No one had remembered his birthday. Not one person. It was the 31st of July, a day set aside on Isamu's calendar remembered as the day where he had been born. He was now 21 years of age, and with a sad conscience, he ventured from his home all the way to the Forgotten Well, an area off in the wilderness that most people didn't bother to even make their wishes in anymore. It was desolate and dry, covered in moss and decrepit from how long it had been sitting there, simply forgotten. He planted down next to it, and leaned back against it with a sigh.

Why hadn't anyone remembered? His sister didn't care at all, and his parents were dead, still...Yuudai didn't seem to care, Tetsuya hadn't heard, nor Boruda. Not even Shigure, the one man he had come to love in the last week. The man who had seen him for him, who had felt him, been inside of him. He loved Shigure and couldn't deny it...just now as he accepted his feelings, the very same man broke his heart. They hadn't mentioned their "encounter" at all, in the last few times they had seen each other. The barely even made eye contact...Shigure surely knew Isamu's birthdate, they had been friends since childhood, but now the blonde shinobi didn't even bother to come congratulate him.

Now, Isamu didn't expect everyone to flock to him and be extremely happy. It was just another year of life, he had simply stayed alive, it wasn't an amazing achievement that he deserved infinite praise for. But he at least expected those he loved to care, and when he didn't get that, it left him devastated. He felt so alone...he knew he was overreacting, but it was his nature. He relied on others to make him happy, but it left him dependent on them and depressed when they seemed the slightest bit indifferent. He just felt...transparent, alone. He was there, but nobody saw him. He was just Isamu, that ninja with the white hair who was annoying.

The boy had even been promoted to Jounin the day before, and nobody still gave him any notice. He figured he may as well be invisible at this point. It wouldn't affect the world in the slightest if he were to just leave without a trace, fall off the face of the planet. Grief would be an initial reaction, maybe, but within days, he would be just as forgotten as this well, which had been sitting for decades, unused, yet undisturbed, stagnant in time and preserved in its peace. Soon, years would age it further, until it was rendered to dust, once a well and then nothing. But until then, it could at least enjoy that fleeting peace...the silence...

It was decided. ANBU was the path for him. It would give him the same invisibility he already had, he wouldn't need to cut many ties, no one would even notice he was gone. He would become nothing more than a killer, an embodiment of justice, a tool of the Mizukage. The thought left him unsettled but excited him all at the same time. But he wasn't strong enough, yet; he needed to become a better ninja before he could take that position. He stood up, standing on the damp ground with a firm stance and eyes set on the horizon. "I'm going to get over this dependency on other people, no matter what it takes. I am and will be my own man, I'm going to be powerful, and I will protect this village with my life." he said to himself, as a gust of wind blew his hair.

Kuremachisu, the only living being that seemed to truly care for him, fluttered into view from afar. The hummingbird had flown all the way from the house to here, which was more than two miles total distance. He smiled as she slowed her pace, and landed on his shoulder before facing the horizon with him. Her purple feathers shimmered like amethyst, and her eyes held a sheen like obsidian. A bird of precious gems and stones, almost, in this light..."Yes, Kuremachisu. We'll become stronger together."

---

Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 725/3,000

It was a day like any other, bleak and wanting. Sairento had finally made enough money to pay the rent this month but hadn't had enough work to make sure he'd be fed for the remainder of the month. He had decided to leave the village for a bit and explore the wilderness hoping to find a large enough animal to feed him for a while. He had no weapons, save for his own two hands. He'd have to go 'commando' and kill an animal the hard way. Unless he used something to cut himself and allow his blood to flow for his jutsu. He had to think on this one hard. On his way through the wilderness there was a large stag in a clearing. Sairento stopped short and crouched low, trying to stay out of sight. He quietly moved his body up to a tree branch, landing on it softly. He watched the stag quietly, licking his lips softly. That stag would feed him for a while until he could find more food. 'How to go about this..' He thought to himself while watching the beautiful creature graze in the clearing. He continued thinking and tried jumping to another branch a bit closer to the clearing, but landed to hard. It shook and the stag lifted its head, turning and sniffing the air. Seconds later it bolted off in the direction of the old forgotten well. Sairento cursed, jumping from branch to branch, following his meal.

The stag crashed on through to the old well, leaping over it gracefully. Sairento had landed on the ground and was running after it. He jumped over the well as well, but hadn't calculated how high he'd need to jump, his foot catching on something. He fell over into the grass upon his face and slammed his fists onto the ground. "Damnit! What am I supposed to eat now? I can't believe this shit!" He growled, sitting up and brushing himself off. He shook his head muttering more curses under his breath while continuing to clean himself of the grass. He was wearing his normal clothing, save for his T-Shirt which was green today with a turkey on it. He sighed, trying to think his day through now before he turned his head noticing the male who had already been there a bit before him. He had a hummingbird on his shoulder, and seemed a bit upset.

"Uhm..Helloo..." Sairento pulled his hood over his head, covering his face in shadows, save for his mouth and chin area. He was slightly emberassed about what had just happened and in front of someone else regardless. Not only had he lost his meal but he had just had an emberassing moment in front of someone who couldn't say he knew. He scratched the back of his head, pushing the fabric of his hood into it. He wasn't sure where to go from where he was now, but he thought about leaving.

A voice from behind him alerted Isamu, and he turned fast. His white hair flipped, and he found himself looking at a man with dark blue hair who looked fairly confused. He recognized that face, he had been there on the hill with Isamu and Shigure and Tetsuya...so now...why was he at the well? Isamu held a curious look before breaking the silence so that he wouldn't make things more awkward. At the same time that Isamu spoke, so did the blue haired guy.

"Uhm...Hello.."

"Hi! The silence was there again, it had come back. What the hell was he supposed to say next? Isamu didn't know the guy. Kuremachisu fluttered off of his shoulder, and spun around the man a few times befroe returning to her perch on his shoulder. "So why are you here? I remember you from the hill with Tetsuya and..erm, Shigure..." he cleared his throat, now blushing at the mention of Shigure. It was all just such a complicated situation, and he was here to have some casual training to take his mind off of things and become stronger. His white eyes looked back at the blue-haired man.

"Oh, and I forgot! What's your name?"

---

Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 933/3,000

After hearing the other male speak, sairento recalled what he meant. Yes, he had been on that hill with the others, but he hadn't seen this man or he didn't remember at least. He shrugged it off and nodded towards the retreating form of the stag he had been chasing. "My dinner..It got away but I chased it here and..Fell." He sighed, looking at the ground for a second. It was a sad truth, but in recent times he had felt weaker and weaker. He didn't eat much anymore as most of his money went to the rent and the other bills,  but he made due. He then thought of something, turning his head back up to look the other man in his white eyes, sairento's becoming a hue of curious yellow.

"Why are you here then? Pretty desolate place for someone other than me. I may not know your story but I've never seen another come out to this well. I've been here a few times but other than that I can't say I recall hearing of anyone venturing out this far." He was a bit excited to be honest, he wanted something adventurous to happen and this man might just bring that. It was a weird thought though, why someone would be out here all alone on such a lovely day. Sairento thought to himself quietly while his tongue played on the back of the studs in his bottom lip, pushing them out, then in once more.

"Why are you here then? Pretty desolate place for someone other than me. I may not know your story but I've never seen another come out to this well. I've been here a few times but other than that I can't say I recall hearing of anyone venturing out this far." Isamu sighed. He wanted to tell the man that he came out here to meditate on his thoughts and his sadness, but rather he chose to explain using his secondary excuse for being out there. He didn't want to burden the guy with his own problems. He pushed his white hair out of his eyes and they glimmered against the sunlight. "I'm here because I wanted to train somewhere far from the village. I didn't expect anyone to be out here, but that's fine. Let's start over, a few steps back." He stepped back a few paces for dramatic effect.

Pushing a thumb to his chest and putting on a smile (the fact that someone seemed to care helped quench the sadness), Isamu declared proudly, "I'm Maeda, Isamu, and I've got two questions for you." he put up a hand and put out his thumb and index finger to signify these questions. "Firstly, what is your name? And second, would you like to train with me?" it would be easier to train with another, anyhow, and fellow Kiri-nin never ceased to surprise him with their abilities. Tsuyoka's blood manipulation, the Aisu kekkei genkai, Boruda's medical prowess...he could only imagine what this guy could do in battle.

---

Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 1,204/3,000

After the other had spoken he sighed, shaking his head. There was something else that this man wasn't telling him but he decided not to push it. "Sairento Bakuhatsu, I suppose I could train with you, but if you could, give me a second." With that he walked over to the forestry lining, stopping at the underbrush. He leaned down and picked up a rather sharp stick, looking it over. He tested it quietly against his thumb, noticing the blood that was drawn. Perfect. He then set the stick down, unzipping his hooded sweatshirt to take it off, then placing it upon the well's side itself. He smirked, his T-shirt being a blue/grey color with mist shown on it and a ninja hiding within said mist, holding a rather large sword. It was a tribute shirt made specially at the request of Sairento. He quietly picked the stick back up once more, turning to face his would-be opponent.

"Sairento Bakuhatsu, of Clan Igarashi. I accept your challenge, though I am only a genin." He showed the man a kind smile, his snakebite studs pushing against his gums a bit, causing them to protrude more from his bottom lip. He moved his legs a bit, bending them at the knee for slight bounce on his stance, and looked over to his opponent. He was readying himself for a fight and he was sure this man would give him quite the work out. He wasn't sure the level of the other male but it seemed to exceed his own. He could only hope he would survive this encounter.

"Sairento Bakuhatsu. I suppose I could train with you, but if you could, give me a second. The man, who had declared himself to be Sairento, ran off to a nearby bush, taking a stick into his hand and removing his sweatshirt. Isamu noticed him do something with the stick; he appeared to stab himself before turning and coming back to the Jounin. "Sairento Bakuhatsu, of Clan Igarashi. I accept your challenge, though I am only a genin." Ah, a genin. This guy sure didn't give off the aura of one, he had the energy and appearance of someone with a much higher rank. Isamu smiled as he adjusted his Kirigakure flak jacket, and got into a battle stance.

"Alright then, let's get started." He didn't really have any moves to start with, so he used the first technique that he usually used in battle. He jumped back, stagnant in the air as he made a series of hand seals. "Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave!" He spat forth a giant torrent of water, with waves crashing forward toward Sairento. When they hit, they would stun him for a short while, offering enough time for Isamu to think of a follow-up attack...

---

280/300:

Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 1,409/3,000

Sairento couldn't move fast enough to dodge the water, and as such he was pushed along with the current, unable to move out of it himself. He had to think quickly while he was in the process of being washed away. There weren't really any jutsu he had that would counteract this. But maybe once he recovered he would be able to do something about this. The male held tightly onto his stick, watching the other, trying to find a weakness. Any weakness. He wasn't aware of any as of yet, but that didn't mean that he couldn't cause some damage to his opponent. He began to think of another jutsu as the water pushed him against the trunk of a tree, keeping somewhat of a large amount of pressure on him. He was completely soaked through now and was out of ideas, he'd just have to completely wing it.

Isamu landed gracefully, his feet poised upon the surface of the water via a steady flow of chakra. He looked down at the blue-haired ninja, who was engulfed in the water, and gave a sideways glance. He decided to stay in his place upon the water so that he had an advantage over his immersed opponent, and he began to string together hand seals carefully. The distance between them slowly increased as water flooded in, and pushed Sairento under its force. The entire area around the well was flooded with literal tons of water, and now all that was left to do was wait. He could've tried to launch an attack from above the surface, but if anything, it would have been weakened by the water around it.

Isamu finally finished creating hand seals and breathed a ball of spiraling air into his hand. It morphed into a perfect sphere, and he held it close to himself as his eyes were set on Sairento, who was now regaining his ability to move normally with the water currents relenting. To be honest, Isamu still wasn't happy with his own fighting style; he needed more close combat skill, but until then, he was fine working from the base roots of Ninjutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and Suiton. It was how he usually fought.

---

Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 1,631/3,000

280/300:

Sairento moved his body upon the water surface as soon as he was able, using his chakra to balance himself back onto his feet. He smirked a bit at the other man, clearly he had underestimated the other. "Lovely trick you have there I must say. The water to distract me, so you could have time to form another jutsu. Clever, let's just see if I can't match that a bit, oui?" With those words, Sairento took his sharp stick in hand with a strong grip,watching his opponent. First he made the necessary handseal to let his chakra infuse with the water around him, causing it to come up into three Mizu Clones. These three would each have their own stick in hand and looked to Sairento. To confuse his opponent, they all quickly ran in circles, before rushing the opponent. Two in front dispersed to attack from the left and the right, stabbing their sticks towards any part of the man's body that wasn't covered in armor near his legs;one near the left knee, the other near the right shin. The third clone moved into the air, coming down onto the other man, stabbing towards his shoulder, with his stick. Whilst during this Sairento had released his water walking practice to make himself sink below his opponent in the much more shallow water. It was deep enough for him to swim up from below but not much else. He swam to come up behind his opponent, making handseals as he jumped from the water. Once a foot into the air above the water he laid down his Raiton trap behind the male. The lightning would touch the water causing electric currents to follow and hit anything touching the water before it dispersed. It would still have a paralyzing effect, but would trigger after this. Sairento landed in a tree, watching his work.

Chakra:

Jutsu Used:

Now with multiple clones running after him, Isamu needed to think quickly. He noticed that one of the Sairentos had moved away from the rest of them. Figuring it was a diversion, he awaited the right moment and as soon as they cleared the distance and stood less than 2 meters away from him, he made a hand seal with his free hand (that wasn't occupied by a wind sphere) and created a bubble around himself, which burst and threw the clones back far. They immediately became liquid when they slammed down onto the surface of the water, and sank into the surrounding seas. The next task would be to find the real Sairento, but as soon as he turned, he felt a jolt of Raiton run through his body, and his muscles tensed to the point where he was essentially a rock.

With no real choice but to wait out this jutsu, Isamu spotted Sairento in a nearby tree, looking rather happy with the results of the trap. "Nice trap you've got here, but trust me, it won't last for long." The ball of wind still spun in Isamu's hand, waiting for the opportunity to fly free and shred anything in its path...if only he had the muscular capability of throwing it.

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Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 1,849/3,000

265/300:

Sairento quietly jumped down onto the water, using the water walking practice once more. He smirked, using his stick to cut down his forearms, causing the blood to rush out, forming into four foot scythes in either hand. He held the handles tightly, the blades pointed to the ground behind him. He smirked, jumping forth, rushing his opponent quietly. This would be the moment for him to be able to turn the tide in his favor. He may not be able to win this, but maybe he wouldn't lose so badly. The right scythe he had to spin in front of him, blocking any oncoming projectiles or strikes. He took the left, pulling it back behind him to get ready to strike. As he reached Isamu he pulled it forward to slice across the front of his opponent, to make a slash through his clothing and maybe his skin. After which, he continued spinning the other scythe, jumping back from his opponent landing six meters away.

Chakra:

Jutsu:

OOC: Your clan starts you with a C-Rank on your primary, so if you haven't trained Ninjutsu to B-Rank, you can't use a B-Rank ninjutsu. Besides, Genin can't use B-Rank and higher jutsu, even if they are clan jutsu. Only Chuunin and higher can use B-Ranks. I'll let it slide just this once, though.

Isamu watched helplessly as Sairento created two scythes formed of his own blood that was pouring down his arm. The Genin then dashed forward at full speed, raising the weapons and slashing across the Jounin's torso. He felt the Flak Jacket stop most of the cuts, but the slash was followed through, leaving both of his arms with deep gashes on them. He began to bleed profusely, but it wasn't much of a problem, he had a plan anyways. Sairento jumped back, now less than 10 meters away, and Isamu slowly regained muscular control. He dashed forward and smashed the ball of wind into Sairento's torso, sending him back a bit. He then breathed two more balls of wind into his hands and threw them a bit haphazardly after the Igarashi clansmen, who was in the process of falling back. Now that his offense was sufficiently fleshed out and he had caused at least some damage, he stood back, creating a Dog hand seal.

"Maeda: Seinaru Izumi no Jutsu!" A silver-toned water began to drip from the pores of his arms, like a weak-flowing river. It entered the cuts on both of his arms, and both began to hurt a bit less as the healing process began. He couldn't really focus too much on fighting during the healing process, but the Wind ninjutsu he had just used on Sairento should have sufficed to keep him occupied. He held the Dog hand seal in place while the gashes from the blood scythes closed slowly...

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Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 2,108/3,000

235/300:

OOC: Oh I didn't notice that, My bad. I was tired and caught up in the moment. Won't happen again.

Sairento grinned as his attacks hit home, but his eyes widened when the male rushed him. He could do nothing but stand there dumb as he was struck in the torso with the wind ball. He flew back a bit, the ball tearing his clothing and cutting his chest upon where it impacted a bit. He smacked against the base of another tree, beginning to stand up once more as the other two came flying at him. He raised the scythes weakly the block the first, the sythes flying from his hands, the other impacting him and slamming him back into the tree, loud cracks from the wood being heard. The tree itself could only be two or three feet in diameter and with that second slam it would begin to splinter, pushing down and snapping.

The tree fell into the water, with sairento on top of it, gasping and holding his hands over the two new rips in his shirt and the wounds which bled a bit, but not too bad. There was bruising starting to form around the areas as he laid there, coughing slightly. He sat up slowly, looking at the other man for a moment, his eyes becoming a slight green hue with slit of pink within it. He was happy from the training and slightly infatuated at the man's strength. He coughed once more, staying in his seated position. "I surrender.." He spoke calmly, not wanting to move from his spot.

Sairento was thrown back by the first wind ball, and the subsequent projectiles smashed into him with good force. He eventually slammed into a tree, hard enough to knock it into the water. Isamu blinked twice, and looked down at his hand. He didn't realize a jutsu like that could do so much damage, but he supposed it wasn't a problem, it was a training session, after all, so wounds were inevitable. The Igarashi looked over to him and said aloud, "I surrender." Isamu frowned a bit when he heard this. His battle was going to be short-lived, apparently. Granted, he was taking on someone who was merely a Genin, so it was an unfair battle to begin with, and he didn't want to go as far as to leave Sai with serious injuries, so he nodded and gave a half-smile. "Sorry about that. Here, I'll help you up." he said as he walked over and pulled Sairento back to his feet.

The gashes on Isamu's arms had stopped bleeding at this point, and he meditated for a moment on Sairento's wounds. There were plenty of cuts across the guy's torso that were bleeding, and the impact site of the first wind ball was bruised up. "Here, lemme help you with that. Just stand still, and don't drown." He made a series of hand seals: Ram > Dog > Bird > Rat > Bird. Water began to form around Sairento, encasing him in it like a Water Prison Jutsu. While inside, his wounds steadily began to heal, until the cuts disappeared completely along with the bruises. Isamu released the jutsu, and Sairento was fully healed. "So, now that the fight's over, I gotta say, I like you, Sairento. Are you gonna be participating in the Chuunin Exams?"

It was an honest question. Isamu didn't really have a reason to attend, he wasn't one for watching fights as much as being in them, but he would definitely root for Sairento if he was going. And Shigure...he had figured that Shigure would go as well. Most Genin throughout the five nations were. It's only natural for a Kiri Genin to throw his hat into the ring. How would that play out? Shigure vs. Sairento. Isamu pushed the thought from his mind, he didn't want to picture anyone he cared for getting hurt. He faced Sairento again, locking his pure white eyes on the man and awaiting an answer.

---

Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 2,526/3,000

210/300:

After the healing was done, he coughed a bit, shaking his head. The older male had decided to help him heal his wounds and he was quite thankful for that but the other question had bothered him entirely."So, now that the fight's over, I gotta say, I like you, Sairento. Are you gonna be participating in the Chuunin Exams?" He gulped a bit, looking down at the ground. Honestly he wasn't sure. He wasn't the strongest person and he feared that when he got there he would be defeated so easily that it wouldn't even matter whether he went or not. He quietly walked over to the well, picking his hooded sweatshirt back up, putting it on and zipping it up a bit. "I don't know honestly..I might but I may not be strong enough..What if I do but I never become a chuunin? I know there are supposed to be stronger people there and I'm sure I won't be the strongest genin there. It just makes me afraid to try because I don't want to lose so badly that it was like I shouldn't have tried."

"I don't know honestly..I might but I may not be strong enough..What if I do but I never become a chuunin? I know there are supposed to be stronger people there and I'm sure I won't be the strongest genin there. It just makes me afraid to try because I don't want to lose so badly that it was like I shouldn't have tried." Isamu kept a steady gaze at the boy, who seemed discouraged and sad. He wasn't a weak Genin, either, it was just that his self-esteem was low, it seemed; he managed to hurt Isamu, a feat that most Genin couldn't manage against someone of 3 ranks higher than them. Isamu gave him a bright smile that was enough to brighten the day, as he pushed the white hair out of his eyes once again. It looked like now was the time for some encouraging words, although probably not the best coming from someone who was depressed and feeling alone...Isamu pushed his own problems aside before they could rear their ugly heads in his mind again.

"Don't have that attitude, now. I was just like you when I was a Genin, 6 years ago. I had little confidence in myself, both in and out of battle, and because of my belief that I was weak, I in turn was defeated in every battle I went into. I just recently dedicated myself to training and becoming stronger to prove to myself that I am worthy of my title of Jounin, and it's been the best year of my life so far. Trust me, Sairento, self-confidence and dedicated training is just as important as being good at something in a fight, or knowing lots of jutsu, or having efficient chakra control...you need to believe in yourself before you can accomplish anything. So, look at it this way: It's not about whether you go to the Chuunin Exams to beat everyone else or prove yourself. It's about going and trying your hardest to train and become stronger as a ninja, and maybe even become Chuunin. So, the only reason that should hold you back from going is genuinely not wanting to go." Isamu said, letting out a long sigh after that mouthful. He had never really given advice to people before, but it was a refreshing feeling.

Isamu looked down at the watch on his wrist; it was almost night time. He figured he and Machi should go home, and check up on his sister. Besides, he had to make dinner and get sufficient rest for a mission planned the next morning. "Alright, now that I've gotten my point across, I must be going. Got a lot to do tonight...I thank you from the bottom of my heart for training with me, it really meant a lot. It's my birthday, and you're the only person who spent time with me on it," he teared up a bit, and continued, "so thanks again. Anyway, I'll see you around, Sairento."

And with those last words, the Jounin rested Kuremachisu on his shoulder and walked off toward the spires of Kirigakure, in the distance.


(Exit Thread)

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Training Fuuton B > A
Word Count: 3,069/3,000

Training Complete