(this is after the end of the war)

Most of his dreams weren't vivid enough to be deciphere. This one was only....slightly diferent. First he was walking alone in the snow covered opened. As he walked he suddenly found himself in a desiduous forest; it reminded him of the rogue forest, only in the dream the season'd changed to summer. He was only in the forest a minute before he found himself in the main room of the akatsuki hideout. Again, no one was there. "Where the hell are they all," he mumbled. He walked quietly through the hideout. All the doors were locked, including the door to his own room. He sighed in irristation, then found himself speeding back in time. When time finally slowed and focused, Xantrex found himself in the middle of a warzone. H was in a villag, some buildings collapsed, some on fire, and some still standing. The buildings were old-fashioned and Xantrex gathered that he'd travelled quite far back. et there were still no people. Jutsu's flew in all directions from invisible sources. Now of all times he was glad he was a phantom when he time-travelled. He walked through the streets of the village, jutsu's still flying, hitting structures every now and then. He stopped as he saw something he would've never expected. A small child, a little girl, was dancing in the middle of the street, in the middle of a damn warzone... Xantrex stopped in front of her. "What are you doing out here? You're going to get yourself killed," he said quietly, not really expecting her to hear him over the noise of the raging battle and collapsing buildings. The little girl stopped dancing and looked up at him with a smile. "This? This is nothing, I'm around it eeeeevery day," she said with a small giggle as she went back to dancing. Xantrex sighed and turned around, instinctively putting his arm up in defense as three kunai's with exploding tags flew towards his face. They passed invisibly through him and hit the building behind him. He forgot he was a phantom here. He stopped walking as he realized something. If he was a phantom here...why could the child see him...? The kunai's with the tags exploded loudly behind him....

Xantrex jumped awake as he heard a branch snap somewhere to his left. It was dark out now. He must've fallen asleep while thinking of new things to experiment with. He was sitting against a tree, he didn't have his akatsuki cloak on. Afterall, wha was the point of wearing his cloak if he didn' plan on being around peopl? He looked around and slowly got up, remembering why he'd woken up to begin with. He'd heard someone heading his way, or close to it. "Who's there?" he said warily. Leave it to him to find himself alone in the forest at night.

Ryo moved through the forest quickly and without flaw. It was dark and he was looking for a place to sleep for the night. Above him he could hear the beating of Zane's wings as the Dragon stayed high in the sky in order to not alert any of the people who were out and about. Coming to a steady walk he stopped as a branch snapped underneathe his foot. Frozen in place when a voice asked who was there he lifted his foot slowly and stepped back. He had to weigh his options. He was on the run. A renage ninja with his face on every want posted in nearly every village. That's why he chose to stay in remote places, but he had to make a quick stop to gather materials. Lookng into the darkness he listened for Zane. The dragon was still far above them, so if danger truely awaited him then he'd be there. Ryo stepped out with his hands up to show he meant no harm. "My name is Ryo Shizuke, I apologize if I startled you," he said as he stopped atleast ten feet back.

(sorry, I didn't even realize you posted here, otherwise i woulda posted sooner)

Xantrex looked at the boy as he walked out. Physically, the kid looked a little older than himself. If the kid, Ryo, as he said his name was, meant harm, he would've done something by now. Standing up, Xantrex dusted himself off slightly, and leaned against the same tree that he'd fallen asleep against with his arms crossed. "You a rogue?" he asked cautiously, not bothering to address Ryo's apology or tell the kid his name. If Ryo wanted his name, he'd do well to ask. Otherwise he could forget it.

Ryo watched Xantrex without flaw. He was so used to being cautious. This guy wasn't exactly what you'd call socialable. Ryo noticed that the guy hadn't mentioned his name. "No, I'm not a rogue." He said. Ryo refused to say what he really was. He'd already kept himself hidden half in the shadows of the forrest incase Xantrex had seen the posters. In the silence he could hear the wings of Zane above. As long as he could hear him, Ryo knew that things were safe. "May I ask your name?"

Xantrex looked at Ryo as he stated that he wasn't a rogue. But then he couldn't help but wonder what he was doing in the rogue forest. Maybe the kid was an outlaw. That was his first thought. But he didn't look like much of an outlaw. But then again, Xan didn't look like much of an akatsuki. He gave a small smirk as Ryo asked his name. "Xantrex Mabashi," he said, hoping the kid hadn't heard of him. For some reason, Xantrex was becoming increasingly well known. He hadn't the faintest idea why though. "So, Ryo Shizuke, what is a non-rogue like yourself doing in the rogue forest?" He didn't move from his position of leaning against the tree. If he needed to move quickly, he could just melt into the shadows, like always.

Ryo had never heard of Xantrex, partially because he'd just arrived in the Vallies, and partially because he tried his best to stay away from people. His senses were sharp, but danger lurked around every corner for Ryo and he could never be too sure of when someone was trying to act as friend, but Xantrex didn't seem like the friend type of person. Ryo became uneasy as he was asked why he was in the rogue forest. "Just cutting through," he said. He was used to lying to get out of tight situations. "Quicker route."

Xantrex held back a small grin. He saw the boy's uneasiness as he'd asked why he was in the forest. He'd learned that most responses accompanied by uneasiness and two word sentences were normally lies. With his arms still crossed, Xantrex looked down and shook his head slightly. He looked back at Ryo with an amused grin. "Don't lie to me. I can see right through that guise of yours. You're avoiding someone. Or something. Am I right?" Of course now Xantrex was just making wild guesses, but his wild guesses tended to be spot on. He wondered if Ryo would get defensive about it and try to run. Or perhaps try to attack him. He gave a smirk at the thought. That would only prove his theories correct in the long run.

Ryo knew he was trapped and the only way to escape was to calm down and answer carefully. He could handle that. "I have no reason to lie to you," Ryo stated. His entire composure relaxing. "What i say is truth, nothing more, nothing less." That was all he would say for now. This guy was smart, which either meant that he was from the Sky Village or was in association with them. Regardless, Ryo had to play it safe.

Xantrex's grin faded only slightly. This guy was no fun at all. "Come on now, Ryo," he said casually. "Everyone has a reason to lie to people. I'm sure you're no different," he said with a small grin. He'd keep pushing until the kid caved. He wondered how soon that would happen. But by the calm look on the kid's face, Xantrex could tell it probably wouldn't be too soon. "But, of course," he said with a shrug. "It's not really any of my business afterall. But, whatever you're hiding, you're hiding it quite well." Xantrex really had no other reason to push this kid except for his own amusement. "I have to inquire though, about something you said earlier. You said that the rogue forest was a quicker route. Most people avoid the rogue forest, quicker route or not. You must be pretty confident in your abilities, am I right?" he said with a grin. Ryo might've been catching on to what Xantrex was saying, or he might not've. But either way, Xantrex was going to test this kid's strength.

Ryo held his ground. He wasn's about to fall into Xantrex's mind games. It wasno't worth it and besides it was late and he was tired and needed to continue moving. The question was, how would he get around this obsticle? Then Xantrex pretty much issued a challenge. Ryo's hurt dropped. This was not good at all, but he had to keep it together. "Confident enough," he said simply. Already he had began to lay out a mental escape route.

(hehe, but mind games are fun!)

Xantrex gave a small grin. Confident enough. Yeah. Right. Of course Xantrex was going to have to make the first move. He'd get this guy to fight back whether he liked it or not. Xan tilted his head a little and looked at Ryo. "You know, you are quite an unfortunate individual," he said, some maturity slipping into his voice. Honestly he was starting to get irritated being a teen again. No one took him seriously when he looked like this. "Having run into me of all people," he said with a grin. "Too bad for you, I'm so much worse than just a rogue." Quickly, Xantrex took out a kunai with a smoke bomb attached to the end of it and threw it at Ryo. If it hit him, he'd be injured and the smoke bomb would go off. If it missed, it would hit the tree behind the kid and the smoke bomb would go off. Win-win. When the smoke bomb went off (Xan didn't bother to wait to see if the kunai hit or not), Xantrex ran at the kid, saying "I'm an akatsuki," before aiming a punch at Ryo's gut.

Ryo wasn't liking the way this was going. Something in the back of his mind told him to get out while he still could or he'd have to fight, but the warning came a moment too late. Ryo's reflexes instantly kicked in the moment the kunai was thrown. Drawing his own he canceled out Xantrex's, but the smoke bomb was ignited. Ryo couldn't see a thing through the smoke, but when Xantrex said that he was an Akatsuki, Ryo stepped to the side and reached out trying to grab Xantrex's wrist. He couldn't see, but he could hear, and that would be his only chance until the smoke cleared.

Xantrex felt the kid catch his arm, but still he wasn't fighting back. Only defending himself. That'd change fast. Xantrex'd realized that he'd given away his position before by speaking. Not one of his smartest ideas ever. Of course, he'd done worse. As Ryo had Xantrex's wrist in one hand, he took this chance to aim a kick at Ryo's side. He wouldn't let this kid get away unscathed.

Ryo felt himself grip Xantrex's arm. But he couldn't see that Xantrex was going to kick him, but he sure as hell felt it. The blow made him release the grip on Xantrex as he slid across the ground and out of the smoke and into a clear scene. Ryo stood up holding his side. It was time he took a run for it, which he had no problem doing. Looking back at the fog that would be clearing any moment he ditched into the forest.

Xantrex's kick hit and sent Ryo flying. He gave a small grin and walked towards where he'd kicked Ryo. The only problem was, when he got there, he saw Ryo fleeing. "You've gotta be kidding me..." he said bluntly. This kid almost wasn't worth chasing after. But since xan was a bit bored and had nothign to do anyways... Xantrex did a jutsu and walked into the now faint shadow of a tree, appearing out of a shadow not too far in front of Ryo. He'd made sure, however, to appear out of Ryo's eyesight. Just to freak the kid out, Xantrex simply walked in front of Ryo's path as if he'd somehow just appeared out of thin air. "Come on, are you really that afraid of a fight?" he asked, sending several shuriken in the boys direction.

Ryo came to a quick stop as Xantrex came from out of thin air. How did he get ahead so fast. Doing several back flips as Xantrex sent shuriken at him he pulled shuriken out and canceled Xantrex's on his third flip and landed on a tree branch. He wasn't scared to fight, he just wanted to avoid one. He ddn't want to cause attention, but it was dark. Who was out here besides these two. Calming down he evened out his breathing and concentrated. He had to know what he was up against before he fought. So far he knew Xantrex was smart, quick, and didn't make the same mistakes twice. Just great, he was up against someone he'd really have to fight and not just toy around with. Ryo stood in the tree waiting for what Xantrex would do next.

Xantrex gave a small grin as Ryo seemed to start concentrating more. Good, maybe he'll actually fight back now. But he doesn't like making the first move, I see, he thought, trying to analyze the way Ryo was moving, despite the fact that it was getting dark out. The kid was fast, and relatively agile. He was seriously starting to wonder what valley this guy was from. He wasn't swift enough to be a stealth, his clothes were too light to be that of the snow, and too heavy to be that of the magma, and his eye sight wasn't good enough for him to be from the death (he'd concluded that thanks to the smoke bomb earlier). Ryo could've been from the Storm, but something about him told Xantrex otherwise. Knowing this kid's valley could give him a major advantage here. Oh well, guess I just have to fight blind, he thought. "So, have you decided to try and stop running?" he asked, then waited only a few seconds before throwing kunai's with exploding tags at the tree branch Ryo was on.

Ryo watched Xantrex as he asked him was he going to stop running. Ryo didn't realy have a choice on that, the guy seemed like he was going to kill him either way. Jumping out the tree as the explosive tags hit he turned to face them so when they set off he wouldn't take as much impact. Landing on the ground he pulled a kunai. He'd come here to catch a break, not fight. Throwing the kunai at Xantrex he moved to the left and swung a kick at his side. If I can atleast knock him out for a few moments I can find Zane and take to the skies. I doubt he can fly. It was a long shot, but it was the best he could come up with.

Xantrex grinned as the kid finally stopped running. It's about time, he thought. Xantrex moved to the side to avoid the kunai and put up his arm to block Ryo's kick. "I'm starting to wonder if all that confidence you had about traveling in the rogue forest by yourself was just talk," he said, grabbing a hold of Ryo's leg. "Because I'm not seeing why you had so much yet," he said before going to throw Ryo at a tree.

Ryo turned when Xantex blocked his kick. He was starting to regret cutting through the rogue forest. When thrown at the tree he turned towards it feet first so he could use the force to push himself back at Xantrex. "I rather my confidence been all talk as well," he said in no more than a whisper. He then pushed himself at Xantrex but change his direction of target, instead of going at Xantrex directly he landed on his left side, he wasn't expecting Xantrex to be left handed so he'd move slower, or so he hoped. Spinning around he pulled out a scroll. Using jutsu was suppose to be a last resort, but he had to move. Dragon's Wing. The moment he thought the words and gust of wind picked up and blew threw the forest slicing down trees with each passing second. Ryo would use this to his advantage. Getting a kunai he aimed for Xantrex's side. If he had distance between them he would have aimed for a vital spot, but at this distance it was near impossible.

Xan looked at Ryo as the kid launched himself from the tree and landed on Xan's left side. As he pulled out a scroll, Xan prepared himself for whatever Ryo was planning. He didn't expect it to be a wind, that was for sure. When Ryo threw a kunai at Xantrex, he went to pull out a kunai of his own, but was a bit slow in blocking it, so it sliced across his side. Flinching, Xan looked at the trees which were being sliced down by the wind. What the hell kind of wind is that? he thought. This kid isn't from the Stealth Valley, so.... maybe he's from one of the villages in the Land of Hills, he thought at the same time as thinking of a plan to avoid the destruction of the wind. Now that he knew more about this guy, he was starting to look a little more dangerous. It was obvious that Ryo had a way out from the destruction he'd just caused, but exactly what was it? Taking his chances with waiting to find out, Xantrex threw a few shuriken at Ryo, some with exploding tags on them, then jumped back.

As the kunai hit Xantrex, Ryo let the wind push him backwards towards a tree. Jumping backwards into it he closed the cross as the shuriken came towards him. What he wasn't expecting was that tags on them. Dropping to a lower branch he threw some kunai to cancel the shurikens but he wasn't able to block all. His main targets where the ones with the tags attached. Two slipped past and he was blown against the base of the tree. Falling from the tree he hit the ground. If jutsu won't work then I'll have to use hand to hand combat. Sky Ninja were trained specially in hand to hand combat, mostly to keep their dragons in check and mostly because most people expected jutsu's to be used. Standing up he pulled a kunai. He wasnt going to really use it, but he'd let it seem that way. Running forwards he threw the kunai at Xantrex then went into an array of punches. Each one swift and carefully aimed.

Xantrex blocked Ryo's kunai as it came, but the one thing he didn't see coming was that this kid would be so agile in his hand-to-hand. Xantrex was only able to block the first few before he could no longer keep up. He flew back into one of the trees, and sat there a moment a bit dazed. Dammit, I'm not gonna be the one who has to retreat here! he thought angrily, blinking hard once before getting back up. "So now it's hand to hand, huh?" he said to Ryo. Hand to hand seemed to be the kids specialty, so Xantrex wouldn't really use it. "That's too bad," he said with a smirk as he started a jutsu. Seven or so scrolls appeared floating in the air around Ryo, and out of them every possible weapon flew at him. Ninja Art: Shadow Games, he thought with a grin. (Seem familiar?) Sure this was a genjutsu, but while Ryo was in it, if he got caught in it, Xantrex would have the upper hand.

(too familiar)

Ryo knew it was clear he was more skilled in hand to hand combat than Xantrex, but his opponent was smart. He learned quickly and changed his tactics. When the scrolls starrted floating Ryo pulled out a kunai for precaution and was releaved he had as a mass of weapons began to fly in his direction. What kind of jutsu is this? Is it possible that its genjutsu? Ryo started to plan a counter attack. If he could catch Xantrex off guard like before and make an opening he could end this, if not he'd have to continue fighting his way through while be cautious of his attacks. This fight was not going to be an easy one.

Xantrex grinned. His genjutsu was working. Xantrex pulled out several shuriken on one hand and several kunai on the other and threw them at Ryo. They'd blend right in with what yo was seeing in the genjutsu, so he wouldn't know that those were the ones he should've really been blocking. This was almost getting easy, so much so that Xantrex almost started feeling bad that the kid had taken the path through the rogue forest. Almost.