Slashes came from the left, then right, then left, the mist skating around him in a joyous giggle.  Vigorously he dodged, feeling each hit not through his haki, but through the slight changes is in the air before the mist lashed out to him.  It was strange how much could go unknown when reliant so much on the other sense, his observation haki included.  Issac had guessed that was the lessen to over reliance on one thing, mainly Sasayaki, could lead to a swift defeat if that crutch could no longer be relied on.

	"Daydreaming again?" the mist chuckled,  "You'll have plenty of time to dream when you're dead."

	Issac said nothing, exchanging enough banter with the mist to know exactly how it would play out.  Besides, he was focused, right on the brink of grasping something her couldn't know, yet feeling it rushing through his body.  He ha become so in sync with his weapon, he had rarely looked inward, at the things he could be capable of, and now, he knew; he could do this.

	The mist grew irritated, undoubtedly feeling off the confusion and fear of others.  It ramped up, swirling around and pulling his clothes at each pass.  "So you want to get serious, huh!?  Well, then take this.  Ultimate attack: Rising storm slash!

	The air grew clam in the center as the mist carried Mist Siera upward and around him, countless slashes barreling towards the center from every angle.  It was then that he realized, that he could see it, the way forward.  Issac didn't run, no, instead he pushed his feet against the ground, up and down so quickly that by the time the first slash managed to reach he had vanished, moving in a random yet elusive patter that sent all of the attack past him, including the finisher from above.

	"Sweeet," he dragged, lifting each tired foot and inspecting them like a Pirate's Day gift.  "I guess that's it then."  His arms pulled at the mist, dispersing the mist from them, using them to wipe his eyes clear.  "I should be heading out now.  If I'm a betting man, I'd say the band is about ready to get back together."

	"Leave?" the mist giggled.  "That's not how this works, my dear boy.  You're one of us, now."  Another shape emerged, this one more familiar than most, with the best looking face he had ever seem, if he could say so himself.  "You see," Mist Issac and Sasayaki said in unison,  "We are home now."

	Issac looked around, feeling the shifts in the wind, the smells that seeped through the dense white, aiming for anything familiar, when something hit hit nose.  Smoke.  "Peanut," he shouted, repeating the movements, appearing behind his clone in an instant, his knee flinging the form forward.  "I'm coming you crazy son of a beeoch," he yelled, giving a wink to Mist Sierra and vanishing again towards the smell.

--------

	[i]Finally[/i], Phin thought, a moment of rest in the crazy journey his crew had brought upon him.  He was a proud fishman, confident in his own abilities until shown otherwise.  He was strong, he knew, but there was always room to grow, and that ceiling was now higher than he ever could have imagined.  "I can do this," he spoke out loud.  "I will do this," he promised from his peaceful clearing, letting the serenity refill his ambition, for Phin, and for his crew.

	"Run!" he heard from the distance.  The unmistakable voice of the craziest crew mate, who mysteriously had gone missing during everyone's big training session.

	[i]Here we go again,[/i] he thought, slowly rising, the weight of the days taking it's toll.  "What trouble have you fou-"

	A wall of fog flooded the horizon, swallowing the forest indiscriminately in it's vicious pursuit.  Barely edging out the treat was Issac, smile filling his face as large as the day he met him, vanishing in and out of sight as the fog plunged forth, almost intently.  He vanished a last time before appearing behind him, giving a quick tap on the shoulder.  "You're it."