Each morning happened to occur just as the previous one that had passed by. Waking up, solely by himself, in his desolate residence with only the quiet patter of the outside world, beyond the walls of the shelter he called home, entering his ear drums gently. There would always be a creature, aside from himself, that would reside in his dwelling with him. A unique creature, yet not entirely out of the ordinary when a person took into account bloodlines. This specific creature had been with him for four years, if one were to wholly care about whole numbers. Otherwise, by the man’s estimate, he and his companion had been in each other’s company for over one thousand six hundred days, though the specific number he never really cared about, nor the amount of time he had been acquainted with the creature. Solely, he was glad his companion was by his side to this day. While they didn’t speak the same language, the man whom the creature swore fealty to, could communicate with one another solely based on gestures alone for as long as they had known one another. Perhaps they had formed a connection with each other when he had first come across the winter associated creature, perhaps it was due to their shared favourability to cold temperatures; which came with being a descendent amongst the Aisu clan, though many other variables could have easily made the two work in sync when the situation called for their combined efforts. Yet, he never ever relied on the creature wholly, he was, after all, rather formidable when faced with an opponent, his own abilities were usually enough for him to deal with a threat, and the moments where he felt overwhelmed by an opponent; memories of his bout against Mizuru the Mistress of the Seven Bells Clan and the agonizing fight that he and Daraku had against the medical specialist, Io, flashed quickly in his mind, but each of those two specific battle had not involved his most trusted ally. The only thing on this planet he could trust one hundred present, with the only exception to that rule being his mother.

It had never occurred to him where he would be without Suichi’s ever present, and ever annoying, presence around him. What would have happened if he never took that trip to Yukigakure no Sato those few years ago? Where would he have been now? More importantly, what would have happened to Suichi in the aftermath of what could have been? Yuudai knew these thoughts were useless, though often he had a dream of the past, memories of what happened in Yukigakure no Sato and what could potentially have happened if anything went differently than it did; if he had gone for the journey there or not. He recalled the reasoning behind his visit there, as it had been after his quick and successful jump from an unknown jounin in the village, one whom barely anyone knew of, to the respected Sannin he had become. Mayhaps the respect came with the title or with the bearer, but he himself would never be able to seek that answer. Responses to such questions would be altered to sound pleasing to the man whom the questions would be about; himself, thus a true answer would never be there. Often, he wondered if he had been in such a spot because of the blood relation he shared with the current Mizukage of the Village Hidden by Mist, as shortly after her succession to the title of the Water Shadow, he had been elevated to the title of Sannin. Perhaps those were the thoughts of others or himself, but he knew that he shared few conversations with the Mizukage, though when truly thinking on the matter, he couldn’t recall a conversation with the Water Shadow that held significance, held any sign as to his current position. Perhaps he would never know the true answer to a question he would never be asking and it would be the best way to continue on forward.

Driving his thoughts away from his current position in the rankings of shinobi amongst the village of Kirigakure, Yuudai thought back to the exact moment he had found Suichi. The creature had looked like it was frightened by his presence, though at the exact same moment its aura presented itself, showing the newly titled Sannin that the creature was going to fight back if it had the opportunity. Thinking back on that day usually, with things playing out how they had happened in the real world, would almost always bring a slight grin to Yuudai’s features. Though, back then, when he first encountered the penguin, Yuudai had no knowledge of what the capabilities of the creature could potentially be, nor could he ever have imagined the small creature quickly and gracefully transforming in to one that stood almost eyelevel with the purple-haired Sannin. Everything back then also was a lot simpler for Yuudai, never having much to worry about until he got acquainted with a title only a select few would ever hold, though more than the position of the Water Shadow.

With his thoughts melding and disappearing at a moment’s notice, a nudge to Yuudai’s cheek quickly indicated it was time for him to awake for the day. The penguin had practically demanded it.

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Word count: 902

The moment he felt the consistent nudges to his left cheek, not harsh enough to hurt him, but hard enough that he’d be able to feel each and every single prod. Without even having to open an eye, to get a peek, Yuudai had already known who it would be the very moment his mental processes had become active for the day. No one else would even bother doing such a task, as Yuudai was normally punctual when it came to waking up at an appropriate time for him to deal with his daily tasks. Also, considering these very actions happened on almost a daily basis; he had no clue how Suichi always seemed to be up before him every day, though it could be attributed to the numerous amounts of naps Suichi took during the day, Yuudai knew it was the penguin before it would even happen. There would be no one else in his home who would consistently do such an action on a daily basis, then again, it was always just Yuudai in his home when he moved to his own place, and then eventually Suichi had joined him shortly afterwards.

Rolling over to his right side, as to attempt to avoid Suichi’s insistence that he wake up at this exact moment, Yuudai let out a quiet breath. Getting a few more minutes of rest with the consistent presence of Suichi would not allow Yuudai to get the much needed rest he wanted. If it were to happen to someone else, Yuudai would surely be amused, entertained by the fact that an aquatic flightless bird was attempting to wake up a person, but when it happened to himself, he knew it was less than amusing if another person were in his current position. Though, he had grown used to it over time that much was for certain. He recalled the first time it had happened.

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He could feel the cold wind entering the broken down building, the first light of day entering his vision. The one thing about Kirigakure no Sato he appreciated the most was the fact that the rarely ever would one wake up to the sun’s rays bouncing off their eyelids. But, he wasn’t in Kiri anymore, or at least for the time being. Yuudai recalled what had brought him here, the ruins of a minor shinobi village, a village where his ancestors had settled along with the Village Hidden by Mist. Yukigakure no Sato, the Village Hidden Among Snow. His back ached from the events of the past few days, the wounds still ever present and continually stinging. The method in which they were induced and the pain that continued to press against him made him let out a groan. He hadn’t expected to get caught, but he had. Though, having escaped after being taken a prisoner was something he clearly hadn’t expected. He was still fresh off being a jounin, and he wasn’t even a jounin for such a long time, as he had so much room to improve, but he had been caught anyhow, there was nothing changing that.

The circumstances surrounding his escape had been entirely out of left field, as it had been mostly unexpected and a chance occurrence that allowed him to break out. He never had gotten that far away, having collapsed in a rundown building the moment he knew he they were no longer chasing him for the current time. That and he had some help from a penguin of all creatures to roam the planet. But, he was grateful; as the creature had seemingly stayed with him throughout the night, though it was likely that they were both alone in this country, save for the bandits that had decided to take over. His sleep had been a fitful one, if he even slept. The events of the past few days kept replaying over and over again. There was only one good thing that could be taken out of it, he’d at least be able to remain a shinobi without suffering any consequences, save for the numerous scars that would begin to mar his back.

As his eyes remained shut, Yuudai felt a slight nudge to his cheek. Having slept on his side for the night, Yuudai had to only peak an eye open to spot where the slight push had come from. It was the creature, the one he had come across the night before in his escape. The creature wasn’t very tall, though it obscured most of Yuudai’s vision with how close it was. It seemed to have a face that could be considered concerned, if one was able to truly read the facial reactions of non-human creatures. But, Yuudai could basically sense it radiating off the creature. A strained smile formed on his lips as the pain seemed to once again resurge.

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Likely, Yuudai deduced, that his fondness for Suichi had come from that very moment, having someone that seemed to care, even if they were both to look out for one another at that time. As time had continued to pass, the affection Yuudai had for Suichi had grown, as Suichi continued to stay by Yuudai’s side. It had been years now and Yuudai still had a soft spot for the creature, that much almost anyone could see due to Yuudai still keeping the penguin within his home, but the amount of time they were with one another drastically decreased since the Seven Bells attack. Ever since then, Yuudai had been somewhat distanced from everyone, more than he usually would have been, Suichi included.

Grumbling out a, “Fine, fine.” The consistent nudging to his cheek had stopped. Hearing a bit of shuffling, Yuudai cracked an eye open and spotted Suichi jumping off the bed, towards the floor, and waddling his way towards the door.  How the penguin got on to the bed forever remained a mystery, unless Suichi had transformed just to complete such a meagre task. With another groan released, as countless ones had been released prior to this morning from the exact same routine, Yuudai could hear a hum coming from the kitchen, the answer already in mind before he could hear a voice or wander out to discover who it was. There’d only be one person visiting him this early in the morning, whatever time it was, to simply cook a meal in the kitchen.

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Word count: 1981

The very moment that he was left alone in his room, in his house – he had moved out of his childhood home, the home he and his mother lived in since his birth, though he reluctantly wanted to live on his own, proof more to himself that he’d be able to take care of himself upon his promotion to jounin – Yuudai had a few moments to breath and just lay there, but not for as long as he would like. He knew if he took far too long, Suichi would eventually return to once again and stay until Yuudai would be up and out of bed. Knowing that his fate had practically been sealed, Yuudai knew exactly how long he would have before Suichi would come back, as he learned from the years of Suichi’s insistence of waking up, thus he had already decided to wait until the last few seconds before he would go and get ready.

Knowing he’d just have a minute or two to get up and out the bed, Yuudai rolled onto his back, the pain that once existed there no longer was a bother to him, as the only remaining remnants of the pain were on his back, only seen by him when he looked at his back through a mirror and the memories, dreams rather, that replayed on the rare occasion when he went to bed. No one aside from a select few people would see them, and he didn’t plan to expand the list any longer than intended. Perhaps it was due to his subconscious, of being judged for failing at one point in his career that drove him to hide the remnants, though he already knew that no one would ever get a glimpse of them so long as things remained stagnant. Though the people who had given him the markings had seen them, most; if not all, of them had been gone from the face of the planet. Not for placing the scars, but for his own defence and the remnants of the individuals whom still lingered in the destroyed village of Yukigakure no Sato. The reasoning behind it was quiet simple. So long as he was fully dressed, with an article of clothing covering his upper body, they would remain hidden and he knew there were limited ways another person could see the marks. He didn’t view his scars as proof of his bravery, or whatever else they could be considered, they were a constant reminder to Yuudai that no one remained safe and that anything could happen to anyone.

Losing track of time for a moment, Yuudai knew that if he lingered on unwarranted thoughts for any longer, Suichi would eventually return. Letting out an inaudible breath, Yuudai opened both of his eyes, adjusting to the daylight that entered his room. Though it wasn’t much, when compared to a village that didn’t have mist hanging over it on a daily village, the stark contrast between utter darkness of the shreds of sunlight within his room had him blinking constantly to adjust to the brightness. As he was adjusting to the sunlight, Yuudai had pushed himself up in to a sitting position with the aid of both his hands pressing down against the covered mattress below him. The bed sheets that had covered his torso when he slept draped down to his lap, pooling up in a bundle. The few traces of sunlight that entered in to the room, from either the window to his right or from the door that was left halfway open, hit his bare chest as he raised his right hand to push loose tendrils of hair away from his face. He always thought about getting his haircut shorter, but considering he could still function in battle with his current length, Yuudai had decided on leaving it at its current length, though the option of trimming it was always one that was brought up in his mind. Shifting around on the bed, Yuudai heaved his legs up off the bed only to plant his feet on the tan coloured carpeted floor below. Throwing off the bed sheets, tossing them towards the foot of the bed, Yuudai was solely clad in a pair of boxers, a dulled black colour; he lets his eyes shortly scan the room, noting that everything was placed where he had left it the night before. All three of his weapons were placed by the door, such that they would be hidden when one opened the door fully, as he wasn’t paranoid of being attacked in his own home, though if such an occasion were to ever occur, the Sannin would be prepared regardless.

As he stood to his feet, Yuudai’s muscles slowly adjusted to the movement. While he was still in top shape, perhaps not even having reached his peak, the adjustment from not moving from a whole night to being fully awake still took its time. Like most individuals (though he woke earlier than the majority), Yuudai was lazy when it came to getting up with a jump in the mornings. Though, this was entirely in his home, if he were in a situation where it was needed of him to be active the moment his eyes opened, he would, but that was not the current case.

Almost sluggishly, though with a refinement ingrained through the years, Yuudai headed over to one of the two other doors in his room. One of them would lead to his closet, which would be an eventually destination after he was done in the bathroom. As it was like every morning, after Suichi had woken the Sannin from his slumber, Yuudai would head to the bathroom to get himself prepared for the day ahead of him. Today, specifically, his day was entirely cleared up, save an emergency requiring the Sannin; a highly unlikely event, and he only really planned to get some training done as well. It had been quite some time since he had a vigorous training session, though he didn’t plan on sparring with someone else, so perhaps meditation would fit the bill instead. Padding across the carpeted floor, Yuudai pushed the door to the bathroom open, walked past the threshold and gently pushed the door closed after he was fully inside.

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Word count: 3040