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A light mist settled upon the forest floor as the sun began to rise. The shinobi had been here even before the crack of dawn-- a habit she had established long ago during her years as an apprentice ninja. Izumi knelt upon the ground, hidden behind some foliage, and deep in thought as she analyzed her course of action. A crow calling out to its flock in the distance seemed to be a satisfactory signal, as the ninja leapt from her ambush spot and attacked.

The shinobi ran into the center of the clearing, her eyes adjusting to the target. Steel glinting in the light of the sun, her hands were a blur as she flung a trio of shuriken. With a snap of her wrists, the metal stars flew forward; two struck their target dead-on, while the third deviated slightly, landing only a [i]serviceable[/i] hit. Izumi clicked her tongue in annoyance, before dropping to her knees as she reached for another set of weapons. 

She envisioned the target before her. The body had three-hundred-sixty-five acupuncture points-- one for each day of the year. Were this any other time, she could certainly perform acupuncture and insert a needle for each one, but for now, she would have to settle for five. Heart, lung, liver, kidney, and, stomach. It was the nature of the shinobi to disrupt, and that included the body's equilibrium. Izumi shut her eyes, and let loose a barrage of senbon, the iron needles nearly imperceptible in flight.

Five soft thuds were heard-- if you weren't listening for it, the sound would've easily been drowned out in the forest.

And they struck true. Hanging from a tree branch was a small mannequin of wicker and straw-- a crude facsimile of a man. Two shuriken had struck the neck, and a third had landed on its right shoulder. Meanwhile, five needles were embedded in the practice dummy's body, each one having struck a vital organ. Senbon weren't exactly the most lethal of weapons, but in the hands of a trained shinobi, it was a deadly armament.

[color=#239C89]"Not bad."[/color] Izumi finally said, after inspecting her handiwork. [color=#239C89]"...if I were killing motionless men of straw."[/color] She then scoffed as she collected her weapons.

Again. You will do this over and over until you get it right. Until it is [i]perfect.[/i]

---

Dressed in simple, inconspicuous traveler's attire, Izumi could almost pass for Nohrian, were it not for the Hoshidan blade hanging at her hip. Almost. she was traveling down the forest path towards the city of Drakesfoot. Satisfied with the results of her training, she figured it was time to return to the city and check-in with the rest of the Silver Hawks. They were all on leave at the moment, of course, but for now, she had other things to do. Who she would run into on the way there, or within the city, the shinobi was uncertain.