Katsumi found the place easily enough with Izumi leading him the way. He didn't wish to press into her emotions any further than he already had, due to the fact she was a woman and even more importantly she already knew what would happen if Katsumi went back on his deal. As he entered the library he looked down at the headband he was given; he wondered what it truly meant now. Would he be able to help this village maintain some form of peace? He knew that the real issue was preparing for war, and that the big picture was too much to grasp for anyone at this point. Katsumi knew to further his skill he would have to master several other techniques with the little time he had, and he would have to evolve as a fighter.

He knew that for now he would need to get a grasp on the well-known 8-chakra gates and the system to releasing them and controlling the developing flow they brought. Another system of ninjutsu would have to be implemented so that he could better diguse himself in combat, and he would have to find a summon contract that allowed him to travel with ease. All this could be found in this village's massive library; that and more.

Katsumi walked up the front desk, and looked around, waiting for someone to help him. Finally, after several moments of waiting an older woman slowly walked around the corner. Her nose was planted in a book, as she glanced over the cover enough to see that Katsumi was waiting.

"Name, profession, and reason for visit.", the old woman said while looking back into her book.

"Katsumi, profession? Newly appointed sage. I'm here to take some of your scrolls to further my knowledge and concepts of the art of taijutsu, ninjutsu, and elemental matters."

She slammed the book shut and looked at him for a moment, "I don't see a head band anywhere on you, and you don't look like any ninja I've seen before..."

He laughed a bit and took the head band and tied it loosely around his neck, letting it drift over his right shoulder just a bit. He smirked and answered back, "I assure you I didn't mean to cause any mis-understanding..."

"Hmph, guess you didn't.", she didn't anything else as she turned around and walked into the hallway. She motioned for Katsumi to follow and he didn't so with out asking. They both walked for a solid 5 minutes before the old woman stopped and looked at him with a quesitoning look on her face. She sighed and shook her head, pressing onto what looked like to be a solid wall. The wall slowly slid in and then moved to the side as if it was a traditional paper/wooden door. Katsumi didn't seem to be too impressed until he stepped inside. The stacks of scrolls was simply astounding; too many to count and far too many to read in the time Katsumi had. He looked at her with a bewildered look on his face.

"Don't worry dear, I'll localize this search for you...Now, taijutsu...Hm, let's see, that would be over there on section 4, row 20, and you're looking for the 8 chakra gates, correct?"

Katsumi looked at her suprised, "I...I...am. How did you know?"

"Hehehehe, why else would you be here deary? You're not going to learn that system anywhere else than good ol'Konoha!"

"And I need to find several ninjutsu techniques, along with a summoning contract."

" Oh do you now? Well, I think I know where that's at. I'm sure the ANBU section will be more than happy to help you out with ninjutsu. Of course I'll have to unlock that for you, and as for the summoning contract I'll have to find it myself...It's been a long time since someone has directly asked for a contract, ya know? Seems that it's better when the animal picks you out!"

" Well, the one I wish to make a contract with is someone that hasn't been talked to in a long long time..."

" Oh you don't mean...?"

" Oh yes I do. "

" Well, you ARE different, now aren't you? I think you're going to do just fine..."

Katsumi followed her to each stack, and carried each scroll she handed down. The process took almost two hours before she was done handing him everything that had anything to do with what he asked about. He then sat down at the table he was allowed to sit at, and spread out several of the scrolls based on the 8 gates release.

The first paragraph read:'The Gate of Opening (開門, Kaimon), located in the brain. This gate removes the restraints of the brain on the muscles so 100% of their strength can be used whereas normally, a person can only use 20% of their muscles' strength to keep them from disintegrating.'

Katsumi sat back and took in this new concept. He looked back down at the diagram showing the area of the first gate. He took his hand and ran it over his forehead, and began to think about the rest of the gate's locations. He had known of the eight gates and concepts behind them, but to have 2 of the eight gates located just in the head? He sat back and started to wonder why, but as soon as he did the thought accured to him that perhaps to unleash the body one must unlock the mind's restraints on it. He smirked and looked back down at the scroll, looking until he came across the 6th gate, which was described as:

'The Gate of View (景門, Keimon), per above. Located in the stomach. Allows the user to perform the Morning Peacock. Opening of this gate releases such enormous amounts of chakra that it can cause nearby water bodies to form a vortex around the user.'

Katsumi started to invision this concept, and then he realized that some of the same concepts already applied to his style of movement and taijutsu. The gates would prove useful, if Katsumi could manage to learn them, activate them, and then still manage what he already knew. He estimated that for a taijutsu master it would be easy to maintain several gate's being released, and that only by using them for too long they would present a problem. He knew that some of the ninja he had faced before had been able to open the first or second gates, but he had only mistaken as something else. They soon fell to the use of the gates and afterwards were much slower than before, and showed signs of pain. Granted these ninja were no where near the level of Katsumi, but it was worth noting that he would pay a price to use this technique.

He sat back, and looked at the remaining scrolls he would have to look at. He sighed and rub his head for a moment before looking at the gate's system one more time. He fingered the scroll down to the last remaining gate, which didn't say much other than a set of kanji that read: '死門'/'Forbidden'

He rubbed his chin for a moment, and thought to himself, 'The Gate of Death...huh? And it's only written here that it's forbidden...'

He took hold of another scroll, and looked at it for a moment before carefully opening it. It spelled out the same concepts, but unlike the larger scroll which didn't speak on the matter of the Gate of Death this scroll spoke volumes about it. Apparently it allowed the user to use their heart to it's maxium potential, and shortly after its use the user died. Katsumi knew there were ways around death, but if someone used this they'd surely seal their fate. Katsumi started to wonder if this system unlocked in a flow, which meant the user would have to focus more on maintaining a certain level of chakra control, or if it was done purely in stages as the name suggested. He looked into the scroll a bit more for a testimonal or something to allow him to understand the feeling behind the technique.

He finally came across the testimonal of a young man who was bed-ridden for a while after attempting to gain the chuunin rank:

" It's done with intense focus and training, yet once mastered it's quite easy for a master to unlock his or her gates. The stages in which it is done are not complex to feel but rather the sheer simplicity of them is a riddle itself. To be so easy that it's hard is something that I still don't understand even after activating my own gates..."

Katsumi nodded for a moment and starting thinking about his polarized chakra flow, and like what the young genin had said it was "so easy that it's hard" was something of a riddle that even some of the most adept master's didn't understand yet felt. Katsumi then began to think about the idea behind the master's body and mind.

'It's strange to think that someone can not understand how they do something yet they do it with enough skill so that it brings fear into their opponent...How does one manage that? Perhaps it is because like most of the things in this world we will never know everything about them, and in most cases it is better to just let it be rather than to introduce force into the situation... Like wind; as it exists in nature, it relies on nothing but the change in temperature to flow and move...A master only needs his body to function in its own natural path with minor control once he had earned the title of 'master'...'

Katsumi stopped and wondered if anything he just though of was even remotely close to how he would have to approach this new technique set, but it'd have to wait, ninjutsu was next.

The rain began to pour while the two made their journey to the library. Without her cloak it didn't take long for Izumi to become soaked. Rain drops trickled down her arms and mostly her face. Occasionally one would roll down her head to the tip of her nose, tickling it and causing her to sniffle as she slightly shook her head. It made the raindrop drip off easily but also made her look a little silly too. She didn't mind. Although truthfully she wanted a dang hat like Katsumi. Her eyes drifted back towards him for a moment. He was still following behind her.

The feeling of what she was doing was not something she enjoyed. She felt as though she were showcasing Katsumi due to all the citizens looking at them with concern before diving into the nearest shop for shelter. Whether it was from the rain or Katsumi himself she wasn't sure but the man behind her didn't seem affected at all. Why would he be though? He was a missing-nin for crying out loud, not to many morals right? Truth if she wasn't sure. She never really spoke to someone who defected from a village out of choice. Sure she had left Kiri but this was because she was forced, not because she wanted too. This then brought back memories of her father... all of which she shortly pushed out of her thoughts.

In silence, the two persisted on heading towards the library.



Upon actually arriving, Izumi even opened the door to let him in. Her eyes seemed a little distant due to her nature but she was obviously more relaxed now. She even looked at him unlike before, the mark of worry still resting in the background of her glance. This wouldn't fade for quite some time. Mainly because she was unsure if she could trust this man yet or not.

When the two entered Katsumi quickly got to business with the woman behind the desk. The two were quick to settle what he needed and soon he disappeared into the room with the rows of cases. In the meantime, Izumi thought over what she might wish to look at or if she should just sit around and wait. Wanting to keep herself a little occupied she chose the first and quickly requested the row with Ninjutsu as well. She was more focused around the elemental jutsu. To get even more specific, raiton and doton.

She followed the woman back into a different area of the library. The woman's strides were rather crooked and she smelled of old people but Izumi didn't speak this aloud. She went with the flow and turned her attention elsewhere. That is, till she spoke.

"So, your friend, who is he?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Where'd he come from? Never seen him around these parts and I have been here for over 50 years. Even you, you both from a different country? You don't necessarily have that Konoha feel I guess..."

Whatever that meant.

"He was just recently added into the system. I don't know much about him personally aside from his name," she lied, knowing very well that he said he was from the Rain Village. She felt it wasn't any of the woman's business though. If Katsumi wanted her to know then he would tell her, that is if she asked. "As for me I hail from Kirigakure. I came here a while back and joined the ranks as a Jounin quite a while ago."

"Since the incident there?

Izumi hesitated for a moment, her voice coming a bit weak, "yes."

"I see... well, I won't pry to much. Besides, we're here."

Izumi looked up and around at the many books and scrolls. All were well organized and nicely fit together. She was almost scared to touch them, not wishing to mess up the organization even the slightest.

"Just return back when you're done I suppose. Want me to get you when you're friend is finished?"

"It may not be necessary but that would be nice. He wanted to see this section anyway right? Maybe we'll have a run in anyway."

The woman nodded and soon took off as Izumi turned her attention towards the books. She pulled out a few on Raiton first, skimming the section for jutsu ideas or some she could steal. It wasn't a bad thing to look up different books to review as well. Maybe she would go fishing around for chakra, specs, and whatever else came to mind. In the meantime she was working on elements. She needed to work on Taijutsu but seeing as how she was stronger with her elements and weaponry based attacks, mainly with kunai and typical small tools, she would focus on those first.

Sitting down at the base of a book case and opening a book, she began to immediately scan the pages.

[818 words]

Katsumi didn't know the woman's name, nor did he really care to know her at this point. She was here only to make sure he didn't go into any of the forbidden vaults, and steal anything of real value, but it didn't matter at this point; he needed a woman's opinion. He coughed loudy, letting her know that he was coming, but it wasn't enough to pull her out of her book. He then looked around, and made sure the old woman wasn't around for his next move.

He looked at the table which had a large assortment of scrolls and some books that would later turn to fodder. He made sure to approach the table with enough silence so that she wouldn't have any idea that he was this close.

He took his hands and formed the seal 'Ram', and with a quick moment of focus and a burst of chakra he summoned the same torrent that only moments ago stopped her jutsu from landing on its target. He laughed as the papers and book scattered to the torrent's power, and as they slowly drifted to the ground; he offered a small picture to the woman.

He quickly explained, "I need to know if someone in this village can make this... It's important to me...," he unfolded the picture,"...if you can tell me where to go, I'll help clean up the mess."

He didn't know if his naturally comedic nature would land on her emotions right now, seeing how he basically mamed her ally. He didn't know what had come over him, perhaps for a moment he felt normal after his parent's deaths. But who knows? Katsumi had always been into teasing women, among other things.

ooc:

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