Amai Springs

The beautiful scenery with its relaxing waves faced a figure. A figure with a hourglass form, and smooth skin as brown as coffee. A figure with bright vixen eyes, and long black hair. Standing feet above the hot springs, the warm steam rose to the figure's neck, releasing any stress and pain into the air.

This figure....was a woman. A young kunoichi, who's exotic appearance differed from many Shifting Shadow students. However, she had many personal pain, still not letting the image of her deceased lover out of her mind, but Amai Springs was a place her to soothe that stress before it exploded.

She wanted to get everything out of system, so she stripped out of clothes, ending completely nude, while placing her clothes next to her feet. After, she took a deep inhale through her mouth, and closed her eyes, before raising her arms up, and letting her legs and feet lead the way, diving into the warm springs.

The entrance into Amai Springs seemed to have been loosely guarded; probably due to the fact taht no one would think to attack this peaceful retreat. This was certainly not Daishisen's intention. The woman, clad in a lilac colour towl, came wafting through the mist and sat on the edge of the spring. There was someone else there...

Usually, the Kraken woman came in after dark, avoiding being questioned. But from the look of the girl with the savory cappicino-skin, she wasn't in a questioning mood. Daishisen left her hair ornaments in, keeping her ravenous locks above her neck and out of the water. Letting herself sink to her chin, she let out a sig of relief. She'd been training all day so far, and although this girl was, at this point, at her most vulnerable, there was no attack scheduled for today, and so, she ignored the rest of the world. There was only her; lost in mist.

Akikaze had heard ruckus in the background. She wasn't really studying with the young kunoichi when she was in the springs, but once the kunoichi got out, another voice was heard. A young male voice. Akikaze immediately jumped out of the water, still soak and wet, with a little steam surrounding her body. Immediately grabbing her tanto, she snuck her way around the two, moving to the male ninja's back, grasping her tanto, and holding it parallel to his neck.

"Oh, you were training, weren't you?", Akikaze asked sarcastically, yet provocatively.

Shirogane snarled. If there was one person in the world he would most like to fight, it would be Akikaze. For some odd reason, the two had never quite gotten along. Shirogane trained for countless hours just so he could beat her- which was no easy task. As he had found out more than once over the years at Shifting Shadows, this girl was tough.

And now, here she was, just asking for a fight. Her single question was enough to get the boy ticked off. He wasn't sure what Nao thought of her, not that it mattered much to him, but it became somewhat evident she didn't think very highly of Akikaze either. Of course, that could just be Nao taking out her annoyance on her... He watched silently as Nao walked away, her nose in the air. Why girls would make such a stupid gesture remained a mystery to him.

A glint of light reflected off the tanto caught Shirogane's eye and reminded him of the weapon at his neck. "What do you want, Akikaze?" he growled. "A fight?"

Walking slowly through the forest Blanc comes upon the Amai springs. A smile creeping across his face as he hears a conversation between two people.

A male voice asking for a fight, and a female taunting or joking with the male a little bit.

Looking out of a thicker part of the forest Blanc spots the owners of the voice Akizaze and Shirogane. Sighing under his breath he puts his hand on his face. Taking his hand off his face Blanc quickly scans the springs for anything else of importance. Seeing two more shapes in the springs Blanc creeps forward straining his eyes. His espionage skills assisting him in looking past the steam on the shapes one apears to be Nao and Kimuio of the Kraken.

"Tsk" he says quietly stepping back into the thicker forest. A loud crunching noise echoes through the air as his foot comes down on a dry stick. "Uh oh" he mutters to himself realizing it was to late for him to sit quietly undiscovered.

Having wrapped her towl around her again, Daishisen growled to herself; too much noise for some place that was said to be restful and peacable. She stood, cloaked in the steam. The ivory skin soaked it in like a thirsty sponge. She walked back towards where her clothes were kept, and began to let the towl loose, when she heard a stick outside the gates crack. Obviously, there was someone trying to sneak up, but apparently their stealth needed a bit of work. She let the towl fall to the stones and pulled on the ornate kimono she'd come in. Fastening her obi, she snuck back through the gap she'd come through the first time, comming face-to face with Blanc.

"Well hello," she mused. "I hardly heard you comming." This was more of a taunt than a gentle lie. She figured she'd just pass by, but wasn't sure how much resistance the boy would pose.

Hoshika sighed softly, flipping the roof back to its normal point and sliding down it. Her sandles made a soft whir was they slid down the roof, and then she vaulted to the nearby tree. She cuaght it, the momentum swinging her around a full turn and having her end up hanging from the tree by both hands, hundreds of feet from the ground. She sighed, pulling herself up onto the branch and sitting, panting softly. After a few minutes she stood on the branch, looking over the closely woven net of branches. With a sigh she leaped from the branch to the next, it bending with her weight precicely as she had calculated and allowed her to launch herself to the right side, catching another branch and swinging to a stop, a good thirty feet from the school.

"Yes.." She smiled softly, making her way through the trees as silent and fast as a feline for a good fifteen minutes. She stopped, practically invisible in the shadow of the trees huge trunk as she watched the springs below her. There was Blanc, Daishisen, Akikaze, Shirogane, and one or two other ninjas in the spring she could not see. She watched as Akikaze spoke to Shirogane, and Daishisen confronted Blanc. She began to calm her muscles and body, perfectly still and ready to watch and listen.

Daishisen pursed her lips and shook her head. She was growing impatient and decided that it was no longer worh her time to stay, there was no action to be had there. She pushed the boy to one side and passed as though he were an uincombering door. The remembered there were some things to be done in the village, and so it is there she proceeded.