Ringo stood in the busy street markets of Kumo.  A place he found to be more home than the inn he had been staying at.  The energy that constantly filled the area between the hours of nine in the morning and five in the afternoon kept him energized and alive. Besides, people knew him best in this area, at least the shop owners.  Although it wasn't exactly him that they remembered, he still felt safe around them.

Walking around the street vendors, Ringo admired the colorful decorations and cheesy puns of advertisements.  He took a moment to stop at a small food cart, asking for two dumpling sticks.  The man working the cart looked at Ringo suspiciously, obviously deterred by the bandana that rested around his neck.  He had to show the man he had money before the man got to work.

Once the money was in sight, the man's face twisted into a large grin.  He quickly got to work on the dumplings while Ringo tapped his fingers in sequence upon the edge of the cart.  Leaning slightly on the cart, Ringo looked about the rest of the market, slowly inhaling the wonderful smell of the dumplings being cooked.  As his eyes grazed through the crowd, his eyes rested upon one striking individual.

A ninja.  Ringo knew by the forehead protector bearing Kumogakure no Sato's symbol.  He had seen a few ninja every now and then passing by.  Yet he had never talked with one.  Most of them were men and the last two ninja, while only one had been of this village, that Ringo talked to had only ended with a fight.  Restless, he decided maybe this man would be different.

He left the money on the cart as the cook handed him his two dumpling sticks.  Ringo took a moment to relish the beautiful sight and delicious aroma of the dumplings before eating them.  Impaling his mouth with the sticks and then pulling the sticks out clean.  He quickly ate the dumplings and swallowed before approaching the Kumo-nin.

"Excuse me," he spoke up, clearing his throat of the dumpling's glaze.  "Aren't you one of Kumogakure no Sato's ninja?  A pleasure to meet you.  My name is Ringo Ozaki."


Post: 378

Zetsume had been looking at what type of Chicken on a stick he wanted. They all had looked so delicious while they were sizzling on the grill. From the choices, he would defiantly have to get the spicy chicken. Something about this day had made him want something really spicy, maybe it was how the people around him had quickly moved on after their kage died. Who knows? Zetsume didn't.

After placing his order for the food, Zetsume attempted to pay the man for his service. Though before he could the man just simply smiled and said that no true ninja from his village would ever have to pay for his food and that it was an honor for him that Zetsume was delighted about eating it. It did not sit well with him however, must have been the pride. Without the man noticing Zetsume left him a more than generous tip which was hidden underneath his napkins. He had no ambitions to become rich and live like a king. To him money is what spoiled his clan, what made them weak. For Zetsume he would simply give away to much not only to make people happy but to make himself happy. With every over than generous tip, he could feel the people around him accepting him. Even if he was not all that social. His dog Repede however who was just standing by Zetsume was not like that, as the dog was already wagging his tail at the pretty girls. Some would walk up and pet him which only added to his ego. After a moment the man gave Zetsume two sticks which held a good amount of chicken upon them. One for Repede and one for Zetsume. After taking a bite he thanked the man for the delicious food, and gave Repede his share. It was at this moment some unknown man came up to him, with a rather bold greetings.

Ringo Ozaki?, he thought while he looked back at the person before him. He had never heard the surname before, nor did he hear about this man. At first he was a little worried of his intentions, though he would always remain a humble man and act as a representation of his village. Zetsume was in mid chew when he came up, and held up his hand as a gesture to let him finish chewing before speaking. He still had some pride even if he gave up his families name.

"Why yes I am, Ringo Ozaki. My name is Zetsume Zix, the fellow here is Repede. I am a jounin of this fine village. From the looks of it you are not from here. May I ask what kind of business you have here?"

When he spoke to the one called Ringo, Zetsume had a smile on his face as a sign of courtesy to his guests in this village. He was going to judge the man by his words, if he seemed like he was going to harm his village he would have to eliminate that threat. Though if he means no harm then he would not sully his village's name by being mean to a stranger, especially one that was kind first. When he was finished speaking Zetsume took another large bite of his chicken, while Repede was laying on the ground chewing his off of the stick rapidly. The dog seemed to have less manners, but the chicken was rather good.

WC:579

Ringo tried to suppress a smile, which only worked so much as a smirk appeared instead.  What was he doing in the village?  His mind ran through his midnight heist.  Taking the most precious black pearl necklace in the Lightning Country and selling them off in the black market.

Then his mind wandered to the week before his heist, to when he had to fight off twelve gang members in the streets of the Market District.  The gangs of Kumo were still rampant according to the news, though Ringo hadn't had any problems since that day.  The main thing was to make sure his part in the heist was unknown.  Having Kumo's ninja on his tail was the last thing he wanted and he'd definitely couldn't bring the topic of the recent heist up in conversation.  No, he'd need to wait that out, let the conversation grow before poking at Zetsume and see if any information came out.

"Oh, really just came to see the sights.  This village is probably one of the biggest I've seen in my travels.  So interesting to see so many clans living together."

Ringo looked down at Zetsume's dog, Repede, and watched him chomp down on a piece of chicken.  The dog looked happy enough.  Though Ringo didn't really trust men, he trusted good owners of pets.  This guy seemed alright for the most part.

"My condolences to you and your village for your loss." He said, switching topics.  "I heard she was a true leader."

Not sure how to follow such a depressing topic, Ringo nervously played with the cleaned dumpling sticks.  He looked back at the man, Zetsume.  As long as he didn't change right away, he figured the conversation wouldn't be too bad.

"I'm sorry," he back-tracked.  Ringo waved his hands as if to erase what he last said. "I don't mean to bring up the dead.  What about yourself?  What places in the village call out to you?  For some reason I find the markets here thriving."


Post: 349
Total: 727

Zetsume sat in silence listening to the person before him. Luckily he was able to finish his food while Ringo was talking. Naturally Repede finished before him and sat on the ground staring at Ringo. Repede was mostly skeptical about people that did not come from the same village as his master. With the dog staring he did not show any signs of hostility though. He knew better than to insult Zetsume. They both had a high amount of pride and to show hostility within his village would damage that pride.

He was quite unsure as how to reply to Ringo's words. Ringo seemed like a nice person, though true trust can only be gained if this one was from his village. From his point of view he would have to keep a good eye on this one, for safety measures. Zetsume gave a small pat upon the dog's head before speaking to Ringo in the same friendly manner as before.

"Thanks for your condolences for my former Raikage, though the dead should remain in the past. Speaking of it now will not change anything. As for interesting places, I would say that the Thunder Grounds is quite interesting. It is a great place to train while not trying to die from getting thunderstruck. You look like a strong lad, would you care to train with me on this fine day? I am unsure as to if I have trained with someone outside of my village, so for myself it would be a rather rewarding experience. Though if you are not willing to become stronger, then I think you should change professions. There will always be someone stronger than you trying to take away all you care about. For me, it is this village and this dog. They both are held dear to my heart.
"

Zetsume realized he was doing some rambling and stopped. He was unsure as to how Ringo would reply towards him. Would he keep talking about irrelevant things in the past? Or would he accept the training invitation and move towards a better future? These were the questions that ran through his mind during his talk with Ringo. Not of things that most people would talk about, but things that actually meant something. That something is power. Power was absolute and undeniable. With enough power one could change the shinobi world so drastically that the world would wonder how it was before. As for Zetsume, he would be content if he was strong enough to protect those he cared about.

WC:426

Zetsume spoke with confidence and friendliness.  A mixture that Ringo found strangely pleasant given that he normally distasted chatting with those of his gender.  His experiences proving quite dark and disgusting.  Yet so far the man was polite and forthcoming.

Yet, Ringo was taken aback by the man's words.  At first, Zetsume seemed to be alright, a very pleasant ninja of the Hidden Cloud. Then the man started getting quite emotional about strength, talking about how everyone in the ninja profession needed to be strong in order to protect the things they cared about.  Although what the man said was true, Ringo hadn't fingered the man as a sentimentalist.

And more than that, the sentimental Zetsume was now asking to spar with him.  Ringo had never had such a situation occur before.  He was struck with paralysis. His mouth opening but not making any sound.  If he accepted, there was no telling when he might transform and he needed to keep his curse a secret.  So far no one of the village had found out who he really was.  Ringo feared what Zetsume might think of him, much less what the man might do.

For the past three hundred years, ever since the Ozaki clan's origins they had become hated by outsiders once the secret behind their clan was found out.  If history was ever a teacher to Ringo, then the lesson he learned was to never let anyone know of his curse.  Fighting this man would surely bring disaster.

"Um....sure," Ringo heard himself say.  Sure?! This could very well get him imprisoned, or worse, killed!

Ringo felt sweat bead up upon his forehead as he took a step back.  "Where should we go?  This place is much too crowded.[

He would wait for the man's answer before letting the Hidden Cloud ninja lead the way.  With each step away from the marketplace he would begin to tremble more and more.  If only he had learned to control his curse better!  This kind of situation would have been no problem.


Post: 345
Total: 1072

Judging from his response Zetsume could tell that the ninja was either scared of him or something else. The slight pause in his speech lead him to believe this. Then again he was not a local. Zetsume smiled at his reply to spar and held out his hand as if to show the way. He wanted to walk side by side this one to make sure he was not up to something. If he would be leading the way who knows if the ninja would attack him. Then again it would be a suicide attempt. Repede was following the two but from the back. The dog usually trailed his master and did not usually walk beside. It was a pride thing between the two. Unless Zetsume ordered the dog would just trail him. Zetsume turned to Ringo to smile before speaking.

"Yes I know a wonderful spot. Nice open ground for us to train a bit. You know if you do not want to we dont have to spar, I just figured since you were roaming my village without much of a scare, then you would have to be a good bit strong right?"

Zetsume led him to an open field with a couple of training dummies. He used this small spot to train a few times in the past. The sun was setting when they made it onto the field. Zetsume was unsure as to what this ninja would do, but he would have to keep on his guard. For him if things turned sour he would have to eliminate him and claim it as self defense. Though if the two can spar without threat of health, then Zetsume would just enjoy the battle. He would see it as a good time to train. Plus maybe he could learn more about this Ringo fellow and what he was doing in his village.

WC:313

Zetsume lead the way to an open field.  Ringo could tell this was a training spot by the target dummies that were lying about, some of them still propped up.  He went to the nearest one and hung his coat over it, pressing his hand against his coat as he imbedded a bit of chakra onto the target dummy.  It was always better to be safe than to regret.

The Hidden Cloud shinobi allowed Ringo one more chance to back out of the spar, saying that it wouldn't be a problem to do something else.  But Ringo had already passed the point of no return in his mind and being who he was, he wouldn't back down now.  He shook his head in response, "I'm not so strong as I might appear to be, but I do try my best."

Just as he said that, Ringo could feel his cursed seal tingling.  Not a very good sign.  Soon it would activate and there was nowhere to hide.  He doubted he would be fast enough to leave the clearing and even if he did manage to hide his transformation, what would he do next?  Zetsume had no idea who she was.  And if he did find out, well, it could get ugly.  Ringo knew only too well what outsiders thought of his clan.  Yet he couldn't leave the fight either.  The situation was a sticky one and he didn't know what to do except to fight.

Ringo pulled out three shuriken from a pack on his back hip with his left hand.  He threw them all at Zetsume, the three shuriken spreading horizontally with three inches of space in between each of them as they flew towards the man's chest.  Next, Ringo followed with three shuriken from his right hand, throwing them out as well.  This time, however, he enabled the Inception Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, revealing only one shuriken to fly at Zetsume, the other two in tow but hidden by the technique.

He leapt back behind one of the test dummies to try and hide his presence, his seal tingling to life. Hopefully Zetsume wouldn't rush forward and not see the full transformation. Though it'd still be hard to explain Rin to him. Hiding, he kept his left hand returning to his side and ready to grab for his trench knives at a moment's notice.  From appearances alone, Zetsume looked to be more confident in his abilities which seemed to point to a higher skill level than Ringo currently found himself at.  The fight would be a hard one, not to mention the affect it would have on his curse seal.  Still, he prepared himself for a fight, not knowing how long it would last or how far the other ninja would go.

Chakra 190/200:

Post: 428
Total: 1500
Trained Endurance to D-0 750/750
Trained Perception to D-0 300/300
Trained Reaction Time to D-1 325/325
167 words remaining