There was a soft hum and drum of people chattering indistinctly while shuffling through the laden bazaar walks. It was a very busy day for the Sunagakure bazaar. Not one so busy that it was noisome to the point of annoyance, yet busy enough to have crowded walks and stalls buzzing with excited chattering of deal finders, and merchants looking to sell many various wares ranging from weapons, tonics, shemaghs, and the occasional messenger salamander or two. There were stalls dedicated to memorabilia of ages past: from Kazekage Gaara to Kazekage Gin, even a few plushies of Kazekage Suzume. There was especially a large crowd of young men buying up as many of the Suzume plushies as they could, repeating to their comrades of how beautiful she was. Or how strong she was, Or how she was their favorite Kazekage. Some would offer up their opinions on her absence from the village. Saying she'd traveled to far away lands to grow more powerful. Others would say that she was on a diplomacy mission. And some, the brave few, went against the grain and said she was abandoning the village and they were easier targets. All of these were valid insinuations, but none could say for certain what was going on with their Kage currently. It didn't stop them all from harping over the dolls and buying them up, claiming they were for daughters or "friends." Hiding their guilty pleasures.

Watchful eyes from a nearby coffee shop observed them. It was here that a lone man sat, on the outside of the quaint little hut, sipping a fine black hot beverage from that very shop. He was sitting in a chair at a small round table, with an empty chair adjacent to him, across the table. In this chair was the young adult male, Sasijimi Mitarashi. He was enjoying one of his favorite beverages while watching the others within the bazaar with his green hues, the flecks of gold in them shining intensely in the lighting that came onto them. It was a beautiful sunny day, and hardly a cloud in the sky. It was nice and warm, which worked out perfectly well for the man. Sasijimi was wearing a shirt with the graphic of a black dog's head on it, the shirt itself being white. He was also wearing a pair of cargo shorts and roman-inspired sandals. His black leg hairs weren't necessarily thick nor thin, just about in the middle, and his calves, while a bit on the thin side, were quite toned with muscles. His tee shirt had short sleeves, that went approximately halfway down his biceps and stopped, the hems on the bottom of his sleeves as well as the shirt being laced in black with white cross stitching. Sasijimi wore his shoulder length jet black hair back in a messy ponytail, the sides of his bangs, which were longer than the front, were draped down on either side of his face, just in front of his ears. He had pulled the front of his bangs over out of his eyes to keep his vision clear while he watched the people of the bazaar.

Sasijimi looked at the table spread: a plain white cloth draped over the small circular table with a vase in the middle housing two desert roses with a small amount of water. There was also a tiny plate for his coffee cup, that had a spoon on it with a bit of coffee still glistening off of the silver. Next to the plate he had two empty sugar packets he had used for his coffee to sweeten up the bitter drink a bit. Among other items on the table were a salt shaker, for some reason ketchup, as well as a small box of assorted types of artificial and natural sweeteners which were open because Sasijimi had just been inside it to get a few sugar packets and hadn't yet closed it again. The man silently looked back to his coffee, and brought the cup to his lips, the warm glass making contact with his flesh, before he opened his mouth and tipped the mug up to take a slow drink of the beverage, placing the mug back onto his small plate. He smiled softly and looked out at the bazaar again, watching everyone. The patio he was currently relaxing on looked like a new addition in comparison to the coffee hut as it looked new and shinier and not sandworn yet as the hut itself looked. Sasijimi looked over everything from hut, to patio, as he'd just noticed how strange it looked. Were they to remodel the rest soon. Sasijimi began to lose himself in his thoughts as he gazed at the shop's exterior.

The gush of warm air fluttered past him, as the sun beamed down upon the village once again, certainly not the hottest of days, but considering it was Sunagakure no Sato, there was always the heat one had to deal with on a daily basis. The wind itself lacked the moisture other villages had, adding more to the heat than it would’ve been originally. Blank eyes stared down at the paper cup he had been holding on to for the past half an hour. The cup itself was bland, as it was simply white with print along it indicating the chain in which he had purchased the simple cup. A steaming liquid was what once was contained within the cup itself, a rather generous amount, even if he hadn’t enjoyed a single drop of it. Now, all that remained was just a meagre two sips of the dark liquid. While he usually enjoyed the caffeinated beverage, he had went to a particular establishment he never visited before, as it was on his way to the bazaar, and knew from the first sip that downing the beverage would take some time, mainly due to the horrible taste. He had been nursing a minor hangover from the previous night, where he had hung out with an individual he had only recently met, but it provided for a good time. Now, on his way to a full recovery, Seiryū lifted the paper cup back up to his lips, deciding to gulp the remaining content of coffee, coffee which had cooled significantly in the past half an hour. Steering his way to the side of the street, where a garbage can bolted in to the ground stood, Seiryū quickly tossed the paper cup in to the basket beside the one designated as garbage, putting it directly in to the recyclable container.

Veering his way back in to the crowd, Seiryū moved along with the crowd, knowing his only destination would likely not have what he needed quite yet, but it was worth it to look at their wares to see what they had in stock. Having long grown used to this weather, Seiryū’s choice of clothing was always optimal for the weather faced by the denizen of the Village Hidden by Sand. Seiryū’s eyes scanned through the crowds, mainly glancing towards the various stalls to see what they had in store, never once stopping for a moment as his chosen destination wouldn’t falter. Wearing a red sleeveless shirt, leaving his arms completely bare for the sun to shine, one could easily see the lean muscle on Seiryū. Upon the shirt, around the left pectoral area, was the logo for the company that made the shirt in black print. It wasn’t out of place to wear such clothing, as Seiryū often opted for short-sleeves or no sleeve on most of his shirts. On the lower half of his body, Seiryū wore a pair of black gym shorts that were just a little above his knees, with two thick white stripes that travelled from the top to the bottom the shorts on the outside of both legs. His feet were graced by simple black sneakers that didn’t stand out for any unique features. One couldn’t see socks, yet Seiryū was certainly wearing them at this moment, as they were low white ankle socks.

With his hair messily pushed back, Seiryū soon enough spotted his destination directly on his right, thus he barely needed to travel through the crowd. The place which he predeterminedly visited was one he came to a couple of times before, though the owner of the shop knew him by now, for the few weeks in which Seiryū came around to browse their wares, and of course, place an order for a couple of custom made weapons for himself. Walking in to the shop, the middle-aged man instantly spotted Seiryū and began making his way towards the white-haired man. Roy, the owner of the shop, didn’t mind Seiryū just coming in to simply see their new stock, though he was certainly more than pleased to get working on the order Seiryū had placed a few weeks ago.

The layout of the shop was fairly simple. Once one entered the shop, they’d be able to browse weapons directly on the left side of the shop, and on the right were armours. The shop itself had more than enough room on either side for various displays and racks to be set up to exhibit the merchandise, and the high ceiling along with dim lighting only added to the atmosphere the shop was going for, which was to place the emphasis on a more medieval tone.

“Ah, welcome Seiryū! Come to look around again?” Roy, the owner of The Wicked Quest weapons shop, barely waited for the nod Seiryū would supply as an answer and instantly began to move him to the counter where most of their business was conducted. Roy went directly behind the counter and immediately pulled out a few cases, opening each one for Seiryū to see. “We’re still working on your order, as we only need to tune the firing mechanism, but it should be done within a week.” As he was saying this, Roy reached under the counter again and pulled out a few smaller boxes, opening them to display various daggers, kukris, along with other variations of the smaller blades. The cases that were opened earlier housed a few swords, both eastern and western. Though what caught Seiryū’s interest was always the back wall, where the various kyujutsu weaponry was put on display.

With a slight grin, Seiryū simply asked Roy the only question in his mind, “Did you receive a new shipment of bows?”

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The man silently stood, clasping his hands in front of his body, and stretching them up above his head, while tilting his head and closing his eyes. He needed to get up and stretch his legs, walk around. Maybe even check on his Gunbai order from that weapon shop so many of his peers frequented when they needed a good sword or two. Sasijimi picked up his cup of coffee once he was done stretching and took a few bigger drinks before setting down the nearly empty mug back on the plate, and reached into his pocket, putting down ryo for the drink. He waved to the owners who were inside the coffee hut and they smiled, sending one of their servers out to collect his ryo which included a tip and the man was on his way, hands slipping into the pockets of his cargo shorts. The man's green hues stared ahead as he walked, looking back and forth from time to time. The stalls were now beginning to empty out as people had purchased what they needed or decided to find wares elsewhere. So many people still inhabited the streets though and as such moving through the crowd that was now circulating through the bazaar district of the village hidden in the sand. Sasijimi did his best to maneuver to and fro, attempting to not bump into anyone else or knock items out of their hands. He made his way through, running into a larger amount of traffic than he assumed he would. His destination was in sight though and soon he would arrive, if he was only patient.

Wicked Quest

He pushed quietly past a few people, getting a bit impatient and moved to the doors of the weapon shop. He walked inside, his eyes lighting up a bit as he looked around, grinning to himself. He always loved coming in her and gazing at their weapon stock. They had everything from swords to bows, daggers to scythes, anything a ninja might be specialized in they had. They even had a few generic puppets hanging up at the very back of the shop, on a wall opposite of a few longbows and bowguns. But that isn't what the male was looking for, no, he was looking for something that was to the far right as he entered the store. He waved to the store owner, who was speaking with a white hair man over at the counter. He'd occupy himself with the Gunbai while he awaited assistance with his order. The man's eyes scanned the wide variety of war fans, small, to large. Then onto the great, or giant, war fans like the one he had ordered for himself. Ranging anywhere from five feet tall to eight feet tall. Some were wood and paper, while others were metal and bladed. No two were exactly the same and this pleased the young shinobi to no end. He smiled, letting his fingers graze the metal blades of a collapsible fan that had to be at least fifty to sixty pounds on its own. Not to mention the added resistance due to swinging the large fan and wind resistance. What he next laid his eyes on was a five foot tall black iron and paper gunbai. He picked it up slowly, turning it over in his hands and admiring the mastery of the craft and the obvious feeling that was put into this.

Sasijimi looked back toward the owner and put the gunbai back onto its display. His body wandered over to the two, his green eyes looking up to the other man, looking at his eyes before looking over to the owner. He hadn't actually talked to the man before to know enough about him to call him by name, but he was hoping it wouldn't come up. Sasijimi smiled and looked at the weapons on display behind and under the counter. He was a bit anxious to find out the status of his weapon and didn't wish to wait to long. When he felt there was a momentary lapse in the conversation between the two, Sasijimi cleared his throat softly. The man was slender and looked a bit younger than he was, yet he had been told before that he had a deeper voice than one would expect from a man of his stature. He offered a soft smile to the other man and the shop owner before he opened his mouth to speak a bit softly. His low voice being spoke softly, sounded a bit louder than it should, but kept even. He held the soft smile the whole time.

"Excuse me sir, I was wondering if my order for the special Gunbai had come in yet? I'm going to need it for the Chuunin exams soon."

His eyes glimmered as he saw the various wooden and composite weapons adorning the back wall of the shop. It was simple to deduce, even for Roy, who only met Seiryū a handful of times, which the white-haired shinobi utilized such weapons on a consistent basic, just from the gleam that unknowingly appeared in the Imada’s purple eyes. Seiryū was absorbed in the weapons, though none really struck him as the one that would be the best for him to use for the longterm. For the amount of bows Seiryū had utilized in the past, there were only a few he ever truly felt comfortable with, yet those ones were the ones the Kōga clan had in store. Ever since he left – rather was thrown out from –the compound, Seiryū hadn’t found a single bow, or crossbow at that, which appealed to all his senses, particularly sight and feel. Seiryū wouldn’t consider himself a picky person when it came to picking his weapon of choice, but when it came to deciding one’s own fate, it was best to utilize tools that one was completely comfortable with, and that was why he had decided on getting a weapon that was specifically ordered for him, along with another item that was basically built from scratch to his desires. Also, Seiryū’s pickiness when it came to ammunition also made it so that it would be some time before he could truly do anything with his chosen item.

He was far too absorbed in both his inner musings and the items on the wall, that he almost missed the shift in Roy’s attention. Taking his eyes off the weapons for just a moment, his eyes briefly followed where the shop keeper’s had travelled, spotting a man with his hair in a ponytail. Seiryū, knowing Roy would give him his attention for a few more moments before helping out the other individual, went on to ask Roy about the makes of the bows on the wall, knowing that it would be pointless for him to hold one at the moment. None of them had that certain appeal Seiryū was seeking from the weapon that would save his life and take others’. Giving Roy a nod to indicate he would be fine just looking around, though it was interrupted by the clearing of the throat from the newest party in the store, Roy turned his attention to the character.

The middle-aged man merely nodded when he heard the words, beginning to walk over towards the man in the white shirt. “Ah, yes. The Gunbai order. We never got any shipments today. Our next shipment arrives two days from now, and it should, most definitely, be there. Sorry for the wait though, I know you young lads are eager to impress at the Chuunin Exams.” Roy stopped just short of black-haired man, his breath a bit laboured, due to working in the backroom before Seiryū had even entered the building. “Of course, we did get a shipment a few days ago, so feel free to look around at the inventory we have around. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.


During the time Roy had been speaking with the unnamed stranger, Seiryū’s attention had left the bows upon the wall, and travelled to the small blades that the storeowner had put out upon the table for Seiryū to look at closer. Roy was rather trusting, though Seiryū had no doubt the man could easily defend his wares if it were required of him, though it was highly unlikely for someone to rob a weapon shop in the middle of the day.

Seiryū would’ve entered the exams, though he had recently received a notice indicating he may be up for a shinobi promotion in the near future, thus he opted out of entering the Chuunin Exams. He turned away from the weapons, looking towards the newest entrant to this shop. The male looked roughly Seiryū‘s own age. Perhaps Seiryū would’ve competed against with this person if they had been a few months sooner than they were scheduled for. Though, Seiryū had the intention of watching the exams, to both see the fighting and to see a whole new shinobi village. Of course, there was just the amount of people being there would be vast compared to how many people were in Suna at this given moment. “Ah, so you’re entering the exams? Well, at least you have a better chance at winning now. Seeing as how I won’t be participating. Of course, that’s assuming you’re capable enough of winning.” Most of it was humour, mixed with a bit of sarcasm, though with a bit of truth according to Seiryū at least. He had confidence in himself, perhaps a bit too much at times, thus resulting him saying such. Of course, who knew what this person was capable of, using a Gunbai, something he hadn’t seen much. “So, a gunbai, huh? Mind if I ask why a gunbai?”

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Sasijimi's attention was pulled from the shop keeper back to their stock of Gunbai. He sighed, shaking his head, muttering to the old man. "That's well and good sir but these simply won't do. My Gunbai was specially ordered to fit my needs. You have a lovely inventory of masterly crafted weaponry, but none of them are what I came here for." The old man scratched his head and nodded, huffing a bit but simply left the conversation as it was. It was just as well as the other man in the shop had taken this time to speak up to the genin, saying something about his chances in the exam. It made Sasijimi scoff a bit but he tried to remain polite, though showing his own confidence through and through. "You won't be participating? Shame. I'd love to take you down a few pegs. As for my chances, well, once my order comes through there will be nary a ninja that can stop me at the exams. I'm a lot stronger than I look and I'm training to be stronger every day. I have more determination in one pinky than any of these other genin have in their whole body. That would be including you, stranger." He chuckled a little, playfully, and grinned at the new man. The white haired male was about his age and look capable enough. So why wouldn't he be joining the exams? There were two reasons that came to mind. One, he was not very confident in his skills and was hiding his insecurities with playful banter. Or two, he was getting promoted or already had been promoted to a chuunin. Which kind of irked Sasijimi a tad, but not enough to let it show. He thought about it, and having less competition at the exams would be more of a boon.

The stranger asked why he'd chosen a Gunbai, and without missing a beat, Sasijimi said: "I dunno, I guess you could say I'm a big  fan!" He chortled at his own little play on words, smiling to the other male. There were things ninja shouldn't give up easily, information wise but he didn't see the harm in a bit of playful back and forth with this man. After all, he was talking about the exams so he wasn't much stronger than Sasijimi was and he looked like a ninja of Suna, with his attire at least, so Sasijimi felt this bit was fine. He quietly yawned a bit before looking up at the various nodachi on the wall, to his right, motioning his hand towards himself for a second as he spoke. "Mitarashi, Sasijimi at your service. And you are?" He turned his gaze back to the other male, his eyes locking with those of the stranger who had asked him of his weapon of choice. Of course, he had chosen the weapon for specific reasons, such as wanting to eventually use one to ride the winds above the clouds. He would never divulge such a dream to a perfect stranger, however he could give a real answer as to why he chose the Gunbai instead of a small joke.

"I suppose I chose the Gunbai as you'd choose a companion. Or a partner to take on missions with. It was strong, it was reliable, and it accented my abilities perfectly. My chakra nature is secondarily wind, and Gunbai help with the manipulation of wind, air currents, gusts, gales, and the like. There are many manner of jutsu that a Gunbai is useful for and I am sure I'm the only one who can see the implications of one in a positive light. As long as you know how to wield them, they can be some of the strongest weapons. A good burst of wind can deflect kunai, shuriken, arrows, and some jutsu. Add your chakra to that and you've got a great defense as well as an insurmountable offense. But hey, that's just me." The man quietly yawned again, before lazily letting his gaze drift back to the swords on the wall, noting their craftsmanship and the designs on each on. Some were designed with dragons' heads on the hilts, while others had kanji or romaji carved into the very blades themselves. It was quite an impressive selection and the genin wondered what this stranger himself used.

"What about you? What weapon do you find suitable to use? There are so many to choose from and no offense, but you don't look like the sneaky type so I'm sure something stealthy like a dagger is a bit out of your comfort zone. I could be wrong though, I'm not good at judging things by how they look." It was true, he wasn't good at judging things by how they looked, save for a sandstorm or two. Since his childhood when he had lost his parents and the rest of his tribe to a vicious sand storm he had been much more cautious and watchful of the weather status and how things could change in an instant. He thought of it as a boon and a curse. He had lost those dearest to him but he had also learned of the storms one would see in this region and could safely gauge storms in other regions so that maybe, just maybe he could stop it from happening again should he find someone else to be that close to him. Admittedly he had been lost in his own thoughts and snapped back to reality putting his attention back to the strange shinobi, locking eyes with him once more and offering a soft smile to him. They were in a great place to talk of weapons, not so much so for Sasijimi to become lost in his past.

Seiryū simply watched as the unnamed man discussed something about his order with the owner of the shop. He heard bits and pieces of the conversation, though nothing he really cared for. The simple comment by Roy about looking at the wares was mainly for browsing purposes, never really selling anything in particular to a customer whom he knew had specifically order a piece of equipment that they did not have in stock. Seiryū said or did nothing as this went on, only waiting for the man to reply to his short bouts of words. Simply observing the individual who was speaking, Seiryū got a sense that he was far too confident in himself, though Seiryū doubted he was exactly as good as he thought he was. Seiryū was the same to an extent, always biting off more than he could chew, but he knew there were limitations to himself at the moment, limitations he would need to train to remove. But for now, Seiryū had to play a completely different game, watching the clock tick by until his weaponry was ready for actual use.

“Ah, if I should take things down a peg, you should that stick out of your…” The words were merely muttered under his breath, barely audible to those around, even to Seiryū himself. Instead, the second he stopped speaking, Seiryū displaying a fake smile, though one that could easily deceive another, it was one of the few things he truly retained from his teachings from the Kōga clan. It was toned down, barely a tilt of the lips, but one could easily spot the smile itself. Perhaps this conversation would provide Seiryū with a slight bit of entertainment before he decided to head back home for the day. With a nod once the man finished speaking, Seiryū mentally rolled his eyes. Perhaps this was what people had to deal with when he was pushing one too many buttons. Simply, he raised an eyebrow at the mentioning of having more determination that Seiryū, though he could believe it for the moment, at least. “Of course you have more determination than anyone, seeing as how you have nothing else going for you, eh?” Turning the statement into more of a rhetorical question always proved to be slightly entertaining. Regardless, he didn’t want to agitate the male right off the bat, after all, Seiryū had been here for quite a bit of time already.

The joke about being a ‘big fan’ of Gunbai didn’t go over Seiryū’s head, though he certainly wasn’t impressed with the joke itself. While the man chortled in response to his own words, Seiryū simply just had a curious look in his eyes. Well, he certainly heard worse jokes, but never being a fan of jokes that played on words, Seiryū didn’t see the reason to laugh in response, though he could easily do such to stroke the individual’s ego.

The only useful piece of information received so far was the name, Mitarashi Sasijimi. The name itself didn’t ring a bell, though he certainly had heard the name before, yet the name itself had no real significance attached to it that Seiryū could recall. Knowing he’d have to return the gesture, though knowing his own name held no weight to anyone, except to those whom actually knew of him, there was no loss in telling his name. “Imada Seiryū.” Having a name that held no significant ties to a clan certainly had its benefits, though it always easy to deceive someone with a false name for a short time. The name itself would suffice for an answer, as this Sasijimi character had only had for a name in return.

He listened to the male talk about the gunbai, describing how the weapon itself was something unique, and how he related to it. Most of it Seiryū absorbed, yet the rest went over his head at the same time. While it was interesting to hear others speak with a passion in regards to something they truly cared about, in this particular case, a gunbai, Seiryū didn’t care much specifically for the weapon. His weapon choices placed the gunbai near the middle to the end of the pack, yet he definetly could see the uses for it and weapons related to it. Perhaps one day he could pick it up, but there were many other things Seiryū wished to achieve before learning how to use a gunbai.

When it came to Seiryū’s weapon of choice, the answer was simple, as he had been looking at them earlier, along with the smaller blades. Simply having a smile on his face, one that basically stated the man couldn’t be more wrong to his preferred style. Though, given the nature of most fights, being sneaky only helped so much. Not bothering to answer the question right away, Seiryū began walking forward, towards Sasijimi. There was a slight gleam in Seiryū’s eyes as he approached the man, never taking his eyes off him. “I’m sure everyone knows this rule, but don’t assume to know it all. While daggers aren’t my particular go to, I’ve used them quite a few times prior.” That much was true, as Seiryū had learned to weird smaller blades while simultaneously learning to utilize the bow, and other variants, knowing it’d come in handy in close range situations. Seiryū stopped briefly in front of Sasijimi, “As for the answer to your question, you were looking right at them.” For if he was looking at Seiryū earlier, he would’ve noticed the various bows and crossbows on the wall that was directly behind Seiryū. Walking past Sasijimi and towards the door, Seiryū offered a few parting words. “Now that I know you talk big, you better not disappoint. I’ll be seeing first-hand how far your determination takes you.” With that, Seiryū pushed through the exit of the shop and merged back on to the busy streets of Sunagakure no Sato.

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Training:

Sasijimi listened to the man intently, seeming a bit annoyed at the other saying he had nothing else going for him. He had plenty going for him! He just preferred to try out the mastery of a Gunbai, to be unique and strong at the same time. Was that so bad? He shrugged off what the male said, noting to himself that no matter what challenges lay ahead of him, he was going to be the strongest ninja the world had ever known and someone doubting him only made him want to work that much harder. As the man moved closer to him, mentioning how he may be wrong about his assumption of what weapons Seiryu didn't seem like he would use, Sasijimi's gaze went back over to something he had looked at before: the bows and bowguns as well as crossbows on the back wall of the shop. Kugutsu, which was a ninja art of utilizing bows and such at a range would certainly become a problem for him if this new man had decided to become an enemy. Sasijimi would have to stay on his guard and watch him. As the other male left a few parting words before departing from the shop, Saijimi turned back to the shop owner, lost in thought. He would need to hurry his order along in any way he could before something happened to where he was left without it. For the most part he hadn't been engaging in battles yet, but who knows what could happen tomorrow? He thought for a moment about Seiryu watching him in the Chuunin exams and got fired up for some reason. Someone who doubted him watching his fight would make him work much harder just to show them up and show them how wrong they were.

He was lost in this bit of thought so much that he had actually forgotten why he had entered the weapon shop in the first place. He snapped back to reality to find the shop owner had disappeared from sight and left a note saying he was going out to lunch and would be back in twenty minutes. Sasijimi sighed and decided to take one last look around the shop before he too, would head out into the village once more, to figure out his own weapons arrangement before making his way out to Kumogakure no Sato for the exams. He figure he would stop by somewhere for a drink before he went home to rest up and leave the village, but he didn't necessarily know what he was in the mood for or what he would even be drinking. The genin moved his form to the doorway, pushing it open to meet the streets of sunagakure no sato once more, his hands finding their way into his pockets while he sauntered along. He was making his way along the streets at no particular pace to get to no particular place and he was almost bothered by the fact the he hadn't actually had anything to do at that current moment. The bazaar was beginning to become empty now, as the sun hung lower and lower in the sky. A few shops would stay open after everything else was closed but not for too much longer. The shops that sold ramen or alcholol, or even the bars would be open until later in the night but once the sun went down, generally everything else closed.

There was still time before all that though. Quietly, he made his way through a few groups of excited talkers, something about the chuunin exams again, and sat back outside the coffee shop he had originally sat at. He was back in his seat, and waved for the waitress to bring him another mug of coffee while his mind wandered onto the exams that he would soon  be faced with. Nothing was known about them at all, save for where they were being held and that wasn't much to go on as to the difficulty, or  what they'd be doing. Would it be paper exams? A run through an obstacle course? The preliminaries were always something different, to weed out the weak and the next thing would be the actual fighting. Which he would have no problems at all with. He sighed and nodded in thanks to the waitress who brought him his cup of coffee and looked down into the liquid. His hand reached over to find the box of sweeteners and opened it, withdrawing two sugar packets before closing the box once more. He quietly shook the sugar crystals to the bottom of the packet and opened them, stirring the sweetener into his beverage. After which, he set the spoon down on his small platter, taking the mug to his lips and drinking a sip, savoring the bitter taste, becoming lost in his own thoughts. He kept returning to what the other man had said to him about having only determination going for him and to some extent it had bothered him. He made himself a solemn vow that no matter what, he'd get stronger and not have his strength judged only by his determination. He vowed to himself that he would work harder than anyone else and even master new weaponry if he had to. He made a mental note of how the other man treated him and began to think of the ways he could get back at the other, or take him out of the picture completely if needed. He would be the strongest.

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Training STR,END,Reaction Time D>D-3: