Coheed and Cambria [P, Ezra]

Akane would make her way through the Social Zone and couldn’t help but to notice how nice of a day it was. It was shameful she had to spend the day in such a scummy place but at least it was safe, a safe place to sleep and train was all she needed even if she had to share that place with the scum of the Earth. At least there were a few good people around though, it was comforting that she was part of a group determined to do some good in the world. Some of them were also quite strong too meaning that it’d be easier for her to get stronger because they could teach her numerous things like ninjutsu, medical ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, how to fight, etc.

As she made her way through the Social Zone she would keep an eye for Ezra. She had decided that it’d be nice to train with someone who was close to her skill level seeing that she was totally beat by Ryou. Akane would be able to keep up with Ezra and hopefully, learn how to fight a swordsman like him. Akane was going to begin by attacking him with her bare hands but if she wasn’t fast enough to fight him with her bare hands she would simply pull out one of her Kunai and fight him with that.

When Akane reached the benches that she had sat waited at before for Ryou she would sit down and lean her head back. She would then close her eyes and begin to relax while she waited for Ezra. It wasn’t exactly the safest place to relax but it was better than nothing, Akane would rather be relaxing her than out in the real world where she could get killed at any given by another Missing Ninja scavenging for Ryo or by a Village Ninja looking for a bounty.

She would think about her plans to go to the Land of Wind, to find out who she truly was and to find out what kind of bloodline she has so that she might be able to control it and be of real use to the group. The bloodline seemed to be quite versatile so if she were to be able to control it could help her become an extremely powerful Shinobi, one strong enough to protect the one that she called a little brother. Even though she hadn’t seen him or spoke to him for a long time she still thought of Haruki as her little brother and would make sure to never forget him. Akane even thought about sending him a letter sometime soon to see how he was doing and if he had earned any promotions while she had been gone.

[WC: 461]

He hadn't been called. But he felt a calling.

The Terumi awoke from a mild snooze huddled in a corner of the Black Market. People were too busy to bother him here. People paced back and forth, picking up and putting down various ill gotten gains from who knew where. Nothing changed in the Black Market. Nothing sold belonged to the seller. The prices were too high. The values were too low. What was bought would be picked from your pocket as you turned your back and put back on the table to peddle.

The boy would check his pockets quickly, ensuring what he already knew. Everything was there. Nothing had been taken. The boy would rub his eyes and shrug the sleep from his body, pushing himself out from the corner and putting his hands in his pockets. A relatively safe gesture, as it would keep prying hands out, and he would be free from any accusations of theft.

With hands in pockets, the boy would move his way through the Black Market before emerging into the Social Zone and finding a relatively familiar face. Akane, the girl he had coerced into coming to Shadow Country with him. The Terumi would meander over, pushing his way through the meager crowd to sit next to the girl in the bench.

"Akane, it's good to see you. How have you been holding up?" the boy would say, a gentle smile on his face.

As Akane was sitting on the bench she would spot Ezra in the crowd making his way over and would wait for him to sit down next to her. She would then listen to him speak and would smile at him when he asked her how'd she been holding up and would say, "Pretty good, thanks. How've you been holding up?" She would then wait for him to give her his answer and would put her hair up into a ponytail.

When Ezra answered her she would then ask him if he'd like to spar. If he said yes she would get up and lead him to the spot Ryou and her trained at and if he said no she'd continue to sit with him and talk to him for a while. If he did decide to have a conversation with her she could possibly ask him if he knew of any clans that had a Bloodline that could cause the body to harden.

Whether it be through training or talking to Ezra it could benefit her in some way. His intelligence could be of use to her and his strength could be of use to her. There was always something to learn from someone. Akane could possibly even learn what clan she was from so that she didn't have to go to Suna and find out. Ezra seemed like he had traveled quite a lot so it was likely that he knew what clan that Akane came from and what bloodline she possessed.

[WC]
[TWC: 715]

The girl returned his smile. That was always a good sign.

As he sat and the pair began exchanging small talk, Akane redirected his question back at him after replying that she was doing well. That made him surprisingly... happy. He had worried that she had been dragged into something she had no desire to take part in, what with the whole revolutionary ninja group and all. As for him, it gave him purpose. He was otherwise a sword for hire, or a meager craftsman. This, this could make him into something. SomeONE. He could rival the travels and sights of his father. And boy, would that be something to come home and tell him about.

"Good to hear you've been doing alright. I've been well, I suppose. Well enough, given the circumstances. This whole Hitsuyo Aku group has given me a load of stress, but the cause is noble." the young Terumi would say, posturing up slightly before continuing, his voice becoming surprisingly grave and almost sage like for his age. "I'd rather stress and fight tooth and nail for a cause I believe in, than wander carefree with no reason to my life."

Of course, after that the boy would accept the girl's proposition to spar, getting up from the bench and motioning for the girl to follow as the Terumi walked off into the crowd, quickly coming out on the other side in a much less crowded area, away from the stalls of the black market. It was a small clearing, but it would do for the small spar between the two. The boy would pick up a small stick in his right hand, just short of a meter in total length, around two inches thick.

"We can talk as we fight, Akane. So tell me, what's on your mind?" the boy would say, absentmindedly prodding the girl, not realizing what he said could be taken a very harsh way. Akane seemed troubled by something, rather deep in thought for someone looking for a simple spar. If he could help, he wanted to. He had drug her this far. Letting her wallow wherever she came to rest would be more his fault than anyone else.

After Ezra told her that they could talk as they fought and began prodding her with a stick she would start to move away from him until she was roughly standing ten meters from him and would begin to speak, "I just discovered this Bloodline I have and I have no idea what Clan it's from nor how to control it. I was hoping that if I could find out what Clan it was from I could read up on the Bloodline and learn how to control it. Anyways, ready?" If he said that he was ready she would quickly reach into her weapon pouch, pull out a kunai and throw it at his right shoulder before quickly performing the tiger hand seal and enveloping the area in a thick mist that would be hard to see through.

Akane would then move roughly five meters to the right as to not stay in the same position as it could be quite risky to do so. She would then perform the dog and tiger hand seals and would create five intangible clones that wandered through the mist. She would then reach into her weapon pouch and would pull out the last Kunai. Akane would then hold the kunai up and would ready herself to ward off any attacks that might come from the swordsman if he was able to locate her in the thick mist.

While she did all of this she would be ready to listen to what the Terumi had to say about her Bloodline. Hopefully, he would ask what it was and once she explained it he would know what Clan she was from. If he did not know it was no big deal it'd just mean that she'd have to leave the Shadow Country to go to the Land of Wind for a little while with Ryou if he was still willing to tag along.

[WC: 321]
[TWC: 1,036]