A Promise To Be Kept (Rai Shikyo)

Standing in the middle of the training grounds, Henshin Yosomono took a deep breath and stretched his limbs. He had risen from his bed a good few hours earlier than usual today, and the difference a few hours made on the landscape was amazing. The grass dew soaked the hem of his trousers and the air he drew into his lungs was far more crisp than normal. The clouds, overcast and threatening more rain, looked like a gigantic bruise in the sky, with the weak sun struggling to push through the heavy veil.

Finishing up his stretches, Henshin scratched at the long scar that was etched above his left eye and moved towards one of the upright training logs made for taijutsu practise. The young man had always preferred hand to hand combat, it gave him the rush of adrenaline that ninjutsu just did not. Arriving at the spot, Henshin stretched out his fingers, hearing them crack very slightly, before beginning his warm up regime. For several minutes he delivered several punches and high kicks to the log, moving in close to strike with his elbow or circling it and pretending to topple it with a throw.

In his mind, he contemplated his promise to himself. After his parents funeral a few weeks ago, Henshin had vowed to do whatever it took, learned whatever he must, to prevent such a thing happening again to another person. Going through the grief of his mother and father's death had opened his eyes to the pain other people like him must feel and he did not want to see that pain in anyone's eyes.

With his concentration distracted, the genin mis-stepped and toppled to the ground, smacking his face into the floor and splitting his lip. Muttering a curse under his breath, he pushed himself back to his feet just as the clouds made good on their threat of rain. Looking up at the sky with contempt as the water splashed onto his face at an increasing rate, he shook his fist at the brooding clouds.

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to stop ME!" Henshin barked, shouting the last word up at the heavens defiantly.

"Shouting at the sky won't do you any good if nobody is there to listen..."

The young girls voice sounded soft as she crept out from beneath some nearby brush. The scene was a rather open area roughly ten meters in diameter and lined with brush and thick wild forests. The rain had cleared out most of the wild, making the world seem far quieter. Rai's onyx black eyes were darkened by her black hair and the shadow casted across her face. Her black long sleeve shirts and pants only increased her shadow state beside her calm even stride.

She very easily stepped out from the brush as she walked gingerly through the puddle covered grass. Her emotionless like eyes merely gazed at the fellow genin as she examined his form. He seemed troubled.

"Name's Rai.... Who might you be?"

Her hand slipped casually beneath her black cloak and grasped at something. To the genin on the ground it would be wise to stand on his feet.

Henshin turned his head, fist still aimed at the sky, when he heard the voice float out from behind him. Immediately embarrassed that he had just been caught conversing with the clouds, the young genin clambered to his feet from the muddy ground to hide his reddened face. Not that it needed much hiding, seeing that it was half covered by the tan wrap he wore. As he rose from the floor, he spoke to the figure emerging from the brush; "Who says that there's nobody up there?"

Now on his feet, Henshin brushed himself down and smiled at his new companion, his eyes crinkling slightly. She did not seem much older than him and while this would normally make him guess she was a genin too, the young man had learned age was no indicator of skill. Now standing at his full height, he realised that he was many inches taller than her and much broader. He felt rather unkempt with his sticking up hair, scarred face and tattooed eye next to this girl. A very barbaric look.

Gathering up his brown haori (which he had taken off prior to his training exercise), he slipped back into it. Hearing the girl give her name he decided to return the courtesy, noting the way she had moved her hand inside her cloak and take hold of something.

"I will be Henshin, if I might", he replied, brushing some mud off his haori. "A pleasure to meet you Rai".

There was a pause as Henshin awkwardly scratched at his nose. "So... you have come to train?" he asked, keeping an eye on her hand which had remained inside her garment.

[i just noticed you posted, my bad >.<]

"I suppose it depends on what you believe. Whether there is someone or not though it doesn't matter to much to me at this moment..."

She wasn't much of a people person, no doubt of that. Her motto was: live to fight and fight to live. She didn't care so much about anything else involved as long as she grew stronger. At a young age she was told her clan was powerful and that to survive she needed to be as well. Truth was she didn't understand this power but it was still enough to make her fight for it. If only her parents had not died... maybe then she could have learned more.

"And a..pleasure.. it is to meet you as well," she lied, closing her eyes for that moment to hide it. She then reopened them and the dark nature of her expression returned. Most of it was from everything about her being block besides her slightly pale skin. It were like she was a ghost whom crept out of the darkest parts of the forest and took form as a human. Maybe that was an over exaggeration, but a similarity at that.

"I suppose we would all come to the training grounds to train yes? Normally nobody else uses this area...but I suppose it's fine to have another appear here... but don't invite anyone to this section..."

She breathed in and exhaled with a light sigh before suddenly she made a run towards him. He wanted to train, then they would train. Halfway between her and him, which was roughly 3 meters, she then whipped out her hand and in its grasp was a double bladed knife with light sparks dancing faintly between its blades. Still being a rather inexperienced genin it was tricky to even do this; but they were training right?

She was ready to react accordingly to him, her other hand channeling chakra the whole time as well.

[¬_¬ lol]

Henshin raised an eyebrow at her line about 'it not mattering much to her at the moment'. This girl, this Rai, seemed to be one of those kids who sat at the back of the class hating the world just because it was there to be hated. Of course, only having known her for a minute or so, he could not judge her too much.

"Fair enough", he replied with a shrug. If that was the way she was, then that was that.

Even as the words left her mouth, Henshin was certain that she was not speaking the truth. Again, having only known her for moments he could not be sure, but he figured that she was far from pleased of his presence in the training field. If the faltering way she spoke was not clue enough, then the look on her pretty face was the clincher. Raising his hand to his skull to scratch the back of his head he chuckled sheepishly at her statement about the training grounds, looking around at them as he spoke.

"Hehe... I suppose you're right there... But I'm sure other people use this place as we-"

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, Henshin heard quick footfalls and turned back to the girl to see her charging at him, blade in hand. With a surprised cry he dived backwards, the blade missing him by inches. Landing on his back onto the ground (which at this point in the downfall had started to become mud), he grabbed a handful of sludge and chucked it at Rai's face with all his might, which was considerable despite his young age, fumbling for a kunai in his nin-pouch while he did so.

[Pretend I never used my element; turns out we can't till we train them]

Rai charged towards him which made him cry out and dive, just dodging her. To make sure she wasn't caught by any feet and such she watched him while pushing off the ground and diving forward but not to the ground. She then made an arch in the air before she headed down and basically somersaulted. She hit the ground with her hands and rolled onto her back once before she was on her feet in a crouch. by then she launched the knife towards him; his position now merely 2 meters away had he not moved. What was odd though about her throw was her aim was off. After she threw, she then reached for something else using her opposite hand. This action took maybe a few seconds and she would have rolled on the ground and to her feet the moment he stopped moving.

The first would fly past him on the right depending on whether and how he moved or not. Meanwhile she would pull out another knife and hold it as she prepared her next move. Of course, this all depended on how he reacted.

During her dive forward, any sludge thrown would most likely be dodged or blocked by her cloak. Most likely the second.

With the ball of mud he had thrown hitting her black cloak, Henshin watched dumbfounded as the girl leapt over his recumbent form and rolled to her feet, chucking the blade at him as she did. She's definitely spry. Crazy, but spry, he thought to himself as with another yelp he rolled out of the way of the knife, which thudded harmlessly into the muddy ground far off to his right.

By this time, he had managed to pull a kunai free and hastily crawled/dragged himself closer to the girl before rolling himself towards her, making a handseal as he did so. As he rolled, his image's outline seemed to shift in a strange fashion and another identical 'Henshin' appeared. The clone technique was a very rudimentary jutsu and did not even have a physical presence, but it might put his opponent off for a second while she decided which attack to block and/or avoid.

One 'Henshin' jumped and aimed a kick for her head while the other grabbed for her feet to throw her. Considering that he had managed to pull of the handseals with screwing up and hurting his fingers, Henshin considered the attack a success, regardless of if it worked or not.

[By throw, I mean he's using the Nio Tosu [Herculean Toss] taijutsu move]

Before the knife had a chance to thud, Rai suddenly pulled at and seemed maneuver something hidden by the shadows of the clouded sky. She grunted as she did and suddenly the knife wrapped around from behind him and would then wrap around him as she withdrew another knife from her pocket. Chakra was still flowing through her hands but not down the knife and wire theirselves: she was pushing herself. Although rather fit she was still in need of a lot of improvement so that little dodge roll of sorts had actually tired her a bit.

Whether Henshin decided to continue she would then toss another knife at him but although she would aim for his chest it would most likely be pulled by gravity a bit and head towards his upper stomach. She would watch the clone be formed as well and pay more attention to the real Henshin. So if his attack continued she would let the first phase through her while she side stepped a meter to the right to dodge Henshin aiming for her feet while pulling out a kunai this time.

But of course this was if he didn't get caught up in her knife wrapping around him and hooking on the wire and if he continued his attack.

The plan did not go according to... well, plan.

When he rolled, Henshin heard something to his right, something like wire being pulled. A moment later, just as he finished his roll towards Rai, he felt something wrap around his neck and pull him to his feet, making him call out with a strangled cry. It appeared that the knife (which was dangling over his shoulder now) had indeed been attached to some wire and when it was pulled it had missed his body and wrapped around his neck instead.

To his luck, since he had been making handseals at the time one of his wrists had been caught in the wire as well. The jutsu failed, but the wire did not constrict around his air pipe either. The wrap around his neck and shoulders had prevented the wire from cutting into his skin.

Now on his feet with one hand pinned to his neck (he made sure he grasped the knife on his shoulder with that hand so that it would not swing around and cut his face, using it to saw at the wire), Henshin wrapped his free arm around the wire held by the female genin and yanked it with all his strength, with a loud roar coming out his slightly constricted throat. Rai would have to cut the wire, or she would be pulled towards Henshin who was ready to hit her hard with his fist and feet should that occur.

Considering there was a wrap around his neck Rai felt the need to pull at the wire more. He was grunting and choking but she showed barely any mercy. She didn't plan on killing him she was just making his life a bit tough. Lucky her, it also caught around his wrist as well and pulled his hand away. Rai pulled as hard as she could and like her trapped foe she began to grunt a bit as well. She did so under her breath though to hide it.

Thing was her opponent was a bit stronger and got smart. He pulled the wire towards him with a strong jerk and she slid forward in the dirt. The wire slid in her gloves and partially pierced through it. He had let out the sound of a roar as he fought the wire and rather than letting it destroy her gloves she simply let the wire go. This would most likely cause him to fall but if not; she was heading his way to cause hassle anyway.

Rai was well prepared with another knife in hand as she ran towards her foe. Chakra still surrounded her hands and was now building in her feet. She was well prepared to fight him off if she had to while she prepared to attack him herself. She was light on her feet as well so if she needed to she would slide to a halt, would dodge to the sides, or just leap again. It all depended how he would defend against her.

Once Rai was in range she had brought up the hand with the knife and made a move to slash at him from his upper right shoulder to his lower left kidney; a move to keep him from moving towards her. Her other hand was already prepared and formed into a fist, her knuckle out more to cause more pain upon striking, as she aimed for a punch to his stomach. If she made contact she would punch up to where it would raise him off the ground. After that she would move from there. Otherwise, she was ready to fight against whatever plan he had in store.

Spoiler:

Henshin had felt the wire tighten considerably around his neck and wrist. At this point, he knew this girl was playing for keeps. This had gone from being a friendly spar to a serious no holds barred fight. Then I just won't hold back either he thought to himself as he pulled the wire again, dragging the girl through the mud. She had not fallen over, but she was sliding towards him at increasing speed.

When she let go of the wire, Henshin was prepared for it. He stumbled somewhat, slipping a little in the mud. Now that she was running towards him arrogantly, he was ready for her attack. Rai was fast and nimble, jumping about and dashing this way and that. Henshin was not as quick as that, some even might say he was a bit of a klutz, but the young man knew for a fact that he was stronger than her judging from the ease in which he had dragged the girl across the ground. She definitely did not have muscles under that cloak of hers.

Henshin straightened back up from his stumble in time to see Rai raise her knife and he threw the one that had been, until a few moments ago, attached to his neck by the wire with his previously pinned hand. The 'stumble' had covered the fact that he had managed to finally cut through the wire on his neck and he had 'recovered' in well judged time to chuck the projectile at Rai at the last minute. She could either block with the knife and sacrifice the attack she was preparing with it, or try to dodge (although at such extreme close range even she would be hard pressed to do so). She had to deal with the mud as well, as quick movement made little friction and could easily lead to a slip and fall.

Henshin raised his left arm and dropped again. The wire (tied tightly around his arm thanks to the amount of times he had wrapped it while pulling) rose from the ground, making to wrap itself around Rai's other hand. Doing this left Henshin open to the punch, but the genin thought he could take it, lowering his centre of gravity a bit to steady himself. If he succeeded, he would pull tightly and trap his foe's right arm with the wire the way his arm was trapped.

[I'm assuming that Rai is using the knife in her right hand, if this is wrong I'll edit]

[I may have not actually stated which hand she used but she's right handed and this knife would be in her left]

Her dexterity wasn't exactly the best but she had at least a bit of experience. Most could call her an "average joe" at her weaponing throwing. She hated it. Out of all the areas lightning jutsu and weaponry were two skills she wished to strengthen aside from taijutsu. She had a lot of work to do, no doubt about that.

Rai saw the incoming knife she had previously thrown and with it came decision time. She knew these blades from practicing with them so much. She also knew what they felt like when stabbed by one due to training accidents. This whole time when sparring Henshin she had a determined yet a mock expressionless face. Soon enough though came a flick of agitation.

The knife approached and would lodge itself through her clock and barely stabbed into her arm while she progressed with her attack as though untouched. She had let out a rather hefty breath, the air she took in when knowing the pain was coming, while she stabbed outward. She may not have had a high dexterity, as stated before, but she could tell she was already a lot better then Henshin. From what she saw he could probably barely hit the broad side of a barn.

Afterwards she would slash across him as she had planned, making sure to tread lightly across the light mud covered ground, and then make the punch towards his gut. If the wire manged to wrap around her arm with the knife then the cloak and long sleeve shirts would help block the wire from cutting her. If it did then she would try her best to fight it and try attacking him anyway. It's just her fighting spirit. She would fight till the end. But then again, after a while she would eventually stop here..... if it meant him losing.

Henshin blinked as the knife struck home into the meat of the girl's arm and stuck there, but she kept coming regardless. Unfortunately for her, she seemed entirely focussed on her left, knife wielding arm and not her other arm. The wire he had wrapped around it had gone virtually unchallenged in the young girl's apparent desire to cut him in twain with her little knife. With all the layers of her clothing, he had severe doubts that the wire itself would hurt her at all.

But that had never been the point in the first place.

Knotted, tangled and clotted with mud, the wire was now gripping her right arm as Rai came in to cut him, connecting the two amateur shinobi closely together. At this range, at her speed and even with his thick haori, Henshin knew if he did not move quickly he would suffer a match ending (if not life threatening) injury. With a grimace, the young man yanked as hard as he could on the wire that had tangled around her right arm a second too late. Even if the wire managed to pull her to the floor, he was still going to get hit with the knife. He felt the hot pain flair up in his chest and a little blood came free from the wound. It was not as bad as it could have been, but it had still bitten somewhat deeply.

Falling to his knees, Henshin kept his eyes on Rai to see what had happened to her, his eyes smouldering as he panted in exertion.

She drew closer but the wire around her arm was proving to have been more of a burden then it was originally intended to do. Normally she never got around to using wire though so she was quite please with it wrapping around him to begin with. Had she had been able to use her lightning he would have been rather done for. But by he he may not have easily been captured as well.

Rai aimed for the knife to slash him with her left arm but the wire was holding it; not that big of a deal. She wasn't actually aiming to cut him, no, that was a fake attack. She was mostly aiming to punch him in the gut. What she didn't exactly expect though was when she drew near he would pull at wire. Lucky for her that she had on protection.

Although he was a bit stronger then her she was also faster. This meant that she was able to get within a meter range before he pulled her towards the mud. Seeing this coming now she made a motion to use her momentum she had gained to leap and slam her fist into his chest with the free hand that was already prepared. Had she made contact he would be feeling a strong pain from her middle knuckle more so then anything and then she would fall.

Thing was, due to her momentum and him pulling her down, had she fell and he not manage to dodge the awkwardness would set in for she would land on him. This would be an interesting predicament.

Mind playing tricks. Not that reality had been much better.

Henshin had pulled down on the wire a split-second too late. He had seen what he had expected to see; the knife cutting into his chest, blood spurting forth. But it was not what had actually happened. In the real world, Rai had jumped before being pulled down and with the added momentum of his wire yanking her attack (which had been a punch, not a stab) she had smashed a few inches higher than she had aimed, hitting the sternum instead of the stomach. Hence the blinding pain in his chest.

Strike delivered, there was nowhere else to go but down. The two of them crashed straight to the floor, Rai on top of Henshin. For a second, the young genin could not breath, the punch to the chest winding him as much as the fall but that too was an illusion. His next breath was ragged and strained, but he was still taking in air. Noting the weight on his chest, he remembered that the girl had landed on him and that her arm and his arm were still tangled together with wire, now so meshed up with mud and clothing that cutting it would be difficult without slashing both of them on accident. Through his wheezy breathing, Henshin laughed. He rolled over, tossing her from his body and splashing the girl into a large puddle of mud while getting up onto his side, still laughing.

"I got you, you crazy bitc-", he tried to say before his bruised chest cut him off. Henshin took another broken breath. "Let's see you hop around now". He shook his arm for emphasis, which would move her arm involuntarily. There was another pause as he breathed painfully, keeping an eye on the girl for any further attacks.

She stared at him with a distant expression. Her arm was wrapped around in wire and connected to his. Had she had lightning she would have been able to do some damage. Now she REALLY wanted it. Well, now they were both stuck. They were both stuck together in a mud puddle but the difference between the two of them was she actually got a hit in and managed to trap him in the first place. She was to much of a fighter. She wouldn't lie down and quit so easily but for now that may have been the case.

"Trapped I may be but one swift kick to your nuts and I think you would be down for the count. That or I could've punched you," she began but sighed an even breath to relax. "But enough for now. Overall, I laid a rather good blow to your chest on my opinion and now its hard for you to breath. Lets see what you do if I-"

With that she pulled her wire strapped arm towards her so she could grab his wrist and move forward. She would then place her knee below his privates but between his legs as a warning and place a hand over his neck.

If it worked she wouldn't hurt him but simply say "I got you".

[Sorry its a bit short]

Henshin chuckled painfully at Rai's words about kicking him 'in the nuts' and before he could even form a retort the girl had twisted her arm, putting herself in a position to do just what she had threatened. However, she stopped just below his crotch. One of her small hands were also on his neck, gripping it lightly through the wrap tied around it. The young man seemed completely at east with the position, as if he did not really care about her being in a ready state of winning the match. He gave another chuckle, wincing as he did so.

"You shouldn't... ever... count out the underdog", Henshin wheezed, his ragged breathing stopping and starting the sentence. He gestured for Rai to look downwards towards her chest.

There, between the small gap between the two of them, was Henshin's hand with it's index finger outstretched. At the end of his index finger was a small slip of paper. A closer inspection would reveal its identity as an explosive tag. When they had landed on the floor, the young genin had reached into his nin-pouch and pulled out the first thing he had found there; which happened to be the tag. When she had yanked his arm with hers, he had shifted his weight a little and put his tag holding hand in front of him and to her chest, prodding it there with his finger. His mind momentarily flashed back to his father's smiling face telling him his mantra, saying the words as he himself spoke them out loud, a grim smile on his own face;

"No steps back, no giving in, no surrender!"
"No steps back, no giving in, no surrender!"

Henshin gave another wheezing breath. He reckoned that the punch and the fall combined had broken one or more of his ribs. He may not have won the match, but if this had been a real battle they would both be dead.

And he would have still have had that smile on his face.

[Ooc: I had a post but the page refreshed and I lost it so here's a rough version. I always lose my best posts!!!!!]

Her grip held around his neck which simply held him rather than her aiming to choke him. However, after he motioned to his chest she felt a bit out of place. She had not really fought that many people but this was the first time someone even thought about such a trick he had used; an exploding tag. He would sacrifice himself that easily? She felt she was in the presence of someone with a fighting heart now. She didn't know what to say at all but soon she felt a rather different emotion.

From the pit of her stomach came forth a familiar yet new emotion. It was delivered in the form of a nervous laugh expelled from her throat.

"Never did I think anyone would pull something like this. You can tell we aren't academy students anymore though. If only we were stronger... maybe then our fight would be more interesting," she said through chuckles. By the end of her little speech she stopped and was gazing at his face. She had a rather kind hearted smile that she hoped would release tension for now.

After her talk she then removed her hand from his neck to reach down and lightly grasp at his wrist; if he allowed. She wouldn't hurt him she would just lightly move his wrist aside to where the tag wasn't in a vital area for the two of them. Then she would move off and sit in the mud beside as she worked the wire off their arms.

"You know...if you did that. I could have just used kawarimi to get out of harms way. Make sure I use that first before trying to pull a move that could kill us both," she said casually as she uncoiled the wire. They managed to get tangled fairly well.

Aside from that though she knew she wasn't an expert on fighting but the kawarimi was the basic practice that typically decided how a match would go. If the person could force someone to kawa once who said they couldn't put them in the same sort of scenario again? For Henshin though, had he done that move with her kawa still remaining then the move would be a waste and cost his life. She had to give him kudos for effort though.

When she laughed Henshin felt a little better towards this girl, who attacked him out of nowhere not too long ago. It seemed that his initial thought on her was, as he had reckoned it might be, incorrect. Rai seemed like a crazy, someone who would kill you as soon as look at you, but now she seemed far more relaxed. Maybe she had been feeling down and this battle had lightened her mood. Whatever the case, it was definitely better than her previous attitude.

"If we were stronger, I doubt I would have been forced to use such desperate measures", Henshin replied, remaining in his laying position when Rai moved his wrist away and got off him, sitting and trying to remove the wire from their arms.

When she spoke again on her using kawarimi to escape his trap, his grim smile returned. "Catching you in the blast would have been a bonus actually", he stated, wincing his way into a sitting position to help try and saw through the tangled up wire. "I wouldn't have really set it off in a spar like this, but if it had been a real fight..." Henshin paused, rubbing his ribs. The pain was beginning to die down. Perhaps his ribs were only bruised? "Well... The tag wasn't for you. The tag was for me".

He let that sentence hang in the air while he worked the wire with a kunai for a bit, cutting through a few of the knots before continuing. "You had me. If this had been for real, I would have lost. I don't know how well I would hold up under enemy interrogation, but I would have no intention of finding out. I'd rather die than risk giving anything away about my home". He cut another knot free and started to feel the wire start to give way. "Besides, if I kill myself before they do, technically, they don't win", Henshin said with a laugh.

She listened to him as she uncoiled the wire and began to think over his beliefs. He seemed sure that dying was the only way instead of trusting his abilities. Maybe he was a weak minded individual. Ninjas needed to be strong to endure as much as possible. She glanced at him as he rubbed his ribs. Maybe she hurt him a lot more then she actually thought but anyway, pain was gain in her eyes. Without pain people tended to be weak. Didn't hurt to work out either though.

"Hmm I don't see suicide as not losing. To me its the ultimate form of lose because the opponent may have got what they wished for and in turn you become a useless dead body that could have been used for something better."

Her smile had faded some but it then returned afterwards with a light smile.

"Sorry I got all serious. Death always seems to be a topic my family tended to discuss a lot. Not sure why they always did but eh," she shrugged, "it's more interesting then topics about junks that don't matter."

She started to feel a bit awkward so she changed the subject.

"So Henshin, what's your element? I was told mine is supposed to be lightning but I just haven't learned anything yet besides taijutsu."

At that moment she untangled the wire around them and started wrapping it around in a neat bundle. She placed it back in her ninja pouch as she waited for him to talk and put the knife back in its holster. She then put the other knife that was hooked to the wire back as well. All weapons here, none lost; another win on her opinion.

Henshin shrugged. "I'm just a genin right now Rai-san. No matter what, most foes I come across at this point will more than likely be stronger than me. They could have techniques to break me and get secrets from my mind. They would probably kill me in the end anyway and this way also prevents them from cutting my body open and learning any secrets that way as well". Rai then smiled and apologised for getting serious. Henshin smiled back and shrugged again.

"These are serious matters. But it's all right. I came from a shinobi family too, death's a normal part of it, right?" he replied, face growing darker for a split-second before returning to normal.

"You've got me beat there too. Mine's earth supposedly, like my father's", Henshin said. "Not sure what the elemental chakra training is going to be like, but it'll be good to have something other than taijutsu in my arsenal", he chuckled. Rai had managed to get free of the wire at that point and Henshin moved his arm around a bit. Having that wire wrapped so tightly around the limb had cut the flow of blood to it and he was getting pins and needles.

Unsure what to do now, Henshin looked around the training grounds again while doing his best to brush off the mud from his haori.

Rai finally finished putting away all her tools and soon found herself pulling her knees to her chest. She had her arms wrapped around them as she sat in the mud still. By now she figured her cloak was already dirty as it was and it wouldn't matter to much on whether she kept sitting in the mud or not. Rai listened to Henshin as he spoke and for once took the time to actually listen to someone. She tended to beat someone's ass then leave the scene if she had the chance but Henshin seemed more intelligent then the average joe. His move involving the exploding tag impressed her and it would have forced her to kawa or die. Which then he may die as well had he not known she would kawa. She didn't like the fact he was so willing to give his life. Sure she loved Kumo and would do just about anything for it but she saw someone being more useful alive then dead. He just needed mental strength and some self confidence. Hell, she knew this was what she needed sometimes.

"Don't doubt yourself so much" she said once he was done. "We all started out at the bottom of the food chain but now we are actually working our ways up. Just because we can't defeat someone like a Chunin, Jounin, or above does not mean we can't fight. Hell, that move you used only shows that you have potential.... Least from what I think."

She rested her chi back on her knees then as she listened to the rain fall around her. She wasn't one to usually pep talk but he was a fellow Kumo ninja who wished to protect the village like she did. She had to give him some credit unlike the other people she has fought so far; which haven't been anyone but academy students. She tended to fight quite a bit as a student as well but they were all mostly unskilled. Much like she was.

"Maybe you..and I.. both need stronger minds so we can resist interrogation and won't have to worry about dying so much. We are ninja though and death is common for those who risk their lives. But I rather live and be useful then be a dead body that nobody knows what to really do with. But anyway..." she stopped before she gazed at him again, "Do you have a team yet? I don't."

She had been focused on the rain falling all around and their surroundings this whole time but now she had her attention on him. A ninja had to always be ready for anything and at the moment she may have been a bit vulnerable but she didn't think anyone would attack. If they did she would try to get out of there as fast as she could. In the meantime though she would enjoy herself and relax a bit.

"It's not so much as doubting myself as knowing my limits", Henshin replied. "There is no way that I would ever win against a jounin. I'd fight if I had too, but should I lose I know what I'd need to do. Thanks for the vote of confidence though". Taking a couple of deep breaths, Henshin found it was getting much easier. Yep, it definitely was just a bruised rib or two. He noticed that Rai was still sitting in the mud so did a few cool down stretches while she spoke again, contemplating her words as he did so.

"I think it would be better not to die. But sometimes it's just not within our abilities to decide". The rain started to get heavier as he spoke, soaking his hair and flattening it onto his skull. Rai asked him if he had been assigned a team yet, confessing that she had not. "No, not as of yet. But it's only a matter of time before we get assigned to one, I'm sure".

Henshin thought about what things would be like when they got put in their teams. They would get the bottom of the barrel when it came to missions, but after they had done a few of them they would be able to take the Chuunin Exams and if they passed take on more interesting missions. Who they would learn from, what they would learn from them, these things were still in the air for now.

She seemed to stare off into space again. She was listening to him but she also seemed to be occupied by her surroundings again. She loved this place. She came here as a kid all the time to walk through the forests and now she used the area to train. What she tended to do more though was come here to relax; especially when it was raining.

"I suppose you have a point. I like to keep trying to fight though. My father always said I would fight till I ended up killing myself" she said before chuckling a bit.
"I managed to stop myself this time but had this been a real fight it looks like death may have been the option as well. But hm... if dying is the only option though I guess we just can't decide so you're right there as well."

She sighed, "and as for a team I haven't been placed in one either. Hey, maybe we'll be teammates together. Seems we may be the only truly active Genin in Kumo at the moment....maybe one day one of us could be the next Raikage....but I suppose that's dreaming to big."

"Besides!" she exclaimed before she pushed herself up and stood, "I wouldn't want to do it anyway."

She didn't mind the mud but she was starting to get cold and didn't have katon chakra to warm herself up. She then raised out a hand to help him up.

"Lets get out of the rain if we want to continue talking. That is.. if you do. I don't have much else to do myself since I don't have an element to train just yet and no team."

Wasn't everyday she was nice either. Maybe she just felt generous today. Or...she was just studying a possibly new alley or enemy. Never knew how the tides turned but at least she could be a tad bit ready. Right?

"You have a very morbid sounding family", Henshin said with a chuckle. He paused for a moment looking thoughtful before going on. "But then again, mine weren't so different. I suppose that's the thing about growing up as a shinobi kid. You're surrounded by death the whole time, in the end that's all your family talks about. Death and violence. Just the way it is, I guess", he finished with a shrug.

Even when his parents had been alive all they really talked about was fighting, training and dying. They had been workaholics through and through, but they had still always put in the effort to try and raise him the right way, the shinobi way. Which inherently involved many talks about fighting, training and dying. They also talked about honour and honesty. Ironic, since they had been lying to him about his true heritage since he could walk...

With Rai talking again, Henshin forced his mind back into the present. "Perhaps we will. I wonder what our sensei will be like... What he has to teach us... Besides how to chase the odd escaped pet", he joked. "Eh, who would really want to be the Raikage? All that paperwork, not being able to go out on missions as much. Probably really boring, running a Village".

Taking the offered hand by clasping her wrist, he twisted his torso around a couple of times now he was standing, barely feeling the twinge of pain in it anymore. "You know, I don't think you did as much damage as I originally thought. You're quite the noodle armed shinobi aren't ya!", the young man teased, taking a deeper breath with little difficulty. "Sure, why not. It's not like I have anything else planned today. Maybe after we've recovered a bit more we can train together again. Not like just now", Henshin hastened to add. "Just practice in the same field. I don't fancy my chances in a re-match".

"So... where do you want to go?"