Land Of Iron: Ryu Training Grounds

Toshiro Ryu, a Samurai in training, was preparing to compete in the Promotion Exam. He wore sky blue armor that bore the family crest of a moon. His hair was short and sky blue in color.

He was just about to strike at a dummy when his younger sister, Momo, ran towards him. She wasn't wearing her armor revealing the standard black robes with sky blue trim that their family tended to wear. She had sky blue hair as well except she kept hers in a bun.

"Hey Toshiro, I brought you lunch!" Momo happily exclaimed.

Toshiro sheathed his blade and had a slight smile on his face. "Thank you Momo, I am a bit…"

Toshiro's smile dropped as he drew his blade and turned in an attempt to block a sword that was coming at him, but the blade his opponent carried easily cut through his practice sword. The young Samurai had to jump back to avoid being cut by the sword.

He now took the time to carefully exam his opponent. His opponent had green hair and was a ninja from the Land of Rain, or at least that's what his headband revealed him to be.

The ninja was wearing a light blue cloak. On his back he carried and umbrella. In his right hand he carried a glowing, yellow sword.

Momo had stopped in her tracks as she'd very nearly seen her brother cut in half by this stranger.

"Momo, I need you to run back to the house and get father. Do you think you can do that for me?" Toshiro asked seriously.

"Y-Yes brother." Momo said before turning around and running.

The ninja smirked. "It's not very smart to turn your back on me."

The Rain ninja appeared behind Momo causing her to turn around with a look of pure terror on her face. She screamed as the blade came at her. The screaming soon stopped as she saw her brother standing in front of her.

The sword was poking out of his back, and his clothes were already stained with blood.

Aoi laughed, "Here I thought attacking a few Samurai in training was going to be boring." he shrugged. "You two have proven me wrong." He then directly addressed Toshiro. "Though it's a real pity that you can't participate in the exam. You seemed so promising."

Momo couldn't speak. All she could do was display terror on her face as the Rain Ninja removed his blade causing Toshiro to fall to the ground.

Toshiro, even with his injures, looked right at Momo. "Momo, you're not hurt are you?" Toshiro coughed up some blood and Momo cried while she nodded her head. "That's good." He smiled. "Father might have killed me if I didn't do everything I could to protect you."

Toshiro passed out still with that smile on his face. The Rain Ninja instantly jumped back just barely avoiding someone's sword. Momo looked up from Toshiro and saw their father, Byakuya Ryu, standing in between them and the ninja.

He was a tall man with long black hair that he kept in a pony tail. His white scarf moved with the wind. He to wore the black robes with sky blue trim. He was glaring at the Ninja.

"You made a big mistake when you attacked my children. Now you must deal with me." Byakuya calmly stated.

Then ninja shrugged. "I would love to stick around and play a few round with you, but I must be going now. My jobs done here for now."

The ninja vanished from the field and Byakuya sheathed his blade. He then knelt at his son's side and checked for a pulse.

"Father, is he going to be…" Momo began.

Byakuya picked his son and carefully put him on his back. "He has a weak pulse. We must hurry home, so the doctor can patch him up."

Momo attempted to look serious, but just looked cute. "Right father. Let's go."

The two of them ran back to their home as fast as they could..

Ryu Residence, Some Time Later…

Byakuya entered his study. He immediately took a seat behind his desk and across from Renji Abarai the Lord of the Abarai house. It is a sub house under the Ryu household.

Renji has red hair that he keeps in a high pony tail. All over his body you'd find tattoos. On his forehead he wore a normal, white head band. He currently wore a black robe with white trim.

"Lord Byakuya, how is Lord Toshiro?" Renji asked concerned for the young man that he'd been tasked with training

Byakuya sighed, "He'll make a full recovery, but he won't be able to compete in the Promotion Exams."

"Sir, what are we to do then? Could Lady Momo compete?" Renji asked.

"I wish she could, but three months of training is not enough." Byakuya said.

Renji sighed now as well. "I suppose there's nothing we can do. Looks like your House isn't going to be number one for a few years my Lord."

Byakuya closed his eyes and put his head on his hands. "I know someone who is eligible to compete." He opened his eyes. "Renji, I need you to send a message to the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Daichi's Training Grounds: Mid Spar between Udon and Daichi

Udon and Daichi faced each other with practice swords. Udon soon charged in swinging his sword in a downward arc. Daichi caught the blade on his own blade. Udon then went in with flurry of strikes that Daichi continued to block.

"You're brother has taught you well Udon." Daichi stated with a slight smile.

"Thank you Boss." Udon happily stated.

"Thought you still have a long way to go." Daichi stated before dodging Udon's next strike and lightly tapping his head with the practice sword.

Daichi sheathed his blade as Udon pulled out a notebook. "What did I do wrong this time Boss?"

"You need to stop hesitating when you attack. It's good to think, but you got be able to do that on the fly. Another big issue I saw was that your stance is still wrong. You must have a wide, firm stance. A stance like that will make it hard for your opponent to knock you down, and your attacks will flow smoothly."

Udon nodded his head in understanding. "What should I do for homework?"

"Practice your stance until you can get it down 15 times without making a single mistake." Daichi stated.

Udon closed his notebook. "Thanks boss. I'll be leaving now to meet up with my friends."

Daichi smiled as he watched Udon run down the streets. He was about to head inside when Izumo stopped him.

"Daichi, Lady Tsunade has a mission for you. She needs you in her office right away." Izumo stated

Daichi nodded his head. "Led the way."

The Mission Room

Daichi arrived in the room to find Kakashi Sensei already there. The rest of Team 7 was surprisingly absent.

"Hey Kakashi Sensei, it's good to see that you're finally back on your feet." Daichi stated with a smile.

"It's good to be out. I hate hospitals." Kakashi stated.

Daichi stood by his Sensei. "So Sensei, any idea what this mission we're going on is? Also, do you know where the others are?"

Tsunade and Shizune entered the room with Tsunade taking a seat. "I can answer those questions for you. Your three teammates will be dispatched on a mission shortly after you two leave on yours."

She then brought out a scroll. "It's a B rank combat mission. It's more for Daichi than anyone else, but the details we have lead me to believe that some back up is required. In all honesty, I'm not going to force you to take this mission Daichi."

"What's going on her Lady Tsunade? Why is this mission directed at me and why wouldn't I take it?" Daichi inquired.

"Because this mission was issued by Lord Byakuya Ryu." Daichi flinched at that name but remained quiet. "It's almost time for the Promotion Exam, and Byakuya's son was set to compete until he was attacked by Shinobi of the Rain.

They need you to compete in his place since you are a Ryu, but as I said, I will not force you to take this mission since I am well aware of your grandfather's past. What is your choice Daichi?"

"I'll take the mission Lady Tsunade." Daichi stated.

The Slug Yonnin nodded her head. "You two are to leave in an hour then."

Daichi turned to leave. "I'll meet you at the gate Kakashi Sensei.

The young Chunin took off to gather the supplies.

Flashback

We flashback to a the moment Hisashi left. He wasn't taking much with him to the Land of Fire. Only his sword, a sky blue outfit with arm and leg guards, that he currently wore, and a few, important mementos that he carried in a bag.

He was just about to open the door when he heard someone speak to him. "If you leave, you can never return."

Hisashi turned to look at his brother who stood behind him. If it weren't for the fact that Hishi was 2 years younger, he and Hisashi would have been identical twins.

Hiashi sighed and gave his brother a weak smile. "I know Hishi. Tell mom and dad that I love them." He opened the door. "I hope you lead a good life and I love you my little brother."

Hishi watched as his older brother left the house.

A tear slid down Hishi's face and he quietly said, "You two my older brother."

Daichi's Home

Daichi looked at one pf the many pictures he'd decided to place on his dresser. It was a picture of his father, when he was younger, and who he could confirm to be his grandfather.

"So after all this time, one us is returning to the Land of Iron." Daichi sighed. "I wonder what you would say. Heck, I wonder what my father would say."

Daichi put on his new, white traveling cloak. He then grabbed his pack and slung it over his shoulder.

Daichi said, "I should get going. I'll make you, father, and mother proud grandfather. That's a promise."

Land of Iron: Capital

It was snowing as Daichi and Kakashi entered the capital. Daichi looked around and saw that the people wore various types of clothing. There were people who wore standard, long sleeved shirts and pants, robes, and a few people ever wore armor.

"So, this is where my grandfather was born." Daichi thought as he looked around.

Daichi had barely spoken during the journey and every time he had, he hadn't been genuinely happy. Kakashi knew exactly why to. He knew all his Genin's stories weather he was involved in some way or read them from the reports he was given.

He wanted to help his student, but he knew that Daichi had to face all of this himself. He choose to say nothing on the subject and decided to offer his student his moral support.

Kakashi stated. "Alright, let's meet with the client."

"Right Sensei." Daichi stated with a fake smile.

Ryu Residence

Kakashi knocked, and a young girl answered the door. She wore a black robe with sky blue trim, and had sky blue hair that she kept in a bun.

She looked right at Daichi or more accurately at his hair. "Daddy, cousin Daichi's here!"

The man that came to the door was tall with long black hair that he kept in a pony tail. He was wearing robes similar to that of the girls.

"You must be Byakuya Ryu." Kakashi stated.

Byakuya replied, "That I am. Come in and we can discuss your mission."

Byakuya's Office

Kakashi and Daichi each took a seat across from Byakuya.

"There isn't much I else I need to say other that the fact that the Promotion Exam begins tomorrow. You will also fight two matches even if you were to lose tomorrow's match. That match will be held at the end of the week." Byakuya explained.

"You already know I'm going to compete, that is a given; however, I will not change out of my current gear for this. What you see now is what I will be wearing into combat." Daichi firmly stated.

Byakuya placed his head on his hand. "Any reason why?"

"The obvious reason is that this is a combat orientated mission. I'm a ninja whose main focus is sped over power. Your armor would only impede my movements, and I doubt you want me to lose because I wasn't fast enough.

There is also another reason. Everything I'm wearing is filled with memories and experiences for me. They were given to me by people that I respect above all else. I worked hard and these are the fruits of my labor.

This vest was granted to me after I passed the Chunin exams. This seal, clothes, and Lion headband were gifts from the Lion Yonnin. These arm guards were given to me by Lady Tsunade after I learned the Rasengan. This headband is a symbol of how hard I worked to become a Shinobi. That's what all of this symbolizes." Daichi explained.

Byakuya nodded his head in understanding. "I can respect these wishes. You are free to wear this gear for both fights. Please allow me to show you to your rooms."

"We'll follow you." Kakashi said.

Daichi stopped everyone from leaving as he had one more thing to say to Byakuya. "Byakuya Ryu, I would like to speak with you, in private, after the match tomorrow. I have some things I must ask you."

"Understood." Byakuya said before getting up.

The two Leaf Ninja followed the Samurai out of the office.