"Oh man, even I am starting to feel the lack of action..."
Eishi yawned.
It was a dull day just like any other. Grey sky, grey clouds, grey life and grey shades of boredom. The young ninja had spent his entire week doing nothing, and now he was finding himself at the doorstep of doubt. Was his skill of any use? To anybody? For real? And what exactly was the meaning of existence without a proper event to stir the spirits into motion? Was it not just a blind train in the wicked spiral of eternity? Perhaps that awful kid Hyugo was right after all - the white-haired genin was supposed to take matters into his own hands, not wait for a saving call.

Sigh.

"I should go check the Kage's office after I finish my drawing. The pencil's almost out of lead, but I can see the potential of this proud creature. Yes, I am talking to you, darling. You are going to make people laugh one day..."
Eishi's hands - unlike their suggested owner - were rather busy. They were currently working on a portrait - a strong (and silly looking) muscled beast, as hairy as a jungle goon, which was staring at his maker with a ludicrous anger. The bizarre thing was sitting in the middle of a classroom, surrounded by children of unfitting age. What made the entire scene hilarious was...well, nothing, but the Yuki wasn't quite known for his good sense of humor. In fact, the boy's face was suggesting that he was barely holding something back, as if it was about to burst into laughter any second from now.
"One final stroke", he intoned, "and...hey, get back here!"

The random whim of a stray wind current grabbed the piece of art and carried it towards the nearby park. Without further consideration, Eishi jumped to follow, his hand extended towards the balleting paper as he was falling from the rooftop...

"Get back heeereee!"
---

WC: 332

" I can not wait to do something for the Kage! But before that... " - Nissan took a deep breath and continue his morning routine in the city park.
" One hundred and one, one hundred and two... " - his triceps twitched at the contraction of his arm. His legs was supported by a bench and he was doing push ups with one hand, switching it when his mucle refused to do some work.

A flying paper in front of his eyes caught his attention. He released his animal reflexes and push himself forward in order to catch the target. The position did not allow him to stand up right away, so he ran on four legs for a momment. The timing was right, and he got what he wanted.
His height raised at six feet and his muscular body intimidated everyone around, who might have interest in the paper. He wasn't good at reading, but luckily it was a picture.
" A mad wolverine in a classroom?! What an insane art! " - Nissan missed all of the painting classes because he found them soft and unsuitable for real men. That is why he is not having an idea right now that authors often use to send "massages" to the audience, and they usually exaggerate some of the details. The picture was a mirror, but he couldn't recognize himself yet.

WC: 226

It's a bird. No, it's a plane. It's ...a ninja?

BUMPFH!

Something heavy hit the ground.
"Ouch", Eishi winced. "That hurt..."
The boy couldn't land on his feet so he had to FACE the consequences from the fall. He barely stood after it, legs shaking, a red hole protruding from the torn trousers in the place of his left genu.
"G-g-g...imme...th-th-that back, you giant freak! It belongs to the Universe..."
Eishi - although badly hurt - couldn't admit his part in the drawing of this masterpiece. He was psyched-up to acquire it though and was ready to use force. Normally he would take his time to be pleasant, but a deep sense of insecurity drove him irrationally through the sky. It was all about his craft and he wouldn't share it with anyone - especially with menacing men who run on four legs and act beastish, their eyes staring hungrily into the paper as if piercing the artist's soul.
"I swear to God, I will kick your arse and tear you apart if you don't give it back!"
A kunai's edge sparkled into the dim sunlight, the weapon being threateningly held in the genin's unbandaged hand. White foam oozed down from the corner of his lips; blue eyes blinded by rage, the surface of their globes cracked with red strings.
"Give...it...back!", the genin screamed. And then charged. It was at this moment that Eishi looked more like a beast than a man.
Three seconds later he was dropped on the floor, kunai lying nearby. The pain in his leg was so immense that he couldn't sustain the sprint. It was...sad to observe, yet the fury that guttered through the boy's throat only made it seem grotesque.
---

WC: 305
TWC: 637

A baby scream pierced through Nissan's ears. He did not like that at all, his bushy eyebrows started trembling.
- Annoying kid, shut up! - he yeild without giving a duck about the kid's point. - The smart talk about the universe would not give your paper! - he added with a calmer voice, induced by the Yang personality who was trying to not get into fights.

But... as soon as the white haired kid started with thretening and even pulling out a cold weapon, the softer personality was suddenly stomped. The piece of paper crashed into a ball in Nissan's hand.
- You think you scare me with this penknife? - during the talk, the black bearded man started running towards the little kid, which was charging ahead too. At that momment Nissan looked exact like the main character in the drawing, but he could not realize that, because he already forget about the content in the picture. The only thing he was thinking is "NISSAN SMASH!".

His foot was heading to the boy's head, but something unexpected happaned, which cause changing the course. Instead smashing his head, he kicked the cold weapon aside. He could not hit a enemy who is kneeling down.
- Here you are, do not cry now! - said the man, droping the crushed piece of paper which fall on Eishi's white hair. It was so disrepsectful alhough it was a gesture from the man's prospective.

Nissan was a little bit concerned about this fight, because it was just his first day as genin. He did not wanted to loose his headband that he seeked for so many years. Seems like his gentle personality started recovering after the stomp.
---

WC: 283
TWC: 509

Eishi thought that he was done for as everything so far seemed to happen way too fast. The boy felt a strong pressure next to his forehead, shutting his eyes in what appeared to be a desperate (last) resort to defend himself from the incoming kick. But instead of going numb, seeing sparks of light, the kid remained intact and nothing followed. Was there even a hit after all? Eishi remained still for a couple of seconds, then heard the big guy's mocking words: "Here you are, do not cry now!". Something clustered the genin's hair. Could it be?
"Hey, you...", but it was too late. The rage was gone and so was the man's retaliation. The artist was defeated and his sketching was almost ruined.
"Hey", Eishi repeated, rationality stepping in the place of the emotional outburst. "I...am sorry about what happened. It's just that...when it comes to...never mind really. Will you help me back on my feet? I may have misjudged my strength for a moment. Thing is, my leg got it bad."
Where hostility stood, only an awkward smile remained. It was a quick change of heart, an unexpected leap of humility. And so, in a tired, sitting position, no vicious beast, but rather a grinning buffoon scratched his head, cheerful ignorance imprinted on a saliva sunken face.
"Pretty please? Heh-heh. You won't believe the jump I made to come here. It was...surreal. Heh-heh."
---

WC: 248
TWC: 885

While the boy was lying down in pain and his mind concquered by dispair, the wild beast was crafting something. His heart was softened by the drama and decided to delight the kid, to compensate it for his loss.
" A minute is enough to make something meaningful..."- he tought and turned a old worn coin into a art by scratching it's surfice with Eishi's knife. If it was a paper his big muscular hand would move imprecisely, but now the blade was fixed in the carved "tunel" in the silver coin. The finishing touch was a nice little hole pointed with the edge. A tiny rope was pushed through and with that the medallion was completed.
- Here you are, Snow-white! - laughed Nissan and hit the boy's shoulder to draw attention to himself and most likely to the former coin. - Get up! I offer you a hand, like a princess! - added with a teaser. - Once you get up on your feet, this medallion is yours! - now that is a stimulation.

The many years of rock digging and stone crafting had made him a fine artinst in some different way. For him it was a proffession, job, mastery. He is not believing in talant, everything comes to practice, concetration, motivation. If you are fully devoted to what you do, you will hit a great success even if you are in disadvantage in some way.

WC: 236
TWC: 745

"Erm, thanks, I guess...", Eishi shrugged and took Nissan's hand. The big guy helped him back on his feet and then offered him a piece of art - though it was art only in the eyes of the beholder. The reality was much harsher than anticipated for regardless of its crafter's ambition, the coin had no real aesthetic value whatsoever. In fact, one could argue whether it looked like a proper medallion at all - the holes were asymmetric and crude, and the rope was grimy and soiled. "Where did he manage to pull that from anyway? A local trashcan? Ugh. Hope it won't infect my skin."
"...not bad. Where have you learned to produce such high quality gear? I will...erm...definitely treasure it for its uniqueness. And won't get rid of it in a lifetime. Heh. You are not so bad after all. True, you look a bit intimidating at first [thought: and you are a real foreigner to good manners] but in fact you are kind and...well, you have ideas. Wanna be friends?"
Eishi grinned once again, his wide goofy smile shedding a sparkling dot of naivete. The young boy was feeling a bit ashamed from his own regressive behavior or so to say - his earlier freak out - and therefore was giving his best to bury those ugly moments behind. As a sign of good will, the genin accepted Nissan's gift and hanged it around his lean neck; the coin dangled on Eishi's chest and remained there, reflecting the nearby light in a distorted manner.
"I know a cool place nearby. We can go and have some food there. Oh, and the water's cool and the mood's cool...and the tables..."
With a dominating enthusiasm Eishi was already dragging Nissan towards the locale, gobbling words and laughing.
"Damn, it's gonna be fun. Man, how could I not think of that earlier?"

While all that was taking place, the lone wind carried away Eishi's drawing which was (so far) stuck in the boy's hair. Eishi had completely forgotten about the image; a beast around people. He didn't notice how much the beast resembled his new friend, nor he gave thought to his own animal reactions. For the moment of beasts - an impulsive and unprecedented smack down - was gone as quickly as it emerged. And already was the time of men.
---

WC: 403
TWC: 1288

[Exit]

Training jutsu:

1. Wind Release: Opposing Air Current (対向気流 ~ Fuuton: Taikō Kiryū)
(D-rank technique: 1288 words - 750 words and 80 ryo =  538 words left)

2. Ice Release: Coffin Maker (棺メーカー ~ Hyōton : Hitsugi Мēkā)
(E-rank technique: 538 words - 500 words and 50 ryo = 38 words left)

Ryo deduction: 80 ryo + 50 ryo = 130 ryo total

Nissan was happy because his workmanship was recognized and praised by the kiddo. He could tell that by Eishi's kind voice and many grimaces on his face which means - emotionality. Actually if it was a dude, he could call him "Gay" or something of this kind, but it is just a young boy so he decided to forgive its softness for now. " I will teach him how to be a real man... "
- Ok, ok, boy! Listen to me now! Keep this, but if there is one day I did not see the neckless on your neck, I will beat your ass! You will not make a fortune from my masterpiece! - he stopped a little bit to think if he went too far... nope everything was within the normal range of communication. - Anyways... this would be the sign of my parentship, our partnership... friendship I mean. You can call me Nissan, but Nii-san is good as well... - he felt so strange talking about "friendship" especialy with a boy so much younger than him, even pulling out his first joke... he hated jokes!
First friend for so many years, the question is for how long? All the years of bullying tiny, weaklings like this infront of him. " Am I getting softer with the years... I think we have something in common with my dad, duh... ". In that momment Nissan realized that he is adult already and have to take that role. But not now, he was about to continue his training routine - Alone!  Just when the bearded man was about to peace out waving his hand infront of Eishi's face, he heard the word "food".
- Fo-o-o-o-d! Sounds good, I am with you man! - the big guy got excited and started hopping after the white haired boy. - By the way... do you have any money?

---
WC: 309
TWC: 1054

[End of Thread]

1) Training:

Endurance from E-0 to D-0 for 750 words and 0 ryo
1054 words - 750 words = 300 words left
Speed from E-1 to E-2 for 150 words and 0 ryo
304 words - 150 words = 154 words left
Perception from E-1 to E-2 for 150 words and 0 ryo
154 words - 150 words = 4 words left