Opening both of his eyes Blanc looks down from his perch on a tall strong tree, and obsereves the grass sweeping slightly side to side in the wind. Jumping down slowly and carefully as to not disturb the grass Blanc lands slighty bending his knees as he touches the ground. Starting a nice light run Blanc looks at the mountain that towered over it. Nearly tripping in his run Blanc stops taken by surprise by the giant cut in the mountain that had just appeared in the mountain. When did that get there Blanc thinks to himself.

Returning to his run Blanc enters a forest light barely filtering through the tall trees. Stopping beside a tall tree, Blanc climbs up towards the light more and more shadows flittering through the foliage. On the very tip of the tree Blanc sands on top of the thick foliage and looks up at the sun before returning back to the ground.

Back on the ground Blanc at the bandages on his arms remebering his feelings then. Blanc clenches his fist at the shrugging his anger and annoyance off. He begins to go through the his forms bringing his right foot sliding across the ground the crunch of twigs echoing through the air as the ninjato in his left scabard is brought out so quick with his right hand if you blinked you would have missed it. Moving to the next sword technique Blanc falls forward so his face is a couple inches above ground level then using the force of gravity he rushes froward slicing a small tree in half and embedding the sword in a second larger tree.

Sighing Blanc says knowing that no one is around "seems like I'm still better with my natural weapons by over two fold." putting his right hand in front of the his left and pushing his left foot back. Blanc smiles and brings his right arm down on the back of the sword knocking itout forcefully and then pivoting on his left foot Blanc kicks the tree seperating the tree into two pieces. Blanc grabs the sword out of the air with his left hand and then spinning it so he could put it back into his sheathe.

A young boy dressed in black stood alone in the moonlit forest. His name- Shirogane. The silver blade of his katana shone in the faint light as he sheathed it. He let out a long breath. At least three hours of his night had been spent training. He wiped away a few beads of sweat that had collected on his forehead. Then, quickly and suddenly, he turned and made his way to the edge of the forest.

The springs are near here, aren't they? he asked himself. In fact, the Amai Springs were just barely in sight from where he stood, the mist creating an almost omnious veil.

He considered taking refuge in the hot waters for only a moment before he decided against it. Training came first, then pleasure. With a heavy sigh, Shirogane looked around until he spotted a tall enough tree to fit his standards.

He climbed to the top with ease, using the tree's many branches and twigs as footholds. With a triumphant smile, he looked back over at the springs. Could it be his imagination, or were there people over there? Though it was impossible to make out who they were, the blurry figures were obviously human.

Curious, he began to wonder just how long he could hide in the bushes, or even behind a boulder, without being noticed. He quietly slinked his way down the tree and towards the springs, determined to find out.

You're pathetic.

The sound of the tegaki-shuko slashing the coarse bark of a tree echoed in the deep forest.

Look at you! You're a girl.

The metal of her weapons collided with a sharp clang.

You belong in the kitchen, you weak girl.

Nao screamed. With a final stab, her tegaki-shuko was embedded halfway through the tree, her head facing the ground. Sweat and tears dripped from her face, hidden by her loose auburn hair. A nice breeze blew, causing the hairs on Nao's neck to raise and her hair and tears to flow away from her. Nao could still hear her father, criticizing and laughing at her coldly. The thought made her blood boil, her eyebrows furrow and always made her feel like being violent. It had been 6 years since she had last seen him.

He wasn't concerned about her one bit, she could tell. She bet that, right at that very moment, he had probably even forgotten he had a daughter. Or even if he did remember, he would only reminisce of her failure to him as a daughter. Nao grunted as she pulled out her weapon, falling to the ground in a heap. I want to grow stronger .. I want to make him want to take back his words and wish he died instead of saying that! She closed her eyes and wiped them tiredly. I should go clean myself up.

Nao got up and started walking towards Amai Springs, a wonderful place which was rumored to be able to heal your wounds. She reached a boulder where she decided to undress. About to take off her clothes, a shadow in front of her caught her attention. Nao walked ever so carefully so as not to startle the shadow. As she reached closer, she could see the women in the springs but also see what the shadow was.

If she wasn't mistaken, it was most probably a student from Shifting Shadows. She reached up from behind him and covered his mouth and brought him down into the bushes. "What do you think you're doing, pervert?!" she hissed, looking expectantly at him. "If you think you're going to get away with peeking at girls while they're bathing, you're dead wrong. The least you could've done was put more effort into it! Like, disguising yourself or something!"

Now that she had a better look, she saw it was Shirogane.

Nao blushed furiously, wiping her hand vigorously against her shirt. "I was training, okay?! And I find that hard to believe. I came here, wanting to relax and clean myself here but I see you, creeping in the bushes, watching the other girls bathe!" She got up with an annoyed look on her face. Grabbing him by the collar, she dragged him out to a safe distance, thrusting him away when she stopped. "You're lucky! If it weren't for me, you'd have been seriously put into intensive care by the other girls. So stay here, and don't peek!"

She turned on her heel and was about to walk back before a thought crossed my mind. What am I thinking? It's like I'm asking Shirogane to go against his stupid male instincts! She turned around, her hands on her hips. "So what was your excuse, huh?" she asked, starting to circle him. "So you really weren't going to be ecchi and peek on us girls?" She stopped and crossed her arms.

Nao wasn't going to budge until she knew Shirogane wasn't going back.

The morning air had warmed, driving the thick mist to the ground as dew by the time that Oda emerged from his quarters, dressed in black robes and trousers with tabi on his feet. He intended to head down to the ground level to walk in quiet amongst the trees while most other young men and women were training. Oda did still train, unwilling to let his lifetime of hard work fade away, but only every other day or so, to remind his body what it could do, rather then drive it to new heights.

He and Shuurin had spoken long that morning, he had a mission for her..or a errand as it were, he wanted to send her to Empire City, which was a strange request coming from the frugal man. He had informed her that he wished to commission a piece from their finest smith and had written explicit and exact details on a scroll, which he gave to her. He asked that she start out in the morning, for it would take her all day to get to the city, even if she made good time. He also asked that she keep the scroll unopened , he said that it was a surprise that he did not want to be spoiled before it was time.

Things had been unusually quiet that day, he had received no letters, scrolls or even a visitor today. He took that as a good thing, the only time that he got visitors is when something went wrong and he needed to settle it . While he had been thinking, he had not paid attention to where he was going. He found himself staring up at the Tree of Decisions. He smiled to himself, wondering how he had ended up here of all places. Well, since he was here, he might as well make use of the wide flat platform and have a little fun.

Nao softened her expression a little but suddenly pointed her nose in the air, her actions also portraying annoyance. "Hmph! Let him do what he wants. If I catch you there again, I swear, I will hunt you down. Got it?" Turning to the direction of the Amai Springs, she started to walk. God! Guys and their uncontrollable urges. She walked to the flat stone which she had approached earlier and continued to take off her garments. Even though Shirogane was with Akikaze, she didn't let her guard down. Once she was sure no one was around, she sprinted before jumping into the water.

The young woman surfaced with a satisfied sigh. "Ah! The springs are so nii~ce," she cried in pleasure, absorbing the warmth from the spring. She could tell Akikaze was one of the girls who was in the spring and only one was left. I wonder who it is .. I hope it isn't a guy.. She looked around and saw the person who was in the Spring. .. Wait a minute. Isn't that .. Kimuio?! Nao instinctively took on her battle stance. Hold on .. she doesn't seem to emit a fighter's aura. She doesn't want to fight? Wait, what am I thinking? I'm only a feeble Sapphire Star. There's no way I could take her on..

Her eyebrows furrowing in frustration, she disappeared under the surface.