A journal, a pen and a scroll [Training for techniques]

She was a gentle thing; the softness of her skin was not merely descriable with the softest of silks or the smoothest of wine. Their was nothing to compare the delicitable skin. Her legs shifted on the bed, placing herself comfortably as .... was moving his way towards her. Their eyes, meeting and connecting with each other. It would be soon that her eyes would close and so would .... as there lips connected. Just as he viewed it, they were soft and had a slight taste of tangerines. The kiss was long and fulfilling as his hands only slide across her arm.

They pulled away only to catch a breath and she looked at him. He was ready to say something but her lips kissed his. She knew he was going to speak. If he would've said anything, the mood really would've been broken. They were in the moment where anything said by the other would've destroyed the bliss in the room.

The pen that Riku carried lifted off the paper and he was tapping his chin. He was in his train of thought, wondering what else he could put in this scene. The protagonist finally got a woman to make love to. Should he make the character more timid maybe? Perhaps that would show a sign of true and absoulte fear but he was going to make more stories along the line of Icha Icha paradise. He was debating to make the character agressive or timid.

But that was least of the problem. He was about to reach the triple digits in pages and he still haven't found the perfect name for his protagonist. The agonizing thought of thinking to create a perfect name was like creating two equations of the most complex variety and putting them into one in less than five minutes. It was almost impossible and his continous tapping on his chin made it so.

He would have to think later on it. He was where he needed to be. He closed the little journel and slide the pen between the pages. Sliding the book back into his pocket, Riku reached into his other pocket to pull out the scroll necessary for his training. He looked around and all around he did seeing if anyone was here with him. He did not see anyone nor did he see any human like aura that would try to sneak up on him. No, he was a ghost currently and if one were to see him, he would fade away. It wasn't too cautious to be careful really, it's just a force of habit.

The sky was not welcoming for training whatsoever, the heavy winds almost made it impossible for writing without the use of his tranquil aura surrounding his body. Setting that aside, he would need to find some type of cover in order to concentrate more on this training. The thought of training outside was a bit ludacris for beginning a technique he's only seen a few times. With the luck of his eyes, he saw beyond the large scale of water that was moving itself with intensity was a large island that had a cave. It was perfect from his point of view but he would have to get close for a full inspection.

He made a dash at the water, running across the surface. This was nothing compared to the turbulent seas of water country. The storms there would be nasty and having memories of his father forcing him to running, walk and fight on these type of conditions were troubling for him when he was younger and now looking back at his youth he would surely be greatful for his fathers strictness with that. He suppose most adults do look back at there parents and thank him but if his father was here he would surely hug him...or play a prank of his bath water turning into jello, either way showed the same love.

His water walkway ended and began a earth and rocky path. He stopped at the edge of the cave and walked inward to see the inside of this place. It did not disappoint with it's 100 meters high ceiling and wide cave. From a distance it appeared big and it was only bigger and wider than he could imagine He heard the rainfall down and the heavy winds blow hard from the mountains. The storm was getting stronger with the mountain winds. He was sure this thing would survive the week storm and that's alright. He'll only need a week. Mastering the jutsu within this would make inflitration and espionage the strongest of the strong. He pulls out the scroll deep within his sleeve.

He moved the seal away from the paper slowly unwrapping to a certain part in the scroll. Ah, there it was. Konoha's special techniqe; Kage Bunshin no jutsu. The famed techniqued many shinobi have used in the past, three of which were his father and two uncles. Indeed, this would take just a few minutes to read over. He sat down, crossing his legs in and began to study the scroll.

As simple as it may have been for his two uncles, this was probably rather difficult for his father. Being that both him and his father have large chakra reserves, the amount of control to make just a few would be have a tad bit more concentration than most. He was a tad bit worried but only to remind himself that he had mastered chakra kaika. Without it, the limitation of controlling the other ninjutsu techniques would be deem impossible and it would probably take him years to master. This significantly dropped then and he was happy by that fact.

Oh, but what was this. There was another version of this which was the Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. This was the creation of thirty or more clones all at once coming in. Granted, this was kind of a useless form if the person had no other skill besides shadow clone but it would be useful to learn if Riku needed it....IF Riku needed. He knew know and probably later in the future he would not need to use this jutsu for any significant purpose, for now it would be memorized into his mind and stored away for later usage.

There were so many variations he could add to this jutsu, so much untapped potential this jutsu has and Konoha was really sitting in a gold mine with this ability. Hell, it WAS a gold mine of information. Did that Konoha shinobi really give Kaji this one bit of information just for a body? Hell, he should've used this ability and practice so it could be perfected and use as a deadly weapon. The possibilties of his raiton added to make a exploding clone or maybe adding on his tengu kage's shadow arsenal ability to make exploding spikes when it was hit. Hell, let's not get too offensive at first. He should take the same concept of the Tengu Kage and use it as a armor for the clone or better yet form a very handy disguise to get into villages and make that same clone summon him....

But that was enough reading the damn thing. Reading it was fine and dandy but he'll need to practice it before he do any modification. He would need to first create the shadow clones first. Alright, he would definitely need to focus, which wasn't hard at all really, just make sure the mind is at one stable point. Right now, forget about making modifications, making any edits to his book, what he had to do in Kumo or in the Akatsuki, right now he needed his energy to this. Now, how many clones should he create, four or five. Hell lets not start with four or five, that's for later use, for now let's try just two.

He did the handseals; ram, serpent, tiger. He felt the parts of chakra leave out of his body but it didn't wither away at first, it seperated into two. The small amount of chakra he used then split into a smaller amount. The chakra then took form and in a mater of a second, two blurs then came into existence then forming two images of Riku. No, the real Riku could say they were absoulute perfect clones of himself. They looked at each other and then looked at real Riku. All at once, they all said "Whoa...freaky" they stopped and then the let out the laughter within him. They were definitely like him all right, right down to the goatee and changing color eyes. At the same time, they realized that they were going to have a hell of a time training.

Riku looked out the entrance of the cave and saw that the rain had dwindled away leaving only a small trace of what the storm had brought. He walks to the entrance to peek his out and saw that the storm was moving towards the east. There, the open sunshine was hazy through the the left over clouds behind the moving storm. He did not know whether he'll have to deal with another storm or not, he woudl not be disappointed either way; listening to the sounds of nature would surely calm him either way. He moved his head back inside and walked towards the center of the cave. He was getting close to the middle, he not also heard the two clones fighting with each other as the real Riku instructed them but he heard the dripping of water hitting the muddy ground. There in the middle of the cave was a large opening that let in the rain only twenty-four hours prior. Before he heard the rampant storm being unforgivable to them last night.

But even with the water dripping, the sun was much merciful to Riku and only shune down it's ray to brighten the cave for them. He did not particularlly like the sun; granted, it did give the people life and also the Shikyo to see but it was not something to worship in his eyes. It was just a tool to be used for purposes as what the two clones were doing. One of the Riku clones swung a powerful right hook to the second Riku clone. Riku dodged it and heard the wind blow past his head. The second clone spin till he was upright and lifted his leg up to drop a axe kick to first Riku clone. The first dodged it with essential ease and slide backward as the second clone legs dropped to the muddy ground there shattering up earth everywhere. The second pulled out of the small crater and dashed forward. It was a surprising dash. Riku took note that all the skills of his taijutsu prowness folllowed each clone. They were just as skilled as the original.

The short sprint of the second forced the first clone to jump in the air to evade the incoming punch that he was going to recieve. The second clone stopped in mid-punch and jumped in the air to meet the first clone in combat. This is where mid-air combat came to play between the two. As they were floating downward, they did a interval of kicking and punching, reverse roundhouse kicks and side kicks to each other. One of the clones caught the other and vice versa. It appeared that the first clone got the advantage and did a roundhouse kick to the second clones face. He could see the spit of the second clone coming out and his face controt with the foot. This drove the second clone downward to the earth like a missle and crashed creating a second crator. The first clone landed, letting out a soft sigh.

The real Riku let out a whistle. He walks over to the crater created by the second clone. The second clone laided there which didn't necessarily surprise the real Riku a bit. The real Riku asked "Are you ok down there" in a joking manner. "Seems like you face met with another foot. You should be careful running into those" he lets out a cheerful laugh.

The second Riku jumps upright on his feet and then jumps out of the crater, wiping the back that was filled with dry earth and mud combined together "Gosh did you have to kick me to the muddiest spot on here man?"

"What are you talking about" the first clone replied "Every spot here is the muddiest"

The second clone continued to wipe at his back. Mud flinged down on his legs which were the next spot that he was going to clean. It was a bit easier to do than his back. The real Riku tapped his finger "Alright, so I'm assuming you guys took a bit of information from my head and used the power of the shadow to use as temporary armor"

"Ah...thats..."the second one replied getting a piece of mudd off his shin "correct. We thought it would be....easier...Ah! To do really. That way if we are in a long fight, we can pretend to be you...or rather you pretend to be us? Or how does that go"

"We are the same beings really" the first Riku clone replied "It's rather a interesting arguement. Are we pretending to be your or are you pretending to be us? That's a condundrum if you think about it" he tilts his head at the real Riku "I think this type of 'protection' would give the possiblity of clones being able to fight in a battle. Two clones would be very proffient currently. Making more with armor would be a hassle"

The real Riku had a contorted thinking look saying "That would make sense. Why waste energy in creating a bunch of clones with armor when two can be enough to take out a entire platoon. Two still have the frightening speed and of course have our stamina, strength and intelligence with body and mind to help us.Why bother creating more with this type of strategy"

"And" the second clone added "with two, we can do more scouting. Cover alot more land in an unknown territory without wasting any time. I think that'll be perfect"

All of them nodded in agreeance. The real Riku tapped his chin setting his elbow in the palm of his hand "Now, we have our inflitration thing done with the clones. But I dont want to continue on focusing on shadow clones all day. That would get extensively boring. I was thinking maybe we could do something with Tengu Kages. After all, Yaguri has all the of abilities of the shadow and more but I only have a shield and travelling. Those are the basics"

"Yeah, that does seem to be much of a hassle really. I think we should do a balance of both. Have an offensive and defen-" the second was saying

"Why add that" the first interuppted "Shadow spikes are essentially easy to create. Rather too easy. That's just a measure of how much chakra one places into the seal of the shadow. I think, we should add something a bit more eccentric. Maybe enhance our asssasination and spying skills while also incorporating the balance of offensive and defense"

The first one snapped his fingers "Maybe we can use a life body so that we can inflitrate within a village or place and we wont have to do all that searching through the realm of darkness. It would only a few seconds rather than fifteen to twenty minutes. Time saver for sure"

"You mean, something like the shadow armor only in disguise form" Riku said now getting interested in these two clones suggestion. It was funny how it was starting out like this. It was like each clone were the same and yet they were diffrent. This would give him a bit of a kick later on

"Exactly" the second said. His eyes had changed into a more promising color of green "I think it would better if that person was alive if we were to use the shadow disguise on him. The shadows dont give off any chakra really. It'll feed off that host. Like a parasite"

"Ok, so what if we have to use our chakra if that person just so happens to die?"

The second thought about it and then said "We could uses Yaguri's chakra to give off an illusion that it is the same person. That way, no one will suspect. Yaguri is one of the best illusionist..."

"That's dead" Riku implied smiling and let out a soft laugh "Alright, so if the person is alive, we use the shadow as a parasite to use it's chakra in order to continue on the disguise. But that seems a bit simple. How about we add in a type of...oh, say shadow mind inflitration. Get some information out of it so the parasite isn't stupid"

"We could also use it as a medium. It can transform into you to get a message across" the first said

"I like that type of thinking. Second Riku, get on top of things!"

The second Riku made a irritated face but they all laughed just a few seconds later

A figure appeared upon a rock ledge above where the master was training. The figure stood silent still as the stone upon which he stood. He was immobile and had appeared, seemingly from no where or nothing, his presence virtually undetectable. However, the master had ways about him, some of them, not even Towa was able to wrap his head around. The fuuinjutsu expert stood high above the training area, looking down, not a position he was used to occupying. It gave a false air of power and superiority for the time. He watched for several minutes, and by no doubt now, he had been detected. He was not trying to conceal himself, he had long ago given up on that prospect. Not that it was necessary, he had no reason to kill the fellow assassin just yet.

And so he dropped, leaping off the ledge and sliding down using chakra in his feet to keep the descent from being to rapid. Even shinobi bones were breakable. Dust piled around his feet and jetted out behind him as he went. Now he was clearly noticeable. An odd sound filled the area as his feet literally slid across the rough raggedy surface. He was also clearly visible at this point. Not that Riku needed any more clarification, but there was no doubt now, that Towa had returned from his mission at long last. After years and years of having not seen the man, This meant success was inevitable. Had he failed his mission, he would be already dead.

He finished his drop through the air and landed five feet to the left of Riku, landing on one knee with the other perked up and the foot flat upon the ground. Another hand used to support, the other draped across the upturned knee, head bowed in an opening sign of respect. He raised his head and looked into the Shikyo eyes, stunned as usual, at the near impossible to read face. Just like his own, he had learned from the best.

Standing up, he removed a scroll from the folds of his clothes. In one swift motion the scroll unrolled and landed on the ground. He slammed his hand upon the ground and unleached the seal upon it, brining forth the man locked with in.

Between them both now lay a body, torn apart by its own weapon, held together by the same thing. One clear incisiion made through the rib cage area, that if the man were to be flipped over, would be shown to go all the way through. It was none other then,

Faust Arp, as requested. It took no jutsu, only silent hunting. He had his guard down. I trailed him all the way from Kumo back to Konoha. The one thing i learned from him, tracking, proved to be his death.

He looked Riku in the face again, having been looking at the body the entire time of his talking. He bent over once more and went through the sachel at the Jingou masters side.

And look what he had on him, the scroll of the Earth Grudge Fear Technique, which is in some kind of riddle, and the crow summoning contract. Though of course, the contract now belongs to me, the rest of everything here, aside from the sword, is yours.

All two clones and the real Riku were laughing. In the oddest and most profound way, they then cut there laughter short in an immediate and attentive look was in their eyes. There remaining on there faces was the unpredictable smile that one would expect to disappear when they were in the presence of a hidden enemy but there it still creeped on their lips as they turned towards the direction of the man. His presence at first was silent, his body fluidly moving with the sound of Riku and two clones voices as he moved through the cave. He was unotice. Was Riku unaware? Most likely not, he figured someone would come sooner or later, it was just a matter of time of when so this was not a surprise.

The man was on his knee, his posture was at a angle where he would be able to jump back or forward if something were to happen. This was the teachings of the assassin, something that could only learned in water country at the time. It was nostaglic with him at his knee looking up at Riku's face. A man who was reading his face was like reading a book with no words, Riku's face only had that unpredictable yet warm smile on his face. There was nothing warm about his eyes though. They were just as cold as ice to the skin, a raw and unmatchable blue that almost appeared to give off a slight ice breath. His eyes stared at the aura around this man; chilling and unpredictable. Two things that were very rare and indeed dangerous in this world.

Yes, now he remembered who he was. He felt a bit odd in his mind but he remembered who he was. The faint silver of his aura was that of a heartless and unseemingly potentially powerful assassin. Towa was this man name and he had done the deed that Riku had sent him. The spider did it's second objective into informing this man about Faust Arp, the Fuuinjutsu user of Konoha. Now, he laid there was the words coming out of Towa's mouth, broken yet clear, explained the killing in such few words. It was enough, Riku thought, it was definitely enough for him to know that he would clearly be a powerful assassin in the years to come.

Riku walks to the body and kneels over. There, he stared at the person who he had spared during the invasion of the Ichibi. He looked at the blank eyes, seeing that the ghost had left the body and it would be soon before his body will begin the slow process of decaying. With his hand, he turned Faust face to see the threads in his mouth that lead down to more threads. There were moments where he saw no threads and saw where there was once warm flesh that pumped a seeming glow of a soft red. He had some humanity left but that was only physically. His body was just the last remaining thing that was almost human. When he read his aura those weeks ago, he saw nothing but emptiness; it was a man who was walking a path in which he did not care where was at, as long was satietied, he was content.

He looks at Towa and nods his head lightly "Good job..." he said jovially "I'm surprise you got to him as soon as he did. I was thinking maybe he would be in Konoha by the time I got here but he was in Lightning country to hunt down some rogue shinobi" he pats his shoulder "Good thing we aint missing eh" he laughs a bit heartedly. He was an odd man with his voice but then his facial expression changed dramatically. It was now a coy smile, almost as if he was turning into a second person.

"I wont have any use for the blade. You can keep that and the scroll. The Jingou thread was once something I wish to obtain long ago" his voice, now more calmer and a bit more menacingly seductive said this to Towa "You've done a fine job and soon I shall give you another mission"

"But for now" the first clone said walking to them but stopping behind the real Riku. The second clone did it also

"You'll remain hidden until you are needed. I have much to experiment now" the second clone said right after the first. They didn't even skip a beat.

"Now you may stay if you wish or you may leave. Either or, I do not care" he said but his voice lighten up and his original tone when he began talking return "Would give me a bit of company rather than talking to myself" he laugh harder this time. It was in that laugh that Towa would begin to feel an odd sensation to it. Something was up.

With what his master said over, Towa grasped the sword, pulling it away from its once master. With this thing, he could cause untold damage. He would be able to utilize the cursed Jingou threads at a quarantined level at least with this thing. Or he could simply slice and dice, stab and dissect. He was very fond of weapons, they were akin to his personality in ways that could not be expressed. It was the only thing he had a passion for, though by proxy, killing was a package deal in that love. He placed it back upon the scroll from whence it and its old master had come and caused it to vanish once again. He placed the seal with int the folds of his own clothes and once more addressed his one true master.

Watching you, while surely educational, would be nothing but boring for me. Id much prefer some kind of mission if you had any on your mind to spare at the moment.

He was being to the point on this. He had just finished a mission of several years and already was searching for another. That was the only thing in life that mattered to him. In his mind, the job was life, and with job, his life was put on hold, and to put his life on hold would be little more then temporary death. There would be no death for him. Only his enemies. What lay in his mind, was only the kill. The kill which he reigned down upon others. Rich full of red blood. It was like a transfer of force from the prey to himself. Though he hated to admit it, he had picked up certain qualities from Faust, that much was true. But only those beneficial to him. He would never say he owed him though. Faust had only been doing his job, the payment was money and a safe place in the leaf. That life was for some, but no a man like Towa or Riku. Towa saw most other men as nothing more then cattle to be slaughtered at some point or antoher. That is all he wished to do with them. However.......

It is painful to say, but I did learn a lot from this man called Faust. He was my sensei for a time, and helped me become much stronger. When I left you last, I was a mere chunin level. Today I stand before you a mighty killer above most Jounin. Treat the man with respect at least, he was a strong warrior. And as his student, what you are seeking in him rightfully belongs to me as well. The Earth Grudge Fear, when you begin serious experimentation on it, be sure to let me know, so I can earn my birth right.

The request was worded strangely. It was almost like it was an order of sorts. But Towa's face told nothing. Not even Riku would be able to tell if it was merely the mannerisms he'd grown into, or if he was truly being defiant and bold, bolder then most men could be in front of a full fledged Shikyo. One could only guess. It was impossible to tell just how much Towa had grown sine the two had last crossed paths. And so uncertainty surrounded him. No man could any longer say they knew his true intention, his true though, his true heart. He no longer had true meaning as far as any other man was concerned. They would only take him as they would, and a great deal many of them wuold be way off the marker. To guess wrong with Towa, would only eventually, some day, invoke ones own death.

Towa choose the route to leave. With the intent of his aura, Riku knew already that he was going to leave. He felt there was nothing for him to gain other than a place where he would seek absolute boredom. Riku would've taken the same route as well. At the age Towa was at, he was more fond in finding his own purpose, whether it was for good intentions or likewise. His smiled remained, unwary by Towa's comment of leaving. Two of the clones remained where they stood but the real Riku turned around and began to walk towards a small pouch that he had set down. He had remembered something important, there it was bothering him in the back of his head and he was sure that it invovled Towa. He would have to check to see if that was the case.

The two clones watched Riku as he walked to the pouch then looked back to Towa who was now saying about the right of having the following information as it was his given birthright. The ordeal rose both the eyebrows of the clones for they knew the answer that came in the real Riku's head. They turned there heads and Riku was walking back with a scroll at hand. The smiled did not cease.

One would inquire his ability to smile, Towa could see that this man had been killing all of his life. From the tales he had heard from Kirigakure, there was a young boy who started to kill at the age of four years, there he was selected through various groups to be a assassin against rivialing people such as the shinobi, the samurai, mercenaries, the list was continous. That boy had to be this man that walked to Towa. His eyes were now a harmonous indigo. But the smile....why would he smile like that? An assassin can never, and it is never show the absolute emotion of what they were feeling. It shows weakness. It shows...

Riku hands Towa the scroll. The color of his eyes, they were becoming more and more deathly. They were a indigo, they were a pure purple color, the color of poison, the color....the color of death. No, he was too powerful to show any emotions. Towa did not see a smle, that was an illusion. It was a facade this Shikyo had placed over his face to perceieve as the illusion of someone who did not care about the words of people, regardless of the negativity it brought, the smile will remain still and unshaken. Riku backs away and says "The moment you killed your master was the moment you lost your right to have information. You should know that. That is absolute law among the assassins. We've defiled his body, we've disrepected the dead. His body would haunt us less you believe in it. The moment you gave up your master to me is when, by law, you said 'This is him, he is no longer my responsibility'."

Now his smile was more serene and real rather than his falsetto one. Did he cross a line? Riku would laugh at the statement, of course he crossed a few lines, even in that smile now sadistic and full of intent, he had broke the line of what a assassin should say to an assassin, regardless of whether it is known or unknown. He points to the scroll "In there is your next mission. This mission that I have assign to you is a interesting one indeed"

The first clone began to speak "A village in the earth country has a very prominent growth in the economic factor. The rise of the following has been from the past five years. The first year since it's been growing, there was a six percent increase, then a twelve percent increase, a fifteen percent increase two years ago, a twenty percent increase and this year they are reaching to the twenty-two mark...now unless they are trying to become a major village, I dont think this village is run by anyone who is honest, caring and loves the people"

"In there, you have one of my scouts entire detail of the village; the commerce section and industrial section is prodominantly factoring much in coal and raw mineral material that is based for high explosives. It is called ramasemite. Think of bomb tags that is laced with just a small amount of stuff and thrown at a tree. Thet explosion would be, as we put, catostropic. This truly threatens the organisation. My suspicion at first was that there was another organisation running it" he paused. He casually walked pass Towa "My suspicion is correct. There is a cult organisation using the resources to supply for there pagan god and materialistic needs. I want you to find the other members of the Akatsuki and begin a simple task: search and destroy" he lets out a chilling laugh

He turns his head to Towa "Make sure you destroy everything. Leave no one alive, not even the smallest of children. This place has been tainted by a force that could easily threaten the plans of the Akatsuki. If they get a control in the villages, well our ticket into becoming like a village will be destroyed by this. Do not wear your cloak, do not show any sign of the Akatsuki. Waer the colors of The Creed"

He points to the exit "Remember, you work in the dark to serve the light. As there is nothing true and all things are permitted. These are the words our forefathers said and you will carry out this task"

It had been impressive the first time he had seen this show, this display. However, it was something he had grown more then accustomed to. Riku had more or less stayed the same through out the years. It showed even now. Once you got past the intial awe that was inspired by such displays of penmanship in ones actions, there was absolutely nothing spectacular, for it was a great ugly block of ice, unchanging unless it were to melt, though surely magnificent at first. There was nothing beautiful about the cold, no matter how hard beauty was attempted to be emulated. Towa knew that, for he shared in that same light. He was not going to be one to be fooled. He was no longer one of his precious sheep, though he would continue to follow the shepard, for now.

He devoured the words spoken to him. Analyzed them, and circumvented them. There was a response to everything. No matter what, but the exchange of verbal differences in view would never cease to cause enjoyment for those who had nothing else. Nothing more were they then games of the mind. Towa was intrigued. He knew how far he had grown as an assassin, but in intellect, he was not sure. For he had never met such a grand schemer as the man before him. So he recollected himself, the calm setting in, and with efficency, no defiant tone laid here, only simple fact escaped his lips as he spoke. Something not even Riku could cover up with countering words to turn it around. It was the undeniable cycle which he would speak of.

His eyes closed as he talk, head tilted back slightly looking no longer at Riku's face, but instead the sky at a slight angle just above his white hair.

Then think of it as the right of the hunter. What I give to u is payment to the deity. But if the deity can not pacify his followers, then what use does that deity have, and he will lose his followers. And those had lost will preach to the others the betrayal of the deity. And so his name will become human, and a new deity will rise in his place. What use is there for me in following you, if there is no real payment made to me. I think the talents of Jingou are a small reward for the time spent providing you with this now.

He began to turn to walk away, but was not fully gone yet.

I do accept this new task, though I think it shall only take one other to fulfill what has been requested.

He turned once more to gaze at the eyes of death once more, Riku, the one he looked upon as his grand teacher. He wondered, were all the lessons over, was that all to be had from this man. He sure hoped not. He was still early in his years himself, and so his hunger for knowledge from which came strength and power was left unsatisfied. He had much desire, and hated to think if his greatest resource had been tapped. He knew Riku wasnt stupid, he had sent him to learn under Faust not only to kill him. No that wasn't it. But also to become a better soldier, to become what the other members of Akatsuki could not. Faust had been a mere piece on the board, played to provide not only the Earth Grudge Fear, but also Towa himself. It had been training as well as a withdrawal of an investment. Of course if this assumption was false, then Towa was the pawn, and his use was nearing its end, or was already.

I have to ask, do you mean for this to be my last mission

Riku face remain unchanged. He lets out a soft laugh but it sounded much like an epxressed sigh. "Fair enough" he said to his response of the hunter. He wasn't planning on continuing on with matter, he was going to research on the body or not, whatever he find he can easily give it to Towa. Well, he didn't know what interesting findis he would gather. At the moment, he was going to take the body. Handing him the scroll and patting his shoulder, he turned around with his clones following after him.

But Riku already knew that Towa would question him. The moment he assign the mission to Towa would make him suspect that he had hidden motives. Even through the facade of a smile he put and the calm yet sarcastic tone of voice, he was hidding something extremely sinister. An assassin has been told to never question their superior, it is said that the student should never raise a hand against them, even if it questions whether the student would live or die.

But that is an illusion the master assassins and grandmaster assassins say in order to weed out those who would follow the path of te wandering sheep or flock away from the herd to seek their own path that will guide them to true understanding. Towa asked if this was his last mission. Riku stopped walking. His head didn't turn to face him but Towa would know that there was still that unlikely smile he had that was both calm yet decieving, a fox smle they might say. The tricksters smile.

"Every mission" Riku said finally "that involves walking on the path of death is always an assassin's last mission. You'll never know if you'll survive or not, it is a path that can consume or create you. It'll either bring destruction or creation" he turns his head, his smile geniunely decieving. What was it with that smile and those eyes that were fiery purple. Installing fear isn't something an assassin does, no, he was showing him something. Even now as Towa will grow, he'll continue to be taught just as Riku continues to teach.

"Within all the knowledge in the world, the most untainted is those that are self-taught. With self-taught, you are able to look past the minor errors to seek your answer. All knowledge leads to self-knowledge. If you take the mission, do not do it for me. Do not...do it for the Akatsuki. Do it in order to understand yourself. I can assure you, with this mission you'll begin to see past the illusions that this world puts on..."

He claps his hand and exhales "Wooo, my oh my, this is something fantastic. It's like reliving the life of my past, hahahaha" he raises his head up and lets out a deniably chopped laugh with each "ha" seperating itself. He cocked his head forward and says "Nothing is true and all things are perimitted...Go Towa..." he said in a softer voice before he disappeared into the darkness where he would there continue to train

Towa listened intently again. The words meaning little to him. It was all gospel he had before. Well at least the part about last missions. That had not been his true question at all, but Riku didnt seem to get the snideness embedded in his remark. He had wanted to know if Riku meant for him to die on this mission. Of course if he did, he would be sourly disappointed. Towa would not die unless he wished it, that was all. And he would not wish it, not for a long time to come. As it stood, this man was not really baffling him or confusing him but something else entirely.

The last part was genuine though, and moderately educational. Something to soak in and think about at the very least. Lord knew he had a lot of time for that. That he did a lot of, though it wasnt thinking in the typical sense. He didnt really process things on an emotional level, but rather on the end of logic and reason. Emotions clouded the mind, and he would not have that happening to him, no sir. For a long time now, he had been truly dead inside. If he held his emotions dear, he would seek vengeance, but he had years and years for that. It was not hate that he felt, it was numbness, and so he did not really feel at all. He was so completely and utterly numb to his heart from selective training. It was unparalleled attribute that few would ever achieve and almost none ever hoped for sae those who knew true pain and despised the sensation. Sometimes being numb was better. It made you less human, and you became something else. This was one of the many paths one could choose in becoming an assassin, and it was the way that Towa had in fact chosen. With out doubt, this was his role in things, but to what ends that role would meet, was yet to be unveiled.

He had at least made headway with his speech of deity's and the hunter making his offering. Perhaps he had struck a cord. Sound logic could not be ignored in any light what so ever, and logic could be bent to the will, it only took the right mindset, a fluid one, to always come off as the correct one. To be able to change as quickly as the wind in word tongue and battle, that was the true meaning of immortality. For how could you kill what had no weakness. Change eliminated one weakness and traded it for another and new strengths as well. To battle an opponent like that was like fighting life and death itself. It was impossible.

Towa turned himself, and began to leave, not bothering to look back over his shoulder even once. His work here was done, and now he needed to go fetch a partner for this next mission he had quite literally brought upon himself with due notion of doing so. He could handle it on his own, but efficancy was key to him. It would be more efficient to have two. Two to share the work load and in case something went wrong. You could do everything right, and still have something blow up in your face due to unseen factors that always existed. Three or more would be too many though. They were meant to keep their cover at all times. He had a strong feeling about rice country. He knew Kasou and his team of genin would be heading there, he had set up that mission for them personally, so he could continue his charade. Maybe on his way he would come across the desired individual for his aide.

Seeing everything unfold around him Soren was delighted that Riku was left alone once again, his extension`s popped up from the ground near Riku and the corpse that Towa had brought with him earlier, the smell of decaying body mass had tempted the Akatsuki member long enough, he also wanted to question Riku about certain member`s of Akatsuki but decided that to slip by for the moment, he was after all not that intrested in living meat, that would count toward`s his "comrades" especially he had his own desires, some which he preffered to keep for himself...

Upon unfolding his extension`s his left leg became solid while the right one was still attached to the ground He did send him into a dead end didnt he?a low toned voice stirred up and would give shiver`s to most anyone while letting his yellow eyes fall on the corpse, he then glanced at Riku over his shoulder you don`t plan on eating him do you? you don`t say... was his black side`s answer, the White side sounded more high pitched in its voice but just a notch, he wondered if Riku had something he needed from this corpse, or if he was just going to toss it somewhere... such waste, the only thing human`s where good for (besides Riku who he did not even concider a human) was being eaten, and follow order`s though the latter was a bit overstated almost always, often did these living pieces of meat think too much which would make them weak and unpredictable, not all of them where weak mind you.

Soren was well aware of that, his akatsuki robe revealed his both legs now as his both legs where no longer attached to the ground Its all right... Riku is a good boy after all the other half of Soren`s persona was very easygoing and carefree, while the other one was the more quiet persona it was more intelligent and serious and therefore sometimes tended to get annoyed by the white halves nonchalant attitude...

He figured he would have to follow Towa sooner or later, if indeed he ended up dying he would have to clean up his mess, and make sure no information of his true intensions and/or the organization he was involved would leak out, futher more he supposed that if Towa would prepare himself with help, then if that was the case then he might just survive, Soren`s attitude often brought the worst side`s of people, it was clear that some of the member`s disliked plant`s eating their corpses and peeking at them when they least expected it, it was quite truly shocking for him, he was only doing a favor for them in his opinion he was one of the greatest assets to the Akatsuki off course that was just his own opinion, which he often decided to keep for himself, in fact he often decided to keep a lot of personal opinions for himself. Which is why he was so hard to work with.

There it was, that sound of a body, once fused with the earth, now arising from the ground. It was the sprouting of a cannibalistic mammal that is created for the sole purpose of disposal. An assest in which Riku could use to dispose any trace of the blood splilt through the fist and blades of the Akatsuki. He may not been the fighting type per se, but he was at least useful for other methods. He wasn't wanting the ten leaders to be brutes or killers of the sort. They were power pieces in the game of chess, some were queens, some were rooks, others were bishops and knights and they all have a place in the game.

He was salivating, he could tell. He wanted to consume the body, he wanted to taste every surface area of the skin, every tendon of the muscele. He wanted to even taste the jelly nerve cells. The blood would drip from his mouth and Riku wouldn't of mind. However, for this case, he did mind. He did not wish for Soren to consume him yet. The enigmatic smile held as his head turn to look at Soren when he asked to eat it

"You may not eat it...I have further research" Riku replied in a polite tone of voice. "I dont want you to stay here for long. Your lust to eat is something that would upset the balance of this place. There are things that are meant to be place for such balance. Currently, you are disrupting it".

Soren's representation of decomposition in life was not needed here. The minute he arose from the ground, the auras around the area began to get fuzzy, like a picture in a movie that is out of focus. "Do not interfere with that mission, Soren. As much as you are useful, this is not your mission and you know it"

"You may, however, go to that village. That technique of yours will let you quickly arrive at that place. Please, when the mission is done....well, you know what to do. If the bodies aren't disposed, you may..." he grinned just a bit too much to show how much pleasure he had in it "eat to your hearts content. But do not interfer in fighting"

"That is all. Now if you excuse" The first clone replied with the second clone ending with "I have much to do. I can't let anyone know about this. Oh and I almost forgot" He points to Soren's cloak "Try to hide your cloak. I dont want people to really kinow we exist as of yet. The akatsuki is still a shadow of it's former self and right now I wish it to remain that until we go public. That is all"

He left Soren to do whatever he wished. Riku had decided then and there that he would have to find more people to the Akatsuki after this training. Two assassins, a hunter nin, a weapon specialist and a apprentice. So far, he was low on the charts and so far he would have to find more suitable people. It was hard these days but he could persuade others to join. He would think he would soon go to Sunagakure where he would meet up with the weapon specialist and the apprentice but for now, he'll stay and do a bit on researching and training.

This cave we becoming brighter than he last imagined. The first clone looked up towards the ceiling. They were coming towards the middle of the cave again. Seeing the stalactites from the wide opening on the roof cave, it gave a very gothic appearance. Was it enjoyable to be here? A little, but perhaps it was just a cave to Riku. He laughed at the thought of it being there main hideout. So open really and it was likely from an ambush from villages. But the villages were not the main issue, it was the organisations that were his main concern. Eliminating the elite societies infrastructure by destroying the organisation was a must. He couldn't elaborate on it enough.

There was more than enough reason`s for Soren to accept, not dishonor his loyality towards Riku, that and the fact that the corpse was seemingly of great importance to Riku, he had well expected that. The mission that Towa had performed to assasinate this man was reason enough and Soren could not help but to Salivate a bit with the corpse lying around him. He did not offer more than a hint of some kind of expression on his face, he listened to every little detail of Riku`s preachings and orders quietly observing his every movement If that is your wish... then we shall fulfill it... He started to elaborate a plan for he had some other business to attend to before he would go to the hidden country, big things where going on soon and he would be there in the middle of it all, if it was worth recording would be another story, he would figure it out sooner or later...

He was getting a bit exited when he though about the pile`s of human meat just lying around there waiting to be devoured, he had to think about something else to personally calm himself down, he was too old to run around and jiggle about it besides it did not suit his personality. He fixated his eyes to counter the daylight that slipped at the end of the cave, towards where Towa had left, he thought that Riku held him in high regard, he was unsure if this was true, it was quite impossible to say really with that fox like smirk on his face did not give away much any detail`s about his plan`s, off course he did not for a moment think that Riku`s detailed plan`s where in anyway a bad thing, quite the opposite.

From his point of view Riku was more of a Genius that requierd a lot more attention than what the world was giving him at the moment, however the curtain`s would be shut until the very last moment, until his devious plan`s would be set into motion at the point where they could no longer be halted by mere mortal`s

His legs returned into the wall and became one single mass, his extensions where folding shut again roger... he returned into the moldy mass of earth that he had come from to begin with, the last sounds emerged and a complete silence filled the cave once again Soren`s chakra signature dissapeared along with his Aura.