Years of being the Raikage had given Ayumu a lot of experience. That experience was with filling out paperwork, naturally. He got more practice with that in the past few years than most ever got in a lifetime. Of course, he was still a shinobi and filling out paperwork wasn't the only skill he needed to hone. The amount of time Ayumu had on his hands to train over the past years had been slim. He'd get in enough to maintain, but was he slipping? He'd often wonder this. Fortunately for him, his experience with paperwork was not for nothing. He was getting more efficient, getting things done more quickly. Nowadays he even sometimes had free time! So it was that with that free time he'd slipped away into the woods for a bit of privacy from the guards who'd prefer to keep him within sight at all times. He'd left a note on his desk to let them know he'd be back the next day and not to worry, of course. Stopping by his room he'd swapped his usual uniform for garb he'd more likely wear on a mission. A jacket with chainmail woven inside, boots, gloves, dressed from head to toe with reinforced dark brown leather. A brown cloak rested upon his shoulders, a hood over his head, his two blades strapped to his back. Better gear for trekking through woods obtained, he made his way off to the Ancient Forest.
A bit deeper within the woods, he reached a pond into which a roaring waterfall poured drowning out the other sounds of the forest with its soothing white noise. He'd found this place many years ago when he was a younger man. He surely wasn't the first to find this place, nor the last, but it was deep enough within that it wasn't swarming with students doing their daily kunai practice. As of the moment, he was the only one present in fact. Certainly it was a picturesque spot, but Ayumu had chosen this place for its looks. It had what he needed for the training he was interested in today. Stepping near the water's edge, Ayumu peered up to the top of the waterfall through the mists and followed its flow down to the base. Upon taking in the spirit that now dwelled within him, Ayumu had unlocked something else inside of himself, a latent ability that had always been there beneath his notice. Whereas Ayumu had focused on Taijutsu for a large portion of his life, the spirit had helped him realize his knack for Ninjutsu. A whole new realm of techniques had become available, literally at his fingertips. V'eru was not the social type, often only paying attention when danger was afoot. Training like this was nothing to pay any mind to so he remained dormant.
"Alright," Ayumu said to himself, rubbing his hands together before letting one fall to his side. The other remained in front of him forming a few quick seals as he focused himself on the waterfall. At once, the flow of the water near the base shifted and defied gravity, flowing sideways instead. Raising his hand, Ayumu willed the flow of water to go upwards next, forming a U shape with the natural falls going down the cliff side. Reaching the top of the cliff, the flow of water controlled by Ayumu split off into three small currents, the tip of each forming what looked like the head of a serpent. Bringing his hand down quickly, Ayumu willed the water to change course once more, branching off in three direction but converging in their route straight back down. The three serpent heads crashed into the pool of water simultaneously creating a rather large splash. Ayumu almost realized his mistake took late as a wave of water threatened to soak him to the bone. Performing another quick set of handseals, he cast another technique to counter his unintended backlash. The air in front of him, controlled by his whim, would kick up leaves from the ground as it focused into a scythe of wind which rushed forwarding splitting the wave in two just before it reached Ayumu, miraculously leaving him dry.
"Phew... Got to keep that in mind for next time,"<i></i> he noted, watching as the water receded back into the pond and the waterfall went back to its natural state. It was only a matter of avoiding soaking wet clothes, but it would have been unpleasant all the same. It was a bit chilly out, after all, and he hadn't built a fire just yet. Of course, had he done so it would certainly have been extinguished just now. Only now looking down, Ayumu realized that he hadn't escaped completely unscathed. His cloak had still been splashed just a bit, nothing that wouldn't air dry fortunately. Pulling back his hood, Ayumu took a few steps backward and leaned against a tree to think for a moment as he untied his cloak to remove it. "What should I get up to next?"<i></i>
[OoC: If this thread ends up somehow blowing up, let's try to keep it at four (including myself) max please. Don't want it to get too crazy.]
A bit deeper within the woods, he reached a pond into which a roaring waterfall poured drowning out the other sounds of the forest with its soothing white noise. He'd found this place many years ago when he was a younger man. He surely wasn't the first to find this place, nor the last, but it was deep enough within that it wasn't swarming with students doing their daily kunai practice. As of the moment, he was the only one present in fact. Certainly it was a picturesque spot, but Ayumu had chosen this place for its looks. It had what he needed for the training he was interested in today. Stepping near the water's edge, Ayumu peered up to the top of the waterfall through the mists and followed its flow down to the base. Upon taking in the spirit that now dwelled within him, Ayumu had unlocked something else inside of himself, a latent ability that had always been there beneath his notice. Whereas Ayumu had focused on Taijutsu for a large portion of his life, the spirit had helped him realize his knack for Ninjutsu. A whole new realm of techniques had become available, literally at his fingertips. V'eru was not the social type, often only paying attention when danger was afoot. Training like this was nothing to pay any mind to so he remained dormant.
"Alright," Ayumu said to himself, rubbing his hands together before letting one fall to his side. The other remained in front of him forming a few quick seals as he focused himself on the waterfall. At once, the flow of the water near the base shifted and defied gravity, flowing sideways instead. Raising his hand, Ayumu willed the flow of water to go upwards next, forming a U shape with the natural falls going down the cliff side. Reaching the top of the cliff, the flow of water controlled by Ayumu split off into three small currents, the tip of each forming what looked like the head of a serpent. Bringing his hand down quickly, Ayumu willed the water to change course once more, branching off in three direction but converging in their route straight back down. The three serpent heads crashed into the pool of water simultaneously creating a rather large splash. Ayumu almost realized his mistake took late as a wave of water threatened to soak him to the bone. Performing another quick set of handseals, he cast another technique to counter his unintended backlash. The air in front of him, controlled by his whim, would kick up leaves from the ground as it focused into a scythe of wind which rushed forwarding splitting the wave in two just before it reached Ayumu, miraculously leaving him dry.
"Phew... Got to keep that in mind for next time,"<i></i> he noted, watching as the water receded back into the pond and the waterfall went back to its natural state. It was only a matter of avoiding soaking wet clothes, but it would have been unpleasant all the same. It was a bit chilly out, after all, and he hadn't built a fire just yet. Of course, had he done so it would certainly have been extinguished just now. Only now looking down, Ayumu realized that he hadn't escaped completely unscathed. His cloak had still been splashed just a bit, nothing that wouldn't air dry fortunately. Pulling back his hood, Ayumu took a few steps backward and leaned against a tree to think for a moment as he untied his cloak to remove it. "What should I get up to next?"<i></i>
[OoC: If this thread ends up somehow blowing up, let's try to keep it at four (including myself) max please. Don't want it to get too crazy.]
Meanwhile, the Butcher of Kumogakure herself, Shinigawa Otome, was enjoying some quality time without her demon-possessed blade--or anyone else for that matter--above where the Raikage himself stood. After several complaints from civilians and shinobi alike, she decided that perhaps she needed some way of channeling her passion and conviction in a more positive way; or at least in a way that didn't involve as much bloodshed. Plus, she really didn't feel the same after Zansatsu had been nibbling at her soul through her broken katana. 
Today was like any other day, wake up, get dressed, work, study, train if she didn't have a mission to do that is. Aya liked training in different areas, she wasn't sure where she'd go, or what'd she'd do, but she usually coddiwompled like this everytime. No real plan, but she was definitely going to find a place that was nice, and didn't have a bunch of kids around. Aya was still a kid herself, but her ego had grown ten times the size since she first started out. Having a win streak against your best friend did that sometimes. 
Otome chuckled to herself as Ayumu responded gruffly to her antics and Aya bid the two of them adieu.