OK, one thing here. Levine comes of as a bit of a hinata clone. I have spent some time making this update, making sure I was capable of going through with my plans for her and guess what? I haven't lost my personal flare for making characters absolutely bat shit insane in an awesome way. Seriously, she is like my old mainstay character, a homicidal ritual murderer with a thing for public mutilation, only on fire. She will kick through some guys face and you'll be completely unphased because she just immolated his child for kicks moments earlier. Gods bless the man who penned the phrase "deflowering by fire" in the ROD manga because otherwise we'd be stuck with a marksman bit character. Just wait till next update. Blood will be involved in a totally unpredictable (this is sarcasm people) way.

Also, Tsukiko will constantly run through nicknames for Levine relating to fire based supernatural beings many of which will be completely out of place. Gdon is a flaming tiger (a GIANT flaming tiger) which some god or other rides in Japanese mythology and Hinotama means flame spirit or fireball or something in Japanese. Also, tarresque is a monstrous turtle of some kind by the by. I've no idea if the japs made that one and I'm sure as hell not looking it up. But there's story down there. Read it.

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The streets of the village were, as ever, covered in an e white blanket of mist. That was always the problem inherent with living there. The blanket never left. It was an oppressive grey, a somber dullness slowly sucking the life out of everything. Perhaps rotting would be a better word, considering the source. Some could say it was the reason that so many of its residents went over the edge. Here you are, in this harsh little world that is your everything, unable to glimpse outside of the borders and then the world opens up to you in its entirety after years of grey. What a rush that must be, to escape that vast, clinging nothingness. One can only imagine it. But inside the village walls, it seems that the mist could go on forever, slowly suffocating their small patch of civilization. Within the labyrinthine pathways, high stone walls with the hint of red rooftops at the very edge of perception, Tsukiko and Levine wandered home together as they always did, Levine always trailing slightly behind Tsukiko at a slow pace. Tsukiko was slightly taller than you would expect and kept a brisk pace on top of that. If Ceyla was not constantly occupied judging people she might have picked up on this little relationship, but such things are often based on assumption rather than observation. Unsurprisingly, Tsukiko was writing in her little notebook.

"Eh, Gdon, what do you think of the phrase 'swathed in midnight'?" she said, looking critically at her own work.

"Uh…um…it doesn't really fit the situation, does it?" Levine hated criticizing Tsukiko's writing and looked down in shame. Tsukiko slapped her on the back jovially in order to get her out of the slump. Depression was an unnecessary distraction.

"You're right, you're right. Stop getting like this whenever I ask you something. It makes you terribly difficult to write for with all the pauses and indecision." Tsukiko smiled in a devilish way. It wasn't intentional; she just had rather villainous features. "Nice job with the uniforms though. I love the handicap it gives me. A real chance to prove myself as a master of the ninja arts. Stealth, grace, agility, technique…" Another note was made" I don't think that should go that long. Let's drop Technique. Or maybe grace…"

"Umm, Tsukiko? You know I-I made you the black one as well for a reason…" Tsukiko was lost in her writing. Something clicked. This was crunch time for Levine. Something she'd been thinking about for a while. Now may have been the best time to finally face reality. Because certain conventions must be applied to even with a crotchety young cynic like myself, the faintest hints of tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Some could say this was cute, a sign of purity and innocence. Realistically however, it was a manifestation of Levine's completely malleable personality, a sociopathic desire to do things because that's what was done in times like that.

Her resolve strengthened enough that she could open her mouth, Levine sighed in a defeated manner.

"I…I don't think I'm important enough to be in your story…"

Tsukiko didn't miss a beat, responding almost before Levine could finish "Don't be stupid, Gdon! You've got the most important role of all, as partner and equal to the next great legend of the world! You, the mysterious youth with the flickering flame of passion within her breast, the indomitable spark igniting your heart…Hang on" Tsukiko flipped a few pages in her book and began scribbling furiously. Levine blushed and bit at the back of her hand, a compulsive habit of hers whenever embarrassed. They walked in silence for a time, the only sound the scratching of Tsukiko's pen. Eventually they reached their destination, a run down Ramen shop identified as 'GO! Ramen!' by a decrepit sign hung from its walls. It was filled with steam, though this was hardly noticeable considering the location. In a distant sort of way the two ordered their meals and sat on the rather frayed bench provided.

"Umm…Tsukiko-sama…"

"Yeah, Gdon?"

"Ummm…Ah….Did you really mean what you said about your goal today?" Slight pangs of hope emanated from the voices wispy tones.

"No." Tsukiko didn't even look up. At least it was steamy, providing one half of a scenario that could well have taken place in this setting "I was just trying out the line. Didn't work though."

"Oh…." Deflation set in "do you-do you, uh, want to find love though?"

"Of course." Her lips curled into a much friendlier smile, the effort of softening her features almost visible "What kind of saga would lack romance?"

"I…don't know…" Levine resumed biting her hand, her constant embarrassment around Tsukiko failing to lift itself.

"You've got to open yourself up sometimes, Hinotama. Three years we've been here. It's not like they hate us because we're refugees or anything. You've just got to let loose."

"O-okay…Tsukiko-sama"

"You know I'll run out of ellipses if you don't, right?" Tsukiko chuckled at her own joke, Levine just looking down again. Then they waited in silence for their meals, golden tones corrupting the muted blanket.

It was unsurprising that, like everyday, the sunset was obscured. Was it really that much of a loss considering who was there to appreciate it?

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It was little more than a decaying concrete bowl, its purpose obscured by its rapid dilapidation. A ring of blank slabs, surrounded by scrub and decay .It would have been inaccessible were it not for a cracked, ivy covered slab, collapsed to the point where the inside arena could be entered with little trouble. There was grass and ruined pavement and, unsurprisingly, mist, a tranquil tableau shared by most stone ruins. Sufficed to say, it was not often used. Gentra was sitting on one of the larger boulders, one eye closed in a vain attempt to get some rest. In truth she was much better than she had been yesterday, but it was hard to get over a slump as big as the one she was in with one nights rest. Tsukiko came through the crack first, this time wearing a black version of the outfit she had worn yesterday, complete with a pattern of flames embossed on the cuffs. It earned points for being less impractical than the one she wore yesterday, at least. Levine trotted in behind her, head properly downcast. They gave Gentra little more than a nod and she treated them in kind.

"Kitsuraiga is late" Gentra said after a while. This was greeted by a scraping sound, metal on stone at lightning speeds and the appearance of Ceyla's trademark scythe head from the mists, followed by a long length of chain which ended in the girl herself, gliding lithely over the wall as she followed her chain scythe at almost justifiable speeds. The key word being almost, the weight of the passenger diminishing the chain scythes otherwise formidable speed. The fact that the scythe had propelled her on its own momentum probably meant that wasteful levels of chakra were involved.

"That's all three of you then" Gentra interjected quickly in order to avoid any further flashiness on Ceyla's part. Blocked from a one liner she had stood outside the arena several minutes to formulate before making her entrance, Ceyla pouted and took her place among her fellow genin.

"You're all here. Good. Now we begin a simple test. I will teach those who pass. Tsukiko, come here. Act as spotter."

"Uh, Okay, sensei" Tsukiko was for once at a loss for words. Gentra treated words like bullets, firing them out as fast as possible while taking care not to waste any.

"What's going on, Hentai-Sensei?" Ceyla winced at the use of her teacher's last name and the connotations it brought.

"Simple. Here's fellow genin Zan Tarresque."A figure stumbled out of the mist, a boy of small stature wearing standard genin attire and a shield on his arm in the shape of a spiked shell. He looked blankly at the girls, a hint of fear in his gaze.

"Kill him. Now."