Deep within the confides of a famous barbeque shop stood an olive skinned figure clad in all grey water splash designer's short-sleeve, and a pair of brown Shinobi sandals which complemented his brown knee-length cotton pants. He had dropped with the shop keeper a few Ryo as payment for his meal and now casually made his way to the exit. His purple eyes deemed in an attempt to adjust to the gaze of the sun as he stepped out of the barbeque shop. He walked out a little bit further from the shop before making a stop in an attempt to take in a breath of fresh air with his eye well shut.

“It’s time” the 5.4 foot tall Shinobi silently meditated before calmly opening up his eye to meet Iwagakure HQ situated some meters away at the mountain side. The building stood out from all others, most notably because of the various official badges and markings which could be found on it, its height was also unrivaled. Takashi was no stranger to the headquarters and even though he had only been around for a few months after he was made Genin the HQ was one place he had regularly visited for his missions. However his interest today in the building was not about missions, He was going to meet Karumo a possible clans men and the current Tsuchikage of the village. He had promised himself to be punctual for this but had to stop for a quick snack, which took more time than he anticipated. He knew walking over to the HQ would only waste more time and was willing to run all the way their. Takashi quickly took to the roof at a moderate speed and skillfully made his way from one roof to another in his attempt to reach the Headquarters as soon as possible. His purple wool scarf which hanged loosely around his neck dangle behind him as a result of the flurry of wind which phased through him.

In no distant time Takashi arrived at the headquarters still full of energy and strength. His quick paced movement had helped him buy more time for himself. He quickly weaved a sign of relief at this and calmly walked into the building with his two bandage covered hands dipped into his pocket.

The hazel hair shinobi observed people and ninjas of different shape and size pass him by, he paid little attention to them as their aims an objectives were of no value to him at the moment. He knew quite well how busy the HQ could be, and this made him wondered if Kage was really free enough to meet him. He could only imagine how occupied the Kage would be as he walked up the stairs, however the more he walked up the less people he saw and the less noise around. He continued his casual stroll till he got to the floor where the Kages office was situated.

Takashi was amazed at the clean and silent nature of the floor when compared to the reception, and though a few ninjas still roamed around, their movement and interactions depicted them as Elites and high ranked officials. Takashi continued with his stroll till he reached the Kages office and with a slight knock at the door he would make his presence known to the occupants of the room. He would then wait for an approval to step in before moving in. Though he would slightly open up the doorway in an attempt to have a good view of the room and the occupants within.

[603]

Another day buried in the tasks of the village, the tedious bits of paperwork he'd gone through had become nothing more than that, tedious. He had no desire to experiment on squad assignments, going with tried and true formations instead and improvising the rest. The missions reports were nothing more than reading through things and taking note of major events. If anything, it was becoming difficult to remember just everything happening and being turned in to him. And of what he actually saw, was only a fraction in the grand scheme of the village's workings. All of the variations of it all faded away, the job was starting to take its strain, the lack of movement from his desk didn't help in the matter, finding any chance he could to get out and stretch his legs.

Today's escape from the office involved heading to the roof of the administration building, two scrolls in hand and a cup of tea that steam could be seen escaping from. The slanted curve of the roof made things a bit interesting, but the partially cloudy sky and cool air with a light breeze made up for it. Karumo sat out there in a far more comfortable attire than normal, taking up his anbu armor without the grey armor pieces. Leaving him in a black shirt, and black pants, with black sandals to accompany it. Not much of a stylstic choice in the end, and Emi did give him a very hard time over his fashion choices, but for Karumo, he liked the way that the armor moved and stretched. It was also perfect in case he needed to prepare for any shortcomings, it would be as simple as tying the armor pieces on top and heading off. Functionality over form was far more Karumo's style, and even if he couldn't actually feel the material, he was always told that it was comfortable and very breathing at the same time.

His drink slanted along with the tilt of that roof and the scrolls sat parallel to himself as he unwrapped one and held it above his head to read it. Escaping away in his thoughts as he read through the old history of the village, ever learning and ever pondering on the conditions of the world and where they were. Things were certainly getting interesting in the rest of the world, digging into the past would be worth the short time it took. Anyways, as for Karumo's office, anyone who entered into it would find a note posted to the side of his office' door, giving a brief statement of his whereabouts,

On rooftop, leave reports and files on desk, Thanks~

It would read on a short note with an arrow pointed upwards to the ceiling, a bit of a sarcastic gesture that Karumo found a bit funny to say the least. Not that he would be trying to slight any one person's intelligence, but a bit of harmless harassing couldn't hurt. These were ninja after all, they all have suffered and endured far worse, though, maybe it would make him appear far more lax than he should probably give off.

For now, Karumo would enjoy his time in the outside air and continue on with his reading, until someone or something needed his attention. As long as it wasn't anything too serious, it would remain an enjoyable afternoon to say the least.


[578 words]

With a little push at the Tsuchikages Door, Takashi would barely see enough to satisfy his curiosity, the silence of the room would also intrigue and entice him to push open the door and walk in. He would find himself staring at a table of books, a huge window overseeing the village and other artifacts and drawings. He would immediately ponder where the Tsuchikage could have gone to, and what to do next from here, “I should have made an earlier appointment” he would mutter ever so silently to himself as he twist and turns his face around as if looking for something or someone. “Where could the Kage have gone to”, he would question again. He knew it was unlikely he would have gone very far, but then again how far he was won’t bother him as much as how long it would take him to return.

Takashi would ponder further on what would happen if he couldn’t see the kage today, He had come because of his invitation to join a team, he would have wanted to know who and what his team mates where like but this was just an excuse he had prepared to make contact with Karumo a member of his clan who like Fukai where victims of a failed revolution in his clan.

Takashi had barely paid attention to history, at least not until his recent encounter with Fukai an anbu of the stone, who had asked him questions concerning the clan.  

The Hazel hair Shinobi would turn back in an attempt to leave the room and just before he would make it through the door before him, he would see a note written “On rooftop, leave reports and files on desk, Thanks~”. Takashi would see an arrow pointing upwards drawn by the side of the note and for a brief moment raise his face towards the ceiling of the room. He would wonder what the extra arrow was for but won’t wallow over it much. He would walk over to the window and open it up.  Like a pro climber, Takashi would carefully make his way out of the office and suspend by the side of the building by applying the supernatural walking method. He would look down to view the village for a while before climbing up the building like a wall gecko.

In a matter of seconds Takashi would reach the slanted roof top, to see a figure clad in black with a cup of coffee over at one hand and a scroll over his face, He would immediately draw up his lower body to push himself up the roof.  

"Hello Tsuchikage sama, I am Phantom Takashi, Here to find out details about my team? hope your not too busy?"

[462]

Karumo sat up on the rooftop quietly reading away, the sun breaking through the sparse clouds every now and then. It made it quite relaxing and peaceful but that would be broken by the sounds of rushing footsteps, his eyes would glance up towards the approaching person as he looked on to them and their arrival.

What arrived was a younger boy with brown hair and purple eyes, he spoke quickly as soon as he arrived and very to the point at that, "Hello Tsuchikage sama, I am Phantom Takashi, Here to find out details about my team? hope your not too busy?" it reminded him of another of that clan of his. Someone so straight forward after all, Karumo quickly rolled up the scroll with one hand while he spoke up, "Busy? No, not at all..." he then took a sip of his coffee as he fully sat up and took a moment to take in the boy's measure. Takashi, huh? Those purple eyes and his name gave away his clan membership, outside the fact that he kept up with the genin listings and such.

Karumo's eyes would roll over him briefly, it would be a bit interesting, Karumo having the full release of the clan's eyes and looking onto someone who hadn't yet broken the seal on his own eyes yet. It would be like partially looking into the past for Karumo, if his past self were more like Fukai which was, to say the least, far less sarcastic and eccentric. Not that this boy couldn't have a bit of personality behind him but so far he resembled the other of that duo far more and that half of the people in the clan who made it anywhere in the village was.... very dull.

Karumo would cut his musings as short as they were though to speak up again, holding his cup at his side, "So, what can I do for you? What were you curious to know? Mission details, assignments, the whole deal in its entirety?" his face pretty neutral as his tone was serious. He would pause for a second and wait to see how he would respond and react.


[369 words, 947 words total]

After Takashi's brief introduction, he stood still and observed the shinobi roll down the scroll over his face to confirm he was indeed free. "No not at all" was his first reply before he took a sip of his sizzling coffee. The sight of the coffee cup immediately brought back bitter memories of the day he tried sipping one. The sight alone would make him remember the taste and also make him wonder why adults spend most of their time drinking such. He would deviate his attention from the cup and concentrate on the reason for his being here.  

The olive skin shinobi would peer closely into the kages eye as he attempts to rise to his feet with the coffee still at hand. To his surprise Karumo appeared quite tall and a bit too young for a kage, not that Takashi had seen any other kage before him or had something against them, but he had expected to see a very old-man probably the oldest of all shinobi in the village. His reason being the collective rumor he had always heard about them. Their wisdom, influence, the respect they command and the fact that they are always perceived as father to all. This had gone a long way to paint such picture into his mind.

He would nevertheless admire him for two things, his purple eye which would have the complete symbol of a fully grown Fantomusodo shinobi, which at the moment was pretty rare to see and his status as the kage which Takashi knew was only reserved for the strongest and well acknowledged member of the village. Achieving such at such an age would also go a long way to prove his strength.

"what can I do for you? What were you curious to know?" the shinobi would question once he was fully on his feet, he would give a few options which Takashi would consider silently and quickly before giving him a reply.

Well I only came to find out who the members of my group were. I'm sure the mission details and other you just mentioned would come in later. Knowing what I am getting myself into, Who has back and who I am to look out for is my priority for the day.    

Takashi was not much of a socialist, he had always done things his own ways and alone and for that reason he would like to get a headstart on the details as the would actually be the first time he was going to step out of his solitude life and into a more complex one. He would gaze back at the kage with all seriousness in his eye, while he awaits his reply. He could already imagine what his reply would be like, as 100% of who ever he would call, if he decide to call them would all be strangers to him.

His presence in the village had only been for a short period and other than him, no other genin had made it out from his clan during his own inauguration into genin. And if truth be told only a hand full of them ever makes it out from the clan as most prefer to spend most of their life in the mountain.

[547]

"Well I only came to find out who the members of my group were. I'm sure the mission details and other you just mentioned would come in later. Knowing what I am getting myself into, Who has back and who I am to look out for is my priority for the day." he spoke out plainly for his reasoning for arriving. Karumo could respect that to some degree, not wasting anyone's time or even his own all the same. But beyond that he held a seriousness in his eyes that Karumo would take hold of, perhaps the location on the roof and such a relaxed manner wasn't his style. More mental notes that Karumo would make as he would yawn heavily in response and stretch his back out by leaning back and holding his arms out behind him and pulling his torso back.

He mused to himself in that short moment before condensing back into his normal form and yawning a bit to himself. Blinking his eyes to clear himself for a moment before speaking up, "Sorry about that, I've been so relaxed up here I didn't realize how comfortable I got..." he would chuckle a bit and smile to himself before continuing on, "But anyways, you'll be in my squad with another named Cinderella, she's a bit of an interesting card but I'm sure it'll work out." he continued on. The squad would certainly be a bit more interesting with another member tacked on to its core. However, he didn't know how much time he was really going to have for training them, Cinder was developing far more quickly than he could have imagined.

"However, that's it for the time being it'll just be the three of us and all. As for what you're getting yourself into, being apart of the Tsuchikage's squad will be quite the adventure!" he said and began to laugh a bit heavily, "Our squad will be a bit specialized, focused heavy in strategy, stealth, and support. We'll be the ones handling missions at the higher end of each grade and the ones that others may not necessarily want to take or be ready to take..."

"If that's alright with you, of course? It really is your choice to join the squad..." he glanced with a single lifted brow, waiting for the boys response.


[405 words, 1352 words total]