It was the first day of being in Kumogakure. Joruri realized this when he woke up in the bed instead of on the floor that he remembered collapsing on. Looking around the room, frosty gaze finally settling on the door, he saw where he assumed he had dropped, and saw how his equipment and tools were strewn all about the room, but mainly zigging and zagging towards the bed. He let his head back down as he remembered what had happened the previous afternoon. He sighed. A good team leader never fails, right? He questioned himself, laying in the bed with an expectant look on his face as if he were waiting for an answer and when he didn't get one he simply remained in his position, arms folded behind his head, annoyed.

"I guess it's also a learning experience," he quietly wondered aloud as he started to push himself out of bed, careful to not step on any of the weapons that were practically thrown about the room. "Doesn't help that he didn't tell us what went wrong." He groaned as he went into the bathroom and took his shower. He had slept soundly at least, and as he exited the shower he knew that he was refreshed and ready to take on the day. The thought of failure in the back of his mind, but he ignored it for the most part as he shouldered the most important equipment to his kekkei genkai; a backpack and tightened the straps to his shoulders. The chakra was already flowing to lighten the load on his back, and then he was ready to go.

Gray gaze searching the room, he saw the key right next to the dresser beside the door and he plopped his hand down on the dresser, dragging it off the dresser, and then closing the door behind him as he exited now. Okay, now I'm ready to go! There was a grin on his face. Nothing better than approaching the day with a positive attitude and being ready to take the world on.

Removing the key from the lock after closing and locking it, he pocketed it and spun on his heels. Glancing from left to right, he wondered as to whether he should simply leave, or have one of his squad mates accompany him. How about everyone? For a moment, he wasn't able to decide and he simply stood with his hands crossed over his chest, before he shook his head vehemently against the idea of exploring with everyone. That's something we'd do later. He definitely didn't want to be facing them just yet.

One at a time is good then. He scratched the back of his head as he tried to figure out who to talk to first. He started to walk towards one of the rooms, before turning in another direction and walking to someone else's, and he did that numerous times before completing at least four circles and knocking one of the doors. I don't even remember whose this is, but I hope it's someone I know!

For a moment, Joruri's eyes seemed unfocused as he continuously tried to focus them and bring himself back to reality.

"Whoa..." He muttered quietly.

WC: 564

Shinako awoke the the sound of the first bird. It was still dark, and it was not a species of bird that she recognized, but she was brought to consciousness just the same. Her body ached from such a long period of travel, and her mind immediately went back to the path in the land of Hot Water, and to the icy satisfaction she felt at subduing their attackers. She thought of this before even thinking of the test that the team had failed. Lying in bed, she looked up into the shadows on the cieling of the hotel room that her Sensei had paid for. She sighed before starting her day.

Her shower was uneventful, although she did take notice that it was even more luxurious than her shower at home. She shampooed and perfumed her hair before laying out her clothing and combs. She looked in the large mirror of the vanity and almost began applying her make-up before remembering that she was out on official Shinobi business, representing her nation in the Chunin exams. She smiled to see her self, hair still wet, dressed in nothing but her silk robe, and already done with her morning preparations. She wouldn't have to do anything she didn't want to. She could throw on her clothing and leave the room right now if she wanted, and that fact made her happier than anything had in the past few months.

She was combing her hair as she heard movement outside of her door. Without a moment's hesitation, she sprang to the threshold of the room, holding the sharp end of one of her combs as an improvised weapon. Her heart was thumping in her chest, and her mind was racing through the possible scenarios. Tenzo-sensei had rented the room, and it was possible that he would try to break in with a spare key. She certianly would not have put such an act beyond the realm of possibility. Or perhaps one of the hired thugs from earlier had followed the team into town. At any rate, as she heard the stranger outside of her door, she raised the comb to strike, throwing it open.

Much to her surprise, Joruri was standing at the entryway, looking surprised. She stood for a moment, makeshift dagger in hand, before recomposing herself and drawing her robe more tightly around herself in embarrassment. She tucked the instrument behind her back, looking wide-eyed at the young man at her door.

"I...uh..."

She sputtered for a few moments before looking out into the hallway to make sure that Joruri was alone. She couldn't fathom why he would knock on her door the first thing in the morning.

"I...What can I do for you?"

She thought for a moment to invite her new teammate in, but then decided that such an action would be wildly inappropriate, especially in her current state of undress. She realized that it was her sense of propriety that had forced her to impulsively check the hallway for other signs of life. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that her clothing from the night before was strewn about the floor. She had been too exhausted to square her room away neatly.

"I am sorry, Joruri-san. I thought you were..."

She paused, searching the other genin's face for a moment, before deciding not to share her true thoughts with him.

"I thought you were someone else."

582/582

Why would I even walk around in circles for so long? He thought to himself after he had brought his hand back down from the door. It had lingered on the door for an extra moment though, simply unmoving as he remained in his stupor of dizziness. Usually, he was much more composed, more... Relaxed, but he didn't really know as to how to explain it, so he could only rub his eyes to re-focus them just as the door opened up and he saw a blurry brunette.

Please don't be the wrong room. He saw something in the woman's hand, but he didn't bother moving, whatever it was, if he was going to be hit with it, he at least wanted to know why he was going to be in pain!?

But then he heard the familiar voice of Shinako, and he finally removed the palm of his hand from his icy eyes. Looking up from his hands, his eyes looked up and down Shinako, before he properly realized who he was looking at. He froze when his gaze settled upon Shinako's in surprise, and his mouth formed an 'o'.

If he was registering what he saw properly, that meant that she was as distraught as he was, or at least confused. And then he regained his composure as he felt an odd sensation within his nose. He sniffled lightly, in attempts to keep whatever was in there from coming out.

"I... Hmm." Her current state of attire had already surprised him, and not to mention that he had been confused before hand. Both together, didn't really help him in explaining himself. "Wanted... To, uh.. know... If you wanted to y'know, explore this..here..Morning?" Not for a long time had he spoken like that, but he had regained enough composure to put one of his regular smiles on his face as if all was good. It certainly didn't reach his eyes though, but his smile was bright enough to make up for that.

Or so he hoped.

In her eyes he saw something else, he was good at this sort of thing, reading faces, but he didn't make mention of what he saw there. Not directly anyway, so he retained the blank look in his face as they shared eye contact. "That doesn't matter anymore!" He said cheerfully. She was distracted, probably frightened or something, had she had a nightmare? He didn't know, it didn't matter, for Joruri was here!

"Get dressed, Shinako-Chan. Today, we're exploring the Hidden Cloud Village!" He declared with a confident shine in his frosty gaze, and he smiled brightly, finally the normal Joruri returned and with all the confidence that he could muster. Then he realized who he was talking to, and he wasn't entirely sure if she'd respond in a positive way and he turned back around with a genuine smile on his face, and a thin line of blood from his nose.

Oops.

WC: 515

"Alright, I will dress quickly..."

This was the most that Shinako could muster after the initial shock of the encounter. She certainly hadn't been expecting Joruri, but she could at least say that she was pleasantly surprised. She was unsure if she could have dealt with a stranger, or worse someone who intended to harm her. At the very least Joruri was a familiar face, and he came with the promise of adventure. She had been, from the moment they had crossed the border, eager to explore this new and exciting land, and now she wouldn't have to do so alone.

Shinako closed the door softly, offering one finger to Joruri as he slid out of sight in a gesture that said 'just one moment'. She leaned against the door for a few long seconds after shutting it, allowing her heart-rate to return to normal. Then, with a deep breath, she set about preparing herself for what would hopefully be a fruitful excursion.

She shed her robe and donned a short, maroon kimono with no sleeves, and white trim at the collar. Underneath the kimono she pulled on a pair of black pants. She completed the ensemble with her forehead protector as a sash and her black shinobi shoes. Her hair would not have time to dry properly, so she placed her hair-band around her wrist, leaving her dark locks to fall around her face, stopping only to tuck the most intrusive strands behind her ears.

She had to look carefully around the room for a few moments before locating her satchel with her effects and ninja tools, but she finally found it just to the right of the door. She had apparently doffed it immediately upon entering the room. Swinging it over her shoulder, she checked her appearance in the mirror. In that moment, she would not have described herself as glamorous, but she was happy. She paused for a bit longer than she should have, looking at herself and thinking that this was how she was meant to look.

Shaking the thought from her head, Shinako remembered that Joruri was waiting. She took her clan earrings from the dresser and began putting them on as she opened the door, greeting Joruri with a smile. The young man had his back turned, so she reached out gently to pat him on the shoulder, so as not to startle him.

"Alright, I'm sorry to take so long in preparing, but I wasn't expecting any visitors."

In truth, this was probably the least time she had spent on morning ablutions in recent memory. Even when she was headed off to a long day of training with the other Leaf genin she would at least make sure that her hair was done. Shinako didn't look exactly tom-boyish--she had never had the face or hair-style for such a thing--but her attire had a rarely experienced comfort about it. The shadows were still long in the morning, so she used them to discern that her teammate was still standing alone in the hallway. She stepped out of the room and locked it behind her, blushing slightly.

"Sorry for the mess. You weren't supposed to see that."

Pulling her bag a little higher onto her shoulder, she motioned down the hallway and began to walk.

"Alright then, Joruri-san. Where to?"

568/1,150

She had confirmed that she was going back into her room to get dressed. It seemed as if the both f them had regained their usual composure, and all he could do was smile as she held up the single finger to tell him that she was only going to be a minute, although he knew that she meant a few minutes... Or more. You could never really tell with girls, huh?

He looked down the hallway from left to right, wondering as to whether anyone else would be exiting their rooms, and when he was certain that there were no other early birds, at least in their squad's part of the hallway, he was content as he felt the flow of blood from his nose again. He frowned, he sniffled once more, the image of Shinako temporarily in his mind as he pulled out a tissue for this exact reason.

It's got be the altitude, right? He knew what it was, but he didn't want to admit to some... 'Perverted nature,' it wasn't right, especially now when he was on a squad full of girls. I guess I can just train myself? Now he was rambling, the tissue was used to wipe up the blood that was flowing from his nose, and it stopped as soon as it had started.

"Probably was just how high we are in the mountains." He said thoughtfully as he crumpled up the tissue and placed it in the nearest garbage at the end of the hallway. Then he returned to stand beside Shinako's doorway. He looked down at his wrist as if he could tell the time, but he had been standing there for a relatively short time anyway, and he soon got off of the wall.

When Shinako finally exited from the door, he heard her, and just as he began to turn around he felt her delicate hand on him. And he turned around at a relatively calm speed so as to not startle her in turn.

"No need to apologize for taking a long time. I didn't tell you last night that I was going to come early." Deep within him, he laughed. "I would've said something but... I wasn't in the mood."

Before she had closed the door he had seen the mess that was her room, and he smiled for her benefit. "Mine is the same," he raised his arms above his head, elbows extended out to either side of his head as he stretched in this familiar form.

Then they were on their way, and he nodded his head in agreement that they should be on their way.

When they began to descend the stairs to the common room, he glanced to the side to look at Shinako. Her question as to where they were going was expected. Which was why he had his professional and always ready words.

"No idea."

The last time they had walked together was after they had encountered each other in Konoha's Hospital and they had found their way to the training grounds. He doubted the same thing was going to happen,. They could train later, it was their first day in the Land of Lightning and Joruri didn't want to miss a day of sightseeing.

"Well, there are a lot of mountain sights... Temples and stuff. Give me an idea, and we can think of something together." He worked like that. He wanted to be a leader, but he needed to to use other people's ideas to work off of first. It was just how he was, but he planned to be the leader that their squad needed.

WC: 622

Shinako was relieved that Joruri did not find the disheveled state of her room to be disturbing. She imagined that the others had just about crawled into bed, just as she had, and it was comforting to think that she was not the only one who had been tired out by the journey. She had very little tolerance for physical activity, but in that moment she felt just as tough as the other shinobi on her team.

As for the matter of where to go, Shinako was at a loss. She had heard of the illustrious Sky Bar, and thought that it sounded like a great place to relax for a least a little bit before the chaos of the chunin exams began to dominate their every waking hour. However, shooting a furtive glance to her left at Joruri, she thought that it would be best not to bring up the Sky Bar, as he might not have been old enough to drink.

Besides that, Shinako had always wanted to see the Tree of Demonic Knowlege and the Skyforge. Perhaps these outings would be more age-appropriate for her teammate.

"Hm...I hear that there are quite a few historic sites here. There's the Durian tree, and the Skyforge..."

She looked directly at Joruri, and instantly remembered the last time that they had gone walking, ending up at the training ground. That particular romp had ended with several stitches in her side from a kunai wound. Such thoughts instantly brought Shinako's thoughts to chunin exam preparations. In her current state she couldn't even beat members of her own village, let alone the aces of the other Shinobi nations. As the thoughts of panic threatened to overwhelm her, Shinako deliberately pushed them aside. She didn't want to appear weak or worried in front of her teammate. She readjusted her satchel in a nervous gesture, and that was the end of it.

As the two stepped out into the sunlight, Shinako took a deep breath, noticing how thin the air was here. They had scarcely taken a few steps before she began to notice the eyes of what she could only assume were Cloud Shinobi looking first at the Hidden Leaf headband she was wearing and then with cold suspicion at her face. Nearly unconsciously, she walked a little bit closer to Joruri, allowing his height to give her what comfort it could. Everywhere she looked Shinako saw the symbol of Kumogakure, and postered advertisements for the public portions of the chunin exams. She had heard that the exams were a spectacle and a point of pride for the villages, but to actually experience this amount of patriotism was daunting. Everyone, from the youngest child to the surliest of shop-keepers was wearing some garment that bore their nation's symbol.

"Woah...I don't think that they're too happy to see us. Perhaps we should endeavor to keep our heads down for the rest of the day while we scout things out."

Shinako kept her voice low and tried not to look worried, even though some part of her wanted to run back into her hotel room with her tail tucked between her legs.

538/1,688

Now, he could find her room to be bad, when his was just as bad, or even worse? Usually he knew what he was going to wear day by day, but this morning he had hastily sorted through his clothing. Last night he hadn't particularly been paying attention as to the weather and how cold or warm it was, but he was certain that he was wrapped up sufficiently. After all, last night he hadn't had much of a problem. But, that was probably because he had been certain to where two layers on his torso...

"Hmm..." He wondered aloud as he tried to think of a place to go. His knowledge of destinations here in Kumogakure was quite limited, clearly. He finally lowered his arms to either side of his body and he folded them across his chest as they walked.

"Yes... Nothing better than historical sites," he said drily. He meant no hostility of course, but he wasn't particularly interested in going to a historical site. They could do that at home. But he soon realized how stupid he sounded and that was that. "Those two sound interesting actually." He said after a few moments of deep thought. He wanted to choose the better of the two, but with his horribly limited knowledge he couldn't really decide.

The Skyforge sounds really cool, but for all I know it's as boring and quiet as the library in Konoha. I know a bit about that tree, but... Is it really interesting? He was barely able to groan before he noticed Shinako walking closer to him and he wasn't entirely certain as to what to do with that. He of course knew why, but he wasn't afraid. How could he!? It was early morning no doubt, and of course Cloud Ninja would be the ones they saw first, but if this place was just like home then there would be other tourists and foreigners just like them in only a few minutes. Already there were people from all throughout the lands showing themselves as Shinako began to move closer to him.

Grass, Star... A lot, huh? There was a half formed smile on his face and he appraised the competition around him. Most people that were giving judging looks weren't shinobi, that much was certain. Most shinobi had a little bit of respect for each other which was why Joruri wasn't taking offense or reacting, and he wanted her to see that.

He slowly, but seemingly casual slipped his arm with hers to link their arms together at the elbow, and he figured she was going to look at him, and whether she did or not, he turned his head to her and smiled. He hoped she wouldn't react negatively, and whether she broke it off or not, he continued to say, "be proud of where you're from Shinako. Some of these people will be watching you in the Exams, you don't want them to think you're scared before they even begin, do you?" He gave her a side glance with an amused look. "Raise your head, and accept the looks. There's nothing to be afraid of." He shrugged. They were only looks after all.

WC: 554

Joruri had unwittingly stumbled upon a posture that Shinako was immediately familiar with. As he wrapped his arm around hers, she almost unconsiously gripped at his bicep, not too tightly, but just enough to allow him to lead her down the street. Every polite lady in Konoha knew what it was like to stroll down the street with a young gentleman, perhaps to a show, or to a picnic. The gesture comforted Shinako on such a basic level that she did not even realize what was happening until Joruri offered his speech on being proud.

With that, she walked just a little bit taller. She would not have described what she was feeling as fear, exactly, but he was right when he said that she needed to exhibit more confidence. She was representing her nation, after all. As they walked, more people from various nations began to fill the streets, and she realized that it would be a veritable parade of national pride. She had heard of sporting events where the parties started days beforehand and lasted for days afterwards.

"You're right, haha. I'm being silly. Let's go see the Durian Tree!"

She gave her next step a little bit of a bounce, to indicate that she was excited. She looked to Joruri and smiled, before continuing for a few minutes in silence, taking in the sights and the sounds. Then, passing a restaurant, she saw a squad of Sunagakure shinobi that must have been comprised of genin. They all wore Sunagakure's symbol proudly on their foreheads, but they were scarcely as old as Joruri. They filed into the small diner with almost military precison. Shinako's mind went back to the fiasco on the road.

"Joruri-san..."

Shinako's smooth voice was low enough that only Joruri could hear it. It wasn't trepidation, but a sort of unprecedented steel that registered in her tone. The man who must have been the Sensei to the Sunagakure squad briefly locked eyes with Shinako, smirking and giving a nod, perhaps recognizing exactly what he was seeing, and greeting it as a welcomed challenge. The man turned and disappeared through the doorway.

"We can't fail here. What did you think of Tenzo-sensei's test?"

It was the first time that Shinako had ever faced a task as a shinobi that she had been completely surprised by. In the academy every objective had been explained thoroughly before even the slightest motion to begin was made. She felt as though she was flying blind, up and away into the clouds that surrounded the village that she now found herself in. For the first time in her life, Shinako felt completely unanchored, with Tenzo's test serving as some supernatural gateway into a mysterious world that could not be understood simply by looking at it.

Despite all of this, it was a rare resolve that gripped Shinako. The entire experience made her feel free in a way that she never had.

*I don't know exactly what I'm looking at, but nobody here can look at me and see the same Shinako that left the Hidden Leaf. They don't know what they're looking at either.*

539/2,227

When she didn't react as he had thought originally, he smiled. At least she was going to be comfortable enough to allow that to happen. And within moments she was laughing, probably trying to lighten the mood and to leave her recent anxiety in the past. Joruri could understand that, in fact he was busy trying to do that with the journey that they had just completed mere hours ago... Last night.

For the tourists, there were plenty of signs which said as to which direction to go to see the 'sights.' And so that's what they followed, he obviously wasn't confident enough to take short cuts, and since there was such a big event going on, that being the Chunnin Exams, there was no doubt no way for them to be roof hopping, so they had to take the longer and much more boring route of walking.

He sighed to himself.

"The Durian Tree it is." Nothing better than going to see a giant piece of wood.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, and Joruri was enjoying himself. Every now and then he saw shinobi that he recognized from the Leaf Village and they'd exchange greetings for a few moments before parting ways and continuing on towards the tree. For the most part, he maintained the small confident smile that was on his face as they walked, barely taking note of those who elected to give dirty looks, although he did register them and their faces into his brain's memory bank.

There were people in every Village who didn't like foreigners, and Joruri could understand that.

"What?" He said when she had said his name, and then he saw the shinobi that were in front of them, or at least saw them in passing as the diner's door closed behind them and he gave her a side glance with a raised eyebrow in question. He didn't say anything except to give another small nod to the Sunagakure shinobi, probably a jonin of some sort,and then the diner's door closed for the final time.

Then there was the fateful question.

"Oh, the test huh?" He ran his off-hand through his scalp, pushing his hair out of his face as he tried to buy time for an answer. "It made sense." He started. "It made sense in the way that we were under the impression that it was a real situation, and we would've all died." Monotone voice, it was clear that he didn't want to talk about it.But he wanted to know her thoughts about it. "And, what did you think of it? Do you think it was a good idea?" He wasn't going to reveal that he felt it was his fault that they had been jumped and Manami had been taken hostage.

The part about 'not failing here,' he ignored for the most part. Impending failure always loomed over him, it was why he tried his best to keep a positive outlook on things.

"I'm certain the same could be said about anyone that we see here." He said drily. He didn't really know what she wanted for an answer, so he had left it at that.

Soon, ahead of them the tree was starting to rise up and be revealed in it's higher altitude through the clouds.

"Why'd you choose the tree?"

WC: 576

"I chose the tree because I want to see something that takes in all of the evil it encounters, yet continues to thrive."

Shinako thought back to her father. If the hospital had sent any word about him, it had not yet caught up to her. It was entirely possible that her father was dead, something that she would have to wrestle with. He had spent his entire life dealing with the evil done to and by others. His hands had touched every kind of wound that a human being could and could not take, and yet it had not destroyed the kindness in him. She imagined that the tree would look something like her father; steeped in the visceral bath of human ills, but only more beautiful, more resilient for it.

In a way, this was Shinako's perfect picture of the shinobi. It would be easy to become a killing machine, like so many had before her. The depths of the shinobi underworld were perhaps even darker than the shadow that she had become accustomed to living with. If she were to proceed any further, she would need to be sure that a person could survive such a thing; something so transformative, and so utterly foreign that it changed a person entirely, simply by their having looked.

Shinako looked to Joruri and realized that she once again had not spoken for several long moments. To break the tension she offered another smile and a slight shrug.

"It's girlish, I know, but there's still some mystery in the world, and I'd like to experience at least a little bit of it."

Had she had the presence of mind to examine the situation a little more thoroughly, she would have realized that her time would have been better spent delving into some of the mysteries in her own life. She still had the matter of having Tenzo as a teacher. She barely knew her teammates, or what challenges the Chunin Exams would present. She had no idea what she would do when confronted with new and strange techniques and people who were actively seeking to harm her, just to advance their own station in life. It seemed that her method for dealing with such things for the moment was to completely ignore them. They registered as little more than a nagging worry in the back of Shinako's mind when compared to exploring the Hidden Cloud Village.

Here, the façade had not yet been stripped away, and it was easy to imagine the motives of the bustling town as pure, and genuine. Everything back in Konoha tended to cast a shadow, and she had become more and more familiar with the shadows as of late. Here, walking arm-in-arm with someone new, she could easily imagine that the sunlight overhead touched everything, illuminating even the darkest and most doubt-filled places. Perhaps it would shine down into her as well, and she would get her first good look in a long time.

507/2,734

He wasn't entirely sure as to how to respond to such a response. The Durian tree consumes evil that it came into contact with and continues to thrive? Why would anyone want to see something like that, let alone a tree that was the epitome of evil?

"Would that not mean the tree itself is corrupted." The term, 'you are what you eat,' came to mind, but he left the statement out of his own opinion. To him, the tree had to be corrupted if it only consumed evil and darkness. He couldn't quite put the words to it, but he stood by his belief nevertheless.

In the next few seemingly long moments, Shinako hadn't replied and Joruri wondered as to what she thought of what he had said. He nudged her a little to get her attention back, and then she had been shocked back to reality. At least she wasn't ignoring me. There were a lot of things that he found annoying, being ignored was one of them, it didn't happen often and yet, it was still annoying.

"I wouldn't say that it's girly, truth be told. There's plenty of things in the world that haven't been explored yet and await human contact to be brought to light! And even when we find those things, there will be more to find after." He shrugged a little. "I doubt there will come a time in our life that there will be a lack of wonders to locate and understand."

He, Joruri still had plenty of researching to do into his own Clan's ancestry. The books at home were limited, no matter how many books he cross referenced, and even then it was beyond irritating to repeatedly search through the library in the Leaf Village. If there was one thing that he truly wanted, it was to find an elder of his clan to teach him all that they knew about the Magnet Release, Joruri's Kekkei Genkai. If he met someone in Kumogakure while he stayed for the duration of the Chunnin Exams, of course he wouldn't be able to learn much, or anything at all from them, but at least he'd have a source to start with. Unfortunately, it didn't seem as if he were going to find someone like that.

I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing.

He imagined that they were cleaning up the mess that he had left behind in his room, replacing books, clothes and the like and all he could do was smile at the thought. When I get back home, there will be no more cleaning up after me, Mom and Dad.

They were only a handful of minutes away from actually being at the base of the tree and Joruri's gaze deepened into a frown. Were they really about to go underneath a tree that absorbed malicious intent?

WC: 500

Joruri's question about corruption sent Shinako's mind whirling back to the woman that she knew was the sole inhabitant of her house right now. From what she remembered, her step-mother's intentions had been pure when she had started her career, but contact with the shinobi world had twisted her into something beautiful and evil at the same time. It was entirely within the realm of possibility that Joruri's estimation of the tree was the accurate one. Shinako once again stared off into the distance for a few long moments.

"You may be right, but I'd like to see it anyway."

She nudged Joruri back at his plea for attention, conceding that she was not the best conversationalist at the moment. His explanation of of the world's mystery was encouraging to her, at least. As she looked into his blue eyes, she noticed a glimmer of light just over his shoulder, drawing her attention. She let go of his arm, extricating herself from his grasp and brushing past his face, with another gesture that said 'one moment'.

As she approached the street vendor Shinako tied her hair back into her usual ponytail, leaning in over the charms that she saw there and shooting a friendly smile at the middle-aged man behind the cart of trinkets. She almost immediately found the one which had caught her eye. It was a small charm, and not even particularly shiny, but for some reason it had caught her attention. It was a small Kaminari symbol etched into porcelain and rimmed in silver.

Kaminari Charm:

After a brief conversation with the vendor, money changed hands and Shinako took the charm, returning to Joruri in the middle of the street. Beaming, she held the charm up to Joruri's eye level, watching it glint gently in the sun. She reached out with her left hand, cupping Joruri's right and lifting it to his waist. Then, with a gentle motion, she deposited the charm in his waiting hand and closed his fingers around it. A gift.

"There. Now we'll always remember this adventure."

For a short while she simply looked contentedly at her hands closed around his before looking back to appraise his expression. Without waiting for Joruri's response, Shinako confidently set off down the road toward the Durian Tree.

390/3,124

Training:

~Exit thread, continued elsewhere

Contrary to his companion's own thoughts and experiences, Joruri didn't have similar experiences. Instead, he had a loving mother and father, although his father was usually gone to partake in top-secret missions, he was a Jonin that loved his family. That much, the Kansen-Suru youth could understand, and he could only smile in thought as he imagined his father combating things that would affect the village negatively. He performs the dark task of ridding the Land of Fire of danger and hostility, all the while creating a brighter future for those in the Village and surrounding lands. He knew that anyone would be proud to have a parent like that, but he was always awaiting the day that he'd learn of his father's passing. Not because he thought of him as incompetent, but only because dying was part of the life of a shinobi.

More so for those that took part in the actions of the ANBU Black Ops.

Besides that, he heard Shinako's voice in a reply to his words, and he nodded his head in submission. "Of course, I'm sure it'll be exciting in it's own way." He sounded more upbeat than before, but he was mostly doing it so that Shinako wouldn't feel guilty for dragging him to a tree. He doubted she would though, she didn't seem the sort of person to acknowledge petty things like that.

In the moment they had made eye contact, he took note of how her gaze had shifted from his in a mere moment and over his shoulder and he released her from his clutches as she pulled away to the vendor. Of course, it was all about angles, so whatever Shinako was searching and probably bargaining for at that moment, Joruri couldn't tell. After all, nothing had caught his interest there. Looks like souvenirs though. Does she want something to remind her of this experience? He wasn't entirely certain, but she had soon returned to him in the middle of the street.

"That's what you wanted to get?" He asked as she held up before his face, and he watched curiously as it glinted in the bright sunlight of the early morning.

Before he could even object, his hand was being raised and the porcelain object was implanted into the palm of his right hand. The briefest signs of a frown was visible on his face before he silently gasped, a sound usually used for surprise. Slowly, but surely, his face faintly began to redden.

"Uh..."

He couldn't answer, and after her words his face only reddened more, and he had finally come to a conclusion about the Exams.

Why am I always having to be the one that's speechless?

After his few moments of pause, he took note of Shinako's body as she started to pull away and he soon resumed his spot beside her again as they approached the Tree of Durian.

I hope it's explained how this thing... Works.

WC: 520
TWC: 3851

-EXIT THREAD-

3851 - 750wc = 3101 for D rank jutsu training.
3101 - 750wc = 2357 for D Rank Jutsu training.