Mein Sohn, nur Mut [p, Hiro]

She washed the paints from her face as the effects of the Freude began to vanish from her system. The potent enzymes and proteins that composed the Freude were either being excreted in her sweat or metabolized into more harmless molecules. At least, that was what the doctors had told her. The Elders had given their own version of the story: that the Spirit had done its work with her body, and was leaving until the next time the ritual had to be performed. "Regieren selbst, regieren alle", she muttered as she cleaned away the materials she had used. The flint knife, the paints, and lastly, her own unclothed body as she stood up and dressed, getting ready for the day. First the uniform, then the brown poncho-like cloak, then the bandage over her left eye-socket, to protect the scars from sandstorms that might kick up.

Today, she was meant to train. Whether with others, or by herself, she had no idea. Maybe she'd get to spar with someone, in which case, she'd try her best. Generally, her kind didn't "do" sparring, preferring to use forms that were meant to be performed by ones self after taking in the Freude. However, it was what Sunagakure required, and it was good for her. Furthermore, the tribe didn't strictly forbid it, though she felt a little guilty showing her form to others at times. Then again, for all intents and purposes, she WAS the tribe now. Mensch und Elder alike, she carried their wills with her, though their bodies had been cast aside, scattered in the sand.

The last of the Freude was still playing a wonderful melody on her temporal cortex when she reached the training grounds. Right, better get this in now. She had taken a couple of spares with her, but didn't want to use them until later. It was forbidden to take so many within a short period of time.

"Die fliessende Wüste."

She began to practice one of the basic forms; almost entirely defense. The clan had relied on the power of Stoss, the dark-skinned tusked god during practice, but she had not yet learned to channel his power. Nevertheless, she knew the physical motions almost by heart. Swing, push, turn. Those who hadn't yet achieved a certain state of mind were forbidden to use force. She'd nearly broken this taboo early on in the campaign, but reined herself in. Around here, there were few to no people, and nobody would pay mind to some cut-up girl doing her morning katas... right?

[1/5 towards Dark Release]

Hiro was walking around the village today, when he heard some noise coming from the distance. he would follow those faint noises, until he came upon quiet the scene. A Female seemingly practicing some form of Martial Arts. And as Proficent as it seemed, it just made him lean against the closest object and watch for awhile, studying her technique.

He even tilted his head and conversed in his head with the Ichibi about this female and the aura she seemed to give off to them both and what each other thought about her, See Hiro was looking for new possible teammates, he wanted to continue on Voltaire's Dreams, and he needed other strong ninja to do it, and she could possibly be one of them.

Not noticing the stalker who had paused to watch her, Kozura continued with the practice, feeling that something was different this time. The Freude should have faded away by now, but it seemed to have deepened within her as she moved, invoking Stoss to bring her the power of hunger. Stoss was a ravenous god, in the sense that he was always eating. But for the most part, he was actually kind and benevolent, granting humanity the power to want MORE for themselves, to always be competing and progressing towards the future. Without hunger, without need, humanity was truly nothing.

It opened up like a plateau before her. Was this truly the power of the divine channeled through her? Or was it what some of the city people called a "bad trip"? No, this was definitely the power of the Tusked One. The past was laid out before her like a large valley, with the future hidden in shadows that she could not penetrate. Her small, young body was secretly in ecstasy. This was what the elders had been talking about before they sent her off. The first step on the long road of discipline and ascendance. She shifted into the next form seamlessly. Anyone not from the tribe wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. But inwardly, Kozura was the happiest she'd been since she'd emerged from the desert.
[2/5 toward Dark Release]

After some time of staring at the girl he would walk forward and clear his throat. "Ehm, Morning" If this did not get her attention he would catiously approach her and reach out with a arm to touch her shoulder to get her attention at that point. He was ready to React to get out anything precarious if it were to happen, but hopefully everything would be fine so he could just get her attention.

She had finished the form now. Kozura's breath was ragged, and her body was shaking slightly. Underneath her uniform, little beads of liquid that her body had never made before slowly dripped down her inner thighs, which now ached with a new, primal feeling (though this didn't show through her uniform). So this was what the elders had been talking about when they gave each other that warm, knowing look. She'd been mystified at first, but now that she'd completed the prayer, she understood why this was the path that the tribe had chosen. It was one of the most wonderful things she'd ever experienced in her lifetime.

Naturally, it was that moment that she heard the man clearing his throat behind her. She whirled around, facing him as he greeted her. An unusual man, to be sure, but he must be trying to get her attention for a reason. Saukerl. He must have some kind of ulterior motive. Was he some kind of higher ranked shinobi, come to bend her around his finger, or to test a new jutsu on her? She'd just entered the path of the Tusked God, but by no means was she ready to compete with someone who could throw around fireballs or great blasts of power.

"Good morning. What did you need?" She responded, respectfully. She had a bit of an accent, which she was a little self conscious about, but hoped that she didn't embarrass herself.
[3/5 toward Dark Release]

"Well as for what I need" he trailed off for a moment thinking back to his friends lost. Shaking his head and coming back to "Well Im looking for people who could possibly be powerful enough for me to consider putting on a team with myself. Heard you training, decided to come check it out for myself, to see you doing your thing." He gestured around them to indicate the locale. "A little close to town in my opinion to be trying to be silent training by yourself, your clearly heard by trained ears" He would offer her a hand of his " Names Hirotsugu, But you can call me Hiro"

The man spoke, then extended his hand. Mmm.... he didn't seem like a suitable match for her, so she didn't take it. No risk of defilement that way, if he was a carrier of bad karma. Come to think of it, he still hadn't told her everything yet, had he? Clearly, he'd been observing her movements for some time. If he was thinking of recruiting POWERFUL people, maybe he should be looking elsewhere. After all, she'd come to this village recently with virtually no skills other than desert survival and a knack for pissing people off. Nevertheless, having comrades was certainly not a bad thing.

Still, if this guy wanted to form a team, she was going to need more than that. He wanted to form one for a reason, obviously. Friendship? Higher performance rankings? What was it? Well, she had never been one to dance around the bush.

"A team? What for?" She'd ask him simply. To be perfectly honest, she hoped that her rustic nature wasn't showing through too much. It tended to make people not take her as seriously as she would like them to, and that was annoying, to say the least. Nevertheless, this guy's reason had better be legit...

After she seemed to stare at his hand and not take it he would withdraw it, and Shrug, taking a step away and then listened to her words, she was right to the point with his intentions . That was fine by him, he did not want to waste precious time with something important if someone was not interested in his pitch.

"Very well, during this past Chuunin Exam I lost my team, and need a new one, to get far in the Ninja World a Team is needed, I seek powerful commrades not to Further my own Ambitions , but to stop me from going over board if needed, as well as so I am not out shadowing them in any way Either. This is the Major Purpose of the Powerful Team. As For my own Personal Goals however, that the team may or may not help me with, would be fully their choice, would be to Subjegate all to the will of Suna, and if they will not Bend willingly, then they will do so forcefully before being dealt with, to prevent further thoughts of going against Suna and its Will. Any Objections or Intrests?" He folded his arms and leaned back, almsot looking like he was sitting in the air, when suddenly a chair made of sand formed under him as he sat, staring at her.

So, he was weak by himself, but needed other people to help him? Well, she suppose that such a simple request needn't necessarily be a lie. Still, the rather grandiose scale of his ambitions made her hesitate. Surely, this was a most honorable mission. A Reich that would span across the world, showing all just how glorious and compassionate the village could truly be. It wasn't just some kind of little outpost in the desert, like so many outsiders thought. The very thought of that perception made her seethe inwardly with anger, sometimes. Still, she was truly powerless, possessing only the knowledge and not the usage of her clan's martial prowess.

"I'm in." Her voice was unwavering. Besides, it wasn't like she could really advance much further unless she, too, relied on the power of others. The tenets of her tribe were similar to what he was probably proposing.
Strength through tradition.
Strength through progress.
Strength through unity.
These were words that ran through her mind daily. They lent structure and purpose to her life, along with the more obvious burden of being the last of her kind in the world. She didn't know how she'd pass the clan's ways on, but she was still young. She'd get there eventually.
"How should we start?" She'd speak, posing the rather brusque query to Hiro.
[5/5 to Dark Release]

He raised an Eyebrow at her I'm In, in which way did she mean, did she support his dream, or did she want in on his team? He rubbed his chin, it would be to soon to accept or dismiss her from his team at this point in time so he eventually said to her " How about we start at a basic level of understanding each others Weakness's and Strengths, our fighting styles we prefer and knowledge and uniqueness of ones abilities?" he asked, now extending his arms outwards from him to either side as if he was some diabolical evil being inviting the hero to attack him.

"I think that is the best place to start to better understand one another and how well we could fit together on a team, what do you say?" he tilted his head at her, wondering if she agreed or would even take him up on this oppertunity.

Well, this was a little awkward. This guy was almost definitely stronger than she was. Sure, she carried in her mind the texts and diagrams to learn her clan's techniques, but that was nothing until she prepared herself to receive the power from the gods. This was something that she'd have to admit to the guy at some point, so why not now?

"As much as I believe in your cause, I have no skills whatsoever!" Well, other than the dark power of the Tusked God, which she still needed to figure out how to use. She remembered seeing one of the clan members using it to stop a rather large wind jutsu during the war. The large sickle-shaped air blast had seemed to gradually vanished, being... absorbed into her elder's hands. What this meant, she had no idea. She figured if she started trying to comprehend it now, she'd have to use one of the pills she'd brought along with her. These helped her out with her cognition, allowing her to see possibilities like grains in a stream of sand.

Still, this was the truth. She wasn't nearly ready to learn the actually useful forms of combat, yet. Even now, with her increasing dark power, she could still be considered at the bottom of the ladder.
[1/5 towards Inhaling Maw B-rank]

He would growl slightly being annoyed by her lack of even attempting when such a clear shot was given, meanwhile the sand around them began to stir as if blow by a gust and into a small circle, it wouldnt seem like a circle from inside of the sand, but it would slowly and gradually grow in thickness, little did she know at this time, but this was his true power, the control of the sand, he was always in his area he was most profecient in, he waited to see how long before she would attack, or if the building sand around her feet would trap her first.

She moved forward, towards the boy, hoping to land in some kind of attack. She had yet to master her tribe's martial forms, so using them now would only bring shame to her. However, there was one power that she now possessed, and she would at the very least try to use it. If her path was clear and she wasn't interfered with, she would attempt to grab the lad's arm. It was unfortunate that physical contact was required for this portion of the technique, but such was life. After all, even the Tusked God had his laws that must be obeyed.

Upon contact, the girl would begin to drain chakra from the boy if the contact was successful. At the moment, this was one of the only tricks she had up her sleeve, but it was a damn good one. To deprive ninjutsu users of a resource that they needed quite badly was probably the best way to go. It almost certainly wouldn't finish him off all at once, but it would be at least a good start, or a decent way to demonstrate exactly what she could do. She hoped he had some compatible jutsu for her as well, though that might be unlikely.
[Changing, 2/5 for chakra probably]

He grew impatient, when she moved forward finally, he was sneering, specially seeing how timid she seemed to move towards him. He would bring his hands together to form the few handsigns, chakra began to circle his hands, he would act like he was slashing his arm at her, which sent a blast of Pressurized wind at her, this was the fabled beast tearing palm, now he made sure to avoid any critical parts of her body, but if it hit her, he was showing her his power.

Her closing in already proved to him that she was close range, he needed to see how she dealt with long range attacks.

She could almost see it coming. The motions that he was using... was he going to attack or defend? As the raging blast of wind was sent at her, she realized that it was decidedly an attack. Well, it looked like she was forced to use her trump card early. She reached out with her hand, and ate the wind. The Inhaling Maw technique activated, and with a slight motion, the wind attack vanished. Kozura felt the power enter her, and she knew that she could release this power in one of many forms. She picked one, and with her still-extended hand, released a ball of dark blue fire at the boy.
She'd stop moving forward to see how the boy reacted. This was one of the few tricks up her sleeve, so she wanted to know how a standard ninjutsu user would respond to an attack like this. Was he aware of her tribe's power? It wasn't overtly obvious exactly what she had done to his jutsu, so hopefully he wouldn't be able to figure out just how useless her power really was against certain enemies. Still, she'd be prepared for anything else that he wanted to throw at her.
[3/5]

Seeing the attack of fire coming Hiro would raise his hand and using the fire sealing method to absorb the fire attack, then hiro would release it back at her, he wanted to see how she would deal with her own attack thrown at her, he also wondered if she did something similar or what , cause this was new to him, he didnt understand how exactly she could do that

As the man began to seal her attack into something, she wondered what recourse she had now. There was no way she could stop the sealing, not without something to chuck at the lad (silently curses self for not buying a kunai before this encounter), so she would instead simply raise her left hand as the fireball came toward her, and it would vanish again. Hopefully, the kid still wouldn't figure out what was going on. Without some way to analyze her chakra levels or the elemental nature she was using, there most likely wasn't a way to determine with certainty what her trick was.

She fired it back, but this time as a thin stream, continuing her forward motion. If he tried to seal it again, she'd attempt a straight punch into her sternum, a trick that she knew might not work, but fuck it. She might as well do something if this guy was using a method that could redirect her fire. Maybe she could attrition him out, but that was boring and somewhat rude to somebody who was genuinely trying to interact with her. So here she was, taking the more direct approach to fighting this guy.

Hiro would smirk as he noticed her trying to move and the sand building around her feet caught hold, while the sand from around him would raise up and block her fire, it curved back towards her redirecting the flames to go back at her instead of around the sand or even at himself. He grew bored quickly however which would be dangerous for the girl, so he wondered how best to entertain himself before he wound up killing her.

He decided Leaving would be the better case, heading away, he gave no warning, not until the sand he formed had fell apart and the sand around her feet let go, would it be apparent that he had disappeared from this fight, he had walked off back into town.

(Exit)

Kozura was a little sour about the defeat, but it seemed that Sandy-Boy had better things to do with his day. Well, so did she. It wasn't like she wanted to talk with him or anything, though she supposed that they had done plenty of that already. Well, either way, there was a lot of work to do if she was going to catch up with him. Stalking off back home, she'd get ready for training for the next day.

[exit, 5/5]