tried not to show it on the outside. She just hoped the boy wouldn't shake his head and call her dumb or something. And the next moment, she felt stupid for worrying about such small and unimportant things.
Looked like her brain needed some time to function properly again.

"Oh um ..sorry I I forgot... My name is...Heero hehe." He said scratching his head and somewhat laughing. Truth be told he was nervous about talking to her anyways and forgetting to give his name out he in his eyes had already ruined it. He was still looking at his feet and wondered if she did not like him now. He did not have many friends yet as he had not meet many of the other nin that lived in Suna, but he hoped he could get over the terrible shyness that was brought on by his early life in slavery. Unconsciously he ran his hand over the scar he was given, however he came back to the present time and jumped slightly as if he had been scarred. "Sooo um like.. wha..what are you doing?" He asked trying to calm down again. He opened his canteen and took another swig of water and resealed the cap. His training sword back in its sheath at his side and he hoped he would get to make a friend.

Now Misoka could clearly see that the boy was... well, shy. Somehow, this made her feel even more comfortable. This Genin, though a male, seemed to be easy to talk to.
"Heero?" She repeated slowly. "That's a sweet name. Heero as in 'Hero'! You must have a great future ahead!" A soft laugh escaped from her lips before she tried to turn it into a cough, realizing Heero might be offended by her comment. She cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry... this wasn't too funny. I got carried away."
Not wanting to create an awkward silence again, she quickly replied to his next question. "I'm not doing much. Just training a few jutsus. Well, actually, I haven't really started yet."
Misoka still felt she spoke in a slightly nervous tone of voice, but her initial fear more and more faded. Heero was a nice, little boy who had probably just turned Genin with only good intentions towards her. He was nothing like the men she usually feared. Come on, he hadn't even looked at her boobs or something, as far as she could see. He probably didn't even know she was a girl - Okay, now she might be taking it too far.

Then a question went through her mind. Curious, as she was, she couldn't help but ask him.
"Do you have a last name?" She started out kindly and then realized how stupid this must sound. "I mean, which clan are you from?" Much better, wasn't it?

The temperature seemed to rise constantly and Misoka rolled her sleeves up in an attempt to cool down at least the slightest bit. As she watched Heero take another sip of his water, she once again wished she herself had thought of bringing a water canteen.

"Hahaha.." He let out a small chuckle at her attempt at a joke. To him this girl seemed nice enough and at least she was willing to talk to him. As Misoka finished saying she was training jutsu he perked up a little more and gave a small smile, as in fact he himself had came to train. He thought back on it and decided it was stupid to ask what she was doing considering they where both at a training ground. Heero brought his eyes up from his feet from the first time since they had started talking. To him she looked beautiful. A small blush appeared on his face and he looked back down and he hoped he had not offended her in anyway. When Misoka brought up if he had a clan, at first he was a little bit sad at the memory's of his parents came to the surface, he quickly pushed them back down and looked back up, this time in her eyes. " Its Kuroka.." He said, this time however, he did not have the hesitation he normally did and maybe it was him just getting used to talking to her a little bit. As He took another swig of water he seen she was looking at it. Quickly looking around Heero seen that it seemed as though she had forgot her water, He went into his bag and pulled out a back up bottle of water he had and held it up to her. "A..are you thirsty?" He asked as she rolled her sleeves up.

Her lips curved up into a smile when she heard him chuckling a bit. He obviously had a sense of humour (since her joke was a bit lame, indeed), which she liked about people.
Then he answered her question, announcing that he was a Kuroka. Misoka thought about the name for a moment; it definitely sounded familiar to her. Yeah, her father once said something about this Clan, didn't he? They were good with swords as far as she could remember. And they had some sort of Kekkei Genkai...
Heero's words brought her back to present-time and for a split second, Misoka only stared at the water canteen he offered her. Oh and how thirsty she was! Either Misoka looked as if she almost died of thirst or Heero was just a super kind and thoughtful guy.
She decided to go for the last interpretation and took the water canteen with the sweetest smile she could give.
"Thank you so much, Heero-kun! This is like... um, you're a lifesaver."
After expressing her gratefulness, Misoka took a big swig of water. It felt so good getting her body hydrated again. She felt like anything was possible now - and yes, she was exaggerating again.
Letting out a small giggle at her own thoughts, the girl looked at Heero and mentally asked herself if she could keep the water canteen for the rest of the training.
The training! She hadn't even started yet! Maybe Heero would like to join her..? Well, of course, they were on the training grounds, after all.

"Heero-kun?" Misoka asked in a slightly pleading tone of voice. "Can you do Earth or Katon jutsus, actually?"
If so, he might help her practise. She had a bit trouble especially performing her Earth Jutsu.

Heero smiled at the smile Misoka gave him. He shifted his weight to his other foot and patted his sword. " Nope! I don't know how to do that stuff yet, I just know how to use my sword and even then im not so good." Surprisingly he said that part without so much as a stutter. He set his water bottle down and put his hands behind his head in a lazy manor. It was true he had no knowledge of of the elemental jutsu as of yet, however it did not stop him before, besides he could always train them later. He rocked back on his heels back and forth and a idea popped into his head.
"I..If you want we..we can spar a little bit.. he said hoping they would get to spar as he needed the practice anyways and besides, that way they could both get better.

"Oh." Misoka couldn't hide the disappointment flashing over her face, but she quickly got a hold of herself. "I see."
She didn't know what else to say and was grateful for Heero breaking the silence. What he suggested surprised her. On a second thought, she should've expected that or brought it up herself since they were on a training ground. A spar... she hadn't done one in quite some time so it was only natural for her to get a little nervous. She hated to fail in front of others.
An advantage might be that her opponent couldn't do any ninjutsu yet. He was small. Probably younger than her. Plus, he only had his wooden sword. At least she tried to calm her down, thinking that.

"Sure!" Her voice was a bit shaky and she felt the urge to add something more in order to sound more confident. "Let's do this!"

Misoka got into a fighting position, not sure whether to be the first one to attack or not. Granted, she really needed to spar more often. In the end, she just stood there and waited for Heero to make the first move.

Heero smiled at her agreement. Normally he would not fight a girl if he could help it but since this was a spar it did not bother him much. He got into his stance and sank low as if coiling a spring, his eyes shown great consideration. Without any warning he sprung forward using his back leg to propel him to her. In a split second he was within range. He drew the sword with about eighty percent of what his top speed was. The draw itself had could form and his training sword blurred as it raced in a arch at her ribs.

Heh, those two look like they're about to go at it.

Shin sat from quite a distance away, watching two other Genin exchange words and prepare for a training match against one another. He crossed his arms and smiled.

I believe one of those two is supposed to be in my squad as well. This is interesting.

Before jumping into a strange encounter, Shin always watched and waited. He gathered as much information as possible before making any decision; especially a decision involving battle. His chakra began to glow a light blue.

I just have to wait until the right moment within the cycle. I'll see how their little sparring match plays out for a while before I introduce myself. That should give me just enough time before my technique is ready.

Shin smiled once again, suppressing his chakra as much as possible to remain hidden in the distance. Shinobi of equal caliber would have difficulty locating him but it was still possible. He hoped that their attention would be focused too much on one another to notice his presence. Just a little more time before he would make his debut appearance to some of his fellow Genin of Sunagakure.

WC: 200

Misoka could see Heero coming at her with great determination. Furthermore, he was fast.
When he was right before her, attempting to strike her with his sword, she knew that this was her only chance to perform her Kekkei Genkai.
~Stunning Eyes~ Immediately, her eyes turned into a sparkling cyan color and at the same time she took one step back so that Heero couldn't hit her accidentally. The timing should be perfect. He was in the middle of an attack, therefore staring right at his opponent. All she needed to do was react fast, really fast.
Her Kekkei Genkai only worked in the beginning of a combat, plus it had a short timeframe. Heero wouldn't be paralyzed for much longer so she had to think of an attack which would really get to him.

With a serious expression on her face, she performed her Taijutsu 'Spinning Top Kick'. Spinning on her hands, she aimed several kicks at her opponent. The technique started off very fast and due to her Kekkei Genkai's effect on Heero he couldn't dodge any of the 5 kicks. The last kick was performed especially firmly so that the male Genin was sent a few meters flying back.

Panting, Misoka got back on her feet and was ready for Heero's counter-attack.

OT: Okay, I hope this is somewhat acceptable and logical xD I told you I'm bad at this ;__;

Heero smirked the blow was almost at its target when he caught a glimpse of something shiny for some reason he gaped for a second and could not help but wonder why he did not notice her before as much. While he was lost in his thoughts of her his attack fizzled to nothing and next thing he knew he was getting kicked around like a rag doll. The first two kicks landed clean one on his side and the other a square hit to the stomach, the kicks continued and what ever had him froze wore off just in time for him to block the three other kicks coming at him. The last kick however sent him flying back. He had barely gotten his sword up to block, but it was enough but only. Heero's sandles skidded as he slid to a stop. He re sheathed his sword and turned so that he was sideways to her and hid his hands. To most people it would seem as though he was just getting ready for another sword draw but instead he was doing the hand signs for Kawarimi No Jutsu. He got into his stance but this time speed up all the way and he sprang forward yet again, and like before he closed the distance fast. At the last second he jumped and drew his sword as he came down. He hoped he was fast enough to hit her collar bone and, since she had got the first hit it was his turn to pay in kind.


Kawarimi No Jutsu

Looks like the male shinobi is an avid sword user. He probably specializes in Kenjutsu.

Shin observed the two Genin begin their sparring match. He noted key points thus far, and made sure to remember the specialties of each one. The male genin used mostly kenjutsu, but the female had only attacked once with taijutsu. It was still unclear what else she could do. He stood up and walked a little closer toward the training ground, still focusing most of his efforts on suppressing his chakra and remaining hidden from sight.

Not too much has happened, but I did notice one of them suddenly stop before getting kicked in the face. No movements were made from the girl, so it may have been some type of genjutsu. I should probably watch out for that in the future. I'll see if she tries something like that again before I confirm anything about her abilities.

Shin smiled and crouched down once more after closing in his distance with the training grounds. It was not yet time for him to join the fight.

I still have just a little bit longer. I'm going to have to time this just right in order to get the tactical advantage against both of them. And I still need more information.

WC: 214
Total: 414

Heero slid to a halt and seemed to recover from the kicks quite quickly. Then he turned half way around, fumbling with his sword, so it looked to her. A thin smile crept up to her lips. How predictable. Her opponent was most probably preparing for another sword draw since the first one obviously didn't work out as planned for him.
Sure enough, Heero finally got up and attacked again. With an incredible speed, he closed the distance between them and drew his sword at her. Misoka was a bit taken aback by the fact that Heero moved so fast and couldn't think of a way to block the attack. It was too late to form the seals for the Kawarimi no Jutsu. Plus, she didn't have any weapons with her - no kunai or sword, nothing. At least she knew now what to buy at the market the next time...
Biting her lower lip in frustration, Misoka tried her best to dodge the attack, yet with no success. His sword draw hit her upper left shoulder, leaving her wince in pain for a split second. Oh and to think this was actually a wooden sword! Still hurt like hell. Well, she was right about that this boy was good with swords.

Quickly, Misoka herself lunged forward this time, with clenched fists and ready to pay him back. As she punched him, however, his figure suddenly went 'Poof' and changed into a tree trunk.
The Kawarimi no Jutsu! The young Genin gasped. How could she have missed him form the necessary handseals? How could she have not paid attention to something important like that?!
Her whole body tensed up, knowing that the real Heero would probably show up right behind her and soon smack her to the ground.

Heero gave out a wryly grin that his trick had worked. For a second there he thought about attacking her from behind, but what good would that do ether of them in training so instead he kept the training sword in the sheath and took it out of his belt. He held the wooden sword at both ends as he crept up behind her and, as he seen her body tense up he had a idea he got up right behind her ear to her left side and yelled "BOOO!" He was hoping see her jump at his shenanigans.

Shin inched closer to the fight every few seconds, attempting to get a better look at his opponents. Both of them now seemed to be fooling around. The spark was suddenly gone. This was no way to train. Shinobi had to better their skills and gain mastery over their abilities. Play time ended with the Academy.

Those idiots. They don't even know that they're being watched. I understand that this is a training ground, but a shinobi should always be on guard.

After a couple of minutes, Shin had reached a distance of only eight meters from the sparring match. He was within ear shot. Finally, he could hear their conversation and gain some more information on the situation. Once he knew each of their names, he could log their specialties. Data mining is a crucial ninja talent, and Shin's mind naturally viewed the world as a mass of information waiting to be catalogued.

My chakra has almost reached the second stage. At that point, I'll be able to jump in and face them with an advantage. If they're both genin, then our strength should be somewhat equal. But with Furumai, I'll best them with hand to hand combat until I can complete the cycle.

His kekkei genkai gave him the upper hand against most other genin. Shin's chakra cycled between three stages in a specific order. It gave him access to three different specialties during a battle. After attending the Academy and watching his peers, it was clear that this talent was rare. However, his chakra contained no elemental affinity; something the instructors thought to be a bit eerie.

When the time comes for me to enter into the training ground, those two will have their hands full. I may not be the strongest ninja in the village, but I know how to use the tools I've been given.

WC: 310
Total: 724

Misoka fought the urge to shut her eyes like a child when she anticipated the pain surely coming from Heero's hit. A moment passed by, and she still didn't have to complain about a hurting body part. The outstretched silence was too awkward.
Just as she wanted to peek behind her, a loud "BOO" almost frightened her to death. She couldn't hold back the scream escaping from her lips which could possibly be heard in whole Suna. Embarrassed, Misoka spun around, snapping something along the lines "Argh, don't scare me like that!" although she was clearly angry with herself for falling for his trick in the first place.
"Um, anyways," she muttered whilst turning her back on Heero again, not wanting to see his amused face. She wasn't offended by his joke - hell, this had actually been a funny idea! - , it was just her reaction which embarrassed her. Thank God, no other Genin was around to have witnessed her getting frightened like a chicken. "You got me off guard there," she added in a lame attempt to defend herself.
When she felt that the blush which had spread across her cheeks was gone, she turned to face Heero again, this time with a curious look.
"Just when did you form your hand seals anyway? How come I missed that..."

Heero nearly fell over laughing when she screamed, it had been a joke on his part. As he was bent over somewhat still laughing he looked up only to see a person hiding not too far from them, in fact, he had a uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Heero was once again brought to the conversation when the girl asked to know how he had preformed the hand signs without her knowing, however, that being said after seeing the other person there he did not really want to give up more then he already had. He looked at her and smiled closing one eye and placing his left index finger over his mouth, he placed his right hand on the sword hilt just in case. He got in closer and tried to point somewhat with his open eye at the guy hiding not far away. " Now that is a secret." He said making the eye signal when he said secret. He hoped she would get what he meant by that and he hoped the guy hiding over there meant no harm to them.

What?!

Shin hid completely behind the large boulder he had been using for cover. He noticed one of the genin look specifically over in his direction. It was no coincidence. One of the two shinobi in the training grounds had spotted him during the sparring match. Now, with his location compromised, the options for his course of action dwindled. Information gathering from afar could no longer suffice. He needed more information from battle experience.

How the hell did he just spot me?! I could have sworn my chakra was hidden enough from the two of them. ...Well I guess there isn't much point in hiding anymore.

Shin's chakra began to change to a light green color. The next stage of the cycle had begun. With Furumai active, his hand to hand combat skills increased to the level of a chuunin. His speed also increased in conjunction with his taijutsu specialty. This crucial moment was what Shin had been waiting for since he arrived. Since one of the genin spotted him, now was the time to enter the fight.

Crouching behind the boulder, Shin made the necessary hand seals for a fail-safe: Kawarimi No Jutsu. He had already seen the sword wielder use this technique, so he knew there would be a recuperation period before another trick. The female didn't seem to be much of a threat at this point in the match. Therefore, the genin specializing in kenjutsu would be his first target.

Shin used his new speed to leap over the boulder and dash forward. He came within less than a meter from the kenjutsu user and threw a punch aimed directly for his face.


Chakra: 75/80
WC: 276
Total: 1,000

A .. secret? When the little boy leaned in closer, Misoka knew there was something odd about his smile. Not only that, he also blinked in a strange way - did he get dust in the eye? All right, this explanation was lame. He must intend something else... Then it hit her. That was a pointing signal! Quickly, she followed his gaze and spotted a young man trying to hide behind a large boulder. Misoka gasped.
Where did he come from? Had he been watching them all the time? How sneaky! She couldn't believe it.

There was no more time to think anything else when the man all of a sudden charged forward. And obviously, he didn't seem to be in quite the friendly mood.
With incredible speed, he reached out to punch Heero right in the face. All Misoka could do in this split second was stagger back and shout a "Watch out!" to the shorter boy.
Hesitantly, she got into a fighting stance. After all, she needed to be prepared to help Heero when needed... although the mere thought made her gulp. Truth be told, she felt already intimidated by the man's aggressive behaviour plus his much taller figure than Heero's. What type of person would sneak up on two Genins and then lunge forward like "Surprise, surprise" to beat the sh*t out of them? He could've at least asked for a spar. Or introduced himself first. What a jerk!

Misoka bit her lower lip, a bad habit when she felt nervous, and watched the two males in front of her.

To tell the truth Heero had wondered if she got is signal and it was until her eyes followed where his had pointed that he knew that she had seen the hidden man, but almost instantly he heard her yell "Watch out!" He was prepared however, his he drew the sword as fast as he could but to no avail The guy was to fast. He got his sword about halfway drawn before he got punched square in the face. His sword kept going however, but that too was in vain. A crack was heard as wooden sword meet log.

"Shit! Kawarimi!" He yelled as the enemy's jutsu went poof. He rolled out of the way of the log and back on his feet. His noes was bleeding a steady stream where he had taken the punch and the tears welled up in his eyes. He went to get into another sword drawing stance when he realized that the blade of the wooden sword had broke, He could only assume it was when he had hit the log. He dropped the rest of the sword and wiped his eyes and noes on his half sleeve jacket to remove the blood and involuntary tears that had erupted. His noes still hurt like hell but he had felt much worse before.

Without wasting any time he concentrated his chakra into his palm. "Yami no Katana: Yasei Surasshu."The words came out as a whisper as the sword came into existence in his hands. He sank low in a Batto stance and waited for his opponent to show himself.

Chakra 70/80