If she had to pick one place in the entire village that she absolutely loved to visit it would have to be the meditation gardens. It was peaceful and quiet - mostly due to the rules against loud noise or brash behavior - and it smelled absolutely wonderful due to the many plants and trees that grew through the place. She was sure it looked lovely too, but she couldn't see it since she had been blind since birth.

Which was why, as she sat off to the side of the main path in the soft grass with her back resting against one of the cherry blossom trees with the tiny pink leaves, she had a book in front of her that wasn't written with actual writing, but instead little tiny dots: braille. However, her fingertips had long ago stopped moving across the page; her focus elsewhere. She was too distracted to read, and had simply given up n the task. Not that the book was anything super important - just a novel she had got her hands on filled with mystery and ghosts. Fun reading for run, basically.

Instead, her attention was on the birds she could hear in the tree above her, a new flock that had arrived only a little while ago and which seemed to have no problem in building their nest above her head as she sat there - she was too still and too quiet to give them any trouble, and she didn't want to scare them off anyhow. This was why she found this new village to be so nice compared to the other ones they had lived in in their travels: it was peaceful enough to allow for little treats like this - things that other people too for granted because they could see, but which Hikari felt was a blessing because she could not.

Doton Training (C-B): 308 / 1,000

He hadn't been here a whole week yet, and already he was a Chuunin. Word got to him about how his twin had also ranked up. He and his sibling must have been doing whoever was in charge of the village proud. Many people were impressed with him, especially in the marketplace, and it appeared that several of them had even started calling Kurai a friend of theirs, even though through it all, he hadn't said a word.

Kurai had already been here, wanting somewhere quiet and peaceful to practice a new technique that he'd seen an old scroll given to him by the shop owner's wife. It was called the Shadow Clone Technique, where one made perfect physical copies of themselves to aid in battle, or whatever. It was rather chakra taxing for someone of a low rank, yet Kurai showed interest in learning it immediately. Some of the clones he managed to create turned out half complete, some didn't appear at all. He could already feel that he was beginning to wear himself out, since the technique required one to divide their chakra evenly between them and however many clones they decided to create, so his first thought was to come here.

Since he'd been 'working out' so to speak, he could also feel the range of Shinsai expanding and becoming clearer as well. Kurai could 'see' others when concentrating, but their image was quite blurry. Kurai hadn't been able to even see the blurs before today, so he knew he was getting stronger. He was pushing himself, headed toward his eventual goals. Soon there would be other things he had to do, such as learn how to manipulate fire, and possibly another specialization other than Taijutsu and Doton Manipulation. Yes, everything was coming together...

But for now, there was recharging his chakra to attempt to create a clone again. If Hikari was coming along in a similar fashion, she'd know Kurai was there, across the garden, sitting cross legged, his face buried within the several pages of the scroll that the shop keeper had given him. The old, ancient library smell still hung heavily upon it; a scent that didn't bother Kurai at all...

Ninjutsu training, (C-B) Word Count: 367/1,000

Just as she was about to full allow herself to be distracted by the birds chirping softly above her head she shifted her body so that her right foot was flat on the ground; almost instantly she picked up on the fact that her twin was nearby, in the same garden as her. She couldn't see him clearly, as he was little more than a blur, but, she was so used to seeing him with her much duller Shinsai that it was easy to pick up that it was him.

She looked down at her book and closed it. She slipped the thing into her bag and slowly got up - the birds still didn't fly away. She walked away slowly, bare feet barely disturbing the ground at all. She picked up the distinct differences in the earth she was walking on compared to those she had walked on before, and figured that maybe it had something to do with her becoming stronger - it was becoming easier to tell the different kinds of earth: anything from clay to sandstone, and the stuff in between. She had a long way to go with her Doton abilities but maybe this would help some.

She reached her brother rather quickly even for her slow pace and sat down nearby: though she kept a bit of distance to give him his space. She sniffed the air, picking up on the distinct smell of something old and it brought a smile to her face. She reached her hand out, manipulating the ground in front of her with nothing more than her chakra; it was an almost completely quiet affair, given that the area manipulated was about the size of a donut. She figured that the more she played with it, the easier it would be to get more acquainted with the element. "Did you find an old book?", she asked softly, her voice just barely above a whisper.

WC Doton Training (C-B): 322 + 308 = 630 / 1,000

Kurai took one of her hands and ran it along a page of the old ancient text. The paper was old and wrinkled; the text upon it still just barely able to be read. It smelled something like the old library of his father's that he'd carried around from village to village.

Some woman nearby said “Did you hear?... Some kid tried to rob someone in the market, and there was this other kid in all black, they say he kicked a rock at the other kid and actually hit him with it!... Yeah! Can you believe it? They say the robber tried to fight the other kid, but he didn't stand much of a chance at all. We don't get too much action around here, well not since that day... you know. They say there's a little blind girl making waves around here already too. It'll be interesting to hear more!...”

Stories about Kurai and Hikari were already beginning to float around. He didn't mind much. Kurai was curious to know if the old man had more scrolls like this one with more secret techniques to be learned written on them. There would be more work to be done, more pushing. He was just getting started. Kurai wasn't the type to make a little bit of progress and then get a big head; no, he wanted to push as far as he could and then push more.

In one of his very rare moments speaking, Kurai said ”...Old man in the market gave it to me. Kage Bushin no Jutsu, Shadow Clones... For helping him out, like that woman there said. He said he'd have more for me if he could find them...”

Kurai practiced the hand seals. He could feel that his chakra from the wasted earlier attempts almost fully restored. When he mastered this technique Kurai already decided that this wouldn't be something he'd abuse or play around with, at least not until he managed to expand on his chakra reserves. Right now it was too easy to run out and possibly kill himself, and he wasn't exactly ready to die. Learning this technique had to be done the right way.

Word Count: 366 + 367 = 733/1,000

As her brother took her hand and ran it along the old piece of parchment she could feel the distinct difference in it compared to paper made in their day and age: she had been right in thinking that what he was reading was very old, though this felt more like a scroll than an actual book. Her brother's words, a rarity, spoke of such. A smile formed across her face and she nodded her head.

She withdrew her hand and returned to manipulating the ground by her feet, raising it and lowering it; the ground holding now the consistency of mud with how much she had already played with it and softened it up with the friction created by the constant movement. After a moment she allowed the solid lump, with some help of of her chakra to raise up away from the ground and hover in the air in front of her. She moved her hands in towards the mud like earth and out again, causing the ball to expand and contract repeatedly. She could hear people easily enough in the distance talking about the things that herself and her twin had been doing around the village. She was more than happy to help out of course; she liked their new home, and had no intentions of leaving it.

"I think I want to practice some more with my elements and abilities before I attempt to learn anymore more powerful; I just figure that the more control I have the easier it'll be." She frowned slightly. "Too bad they didn't have braille back in the day; scrolls like that are useless to me since I cannot see them.", she said softly. The ball within her hands by now was moving like liquid, far more pliable than it had been when she first started manipulating it. 

WC Doton (C-B): 307 + 630 = 937  / 1,000

It seemed like Hikari was working just as hard as Kurai was. He wasn't going to race with her or anything. Kurai knew not to rush. Techniques and skills such as these, they were similar to a good home cooked meal: cooked slow, seasoned just right. Kurai wanted his sister to pass him and show the world that a blind person was just as good as someone who could see.

Kurai, feeling re-energized, stood up and took a deep breath. This cloning thing was something he'd have to get the hang of. After forming the proper hand signs, the clone appeared before him. To Kurai, it was the same as looking in the mirror. The clone looked exactly like him, and even had his plain, blank expression.

Kurai and the clone began to execute punches and kicks. The clone did all of his movements with him exactly. It was him, after all. Afterwards, he and the clone began to display what looked to be Tai Chi. They both moved with the grace and the agility to where they didn't disturb the ground, nor did either make a sound. Those with advanced senses would be able to tell what was going on, but an ordinary person would have no clue, unless they were looking. Several of the villagers passing by did happen to take a peak into the garden, seeing the duo Kurai's both making the very same movements together.

After a while, Kurai and the clone both bowed to each other. The Clone then disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Kurai suddenly felt sort of overwhelmed, and had to take a seat again. A strange look was on his face. He realized that everything the clone had done was suddenly transferred over to him, so it was as if he'd done double the training. Very interesting. He gave a nod of his head, rubbing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as he realized that using clones could shorten the time it took to train something dramatically, if used correctly.

He felt like he had the hang of his techniques enough to be able to use clones with little to no drain feeling. As he grew stronger he knew such a technique would be much easier and last longer. Should Hikari want to learn to use the technique, he wouldn't mind at all showing her.

Word Count: 397 + 733 = 1,130/1,000
Ultra Added Weight Technique WC: 130/1,500

Hikari continued to mold and manipulate the earth that now hovered between her hands; until it broke apart into little tiny earth particles that hovered in the shape of a ball. She knew what she could do with her earth like this: many clan techniques spoke of crushing people to death with earth that moved like this, or another ability to see. She had read of these techniques in the braille scrolls provided - and figured, with the knowledge she knew, and now how well she could manipulate Doton, that she would be more than capable of using one of those techniques if it ever came around to being needed.

She then watched through Shinsai as her brother created what she assumed was a clone and began to practice a bit of Taijutsu with it. Between that and her sensory she watched it all, a light smile upon her face. Taijutsu was one of the other things she had planned on practicing today, but she had just ended up too engrossed in her book. She pushed her book away and stood. She went over to the nearby sand box; which was literally an area of sand that had been raked decoratively and with inch high wooden beams that held the sand in; there were poles that stuck out going up higher and higher as they went, which wasn't more than ten feet away, and while focusing on the pole that she could see through Shinsai was there, she hopped over to the pole. She wouldn't be able to reach the other ones since she wouldn't be able to see them very well without actual eyesight, but the first pole would do nicely for what she had planned on doing.

She took a deep breath as she positioned herself on the pole. She brought her hands close to her chest and positioned them in front of her as if she were praying. She then slowly lifted up one leg, which she bent at the knee, and focused on her balance. She kept her breathing even and calm as she kept herself balanced - this of course was only going to be the beginning of this exercise. Balance was a big part of Taijutsu, if you don't have the proper balance then it simply wouldn't matter how strong or fast you were, because you could be thrown off balance and have every single move you would try to execute used against you - she planned on solving this problem early, before it would become a big issue. "I'm glad we moved here...", she said softly, the words coming out without her really thinking about them - but it was the truth, this place was paradise compared to everywhere else they had stayed, especially with peaceful places such as the meditation gardens.

WC Doton (C-B): 465 + 937 = 1,402
WC Taijutsu (C-B): 402 / 1,000

Kurai gave a nod to his sister, seeing as how since the both of them started training and working that her Shinsai allowed her to 'see' him for the first time, although his image would be blurred and distorted. It didn't matter; at least now Kurai didn't have to be so worried about her getting lost, or losing the sense totally, especially now that it appeared to be developing, getting stronger.

He'd reached behind him and pulled out one of his mangas, flipping to the last page that he was reading to continue on with the story (about a prince who was robbed of his heritage and sent out into the streets to live as a beggar, who learns various fighting styles from various bums, revealed to be what would have been his royal council, also thrown out into the streets; his romance with a fellow beggar girl, and how he begins a war to take back what was rightfully his) when he could smell and feel them coming.

The various kids of some of the survivors of the destruction of Korigakure. Upon closer inspection through Shinsai, which could now be expanded to a length of about 3 city blocks, it appeared that some of the families that managed to escape were in the processes of moving back in. The kids were all within his and Hikari's age range. A large group of them were currently exploring the new village Hinowa, taking in the sights. Some of them smelled pretty bad, letting Kurai know that many of them had to endure the harsh conditions of the outside world. There were other smells too, such as the scents of fire and frozen water; ice. This meant that perhaps some of them were skilled in Ninjutsu techniques. The big group of kids were walking past the gardens, and Kurai hoped they would just keep moving, but one of them stopped the group and had a look in. When the group changed direction and began to head in, Kurai tapped the ground twice. This was his way of letting his sister know with no words that there was possibly going to be a situation, and to either leave if she wanted, or to get ready.

The leader of this group of Kori kid survivors looked to be a tad shorter than Kurai, but far more muscular. This let Kurai know he had to be a Taijutsu specialist. He carried a scent of not having bathed in quite a while. There was also the smell of fire on him. His hands had bandages on them that covered burns, meaning that he possibly combined Katon with his attacks. As he was a fire user, this meant that he and his people could not have been natives of Kori, since Kori was a snow village, and all of it's natives used Ice Techniques.

“Well now! Look what we have here,” he said as he and the bravest of his band of goons came strolling into the Meditation Gardens. They were invading this peaceful place, disturbing the tranquillity and flowery smells with their loud voices, bad breath and under arm funk. It was beginning to piss Kurai off, but his face remained as plain as an undisturbed body of water. One of the care takers of the gardens attempted to intervene, but 3 of the kids restrained him. “This must be them then, huh? The kids of those new people, what did dad say their names were?... Called themselves the Yanagi or something like that... They don't look like anything special.”

There was gossip among the group of kids. Hushed whispers and laughter that they thought couldn't be heard. Some of the girls in the group gave devious stares toward Hikari over in the sandbox. “Yeah, I heard about these Yanagi people,” said the female who Kurai considered to be the lead of all the girls, since she appeared to be the strongest of them all. She looked like that cheerleader in high school who was 'sexy and she knew it;' the type of female that all the boys wanted but she acted like she was too good for any of them. She had to be a Kori native since she was wearing a coat that had Kori colors, except the sleeves were ripped off, and she had it unzipped to show off the bikini top underneath, along with the skin tight pants. She could have been considered attractive, but the snobbish attitude and the look she was giving Hikari that made it seem she thought she was better than her was what made her ugly to Kurai. “I heard some of them get it on with their own brothers and sisters, so a lot of them are born retards and freaks with 11 fingers and 3 legs. Some of them are born blind too. That's how you can always tell when they have parents who were really brother and sister.”

Truth to her words, but their parents weren't related. Hikari's blindness was just something that sometimes happened. Kurai did his best to keep his anger in check. Actions done in anger were always doomed to failure. Remaining silent, he casually turned a page of his manga and continued to read the story about the prince, fighting to regain the throne that was rightfully his.

Some of the group of kids were laughing. A lot of them chose to remain outside of the gardens; the obvious smart ones. “Ha ha! Really now!” said the lead boy. “That's pretty nasty, huh? Yanagi's that desperate to get it on? I couldn't ever imagine doing it with my own sister. These Yanagi's sound like a clan of freaks, huh?”

Kurai hadn't even looked up at the guy and his 3 friends who were moving closer to where he sat. He didn't have to. Kurai could tell exactly where they were and every move they made through the use of his natural sensory abilities and Shinsai. Their body language would tell Kurai exactly when they were about to try something, so for now, he'd just sit there as if they weren't there at all. The caretaker of the gardens, still being restrained by the 3 boys, looked worried, but Kurai shot him a glance. The caretaker looked back at Kurai worried, but Kurai nodded his head to him before looking back to his manga, in his way telling him not to worry. Kurai could only hope that he got the message...

Word Count: 1080 + 130 = 1,210/1,500

Hikari had continued with her balancing on the top of the wooden post. After a good minute or so into the exercise she had jumped up into the air, the tip of her tongue between her lips as she focused, and then landed on the other foot. She bent the leg she had just been standing on at the knee, and returned to her stance.

Just as she was thinking about switching legs again after another sixty seconds she heard her brother tap the ground twice; she knew what that signal meant and a frown slipped across her face for a moment. She couldn't use Shinsai while positioned on the wooden post, but she didn't doubt that someone was coming: she could hear them nearby, and smell them too as they began to move closer. Figuring that it wasn't likely the best bet to remain on the wooden pole in case a fight broke out she hopped down into the hot sand box, toes wiggling as her feet quickly adjusted to the temperature difference - it wasn't hot enough to burn her of course, it just felt like the sun had been reflecting off of it long enough for the sudden temperature difference to be mildly uncomfortable until her flesh adjusted to it.

She kept her mouth shut as she now, through Shinsai, saw the group moving towards them. She could smell the stench off of them, and also the fact that they all distinctly smelled like their freezer at home: icy, cold. She quickly deducted that they were likely the survivors of Korigakure, and had returned to live here - though, how they were going to stand the drastic temperature difference she didn't know, but then again it was none of her business. She had changed slightly from the young girl she had been back in the Academy, she had more important things to focus on then friendships and trying to appease people - like training; and these people were keeping her from hers. She could see the movement of the care-taker who had been lurking nearby tending to the garden and who had otherwise left her and her brother alone come over, only to be stopped by the kids; likely restrained, details she could guess even though they were blurry.

It was insanely hard to make Hikari angry, and perhaps that was a good thing given that some of their clan techniques were meant simply to kill; to crush someone to death without mercy. This natural happiness of Hikari's was the only thing keeping the girl alive as she listened to her spew out insults. She knew this type of female; back in the Academy a girl just like her had tried to rope Hikari into her little group; it had worked at first, until she heard the girl one day making fun of Kurai - and she had bloodied her face and then never spoken to the girl or her group again. Apparently, history was going to repeat itself at least part way.

Hikari didn't speak a word, she simply shot her hand out and made an upwards pulling motion at the earth. The earth vibrated for but a second or two as a huge chunk, smaller than the car sized piece she could have ripped out but still about the size of an inflated beach ball, rose up out of the ground. She spun her body in a fully three hundred and sixty degrees, her leg shooting out as she did so. The bottom of her foot connected with the rock just in time and sent it flying straight towards the cheerleader type girl: it smashed her straight in the face and instantly broke her nose and created deep gashes in her face that began to bleed. The girl was thrown backwards off of her feet by the force and hit the ground, barely conscious. Hikari lowered her leg, taking a fighting stance, and across her face shot a look of determination: she wasn't going to stand by and listen to anymore insults no matter if they held a little bit of truth or not. "You really shouldn't insult people like that, it's bad for your health..."

WC Taijutsu (C-B): 697 + 402 = 1,099 / 1,000
WC Wind Style: Stream Training: 99 / 750

Jutsu and Chakra Used:

The attention of everyone was grabbed by Hikari. The lead girl was hit in the face with one of Hikari's rocks, sending her to the ground bleeding and screaming. The days of her being the heart throb and wet dream of all the boys were over, at least for now. With everyone's attention upon Hikari now, this gave Kurai the chance to slip underground unnoticed. Kurai didn't even disturb the ground when he did, leaving behind no trace that he'd gone subterranean.

Earth Meld:

“What-what?? How the --- you bitch!” barked the lead boy. He and the other 2 that were approaching Kurai's position suddenly changed directions and began heading toward Hikari instead. That is, until hands rose from the ground below to grab the ankles of the two with the leader. The two were dragged underground, up to their necks. As they began to scream along with the girl on the ground, Kurai himself popped back up from the ground in a similar fashion as one of those whack-a-mole games, leaving the ground still undisturbed, landing on his feet. He casually began walking toward the leader.

Double Suicide Decapitation Technique:

The leader executed a kick at Kurai that slammed against the side of his neck. Kurai didn't make any reaction. The leader stumbled backwards, moaning, grabbing at his leg. The leader performed several other punches and kicks that Kurai just stood there and absorbed, all without the plain expression leaving his face, all without being moved an inch, even though the leader was taller and more muscular than the relatively skinnier Kurai. The kids spectating all watched the actions transpiring with wide opened eyes and slightly opened mouthes.

Kurai motioned for the leader to keep going, a “come on” motion with his right hand. The leader gave a loud battle cry and set both of his hands on fire with some kind of jutsu. Kurai didn't want this place to be burned down, so when he stepped forward was when Kurai went low, performing his Gale kick. So violently did the sweep attack impact the leader's legs that he was thrown off of his feet to land harshly upon the back of his neck.

Gale:

One of the three holding back the caretaker began to run toward Kurai. Kurai's right arm began to cover itself within a hard casing of rock in the meantime. The boy jumped into the air toward Kurai from behind, prompting Kurai to execute a high roundhouse kick. His bare foot slapped against the boy's face, producing a loud POP sound, and stopping his forward momentum to send the boy into an airborne cartwheel. It was when the boy was upside down that the haymaker, amplified by an abnormally high amount of weight added to the rock coating his arm, was launched, smashing into the boy's mid-section and sending him rocketing backwards and out of the garden. The rock shattered upon impact, and Kurai began to realize that he'd learned a new technique totally on accident. Kurai had always been able to raise the weight of rocks and earth, but now it seemed that he could raise the weight even further than he could originally. This was evident because the boy went flying backwards a very far distance. The punch was enough to send him flying completely to the other side of the village. Those watching could not believe their eyes, and had trouble adjusting to the fact that this skinny kid was packing that much power.

Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique:

In the meantime, the leader had managed to gather his bearings and get back to his feet. He was about as tough as he looked, and it seemed that he would only go down after a thorough beating. Some of the girls that were looking over the lead girl looked at Hikari with devious and angry stares, standing to remove some of their clothing and get ready to engage her. Some of the other boys who saw how Kurai was making quick work of their leader and friends also began removing clothes and moving closer. After a glance to them, his expression still blank, Kurai rocked his head back and fourth, producing a pop sound on either side, sniffed, and settled into a fighting stance.

Hikari had come a long ways, it seemed. He was glad that he didn't have to worry about her as much now. While she handled the girls, he would handle the boys. It was a perfect opportunity to test out techniques, and possibly create new ones, at the same time letting all of these kids know not to fuck with the Yanagi's.

Chakra: 255/300

Ultra Added Weight Rock Training Word Count: 761 + 1,210 = 1,971/1,500
Strong Whirlwind Training: 471/1,500

Hikari didn't really care that she had likely ruined the girls face; something was going to end up ruining her sooner or later in her life - that's the way it happened to popular girls, they would hit their peak and then it would be all downhill from there, especially with the sort of people that the girl had chosen to hang around with, and the way that she acted. So, had it not been Hikari kicking a rock into her face it would've been something else a little later on down the road.

While she couldn't see due to the distortion of the blur of Shinsai the looks on the other girls faces when they turned their heads in her direction she could still feel; they were heated to see one of their own go down like that and apparently they didn't think the girl deserved it, something that Hikari guessed as the girls went to surround her. It was their mistake of course, Hikari had been trained for such situations, and she wasn't going to go down that easily. "Are you sure you want to do this? You already saw what happened to your friend do you want to suffer the same fate?", Hikari asked softly: it was the only warning she was going to give them.

The girls of course just laughed, exactly like she had expected them to do. They didn't believe that with their numbers, four against her one, that they would lose. Well, apparently she was just going to have to teach them a lesson about underestimating an opponent. 

She kept her fighting stance and didn't move a muscle; she was going to wait for them to come to her. Her plan was going to be easy enough, she was going to counter everything they threw at her, tire them out and then land the finishing blows. Simple and yet effective. The biggest girl out of the bunch scoffed and laughed as she stood in front of HIkari. "See girls, she's just scared! She won't even attack us. Well I'm not going to stand here all day, I have a hair appointment to go to!" The girl then lunged forward, her hand balled into a fist, aiming straight for Hikari's face. Hikari ducked the fist as she side stepped at the last possible second, allowing the female to go moving right past her and falling into another girl, her own momentum used against her. Those two went down, leaving a girl on her right and left. The girl on the left was blinking, looking utterly dumb founded and stupid as to how the blind girl had just one upped their friend, but the girl on the right was attempting to aim a kick straight to Hikari's knee cap which she could see via Shinsai and with her sensory.

Hikari expelled a burst of air from her mouth causing herself to slide sideways without actually having to move her body; she moved enough to effectively dodge the kick. While she slide sideways she raised her elbow so that as she got within range of the female to the left, who was still looking utterly stupid her elbow slammed into her jaw with a loud crack of a sound - glass jaws were horrible things to get shattered or broken. The girl went down with a pained cry, whimpering as she held her face. She was going to need a pretty decent medic if her face was ever going to be fixed enough for her to look normal again: and her mouth was likely going to be wired shut for a good long while.

With the girl with the now shattered jaw on the ground whimpering, and the other two still struggling to get up due to how much heavier the bigger girl was compared to the one she had fallen on, Hikari found herself on even ground with the girl whose kick to the knee she had dodged. This was definitely going to be interesting. 

WC Stream Training: 668 + 99 = 767 / 750
WC Spiraling Ball Training: 17 / 1,000

Jutsu and Chakra Used:

The scene behind him let Kurai know Hikari would be able to deal with the multiple girls with little to no problems. “Cute girl,” said the lead boy, licking his lips rather pervertedly. “Really cute. I think when this is over i'll have to recruit her, make her my new bitch! Only fair since she ruined my girl's face. Sounds like a fair trade, right?”

Kurai responded to this question with a kick, yet it had unintended results, and it seemed that he'd learned another technique totally on accident. The kick was executed so fast that none of them saw it coming. It was also executed with such force, that a harsh wind was created from the sheer power of the attack. The kick slammed into the chest of the leader, and the wind behind the kick was enough to send he and his 3 cohorts flying. One of the boys ricochet off the trunk of a nearby tree. Another was sent to the ground onto his face, upon which he went sliding, gathering dirt and grass in his mouth and between his teeth. The third one, into the air spinning wildly. He hit several tree branches before also falling onto his face, to lie there and not move afterwards.

The leader went rolling backwards dozens of times. He stopped and coughed up blood, looking down to see the perfect indentation of a foot on his chest. Even still, he refused to accept defeat and jumped up, charging toward Kurai again. He threw a punch, but Kurai threw one before him, punching his wrist. He performed a kick, but Kurai kicked before him, kicking the back of his knee. This went on for several minutes. Every attack that the leader tried to attempt was intercepted by a quicker attack from Kurai. When the leader resorted to setting his hands on fire again is when Kurai performed the Great Whirlwind. A kick to the legs, followed by another kick to the chest, then a kick to the jaw, causing the leader to leave the ground and go airborne. Kurai continued with his revolutions, airborne himself at this point, ending the kick combo with a heel drop to the leader's left shoulder. The leader was sent harshly back to the ground upon his head and face, with the force the trembled the ground and caused a slight dust cloud to rise.

Great Whirlwind:

Kurai landed, waiting to see which of them would be stupid enough to try fighting him next. One of the remaining 2 holding the caretaker punched him three times in the stomach, sending him down into a heap. “You guys are really letting this weirdo wipe the floor with you like that? What is it with you weaklings! This guy is as skinny as a bone! Kick his butt already,” he yelled as he and the other one left the caretaker on the ground coughing, walking over toward Kurai. Looking toward them next, Kurai made a reaching motion, as if pulling something upward, causing a section of earth the size of a beach ball rise from the ground seemingly of it's own accord. A simple police kick (Used to kick open doors) sent the piece of earth into the gut of one of the boys, and him to the ground coughing. The other, who'd called Kurai a weirdo, was himself punched in the stomach 3 times. With blood dripping down one side of his mouth after making coughing and choking sounds, he took a vicious swing at Kurai's head, but touched nothing. Seeing the punch coming Kurai began to spin. The heel of his right foot smashed into the back of the boy's head, sending him off balance.

Kazan:

The two boys he'd dragged underground were helped out of their holes by 2 others. They were stumbled into by the boy that just got kicked in the back of the head. He turned around, enraged, and all of them saw Kurai moving toward all 5. In an impressive display of strength and agility, Kurai jumped into the air and executed an attack with both hands and feet that managed to hit all 5 boys. The sounds of fists and feet smashing into heads and jaws were simultaneous. All 5 boys were sent flying each into a random direction, smacking into trees, rolling across the ground and harshly into the grass and dirt upon their faces and forehead. Kurai managed to right himself while still airborne to land safely on his feet again.

The caretaker's eyes were like saucers from being opened so wide. Kurai walked over to him and helped the man back to his feet. Kurai then dusted the man's clothes off for him, straightening out the wrinkles and picking dirt particles off of his shoulders and arms. Another boy ran in and attempted an attack from behind, prompting Kurai to give the caretaker a gentle push to the left, before stepping to his right. The boy missed the attempted kick, to turn around and continue lunching attacks at Kurai; all of which missed. Kurai ducked and dodged every blow, letting the boy tire himself out. In the end, this boy was another victim to Kurai's new Strong Whirlwind attack. It was dealt with the force that sent him rolling dozens of times, and left him motionless when he finally did come to a stop.

At this point, it seemed like none of them that were still conscious still had the will to fight, all except for the leader, who was getting to his feet once again. He was bruised and bloody, but looked as if he could last several more rounds. The kids outside the garden had expressions on their faces that looked somewhere between amazed at what they were seeing, and scared for their lives. The leader, refusing to accept defeat from this skinny little Yanagi, was on his feet again, trying to catch his breath, standing in his fighting stance. Kurai looked at him and took a deep breath, sighing, shaking his head. He didn't even have to take his fighting stance at this point; it was obvious that he was tough, but in over his head...

Chakra: 230/300

Strong Whirlwind Training Word Count: 1,022 + 478 = 1,500/1,500

With Hikari for the moment squared off against the last remaining standing girl out of the four, she picked up on the conversation of the guy who seemed to be the whole leader of this group: he sounded perverted, and spoke of making Hikari his new bitch since the girl whose face she had broken in had been his girlfriend before; and she had ruined her. Well, if he had been looking to trigger the right pissed off response from her brother that was how you did it. She didn't understand why anyone would want to follow behind someone like that, let alone be that persons girlfriend; he probably had treated the girl like shit, bossed her around, and literally acted like she was his bitch - she would be better off without him in Hikari's opinion. However, she couldn't focus on that; she had her own fight to worry about, and the other three other girls to keep focused on in case they attempted to get back up and keep swinging.

The girl who was facing her had enough sense not to come charging at her again; and so she started to move to the side, apparently hoping to have a little bit of a circle dance with HIkari. Hikari however didn't move; she wasn't going to go around in circles with the female. If she wanted to fight they were going to fight - no dancing involved, at least not yet. Seeing that Hikari had no plans on moving the girl paused, tripped up by the lack of movement from the other female, and obviously with her plan failing.

Using the female's momentary lack of distraction due to her confusion about the situation Hikari clenched her right hand into a fist, cocked her arm back, and sent a punch straight to the female's chest. Her fist connected hard - but not hard enough to break her ribs, only bruise them - and sent the female flying backwards. She hit ass first and skidded backwards a few feet, but she wasn't going to stay down. Instead, she jumped to her feet and started running towards Hikari. Hikari simply waited until the female got close enough and then twirled sideways; stopping said twirling when she was facing the girl. The female ran past her, and skidded a stop. She turned, enraged. She ran back towards Hikari after a moment who waited until the very last moment to go twirling out of the way once more. It reminded HIkari a lot of a bull fighter and a bull - for all intents and purposes Hikari might as well have been waving around a red flag to taunt the woman further. 

The female she was fighting was beginning to become more and more agitated, and was acting on the agitation; which was only causing her to have less and less control of herself as she continued on with the fight, let alone it would tire her out even faster than if she was keeping her head cool and in the game. Without thinking she rushed forward again, her body down low like a football player preparing to tackle someone. Just as Hikari was about to be tackled to the ground, the female soaring through the air towards her, she activated earth meld and simply slipped right into the earth, becoming one with it. She could still see through Shinsai and sense as the female hit the ground face first and skidded across the ground for several feet. Hikari could only assume that her face was likely just as badly scratched up by this point as the cheerleader girls was since she couldn't see it - and it was. This was revealed as the female tried to slowly climb to her feet only to collapse before she could even actually get up.

Hikari turned her focus on the last remaining girl. She had finally managed to get the bigger one off of her, the bigger one having no more intentions on trying to fight Hikari as she was simply still sprawled out now on her ass and watching. However, this last girl wasn't that smart, apparently. "Where the fuck are you, you bitch?!", she demanded as she stomped across the ground, hands balled into fists and her face bright red with rage and sweat.

WC Spiraling Ball Jutsu Training: 715 + 17 = 732 / 1,000

Jutsu and Chakra Used:

The leader was heavily bruised, scarred and coughing up blood every so often. He looked barely able to stand, but he was standing, and Kurai gave him credit. His cohorts that were still conscious managed to get to their feet and drag their sleeping comrades out of the garden area. Kurai was sure he'd be seeing more of them.

Wile standing there, waiting to see what the leader of the band of kids would try next, he managed to notice Hikari making quick work of the female members of their little gang. After flattening them several times, it seemed that some of them were growing brains... or attempting to, anyway. After being knocked on her ass, she jumped back up and charged at Hikari like a bull. Similar to a bull fighter, Hikari dodged her. This happened several more times until Hikari sank below the surface of the earth, causing the pissed off female to trip and fall onto her face. The crash must have done more damage than it seemed, for she didn't get back up. She tried, but it was a failed attempt.

Kurai could see all of this going on without actually looking. His attention was upon the leader, still huffing and puffing, still bleeding, still in pain behind all of the punishment he'd suffered. He lunged toward Kurai with a wild right hand, which Kurai easily avoided. The leader's movements at this point were far too sluggish and predictable. He had to be fighting on pure anger alone by now, which was never good. Kurai caught his left hand when it was swung, holding his fist within his hand firmly. The leader attempted to backhand Kurai next, causing Kurai to grab his other hand. Kurai had both of the leader's arms behind his back, and stretched his arms until he began to yell and scream. It would have been too easy to break both of his arms, but Kurai simply police kicked him in the small of his back, sending him flying forward to fall upon his face once again.

This fight was pretty much over now. The leader could no longer present a challenge due to the vicious beating he'd taken. Kurai put his hands on the ground, causing the holes and damage he'd done to right itself. The grass and grounds in the areas in which he and the gang were fighting once again looked undisturbed, producing another surprised look from the caretaker. Kurai had been looking around for his comic book to pick up and continue reading when there was a loud enraged yell from the leader, who was yet again getting back to his feet. Obviously he'd never received a beating such as this before, from someone smaller and younger than him to boot, and it wasn't setting in with him too well that he'd lost, in front of all of his followers at that.

Once again, the leader did a jutsu that now caused both of his entire arms to be set on fire. It seemed he'd gained a second wind; an adrenalin rush, for now he'd began swinging at Kurai twice as fast. Yet still, nothing touched him. The leader's arms made loud swiping noises with each missed swing because of the flames. Kurai ducked, dodged, and avoided every blow.

The leader swung his arms around and took a strange pose as he began to blast a jet of flames in Kurai's direction. Kurai went to grab a section of earth to use as a shield, but for the third time, it would seem that he discovered another technique totally my accident. When he reached down and touched the ground, a large, thick section of earth that resembled a wall of sorts rose up out of the ground in front of Kurai, shielding him from the flames. After the leader was done firing his technique, the section of earth sank back into the ground. There were more surprised looks from the caretaker and the kids watching outside of the garden. Next, the leader began rapidly blasting fireballs in the direction of Kurai. Just as rapidly, Kurai began to raise miniature versions of the wall to block the fiery projectiles. The leader even began shooing several toward Hikari and the caretaker, and Kurai managed to shield them both, as well as avoid letting anything be set on fire.

Frustration was obvious with the leader, as his face was red with embarrassment and humiliation, and beginning to glisten and shine with sweat. He brought his arms together into a X before him, preparing to unleash something devastating. Kurai watched him closely, and through Shinsai was able to tell exactly when it was that he would unleash his desperation attack. The moment he went to move was the moment Kurai raised another wall, this time a circular wall, to surround the leader. A large pillar of flame erupted from the circular opening on top, along with a girlish scream, as Kurai had turned his own attack back against him. Kurai lowered the wall again, beginning to feel the drain of so much chakra used, and decided to use only his hands and feet from then on. The leader's body was burned and black; smoke rising from his form. Kurai ran and jumped while twirling, planting another hard kick to the left side of his face. He was thrown out of the garden and past the kids, who got out of the way beforehand. The leader bounced twice and finally fell unconscious.

Kurai stood up from the pose he was in after connecting with that knockout kick. He took a deep breath and dusted himself off. The caretaker came over to him and gave a bow. “Thank you,” he said to Kurai, causing him to simply nod, and pat the caretaker's shoulder. Hikari was handling the last of the females, and didn't plan on interfering. The fight was pretty much over at this point; Hikari was just having fun with those girls, who were obviously outclassed. “Kurai Yanagi... right? And her, she's... she's Hikari Yanagi... I only know this because your family is new to the village, and you were both recently promoted to Chuunin, our newborn village's first... Is... is that your sister? Is she really blind?... but how could she be such a talented fighter with such a handicap? They—they seem helpless against her... and those boys against you! Are you... are you some kind of child prodigies or something along those lines?”

Kurai kept his blank expression listening to the caretaker talk. He just shrugged his shoulders at his question. “Well, I don't believe the rumors about your clan, you know, the incest and being born with deformities... I also know you especially because you helped my father... He owns the shop in the marketplace that you sat outside of all night?... You caught and beat up the thief who robbed him as well. You're a really good guy! And your sister there is amazing!” Again, Kurai just shrugged his shoulders as he sat down again, sighing, rubbing his knuckles and feet. “Ah, an very humble too, you're not one to let someone's praise get to your head. Very good!... My father wished that I would grow up to be an amazing warrior something like the two of you, but I don't much like violence... He gave me something a long time ago. It's a scroll that has an ancient and almost forgotten jutsu on it... well, that's what my father told me, anyway. I never had the patience to try and learn it, and if I did, I wouldn't have the courage to use it on someone... So, how about you take it? You're already very talented, but perhaps this could become one of your trademark moves!”

The caretaker reached into the inside breast pocket of his robe and pulled from it the scroll. He handed to Kurai, who's blank look turned to slight surprise. “Perhaps you and your sister both could learn it! All I ask is that when you master it, come and show it to me, alright? I've always been curious as to what this thing does. After watching you today, I know you'll be able to master it easily!” Kurai nodded his head and gave the caretaker a thumb's up.


Earth Style Wall Training Word Count: 1,384/1,500

The girl stormed back and forth above Hikari as she thought about what she wanted to do to her. She was sure the girl had her fists clenched, and she could tell she was storming back and forth heavier than a normal walk. Yup, she was incredibly pissed off. Hikari however remained beneath the ground for a moment as she formulated a plan: she figured that if the girl had any sort of technique or ninjutsu that could reach Hikari under the earth as she was that she would have used it by now. So, she was in no rush.

She had already made a very nasty example out of the other girls, but she wanted to prove that no Yanagi was just a one trick pony, and she had the jutsu in mind to do just that. It had been one she had found in the library, but had never got a chance to try: Spiraling Wind Ball.

As the female made another pass over head Hikari rose from the ground, sliding up quickly but otherwise silently behind her - no disturbance to the earth being left behind. The other females weren't paying enough attention to notice and warn her friend which gave Hikari time to prepare the jutsu. She brought the palm of her hand up to her face while she used Shinsai to continue to keep an eye on the girl. She breathed wind infused chakra into the palm of her hand, allowing it to form a sphere of sorts. Just as the last of the four females turned around, about to rage stomp her way back across the same path, Hikari launched the ball straight into the girls chest. However, she wasn't done. As that ball flew straight and true towards its intended target she blew another wind infused ball into the palm of her hand and launched that one too: the second hitting the female in her left shoulder. Before she could launch another however she became aware of an attack that was headed straight towards her, one launched by the leader - however, seeing that her brother deflected it away from her and the caretaker who had also had an attack launched at him, she kept going.

The third wind ball that she created hit the girl in the gut, and the fourth hit her right arm: each ball that hit caused deep gashes which instantly began to bleed, and bruising. The fifth and last one she took aim with as the girl was doubled over: she hit the girl right on the top of her head, knocking her instantly out cold, while the cutting potential of the sphere removed a large bit of hair from the top of her head - she was going to be pissed off to find she had a bald spot when she regained consciousness later on.

The other girls were getting to their feet, but they no longer had any intentions on fighting: instead they gathered up the other girls and rushed out of the park - half dragging the unconscious girl as they did so. Hikari focused on her brother for a moment, realizing that the rest were gone as well, and that peace had once more been restored to the meditation gardens. 

She walked over to where her book had been, listening to the praise that the caretaker was trying to shower on them, and sat back down. She allowed herself to fall backwards gently, laying on the cool feeling grass with her arms behind her head like a pillow, knees bent, and the bottoms of her feet flat on the ground. She was curious as to what the guy had given her brother, but given her inability to see, she figured it would be useless to her regardless. 

WC Spiraling Wind Ball: 629 + 732 = 1,361 / 1,000

Jutsu and Chakra Used:

Kurai opened the scroll and looked it over as the caretaker went back about his duties. The jutsu described inside, he didn't think he was yet strong enough to learn it. This would probably be something to learn once he rose in rank again, after he'd trained more. A goal for the future, Kurai was anxious to begin working once more.

He looked up to see his sister take care of the last of the girls, as he figured she would. Just like the boys, they gathered up their unconscious and hurriedly made their way out of the gardens, and that seemed to be the end of that episode... for now. Kurai was sure they'd have interesting tales to tell their parents.

Some of the other kids were coming into the gardens as Kurai reached beneath the ground to retrieve his Manga, dusting it off and finding the page that he was on. Their body language told him that it wasn't to fight, so he didn't even look up for the moment. “Hey... uh, yeah,” one of them said, wearing glasses and looking scared out of his mind. “Uh.. Jin and Hitomi... they've always kinda been hot heads, you know? I-I think you and your sister here are like the first to ever beat them up...” Kurai still didn't look up. “Uh... we-we just wanted you to know that we're not like them... We don't think bad about your clan, and you won't have any trouble from us, if your clan really plans on staying here... In-in fact, we're glad that you beat them up! They've always been bullies, and we were just waiting on somebody like you guys to come along and put them in their place.”

Some of the other kids agreed with him, saying that Kurai and Hikari were cool and awesome. “So listen!... M-maybe we could even be friends!...” This was what caused Kurai to look up from his book, his red eyes in their direction as if to ask, Are you serious? The look Kurai gave them was enough to make some of them back away with frightened expressions. “I-I mean, if-if you ever need someone to like, carry your stuff, or maybe if you wanted to practice moves on us like Jin and Hitomi used to, or if you needed someone to do you some favors or something... we-we'd be more than happy to...”

Basically they were offering Kurai and Hikari to be their stooges; their henchmen, sort of like they were to Jin and Hitomi. Kurai just stared at them a moment before looking over to Hikari, jerking a thumb at them as if to say can you believe these guys? Kurai just looked back at them and shook his head no, along with waving a hand. He didn't want a bunch of lackeys following him around, following his orders, licking his boots, so to speak. “Okay!... Okay, well if you change your mind, we're always here, y'know?... Come on guys, before we piss him off...” The kids left the garden...

Earth Style Wall Training Word Count: 508 + 1,384 = 1,892/1,500

Well, that had certainly been interesting. She had stopped by Kurai and Hikari's house searching for them only to be directed towards the Meditation Gardens. She had been rather surprised to hear that they were here since most younger people tended to avoid the place, but had hurried over regardless. She had arrived just at the end of the fighting, getting a chance to see first hand what the two Yanagi twins were capable of. She had been waiting to see if she needed to step in, but the need had never come. Those two were more than capable of handling themselves.

She cleared her throat as she walked over, and threw a glance towards the kids whose offer only caused her to shake her head in mild disgust. Kouki knew that the peacefulness wasn't going to last since the village was willing to take in all Korigakure survivors, but she had hoped that they would get to wait a little bit more before the bullies and the lackeys revealed themselves. Ah well, they were here, and she would have to keep an eye on them.

She stopped by a nearby tree; close enough to the twins to easily be seen, felt, heard - and if one were to catch her scent... well, she smelled exactly like a warm day at the ocean. She was pretty sure these two were the twins she was looking for, but she figured she might as well ask to make sure. The sun glistened off of the multiple piercings on her face, and she pushed her shoulder length black hair out of her face with her right hand. "Hikari Yanagi and Kurai Yanagi, right?", she asked, curiously. Her body posture remained relaxed, non threatening, she wasn't here to yell at them or anything of that nature, so there was no point in trying to be imposing. She was here to thank them for all of the hard work they'd been doing. "My name's Kouki, Kouki Uzumaki. I'm one of the three founders of this little piece of paradise. We've noticed that you two have been doing a lot of work around the village, helping us out a great deal, and taking some of the weight off of our shoulders. I just wanted to let you two know that we appreciate it, we really do. We need more people like the two of you in the village, that's for sure."

She nodded glanced in the direction that the rowdy kids had gone. "I see that you two are more than deserving of your Chuunin rank up, too. I showed up towards the end of your fight and was glad to see I didn't have to step in. If you two, or your family ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

Hikari almost couldn't believe what she was hearing, almost. These kids, now that their leaders had been beaten and humiliated, were trying to follow up behind herself and her brother? No, no, and no. Hikari wasn't the type of person to want follows. She didn't need fans, people following her around and getting in her way. If anything they'd only annoy her. And she certainly didn't need to use someone else as a punch bag. Sparring was nice and all, but she liked an even fight, not beating on someone weaker than herself.

Hikari just shook her head with a slight frown. "No thanks, not interested.", she settled on saying. She closed her eyes, planning on just laying there and being comfortable for a little bit. At least, until she picked up on the arrival of a new person, one who was alone. The blurry image she was getting through Shinsai told her that this female was older, and had many shiny spots on her face that she felt was safe to assume were piercings - so chances were she wasn't some stuck up broad like the cheerleader and her friends had been.

She nodded when asked if she was Hikari, lifting her head and opening her eyes, even if they were useless, to be as respectful as possible. When the female introduced herself she sat the whole way up. This woman was one of the founders of the village, one of the people who helped to build such a wonderful place. She listened carefully as the woman thanked them, obviously impressed and appreciative of everything they had done. When the female finished speaking she offered up a smile and nodded. "You're quite welcome. This village is amazing, I plan on helping all I can to make sure it stays that way - I'm sure my brother is too." She couldn't believe that they were being thanked like this, that one of the founders of the village was taking time out of their obviously very busy schedules to come tell them that their work is appreciated. Just.. wow.

The kids moved on. The gardens were once again quiet and peaceful, as they were before any of them showed up. He had several new moves in his arsenal now, so he was quite thankful that they showed up. He would probably sit here a while longer before heading to the mission board and seeing what jobs were available.

Someone else was approaching. They'd been behind the scenes since near the end of the brawl, leaving Kurai to think that perhaps this was their secret weapon. Someone to come in and finish them off when it seemed that they were tired, but that was hardly the case at all. If this person was coming in to finish the job, Kurai was more than ready...

...But this wasn't the case. The female, who didn't seem to be moving in a threatening manner, introduced herself as Kouki Uzumaki, one of the 3 people who founded Hinowa after the destruction of Kori. She thanked the 2 of them for everything they'd been doing so far. Kurai wasn't one big on praise or being complimented. Red eyes looked her over a second, just to see what one of the top folk looked like to be saved for memory, before looking off again and remaining silent.

Kurai wasn't one to be too friendly toward people, village founder or not; for the most part he planned on staying silent and keeping to himself. The talking parts, he'd leave those to Hikari...

Kouki couldn't help but grin; she had expected little to no response from Kurai - the majority of the villagers she had spoken to had all said the kid really didn't speak often. This was fine of course, she didn't mind. She gave a nod to Hikari and then looked off in the distance with a slight smile - she had more duties to attend to now.

"I see you two being special jounin rather soon if you keep up all of this good work. I must be off - duties to attend to elsewhere now." With that she gave a polite bow of her head and then took off into the air, jumping her way out of the meditation gardens and out into the main part of the village - bouncing from building to building as she went until she was out of sight.

-Exit-

Hikari found herself rather impressed with the village; one of the founders had thanked them, something that she didn't think happened very often, though she could have been mistaken. She gave a wave goodbye before the woman launched herself into the air and jumped away. When she was out of Hikari's sensory range she laid back down, once more placing her hands behind her head to act as a pillow.

This day had been a rather long one; training, dealing with those bullies, and now being thanked for all of their hard work and dedication that they had given the village. She was sure glad to be living here, and couldn't imagine ever leaving. But, something dark stirred in the back of her mind, a thought that she had not allowed herself to think until now: what if what happened to Korigakure happened here? Could those evil people who had destroyed the entire ice village come back to destroy this one? What would they be able to do to stop it?

A sudden frown formed across her face, it took a lot to ruin her happy and bubbly moods, but that thought surely had soured it. "I keep wondering what would happen if those people who destroyed Korigakure showed up here... if they would try and destroy this place too." She kept her eyes open, staring upwards without actually being able to see the cloudless sky above her, though she did enjoy feeling the sunlight warming her face. "I think I'm going to keep training everything I can think of, this way if trouble does come... I can defend our home. I don't want to have to start moving around again, and I don't want to see these nice people killed." She fell silent then, her face set in a look of pure determination. She would do everything in her power to make sure that this village stayed safe and protected.

Only a couple of days had passed, and they'd both made a lot of progress. Kurai wasn't one to sit back and bask in the praise they got. This was only the beginning. There was much more to be done, too much more.

The frown that appeared on Hikari's face is what made Kurai look over at her suddenly. She spoke of those criminals who came up here and destroyed the village that used to be here, Korigakure. There was always the chance that they could come back, see that someone had rebuilt the village into something even better than the last, and attempt to destroy the place again.

”It's not going to happen,” Kurai said, in another rare moment of opening his mouth. ”We've only just got here, and look how far we've come. Look at how strong we are now, and we've only just begun. Remember what the elders said about us? It's coming true... Just keep training. If those criminals from Makkura come back here, by then we'll be able to do things that haven't been seen in the world in thousands of years. They'll never expect it, and we'll be strong enough to stop them.”

That only added fuel to his fire. He was more determined than ever to push himself as far as he could be pushed. Once he was a tad stronger, he decided to learn to manipulate fire. Kurai wasn't really one to go ask someone to teach him if it wasn't one of his parents, so if worse came to worse, he would just teach himself. It would be hard, but he'd faced worse. Those Makkura guys were always in the back of his mind. Perhaps he'd be no match for them right now, but everyday was a new chance at getting stronger.

Hikari's frown turned into a smile and she nodded. "You're right; I'm going to train as hard as I can so that we become strong just like the prophecy said. Those Dark people won't stand a chance against us then." Yes, that would be her goal from now on, become just as strong as the prophecy said that they would be able to, and use her abilities to make sure that the Dark was never able to destroy this village - at least not while her and her twin were still alive. They'd keep the people, and their home and family safe.

She then thought back to whatever the man had handed her brother before taking off and felt her curiosity peak. "So did that caretaker give you a scroll like that other guy did? With another awesome move in it?", she asked curiously, turning her head in the direction of her brother even though she couldn't see him.

”I'll show it to you once I learn it.”

Kurai got to his feet and stretched. The slight aches and pains began to set in from beating in so many heads, but it was nothing compared to the injuries they'd received. Kurai's little pains would be gone by the end of the day, but some of those kids would be hurting for days, weeks even.

Kurai intended on getting something to heat and resting after a day of training. He poked his sister in the side and began to move off. Shinsai would tell her where he was headed. After having a proper rest it would be back to work...

[Exit]

Hikari nodded to her brother. The idea of getting to learn something new appealed to her; but today she definitely needed some rest. When she was poked she giggled, and after a moment with her stomach growling she got up. She dusted herself off and headed towards home; she was sure their mother had likely cooked something to eat and had it waiting at home for them. Besides, their parents would likely be interested in the chain of events that had happened today.

-Exit-