[Hisana]

Small birds sang their morning songs from their perches as she paced her way along the still dim morning forest. She had checked out with the gate guards a little more than an hour past and spent the time since exploring the forest.

It wasn’t that Hisana did not know the woods, or that she did not like the village. More, she simply preferred to practice her arts in relative privacy. The training grounds was full, busy, loud and quite common. Distractions and disturbances abound, even if none of them were really very dangerous. Out here among the thick tangle of trees she was alone.

While only a genin She had acquired something of an independent streak in her time without a real squad to join. She had recently been assigned a squad partner, and it seemed like a full team would happen sooner rather than later, but for now she was in the woods. She had personal matters to tend to. She had a home, but she could not practice there, and did not want to practice at the common training grounds.

That pair of issues had lead her out into the woods. She could practice there, if she could find the right place.

With little mind for secrecy so close to home, soft bits of her own carried music mix with the early birds singing their songs. The bells around her left ankle keep her company as she goes, skipping from branch to branch with increasingly practiced ease and a little jingle.

She knew not really what she was looking for, but she had to assume she would know it when she saw it.  

[Hisana]

After some time she finally comes to a stop.

Bare feet land silently on the rough bark of a tree, her tough soles offering no complaints. She casts her eyes down from the lowest branches. The little spot seemed okay. It was pretty far from the closest path she knew of, but also not overly far from the village walls, and it showed no obvious signs of use or habitation.

She skips down to the ground easily, alighting on the packed soil to investigate closer. The grass was patchy and sparse, and undergrowth near nonexistent. There was some twenty meters between the closest tree trunks, though she couldn’t quite count it as a clearing.

Instead it was just some open space. This would have to do.

Her fan snaps open as she sweeps her crimson eyes across her new space. It would need some sprucing up, but seemed enough for now. She wafts air about almost absently as she begins to pace, each other step still ringing with the gentle jingle of her bells.

The trees seemed healthy. Most were very old though a mix of younger trees grew in what space they could find amid the ancient monoliths of Hi no Kuni. Hisana reaches out and gives her fan a gentle wave through the air.

The forest around her comes alive in response, a sudden gust through the trees shaking their branches and shivering their leaves. Her kimono and hair both wave in the stiff wind, her smile growing some as it slowly dies down. Nothing fell, nothing even seemed to crack.

She turns about after a moment, swinging her arm in a swift backhand. Stronger this time, a sudden wind blasts from her fan, a howling gale tearing through the trees before her. Boughs and branches crack and strain against the force, and there is less quiet as the wind finally dies down again.

Cracks and creaks continue as weakened and snapped branches fall from trees in the distance, the wind always having a way to prune the weaker growths of the forest.

[Senju Kazuto]

He had been witness to that. The gust, the wind that had been strong enough to rip through branches and boughs but had been too weak to gain the epithet of gale. He had observed the wonders of that unnatural whirlwind, standing on the top of a pine, away from patch of grass, away from her view and the sound of bells that would accompany her until they were drowned by the sudden howl of wind. It had been impressive, for someone that by level of skill and poise of technique was a Genin. There was much to polish, cadences to perfect and unnecessary flourishes to remove, but all that would come with guidance and training from an appropriate mentor. There was a wasteful element, he supposed. Trees could regrow any lost limb, leaves would be created back in their place. But as the trees continued to creak in protest at the interruption of their relative peace, the Senju wondered if this person had not found someone to spar, someone to guide them in this grey day. A part of him felt some curiosity and he felt himself pushed forward, leaping from above before landing softly behind the person. Kazuto noticed the fan in her hand, the rather elaborate attire that she wore and the fact that she was a several years younger than him. Once she turned, he would noticed her eyes that were a piercing crimson that had almost made him wonder if she was an Uchiha before he noticed the lack of tomoe within her irises. "Not bad." He simply said, looking at the damaged trees and fallen branches. "If I didn't know better I'd say that you had a grudge against the trees." The Senju said in a jest.

-tag- Hisana -words- 303 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hisana]

She smiles gently at the lingering effects of her brief wind storm, pacing her way carefully through her new place. She takes in a small breath, pleased to be far enough away from others to unleash her full gusts.

She lifts a hand again, opening her fan only slightly and bending it’s frame into an arch. She draws her arm back lightly, though never swings if forward. Instead some footsteps on the packed soil reach her ears. She lowers her arm and turns about gingerly, bare feet dancing lightly over the soil so she can set her eyes on the invader.

Kazuto was unknown to her. A new face, a new person, but at least one bearing the symbol of her village. It made sense for Konoha nin to be about, she figured, but following her? Or did he just happen across her jutsu?

She levels her eyes on his for a moment, the neutral expression on her lips matching those in her eyes, mirroring the disdain peering back at her. The corner of her lips turn upwards some, amusement in her small smile.

"A grudge?” She asks with a little smirk. She lifts her arms and crosses them, her right hand opening her fan as she uses it to wave air past herself. "No, not a grudge. Wind is cleansing to a forest, and a threat only to the weak and already dying. Storms free trees from the burdensome weight of dead branches, and prune the forest of diseased and dying trees.

Then again.. I suppose I also enjoy the sound of straining branches and cracking limbs. The crash of wood falling and crumbling to the ground. Destruction in general, at the right times and in the right places”

She speaks slow and soft, only loud enough to be heard as she studies the other nin. ANBU, not that she knew what the marking was. Red eyes flit aside as she surveys the rest of the trees around her, seeking out other lurking eyes that might be watching them.

"Though I suppose that’s normal for shinobi. We do tend to break things in our line of work.”

[Senju Kazuto]

"Interesting perspective." The Senju replied. He supposed that nature had the way to cleanse itself, to keep the cycle going on. But the truth was, that it hadn't been nature that had struck down those trees and ripped the branches. True, many had been diseased limbs but many had been new buds as well, teeming with life and promise. He could imagine the pain from the trees after they had been pruned and purged. "But, this wasn't nature. This was your hand." He added, not as a rebuke but simply as a reality of what she had done. As she would look at him and take her gaze to nature itself as a flight of birds would take off, he would follow her with his sight. If he didn't know better, he would think that she was looking for any other prying eyes, to see if she was in the midst of an ambush. "It is only me." Kazuto told her, aware of her alert. "No squad is assigned to look for a genin, at the very least not now." The Senju said as he would cross his arms over his chest. "Our meeting was fortuitous, of that you have my word. But..." He began, looking at the damage that her wind tessenjutsu had wrought. "I saw your technique, it is elegant. Like a well honed blade." He added, giving it the due praise that it deserved before he would begin to move around her. "It lacks some punch." He said as a breeze began to sway the trees gently, branches that had been wounded but not taken down falling. "Still, a great effort that tells me, you have great talent. Makes me wonder why you have been a Genin for this long, or why it took you this long to take this path."

-tag- Hisana -words- 314 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hisana]

Her amused smile slowly tilts into a wry smirk as he is discussing nature. She gives a small shake of her head in reply.

"Winds come and go as they please. Natural or not, trees must be ready. Or fall. Some will likely fall before long, I think this is a suitable enough place to unleash my techniques. Others will grow. They are just trees, we do have an abundance you know.”

She continues to fan herself idly as she stands her ground, mostly motionless aside from her fanning. Rooted in the lingering breeze like a tree herself she does not seem to mind it stirring her hair or clothes. She shifts her weight to her left foot, her right hip jutting some to the side to add shape to her kimono.

Crimson eyes remain focused on the Senju as he critiques her techniques. They were fair comments, and true enough. Her jutsu still could not topple to huge trees around her, but she had other things that bit like a honed steel blade. The wakizashi tucked into her belt, pink and flowered and resting in the slender curve of her lower back was only one of them.

The tessen in her hand was made for combat, and bore a few knicks and dents in its sturdy steel frame.

"Mmn. You are not wrong, the jutsu I’ve been able to learn so far are.. perhaps not the most devastating, but I will learn more in time. I only joined the academy four years ago, and graduated some months past.

Apologies, but I am not sure who you are.” She pauses and closes her fan, gesturing towards herself with its sturdy frame. "I am Hisana

Do you know much of guiding the wind?”

Her fingers flick her fan open again with little effort, well used to holding the weapon by now. It had no sheath or holster, it simply remained in her hands at all times. The red streak across the white silk makes her eyes seem only darker, both still resting curiously on Kazuto's.

[Senju Kazuto]

"My name is Kazuto, pleased to meet you, Hisana." The Senju said, softly bringing a fist to chest as he made a salute, nodding his head down as he presented himself. Deciding to not use his full name as to not sound presumptuous. As a man and a shinobi he preferred to be judged by the merits of his character rather than by the the weight that his named carried. Specially with people that didn't recognized him just like what she had done just now. And in any case, if she started to him and using any honorifics he might have as well left. "I will admit, it's not my elemental affinity, but I know about guiding the wind." Kazuto said. In fact, it was one of the elements that he would rely more in battle after Mokuton and those that made up the element. "It is a deceptively simple element, but I believe that simplicity would be its greatest strength." He explained, believing every single word he had said, believing what he had said, as much of it bad been taken from actual experience when. "Allow me." He said, as he produced one shuriken from a pouch, taking aim with one hand and then weaving hand signs with another. Taking a moment to take aim to align the trajectory of the shuriken with that of his technique, he released the Shuriken, allowing it to fly for about thirty meters before he finished seals and stretched his hand forward, a sudden burst of gale emerged from his palm that shot forward, catching up with the flying shuriken and propelling the dark star forward in a violent fashion. The speed of the technique was increased tenfold and soon it would strike a boulder, embedding itself on the stone, leaving one of the four tips poking through the stone. "Like that." He said.

-tag- Hisana -words- 321 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hisana]

The genin nods her head gently at the return greeting, her head tipping aside as she listens. She perks gently, eyes brightening as Kazuto prepares to use a jutsu. Her little smirk turns to a small and pleased smile as she sets to watching.

She takes a moment to smooth the soft silk of her kimono, stepping slightly closer to watch the shuriken fly. Her head tips aside curiously, watching with interest as the man forms hand seals and then the throwing star suddenly explodes faster forwards.

"That is very impressive, I had not considered a technique like that. I suppose.. In truth I carry no shuriken, but I can see why it would be useful. It lets you throw faster and further, and turns a shuriken from an annoyance into a lethal weapon.”

Her smile fades as her little smirk returns, her fan once more drifting back and forth to push a breeze past her pretty face.

"Futon is not your element? That means you’re able to use more than 1? The wind is in my blood and in my soul, it is the only element I know how to use just yet. I suppose I am learning quickly, however.”

"In truth I have not been a genin very long, just short of a year. I suppose I got a later start than most, I did not even join the academy until I was twelve. Much of that time was spent celebrating my graduation with my family, or watching the first squad I was assigned to receive their promotions after the previous exams.

I was awaiting my next assignment until only a day ago. Now I‘ve a new team I must meet and make friends with. I am looking forward to it, though I’ve met none of them yet.” She pauses for a moment, her smile growing more true as she shakes her head.

"I don’t suppose you’re the one assigned to be my new sensei? That would be quite the coincidence..”

[Senju Kazuto]

"I can use five elemental natures." The Senju replied, commenting it in an almost casual tone, leaving the fact that he knew Mokuton though the arcane gene alchemy locked within his blood. However it hadn't been as easy as his throwaway comment had made it seem. Aside from the elements that he had gained through his lineage, the remaining elements had challenged in many ways. Finding Katon to be the hardest to manifest, let alone master. He supposed that there had been great differences between the life given properties of his main element to the destructive powers that fire could have. "My apologies, I didn't mean that as an insult." He said, bowing his head to her. "I was simply curious." And maybe, he was just a little bit jealous that she had been able to celebrate with her family. It wasn't something that he had been able to do on his own as his mother had died by the time he had graduated and no one had come to enjoy such a joyous day. In fact, he would say that he held many fond memories of those early days, after all he was the sole survivor from his squad. "And, no, I'm not your teacher, I'm sorry to disappoint, Hisana." He said. Hoping that whenever she started her path as a shinobi she would have better luck than he did with her team. "Being friends is a good start. But I would argue that being part of the same team would make you and your squad mates to be close as siblings. Family really." He told her, with a thin smile before he would speak once more. "However, the fact that I'm not your assigned Jonin sensei, doesn't mean I can't give you some tips."

-tag- Hisana -words- 306 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hisana]

Red eyes go wide as she listens, surprised that he could know all of the basic elements. She didn’t even know that was a thing people could do.

"Oh.. uhm. No. No offense was taken”, she says as she shakes her head. Her fan closes again as she gives a dismissive wave with her hand. Though the light of surprise leaves her expression, her eyes once more sweep over the jounin’s form. When they reach his face once more they’d linger there, ever attentive.

Her fan slowly opens again as she relaxes, her head tipping slightly aside as she listens, and then nods.

"That is true. I can not think of many reasons not to learn from everyone I pass. though I am not sure if elements are something that everyone can learn? I am not from a famous family, my parents were just fishers, more used to ships and nets than the shinobi trade. It took me quite some time to convince them to let me join the academy, but it has always called to me.

Shinobi are the heroes of our village. Of our world. I have long wished to join them… and find now that even after I’ve finally left the academy, I’ve learned so very little. The basics, really. Just a handful of simple techniques, and a basic understanding of how my chakra functions. I was gifted this fan by my parents when I graduated, and have been focusing on it ever since.”

Hisana continues on, her voice slow, soft, and quiet. She does not quite whisper, but she seems little more than a breeze, compared to the gales she had summoned before. She makes a soft gesture with her fan for emphasis, giving it a half-hearted flick with her wrist as she mentions her jutsu.

"Is it possible for someone like me to also learn so many elements? Do you think you could teach me?”

[Senju Kazuto]

"Origins matter little." He began, that was a truth that he bore in some regard. He didn't know that he was a Senju until his mid-teens and in that time he had managed to learn the elements pertaining to his own bloodline with a natural ease. Yet he had been able to learn the other elements through great effort and patience. "In truth, mastering other elements requires zeal and will." He would add, remembering the times in which he had struggle to understand the power of Katon or the swiftness of Futon, let alone the sheer power that was locked within Raiton. "Many a great shinobi were born from humble origins. Engraving their names in history." The Senju explained, thinking on how many heroes had been created and destroyed in times of great need, many of them taken from common people that were descendants of traders, cooks, people that in reality had never bore a weapon save for protect themselves from wild life or a robber. "It is hard, but anyone can truly learn any element should they put their mind to it, but if I were going to give you some advice, I would tell you to hone the element you have an affinity to like a fine blade." It was, after all, the best thing to do to have a handle on how these sort of training went along. It would be her fundamentals, her fall back should anything fail. It was, after all, in her blood as she had said and more of all in her soul. "Your current element is the base upon which your techniques and your combat style will rely in the future. He said, hoping that she would understand this form of wisdom and take his words into account.

-tag- @murasaehisana -words- 306 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hisana]

Her little smirk returns, her narrow shoulders lifting with a delicate shrug.

"Perhaps they mean more than you know. Had my parents been shinobi, I’d likely have learned much before I went to the academy. Instead I walked in knowing nothing. A blank slate waiting to be imprinted upon. I suppose that does have some advantages, freeing myself from preconceived ideas on how and why chakra is made and is used, though it offers a handicap in experience.

Senju, for example, or those of the Uchiha clan, have a broad base they can draw upon for support. Cousins, siblings, parents, all experienced and prepared to teach their younger generations. They are fortunate to begin at an early age, many holding hours of study before they even enter the academy.

In truth, the academy served me well. It has provided me with a solid foundation upon which I will be able to build my skills… however, there are some who took their first steps through the academy door already holding more knowledge and experience than I graduated with.

That is the advantage of being born to shinobi parents, I would think. Well, that and the rare traits some of the more famous families have. Though that was not what I really meant before. It is the experience that helps most.”

Her smile returns, cheerful and light if still somewhat small. "I had none of those things. My parents have no jutsu or experience in understanding chakra. I had only my teachers there for directing my many questions too. Still.. I’ve come far, I think, in a few short years. From boat hand to kunoichi. From wearing worn rags I did not mind spoiling with blood and filth.. To.. well, fine silks I do not mind spoiling with blood and filth.

An amusing new change, I must admit. I do rather enjoy fancy clothes, even if I won’t really ever have a reason to wear them.”

[Senju Kazuto]

"That is a fair point." Kazuto said with a nod. In truth he did have some help. When he had been young it had been his mother that had helped him to set the bases of his future ability. But after that it had been his teachers. But other than that he had forged himself through sheer will, learning techniques, tirelessly training until he had acquired a wealth of skills and abilities that not many would have. But rather than debate her, he would respect her beliefs about her origins and what could her abilities could be given proper time. "But I think then, that you are indeed a clean slate. And therefore you have a chance to prove yourself in the future." He said, giving her a warm smile, crossing his arms before his chest. "But don't make your wish to prove yourself, something to do out of spite. I've seen many driven to the heights of perfection by that feeling alone and they been lost." He explained. He didn't wish this happened to Hisana, specially after he had witness the promise that her skills heralded. "Other than that, remember that you fight for your teammates and for the village." Perhaps she would succeed where he had failed, regarding his teammates. Perhaps it was the only thing that Kazuto felt some shame to have being the sole survivor from his old Genin team. But well, this generation of hers was probably one of the most talented that he had seen. "But, I'm sure you will do well." The Senju told her. "I will tell you however that your path won't be easy." He explained, making sure that she would understand that she was beginning a path of sacrifice. "Have you been given your first assignment yet?"

-tag- Hisana -words- 307 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hisana]

Hisana smiles slightly brighter, and offers a small nod.

"I hope so. I would be very disappointed if it turned out to be easy. That would just mean I was getting nothing done,” she mutters, and offers a small wave of her hand at the idea. "I’ve not taken on any assignments yet, unfortunately, though I hope to soon. I have just been trying to improve for now. I hope I see to some missions once I have met my new team though.”

"I hope once I am given a few missions I will be able to expand my arsenal as well. As of yet I’ve only got my fan and my sword, but I am quite gifted in a close fight. I think I might even be a little better at that than I am with my jutsu, though I think that might only be because I’ve managed to learn so few.

Do you think you’d be able to teach me something? You at least know where I will do most of my training, so it’s convenient for you to return some time.”

She gestures around to her new clearing as though she owned it. Not that she did, but it’d be a simple matter to find a different one, if anyone bothered to shoo her away. She resumes fanning herself gently, her head tipping aside some as she watches Kazuto curiously. Crimson eyes seem curious what she has to gain.

[Senju Kazuto]

"I think I could be able to teach you." Kazuto said. Anyone could be taught if they were willing to challenge themselves and except guidance and constructive criticism. "And I think that just having further skills with weapons is good. But you also need to remember that spreading your skills into too many disciplines might not always be the best." He explained. Of course he had been accused of doing that very same thing, trying to to learn too much that was away from the techniques and abilities that he had accrued during his career. "And well, yes, I can find this place easily." He said as he acknowledged the new 'owner' of the clearing with a respectful nod. "It's hardly a secret base from where you can hide. In fact I would say that I come around here fairly often." He did come here to meditate and comune with nature, away from the village, just a place for him to sit down and let time pass. "But I do see promise in you, just remember to keep your feet firm on earth, no matter how big the accolades that may come for you. Humility is better than self-aggrandizement." It was something that he told every student he had taken, every fletchling shinobi that came asking for opinion. And even, if he was honest, it was something that he always sought to remind himself. "Always remember that the glorious of today matter little tomorrow." He said, hoping that she would take that message and carry it with herself. "Now, if you want some training now." He said, placing his hands on his hips. "I can spare the time to guide you." Kazuto said looking at her. "If you're up to it."

-tag- Hisana -words- 301 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS