The city of Kirigakure, bustling in the middle of the day with people everyone in town, shopping, exploring, and generally keeping busy or wasting time as they saw fit. It was a cloudy yet warm and humid day, the weekend, with nothing for anyone to really do, and the same went for Maigo, who was given some money by his parents to go get Kunai and other weapons he could use for when he started his journey as a Genin this coming week. He wandered about the city, his loose fighting jacket covering his hands and his bandages covering up his body, still no shirt, it was much too warm for that and he hated the heat regardless. Everyone else seemed so comfortable, maybe it was just him losing his mind. He went into the first weapon shop he could find, not caring what sort of things he would find in there and only there for some basic kunai and shuriken.

The store attendant turned to him after looking him over, an older gentleman who looked as if he had been running the shop for a while now, he began to speak with a deep and raspy voice, Oh, Hello there, anything I can help you with today? His tone was sincere, he'd probably seen many ninja of all sorts come through, younger then Maigo, older, man-woman, whatever other categories you might choose to identify someone with. Maigo looked around the shop, his head moving in circles as he slowly walked down the wall, No, I don't think so, I'm just here for some kunai and shuriken, enough to get me started out. But I do like these swords and knives you got here, did you make them yourself? Maigo picked up a katana off the rack, admiring it's sheath and slowly pulling it out. The shop clerk had begun a rant about the stores products and such, grabbing a simple pack from behind his counter he prepped a pack of kunai, shuriken, and some other basic supplies a ninja would use. Maigo, still admiring the blade unsheathed it, the blade shining as light from hit it's brand new edge.

Maigo reached towards the counter while the old man began to do some math and give Maigo the change he had, still ranting about what he packed and how he might be able to use it, clearly becoming more and more concerned about Maigo and the blade. Maigo then began to spin the blade about his hand, moving from grip to sitting on his palm, doing extraordinarily well, until the blade hit flat against the counter, being a slight rotation away from cutting into it. The old man had clearly seen enough, throwing his change into his pouch and handing him the pouch as he grabbed the sword before Maigo hurt himself or anyone else. He sheathed the blade and put it behind him as he began pushing Maigo out of the shop, You have what you came here for and what you need, so please on with you, I have no time for tom-foolery today! As he shoved Maigo out basically shooing him away. Maigo dusted himself off, and began walking drawing a small crowd as he was thrown out, he tied the pouch to his waste and put his jacket over it as to cover it along with his hands and arms, and most of his stuff. He walked down a bit, sitting down at a bench about a block past the shop, he didn't care to really look through the pouch of items, he knew it had what he wanted and that was enough for him. He leaned back, pulling his hands out of his sleeves and crossing his arms as he looked up towards the sky and sighing, he was pretty ready to get started with his ninja work, training, going on missions, gaining a rival to make him stronger maybe? He began to fantasize about it as he sat there, wondering what his squad would be like and who might be in it, what they might be like, and if any of them would be beautiful women, starting to get off into a mental rant in that field he began to blush slightly and sink a little further in his bench seat as he thought about possible squad mates and a sensei.

[735 words]

Riss had been walking through the market district of Kirigakure and enjoying the sights and sounds it had to offer. Stands and shops lined the sides of the streets and waves of people walked in between them. She had been walking around and looking at the goods for sale, but had no intention of buying anything. Being a Genin and getting paid very little for missions, she only had a bit of ryo lining her pockets. Certainly not enough to afford some of the gear on sale for higher ranking Shinobi. Even if she wasn’t the wealthiest of Genin, she still enjoyed window shopping and gaining a bit of hope that one day she would be able to purchase such nice wares. As she continued along, an angered voice seemed to echo towards her. When she heard an argument in the distance, as well as witnessing a small crowd form around a shop, she slowly stopped mid stride and stared for a moment. It wasn’t extremely rare to see an individual or group have an argument about prices, but this verbal fight seemed to be one way. With a bit of curiosity, Riss wandered closer and tried to get a better look at what was happening.

Riss watched quietly as a shop owner started to make a bit of a scene with what looked to be a Genin. Slowly shoving past a few bystanders, she got a closer look. Based on the boy’s appearance he was a good bit taller than her, and could see that he at least beat her by a foot. As for his clothing, they confirmed her guess that the boy was a Genin. Continuing to watch as the man pushed the boy away, Riss shook her head. Seeing as the boy had a bag from the shop, he was obviously a paying customer. Whatever the reason he was being kicked out and shooed away wasn’t really a concern of hers, but based on the look on the boy’s face, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

As the crowd around the store dissipated, Riss tried her best to keep an eye on the boy. Luckily for her, he didn’t travel too far away from where the store was. Quietly watching as he took a set on a bench and lean back, Riss stated to walk towards him. Part of her wanted to make sure he was alright and nothing went wrong. Being a Genin and knowing how hard it was to get respect or praise, she felt like she had an obligation to make sure he was alright. Another part of her didn’t even want to acknowledge him and simply carry on about her day. Of course, Riss’ curious tendencies got the better of her and she walked to the bench. Staring for a moment, she left out a sigh and reached a hand out. Tapping the boy’s shoulder, Riss tried to get his attention. “Uh, Excuse me?” Her voice was soft and sounded sincere. Now that she was a bit closer to the boy, she could confirm a few more details about him. Her guess that he was a good foot taller was a bit too far. Although he clearly beat her in height, it wasn’t as much as she originally thought. She glanced down and noticed the bandages. Riss could only assume they were covering injuries. Shaking her head, she grinned and looked the boy in the eyes.

[576]

The sun felt good on Maigo's face, as he leaned his head back and rested his eyes he felt, for a brief moment, very relaxed. Lots of people all around him, walking to and fro, making a lot of noise so he didn't notice someone walk up to him while he sat there. A tap on his shoulder, it was light and hardly enough to get his attention, and followed  by a soft and sincere voice, he opened his eyes slowly, as if he was groggy and had just woke, he used his weight to pick himself up into an upright position. A girl stood there in front of him, a smaller girl with long red hair and pretty blue eyes, she was shaking her head but at what Maigo didn't understand, he became a bit nervous as she was quite attractive and he hadn't had much experience with women, what they wanted and what they do, other than of course than knowing the stereotypes about them being crazy, indecisive, or whatever since they make great material for jokes.

It definitely would help his ego that such a pretty girl would come up to him while he was sitting, after pausing and looking her over he began to speak, Hi, uhhh, what's up? he stammered out, she was quite attractive and about his age, maybe a bit shorter but that didn't matter. His first impression of her is that she seemed shy in some ways, with the way she approached him; a very quite step, a light tap, and a soft-spoken voice, but then a shy girl wouldn't approach someone so openly. Maigo began to go through numerous scenarios in his mind, from where she came up to him and professed her love for to her beating him into a coma, it seemed like an infinite pause as his thoughts run wild and these ridiculous scenarios only written in books ran through his mind. Maigo sat there upright and alert now for whatever was to come, he then began to even wonder who this girl was, why she was here, and what she had to do with him.

As he sat there looking at her with his honey eyes looking at her and her standing there, time slowed down and the background seemed to fade as they were there in the center of this courtyard. He snapped out of it quickly and noticed a Kirigakure headband on her belt, was she a shinobi too? The picture seemed to come together as he noticed the kunai as well, he listened in to what she had to say, he wondered what she wanted with him?

[451 words, 1186 words]

Riss stood up straight and focused in on the boy a little more. She noted him picking out the details of her face and clothes, though she didn’t mind. In fact, she did the same when it came to meeting new people. The way people dress and present themselves told a lot about them. In Miago’s case, he seemed like a typical genin. With a quiet nod, Riss responded to the boy’s reaction to her. “I just noticed the whole scene that happened over by that shop.” Riss raised a finger and pointed towards the direction of the store. “Are you alright?” She was generally concerned for the boy. He looked to be alright physically, but there could easily be some hidden issues.

Riss had been in a few situations that caused her to get thrown out of stores, or even chased out all due to her curious tendencies. She had moments where she picked up weapons without asking or was thought to be window shopping. Though a deeper root in the problem was most likely linked to the rank of genin. Some of the shops along Kiri’s streets only want to deal with customers who can pay for large items or pay for a lot of items. A good majority of genin would be interested in all the items for sale, but would get nothing because of the lack of ryo. In truth, Riss had tried to purchase different gear, but was seen as too young or not experienced enough. With a quick blink, she brought her attention back to Maigo and however he would respond.

[843]

They both looked each other over, it was an awkward meeting thus far, she explained why she approached him, he found it very interesting that she would go to such a great length to see if he was merely okay, but less on the awkward stalking in Maigo's mind but more on her thinking he might have been hurt or offended in his little tuffle at the shop. He stood up immediately, pointing at her head as he began to speak with a wild and sporadic tone, with the volume to draw the attention of several nearby people. What do you mean, "Am I alright?" giving the sense of mocking when quoting her phrase, I'm fine, I'm a ninja of Kirigakure, no shop owner is going to be able to beat me, I'm invincible and no matter how good looking you are I won't let you get away with insulting my strength so easily! He put his hand down about halfway through when he was certain that he had the girls attention. He gave nearly no pause before continuing his rant, Listen, my name's Maigo, and I appreciate the concern but I can look out for myself, that old man just didn't think I would know how to handle a sword, he thought I was endangering the people around me, he'll learn, one day I'm gonna be super strong and prove myself as a great ninja and then he'll be begging for me to take one of his swords and advertise for him by using his sword in battle.

He had ended up standing on the bench by the time he was done ranting, with one leg kicked on top of the back of the bench to look as if he had defeated several enemies and was standing on top of their unconscience bodies. His fists clenched as if he had grabbed the sun, he suddenly snapped back into reality for a second to look around, him not sure exactly how he got up there he brought his fist down and looked at the girl now. Maigo was also unsure what he was saying but the people around him seemed to be giggling and laughing at him or were seemed off-put by such a loud boy, for embarrassing himself and probably embarrassing the girl who had approached him not too long ago. She was probably already regretting coming near him, Maigo didn't have much skill with social situations, be that speaking to 200 people in a classroom or 1 on 1 with a friend, he always seemed to be stirring up trouble or embarrassing himself and those around him. His eyes wandered back from those around them to looking the girl in the eyes to see how she had taken it, he figured she would be more mad at him for being such a weirdo than finding him funny in an awkward way like happens in books and such.

He now had a situation he would have to deal with, instead of just saying something like Yes, thank you. He had to go off and get himself into a world of trouble and quite possibly ruining his chances to meet a nice girl who might be a good friend one day. Oh well, maybe if he lived to tell the story will be a decent one for him to tell someday as one of standup comedy skits.

[579 words, 1765 words total]

Riss was taken aback at the boy’s reaction. Very rarely did Riss act kindly to others, but when she did, it was truly from the sincerest part of her heart. Listening and taking in every single word that was said, she quietly closed her hands into fists. Even though a compliment slipped through Maigo’s rant, Riss focused more on the insults that were flung at her. After going out of her way to be kind to a random genin, this is what she got in return. Her eyes grew slightly as he began his rant and mocked her comment. As he continued to her saddened eyes quickly changed to ones of absolute rage. One thing Riss would be famous for would be her legendary outbursts of anger. Having to analyze what was said to come up with a comeback, Maigo’s arrogance is what hit her mind first. Riss wasn’t too fond of people who think too highly of themselves. Even if she wasn’t humble herself, she wasn’t one to brag about how great of a ninja she would become. She took in the surrounding people laughing at their argument and quickly added it to her rage. With a quick inhale through her nose, she grit her teeth, ready to deliver her outburst with full force.

“This is what I get for trying to be kind?!” Her tone was hostile and was most likely going to draw another crowd. “I came over here trying to see if one of my fellow Genin was alright with being thrown out of a store! Sorry for trying to make some egotistical jerk feel a little bit better!” There were no pauses in her returned rant. In fact, her words compared to Maigo seemed to be much more hostile. Flailing her arms up and giving many motions to couple with her rant, Riss resumed her speech after taking a quick breath. “And who the hell would want someone like you to buy their sword simply to show it off! If I saw you flaunting a sword around, I’d think you’d be the biggest sell out anyone has ever seen! You’re a ninja to protect your village and family, not showboat like an idiot!” Some of the onlookers would think the two would be just a young bickering couple, but what Riss would do next would put all theories to rest.

Riss lifted her hands up to her mouth and took a deep inhale. Arching her back to put more power into her shot, she whipped her head forward and fired a spew of water toward Maigo. The shot of water not only drenched Maigo on impact, but happened to miss him and hit the bench he was sitting on. Due to the pure force of the jet, it caused the wood to splinter and creak, eventually giving up under the pressure. Snapping in two, it would leave Maigo soaking wet, all while sitting in the remains that was the bench. With an annoyed, “Hmph!” Riss turned and began to walk away. She had said her piece and gave Maigo a taste of her rage and her abilities. Crossing her arms, her face was an ungodly shade of red. Whether it was from anger, embarrassment, or both, she was going to be steamed for quite some time. Her actions would most likely give her a reputation among the onlookers, but she was too angry to think about such things. As she reached the wall of people, they quickly moved out of the way to let her pass. Riss would continue walking at a rather slow pace, remaining steamed all throughout the walk. An apology would lessen her anger, but there would have to be many steps taken to calm her down.

Chakra 140/150:

[1468]

As Maigo finished his rant the girl who stood next to him had gone from sincerity to pure rage, her hands clenched in to a fist as he ranted on. As he finished and drew himself together there was a pause, as if the rage within her had built up and was about to unleash in a volcanic explosion. She then went on her rant, wondering why she bothered, calling him out as a genin, and downplaying his dreams and aspirations. As she reached the climax of her anger all that was left beyond further yelling would be to beat him into a coma, not that he had escalated it that far but maybe the added embarrassment from onlookers would send it over the edge. He watched her as she yelled and flailed, then she held her hands up to her mouth and with that a blast of water came rushing out, all Maigo got was a face full of water, not noticing the bench being soaked and splintering under his feet, it quickly gave way and he came crashing down.

As he sat, the bench split into pieces and him lying in the wreckage and soaked from head to toe, the girl walked away with some flare and still quiet a bit of anger left. She crossed her arms, and he couldn't see her face but imagined it displayed a combination of anger and frustration. The onlookers moved aside as she past them and Maigo jumped up, he wasn't going to let her leave in a tantrum like that, not only because he didn't want her to have a bad feeling about him but also because he wanted the last word. Maybe a bit selfish, but she would never know and as long as he still had the energy he would try to fight it. He jumped up, brushed himself off and tried to shale off a bit of the water, it wouldn't do much but it was a habit for him, he followed after her as she stormed off. He jumped onto the rooftop and caught up to her, walking beside her now, he called out to her from the rooftop, Hey, what was that about? With an anger like that I see why your hair is so red. He hestitated his next step, that was not at all what he meant to say.

He slowed his steps and looked straight ahead, he didn't want to see how mad she had gotten or what she was about to do to him, he just wanted to get his words off before it was too late. He hurried his next sentence, yelling his words, hoping he would get them off in time before her next bit of rage explodes, Listen! I'm so sorry, that's not at all what I'm trying to say! I just wanted to apologize because I'm not normally like this, I just don't know how to censor what I say very well! He held his hands up covering his face, a little bit of terror that his apology wouldn't be enough to at least stop her from beating him alive. He held his overly defensive position as he awaited what she would do, if she had even stopped to listen to what he had to say. Some part of him hoped that she hadn't, would save him the trouble of having to explain himself. But then again, if she didn't stop or listen then he would still try to explain himself eventually.

[598 words, 2363 words]

Having a brief moment of time to think about what Maigo said in his quick rant, Riss drooped her head down slightly. Repeating what was said in her mind, she picked out one line that surprised her slightly. She had been called ‘cute’ before, but only when she was a very young age. Now that he thought about it, ‘good looking’ was never something anyone had ever used to describe her. She blushed slightly now that she was a bit more aware that Maigo mentioned it, though her face wouldn’t show it. The redness from the blush would be insignificant compared to the red of her anger. A slight grin broke through her angry scowl, but it quickly disappeared when she heard faint footsteps. As the familiar voice hit her from above, she shrugged her shoulders up and tightened her grip on her own arms. She knew it was the genin from before, most likely coming to apologize or continue the argument. Riss left in a hurry, and walked away from a rather dramatic reaction. She didn’t even give Maigo a chance to say his piece after she broke the bench.

The boy seemed to jump down and walk beside her. Glancing over at Maigo, she could tell he was terrified of her initial reaction to his rant. True, Riss overdid herself with the insults and comments, but she did so without even considering how the boy was feeling. Even though she was still steamed, Riss let out an exhale to calm herself down. Maigo’s comment about her hair didn’t help his attempt at making things right. With a lifting her hand off her elbow, she brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and continued to walk at a slowed pace. Riss remained silent and refused to speak. Her silence was mainly due to her not wanting to have any more dealings with the genin. Then again, part of her wanted to apologize for her actions and see if the boy was really worth befriending.

Riss tilted her head as she listened to Maigo’s quick response. With a shake of her head, she stared forward and answered back. “Damn right you’re sorry… What kind of guy responds that way to help?!” Her tone remained sour, though it seemed to be greatly turned down from her previous voice. With a quiet pause, she closes her eyes for a moment before coming to a complete stop. “I… I’m sorry too… I didn’t mean to get you soaked and break that bench… I don’t normally get that angry.” With yet another exhale, Riss calmed herself to the point where she wouldn’t snap at the boy any longer. In fact, she had reached a point where she believed the boy deserved her name at least. “Riss… My name is Riss.” She kept her arms crossed and avoided eye contact. She would still maintain her anger, but depending on how Maigo would take her lukewarm apology would determine if they could make amends.

[1968]

Chakra 140/150:

As Maigo defended himself he heard anger in her tone, telling him that he should feel sorry, he probably would have retaliated at that remark but his want to remain alive would be enough to stay his tongue. And suddenly she apologized as well, it was awkward, Maigo wasn't sure what she was really apologizing over, it was really no big deal to him and her claim about not being angry. Well she seemed way to confident and smooth in her anger for it to be the only time to burst out like that. She then gave him her name, Riss, it was soft and smooth, it rolled off his tongue well and as it sat in his head a smile broke on his face. She still looked angry, but Maigo knew at that point, that he had won, or at least, he could win and bring her back to his good side.

Maigo looked towards her as he removed his jacket to wring out the water, Listen, it's no big deal, let's just put this behind us. He wrung the jacket, more water dripping out from the middle, his bandages underneath wet as well, he would probably change those as well if he hadn't gotten his pouch soaked as well. He continued walking and put his jacket back on, Well listen, if you don't hate me it's almost time for dinner, you can join me if you'd like? He looked towards Riss, his lower body still dripping from the water and his sandals squeeking with every step. I know of a place just down the road, it's an outdoor shop, since with me soaked most places probably won't let me in. But this place is nice and fairly good, I'll lead the way if you want to. Or if you know of a place we can go there as well, I might just need to dry off first. He chuckled at the end of his sentence trying to be a little funny hoping she might find it funny as well. He hoped she would join him so he could learn more about her, and hopefully show her that he isn't always embarrassing to be around in public.

[379 words, 2742 words total]

Riss slowly moved her gaze over to Maigo, no longer avoiding looking at him. Her face had become a little less flushed and returned to her natural pale skin color, showing that her anger was slowly declining. “Fine, we’ll put it behind us.” Even though she said this, it didn’t mean she had forgiven him completely. She was going to hold grudge for quite some time, or at least until she’d be able to get revenge on him. The boy was somewhat suave, being able to talk her out of her outburst. It made her somewhat curious of the boy. Others had gotten her way beyond the point that Maigo brought on her and hadn’t been able to calm her in the slightest. Yet, Maigo seemed to have a certain air around him that made her feel a little more trustworthy.

As irritated as she was with the boy, his offer of going to dinner was rather appealing to her. Although she wouldn’t show any sign of gratitude or appeasement just yet, she was secretly appreciative of the suggestion. Unfortunately, before she could even think of an answer to give back to Maigo, her stomach made a slight groaning noise. It was an obvious sign of hunger, one that made Riss seem to cave into herself a bit. “Uh… Yeah… Dinner is fine…” The tone of her voice shifted dramatically. The anger seemed all but gone from her voice, but her body language said otherwise. Relaxing her stance slightly, she uncrossed her arms and put a hand on her hip. “But I’m picking the place. It’ll give you time to dry off too.” Riss glanced down, seeing the small pool of water starting to grow. With a shake of her head, she used her free hand and patted Maigo on the shoulder as she walked past him. The first reason being that she wanted to reassure him that she wasn’t going to kill him right then and there, and the second being that she wanted to see how badly she soaked him with her jutsu. Judging at how much water was on her hand just due to the pat, it would take some time before he was dry. Taking a few steps, she looked over her shoulder for a brief moment before keeping a steady pace towards the restaurant she had in mind.

The two arrived at the restaurant after walking for a little less than five minutes. The food being served looked to be a sort of grill-type. The scent of cooking meat and vegetables seemed to fill the air. It had a particular scent and swiftly grabbed ahold of Riss. Motioning for Maigo to follow, she entered through the front door and found a seat for two.

Chakra 140/150:

[2427]

She accepted his apology and they agreed to put it behind them, she seemed to loosen up some of her anger and she hadn't beaten him so that was definitely a sign of progress. She agreed to have dinner with him but insisted on choosing the place, seemed excessive, besides he was still wet and would need some time to dry off. Shaking himself off while they walked and getting water everywhere to dry off faster, after a short walk they arrived at their destination. He had dried off some but his clothes were still dark from the water, and beginning to wrinkle, it would be an uncomfortable dinner for him at the least, but hopefully he could enjoy her company and distract him for at least a little while. The restraunt smelled great and as they entered Riss found a booth easily big enough for two, he waited for her to sit down and then sat down across from her.

He sat awkwardly for a moment waiting for someone to take their order, it wasn't long before a younger women arrived to ask for their drinks, Maigo would order a water, he knew what he wanted to order food wise, some roasted lemon chicken that looked delicious but he would only order his food Riss also did. Once Riss was done ordering he would work up the courage to talk to her. So, Riss. Tell me about yourself, I mean, anything that you're comfortable with of course. He let his words stutter outward towards her, he definitely wasn't very good at this but he would try his hardest fighting through his nerves. I mean, I want to know about you, like who you are, where you're from, and stuff. Really just small talk I guess? More dribble pouring from his mouth, hopefully she would take charge of the conversation soon and help him out here.

As he finished the waiter brought their drinks to the table to start them out. A glass of water for Maigo, and whatever Riss would have gotten, and if they hadn't placed their order by then now is when they would probably do so. Then, it would be Riss's turn to tell, or even yell at Maigo again, his hope is that the evening stays quiet from here on out.

[393 words, 3135 words total]

Riss sat quietly, occasionally swapping her focus between Maigo, the waitresses, and the tables with food. It wasn’t too long of a wait till a waitress came over to their table. Riss ordered a small glass of tea and would wait till the drink had arrived before she ordered any food. As the waitress walked away to retrieve the drinks, Riss noticed that Maigo had started to talk to her. It was somewhat surprising, seeing as he was still nervous around her. She could only assume his nervousness was because of her tendency to explode when angered. Although the grudge would still be held, she would keep calm if anything happened to get to her.

As her companion spoke, she could tell that Maigo was struggling with his words. It was obvious that he wasn’t too social and would definitely need some coaching through their dinner conversation. She didn’t mind at all, considering she was willing to walk him through the conversation until he was confident enough to come up with interesting topics. He did somewhat well with asking her about her life. It was an easy place to start off at and would definitely give her an opportunity to ask him similar questions. With a small grin and a quiet giggle, Riss responded. “Small talk? I wouldn’t consider life stories small talk, but it’s somewhere to start.” With a deep breath, Riss prepared to answer all the questions Maigo had asked her.

“I’m an Uzumaki, so many family doesn’t really have roots anywhere. All I know from my mom is that I was born here in Kiri and have lived here all my life. The only family I’ve really known here in Kiri is my mother and father. I’m an only child and my father died from a sickness when I little, so it’s just me and my mom now.” She smirked slightly to show she didn’t mind talking about the death of her father. It was too far in the past for her to worry or linger on it. “As for some of the ninja stuff, I got into the academy when I was pretty young. Absolutely hated it for a while. I didn’t really want to be a Shinobi. It was only when I saw the sort of things you could do if you trained hard enough. I ended up paying more attention in classes until I became a Genin. I actually want to be a teacher whenever I become a Jounin.” Pausing for a moment as their drinks made it to the table, she stopped the waitress and began to order some food for herself. Ordering a hefty bowl of a beef and rice, she grinned as the waitress wrote the order down. Riss wasn’t one to be shy about what she ate when eating out. Instead of going with a stereotypical small salad, she went with a full on meal. Once the waitress was finished with Riss’ order, moved on to Maigo, and left to have the orders filled, would Riss begin talking to Maigo once more. “So I told you a whole lot about me, what about you? Same questions you asked me. Who are you? Where are you from? What’re your goals?” Her tone seemed to lighten up a lot more, seeming to have no anger at all anymore.

Chakra 140/150:

[2983]

The waiter brought their drinks and Maigo made his order, the chicken, served on a skewer over a bowl of rice and a special sauce from the house. It sounded delicious as she headed back to place the order. As Riss began to fill in the major details of her life, Maigo listened intently, learning she was an Uzumaki with out much of a history and without a father. Life must've been rough for her early on, and then going on into her ninja life. So, she wanted to be a jounin instructor one day, interesting, it's a tough job, not sure if it's what Maigo would be interested in. Maigo knew a little about the Uzumaki, really what was taught to him in school or what he heard in books, there were lots of famous ninja and Riss probably had the potential to become a great ninja but was merely aiming to become a jounin leader. There orders had been taken and it seemed that she was done, now she wanted to know about him, a cold sweat ran over his body and he rubbed his hands on his shorts.

Coughing a bit to clear up his lungs he spoke quietly, Well, my life is kinda....boring I guess. He let the words hang off as he looked down towards his hands and body. I'm not from any special clan that I know of, both my parents are from Kiri and grew up here. They were both chuunin and retired to a quiet life of running paperwork around the village for the admin building. He paused and took a sip of water, As for me, I've wanted to be a ninja my whole life, to go and see the world and be in adventures and what not. I guess when I was little I was in an accident or something, which is why I have the scars and burn marks on my hand and stomach. I was very little when it happened so I don't remember it and whenever I bring it up my parents dodge the question and change the subject. It's annoying but it might be a painful memory for them, who knows. He started his ranting again, probably divulging a little too much information a bit of gloom had slowly overtaken his tone. He looked up as he realized he was ranting again, Sorry about that, that's more of my problem to deal with. Not yours, but anyways, as for what I want to do? Well, I don't really have any plans. Just become as strong as I can I guess. Might join the ANBU or maybe lead a special task force for missions. I guess it'll depend on what opportunities pop up. The only thing I really WANT to do is to become one of the Seven Swordsman or to surpass their legacy. I love blades, of all types.

He had pretty much finished up his bit, Maigo had calmed down and relaxed around her, his words flowing smoother and with less hesitation. As he paused he took another sip and saw their waiter bringing out their food, he didn't think he had been going on for that long or maybe they were incredibly quick but either way he was starting to get hungry and was excited that his food was finally here.

[569 words, 3704 words total]

Riss took a small sip of her drink, all while staring at Maigo. She was listening to ever little detail of his life, trying to put a whole picture together. His past seemed spotted with some dark tones, but Maigo seemed pretty bright now that Riss knew him a little more. As he continued to talk more of his scars and burns, it made Riss think a little more on when she first saw him. Her suspicion of the bandages covering his lower torso was right in it being an injury of some sort, but there was something deep that even Maigo didn’t know. Whatever the case, she knew she shouldn’t dwell on the thought any longer and quickly took another sip of her drink to forget about it.

With an excited nod of her head, Riss watched as the food the two had order was finally ready and being brought out to where they were. As her bowl was set down in front of her, she took the opportunity to comment on Maigo’s life and aspirations. “Looks like you have some pretty high goals for yourself. Being one of seven talented swordsman and trying to be better than the ones in the past. Becoming a member of ANBU. The goals you have are pretty good. Not something I would be into, but good goals nonetheless.” Riss broke her chopsticks and picked out a piece of beef out of her food. Carefully bringing it up to her mouth and taking a bite out of it, her face lit up. Just from her reaction to the first bite showed that she enjoyed it. Taking a small scoop of rice, she looked up at Maigo and smirked. She jumped right back into the conversation after swallowing another bit of her food. “I can also guess that’s why you were kicked out of that store from before, right? Your love of blades. It was a weapon shop and you got too handsy with some of the swords?” She wouldn’t give him much time to answer, considering she could see just from his expressions that she was at least somewhat right. Deciding to take the reins of the dinner conversation, Riss began to go into a few stories she had. “The whole ordeal you had with the weapon shop owner, I’ve had to deal with something like that before. Some of the shops don’t care for Genin, and I don’t see why they should. Most of us don’t have enough ryo for some of the bigger items they have.” She paused, taking a more joking tone as she started her tale. “I once went into a shop to try and get some kunai. There was no one else in there, and the owner just completely ignored me when I tried to purchase them. I only got his attention when I slammed the point of one of the kunai into the front desk he was at. He got so angry! Yelling at me, asking why I stuck one of his kunai in the table, and I yelled right back at him. After the whole argument was done, I got the kunai and he was just sitting there with the biggest scowl I’ve ever seen!” Riss let out a small laugh, remembering each detail of the story and finding it incredibly funny. Once her laughing fit was done, she would take a few more bites out of her food and lean back slightly. “I try not to let people take advantage of me or get so full of themselves… I guess that’s why I got in your face like I did…” Sitting silently in thought for a moment, she inched forward in her seat and put her hands on her lap. “How about this Maigo? As a way of making it up to you for freaking out, we’ll do a few missions together and get enough money for that sword? What do you say?”

[3641]

The food that arrived at their table looked amazing, his chicken looked golden brown and had a shine from the sauce and the rice underneath looked like pure snow. He took his chopsticks and pushed the chicken off the skewer and into the rice, then taking his bowl of soy sauce and their house sauce he poured it all into bowl and mixed it all together with the rice. As he did all this Riss commented on the stature of his goals, they seemed high to her but to him, they were more of dreams to him, dreams he would fight to complete. His response would be simple before he dug into his food, I guess so, but isn't that the point of having goals? he shrugged as he grabbed a piece of chicken covered in rice and ate it in one bite. It's flavor was amazing and he dwelled in it as he ate, Riss asking about his shop fiasco, it was no big deal and Maigo wanted to make sure it would be seen that way, Well, I wouldn't call it being handsy, whatever that means, I just had a sword and almost...well, it's not worth the conversation he just didn't think I could handle the weapon.

He continued to eat and drink as she told him the story of her and buying a kunai, in her story she tried to make it seem funny, and Maigo would grin and chuckle along with her, but to him it sounded like another example of her explosive anger. Not that Maigo was immune, he had his outbursts of his own, but they were usually controlled and took some prodding of specific topics to really ever provoke him. She added her two cents in again about her argument with him, it was like she was trying to explain herself, apologize, and warn Maigo all at once, although he would get none of those messages and would continue on in his mind as he pleased. Maigo had nearly finished as their conversation drew to a close, she gave him an offer to join on some missions together so they could earn ryo and he could go get that sword.

It wasn't a big deal to him, but the sentiment was nice, and he was definitely beginning to warm up to Riss as a friend, he swallowed his food and took another sip of his water. Absolutely, I would love to do some missions, although, don't you think we should find a squad to join up with first? I don't really know many of the other genin, and especially not many instructors either but I'm sure we can work something out. I mean, if you wanted to join a squad with some people and work on this stuff and train together? He would pause for a second and then speak again, You do know that if we join a squad we'll have to learn more about each others fighting styles and what not. And you'll also be seeing a lot more of me, which means you'll have to start being nicer too! A grin took over his face, he was teasing her for her outbursts, all for fun and no offense meant but he didn't know if she would take it that way, the evidence and examples so far point to her soaking him with water again. His eyes wandered to hers, he tried to make eye contact while he spoke and smiled so that she would know he was merely joking.

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Taking her time with her food, Riss finally reached her last piece of beef before completely finishing her food and drink. It was somewhat sad now that all her food was gone. Even though she was full, the beef and rice was absolutely delicious and made it even more depressing that it was all gone. With a soft sigh, she placed her chopsticks into the bowl and pushed it forwards slightly. She was glad she insisted on picking where the two ate, considering wherever Maigo picked would most likely be something she wasn’t craving.

Perking her ears up, Riss listened in on her companion once more. He was happy to do missions with her, but thinking more on it, a full squad of three would make things much easier and much more interesting. As she sat there thinking of possible Genin she knew, one particular person came to mind. “I know of another Genin that might want to be in a squad with the two of us. He’s not too social and thinks of himself as more of an assassin. He’s a fan of swords like you, so you two can go crazy over that. His name is Ryota Suzuki if you want to try and find him. I’m all for being in a squad, though it might take some time to make it official.” The idea of joining a squad had crossed Riss’ mind more than a few times, but she wasn’t too sure about throwing her name into a hat and meeting new people all the sudden. At least with Maigo’s suggestion, she would have a basic idea of who she would be working with. Besides, it was a good way to get some experience and hopefully advance to a higher rank. It would take her one step closer to her goals. Maigo’s little joke made her go a bit red, but not into a full on rage. With a small scoff, Riss spoke back right away. “Yeah, I’ll be nicer to you when you stop being so full of yourself.” She laughed at her own jest, immediately coming back at Maigo’s comment.

Looking around for a moment, Riss focused her eyes on a nearby clock on the wall. It had been quite some time she spent with Maigo and soon enough it would be late. Putting a fair amount of ryo on the table that was enough to cover her meal and a small bit of the tip, she stood up and pushed her chair in. “Well Maigo, as weird as it may sound… It was nice meeting you. I hope you’ll be able to get this squad thing worked out.” Riss walked past Maigo and gave him a pat on the shoulder before continuing to walk. “Feel free to look me up for missions or training. It’d give me a chance to get to know you better.” With that last sentence, she walked out of the restaurant with a grin and began heading back towards her home.

[4142]

The two continued their meal, it was relaxing and nice, the food was delicious and Maigo enjoyed it thoroughly, he was glad Riss chose as this place was great and he got to try something new. He watched as Riss finished up and placed her chopsticks in her bowl, it wouldn't be long before he joined her, he had been talking and that left his less chances to eat in between the sentences. As he finished and began to eat once again, Riss began to tell him a little of another Genin in the village, he sounded interesting and like someone Maigo could get along with, aside from him being anti-social, but he was going to try to find him, see what he was made of and if he had potential. He already like Riss, being an Uzumaki she had great inherent potential already, hopefully this other guy might pan out as well. Then that just left finding a sensei, something he could probably take up with one of the higher ups in the village. Maigo stopped eating to make his joke and then continued, it definitely got to her but she had calmed down, maybe was starting to adjust to Maigo's personality, or maybe just didn't want to have to pay the restraunt for repairs after beating him.

Their night continued, Maigo finished and leaned back in his chair as they talked and enjoyed the night. Although it wouldnt be long before it started getting late, Riss had looked up at the clock on the wall behind him and he knew she would be heading home soon. She left some ryo on the table and stood up, giving her goodbyes Maigo did the same before she started to walk away, The same to you as well, I definitely enjoyed dinner. As she walked by she stopped and placed her hand on his shoulder, he quickly became nervous, no idea what she was doing she told him to look her up, it was nothing really, but did she have to tell him in that way? He slowly turned his head up to her, Yeah, I'll for sure do that, and I'll see if I can't find this Ryota and a sensei willing to take us on, if I do I'll be sure to let you know. He stood up after her hand was lifted from her shoulder, he watched her walk away and smiled as she left. Once she exited the shop he left some ryo for the waitress as she began to clean up and thanked her, he headed home as well after a long day and a tiring day at that.

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