A large cloud of dust rose from the ground, and seemingly was racing towards Sunagakure no Sato. Those around the city were alerted to seal their windows and follow normal protocol.

And now, for something completely different.

It was not a storm of sand or dust, and no haboobs in sight. No, this profusion of confusion and tumult was caused merely by a singular young man. A young man that happened to run too fast for the guard to catch his identity from their distance. After a few, lower-paced laps around the compressed-sand building (it was the most like rock one could have here, seemingly), he thought it was enough. Thus, he waited for the one that followed him - was he followed? he wasn't sure - to tail. At least, he thought he heard steps and running behind him. For now, Taede was panting, and was covered in sweat from his very, very thorough exertion.

Entering the spring...was like leaving Suna. It was completely different from any other environment in the village or anywhere in the Land of Wind. It wasn't humid, not arid either....and it was - Temperate? It was a bit of a sensory overload (confusion, perhaps?) to feel something so contradictory to what he ws used to. He got a shiver from seeing this new sight; his curiosity kicked in, a bit. The young one wondered what the rest of the place would be like, if he was so excited by this part; he'd been to other onsen before, of course, but none quite struck him like this.

Taede walked up to the secretary's counter, his hands behind his back, fully extended and cradling each other a bit precariously. As he posed his query, he rocked back and forth on his heels and toes; not noticing, it gave him a bit of a kiddish look. If he had taken any attention to it, he probably would have ceased immediately - he hated looking juvenile, in mannerism or otherwise.

"Hello....I'd like to ask, do you launder at all?"

"We do, sir. There's another basket in the changing room, if you would like to use this service it'll take at least 45 minutes; you will use the red one instead of the wicker. You pay after you're finished, so please enjoy."

The young man thought it nice that the receptionist was courteous enough to inform them....though a pleasant demeanour got you places, he supposed. Places that power didn't. Taede looked back one more time to make sure whether or not he had a companion, and then proceeded past the desk, through the curtain-doorway below the sign that depicted 男 (Dan - Men's). He slipped on a sock after entering the men's changing rooms, and luckily broke his fall, as if he was on the low end of a push-up. He sprung back up, and did a small stretch. The young man looked back, yet again, to check if he was being accompanied or not. Yes or no....?

With each look back he gave, if he was with the company he thought, Taede gave a short nod, a faint smile.

[535]

Akarui continued to smile the best he could as he ran with Taede through the village. Even as he seemed to be getting dirtier and dirtier from the dust cloud, he could not help but feel a bit of exhilaration from the activity and company. Around and around they went, but even as he exerted all his energy and his body became more and more sore, Akarui could not seem to catch up to Taede. Gritting his teeth in some sort of internal grin, he reveled in this new found friendly competition. Someday he would catch up with him.

Soon enough they came upon the spring. Even as he felt the change in atmosphere, Akarui did little to react to it. It was quite rare for the young shinobi to run to his limit like this, and he simultaneously felt broken and incredible. Huffing and even wheezing, he leaned forward onto his knees and slowly began to catch his breath. Perhaps he needed more of this kind of training in his regimen. It had certainly tired him out, and that was quite something. At least he was not completely ignoring his cardio any longer.

Now starting to feel better about himself, and his body slowly returning to normalcy but for soreness, he lifted his head up, only for his view to be met by the odd antics of Taede. Akarui chuckled to himself as he watched his boyish body language intently. There was something both amusing and embarrassing that a man like Taede, who acted so odd and lighthearted all the time, was so easily able to beat Akarui in nearly every feat of strength and speed. Perhaps looks really weren't everything. Akarui chuckled as he meandered up next to Taede, offering a smirk as he began speaking to the receptionist.

Honestly, he was a bit miffed that clothes washing would cost extra. It seemed like such a basic service that it really should not be given its own price. Akarui would almost be less insulted if it were built into the price of the standard spring visit. Even so, he didn't hesitate as he followed Taede into the changing room. Merely a few steps behind he walked. Soon enough, Taede took a tumble, and Akariu giggled, leaning down and beginning to offer a hand to help him up, but Taede was already on the ball, and he sprung back up right into Akarui's nose. Akarui let out naught but a slight sigh as he grasped his nose, standing back up straight. Even as things seemed to be going south again, he still offered a smirk to Taede.


448

They were already having a great time at the onsen. They being he and Akarui, since Taede knew exactly what he hit. It was a bit of an oddity, this immediate recognition, but then again, this Genin was all about the details. Even if they weren't always the most important details, like the dimensions of a certain person's particularly pointed nose. It sunk into the back of his neck akin to a knife, a bit to the left of his spinal cord (thank-fully). A sharp intake of air was all that escaped from Taede due this chance strike; he only hoped that he hadn't harmed Akarui.

When he looked back just for the latest time, he saw that the Akarui was only lightly injured, as he gave a small smirk before letting go of his nose....eventually. The brunette had a look of shock initially, but as he saw the clash amounted to little, he shrugged it off. However, he wasn't sure if it was alright to not say anything throughout this entire time. A little experiment, he'd have, then: how long could he go without saying anything but still communicating?

He walked up to the wall filled with cubicles, and chose the one closest to the wall on its right, which contained the door to the springs. He gave out a mighty, inaudible yawn as he stretched. He made sure he didn't lose his acquaintance with another double-take. Then, Taede made sure there were red baskets here to put on the floor. (There weren't, so he ran quickly to an upturned stack and got them some.) He didn't bother replacing the wicker ones with these, since they were supposed to be on the floor anyhow.....

The Koizumi lad had disrobed in a flash, his clothes folded in his basket before one could think to blink. Whether this was a full-scale exaggeration or not depended on the onlooker's senses and sight only. After making a glance at his acquaintance, Taede then proceeded to the entrance to the spring itself. He peeked through the curtain over to the area of the springs with faucets and buckets. It was, after all, bad form to get into the springs themselves if you were dirty. Almost as if by habit by this point, he faced back towards Akarui again to make sure he didn't get left behind in the changing room.

Taede walked into the more humid air, towards the faucets and washing area, a singular wall littered with move-able benches. The young man gave an extended vertical stretch, even getting on tiptoe for a bit in order to accomplish it. He liked that there weren't too many (were there any?) people here at this time of day; a quiet time after an eventful set of hours. Simply....perfect.

[480]

Akarui chuckled to himself, continuing into the changing room without a word. It was something of an embarrassing situation but he was glad that the two of them could just move along without poking too much fun about it. While Akarui had not been to a hot spring in quite some time, he felt he still knew what he had to do to get ready.

As he slipped off his tank top, he frowned, noticing something had gone terribly wrong. With all their running through the city and the desert, especially with Akarui trailing behind Taede's dust cloud for most of the time, the red head had acquired some ugly dust lines on his shoulders. He sighed, shrugging as he placed his muddy and dusty clothes into the wash basket, and with a shrug followed Taede into the cleaning room. It was quite the embarrassing look in Akarui's mind, but it was at least less permanent than tan lines of the same variety. Even if he had somehow acquired the same ugly tan lines under this dust, he assumed a couple of days of training without a shirt would correct his vain physical worries.


Akarui thought to himself, looking around to make sure he had done what he needed to. Soon Taede retrieved some and Akarui offered him a friendly smile, moving his clothes into the correct basket. It would have been no good to return to smelly, dirty clothes after an evening of relaxation. Not wanting to drag things behind, Akarui jogged into the cleaning room. Racing past Taede, and wincing as he worried about slipping on the slippery ground but not enough to move slowly, he slid onto a bench and prepared to wash up. Slowly now he began to fill a bucket with hot water, and with a frown he remembered that he did not get a towel; he wet his hand in the water and began scrubbing his crusty, dusty, dirty arms and legs.

335 + 448 = 783

Bathing was an automatic thing for Taede. His mind was....serenely, oddly blank and empty at this very moment; no mental effort went into this chore, however much caked with sand and silt he was. It formed a very odd lather with the water, which he rinsed away promptly using a bucket he prepared just for this purpose. It was rather piping-hot water, so he had let it sit for a couple of moments while he washed before pouring (dumping) the contents on himself, washing away all of the impurities that lay on his skin. He flipped his hair up, and a cloud moved itself from blocking the skylight at that very moment; Taede didn't notice, but one could see a sparkle of water droplets certainly scattered around his person. With his hair almost comically slicked back, he opened his eyes and proceeded to scrub his legs....which by far were the most soiled with dirt of all his body parts. After all, if he recalled....

Some thicker mud had arrived, and it had seemed that Akarui's shoes had come off. Taede managed to hook his fingers in the shoes, and hung onto them as he was dragged on his bottom to who-knows where.

Yes, that's right....that's how I got all dirty, really....This is really ground-in though. How do I....?

Genius struck the young man at that moment. He had just the thing for this. While it usually would require two people, he should have been able to avail this jutsu just as well....

"Hajikajō...! DRAGON TWISTER!"

Taede leapt from his small stool in a torpedo-like fashion; he was parallel to the ground, at least 1 meter off of it in midair. He had effected a small spin in his kickoff as well; then, after what seemed like a small eternity at least to him, he used his own body weight to impact himself (back-first, that was the dirtiest) into the durable sandstone floor. Thankfully it didn't yield to him by cracking (fines? no thanks), and thankfully his bones did not crack either.  It was certainly a way to...complete his training, one could say. Nothing like body-toughening....

At any rate, the high-velocity impact loosened the dirt; after he hit the ground, he bounced back up still in his torpedo-formation, and used his Wind Release nature transformation to its fullest potential. On his rebound, he spun at about 6 revolutions per second, a rather un-followable rotation.

Only a few seconds did he spend in the air, flinging off the dirt from himself with pure centrifugal force.

Another bucket of water perfectly laved him off in full. He didn't much notice the bruising that was starting to become apparent on the back of his thighs and lower lumbar area. "Eh? Are you done yet?"

[480]

Akarui sighed as he scrubbed the grime from his body. The red head's eyes closed as he attempted to relax, mud and dirt slowly but surely releasing from his skin. He had been somewhat hesitant to go to the hot springs today, especially making such a fool of himself earlier. But there was really nothing like a good scrubbing in warm water to wash away all the over analysis and regret of the day. For a few moments Akarui was at peace, and a slight smile crossed his face as he began to relax. Soon enough, however, that peace was interrupted by his acquaintance Taede.

"Hajikajō...! DRAGON TWISTER!"

The red head's hair flipped around, whipping water droplets across the rooms. Akarui's eyes snapped open as he spun around on the stool, the momentum nearly sending him flying onto the ground. He had almost expected the hot springs to be under attack by rogue ninja, or perhaps the Tsuchikage had sent an invasion force to their quaint desert village. Either possibility seeming probable to him at the moment, a rush of adrenaline pulsed through Akarui and his arms tensed. Instinctively he reached behind his back for his blade, forgetting that he was in the nude. Fortunately for the village, the adrenaline rush soon turned to disappointment and frustration as Akarui saw that Taede had simply spun around in the air and landed himself on the ground for what seemed to him to be the deepest dearth of reason he had ever seen.

With a sigh Akarui placed his hands on his knees, leaning forward on the stool and looking at Taede with the dreaded tilted head and half-closed eyes of disappointment. "Did you slip, Taede? They really should put a slippery when wet sign in here, hmn?" At first he had expected himself to lash out in anger, and really in his mind he was cursing Taede out for making such a ruckus. But deep down Akarui wished to have a evening of relaxation in the hot springs, and let all the tension leave him. It would do him no good to focus on this single act of strangeness and risk popping a blood vessel. Yes, yes. He would relax this evening, even in spite of his odd company.

His heart still beating uncomfortably powerfully and his washing mood entirely ruined, Akarui simply took his entire bucket of warm water and poured it over his head, going back to scrubbing for a few moments. He still did not want to enter the hot springs dirty after all. "I'll just be a minute, Taede. Feel free to start without me." He spoke in a lighthearted voice now. He did not like to be mean or rude, and really, he had no right to be angry with Taede after what he had done earlier today. The evening was not ruined after all. Not yet at least. Once again he began humming to himself, more violently scrubbing his arms and legs now in order to get the dirt off more easily. He had always though humming to himself calmed him down, but now he was noticing it might simply be a way for him to deal with the awkwardness.

After less than a minute of less than ideal scrubbing, Akarui was stand up, walking over towards Taede with a genuine smile and closed eyes. Being friendly to him was simply part of being decent, at least with those he knew the names of. "So, where do we go from here? You seem to know your way around. I've not even been here before." While he was attempting to make friendly conversation and change the subject, it was a true statement. Akarui had never been to the Sunagakure hot springs before. He did not even know what they looked like. He had imagined a few different situations during his time here of course. Perhaps they were some hidden oasis, or maybe they were a hidden underground river. On the other hand, maybe there was no water at all and it was just hot sad meant to give the same experience. Or perhaps they were simply dirty, rarely cleaned pools of standing luke warm water. He shuddered at the thought. Then again, Akarui trusted Taede. He knew, or at least desperately hoped, that he would not take him anywhere disgusting or overly disappointing.

733 + 783 = 1516

Taede was almost, almost worried. Akarui seemed a bit....tense. Did I....overdo it? I hope I didn't startle him or anything.

"Did you slip, Taede? They really should put a slippery when wet sign in here, hmn?"

The young man paused for a moment, standing with his arms crossed, one hand stroking what would have been a beard....if he had one. It was another one of those blank times....he often thought about his childhood, and a strange feeling that came over him when he thought about the past. It was often that he put these times out of his mind, as it often gave him head pangs when he did. He blinked his eyes open as Akarui spake at him again.

"I'll just be a minute, Taede. Feel free to start without me."

With an indifferent shrug, Taede responded promptly but not rushedly; he was quite comfortable at the moment, and not in a hurry to complete anything, even his sentences.

He waited with no degree of outwardly measurable patient, being more absentminded than focused on waiting for his acquaintance. He faintly bobbed his head, faintly recalling a melody he heard earlier during the day, in the morning when he had trudged over to the Tsumi Sand Training Grounds on handstand. He had walked past more than a few buildings in Sunagakure no Sato before reaching the village gate, so he wasn't quite sure who had played it.

As the Kōga stood from his bench, so did the Koizumi. He felt a bit querical on the subject of how his acquaintance was acting so friendly all of a sudden, but perhaps it was just that this atmosphere was so relaxed. He, after all, had helped Akarui quite a bit back at the Training Grounds. Healing him not once but twice was quite the thing to be amicable about, now that he thought about it.

Taede stretched vertically more than a bit as he stood. His muscles were....to say the least, quite sore from the vigorous training he put himself through. It was his only goal to improve from here on out.... If not for himself, but to protect. It was pretty much his modus operandi; to protect was all he needed to do as a shinobi. Even if restraint in killing first proved to be a problem down the road, he could be held accountable for that.

But for now, he could just suffice on resting away his sore muscles. He really didn't notice how much his training was affecting him, probably due to his slight lack of self-esteem. He was a rather modest guy when he wasn't performing any number of his antics; he often forgot about everything else when such whimsy appeared in his head.

"So, where do we go from here? You seem to know your way around. I've not even been here before."

Taede walked backwards (it was a good mix-up of exercise from walking forwards) as he said this to Akarui, entering the door and holding it with one foot for his acquaintance.

The corridors weren't expansive, but they were slightly better-lit than the wash-room due to the slightly constricted quarters. Taede closed his eyes and muttered to himself for only a second or two, almost drawing in the air. "The second right, then straight two intersections, then....door on the left." After his short mid-step pause, Taede opened his eyes and started walking again. He was a bit frustrated that a Bukijutsu user like Akarui had more muscle definition than him, at least in the arms. It was a bit of a superficial thing, really, but Taede wasn't the most-rooted in his self-confidence. He looked at Akarui straight-on. He started his sentence with a typical upbeat, complimenting tone: "Nice, uh...

The words slipped from his mouth; his 'uh' dragged on. He forgot what he was even going to say; a second ago, he was going to turn his slight jealousy into a compliment, but....now he couldn't find his speech. His eyes darted around his field of vision quickly to find what was even the target of his original compliment. A silence permeated the corridors; hopefully not terrible (as imagined). However, thankfully after two or three seconds they had reached their destination.
So very much saved; if that had dragged on....whew. It might have been disastrous. Hopefully it wouldn't be brought up again. Hopefully not.

Taede stepped into the most shallow part of the springs; the room was lit via a multi-chamber skylight, so the light came through but not the heat. It was quite an ingenious construction, and the sand seemed to filter out the water's impurities rather than add to them. The water was absolutely crystal-clear even in the deepest end, and the steam hit his face refreshingly the instant he had walked into the spring before. This was relaxation.

His legs sank below the surface as he stepped a little deeper; now about six inches above his knees. It was rather hot, and he needed to get acclimated. The heat actually gave him shivers; he eventually, after a process of about a whole minute , got his shoulders under the surface. There were small, flat croppings of rock that jutted up from the bottom; perfect platforms to sit upon. Perfection.

[1005]

When Akarui opened his eyes he was a little dismayed to see that Taede was merely stretching. With a slight frown across his face, the idea that he had bored his acquaintance crossed his mind. Had he taken too long washing up? Had he perhaps been too cold when he reacted to Taede's odd cleaning habits? Quietly he shifted his attention from the reasoning to Taede's stretching himself. Eyes captured by curiosity, Akarui observed how red and sore the other shinobi's shoulders were. For a moment he lamented his own lack of commitment to physical improvement, at least in comparison to Taede. Perhaps some day he would train so thoroughly that his shoulders would become sore and he would need to stretch. It was a mite better than yawning in boredom at least. After a few moments, however, a new fear struck Akarui and his eyes widened considerably; he had been staring at Taede this entire time after all. Looking away quickly and blushing a little bit, the red haired shinobi brought a fight to his face and coughed into it. Perhaps it would have been better for Akarui to remain cold and unfeeling. He was starting to lament the fact that he was not following his clan teachings very closely at the moment.

Still looking away awkwardly, Akarui followed Taede down the hallway. His initial attempt at ignoring the other shinobi, however, were quickly foiled as he could not help but notice how Taede was walking backwards the whole way, looking at him. This, of course, led Akarui to look Taede in the face with a curiously amused but also quite weirded out expression which showcased both a slight smirk and the furrowed brow belonging to a man questioning things on an existential level. Soon enough, Akarui had a real reason to be examine himself.


The red head's eyebrow twitched as Taede failed to complete his sentence. Akarui's eyes widened as Taede's flicked around as though he was attempting not to look at something. It would have been fine if he had said something, nearly anything at all probably. Akarui was certain Taede would not have said anything crude if he were to say anything at all, but the fact that he had said nothing opened up the possibility of the worst possible scenario - or at least the most awkward one. Bringing his hand to his mouth once again he coughed to himself. What was he talking about? Certainly it was nothing rude or physical. Then again, what else could it be that he had waited until they were in a bath house together to say it? Thoughts fluttered through his mind as Akarui became more and more light headed, his face turning flushed as he attempted to think of something else. Finally, Akarui turned around and began to walk backwards as Taede was, his back turned tot he other shinobi. Closing his eyes and breathing a silent sigh of relief, Akarui calmed himself knowing that his face was no longer in view of Taede. Perhaps it would be better to let this go and think of it no longer. Or, perhaps, it would be less awkward to ask what he meant when he was not as exposed as he was. The remainder of the walk was in total silence.

Once they reached the baths, Akarui was still blocking out Taede's words and waded straight in. At first his eyes were wide as he was still a bit scarred from the previous conversation, but as he slowly sank into the warm waters his stress began to melt, and a smirk crossed his face. This was totally and completely worth it. As he entered bath he eventually found a seat somewhat nearby to where Taede had decided to rest. He wanted to be near enough not to alienate him and be friendly, but not so close that things would be awkward. He did not follow procedure nearly as closely as Taede however, and the heat quickly started to become uncomfortable. Perhaps entering the bath more slowly would have been a better plan. Akarui sighed to himself. There was no going back now. He would just have to sit through it until he became comfortable with the temperature.

"So uhm... Taede." Akarui resisted the horrible itch to scratch his hair. It would be no good to let his hair ruin the bath. "Have you heard any rumors about the chunnin exams? We have not had one for a little while it seems."

760 + 1516 = 2276

With The Koizumi was blissfully blunt and unaware of the air that was in this room at the moment. (Not the actual gaseous air, but the simple feeling that permeated the area.) It fluctuated in its intensity, but to those other than the completely oblivious entity that was Taede, it was a heavy aura that weighted itself upon nigh everything that could feel it. The young man, currently soaking only up to abdomen-height, was simply enjoying himself at the moment. There was little else to do here, after all; the hot springs were a place that was intended only for relaxation, for one to allow one's worries and aches to melt away.

But, worries he gained in here, even as he lost the ones from out-side the hot-springs. The onsen had helped him to brush off his daily stresses, but a new threat had arisen from within his own mind. He had forgotten what he had said before....It was a devastating thing in his personal opinion, not that he was unoccupied enough to form any coherent one at the moment. His thoughts were a simple flurry of things bouncing around the vacant space of his rather thick skull.

He was now unconsciously doing what he was doing before, and, though he wasn't aware of it at either occurrence, he began looking about Akarui's person again. He really had to rein in those tendencies....once he learned that he was even doing them, at least. His eyes, without him really noticing, began darting around again. Not really frantically, more halfway between absentmindedly and intentedly. He most certainly would have given a sigh at himself if he had known what he was doing.

"So, uhm.... Taede. Have you heard any rumors about the chunnin exams? We have not had one for a little while it seems."

The dirty blonde pursed his lips, if only momentarily, in earnest thought. He had already been informed of this, it just took him a little bit to access some of the thoughts that weren't at the fore-front of his mind and focus.


As he chuckled to himself, Taede flexed his arm almost comically, revealing a bicep that probably he himself wouldn't have imagined he could achieve. It wasn't anything special, but it was perhaps out-of-place to see on this young man, whose frame usually looked lithe at best; anything but muscular under his normally airy and loose civilian clothing.

He sighed and let even the worries that had formed themselves inside his mind and the spring melt away. This was the only way his aches from his training would slip from him.....and he knew that was good. The more that his soreness disappeared, the more he could be certain that his training was mending. The muscles tear slightly upon straining, and mend stronger than before if allowed.

The Exams were only a short time away. There was little time to waste, now, getting to Kumogakure. And, who knew how long it would take to get there. Perhaps I need to stop relaxing as much as I think I ought. He sometimes wondered if enjoying one's time in this world wasn't the fore-most thing to accomplish in life. He knew. He knew this answer, always.

[630]

The red haired man squirmmed uncomfortably in his seat, both in part due to the intense heat of the water and the odd way which Taede eyed him and everything else in the room. There really was nothing Akarui could compare it to. Once again, Akarui simply did his best to look down and away, as though he simply did not notice Taede eyeing him. Thankfully, his comment about the chuunin exams seemed to have broken the awkward barrier. There was something comforting to Akarui about Taede going into deep thought and pursing his lips. It was more comfortable than being eyed up, at least.

"Leaving the village?" Akarui almost frowned for a moment as though he were going to be losing something, but as quickly as it came, it was gone, and replaced by an encouraging smile. "Oh, you're participating? That explains all the training. Sorry for distracting you at such a crucial time." Akarui chuckled to himself, both out of embarrassment and lament at having actually done such a thing and secondarily to show that he was trying not to treat it so seriously. Soon enough though, the awkward was back, as Taede started flexing. This time, however, Akarui did his best to smile and go with the flow, chuckling as though he were making a joke. "Quite the arm, by the way! Hey, maybe you don't need to do any more training!"

Akarui offered a wide grin to Taede, flexing his own arms stereotypically in response, as though he were some sailor man who liked spinach. He was starting to warm up to Taede, despite how strange he was, much like he was getting used to the scalding hot water he was now enjoying. With a sigh, the read head's inhibitions melted and he relaxed in his entirety, his body slowly sinking into the water as he closed his eyes, a smile on his face. Yes, this was definitely worth it. A new friend, a warm bath, and smile, all at the cost of a little awkward. He even got to show off his lackluster muscles a little and look at Taede's. Not a bad day at all. Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind, and he sat up once more, eyes flicking over to Taede.

"Do you think I should go to Kumo as well? You know, just to cheer you on in the exams? A little team spirit never hurt anybody, did it?" Akarui's golden hazel eyes looked to Taede innocently, a blank and sincere expression on his face. He really did want to know what Taede thought about him being in Kumo. They might even hang out if they wanted. But really, he did not think there would be much point if Taede did not want him there. An odd and condeluded set of circumstances had brought Akarui from the training grounds to the condo, to the baths, and might take him to Kumo.

494 + 2276 = 2770

"Leaving the village...? Oh, you're participating? That explains all the training. Sorry for distracting you at such a crucial time."

He was a-bout to raise an eyebrow, but got the gist of the though and shook his head in an amicable denial.

"Quite the arm, by the way! Hey, maybe you don't need to do any more training!"

The room began to spin a little bit, suddenly and slightly oddly; Taede noticed this, at least, only when he opened his eyes after soaking for a small bit. His sense of balance, the equilibrium in his inner ear, was getting to him....he wondered if his Coiled Dragon Unwinding Flip technique from before had left him woozy as an after-effect and it was only taking effect now. At any rate....before he had closed his eyes, he had seen Akarui making a caricature-ish pose mimicking his own. He probably would have chuckled at the sight if he wasn't on the verge of nausea. Focusing inward, the young man began to control his inner chakra flow with a notable steady exhalation of air. He was beginning to feel better already....even his weak Kesu no Jutsu was enough to soothe his acute dizziness. After treating the small affliction, however, he thought to just heal his entire body at once. There was no outward glow, no sign at all betraying the fact that Taede, even while he was soaking and relaxing in the hot spring, was utilizing Medical Ninjutsu on himself. It was a feat, usually, to perform this particularly difficult sect of healing techniques without hand seals, but his was so impotent that it only required a small bit of his concentration. It was often that he just sectioned off a bit of his mind to accomplish such a wile during other activities....or the lack thereof, as seen in the current situation.

"Do you think I should go to Kumo as well? You know, just to cheer you on in the exams? A little team spirit never hurt anybody, did it?"

He pursed his lips again in thought as he look'd up slightly and put a single index finger to his lower lip, giving a rather childish look about himself again.


The dirty blonde simply sat in the springs, his body eventually sinking below the surface; only the part of his face from the nose up was above water-level, and his eyes were closed in a small bliss. Taede, at least, sat for about 20 more minutes from the current point in time. He still had some work to do this day, but he felt leagues better than before (at least at this point) even while he was still soaking. There was nothing quite like it, this tiny pocket of naught but good feelings. These springs were a place of natural magic, he thought. Then again, he thought many things had a bit of natural magic to them; even the desert in which he lived and frequently trekked through.

Once his time was up, though, Taede knew he had to get going. There was still a bit of labor he had to do for his family; just a bit of support for the house-hold, was all. He didn't much mind it, since his parents were getting on in years. However much he didn't recall his childhood....he had to be grateful for them, eh? Something must have gone right in their raising of him if he turned out as good-nature'd as he was, discounting any number of his quirks.

He did a slight kick-off from the bottom of the spring, and immediately got to knee-height water. He turned to face Akarui, be he still sitting or having followed him up the slight incline/slope. He spoke rather softly this time so as not to disturb the peace, at all


293+360+405 words to train a stat from D-0 to D-3; 1058 words, in essence. 4540-(1058*3->3174) = 1366 leftover, trained Strength+Speed+Perception.

675/1366, trained a D-rank Natural Armor.

675/691, trained a D-rank technique (Kaizure).