It was about midday in Suna and the sun was directly above the village. A soothing sound was drifting around the outskirts of the village. Rikuto was sitting against a stone near the Meeting Cactus. He leaning against it and playing his ocarina. The sound was calming to the mind and soul. Rikuto was playing from memory and had his eyes closed as he continued the song. The song wasn't familiar to anyone who would hear it, only because it was a song that Rikuto had created himself. He reached the final measure of the song, he brought the ocarina down and sighed. After a few seconds, he began playing once more. This song was on a lower scale and sounded more sad then the last.

Gin was walking around the outskirts of Sunagakure. After having burnt the latest stash of paperwork and calling it a day, she decided it was best to do something that she could consider relaxing. The day was nice, as most were in Sunagakure. The young Kazekage hardly ever felt the heat, even when she walked around the desert during the middle of the day. Such were the advantages of wearing very little clothing. As she walked outside of Sunagakure's walls, the young kunoichi pulled out a book from her weapon's pouch. It was one of the more classic books in the erotic genre, Icha Icha Paradaisu. It was one of those books that she could read time and time again without getting bored, even though she had all but memorized every single line in the book.

As she walked towards the meeting cactus, she could hear music. Now, the Kazekage had never been much of a fan of music, not any of the arts - except for perverted novels. Her time had been almost completely invested in more physical hobbies and activities. Nevertheless, she enjoyed music, mostly while she danced to it in clubs. But this tune was soft and delicate. She briefly lifted her gaze from her book to look at the source: a young boy with pale blye hair. She had read his file. His name was Rikuto Shiro and he was a Genin in Norahike's squad. That was about all she knew, but at least she was able to recognize him. And without even noticing, she had walked right up to the young boy.

Rikuto continued playing and seemed to be only paying attention to his music. Even though his eyes were closed, he was able to tell that a person's shadow was blocking the sun. He opened his eyes and looked up at the Kazekage. This shocked him a bit because he didn't expect to see anyone here. Especially the Kazekage. The song he was playing came to a sudden and jumpy stop. Rikuto fell over and looked up in shock. "Uh... uh... Miss Kazekage... I... uh..." He was stammering and definitely didn't conceal the fact that he was a bit frightened. "Um... I was just... ocarina... song... playing..." It seemed like he was dumbfounded about the highest ranking ninja he knew was right in front of him. Rikuto picked up his ocarina and nervously dusted the sand off it. He then stood up and gave a slight nod to the Kazekage.

Gin narrowed her gaze and pursed her lips briefly. She hated formalities. Being called "miss", "madam", "Kazekage-sama", "Kazekage-dono"... The list of aggravating names was almost endless and they just seemed to increase in variety and frequency as each day went by. The young woman shuddered. Why couldn't people just address her as Gin? That was what they used to call her when she was still a Jounin. Was being Kazekage really that different? "Well, yes. Yes, it is," She answered her own quation in her thoughts. Nevertheless, that wasn't the matter at hand, the kid in front of her was. Gin put her hand to her forehead in exhasperation as he stood up to greet her. "Sit back down, kid," She said, almost ordered. Did everyone really have to make a big deal about greeting her? How annoying.

But she didn't hold it against the kid, he was just one of the many people that weas used to being intimidated by the Kazekage's authority. "You don't have to call me that," She added. "Just call me Gin," She said. Regardless of whether or not the kid sat down, Gin would take a seat beneath the little shade that the cactus offered. She wanted to lean against it, but alas, the prickly surface didn't let her. She would just have to conform. "So you came all the way out here just to play that thing?" She asked Rikuto.

Rikuto slowly sat down the instant Gin had asked him to. As soon as he sat, he took his ocarina and inspected it to see if it was damaged at all when he dropped it. It was very unlikely that anything had broken or cracked because the ocarina itself was reinforced for sustaining it's condition after long falls and such. He nervously put it on his lap and looked over at Gin.

He could see the look that she was giving him when he called her "Miss Kazekage". Her response to just call her "Gin" was a bit surprising to him, but he wasn't going to complain. In fact, he decided to answer her back to show he understood her request. "Um... Okay Miss Kazeka-... I mean Gin..." After a few seconds of silence, he noticed Gin asking a question, this time it was about his ocarina playing. "I'm playing my ocarina out here because I didn't want to disturb anyone in the village... Everyone inside seemed busy and I didn't want to distract them." His voice was still nervous and shy as he spoke. His reasoning was a bit odd, but true. "I also didn't really expect anyone to be out here... I thought it was just me..." It seemed like he wanted to begin playing, but he wanted to be polite and keep his attention on Gin.

Gin narrowed her gaze as Rikuto began to call her Kazekage. However, her facial features softened once again after he corrected himself. Gin took a deep breath and simply decided to relax - something that she hadn't done in a while and that she had taken for granted as a Jounin. She listened to the kid's explanation. From what she could tell at a glance, not only was he shy but he was submissive to others as well to go out of his way so as to avoid disturbing people. Either that or he preferred to be alone. Either way, Gin found that interesting. "Granted, it would usually just be you," Gin began. "People hardly ever travel outside the walls, and with good reason. Sand storms happen often and you never know what you can fin out here. Not to mention the heat," Gin explained. Before he could interject, possibly with a nervous comment about the possible dangers, Gin would put him at ease. "Don't worry, nothing'll happen as long as I'm here," She said nonchalantly, yet confidently. "Do you know any good songs on that thing?" She asked, motioning towards the ocarina on the boy's lap.

Rikuto seemed to lose a bit of nervousness once Gin wanted to talk about his ocarina. It was the one thing that he was comfortable to talk about. "Uh... I Know a bunch of songs... Some are normal and some I can use in fights... I've made a few of my own too..." Even though his voice was normally shy he sounded a bit more confident when he mentioned that he has made his own. "It all depends on the speed and style though... Fast and cheery... Slow and calm..." He looked down at his ocarina for a second, but quickly looked back up at Gin. "Do you want me to play something...?"

Gin listened to Rikuto and considered for a moment. She pursed her lips together for a while as she thought. "Let's see..." She began. "I think I'll take the slow song, if you don't mind. I'm thinking og one, but I can't really remember the name," She said with a shrug. She motioned for Rikuto to begin plaing his ocarina. From what she could vaguely tell, he was fond of it, or maybe just fond of music in general if he used it as a weapon in combat. "And what can you use those songs gor? Genjutsu?" She asked. The Kazekage personally disliked illusions. They confused her a great deal. But then again, that was only natural since she was a Kuroka. The people of her clan were much more focused on physical training than anything else.

"A slow song..." Rikuto thought to himself and went down his mental list of memorized and made up songs. He continued to rush down the list and pick one of the ones he had created in his free time. Before he started to play, he paused and listened to Gin's last question. "Um... The songs are genjutsu... but I mainly use it to support others... I don't like illusions... they hurt when I try to make something fake... And I'd rather be helpful and do things to support my team..." He grinned slightly and brought his ocarina up to his mouth. The song began with a slow and dramatic entrance. It was calming, but was slowly growing in volume. It sounded beautiful, then again... most things that he played were beautiful. The song lasted a few minutes until Rikuto ended it with one held out note. He brought his ocarina down and looked up at Gin for her approval.

Gin listened to the boy speak. It didn't seem like it, though. Her eyes remained closed and her posture didn't face him. But that was just the way the Kazekage was - relaxed and very nonchalant... at least most of the time.She nodded curtly towards his explanation. "So you focus on support, huh?" She asked. She would wait until he finished his song before speaking again. It was a soft tune, sweet and relaxing. Gin liked it, but it wasn't the song she was really looking for. Nevertheless, she mentally shrugged. It would have to do. "Have you thought about what you'd do if you're ever caught alone in a fight?" She asked. It was a valid question, seeing as he would probably face such a situation at some point in his life as a shinobi of the Sand.

Rikuto put his ocarina down on his lap and looked up at Gin. "I've never really gotten in a fight where I was alone... I'm not really sure what I'd do if I got attacked... I mean I do have a few jutsus... But I mainly use songs..." He wasn't too proud of his answer. It made him rather nervous now that Gin, his Kazekage, was asking him difficult questions. Well, they weren't difficult for most, but for Rikuto, they were questions he wasn't asked commonly. "Like I said... I like to support..." He tried his best to make it so his voice was more on the quiet side. Gin still sacred him somewhat.

Gin shook her head with conviction. "Just support doesn't work, kid," She began. "Trust me when I tell you that you'll be forced to fight one on one pretty soon. Hell, if you'd have signed up for the Chuunin Exams, you'd have to face that now!" She said. The idea of focusing only on support and Genjutsu was preposterous to the Kazekage. Then again, that also had to do with the young woman's lieange. All Kuroka disliked any forms of illusions. They were even wary of those that could possibly benefit them. "Don't you even know a couple of ninjutsu? Elemental jutsu? Nothing?" She asked. She wasn't aware that the Academy had lowered its stanards so much. "Figures... Yui screwed up big time," She thought.

Rikuto started to shake slightly. He didn't like being talked down to, but there was really nothing he could do about it. Gin was his superior and she had more power than him. "But... But... But I'm good at support... and... uh..." His voice was shaky and sounded quite nervous. " And... I... I know a bit of elemental ninjutsu..." Rikuto was now shaking a bit more harshly. Picking up his ocarina, he gripped it and tried to think of a few things to calm him down. He slowly took a deep breath and exhaled just as slowly. His ocarina definitely had some calming effects on his mind. Looking up at Gin, he gave a small frown. He was unhappy and doubting his abilities.

Gin cracked he knuckles and smiled deviously. "A bit of elemental ninjutsu, huh?" She said, getting up from the ground and standing straight. She placed a hand on each hip and smiled down at the young Genin. "I can work with a bit of elemental jutsu." She said, chuckling to herself. "We're running drills kid!" She yelled. "So get up off the ground and show me everything you've got. I can't let one of my Genin be unable to stand up on his own. You'll give the village a bad name!" She said. She would wait for Rikuto to stand up by himself. If he didn't, she would make him stand herself.

"I'll give the village... a bad name...?!" This single sentence echoed through his mind. Rikuto looked up and tried to shake his head to say no, but he wasn't able to bring himself around to doing it. Disobeying an order from the Kazekage scared him far more than anything else at the moment. Plus there was training on the side. Gin might have seen it as a chance to improve him, but Rikuto saw it more like he was going to be tortured. "Um... I... Uh..." He was speechless. All he could do is stand up and wait for Gin to do whatever she had in store from him. "This is going to be painful..." Rikuto squinted and took a single step away from Gin.