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After a long, tiring day of sitting around relaxing the jounin felt something shift in his stomach - the juices flowing with each step he took towards his destination. 'God damn I really need to start carrying food with me, this better work,' a flawless plan had been concocted in his mind as the restaurant came into view, his stomach to be full very soon. Unfortunately in his normal attire he wasn't well-dressed enough to enter the establishment and also he didn't really feel like paying so this meant very delicate measures would have to be taken.

"Alright, Henge!" the transformation jutsu was performed changing the somewhat tall boy of 19 into a completely different and unrecognizable appearance. The 6 foot height was now reduced to a small size barely over 4 feet, hair completely disappearing but being covered by an old-fashioned hat and the jounin flak jacket as well as red coat on top replaced by a green overcoat and tight fitting black pants - facial features noticeably older and cane now the accessory in his right hand.



In these new suave clothes the transformed Haku walked up to the front of the restaurant and was escorted in by the doorman, the first stop would be the bar. Making his way towards the bar a small exclamation of joy was heard from his left which startled him, already he had been found out?

"Amazing!" turning to look in the direction the sound came from he released a sigh, it was just some girl impressed with her food - nothing worth mulling over. Unusually quick steps took the man with the cane to the bar where he jumped up impressively onto a stool, legs dangling several feet from the ground in this position. Picking up a menu he took not more than a second to glance at the page with the meats selections and tapped on it to draw attention from the waiter just walking by "One of everything on this page please, to go." yeah that would hold him over for a few hours at least.

Taking a peek back at the tables he eyed a few people, one being a boy who appeared close to his own real age and size, a fellow ninja from his appearance. Perhaps he could figure out a few things about some other shinobi whilst waiting for all the food to be prepared. The jounin jumped from the chair and walked towards the table the boy sat at, but before reaching it would perform a dramatic trip acting as though he had slipped on a wet spot on the floor.

While falling forward the cane in his right hand was released would fly towards the boy's (Taizo's) face seemingly accidentally from any observers, upon the cane leaving his hand the man would use his hands to stop his fall and observe what the boy did as the cane went towards him.

Total = 460 exp
1000 exp in Shoton - 'X' casting mastery I

Retraining

a ranked - 150



Cx2 - 100



Cx1 - 50



Dx1 -25



Dx1 -25, Cx1 -50



Cx1 -50



Ex2 -10

[re-enter]

Arriving back at his favoured spot Haku watched over the lake as it reflected the changing nature of the sky, light had begun to change to dark as dusk had snuck up on him whilst off at the academy. Well, there was still a bit of time to relax before heading back home. Walking over the the edge of the lake where the water splashed upon the shore with a slightly increasing wind he sat down with hands and arms going behind his head as he leaned back, deep breath as he took in the surprisingly sweet air around him. In his mind this was the best part of life, relaxing with nature.

The students had given their full attention throughout Haku's speech which had now come to an end, surprisingly giving a round of applause to show their thanks for his time. The chuunin academy teacher watched in awe as the kids who had just 30 minutes ago been completely lacking care for listening to her lecture were now appreciative of tales of the ninja life, perhaps there was hope in this generation after all.

Turning to Haku extending her hand the teacher showed a big smile in her features, "Thank you very much hopefully you've convinced them to work a bit harder and take their futures more seriously! Please do come back,' the handshake nearly ripped Haku's arm off with the excitement of the teacher making her shake it extremely hard. "Eh I'm sure you have more to teach them than I ever could," when letting go of her hand he moved his left hand to cover his right massaging the pain, a weak smile coming to his face before waving to the kids.

"It was a pleasure, I want all of you stronger than me in five years time!" the jounin then took his leave, his work done for the time being.

"What do you love most..the very question an assailant asked me so long ago and an important question to be honest with yourself about if you intend to fully understand your inner workings..my answer now is easy or at least on the surface, I have loved her ever since that week before graduation - unfortunately if an enemy gets hold of your emotions and inner thoughts they get used against you"

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"Haku keep up! Lazybones.." Alaina's high energy was contagious for most people but quite frankly it didn't do much for Haku who was content to take everything at his own pace.

This was their last mission required in order to qualify for the chuunin exams, it was simple enough, go to the outskirts of the water country and pick up some documents for the Mizukage. They weren't to open them but that wouldn't be a real problem. He had learned to love these missions that he took with Alaina, they became less missions and more time for them to connect even more. They had learned so much about each other in the past two years both emotionally and in combat, even time outside of missions the two spent nearly all of their time together. Haku thought a lot about this and the realisation that this was probably their last mission together as a genin made it difficult for concentration for him.

The mist-filled forests of Kiri was the location of their travel to the outer rim of the country, Haku had convinced her to slow down to a walking pace for talking, nervousness building up inside of him, "Hey..y'knowwhen we're chuunin things are going to be different, we're going to probably get a genin or two each to look after and it'll be harder to meet and everything. I don't want that even if I know it has to happen for our goals to be met...so." it had been planned out so perfectly in his head but the feeling of butterflies in his stomach was becoming overwhelming. Alaina having known him so well knew exactly where he was going with it, a blush forming on her cheeks and a smile to her face before giddy words came from her mouth, "I understand, and of course I accept! You've become perhaps the most important part of my life sharing it with you in the future would be my dream," Hakuturi's heartbeat rose as she accepted his request even without him needing to complete it for her, she really was perfect for him.

In a rare state of elation he picked her up off the ground and jumped into the trees taking off for the meeting point where the convoy was to give the documents, he carried her much like a husband would carry a wife at a wedding - it wasn't normal for him but he wanted to get the mission finished as fast as possible to start preparing for the chuunin exams and what he pictured as a perfect life afterwards with her.

Waves crashed upon the shore, the vast sea that separated the Water country from the Fire country now the image filling the two's eyes. Placing Alaina back to her feet, the smiles never leaving their faces until this moment, the two looked around for the convoy who seemed to be nowhere in sight. "That's odd..if anything we're the ones who are late, ugh how annoying".

Out of the shadows several figures made their appearance, each of them wearing normal flak jackets with headbands bearing the symbol of the Leaf village, one carried a brown envelope that was sure to be the container for the documents. "Aye! Didn't see you guys, Mizukage said there would only be one but I guess you can never have enough safety huh?" he took several steps towards them before Alaina jumped in front, "No stop! They've led us into a trap!". No, had he been fooled? The Leaf shinobi didn't move from their positions and seemed to almost be one with the thick mist, facial expressions having absolutely nothing behind them. Only now was it apparent what was going on.

Looking in each direction the same image was seen at the same distance, an advanced genjutsu that affected his sight, he assumed Alaina saw the same thing. Luckily for him she was excellent in chakra control and would be able to break them both out of it. A nod towards each other and she formed the handsign for 'Kai'. At the very moment this happened a huge wire sprang from the ground to wrap around her, first her hands and soon becoming her entire body from the neck down causing her to fall over to her side before performing the jutsu, she was bound in place.

Haku knelt down to observe the binding but was cut short by a chilling voice from directly behind him, "You genin are almost too easy, that was no fun at all," the raspy tone sent chills through his spine, there was no time for fear at this point though - only immediate action against their attacker. Taking this small window Haku formed a special handseal which would cause 5 shuriken made of crystal to form directly behind both he and the man standing behind him - he hoped that the lack of warning from the attack would catch the man off guard.

Closing his eyes, Haku released his energy to direct the shuriken directly into the man's head hoping that this would kill him in one blow, a loud sound of the shuriken hitting skin was enough to indicate a successful hit. Upon opening his eyes and turning to look at his victim horror overcame his features. "No.." the man had taken the split second between the eyes closing and the shuriken coming towards him to replace himself with the bound body of Alaina, the crystal shuriken lodged in her abdomen and a large amount of blood spilling to the ground.

"You're quite troublesome, I was simply hired to kill you both quickly and leave no evidence but now I want to make you suffer!" the man stood 5 meters behind Haku's current location, the thirst for blood now palpable. Hired? Did he mean someone in the Mist's own council hired for them to be killed? There was no time to think as thick steel wire came from the ground to bind each of Haku's limbs in place, no movement other than the head for him. No..not now, any time but now!

"Tell me kid, what do you love most? Taking that away and having you live with it forever associating it with my face - it would be so much more fulfilling for me," it was barbaric..what could drive a man to behave this way? Haku had given up struggling against the wires at this point and looked towards the ground, "I love.." before he could finish the man was stood directly over him with a dagger now in his hand. "I'm going to find out it it's your little girlfriend over here first, then answer,". Haku's heart nearly stopped, it couldn't be her, she was the future of this village - the one who would finally make the world right. He was literally speechless at this and frozen in fear with each step the man took towards her, his dagger cocked back and ready to aim for her heart when..

"Gotcha!" five crystal shuriken had directly hit the man's back sending him to the ground with a large thud. Haku sat still speechless looking at Alaina who was stood 20 meters in the distance though now running towards him until it was reduced to a few feet. The shock on his face was enough to get her to talk, "You really should have paid attention in class Haku! It only took an advanced clone jutsu to let it look like I got caught, combine that with a perfectly timed transformation jutsu and add in a replacement technique and it was actually not that hard! Though of course it took pinpoint precision," how..was she able to stay so calm throughout it all, the clone sat behind him poofed into smoke as Alaina bent down to untie him.

The last arm being untangled, a big smile came to the girl's face. "Let's get out of here," Haku found it impossible to move himself, the thoughts of just a minute earlier would be ones that would haunt him forever..what did he love..in this moment of life or death, had he simply convinced himself it was true to keep her alive or was it his true feeling? "I love.." Alaina was confused and kept her eyes on the boy who still stayed in place with his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Haku watch out!" a dagger was headed directly for the back of his neck, the dying man's last action. The sound of blood as it connected made a nice complement to the crashing waves, it was a fatal blow at that range and velocity.

Falling to the ground Alaina's body slowly began to lose its energy, the added effect of using the shunshin to get in the way of the thrown dagger made it an impossible one to survive. "I'm sorry Haku..I couldn't let you die and allow myself to live, I love you more than anything, keep living for both of us," her words were barely audible as air could barely escape through bouts of blood coming up through her throat, but Haku understood each word.

For the next 24 hours the boy stayed in the same place even though the bindings had been cut, he sat staring at the ground with a blank expression, the waves crashing upon the shore eager to claim two new dead bodies. "I love.."

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"Myself..." he learned it that day, the man had promised to kill what he loved most and succeeded - that part of Haku's heart gone forever as well as the piece of him in Alaina he could never see again, the only thing that could keep him going was her will to complete their dreams..it was what she died for.

"That..is the worst thing a ninja can learn about themselves and the absolute worst thing I have learned in my years as a shinobi. A tear rolled down his face until gravity took it towards the ground, a small bit of chakra turning it to crystal before it shattered on the floor.

"I was asked to come here to wow you with my travels, to encourage you to become a ninja in order to experience those same things. Instead I will use this opportunity to inform you exactly why becoming a shinobi is so important, but not simply for the thrill of battle or excitement of traveling the world," his tone was stern and his eyes unwavering, a serious attitude sinking into him rather than the lackadaisical one he normally had and the one that he had prepared to ease on the kids before arriving. Thinking about his past brought up this need inside of him.

"When I was the same age as you all I felt that there was no need for ninja..they were the ones who forced this world we live in to be rebuilt after all, the teachings that were given to me in this very room I did not listen to due to my indifference over the whole experience. What we learned here I thought was insignificant and wouldn't help in the future...let me you all, I couldn't have been more incorrect.

You see, here you learn more than just about chakra and history of our village, you also learn perhaps the most valuable thing you ever can - the value of allies and bonds." the dark features of Haku seemed to get even darker as he said the last words, the incident that changed his entire life and led him to pursuing a real life of a shinobi lied beneath those words.

"When you graduate you are immediately introduced into a dangerous world with some people doing anything they can for power be it through death, betrayal, bribery..it is an insane world we live in. Sometimes when out in the world you will be face to face with your darkest fears and there would be no possible way out without at least one person you can depend on..someone who would literally rip their heart out for you if it meant saving you over themselves - even though they know full well that you would be prepared to do the same to protect them."


Alaina.. memories...

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the one person after his parents' passing in the war who he could instantly relate to, a girl his own age who had gone through the academy with him. She was different in that she was always on point with her studies and took a great liking to learning everything the teacher had for her. Haku had always found this annoying at the time, never missing an opportunity to attack her for it, the only thing learning from these people would do was turn her into the very same thing the people who ruined the world were - murderers out for only themselves.

One day when skipping class about a week before the graduation test Haku was sat on a swingset just outside of the academy, small crystals forming in the air every few seconds reflecting light towards the building almost like he was aiming them wanting them to do something more. To his surprise another person had arrived next to him to take the second swing next to him, it was her..skipping class? She was in line to win the perfect attendance award as well as top student which would be in jeopardy if caught avoiding class with no reason. "Hakuturi, I have to ask, why do you hate me?" her question was simple and filled with innocence, was this the reason she put her awards in jeopardy?

Taken a bit aback by the question but fully prepared to respond, the boy did so, "You put so much emphasis on the academy and becoming knowledgeable in everything they have to feed to you..to me it is sickening, you along with all of us will simply become the same as the past generation! We are no different if we follow down the same paths they led, and you are the prime example of this system in effect, I wouldn't be surprised if you led an attack as Mizukage just for the increase in power." he spoke with venom, more than he had ever given to a person but it was the angriest he had ever been, everything was coming out that he normally kept hidden behind dry remarks. He looked directly towards her before finishing, "That is why I hate everything about you."

Tears streamed down the girl's face with the finishing of his rant, taking in the message and analysing it not seeing how someone could think so lowly of her when she had been given plaudits for everything in her life up to that point. She was able to compose herself however and respond. "Haku..you must understand that I'm upset at what the past brought as well, my parents were taken by the very same war as yours..but the reason I try so hard is so that one day I can change it all, how the world is run. I know that it is impractical but I also know that it is absolutely impossible without putting my hardest into it and learning every mistake that has been made in the past." the tears dried by now with solidarity returning to her voice. "People talk about you Haku, they say you are simply a bitter, angry, and unmotivated individual..your lack of care being the worst thing to happen to the academy in a long time"

Haku's eyes narrowed and mouth formed a grimace at the accusation before she continued.

"But I wanted to be just like you..for in a way your goals are the same as mine - I understand that you want change as well even if the path you're leading is different. It is why I came here..I want to be there to push you to achieving these things on one condition."

A smile formed to her face before turning to Haku, "You are there to push me as well," Hakuturi's eyes lit up before turning to meet her's..she seemed to understand him perfectly even with so few words, he felt flustered for the first time when talking to her. "I will..forever,"

Unfortunately forever wasn't to last too long..

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The memories had brought a smile to the jounin's face, it was such a simple word to say back then forever..and he had meant it with all his heart. His attention back on the students he addressed them once more, "Those dangers I spoke of..you learn that they aren't to be feared..as long as you have someone, something driving you on to protect and someone to protect you."