It was another day, practically the dawn before the first day of the Chuunin Exams, metaphorically speaking of course. Currently, with the sun already being past the midday marking, now starting to lower indicating that it was currently mid-afternoon here in the Village Hidden by Clouds. Haruo, meanwhile was currently lazing about on a tree branch, one overlooking one of the various ravines located within the village borders, knowing that whatever was done around the village, these ravines held a purpose of their own, even if they could be done without. Simply, they added to the natural feel that Kumogakure no Sato held mixed with the man-made constructs that were beginning to take over the village, if anything, the village would settle for a mixture between the two.

Haruo, with his gourd’s strap going around his right shoulder to his left waist, felt the constant weight of the gourd as it was a bit difficult balancing both his body and gourd at the beginning, though he found a comfortable spot where he didn’t need to constantly worry about tumbling backwards. His light blue t-shirt was a stark contrast to his hair wavy red hair, hair that was flying forward due to the light winds carrying it in his direction. With the wind aiding him slightly in staying upright, Haruo simply inserted his right hand in to the pocket of his dark gray jeans, though with only his fingers within the realm of his right pocket. His left foot remained relatively still as it hung off the branch with only the wind pushing to forward slightly, his right was gently swinging back and forth, and as Haruo didn’t feel like stopping the constant rhythm it had fallen in to. The black shoes he was wearing did nothing more other than the task that shoes were made to do.

For what Haruo was doing here, there was no real purpose, except for just waiting for things to begin, for when the Chuunin Exams would officially start. So he found himself here, trying to spend some time doing aimless things, yet it seemed to make time feel even longer than what it should have felt like. With a light sneeze escaping him, Haruo reached with his left hand to light scratch his cheek and nose for a couple of seconds before his hand returned back to his side, acting as his fail-safe should something occur, though he always had his sand in case something else occurred.

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To say the least, it had been a frustrating day for Reiko. She'd gone out running, and training, like every day, though today she'd gone a bit farther than usual. So, of course, when she'd exhausted her chakra practicing Juuken, and turned to go home, she'd found herself lost. And, being the idiot she was, she left the place she'd been training at and attempted to find her way back to Kumogakure by herself. Of course, when she'd attempted to do that, she found herself even more lost. Pausing in frustration, Reiko looked around, one hand resting on the trunk of the tree. "Of all the times," she said, turning and starting to hop quickly in a random direction. She knew she wad making it worse, but the irritation she had for herself for getting lost and without enough chakra to use Byakugan long enough to get back was all that was on her mind.

She honestly should have stayed at the hotel. The Chunin Exams were starting soon, and if she got stuck in the forest, everybody would be in town, watching, not out looking for that one Konoha genin that managed to get herself lost in the woods. If she knew what general direction the village was, she'd be able to find her way on her own. But as it was, she couldng even remember where the clearing she'd trained at was anymore. Shaking her head, Reiko paused again, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. She hummed a tune, attempting to calm herself, and started off again, still at a breakneck speed. She had to get back before nightfall, or the owners of the inn would shut down, and she'd be locked out for the night, which didnt sound appealing in the slightest.

A flash of brown rock ahead caught her eye, and Reiko immediately turned toward it, an excited smile coming on her face. The village had rock walls, right? And weren't they that color!? Fixing her eyes on the brown, Reiko sped through the trees, getting closer by the minute. Of course, it wasnt until the second to last tree that Reiko realized that it was a ravine, not a wall. Yelping in surprise, she automatically made to stop at the last one, her eyes locked on the rock as she came in for a landing. Then, something hard hit her foot, sending her tumbling off-balance. Letting out an instinctive scream, Reiko grabbed out for something to catch onto, finding her hand digging, not into wood, but something soft.

Things remained calm, as nothing truly changed except the slightest changes in the speed of the wind, unnoticeable to most, but considering Haruo’s eyes simply were looking up at his hair, watching as the wind began to simply push it forward faster. Then, the winds would simple calm back down, letting his hair lightly float about as everything went around him, such as the stray leaves that were no longer clinging to the branches of trees. Looking down, he took notice of the ravine below, simply watch the structure below. The water far below wasn’t loudly crashing, indicating the current was either far too slow, or there simply wasn’t enough water for it to produce a sound. The rocks surround the area on the way down were jagged, easily able to hurt an individual if they happened to come in to contact with them if in a free-fall.

Blinking three times, before the urge to yawn came to him, Haruo shifted his vision to the right as he released the yawn. His eyes closed on their own will, his mouth opening, stretching his jaw, as the barely audible noise was released. Shaking his head, his hair messing about due to its length, Haruo went back to glancing forward, simply watching as the clouds moved about due to the winds carrying them away. He avoided viewing the sun, simply due to it being the sun. Things were enjoyable, yet stale, for Haruo for the past while. The only true changes in his day to day activities were coming across numerous people from other villages, though only a few he had a decently long conversation with that would account for actually meeting them.

Just as Haruo was about to shift his position as his right shoulder began to bother him a little, due the constant weight upon the gourd on his back, he felt something tug at him, as something had grabbed on to the bottom of his shirt. A scream, one that could be identified as female or a young boy, reached his ears just before the hand latched on to his shirt. The unexpected grab had momentum to it, enough to force Haruo off his perch and tumbling down with the being that was already going down. Gravity, while it definitely would win this battle, would be countered by simple defenses, as Haruo didn’t want himself, or the stranger, to impact any of the rocks at accelerating speeds, nor the ground below the ravine. With the weight of his gourd, along with his own, Haruo knew he’d impact the ground harder, but if he was able to shield it off, then things would turn out fine. Though, he needed to at least grab on the person as well, to simply make their landing softer.

With his right hand reach out, to grab the female, Haruo tried to levy his weight such that he would be the first one to impact the ground. If the girl accepted his hold on her, Haruo would simply latch on to her, letting his sand do the rest of the work for them. His sand easily gushed out of his gourd, starting to pile up just below both of their bodies, as that would be the most crucial aspect of the jutsu Haruo was going to utilize. The sand then began to shape a dome around them, should the female accept his hold on her. Of course, things could’ve been simple as to how they could recover, yet Haruo was often used sand for various things in his life, and this was no exception for him. Most shinobi would be able to land on their feet, bracing for impact, yet Haruo had simply been caught unaware, leading him to his own conclusion of how to land. The encased sand would give them a time of darkness, before it would impact the ground. Immediately upon feeling the light thud, Haruo would let the sand around him flow safely back in the gourd, lightly easing him off the sand and on to the rough floor. “Are you okay?” Was his simple question, as he assumed the other falling individual would have fallen near him, if she had been within the realm of his dome or not.

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Chakra = 115/130:

Blinking, his eyes settled for the sky, being able to see the clouds he had been watching earlier, only this time from a far different vantage point. The clouds appeared normal, yet seemed differing from this point of view, from lying on his back at the bottom of a ravine. The only good thing so far was that he hadn’t landed on his gourd, as it had slowly eased to his left side during their descent, as he was now aware of the other party had indeed landed near him. Sitting up, with his feet stretched before him, his gourd moved along with his movements, slowly moving to settle back on Haruo’s back. His right hand went to reach his left elbow, scratching it lightly while moving it slightly to denote that it was completely fine.

His question had been answered by a simple reply; one that spoke in a slow tone to make sure all was alright. From what he could tell from the voice alone, the person that had brought him down with them was certainly female. After his right hand finished lightly scratching his elbow, it went to the back of his neck to do the same, though this time to check for apparent injuries. His neck did not hurt in the slightest, nor did anything else, so everything seemed fine on his end, and apparently on the girls as well. Releasing a sigh of relief, knowing things could have gone better or worse, Haruo brought his right leg closer to his body, his knee rising in to the air. With his right hand now on his knee, Haruo pushed himself on to his feet, turning to face the direction of the one who was apparently at fault for this situation, though he wouldn’t blame her in the slightest.

Getting a glance at her, he immediately noticed her putting her black hair in a ponytail. Haruo’s hands remained at his side as he waited to see if she was alright. As if they both had a similar idea, Haruo noticed her turn in his direction, asking a similar question to the one he had brought before her, followed by an apology that wasn’t truly needed, at least as far as Haruo was concerned. Before he could tell her all way alright, his green orbs noticed her unique eyes, a kind in which he had never seen before. Lost in the slightest of trances, Haruo shook his head, though regretted it instantly as it could possibly be seen as him indicating he wasn’t fine. “Uh… I-I’m fine.” He slightly stuttered over his words, due to his previous action possibly speaking the opposite of how he truly felt. He didn’t immediately notice a forehead protector, though that wasn’t his main concern as of now. Shifting the weight of his gourd slightly with the rotation of his right shoulder, Haruo stepped closer to her, wanting to make sure with his sight that she was completely alright. “No need to apologize. I’d be a bit worried if you had fallen down here by yourself.” He had never fallen down this particular ravine, nor climbed down it, but he roughly knew where one could access it safely without having to jump down a considerable height. One could easily climb back out with the usage of Supernatural Walking Practice, though judging by her slightly exhausted state, he wondered if she had tired herself out, thus result in the event leading them down the ravine.

“I have my sand to help me with such cases, so it’s not a problem. Luckily I’m able to make a dome big enough to protect two people.” Haruo shortly explained the contents within his gourd and how they managed to safely make it to the ground. A friendly smile graced his face, as he thought it best to introduce himself, as they would likely both need to make it out of here, and he worried that she wouldn’t be able to do so on her own, not due to inability, but her lack of familiarity. He automatically went to the conclusion she wasn’t a native of Kumogakure no Sato, as he would’ve recognized her if she went to the academy, particularly due to her pretty eyes. His eyes then noticed her forehead protector, indicating a shinobi from Konoha. “I’m Akemi Haruo. Uhh…” He usually would’ve added on that it was nice to meet them, but under these circumstances? “Are you here for the Chuunin Exams?” He supposed that would do for now, as their meeting wasn’t particularly a fond one for now, as falling in to a ravine couldn’t truly be a fond memory. As an afterthought, though likely the most important, Haruo added, “I think I know a way out of here, though it’s a bit of a walk if you can’t use chakra to get back up.”

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Haruo stopped in his tracks, just a few steps away from Reiko, as she identified herself as a Hyuga from Konohagakure no Sato. Reiko being here for the Chuunin Exams didn’t come as a surprise to Haruo, as the vast majority of people coming to the Village Hidden by Clouds solely came to participate, or enter, the Chuunin Exams. When he learned that she was simply here to spectate, not to participate, he wondered if she was in a slightly similar situation to him, though his was different as he hadn’t actually trained in ages. Thinking on her last words for a brief second, about learning, he supposed there was much he could learn from the exams as well, seeing as how those that were participating were definitely a few of the many who committed to the lifestyle of being shinobi. His initial thoughts were dashed, as she confirmed she indeed had been training, something he hadn’t done properly in god knows how long. A mental sigh escaped him, as he simply smiled in response. Her using up all her chakra made it so they would need to walk through the ravine for a couple of minutes before they would be able to easily climb out. Her saying she would only be able to climb out halfway before falling down made him settle that they would need to walk a bit further down before getting out of the ravine.

As she fiddled with the sash around her waist, Haruo took a brief glance over his shoulder, in the direction they would need to travel. The path itself held no real obstacles, mainly just the few jagged rocks protruding out from the ground. It would take nearly no time at all for them to get to the area he was referring to, perhaps nearing just below a five minute walk, though it could easily be faster depending on how quickly they moved. Hearing a slow sound escape Reiko, Haruo turned back to face the dark haired girl, the ‘umm’ reaching his ears. A curious expression appeared on Haruo’s face as he wondered what she would say next, her hands still on her sash. As she said that he could get out by himself and simply point her in the direction of where he would’ve taken her, he merely shook his head once she finished speaking.

“No, no, no… I’ll walk with you. I didn’t really have anything to do, so I was just cloud watching before… this happened.” His hand slightly waved about, gesturing to the ravine they were currently in. He would’ve attempted to use his sand to help her with escaping, but he had never used it on another person, or supported two people with it before. The only exception being their earlier descent. Glancing up slightly, he knew he could get out by climbing and the use of his sand, but he couldn’t leave her down in the ravine by herself, especially when she was low on chakra. “I don’t have much else to do, so I’ll lead you out. Besides, if I had been paying attention, I probably could’ve stopped us both from being down here.” It was the simple truth as he could’ve latched on to the tree and used his sand to help her softly land on the ground above the ravine, but he simply was caught off guard.

Extending his right hand towards her, acting as a sign for her to come with him, Haruo turned about with a cheerful “Come on, let’s go!” escaping him as he would begin walking down the ravine, taking slower steps allowing for Reiko to catch up with him. He was the one who knew the way out, so she would have to follow he supposed, though that wasn’t his intention. He simply couldn’t leave a person on their own when he was capable of helping them.

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When he shook his head, rather than just pulling out that sand and flew off or something, Reiko blinked once in surprise, her white gaze widening a bit. He did elaborate some on the reason, causing her to glance at the sky for a few seconds, as if it would so her what was so interesting to him that had him staring so avidly that he hadnt heard her coming. She'd never been one to watch clouds as a pastime, so she didnt really understand what caught people to look at them so much. Maybe she wouls one day, but for now, her eyes only glanced before turning down to the world in front of her, locking back onto the face of her person she was currently talking to. Part of her was still wondering why he would even bother helping her with getting out, considering she was from another village. She'd never had all that much contact with shinobi from other villages, but she'd heard enough stories to assume that they were generally unfriendly with outsiders in their homelands. It was then he spoke again, part of his wording leading her to think that he took some of the blame for this. Her eyes widened at this. He shouldnt be doing that! It was her fault! He would still be watching clouds if it wasnt for her!

Reiko wanted to correct him, tell him he was wrong, and that it was her fault, not his, but he continued on again before she could speak, telling her to come along before heading off himself. The kunoichi stood still a moment, mostly shocked by the friendly attitude of the Kumo shinobi, but after a moment jogged after him, her steps careful to avoid any rocks or such tripping her on the uneven flooring. She wasnt quite sure what to do now. She'd never been around those unfamiliar to her for all that long,  due to her mother and father's overprotectiveness. At the same time, she did become a ninja of Konoha to escape that, did she not? Yet, here she was, wondering how one from another village had the capacity to be kind to her. She could assume that most people had the capacity to be kind, it was just a second assumption on her part that it was usually only bent towards those whom they had a reason to be nice to. So, the fact that this person was nice to her, even though she'd just knocked him off of a cliff, was both confusing, and something she wanted to learn more about at the same time.

Leaning forward, Reiko clasped her hands behind her back, glancing over at Haruo. She wanted to keep the conversation going. It was interesting to her, and the least she could do was keep this guy entertained, considering he was wasting his time leading her out of this mess. "So," she said warily, testing the waters, in a sort of way. "You're a Kumo shinobi, but are you taking the Exams, or skipping them? You don't seem fantic to be ready for them, as a lot of the Genin around seem to be right now." She leaned back again, glancing up at the sky again, still wondering at the lure of it. Another thing occured to her at that moment, bringing a small smile to her face. He was the first one outside of her village that she'd met that hadn't seem disconcerted by her eyes, too. Even when she was coming here, the innkeeper of the inn she'd stayed at had mentioned it. She guessed that maybe he was used to weird eyes though. Were there doujutsus commonvin Kumo? She'd heard that Kumo had had Byakugan at one point, but that was more mutterings of her family. She wasnt sure if it was true. And maybe they had an Uchiha or two. That clan had branched out to a few more villages over the years, as far as she'd heard. Was Kumogakure no Sato another one of them? Maybe she'd meet another Byakugan user while she was here, one she hadnt met before. Or a Sharingan user, but she hadn't met all of those in Konoha either, prabably.

He heard a second pair of footsteps rushing up to catch up to him. Haruo was sure she’d follow him, though he anticipated her keeping a distance from him, due to the wariness he assume most shinobi held towards strangers they met, especially those whom could utilize chakra. He slowed down a tad, wanting to make sure he traversed the path without falling victim to one of the many obstacles in their path and letting his travelling partner keep up with him. He was used to being around complete strangers, though this applied far more to civilians than shinobi, but even then, the shinobi whom he crossed paths with were either from Kumogakure no Sato or a travelling ronin who stopped by in their village. His meetings with others were still few and far between, for Haruo still kept mostly to his own personal circle, one which a bit lacking in people other than himself. He wasn’t the most outgoing individual, though he was far from sociable, or at least he thought so, making it a bit odd for him to be as reclusive as he was. Maybe it was simply that he hadn’t met people he really connected with.

Out of the corner of his eye, Haruo noticed the Hyuga leaning forward, looking over in his general direction. His eyes were still focused ahead as he hadn’t walking down a ravine in ages, as he never had fallen in to one before. It certainly would prove to be a memorable meeting, as the chances of meeting her once again, after the Chuunin Exams concluded, was rather slim. Her query was simply enough to answer, feeling as if he’d answer a similar question before, though it was more to convince himself of the choices he had made. He had no regrets, as far as his life was concerned, the only misgivings he had was that he took far too long to get in to the groove of attempting to become a shinobi, and the Chuunin Exams would’ve provided him with the perfect opportunity to prove to himself how far he could actually go.

“I hadn’t really prepared for the Chuunin Exams at all.” He laughed at himself in the slightest as he answered. “Well, I hadn’t really be on the active shinobi roster for the past few years, as I was helping my father with his business. Eventually I’d be taking over for him, so he said it was best I try and learn earlier. Anyways, I’ve only recently been put back on the active shinobi roster, and it was too close to the start date of the exams. I’d be far too out of shape and experience to be able to go against some of the people entering.” Haruo answered with truth in his voice, though he certainly admitted more than he had whenever the question came up previously. The answer became a bit clearer when he voice it aloud and the words simply flowed out as he answered.

Thinking back on her previous words, when he had asked if she were here for the Chuunin Exams, he recalled she wasn’t entering either. Deciding to keep on the topic of the Exams, for they had a bit more of traversing to do, Haruo decided to voice a question similar to her own. “And you? Why aren’t you entering the exams this year?” Like always, whenever Haruo asked a question, he hoped it didn’t come off as too demanding. It was just one of his many faults that seemed to stick with him so far.

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A small chuckle accomanied Haruo's reply, leaving Reiko to instinctively smile as he spoke, her way of encouraging him to continue. His reply had her raising her eyebrows, partially surprised that he had had a similar reason to her for not having taken the Chunin Exams, if not exactly for the same reason. Even so, he'd seem hesitant at first, while answering her, though by the end he seemed to speak simply. In a way, that was good, considering that she was a strqnger, but he was opening up slightly, which was better than nothing. Maybe, after a while, she could make a friend here. She didn't have anybody particularly close to her at the moment, so a friend would be nice.

He asked her why she wasn't entering the exams as well, and for a moment, she hesitated. She had yet to tell anybody why she'd been off the shinobi roster in Konoha for a few months. Those outside of her family she'd spoken to thought it was a simple matter, that she'd had to organise things. Of course, that was a lie she'd begged her parents to back up. In truth, she'd gotten a bit worse for a while. It had been a simple sickness, but fear of a relapse by her parents had took her out for a bit. She was fine now, and she was sure she wouldn't get sick again, at least not to that extent. She'd be more careful, and not catch even the smallest flu.

"I was out for much the same reason you were," Reiko said, putting her most friendly smile on her face. "I had family matters to attend to. By the time they were all cleared up, I was a bit too out of practice to take on the Chunin Exams. I even missed the bulk of people coming to this village, so I had to travel alone." That would suffice, she thought. The true story only made her seem weak, and it made people doubt her. To get anywhere in this world, she had to be strong. She had to be useful. So that's what she would be. A weak shinobi was one that wasn't useful. Looking down, Reiko paused, hopping over a particularly big rock before continuing to walk. Glancing down at her hands, she opened and closed them a few times, tipping her head to the side. She probably had enough chakra to get up the cliff now. Using any jutsu or Byakugan was a different story, but she hopefully could.

"I think," she began hesitantly, glancing upward. "That I can get up the cliff now, probably. My chakra levels are just about high enough." Her gaze turned back to him, gauging a reaction. Part of her was worried that he'd insist they walk. Of course, if it came to that, she could just simply leave, but she didn't want to be so rude to somebody who'd been kind enough to help her.

Taking her words for face value, Haruo nodded as she finished explaining her situation; the reason why she hadn’t been participating in the Chuunin Exams. While she said her reasons were the same as his own, which by her words were true, Haruo knew he could’ve made the switch from a ‘civilian’ to a shinobi a lot earlier than he had. The choice had always been his, but he seemed so caught up with his father’s business after graduating the academy that he completely forgot about wanting to become a shinobi, something he dreamt about since he could remember. He could sympathize with her in that regard, for Haruo knew what it was like to fall behind, for that was his current position, though, perhaps, one day soon enough that would all be remedied. Haruo blinked a few times as he kept walking, keeping balanced on his feet as they kept walking onward, though it wasn’t too far from here. Though, it could be a bit farther, for he hadn’t trekked down here in ages, nor needed to climb out without chakra.

“Ah, well… I suppose after the Chuunin Exams… if we ever meet again,” he jumped over a particularly large boulder, taking in a deep breath of air as he landed, “we’d both be stronger… and less clumsier.” Haruo laughed lightly, more at himself for he had his own faults, one of which many called being far too soft to be a shinobi. He knew that was a big if, especially when one considered the vastness of the elemental countries, as well as the numbers each country deployed. Taking in to account the dangers that came with being a shinobi and the variety of missions one went on, he doubted such an occurrence would ever occur again, or at least in the near future. There was still time to run in to people he recently met, for the Chuunin Exams would take some time to come to their conclusion.

As Reiko had stated she should be able to climb up the cliff, for she had recovered enough chakra, Haruo came to a stop slowly. He turned to look towards her, a curious gleam in his eyes as he wondered if she’d be able to complete such a task at the moment. Her eyes were on him, as if his reaction to her question would play a part in her performing the task. Haruo was hesitant to agree, for he couldn’t tell one’s chakra levels. Deciding it was best to judge her opinion on her own abilities, Haruo nodded, figuring she had a better idea of her own abilities than he did.

“Hmm… well, if you can climb out, I don’t see why we should continue walking down, if we can climb up.” Haruo stated, keeping things as logical as possible in his mind. His eyes focused on her, trying to take in any signs of remaining fatigue, attempting to gauge if she was telling the truth. “Well, how about you climb out and I’ll follow after you?” He asked, immediately realizing his words could possibly be taken as offending her ability. “Umm… not that I don’t think you can’t do it… but… just in case something does go wrong, I can use my sand to make sure everything is fine.” Haruo added immediately afterwards, unsure if his words could still be considered criticizing her skill. Maybe he was just overthinking his own words and she understood what he meant, though he couldn't be too sure.

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A dull clatter sounded through the air as Reiko followed Haruo over the boulder, unintentionally kicking a pebble as she went over. Landing with little sound, she gave him a wide smile, jogging a few steps to catch back up. "Maybe we'll both be Chunin or Jounin by then!" she said, putting out of her mind the fact that their villages may not alway be friendly. She was perfectly aware that, with any foreign shinobi, then next time she met them could be on a battlefield. Even so, she was hopeful that it could be a friendly situation, and not one where they were both nearly injured. When he stopped, however, Reiko paused as well, her head tipping to the side as he turned slowly to look at her. For a moment, he seemed almost to be sizing her up, or wondering if she was telling the truth. Finally, though, he nodded, and she let out a small breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

His reply seemed hesitant, in a way, but at least he wasn't arguing with her. She didn't want to do anything rude. He almost seemed worried of offending her, actually, with the way he quickly corrected his second sentence with his third. At least he was being nice, though. He had no idea whether she was lying or not, so she could understand if he felt the need to have some insurance on if she fell or not. She thought she could make it to the top, but even if she didn't, she knew it would be close enough that she could most likely jump to the top anyway. "You're fine," she said with a smile, referring to that quick attempt of assuring her that she wasn't being seen as weak. Turning, she jogged towards the cliff, pausing a moment to look up. She backed up a few feet, and then ran forward, jumping and  activating what little chakra she had, planting her feet on the rock firmly. Glancing back at Haruo, she grinned widely, then began walking up, letting herself assume that he was behind her.

She stepped quickly, worried about her levels of chakra, already feeling them deplete. Making sure not to glance back, she went around a tree root, and then jumped forward,  landing just barely on the edge of the cliff. Her foot slipped back slightly, rock crumbling underneath her feet. A small high-pitched noise escaped her throat, and her arms swung wildly in the air for a moment. Finally, she managed to pull her weight forward, her heart loosening in her chest as she stepped away from the cliff, and then jumped a bit excitedly, turning and smiling while she waited for Haruo to come up. "I made it!" she said, as if he hadn't seen her. Most of her excitement was due to the fact that she was now completely empty again, and she had just barely made it to the top, but that wasn't something he needed to know.

He felt relieved when she had said it was fine, for other wouldn’t have done such and instead solely took his words for what they originally were. Perhaps it would’ve just been simpler if Haruo had let her climb up regardless, not saying a word, yet that wasn’t him. Haruo waited as Reiko stepped up to the stone wall, preparing to make her way up. He slowly walked towards it, as he would be the last one up from the two of them, waiting for Reiko to begin making her way up. She backtracked, then ran and jumped up, using chakra to land on the stone wall so that she could simply walk up it. Haruo observed her climbing up for a few more seconds, waiting for her to roughly be halfway up before he too would scale up the wall.

His approach was far gentler and effortless, for he simply walked to the wall, transferring his right foot from the flat ground to the vertical surface, pushing his chakra to his feet to keep himself grounded. His left leg rose off the horizontal surface and going to the vertical, Haruo’s body straightened up, becoming parallel with the ground below. She had simply glanced in his direction briefly as she began to climb up, a sign that things were fine for the time being. Haruo could’ve easily taken a simpler way up, by utilizing his sand up, but he could’ve done so far earlier to help them up, but he had never carried more weight than his own upon the sand, thus he wasn’t sure about doing such. Instead, he felt it would be safer and more comfortable for them both if they went about doing it without his sand.

Haruo’s steps were slow and cautious, though more fixated on taking his time to climb up, in case anything occurred to Reiko on her trek up the cliff. There was a moment of panic for Haruo, as he saw the sight ahead of him… above him? The noise reached him before his eyes could fully register what happened, hearing the piercing noise escape her. Her hands swung about, causing Haruo to have a moment of panic, readying his sand to help stabilize her if she couldn’t regain her balance.

It took a moment, but all seemed fine as Reiko had climbed out, safely grounded on the grass above. Haruo heard her claiming she made it out, a smile on his face for the worry that lingered was gone. Speeding up in the slightest, Haruo walked to the edge of the cliff, easily transferring his feet from the cliff-side to the flat ground above, the chakra gradually draining out of his feet as he no longer needed to keep himself upright. Her exuberance from completing the task was a sight to see, one he would’ve shared if not for the fact that he had been worried just moments before. She had said that she had enough chakra to make it all the way up, so he thought that it would be an easy feat anyways.

“Aah.” The sound was barely audible as it escaped him, his eyes going to the sky, taking note that they’d be entering the evening soon enough. Considering she wasn’t a native to Kumogakure no Sato, he figured she wasn’t too familiar with the layout of the village. Scratching the outside of his right hand with his left, he glanced in her general direction. “Do you know you’re way back? I don’t mind helping you back to the village.” Haruo spoke softly, shifting the gourd on his back slightly.

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Despite her excitement, Reiko saw that Haruo didn't seem quite as excited as she did, when he appeared from the edge of the cliff behind her, stepping up somewhat more easily than she had. Well, not many usually got as excited as she did about things, she'd discovered, but even the most mundane things tended to excite her, so she didn't mind in the slightest. At least he'd climbed out after her, and not fallen down. That seemed a funny twist of fate that she doubted would have ever happened, but it popped into her mind all the same. Strange scenarios always seemed to appeal most to her, their eccentricity entertaining her more than their possibility of occurring.

He suddenly let out what sounded, to Reiko, like a small sigh, his gaze traveling to the sky. Her eyes followed his line of sight, but she saw nothing of interest above them. Clouds, as always, were around, floating gently through the sky. The sun seemed to be going down, but that was the only notable thing about the sky that she could find. Her gaze was brought back down to the earth as Haruo spoke, asking if she knew the way to the village. A small blush came over the Hyuga's cheeks, and she immediately shook her head. She'd only run into him in the first place because she'd gotten lost and frustrated. Now, she was even more lost than ever. "I don't," she admitted, shrugging lightly. "But if you give me a direction that the village is, I can use the sun, and if I'm too slow, the stars to find my way back. I don't want to keep burdening you, you probably wanted to get back to relaxing, right?"

Her eyes fell on the gourd as she spoke, watching as he shifted it slightly. Was it heavy? She could assume it was, but she was curious exactly how heavy. Was it like carrying a rock around on his back all the time? Or was it a bit lighter than that? Mentally pushing that thought away, Reiko suddenly crouched down, letting her body settle back on the forest floor, looking up at the sky, her head tipped to the side. She would get up once Haruo had given an answer, but for now, she was fine with resting. She felt as if she'd been moving all day long, so even this small period without movement left her muscles feeling excellent, slowly relaxing from their tightened state. She yawned, unable to fight the urge to do so, her mouth opening wide, and her small fingers coming up to cover her mouth. Once she got back to the hotel, she was excited to simply flop in bed. She knew that she should probably find a bathhouse first, and clean herself before getting into the heated area to relax her muscles. If she worked them endlessly like she was without breaks, she was bound to get a strain or something.

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His question was met by a simple response, a nod, which gave him enough information to deduce he’d have to help her back to the village in some shape or form. Haruo supposed it was simpler just to provide the Hyuga with rough direction back to the village, for it wouldn’t be too difficult for her to figure out where the village began, for the numerous buildings and people would happen to be a dead giveaway. Yet, he figured providing her direction there wouldn’t be enough to get her to where she needed, unless, of course, she asked someone else for directions once within the village and around people. Haruo blinked a few times, figuring he could guide her back to the village and he’d be left to his own devices for the remained of the day, until his stomach would begin to bother him for dinner.

One thought lingered on his mind, one that seemed to puzzle him. For all the assistance he tried to offer to the Konoha-native, she seemed somewhat adamant to not need his aid in particular, wishing to find a solution herself. Or, at the very least, she simply didn’t want to waste his time as she had said. Regardless of Haruo helping her or not, he would simply be wasting time anyways, for he had no schedule as of yet, nor did he have anything planned for the day other that cloud watching as he had done earlier in the day, prior to falling in to the ravine. For Haruo, there wasn’t much he had to do otherwise, so him helping out Reiko was no issue for him. Aside from that, Reiko seemed friendly enough that he would spend more time with her, if the opportunity presented itself. Though, if she wished to be rid of him, he wouldn’t deny her the opportunity to do so.

“Oh, well, it’s not too far to get back from the village from here. It’s a little less than a five minute walk.” He informed her, though still hadn’t given her directions as to where to go. Taking a look at the sky once more, he looked to the south, for that was where the village would be, his eyes going back to his companions once again. Haruo usually spent most of his days in the northern part of the village, as he hadn’t travelled too far north when it came to the Land of Lightning. For being his homeland, there still remained so many mysteries to it.

“If you just go that way,” Haruo gestured with his head in the direction he was pointing, a bit of sand escaping his gourd, floating just behind him. Instead of Haruo pointing himself, the sand took on the shape of a hand, pointing to the south where the village stood. The sand stayed afloat until Haruo was aware that Reiko saw it, and then he let it gradually fall back in to the gourd, as if sand was falling down in an hourglass. Haruo tended to use his sand for such minor conveniences, and for simply shaping it in to various animals whenever boredom struck him. So long as the sand was available to him and he knew what he wanted to make. The sand remained in its shape at least until Haruo, or someone else, interfered with the shape of the sand. Most of the time, he just simply put the sand back in his gourd so he could reuse it later on.

“I don’t mind going back to the village with you. I was probably going to head back eventually, since I wasn’t doing much. Besides, I was going to grab something to eat before going back home.” He said in response to her question, not really feeling the need to lay down for another hour as he had done before. With a smile, he ssimply tilted his head, as if pondering something. “I guess I could just head back on my own.” Haruo mumbled to himself, wondering if she wished to be rid of his company right now.

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Though he seemed friendly enough, Reiko thought he seemed distracted for a moment, his reply to her question coming a heartbeat later than she was used to. Of course, a heartbeat didn't matter much in the long run, but it unsettled her for a few second before she pushed it off. All the same, a five minute walk? Reiko's eyebrow twitched in irritation, and her jaw clenched for a second. "I was five minutes away. And I spent practically forever wandering trying to find the village." Tipping her great back, she let out a sigh, managing to control her irritation, considering it wasn't Haruo's fault, but her own. She was lucky to have ran into him, or she'd have been wandering all night. Haruo began to speak again, and she quieted to listen, her gaze one of curiosity. She nodded at his gesture, further smiling when some sand came out of the gourd she'd previously been so curious about, making a hand and backing up Haruo's gesture with a more specific point in the direction she needed to take. She wondered again just how heavy the gourd was, but she didn't ask just yet, saving that question for later. Plus, he'd said he wouldn't mind walking with her, which would give her a chance to ask him about it. He'd mumbled something after offering to walk back, but she hadn't quite heard it. Her forte was her eyes, not her ears, after all.

Hands slipped behind her, clasping themselves together as the girl leaned forward, a smile coming on her face. "I'd love if you'd walk with me," she said. "I might get lost again, after all. I'm not that great of a sensory shinobi without any chakra." Stepping back, Reiko let her hands fall to her sides, starting to walk in the direction he'd pointed. She could assume he'd follow. If he didn't she could probably get back on her own, if he didn't want to babysit a Konoha shinobi anymore. He seemed like a nice guy though, she doubted he would simply run off without telling her. A thought came to her mind, and she turned, walking backwards and staring back at him. "By the way," she said, curiosity evident in her ivory gaze. "How much does your gourd weigh? It looks heavy, but you never really know, right?" He didn't have to answer, but she really was curious about it. Knowing her, if he didn't tell her, she would try to guess, which never really worked all that well. Reiko had never been that great with numbers. Luckily, life as a kunoichi didn't warrant all that much arithmetic, unless she was counting enemies ahead to report back to her team. Even then, if it got too high, she could estimate, though her estimations were always not quite right. Not that it would hurt her at all later in life. They were just numbers, and she'd always have her comrades to help her where she was not perfect.

At the confirmation from Reiko about his offer to walk her back, though he knew she was capable of finding her way back now that he provided her with the general direction of the village, Haruo nodded as a reply, a smile once again appearing on his face. He didn’t have too many people he considered friends, mostly having acquaintances or being alone, so this was a welcome change for Haruo, and he figured he could learn more about Konohagakure no Sato, since his only knowledge of the village came through the word of mouth. He had ventured in to the Land of Fire once before, mainly when he’d been travelling around with his father, though there was never a place of significance that he could recall, not one that he passed that he would be able to tell someone about. Perhaps he’d be able to get out bits and pieces of the village from the stranger, though Haruo doubted she’d divulge any information that one would consider sensitive towards a village’s own safety.

Unexpectedly, or expected entirely from a different viewpoint, Haruo noticed Reiko begin to walk in the direction he had pointed towards with his sand. There was a brief pause on his end as he fully realized what was happening. Letting both his hands fall to his side, he quickly followed after Reiko, as it wouldn’t be too difficult for either of them to take the lead and navigate them back to humanity. Haruo’s steps were quick and long, catching up to Reiko and then immediately slowing down to match her pace. At the question about his gourd, he knew it was to be expected, simply because of the actual size of it, as well as the sand he carried inside of it. Though he knew for certain she didn’t know exactly how much sand he carried with him. Aptly put, Haruo’s answer would be simple enough, for the gourd wasn’t too heavy for him, for the weight came from the sand, his chakra easily making the tremendous amount of sand weightless. “Well, the gourd isn’t too heavy… It’s mostly the sand that weights a lot.” He supplied the short version of the answer while he thought about how much the sand would actually weigh if he wasn’t using his chakra to aid him in carrying it around with him. From the top of his head he couldn’t produce an answer in a quantitative value, though the only way he could provide such was to simply empty his gourd to allow her a look at how much sand he truly carried with him. He had never really done the math for the weight of the sand he took with him, but he knew roughly how much sand he carried around. The conversion was something he never sought the need to find out. “It’s quite a bit of sand in there… so… at least over a couple of tonnes… easily.” He said with a slight jitter to his voice, for he wondered how believable it actually was to carry around more than a tonne of sand at all times. Of course, his mother had a gourd with far more sand than he did, so he supposed he carried around next to nothing for the time being.

He’d wait a bit before continuing onward, if Reiko had anything to say at all, or if she would simply be registering it all in mind, trying to actually believe it. Haruo continued on in silence, waiting for a respectable amount of time to pass between his last words and his next. “What’s Konoha like? I’ve been wondering how different other villages are in comparison to Kumo.”

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He did end up coming with her, the fact of which bringing a small smile to Reiko's face. Maybe she wasn't quite as irritating as she previously thought she was. Well, that was a plus. She heard footsteps hit the ground one after another as Haruo jogged after her, slowing when he finally caught up. She glanced over at him and smiled, happy she wasn't left to walk alone. Her head tipped to the side as he spoke, finally getting the question she'd been so curious about answered. She kept her eyes on him, only looking down once or twice to step over a root or a bush. He seemed to be thinking after giving an answer that it was pretty light, and she lifted her head slightly, glancing at the gourd on her back. She'd never carried sand or dirt before herself, but she'd always thought it would be really heavy. After all, it held people who walked all over it every day. The gourd was curious though. It looked to her like it was made of rock or something, but apparently it was really light. It seemed to be an oxymoron in a way, that it was light, but looked like a rock. Of course, when she was given a more solid answer, Reiko's eyebrows both rose, disappearing for a moment under her bangs. "That's.... ridiculous," she said, glancing once more at the gourd. She wanted to ask more, but he spoke again then, asking her about Konoha, and what it was like. Reiko stored her further questions in the back of her mind, trying to remind herself that he may not even want to answer. It wasn't always safe to tell foreign shinobi about all of your jutsu.

She took a moment to think about the question, her hands coming together behind her back as she walked along, her eyes turning to the sky. "Well," she said. "There are trees everywhere. It's practically an endless forest in that country. Everybody's really friendly, talking to each other in the streets. When it rains though, it's practically out of nowhere. At least, it always seemed that way to me. The training grounds are similar to the ones here. And if you're in the hospital, a bunch of people will come to visit you, so you're not as bored as you would be alone. A lot of people grow flowers on their windows, really pretty ones, with all sorts of colors." Suddenly, Reiko realized she had been rambling, and her talking trailed off, a small blush coming on her cheeks. She looked down at her feet, then glanced at Haruo, smiling hesitantly. "Kumo's really nice," she said. "I was given the impression that other villages weren't really all that great as a child. I guess that's just villager bias though." She figured now that her rambling had been nicely adverted, even if it still happened. She did really like Kumo though, even if it was a bit colder than she was used to. And the people here seemed relatively nice as well.

Her comment about the weight resting within the realm of his gourd was entirely accurate, for it was ridiculous for a person to be able to carry around such a tremendous amount of weight as if it was nothing at all. If he was anyone else, anyone who had no knowledge behind the Sabaku Kekkei Genkai, Haruo would be in a similar state as Reiko currently was, unable to believe the amount of weight held by his gourd. Even with the ever present knowledge of it, with it upon his back, at time Haruo had difficulty believing he truly carried around enough weight that could easily crush another living being below it. This simple act of dumping the contents within his gourd to crush an enemy would always be available to him and just the thought of performing such an action easily made Haruo wary of his own weapon, not for the techniques he could utilize from it, but rather the weight that came with it. There wasn’t much else to tell about his gourd aside from that, for currently the weight of the sand within was the only thing substantial in Haruo’s repertoire. His knowledge of jutsus was vastly limited, to only a select few techniques he recalled and the academy jutsus. For techniques, the only one he used recently happened to be the very same one in which he cushioned the landing for himself and Reiko, by surrounding both of them in a sphere of sand. Aside from that, it was just simple spikes and converting earth to create more sand.

As Reiko went on to answer his query about the environment of Konohagakure no Sato, Haruo could easily say he was pleased by the answer, for there were certainly enough details for him to paint a mental picture for his mind. The endless forest surrounding the country known as Hi no Kuni was something he couldn’t exactly grasp, the forests around Kaminari no Kuni weren’t endless, as they only stretched on so far. Haruo, so used to the expanse of mountains that the Land of Lightning was infamous for, tried to imagine them being replaced by forests. How high would the trees reach? He figured they wouldn’t be as high as the peaks of mountain tops, but for the amount of trees that the Land of Fire possessed, Haruo could assume there would be quite a few that were significantly taller than any he had lain eyes upon. He knew the rough size of each country from looking at a map, yet acknowledging how large the actual world was compared to one’s own size was still something that piqued his curiosity. There had to be more to the world they lived on than just the elemental nations, he presumed.

Reiko’s description of the people was vaguely similar to the few people that Haruo knew of, for he had met countless people to date, some friendly, some not. This was likely a situation that plagued each nation. He hadn’t personally been to the hospital, for he never had the need to do so, so he couldn’t say that was the exact same here. But, if he ever were, he thought the same could be said for his own country. Haruo while having quite a few years behind him, wasn’t as experienced to the world as others, seemingly realizing something new about the world each passing day, for the denizens of other nations brought with them vastly different experiences.

As she finished up by stating she likely possessed a bias, Haruo could only nod for he only had word of mouth for what the other villages were like and what the world around them had to offer. This would simply be an issue that Haruo could only solve for himself, perhaps one day in the future. “Konoha seems like a nice place to live.” He supplied after Reiko was done, Haruo now having a general clue about Konoha, though the description of land reinforcing his previous knowledge. “I think I’d like to see Konoha with my own eyes one day.” Haruo hoped he’d be able to achieve that one day, the journey there being more likely if he were to become a full-fledged shinobi, perhaps even if he took over his father’s business. Of course, visiting the other three shinobi villages was also on his bucket list, but he figured he had a ton of time ahead of him to complete those tasks.

As they would near the village, he would simply smile once again, an expression that seemed natural on his face due to his general demeanour. It was rare for the red-head to ever be angry towards anyone, for the only time he could recall such times were either between small fights he got in as a child or a childish tantrum in his early adolescents. Looking towards the Hyuga once more, Haruo’s right hand fell in to his pocket, his fingers fidgeting within. “Ah, Hyuga-san,” Haruo started off, assuming formality by calling her by her family name, for Haruo thought they weren’t friends or close at all due to this chance meeting, “did you need to be anywhere in particular?” He asked, assuming she had desired to be someplace due to previous arrangements. While he enjoyed chatting with her thus far, he didn’t wish to keep her if she had something already arranged.

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The beginning of the reply to her words was a nod, and Reiko blinked once, curious at what he had to say. He didn’t seem like one to ramble quite as much as she did, but the things he did say tended to be interesting. To her, at least, they were. He spoke this time, and his words made her smile, glad that her village was deemed nice by somebody from another village. Too often for her tastes, she’d heard whispers that Konoha was a stuck-up village, and so were its inhabitants. She didn’t believe that, but nobody would believe her. It all led back to the bias of actually living in the village herself. Maybe one day though, the villages would be friendlier among each other. She’d heard that they had, in the past, but now it seemed less so than in the past. Though, the fact that Haruo wanted to visit Konoha could be a good thing.

“I’d show you around!” she said, smiling. “It’d be fun. We have a few good places to eat at too, and that way you can see what it’s like to never be far from a tree. Jumping around on them is a good way to get around, you know? And, the next time a Chunin Exam is there, there’s a good excuse for you to go visit as well.” She jumped over a tree root, a twig snapping under her feet as she landed. Moving her gaze up, Reiko stared musingly at the trees surrounding them. They were a little bit different from the trees in Konoha, probably a different species or something, but they were very pretty. The flowers here, too, were different. Though they did have some familiar flowers, like irises and gardenias. In it’s own way, Kumogakure was unique, and beautiful. She wondered if other villages were just like that. If so, she could always just go to the Chunin Exams whenever they were in a village she hadn’t visited. It’d be a good experience, and all the different floras and faunas of the villages would be interesting to see. Especially Suna, considering she’d heard it was just a desert. A world without endless trees seemed weird to her, but something she wanted to see, all the same.

She started to be able to hear the in and out voices of people, and realized they were closing in on the village. A smile came on her face, one of relief and happiness. For a while there, she thought she’d never find her way back. Or at least, not until she recovered enough chakra to use Byakugan to find her way.  Reiko glanced over at Haruo, and found him smiling at her as well, his hand slipping into his pocket as he spoke once again. She found the way he referred to her by her last name, but at the same time, it made sense. It was something she would have done, had she not forgotten his last name. Besides, had she even said his name yet? She couldn’t remember… Hopefully she’d not offended him by being too familiar if she had. In reply to his question, the kunoichi shook her head, adding a shrug along with the gesture to emphasis her answer. “Nope,” she said. “I’m free to do what I want while I’m here. Training is out of the option, so I was just going to wander around for a bit or something.” She smiled, her eyes closing for a moment as she did so, before opening again, her gaze turning to the village. In all honesty, she hadn’t explored all that much, having been so busy jumping back and forth between training, sleep, eating, and watching the Exams. Most of her food had come from the inn she’d been staying at, and the few restaurants that had looked interesting, as she had passed by them.

While Reiko’s offer of showing around Konoha was pleasing to hear, a proposition he would purposefully agree to, the likelihood of such an event occurring wasn’t as easy to pull off as said. For one, Haruo would need to go to Konoha and he didn’t see it anywhere in his near future, not when he had decided to become a fulltime shinobi of Kumogakure no Sato. As a shinobi, his free-time would slowly become a bit more limited, having to partake in more missions, though that didn’t mean that all his spare time was no longer his own, it would just happen to become something he would need to manage more wisely than ever before. Regarding missions themselves, they would likely take him to various places, and Konohagakure no Sato could possibly, one day, become a destination for a future mission, or it just as easily could not. If he ever did go to Konoha, there was also the slight chance that Haruo himself would not come across Reiko again, for each village was vast in numbers, from the shinobi and civilian population. Of course, seeing as how Reiko was from a prominent clan, having learned a bit of history and a bit about the Hyūga Affair that happened hundreds of years back, pinpointing her exact location could be easy or difficult, pending if the clan lived in a compound. Haruo wasn’t privy to such facts, as he had never been to the Village Hidden by Leaves. The possibility that he may never run in to her again was far superior to doing so, but he inwardly wished that a future meeting could happen. Haruo found her pleasant to be around and she hadn’t acted aggressively towards him, seeing as she had profusely apologized for being the one who had got them in their early situation.

Perhaps he would visit her home village if the Chuunin Exams were hosted there, but he knew by then, his future would be set for him, as he’d be a chuunin at least, or committed to taking over his father’s business. All-in-all, he knew that he would likely not be a participant for the Chuunin Exams their next go around, so he wouldn’t be forced in the middle of the attention it created.  “Hopefully, though I think it would be odd seeing trees everywhere, since I’m so used to the mountains around here.” Haruo replied, a neutral-positive expression on his face. So used to his current landscape, it was a bit difficult to picture himself living in a completely different environment, though he supposed the same could be said on the opposite side of the spectrum. His gaze travelled upwards, looking at the setting sun. He wondered if the sun in Konoha could be seen just as easily as it could here, since he assumed that the trees around there were old, as such the trees would be infinitely taller. “How high do the trees reach? I… I was wondering… like, can you see the sky clearly?” He voiced out his question, as it would be one thing he would be curious about if he ever decided to set foot in the village. For a person who simply enjoyed cloud watching, he wondered if the geography around Konoha would allow him, or anyone, to do such. “I only ask because I enjoy cloud watching.” A red hue, almost matching the colour of his hair, covered his cheeks as he admitted a trivial detail about himself, while not ashamed of it, he certainly felt a bit of embarrassment to admitting such.

Taking note that she had free time for the remainder of the day, Haruo wasn’t entirely too sure she still wished to spend time in his company, not when she could simply find a shinobi from her own village to spend time with. Even if she was going wander around the village, he figured she’d wish to do so alone or at least with familiar company. Resisting the itch to scratch the back of his head, the reddish hue slowly dying down on his cheeks, Haruo smiled effortlessly. “Ah, well, there’s certainly quite a bit to do around Kumo. The most obvious would be hiking. The views from the highest peaks are always beautiful to watch, especially for sunrise and sunset. Even the view at night is beautiful, though it gets a bit tricky climbing when it’s dark out. But, you’d have to commit quite a bit of time just to climb up and down.” Haruo wasn’t an avid hiker, for he only went a few times, but he certainly enjoyed the days he did so. Of course most of the time it was done alone. “As for in the village, there’s quite a few things that opened recently, especially for this year’s Chuunin Exams, like the Golden Horn Casino. Mt. Ikkyu has quite a bit to offer as well. Other than that, it’s probably the same as most other villages, restaurants, souvenir shops, and other stores.” Haruo offered other suggestion, for he figured that Reiko wouldn’t wish to hike up a mountain, especially when she was practically drained of chakra and it was getting a bit late. The sound of countless people upon the streets grew louder and they could easily begin to see civilization in the near distance.

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His eyes travelled upwards, noticing the light of the sun, clouds drifting aimlessly, and birds chirping about. Truly, the peace and tranquility of just being alone had been far soothing earlier, but being in the company of a friendly individual was always a welcome change, for Haruo rarely found the opportunity to be around other people. This wasn’t to say he had trouble getting along with people, but rather his shy nature had always made it difficult for him to begin interacting with another person. Such was that today had made it near impossible for him to avoid interacting with Reiko on this particular day. After having been able to cushion there fall, it would’ve been rude of him to simply ignore Reiko entirely, thus there downward adventure had led Haruo begin speaking with her, as it was simply polite to know if she was fine in terms of her health. The slight notion that he could’ve easily prevented both of them from falling was off-putting to Haruo, but the fact that neither had received any injuries alleviated that idea from his mind.

Haruo adjusted the gourd on his back, for he still hadn’t entirely grown used to carrying it around with him on a daily basis. Of course, given his transition from a civilian to a shinobi recently, he had never had to carry one around with him before his promise to himself, to try the shinobi life; one that he was currently failing at since he had done nothing that related to being a shinobi as of late. The last time he had done so was back when he was in the academy, and that in itself was required of him to graduate. Sometimes, he wondered why he went from graduating the academy to doing what he had, only to decide upon becoming a shinobi once more.

His mother’s face appeared in his mind, reminding Haruo of the promise he had made to her earlier in the day. A promise that entailed picking up a few things at the market before dinner, and considering that his mother need time to prepare dinner, a slight look of horror appeared upon his softer features. “Ah, sorry Reiko-san, I have to leave. I forgot about the promise I made to my mother. I hope I can run in to you again sometime… I mean… not that I would like another adventure to the ravine… not that I wouldn’t like to be in your company. Aaah… what I’m trying to say is I wouldn’t mind showing you around the village if we meet each other again.” As he was fumbling over his words, Haruo’s eyes directed in the path to the market. With a wave of his hand to indicate a farewell, Haruo took off, hoping that he had made a friend today.

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Training:

It seemed to her that they had a conflicting idea of what the most 'odd' area would be. To her, even with not having been in Konoha for a few weeks, trees were still an essential part of comfortable living. They provided so many things - shelter, oxygen, fruit (at times), and wood. An area with more mountains than trees almost seemed like an area low on resources.

Following his question on the visibility of the sun, she nodded, a content smile creeping onto her face. "Not from the ground," she replied with a small shrug. "But considering you're a shinobi, it's not all that hard to climb up. Then it's just a matter of finding a branch with a good view of the sky." Somehow, he seemed a bit put off after mentioning that he liked to cloud watch. Did he see that as a weird activity? Did he think that possibly she would think it strange? Wanting to put him at ease, she lifted her arms, waving them back in forth in what she hoped was an accepting gesture. "My father used to like to cloud watch as well when he was younger. He told me about it from time to time. He even showed me a good tree to watch the sky from, I've just never gotten around to using it, myself." Hoping that was comforting enough, she fell silent, interested in the aspects of Kumo from the moment he began to illustrate them. Hiking sounded nice to her, though the idea of walking up a mountain alone seemed more than a bit lonely. Plus, she was tired... almost exhaustingly so, even the sound of her feet crunching on the ground below was beginning to become a bit calming. As for his other suggestions, it amused her that he mentioned Mt. Ikkyu, especially considering she was set to go there in only a few days. Though, if he was giving her that very location as a suggestion, she could assume her trip would be well worth it in the end.  

She did not expect their walk to be inturrupted so soon, and with an errand such as the one he'd suggested. Was it all that easy to forget a thing such as food? Though, she couldn't complain, much of her childhood - and teenage years, in fact - she'd had her meals cooked for her. So she made no argument as he picked up and made his way off, simply waving a return to his farewell. She made no attempt to speak; he was far off by the time she could have had a sentence ready anyway. Now left alone, she sighed, going back to using the lights of the village as a guide to get back to Kumo. Then, she hoped it would only be a short trip to the hotel.

She was so tired.