[Graded]Absent Time on a Absent Mind

[Ace Trainer]

Shio sat quietly, his legs hanging from the edge of the buildings roof. Quietly is hardly an appropriate adjective for Shio, honestly. Everything about the child was quiet. He had taken a vow of silence at 6, words were reserved for combat. The voice was a gift unique to man, and it was not meant for the contribution of sin that casual conversation so readily indulged in. The voice was the most powerful weapon man had been given, and Shio was a devout believer in this. He questioned it, sometimes, yes, he could laugh and felt no evil enter him. He could hum, whistle, cry and sob and he felt no sin, all things that were widely unique to humanity in one way or another. But still, he believed.

This did make him an outsider, though. Well, to be honest there were many things that made Shio an outsider. Perhaps thats why he sat where he did today, a top one of the many high buildings of Kirigakure, mist surrounding him in a way that stopped him from seeing the people below him and the people below from seeing him. When all your peers were students, children, that spoke freely and without reserve, the boy who was silent and wrote words in the air was hardly a welcomed companion. Even worse when he was largely more skilled in many forms of combat than the very teachers they were learning from.


The pen he held twisted in his hands around his finger. This pen was his voice, and he held it dearly. Often, he wondered, how this was any different than his voice. It communicated thought in a way largely unique to man, but, it held no holy value, was not held in high regard, it was just another tool like any other.

Regardless, Shio sat. Spinning the pen. He had no more training this afternoon, his father and teachers had some event that had to attend to for The Voice. Shio's prodigious upbringing meant that he was taught and cared for by some of the highest ranking members of his sect and that meant he often had to work around their various schedules, meetings, events and responsibilities. But, Shio was the voice to cry across the mountains, he would be the voice to command the sun, he would be the voice to sing to the moon, and he would be the voice to guide the world of man. So, he had to deal with these various formalities that other people attended to until he was old enough to attend to them himself.

Which brought him here, sitting on a roof, lost in the mist, alone, as he felt he so often was.

[Zao]

Their was a figure in the mist, not on the ground or on a neighboring building to the young boy either and instead one would have to lift their gazes upwards before then being able to penetrate vale of mist that shrouded the village to see the dark clothed man. His crimson hair seemed to hang almost directly against his head due to what could have been tied into the dampness caused by the mist itself. Three almost horizonal scars could be found upon the cold looking, older man's face as he gazed downwards with a unique golden gaze upon the faint outline of Shio. The Black Reaper had a rather solemn look on the bearded face as he silently watched for the moment, a number of things revolving around within his mind at the moment after speaking with the head of the Hirohito the day before.

It seemed that his urge to return had brought with it some rather unforeseen complications and some rather difficult challenges for him in the future, the former shinobi closed his eyes as he floated in the air with one arm folded over the other in front of the large man's chest. The noble families saw him as a possible method to deal with the current overbearing rule of the MIzukage, Kai-sama, someone that the Reaper had followed without question in his younger years. But even Kasai had to admit that he was one who was molded by the traditions of the village that he grew up within and the forced changes created by him went against what he stood for as a shinobi of the village. Yet, to challenge the MIzukage was no simple manner after all the man was considered to be the most powerful shinobi within the village but unlike other villages you kept what you kill in Kirigakure no Sato.

If one killed the Kage in another village they would be labeled as the number one criminal of that village, most likely, yet in Kiri one would become the new Kage as the only thing the shinobi cared about within the village was the strength of the village in the end. After being informed of the intentions of the noble families, something that was within his expectations after discovering the situation within the village, Kasai needed some time to think about his decision. If he dared to challenge such a formable figure he too needed to be at peak combat status in order to have a chance at defeating the current ruling figure. While making this decision and understanding the consequences of failure the old man had spoken with the remaining few of his companion that were still alive about the village and what had occurred during his absence in the last few years.

'So this is the prodigy of the Kawazaiwa family, he's so young. But I suppose age truly can't be used to determines one strength in this world, after all.' The Reaper opened his golden hue eyes as the gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the mist allowing him to once more see the outline of the quiet boy beneath him. From the connections he had, the word of this rare genius appearing within the village had made its way into his ears. If he did go through with challenging the current village leader and managed to seize the small chance of victory then shinobi like Shio would be amongst those who be the shinobi to rise and lead the village back to its former level of strength. A faint smile hung on the man's lips at the moment as the left corner of the thin lips visible beneath the beard curled upwards.

No longer concealing himself the man began to descend from his position several meters above and behind the body who had been seated atop the building alone, an aged voice that was a like a whisper exited Kasai's mouth and would instantly alert the young boy to his location if he was not already aware. For even the Reaper wasn't sure how strong the boy was as the only words one of his old friends has spoken to him was that for the boy's current age his skill was unfathomable. "My young friend, are you Mistaki, Shio?"

[Ace Trainer]

Shio had sensed a presence, though his ability at recognizing the presence of chakra was hardly refined enough to be even remotely close to a sensor. He had found that the more he focused on refining his chakra control, and the more he focused on concentrating his abilities, the most subtleties in the world he was able to recognize. This, was just another of those. He elected not to respond to it initially, however. Who was he to inject himself into the business of another mind that chose this place, most likely for solitude?

When the voice whisped it's way through the mist, however, Shio turned his torso to acknowledge it, peering behind him to assess the body. Kasai was known, as any his rank and strength would be. After a certain amount of strength, you weren't able to be a secret in Kirigakure. Apparently, from this interaction, this would becoming true even for Shio.

A small exhalation of air, Heh, and he nodded. He was. He turned back around, leaving his back fully exposed to the retired jounin, and twisted the pen in his fingers, landing it in his palm and swiftly moving it through the air, gold light shining off the pen as he wrote. The characters were from no recognizable language, a mere communion of squiggles and dots that didn't seem to have any coherent pattern or repetition to them.

And you the once mighty Black Reaper, yes?


Honestly, Shio loved the pen in a way only a child could. He found the way to glowed when he wrote to be mesmerizing and he truly enjoyed being able to convey his thoughts in such a way. Many of his brothers and sisters lived lives silent, using body language, hand symbols, and mime-like movements to convey ideas. Shio was not limited to this, and he found this artistic form to be....fun.

As the words faded from the air, he wrote once more. Again, in this indiscernible written language. It would slowly become clear to anyone exposed to it often enough that because of Shio's pen's ability, he was merely doodling when he wrote, and that no sort of orthography was actually in use.

I'm blessed to have your attention.

Shio was, if anything, polite.

[Zao]

Even with the faint curtain of mist between them as the man descended from his previously floating position the man could tell from the boy's body language that he had felt the Reaper's presence before the words has actually slipped through the crack between the old man's lips. This caused for the half smile that had previously formed upon those same lips to hang there for a few moments longer as the man touched down on the young genin's right side giving him a space of two meters between one another. The golden gaze of the old man looked on as the boy had turned his attention back in front of him and within one of the hands was a rather unique looking writing utensil.

The Reaper's golden gaze was met with a virtually identical glow from the pen of the young shinobi now as the method of the boy's writing didn't seem to match at all to the words that would appear and hand within the air now. 'How interesting you are. Perhaps all the words spoke to me before truly do hold some merit.' A firm nod would be the language of reply to the question about him being the Black Reaper, though the word added in about 'once mighty black reaper' was noticed but he didn't refute the word either and only spoke briefly. "Aye, that was once my renowned name." As the boy only replied through the aid of his 'magical pen' that seemed to be imbued with some sort of charge style fuuin skill the man thought back to the power that was behind this child and the cult like aura they brought with them.

"Haha, I see. You are a rather polite young man, Shio-kun." A rare chuckle slipped out from the crimson haired man's bearded self now at the rather polite words from the shinobi of the youngest generation now. He made a move to sit but it was like he was floating now as the elemental body of his descended at a rate that was to slow to be normal now, everything that normally accompanied a living person such as breathing, movement of the chest, odor...it was all strangely absent from the man now as he sat with Shio. Brining his feet up closer to where he sat it created a place for the man to prop either arm up on the respected elbow of the same side leg and the man turned his attention from the lingering golden words to the boy himself as a gaze that some felt could see their very soul locked onto the man and carefully inspected him.

From a simple exterior glance one as unable to discover the true depth of one's power, especially when the power of that person came from the voice which was reserved for those seeking their death. Shaking his head lightly he spoke aloud once more to the boy seated off to his left side now as he turned his attention towards the faint glimpses of people within the mist below the pairs roof top perch as the navigated the village roads at this morning hour. "I've been told that your skills go far beyond your rank, though few have any actual insight into your true power." Kasai paused before then speaking bluntly at his reasoning for intruding upon the boy's solemn place on this day. "The reason I've come here today is to evaluate where you stand in terms of skill and strength, but also where you stand with the village my young friend.".

The former jounin needed to know just how powerful this young boy was, for if it was as the rumors and gossip told then keeping him within a genin team was nothing more than a waste of time and would simple be impeding the kid's ability to continue to progress. As for how it was best to test out this young man not even Kasai was sure for he hadn't even been able to establish his own base line at the moment. But if the strength of Shio wasn't exaggerated then the man would most definitely attempt to rope the boy into his circle...for such talent could only be wished for by others...

[Ace Trainer]

Kasai's compliment was met with a glowing smile from Shio. He knew he was polite, but he had a great amount of pride in being recognized for this attribute. Another soft exhalation of air, Heh.

Still renown.

He quickly scribbled. It seemed he felt the need to emphasize the distinction in these simple words. The pen strayed through the air, Shio's lips silently moving as he wrote.

My people see power in words. Your reputation, how people speak of you, grants you just as much power as your own body, if not more.

These were central tenants to Shio's people. So central, in fact, that it was practically being recited. Given his youth, it was hard to establish if Shio actually understood what he was 'saying' or if it was simply repetition. With his supposed intelligence one could assume he understood, but he was young, and oftentimes in the young mimicry was mistaken for intuition.

He could feel Kasai inspecting him, he couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by it. His hand had fallen to his lap after writing previously, and his shoulders sunk a little, making himself smaller. He was only 9 after all, it was easy to be overwhelmed by the presence of a near literal legend. Perhaps that was giving Kasai too much credit, but the general public opinion of Kirigakure bad it easy to misconstrue these concepts and cause them to overlap.

Then he explained why he was here, not that Shio had been particularly curious. Honestly, it hadn't even occurred to him until Kasai said something. His ears twitched, and he sat a little more upright following the explanation. Quickly, the pen was out of his lap and Shio was writing again,

See. Words are you reputation.

Another raspy breath, heh

I am spoken highly of because my voice was chosen. My voice has .~~~. Granted by the Universe. My people allege I am a conduit for the word of the universe and I will speak it one day. As such....I am held in high regard....and that high regard empowers me."

There was one word that didn't seem to have a meaning...or at least its meaning was open to interpretation by the read. His voice had... Magic? Power? Control? Influnece? All these words were synonymous with what Shio meant, yet...not quite. To a believer, to his peers, it would be more easily understood as power...but to a non-believer perhaps magic was more analogous to what it meant. Shio's voice was unique, and what made him chosen.

It was clear that Shio didn't view himself as a prodigy or a gifted individual, he saw himself as a product of his own people. Their holding him in such a high regard is what empowered him, not his own power. A unique view for someone so young to hold.

[Zao]

"Granted by the universe, you say. Hmm.." Kasai couldn't help but interject as the boy mentioned about his voice being a type of power, as he interpreted the written words of the young boy, but it was specifically this type of power that interested the Reaper at this moment and the true reason he had come seeking out the young prodigy. Such a power could be of use not only to him but to the entire village and yet such a level of power needed to be regulated and observed to ensure that it didn't in turn become the downfall of those around him.

The bearded man's left hand seemed to lift out of instinct up to his bearded face, letting its fingers stroke the beard from the cheeks down to his pointed chin as he thought quietly to himself while allowing for the simple action to repeat itself three times now as the words from Shio's special pen began to fade away at this moment. "Then I suppose that I must ask this question, my young friend. Is your heart with the village or your family?" Kasai's words seemed rather simple and they were spoken so as the man admitted that the boy was rather intelligent simply to be only nine years of age but he was still unexperienced in the world outside of his family and the village.

As a man who put all of his faith, blood, and tears into the village to help it grow into the place that it was today, Kasai needed to ensure that the child was set along the correct path at this age. Their were numerous youths that had the prospects for great achievements in their future but when their goals grew past the village and they wished to harm it instead the Reaper had been there to claim their lives over the past few decades. The blood on his hands was enough to fill a lake but their wasn't a moment of hesitation or regret for his actions as they had always been in the best interests of the village. Which this line of thinking was what had put the old man in a position against the current actions of the Mizukage and this path could only arrive at one of two endings for the man but he faced this task with a head held high and full of pride.

Seeming to have gazed off for a few moments with the thoughts of the past and where he was personally headed in the future the old head hunter brought his golden gaze back onto the young man seated next to him. "How powerful has your voice become and what level do you feel that your body has reached?" When speaking with the boy the man's voice was its normal whisper like level of volume with a deep tone, but it lacked the normal overbearingness that the experienced shinobi normally displayed when speaking with others. The boy was young and all he wanted was the true from the child, as for the means that would be left up to how the boy responded.

But even the old man had his doubts about the true strength of the boy's voice, having never experienced it himself or been witness to it in action but one couldn't dispute the family from which he was born either. The power that they held over the voice when beyond normal reasoning and needed for one to pay special care around them. Until the man was able to full tes out the tiny child next to him...only then would he be satified and then be able to make an accurate judgement on the boy.

[Ace Trainer]

Shio felt Kasai's mind drift, perhaps it was his body language, the way he stroked his beard, or something else. But Shio wasn't entirely happy about it. Had he said something wrong or inappropriate? Had he been impolite? With so much pressure on him in his day-to-day life it wasn't uncommon for Shio to worry about a misstep, something his people would critique him for. He was their representative after-all.

Then he asked a most curious question, Shio turned to look at Kasai, he face betraying his confusion, looking down at his lap for a moment, he lifted the pen, his eyes unfocused as he wrote in the air blindly,

Both..."

No visible punctuation, but it was clear that this was conveyed as almost question-line in response. Shio saw no difference between his people and his village. Perhaps too young or naive to understand the distinction. He continued to look at his lap for a moment, then wrote in the air once more,

The village is my family. My people are just a part of a larger machine.

A good answer, perhaps not the one Kasai was looking for, but an answer one would expect from a 9 year old who had just spent a year and a half being indoctrinated into that very belief.

He could tell Kasai was still processing information and selecting his words carefully. Shio's people believed in the preservation of the voice, so silence didn't both him like ti did many. He'd spent days -- weeks at a time in silence when he stayed on his compound, so this....a few seconds...minutes..was nothing.

Kasai spoke again, and Shio shook his head almost immediately in response.

The power of the voice does not rise or fall, there are no levels. The voice does not get stronger with practice, voice has power, and it is static. There are men in my family who's voices shatter mountains and calm hurricanes. Women who's voices will lull you to sleep or bring tears to your eyes.

It was at the moment most would realize that Shio was likely not nearly as eloquent as his words made him seem to be. Genius, prodigy, gifted or otherwise, no 9 year old spoke like this. It was clear that the pen created a sort bridge, between his mind and the readers, even if Shio didn't really have the words for his thoughts.

My voice paints the world to my vision. Which is why its held in such high regard. My power though? They say I stand above most other genin...and some chuunin. I have skills to refine."

He shrugged, the pen falling to his lap and his eyes locked on Kasai expectantly.

[Zao]

'Both..' It seemed that the boy was still a bit young and either didn't fully understand what Kasai had meant or this was a practiced answer to his question, yet at the moment the old man wasn't able to tell which one. It might be possible that in the future that Shio would need to choose his village over his family and this was never an easy choice to make as even the Reaper had failed to do this once before when he had hunted down his own daughter only to let her go in the end. "This is true, we are all a small part of the machine that is our great village, my young friend." The old man comment back with a faint hint of a smile rising on the left corner of the thin lips that were nearly hidden by the beard upon the shinobi's face.

"I see, so your voice has been as powerful now as it is now since birth? How interesting..." Kasai trailed off in thought a bit at the end of his words contemplating the words written by the young boy just now about how the voice didn't have levels of power. Also the supposed power to shatter mountains or calm hurricanes, to the voices of women ho could lull you into sleep or bring tears to your eyes. Powerful abilities that seemed to mimic both ninjutsu and genjutsu, how dangerous the voices of these people sounded.

Shaking his head lightly the older man turned his intrigued gaze of his golden hue eyes back onto to Shio once more who had begun to answer his last question about how strong he thought his bodily abilities had reached despite having only an age of nine years old. To stand above genin and even some chuunin at the age of nine though...was this real? And judging from his body language and confidence the kid appeared to be completely serious in this matter causing for the experienced shinobi to be taken back slightly.

"So you feel that you are even above some chuunin, good good." The man made a brief reply as he continued thinking about the words that had been recently written in the air from the genin's special pen. But what was most eye catching to the older gentlemen was that first sentence. The power possessed within the boy's voice painted the world to his vision, this sounded most likely to be some form of genjutsu which even made Kasai's eyes narrow in response. Genjutsu were already something many people feared and one that came from natural ability or a bloodline was normally even scarier.

It caused or the man to look at the young boy before him in a differently light, because if his voice was such a powerful ability then it would turn the kid into a powerful but dangerous weapon for the village in the future. Shio was perceived to be far above his own generation in physical ability and even personal power due to the power of his voice and the man began to wonder just what sort of special training that his family had done to produce such a little monster. But Kasai couldn't help from letting a smirk form upon both corners of his bearded face at the moment. "I will not ask you to demonstrate the power of your voice, as you have made that vow to your family and a man's word should be sacred. But I do need to evaluate your other abilities for the village, Shio-kun."

The Reaper spoke to the boy once more with his whisper-like voice as he wished to see just what level the boy's current self was at due to the unclear future of the village at the moment. For the future had two possibilities, either he would die or would become Kage for the foreseeable future. In either case shinobi like this boy would become the pillars of the future and needed to be developed as such wither he was the Mizukage or not...

[Ace Trainer]

Kasai referred to Shio as his 'young friend' and the child couldn't help but grin widely. Kasai was a mighty figure, after all, it was very much a complement to be spoken to with such a personal tone, and at 9 years old, Shio simply lacked the capacity to cover his emotions to a reasonable degree. He nodded in response to Kasai when his repeated what Shio had said. It seemed more repetition for digestion, not confirmation, but Shio confirmed regardless.

When he said he felt he was above Chuunin though, Shio shook his head, quickly scribbling nonsense into the air,

Could you tell me the crumbs in your belly? The beats of your heart in an hour? The universe moves outwards, ignorant to what happens within it. We are no different. Self assessment is neither accurate nor prudent. I speak of only what I am told."

This was very obviously repetition from his 'scripture' or whatever you would call the teachings of what was appearing more and more to be a cult. But, regardless, it was clear that Shio's evaluation of his strength was not his own, but what he was told. The reality of it was Shio had held his own against those holding rank twice or even thrice above him, but his people, and the village, felt it more appropriate for him to not be entirely aware of this fact. Shio had suspicions, but he was far too young to full understand the scope of the suspicions he had.

Kasai's other statement caught him off guard, however, and his head cocked to the side, a silent heh escaping his lips as breath. The pen rose into the air and he scribbled once more,

And how do you want to do that? he asked.

[Zao]

It was honestly a bit refreshing to see the actual reactions from the young child who had yet learned to completely conceal his true intentions and reactions to those around him, but in his defense the boy was barely the age to begin the academy let alone to have already graduated. 'Only what he is told, then I should personally attempt to determine just to what level this little monster has already ascended onto.' As the crimson haired man carefully read through the words that even he found a bit to far reaching for the boy to have thought up on his own it also brought up the question to the old man. Just how intelligent was this boy?

Seeing the boy's head cock to one side before he responded to the later portion of his statement about doing a type of evaluation to determine where the boy truly stood amongst the village's shinobi. It was at this time that a simple grin could be seen forming upon Kasai's barely visible lips before his whisper like voice managed to escape out into the air. "That's simple..." Only pausing his words briefly the man reached over and extended his hands to the young as he slowly stood up from the previous setting position next to Shio. "...but first we must move away from the bustle of our waking village and the stirring of people who will soon be filling its streets." As the giant of a man stood up his gaze shifted down onto the barely visible figures that wandered through the mist at street level before turning back to he child.

With his current situation within the village, the future was definitely not certain for the old man at this moment in time. But if this boy, Shio, did indeed live up to even most of the rumored information that he had managed to gather from some of his old friends that were still alive then the man would whole heartedly attempt to bring this 'genin' in league with him. Such talent not only needed to be pushed but also monitored as it grew and what better way was their then to have this boy become his student or disciple. His mind set and values seemed to be exactly what the village wanted from their younger generation of ninja and his talent was considered well above average, yet, Kasai still needed to test the latter out for himself.

As long as the kid agreed to come along with him then he would take him to a remote training ground so that he could personally test out this child's ability and form a more complete assessment of what to do next. This would also keep other prying eyes and ears from this unique matter.

[Ace Trainer]

Shio could feel Kasai analyzing him. It was a typical feeling that Shio had experienced. The leering eyes, the inquisitive looks, the hollow looks that weren't really at him, but more looking into him. Sometimes, it was frustrating, knowing that people around him often looked at him as an object, as something hiding power or secrets, other times it was almost a compliment. Knowing that he garnered so much interesting. Kasai was not the first person to express an interest in assessing Shio, and he certainly would'nt be the last. Kirigakure was regarded as the land of secrets, but secrets traveled far here.

The man's body stood, it seemed slightly unnatural, it was clear Kasai's body was not a typical human. But, Shio elected not to acknowledge this or think too much on it. In his experience, people's secrets went far beyond their bodies. He indicated they would need to leave, and Shio nodded in understanding.

In reality, Shio's skill was far beyond his peers, far beyond many around him. Even without his genjutsu, which were almost entirely based around the abilities of his voice, Shio was amore-than-capable taijutsu fighter and was able to hold his own. He was relatively fast and strong, and his ability to think on the fly was powered by his imaginative and youthful mind. Though he didn't have any static style to fall back on, he was skilled enough with basics to hold his own against many. Being a small child typically helped too.

Standing to follow, Shio would silently let Kasai take the lead, going wherever the man led him to. It was time for yet another test.

[Zao]

Perhaps this test would be something that the young boy had done before, but Kasai was the type of person who didn’t fully believe in information that was spoken or written as there was nothing better than experiencing something first hand. This truly allowed for one to formulate one’s own thoughts and ideas based on the truths that they were able to discover along the way. Currently Kasai kicked off the rooftop were the pair of shinobi had been seated moments before and began to slowly accelerate up to a normal speed that a jounin should be able to accomplish (twenty five speed). After verifying that this was something that the boy was capable of even the old man raised an eyebrow in surprise, as this wasn’t something such a young person’s body should have been capable of obtaining at this age.

Yet, that was not all as after reaching what the experienced shinobi considered to be an average speed for a jounin he insisted on increasing it even further, though only slowly until the Reaper was able to tell that his young companion wasn’t able to keep up. Only after that would he return to a speed close to the average jounin speed and remain at that speed for some time as they moved outside the main area of the village and its inhabitants at which the journey would come to an end at a small training area that lacked any shinobi training at it for the moment. This trip would test not only the young genin’s speed but also stamina, simple but useful trials to continue to develop his thoughts on the village’s future prospect.

After arriving at the small area which still had a lingering shroud of thin mist that obstructed ones view out past ten or so meters the old, retired shinobi landed without a sound in the damp grass and soft sandy soil. Currently Kasai’s eyes were shut as it seemed as though he was reminiscing about something, this was one of the first training areas that he had been brought to as a child to train and temper himself under the tutelage of his father. Both of the man’s golden eyes opened in unison as he turned around to face the boy who had been following his lead for the time that it had taken the pair to traverse the distance to the more remote training field. Upon arriving one of the Reaper’s swords had been unsheathed and dropped about two meters behind him landing point first into the soft soil, driving itself under the weapons own weight into the ground just enough to remain standing now. “Your speed and stamina are definitely at or above the normal jounin leveled shinobi within the village, I must applaud your body for being able to produce this level of physical ability at such a terrifying young age.”

With the whisper like words that almost seemed to echo throughout the medium sized training area that lacked any of the normal targetry associated with training, he reached back and grasped hold of the hilt of his remaining sword and with a reverse grip on its worn hilt the black blade was removed from its sheath. Even without words one with any intelligence could put together that after testing speed and endurance that the former Hunter-nin wished to cross blades with this prodigy and determine a handful of different things. Ranging from strength, taijutsu ability, critical thinking, and flexibility in the manner and ways of close range combat…”Please indulge me in a short sparring bout, my young friend.”

[Ace Trainer]

It didn't take long for Shio to pick up on what Kasai was doing. He followed intently, matching each step, keeping the pace and pushing himself. He didn't know much better, he was a child, and he had been trained to show his chops in virtually all matters. His entire life had been a barrage of tests and training, so all Shio really understood was to best tested like this, and to perform. A lot of people had a mentality of restraint, to hold back and measure things to the accurate level. Hell, Kasai was displaying that right now, even if he was because he was testing Shio. Shio didn't understand that, he went full out from the beginning every time. He had to, it was what he knew.

When they arrived, Shio nodded in understanding, and appreciation, when Kasai gave his assessment of Shio so far. This wasn't new information to him, he was fast, he was strong, he performed at a stamina well-above expectations. Shio had been told this plenty of times. The sword in the ground was an obvious signal, but the jounin before him even said anything.

Nodding, he pulled out his pen, swirling it through the air.

"As you wish.", bowing afterwards.

He stood to the left of the sword, not actually touching it and sliding the pen back into its holder on his waist. His posture was stiff, his hands behind his back, and his face expressing no emotion. It was clear he expected Kasai to attack first, which was almost curious. Often the less experience was the first to attack, but, Shio was smart, and well aware of this. It didn't matter his experience, Shio had spent plenty of time studying combat and tactics. He would let Kasai attack first, and he'd respond as he needed. Shio was a good fighter, he didn't need the sword in his hand just yet, and holding it would only give away the angle he could respond at.

[Zao]

Kasai tilted his head slightly to the right as the long raven locks shifted to just in front of his face at the moment, the words the lingered in the air from his young friend's special pen and the manner in which they were written caused for him to give nod of approval. But nothing could change the almost sinister looking smirk that had appeared upon the man's mouth, though it was not meant in this way it was simply the way the man's face smiled. No killing intent radiated from the man as instead he stared at the junior who had not picked up his weapon at the moment and the stance that he had taken. "Interesting..." A single word managed to slip out through the upturned corners of the Reaper's lips at the actions of the genin before him.

Through out the simple evaluation of their journey here the old man had already set up his speed and power to be controlled to the area that would match up with Shio for the time being. Even as the child did not immediately pick up the weapon it did not cause even a moment's of hesitation from the retired shinobi who moved with little to no warning. In this sparring bout he hoped to be able to judge the ninja's ability to move and fight with his body and other weapons along with his critical thinking a little later on when he would increase his speed and power to a position slightly above his own.

Things would begin rather simply between the two, young vs old, as the weapon remained in its reverse gripped position and the aged shinobi would move in a head-on direction towards the genin at this point. Accelerating to a speed that matched the boy's in what appeared to be an instant as he traversed across the bit of distance between them now. The strike delivered as a basic horizontal slash toward the small framed ninja's upper chest area as the dark blade of the weapon moved about in a perfect arch moving from right to left. A simple strike with no profoundness to hidden aspect, perhaps he was being to simple for the child before him but after all this was simply the beginning...

[Ace Trainer]

Shio's eyes were half opened, a distant looked that, despite the topic of their meeting, did not seem particularly invested in what was happening. As Kasai approached, even more interestingly, Shio's eyes closed. A single momentary exhale, "Heh", as air moved between his lips. Kasai swung the sword and Shio's entire body dropped, collapsing to his knees.

Shio was smart, dangerously so. It didn't take much assessment to foresee basic and generic attacks.

As his body fell he ripped the sword out from the ground. Fully outstretching his arm, he swung it upwards, falling all the way to the ground in the process and rolling out. The upwards swing would go straight through Kasai's arm, assuming he completed the swing at least. Shio had two opinions on this; it was a simple enough maneuver that Kasai should be able to adapt to avoid having his arm severed....and if not, well, Kiri was a village with the philosophy that embodied survival of the fittest. If Kasai lost an arm at this point, well..

As he finished his tumble, he stabbed the sword back into the ground, using it as leverage to return to his feet. He was placed just a few feet off to Kasai's side at this point. His eyes locked on Kasai curiously, he watched, waiting.

[Zao]

'Not bad...' Kasai was not truly praising or judging the young shinobi, only taking note for himself at the action of his dodge along with the follow through of attacking afterwards in a sort of counter attack against himself. Though the attack was rather plan in that it was of only a few attacks that could be used from the angle which Shio had dodged to and the arm which had grasped the short bladed weapon with. In turn it was not overly difficult for the experienced man to shift his body to the opposite side as the blade flipped from a reverse grip into a standard grip and moved between the arching blade and himself.

A quick display of sparks appeared before fading just as fast if not faster then they had appeared as the two blade bladed crossed the path of one another, though the man wasn't one to simply be at ease and instead moved rapidly with a speed that was a tiny bit faster then before. Pushing off the right leg (or which ever is furthest away from Shio) and this time attacked with a short notice but simply performed thrust of the dark blade that cut through some of the lingering mist between the two Kiri-nin at this point.

The distance between them was perhaps only a few feet as the older man made his second move now, the Reaper didn't plan to take it easy or work slowly from one move to the other and instead had judged that Shio was probably on the same level as himself in terms of taijutsu ability and simply wished to verify it for himself. He wished to see just what it took to push the young man to his limits and also to see how well the child would be able to perform under a bit of pressure...

[Ace Trainer]

Shio barely had time to rest for a moment as Kasai continued his assault. The hand on the sword yanked it upwards, the metal clashing against each other in this moment. Shio took only a second to let this leverage act as a force to pivot, rotating around the strike and releasing the sword , letting the weapon fall to the ground. He sent a knee upwards at Kasai's body, extended from the strike, and lifting his arms over his head at the same moment, swinging them like a parabola in order to strike Kasai's back, hopefully catching Kasa's body between the two strikes.

If he was being perfectly honest, even with all his training, blood and guts made Shio uneasy. He was just a child, after all, and weapons like swords and explosives and kunai was bloody and gorey and left the child with a feeling of unease. Attacks with brute strength were more his style, Shio's first kill had simply been the breaking of a neck. Violence did not have to be messy, and Shio felt best to stick to hand to hand combat, not weapons.

[Zao]

After the clash of blades, Kasai once again narrowed his eyes at the young boy's hands as they had dropped the weapon and it somewhat confused the old monster who was born from a time when blood and gore were just another day. The number of people who had fallen at the man's hand would be able to form a mountain with all their corpses and a river of blood flowing down from the mountain to the ocean. To a point it actually brought forth some anger in his gaze as he didn't even both to dodge the pincer attack from the small boy's knee and fist (this guys is seven foot tall, so I'm assuming he jumped a little? ) instead he relied upon his elemental body for a brief moment, not continuing to assault the now unarmed ninja with his own blade.

The two attacks would appear like nothing was there to stop them as Kasai pushed himself right into their impact point without regard, but even the young boy would be able to realize that something was wrong as both the knee and the pair of fist were stopped by a layer of wind that pushed out from Kasai's chest and back. The Reaper was not someone to let an opportunity slip by as the left hand moved with speed that was nothing more then a blur stretching towards the child's tiny neck looking to firmly grasp the boy by that said neck. Each of the two shinobi were like opposites, but this was strictly because of their ages and experiences as it was quite possible for Shio to become like Kasai in the future once the village started to understand his strength and push him out on missions that equaled that strength.

If successful the man would clasp his massive gloved left hand around the boy's throat and hold him off the ground, if not then he would create some distance. Either way he planned to speak towards the boy's actions only a moment before of dropping the blade. "Boy, why did you drop the blade to counterattack me with your body instead?"

[Ace Trainer]

Shio's attack failed in a way he did not anticipate. And as quickly as he had attacked, he was finding a gauntlet wrapped around his throat. His hands jumped up to the large hand holding him in the air and he pried at it, practically begging to be released. In this moment the boy who had been holding his composure and coming off as very in control revealed that he truly was as he appeared; just a child. His eyes welled with tears as the fear of death overcame him. He knew Kasai wasn't going to kill him, but still he had never felt this feeling before. Finally his fingers slipped between his neck and Kasai's grasp, and he pulled open just enough to ensure he could breath. Perhaps this was more Kasai's mercy than Shio's own strength, even in this moment he was aware of that.

He hung for a moment, letting the words Kasai said to him rest in his ears. That was he question? A wave of emotions moved through Shio, frustration, annoyance, anger, shame. All of these, as he finally pushed out of Kasai's grasp and landed on the ground. Reaching into his pouch he pulled out his pen, giving Kasai a look of annoyance before writing in the air.


You gave me the blade. You didn't say I have to fight with it. Your focus was on the blade. Its a fight. There is no right answer or wrong answer. Its about getting the jump on your opponent. If someone has a blade in their hands, are you watching their knees? Expecting a head butt? You're watching for the blade. I fight to take advantage of that.

He wasn't wrong. People tend to be singularly focused in a fight. Something he could take advantage of. It was clear he was annoyed with Kasai from the look on his face.

[Zao]

The man had successfully clenched his large, gloved hand around the small neck of the child aa his fingers actually wrapped completely around to the point  that the fingers and thumb was overlapping. Kasai was able to gaze upon the boy as he held him in mid air as the emotion of fear became ever so apparent upon the kids face. It was like reminiscing for the old monster who had actually subconscious smiled as this was just like hundreds of  scenes from his past to the point that it actually brought forth a bit of excitement within him.

But what truly excited the old man was when his prey still had the will, that willto struggle and fight on to survive even though they were about to die. Even though the shinobi had no true thoughts of ending Shio's life in that moment from an outward appearance one could feel killing intent radiating from his golden eyes that looked on with a word from the man himself. Finally the boy's fingers began to pry at the gloved hand, perhap even he didn't notice that the hand and arm were cold and unlike how a normal person's body should be. Seeing this scene the retired ninja slowly began to recover from the moment and released the boy from his grasp, taking note of his opponent's strength like it was some other form of assessment.

There was a visible look of annoyance on the genin's face, like someone had hurt his pride or insulted him due to the questioning of the older shinobi. "Heh..." A half laugh actually managed to escape from the almost stone faced man in that moment, hearing the defensive justifications made by the child. "While that does hold some merit you dropped your weapon, a tool that put you on even terms with someone also using a weapon. Leaving you to fight unarmed against your opponent. I feel more so that your words are those of someone afraid to kill with regard for the manner. Are you afraid to spill the blood of your enemy my little friend?" The death god's whisper like voice filled with nothing but coldness drifted into the air almost like he was berating the boy in the moment. Almost as though he felt the words were meant as an excuse to his actions...

[Ace Trainer]

The look on Shio's face could best be described as incredulous, he was clearly annoyed with Kasai in this moment as the fear had drained from him as he'd freed himself. He turned his back to Kasai for a moment, taking several steps before sitting on the edge of the training field with his back against a post. His demeanor had completely changed from the polite young man Kasai had been previously speaking with. Shio was just a boy after all.

He let Kasai's words linger in the air for moment before lifting his pen, scribbling into the air as he did.

"Dont assume" was all he wrote for a moment.

Was Kasai right? In a way. Shio probably wasn't entirely cognizant of it. But, he wasn't going to admit Kasai was right either way.

"There are no rules in fighting.", he wrote in his strange characters, "A weapon is only as strong as its user. An experienced fist is more dangerous than an inexperienced blade." more repetition of tactical manuscripts.

"Approaching combat from a single avenue is a weakness. There are many ways to fight, and no way is right."

He slouched in his seat, looking at Kasai with the pen hanging from his finger tips lazily. heh, a sharp exhale.

[Zao]

"Haha...you are quite a cheeky little brat, eh?" The old man didn't hold anything against the young kid, his experience in the true aspect of life were apparent simply by looking at his age, despite his skills in other areas not matching up to the youthful age that Shio possessed. His voiced carried a slightly mocking tone toward the little junior before him who had retreated to the edge of the training area at this point in time as Kasai simply retrieved and sheathed both of the straight blades now before turning his attention to the second and third set of words that had been written into the air in the time it had taken him to return the weapons to their proper places.

As the man watched in silence for the moment to write out his feelings on the subject the old monster slowly crossed his arms and looked down from his seven foot height to the seated kid before him, "As a shinobi are you trying to say that you are inexperienced with a blade?" He would probe at the subject strictly for no other reason than to pick on the boy who had probably always been praised for his ability and never criticized. But as a man and a senior shinobi to those young ninja of his village the man sometimes had to pop the egos that were being formed by others. Only then when one began to think that they weren't as skilled as they first though would their mind be opened up to looking for other ways to improve themselves and become stronger instead of having their progress or careers become stagnate and unbeneficial to the village.

"It is true that their is no right way to fight, but there are many wrong ways in the same breath. And I believe that if you continue on this path you are in it will be one of those wrong pathways." The golden eyes of the tall man swept their cold gaze down upon his young companion once more, only now they held a more serious gaze within them instead of simply killing intent as they had earlier during their short spar. He could see the potential of the child and wished to push him along the path that would benefit not only him but the village at the same time. That path was the same one that he had walked and killed upon as a child and as an adult, that was as a hunter. "Boy...your potential should be put forth within the ranks of Hunter-nin. I want to refer you to my friend and commander of the Hunter division, Karagata Shiv. Your current rank is that of a simple title that can be changed at any moment, so disregard such things as we only care about one's ability."

The former jounin had placed the offer out there and his thoughts about Shio, he wanted to see the skill set that the boy had put to good use for the village and as a former hunter himself he could think of no better place for a seedling such as the boy to grow up and blossom within. Another powerful prospect would always be welcome within the Hunter division, even if he hadn't spoken to Shiv about this matter yet. But after this little meet and greet he would definitely be stopping by to relay what he had experienced and learned about the boy in just this short time...it made the man think back upon all the various memories that he had experienced as a hunter. Only he wondered if the boy was truly cut out for such a job...even so the offer had been put out there for the child to consider as at least one of the options available to him...

[Ace Trainer]

Shio's eyes practically shot daggers at Kasai when he called him a brat. Shio was not used to be disrespected. He wasn't treated like a god within his people or anything, but he was certainly afforded a level of respect that children oft were not given. Kasai didn't seem to have any regard for that, and it did not leave Shio is a comfortable position. It was new, very foreign, and he certainly didn't like it.

He raised the pen quickly scribbling on the air between them, now more palpable than ever, Metaphors aren't meant to be taken literally. Hence their name., the sarcasm seemed to drip from the words. Shio knew how to use a sword, he was a skilled swordsman and taijutsu fighter in general, certainly above many of his peers. This didn't change his perspective, though.

Fighting through a single medium was irresponsible in Shio's eyes. He had read enough text to know versatility was key for a shinobi to set themselves apart.

Shio didn't roll his eyes at Kasai's next statement, but it was clear he was in the mentality to. The small smile on his face, the tinge of annoyance moving through his cheeks. Shio listened to what else he said and almost immediately shook his head.

No. was all he wrote this time. There was a pause, Shio taking the team to let this pass through Kasai before continuing.

My people wouldn't approve. I am on a path already and it doesn't take that route. Maybe my trajectory will change. The will of the universe is a mysterious one.

That was about as definitive as it got. It seemed perhaps the HHD was not in Shio's future.

Though...

He paused again, the words hanging in the air longer than previously.

Who am I to question it. If you want me to meet with Karagata, Shiv I have no qualm with that.

Everyone knew who Shiv was. Shio would be irresponsible to pass on the opportunity.

[Zao]

"Haha." The old monster couldn't help but let out another light laugh to himself, it was as though the child was having somewhat of a temper tantrum at the moment. Holding any further words for the moment as the boy began to response to the actual reason he had bothered to go through any of this at all, he was wishing to recruit another strong seedling into the Hunter division. "Your people wouldn't approve you say, do you plan on letting them guide your entire life for you? Even though you are still just a child, their will come a time in which you need to choose your own path, a path that might not reflect what your family wishes of you."

Kasai was like before, frank with his words, somewhat also expressing his annoyance at the childish antics of the boy and what he perceived as narrowmindedness from the genin at the moment. But it was not his place to attempt to forcibly chance the child's current desires, only attempt to open his eyes to the vast number of other possibilities and needs of his village, needs that he had the potential to help fulfill. "Alas, you are still young and no path is definite or this old one wouldn't be standing here before you today. The future is truly profound..." He quietly recollected on the many different paths that he had taken through out his life, very few actually led him where he thought they would but in the end he was still alive.

"Perhaps the Head Hunter Division may not be in your future, but your prospects with the village will undoubtable be large as long as your allowed to mature, Shio-kun. But yes, I would still like for you to meet with Shiv in the future, since you have no qualms with that." Despite not getting the resulted that he had desired with this young kid, perhaps he had at least been able to cause him to think more out of the box about his future then simply the shinobi's family wished for him to do. A half smile found its way back onto the man's scarred face as he turned and looked at the sky, a gentle warmth starting to wash over the misty training ground as the sun was beginning to climb higher in the sky.

Ever so lightly the man's feet began to lift off the ground, to the point that the bottom of each foot were about a foot off the ground now and he hovered their without a sound as if in thought. Finally pulling his golden gaze from the distance sky he returned it onto the boy near him still, speaking with his normal whisper like voice. "One must remember that sometimes the village's needs are more important that even one's own needs, or even those of our families, young one." As if that was him say goodbye to Shio, Kasai then disappeared in what seemed like the blink of an eye, flying away from the village to a place he hadn't been in sometime. It was a somewhat special place to him, a place he needed to visit before he put his life on the line...