[center][U][B]Airianna, Tsukiko - [I]Nokemono[/I][/B][/U]
[I][U]Kumogakure - Raikage's Manor ---> Lands outside[/U][/I][/center]
[center][img]http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/035/e/5/mirya_by_aozorize-d753p61.jpg[/img][/center]

Clouds drifted through the air, passing over white capped peaks where snow rested peacefully upon the mountains. A whole range of them, all unique to their siblings as they pushed up, almost as if trying to pierce the sky. This same almost ghostly wind, such was its chill, would pass over a figure who had been observing for quite some time. Her dainty form, which was draped by the softest of silken cloth and covered further by the robe of a kage. Her skin was pale and her hair white, as if she had been sired by the snowy mountains themselves, for she had indeed the rough stolid and immovable stature of the earthly monuments that surrounded her domain.

Tugging at the hem of her dress and the edges of her white ceremonial robes, the wind sent the garments into motion, while the form they draped made none. For the eyes that gazed down on the village hidden in the clouds were unmoving, but forever observant of that which was theirs. These eyes, while not roving, took in all the details of the village, the small bustling market areas, the busy training grounds, and even the outer reaches that defended from hostility.

With all of this she was pleased, one might say, but that did not mean that the Raikage was satisfied. Turning, her clothes matching suit despite the harsh winds, Tsukiko stepped from the balcony and back into the office of her manor, where she was typically found. As if on cue, and as per her own specific orders, one of her many aides and informants would seem to appear from the shadows of the room to serve her should the need arise. At first, the ethereal woman took little note, merely busying herself before a mirror where she made sure she appeared as she wished to. It was a ritual that she often took part in, for it confirmed to her that she indeed still possessed a body...still possessed life, even if it was stolen.

[I]"Raikage-sama,"[/I] the aide said to garner her attention,[I] "the reports have come in. Uzushiogakure will be hosting the exams..."[/I] Tsukiko made little effort to recognize the messengers words, not that she often made efforts for such things. They were minor details, nonetheless, her lilting, soft voice would pass through the air as she turned from the mirror and to her desk where she briefly organized the papers and confirmed several other documents, placing those that were denied, or needed revision, in a separate pile. [B]"And?"[/B] her tone was barely inquisitive, but the aide knew to respond despite this, [I]"...you've been summoned, personally, along with the other kage, to attend a meeting and stay for the exams...milady."[/I] In the motion of righting several other papers, Tsukiko stopped and exhaled deeply before beginning to breath once more.

It made the aide nervous. [B]"Very well, notify Ketsuro...tell him to meet me at the village's edge. You and the elders are in charge in my stead."[/B] The aide raised an eyebrow, but before the man could utter a single word, Tsukiko responded, [B]"I do not trust him enough."[/B] The aide's jaw clenched tightly to prevent further comment before the individual took a step back, and entered the shadows to once more disappear.

Tsukiko was one of the few to know how her aides, and most of the ANBU blackops, were capable of such a feat. However, she had more important matters to attend, and so she finished her paperwork, leaving several sets of contingency-like instructions with various aides before she again stepped out onto the balcony, then onto the stone formed structure that kept one from easily tumbling to their doom. She stood like this for a long moment, her crimson eyes closed as she breathed in the air of the place she had made her home, the place this body had matured in, and then let the wind gently push her from the balcony's edge.

Her clothes streamed behind her, as her body plummeted towards the stony earth before something caught the wind, its form shimmering as it did so before it carried her gently across the currents of wind and to the edge of the village. Here she drifted down and lit upon the massive wall that was the first layer of their village's defense. There she would wait for Ketsuro.

---

Once he arrived and was briefly informed of the situation, the two would depart the village, Ketsuro with two of his three bodies along, and head for the village of ash. Tsukiko, uncaring of time and having received notification before the others of her status, would simply walk, never run, in the direction of the village. She would surely arrive after the other kage, but this way she would enjoy the trip far more, and make others waste their own time to suit her ends.

After all, she had all the time in the world.

[center][U][B]Nazomeku, Eiji - [I]Wireless[/I][/B][/U]
[I][U]Kumogakure - Training Grounds[/U][/I][/center]
[center][img]http://i60.tinypic.com/2wrjaqx.jpg[/img][/center]
Eyes closed as he sat on the top of a 30 foot high pillar in the center of one of the many training grounds, Eiji was in lotus position, hands clasped to utilize his Sentō no jutsu(Spire technique), the jounin watched as three of his four students, one which was absent at the moment, attempted to continuously evade the assault of spikes. The genin had been placed within a large dome, its radius being roughly 45 feet, which had Eiji's pillar in its center. The walls and floor of the area were covered in sharp spikes, which were continuously being lengthened and shortened by Eiji's will. He was stretching the bounds of his abilities to test the abilities of his genin to evade and reach a target all at once.

If any of them managed to touch him on the back the would be expelled from the dome, or sat on a pillar to observe their teammates struggle...or they could join them in an attempt to assist. The trick of it was if they decided to leave the area, they failed the test and would have to suffer something worse, and more personal, later on to make up for it. So the right answer was to come back and help one's teammates.

Teamwork was important, for an effective team would be capable of taking out even stronger shinobi, or just having a better time. However, there was more to the task then it would appear, for Eiji had designed it so that some spikes were blunted and others were not. Some of them only extended a certain amount, and others only [I]appeared[/I] to move through optical illusions. The trick was that all of them were coated in a thin layer of Eiji's chakra. This allowed even the sharp ones to not impale his students, but to still cause them great [B]terror[/B] when one hit. Plus, with the way Eiji was manipulating the spires the genin would often find their pathes redirected towards one another, rather than at Eiji or one of the rock obstructions.

When they had begun...Eiji had called the test by the name of "Spire 'o rama." It was a name just like all the others he had made in previous tests of their skill...it was a name of a game. Sort of.

Eiji called all team exercises, even ones that pitted them against one another, [I]'games'[/I]. Sometimes missions were [I]games[/I] too, and it was those missions that terrified the poor genin even more, because they were very often much more dangerous than they should have been able to handle.

Yet they always pulled through, Eiji's help always valuable, but never enough so that their own skills were completely overshadowed. One could say he was a tough, but loving, sensei, but if they had watched his methods...they'd probably use a word more like, well, insane.

[B]"Koizumi-chan, you seem to be tiring. Are your eyes hurting yet?"[/B] Eiji would say as spires again assaulted each genin, driving them from one another even though they needed to team up in order to win. oddly, Eiji's eyes were closed as he said it.

[B]"Oh, sage-[I]sama[/I],"[/B] Eiji mocked, as his head turned slightly as if to observe Iyana Tetsujin, whose last name meant [I]sage[/I], "...has your blade dulled yet!?" The jounin then cackled as if it was the best joke he'd made yet, before his head turned once more to his third student, Masahiro. [B]"I have to wonder if you've made one of your [I]illusory suggestions[/I] yet,"[/B] Eiji's smirk was undying and his sense of humor more than a little bit skewed. Still, the jounin was only doing what was best for his students...right?

[center][U][B]Tetsujin, Iyana[/B][/U]
[I][U]Kumogakure Training Grounds[/U][/I][/center]

Dodging another barrage of pillars that seemed to close in at different times from multiple directions, Iyana just barely managed not to get crushed...or stabbed [B]again[/B]. This was ridiculous, even worse than what their sensei had put them through last week. It was obscene, but damn was it challenging and fun. She had to admit that while the guy was most definitely fucked in the head, that he was certainly better than most men. In fact, Iyana, over the two years that she'd been under his wing, had come to actually look up to the guy a little. Still, she had a retort for his teasing just as always, [B]"Shut up old man, maybe you should pick on-..."[/B] a pillar came at her from the left wall and she was forced to quickly push her hand out, covered with a portion of her shade cloak formed through Zōkyō, and grasping it only to swing herself up, weaving between several more pillars and then bounding towards Ayano in an attempt to reach one of her teammates, [B]"...someone your own age!"[/B]

This shit was getting ridiculous as they'd been enduring this for at least 5 minutes already and it didn't look like Eiji was going to let up any time soon.[I]'Shit...at this rate I'll have to use Chisoku....'[/I] Iyana didn't like using the blade, mostly because she didn't feel that she was worthy of it, nor that her opponents were either. It might have seemed arrogant, but she didn't much care. Most people sucked anyways.