Mt. Ikkyu resort, the place where Maigo and his fellow Kirigakure shinobi, and everyone else in Kumogakure, were staying for the Chuunin exams. Set up as a place to rest and relax before the exams begin it seemed many people were ignoring that advice and going out and training or watching others train and getting a feel for the competition. Also a good idea, it is never a bad thing to be too prepared, but it is also something that Maigo would never voluntarily do, at least not anymore than he had to. No instead Maigo planned to spend the day, at least the early afternoon hanging out in the hot springs that they had near the resort. It was a luxury only artificially created in Kirigakure, but being on a mountain and having a natural hot spring was a rare treat and not something that occurred naturally in his native homeland. Setting his sights early after breakfast and convening with his squad and making sure there was nothing needed for the day he set out towards them. Entering a small building with a front desk and a few people leaving, passing Maigo by without a glance. He headed towards the back and entered the changing room for the guys, splitting off from the women into two separate sides, a slight disappoint for Maigo, who hoped he might get to flirt a little bit but he put those thoughts aside as he entered the changing room.

Wooden floors surrounded him and wood cupboards everywhere to place your things in, he found one in thee corner and begin to change, grabbing one of the towels and placing his stuff in the slot. One other guy in the room at the time, grabbing his things and getting ready to leave, he payed little to no attention to him as he undressed and wrapped himself in a towel. Before he knew it he turned around and he was the only one there, it was kinda chilling being the only one in the hot-springs at the moment. Of course, he couldn't say the same for the women as it sounded like several of them were over the fence, he ignored it as he threw his towel on one of the rocks near the water and walked in. The hot water began to sear on his skin as he entered, with each step more water rose over him, burning at first but quickly turning into a very relaxing heat.

As he submerged himself in the water he rose up, his hair and face wet, he rubbed the water out of his eyes. Floating towards the edge his put his arms up on the edges of the water, holding himself up at his elbows he sank into the water. Letting his chin rest just on the surface of the water he leaned back and let his head rest behind him, It's nice to have the hot-springs to myself for the moment but these are fairly social places so where's everyone at? he thought to himself as he closed his eyes for a moment. Maigo planned on enjoying the quite and relaxation of the hot-springs but hoped that someone was coming along to keep him company, at least come along at some point.

[552 words]

The Genin sat in solitude for the longest time. But what were prune when they would fade soon after? Just like everything else in the ephemeral world they seemed to live in. They, the ninja of the Five Great Nations and beyond.
He was rather lonely, here in Kumo-gakure no Sato. The Hidden Cloud wasn't un-friendly, per se, but Taede had a way of messing things up for himself. Awkward, that was the word that often popped up, whether in his own head or (much more likely) in the heads of those he associated with. It ended up being kind of a shame, since Taede enjoyed the company of others, and enjoyed even more the process of making a friend. He wondered how he knew he did, but it was long, ponderous pauses like this that gave him such chances to think on it.

And think he did. It was a long train of notions, and he often got lost in it.....this was not a good time, at all.
But he wasn't focusing on his external surroundings, right now; he was more introverted right now. Yes, reflecting on what he could have done differently those times...what a fool he was, he mused to himself. Yes, as he was caressed by the warmth....the warmth of-f-f-f-


This un-ceremonious sound game from the uninhabited south side of the prestigious spring at Mt. Ikkyu. Yes, Taede had managed to sink below the surface. He wasn't even sure how long he had gone without breathing. Or had he only just submerged and gotten himself drowned a tad? Either way....a much less subtle splash came from the otherwise un-upset stillness that was the boundary of water and air. And who better to ruin it than he, the one that wanted nothing more than the peace and balance. His chest....it was burning. Odd, then, that the young man wasn't panting as much as he thought he should have been. What with running out of breath, and all.

His eyes still closed, he let his breath return to some semblance of normalcy before he cracked them to see the changes that had occurred in his absence from the air. There...was no one. Well, one one, now that he got a better look around, and the spring water that plagued his eyes from above in his bangs had dissipated.

Yes, one....rather unorthodox-looking one. But, that was probably inaccurate. Nothing was truly orthodox, or even normal in a shinobi world. Longer-than-normal hair certainly wasn't the most out-of-place thing he'd seen since he'd returned from Genbu. That island turtle....something else wasn't quite adequate to describe it, and all the creatures that called it their home. Certainly nothing he couldn't deal with both physically and mentally - he wouldn't still be in the Cloud were it not the case - but not fun. Being a ninja was not....fun. Pleasurable. Nice.

After a few clicks of the tongue, only a whistle was emitted from Taede; a pedantic, meandering tune that almost sounded silken, the spring having apparently smoothed or moistened his lips. At the held notes, he attempted his best at a vibrato. A volley of chirps came out from the darkened sky, a Dhalsim singing along with his care-taker. Yes, this sort of harmony took his mind off of the pain that had enveloped him before and even at the current moment. It was a blessing, music.

The friendly bird came to rest on the rock from its gliding position above, next to the nameless person with which he silently shared this spacious spring.


Taede's mouth could only drop open as Dhalsim jabbed at the ground, leading only to this dark-haired person's head; three inches back from the ear, one inch down.

It's over. If I don't do something, it's over.

He....what would the word be here? Scooted? Scrambled?

His movements were bordering on frantic, as he was panicked. He furrowed his brow and flicked a bit of water at Dhalsim's tail, the furthest part from this person's head. Taede turned to him, and seemingly was about to say something, mouth slightly open; the would-be speaker thought so too. It turned out to be a sigh only.

[737]

Maigo sat for a moment sprawled out in the spring, his legs spread out and letting the heat take him over. It was a glorious feeling, it had been some time since he had the chance to relax so freely, since before he arrived in Kumogakure no Sato. The free time was wonderful as he slowly let him mind slip away, he would almost fall asleep in the moment he first sat there. Less than a moment after he closed his eyes and had sunken into his own skin, a shift in the water could be felt, coming from the other end of the spring. Followed shortly by the disturbance of bubbles on the surface, like something had run out of air underneath the water. Maigo opened one eye and looked towards it at the shift, but both shot open and he sat up slightly as the bubbles came forth. Slightly intrigued as to what was going on he leaned in slightly, trying to look below the surface but the evaporation blurred his vision. Shot up before he could do much more, a boy emerged from the water, unaware of his surroundings, Maigo slide backwards back to the wall. Only this time, he had brought his legs to himself and was pushed against the wall as if it were crowded in the spring.

As the boy brought himself together and opened his eyes, he would find Maigo watching him, waiting to see what was going on. A look of confusion on his face as the boy would gather himself and study him over. For a moment, both boys would be sitting there, quiet and studying each other over. He seemed quite older than Maigo, by a few years, and much calmer and then he whistled! Maigo tilted his head and squinted his eyebrows wondering what he was doing, and then the sound of chirps followed. He wondered what game he was playing as the dark haired man sat there, his green eyes still gathering his surroundings and continued to whistle his tune away. A bird came to rest on the rock behind Maigo's shoulder, he turned his head slightly to look at the small bird, debating shooing it away and going back to the guy who suddenly appeared.

As he turned and saw the bird, only from the corner of his eye, he heard stirring from the boy, turning his head back quickly. Water shot past his face as he turned back, like the boy had flicked water at him. His eyes widened as he waited for him to say something, his appearance gave the look that he was about to. But all that came forth was a sigh, confused as all imagination Maigo scratched his head and looked at him for a moment. Okay, let's try this again. he said as he rubbed his eyes and face and then looked back at him, First off, how long were you under there and who are you? his voice gave off an interesting tone. A bit of frustration, some concern, and a whole lot of confusion as he started to try to piece together what was happening. And why did you flick water at me? he smiled and started to laugh at his last sentence. The idea of splashing a stranger in a hot spring he found funny, he would probably fully laugh if it were more appropriate.

[569 words, 1121 words total]