It kept playing back in his mind after the fight, the disappointment in himself and the greater disappointment at his pet ashe. Everything went wrong and his opponent was worn out even though he never got to use all he had, he did not have a chance to show off his ultimate defense and in the end no one but the proctor actually had a good view of what happened as there was just mist everywhere at that point. All that could be heard was the swishing sounds of techniques and a watery blast that seemed to knock his opponent against the wall, it was unclear what the outcome was until the proctor ruled in favor of his opponent. Makoto could still move, he could still react, he still had so much more he could do, but the risk was considered too great as the blood flowing from Makoto could have lead to serious injuries or even death. While his opponent had physical exhaustion and chakra exhaustion to deal with, the ruling was based on him being closer to death then his opponent if that could be described in more details. He was furious and even Ashe knew that this was not a good day for her or for him as she was placed in medical care and told to rest up as much as she could, even though he was upset with her he still petted her as always, he might be strict at times but he was no monster. In the end it hung deep on his mind as he made his way to get some relaxation in the land of fire.

Makoto could not let it go, the look in his eyes like a dead fish as he made his way into the tavern by mistake or perhaps on purpose. He saw everyone drinking something so he figured this would be a good place to ask as he thought he recognized someone from his village as he passed by this boy. As he was making his way passed the tables in his dazed state with the bandage on his head, a bandage on his neck and a bandage on his hands and even an extra bandage around his ankle as well that had actually sprained slightly which is what he felt was contributing to his lack of ability in his fight that had passed.

He was feeling a bit lost and just went to go sit near the familiar face, he looked him in the eyes and then looked down and then again in the eyes not certain of where he saw that face or when. The face looked familiar, though it was not someone he knew or was it as his mind could not figure it out as his Iwa forehead protector was hanging around his neck. Makoto was about to speak when a girl came close and motioned for him to follow her and all he said was, "One water please" and then he looked to the boy again, "Do I know you?" as he stared with curiosity at the rather sad looking boy before him. The waitress was a bit worried, but decided to just get the water so long and hope nothing goes wrong. Others were calling him dangerous, but Makoto did not really have the awareness for that in a family tavern since apparently this village seemed a bit livelier then his own. Though it was perhaps the result of the chuunin exams that everyone was gathered here as he would wait for the reply and the water.

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After today's match, Kaito had been forced to make his way to the hospital so the good doctors of Konoha could make sure there was no serious damage to his brain. A minor concussion that had resulted in only a few seconds of unconsciousness. Enough to secure his opponent the victory, though Kaito took satisfaction from the knowledge that the injuries his opponent had suffered would make for a painful recovery process, and with the next round starting first thing in the morning, it was likely a rushed recovery, which meant more pain as the medical-nin mended torn flesh and pulled excess blood from bruises. None of that had been any consolidation prize though, because as soon as Kaito had been cleared, one of the medical-nin from Kiri had shared him the tragic news. A participant of the exams had accidentally been killed during their match, a Kiri shinobi no less. At the time, Kaito had been unable to learn more, and despite the sense of worry that he'd felt, he hadn't been prepared for what was to come.

The sense of loneliness as she walked the streets of Konoha tore through him like bad street served chow mein served. Kaito couldn't get over the feeling that perhaps he should have cried, it wasn't like he wouldn't mourn Xiao, but something felt off. Xiao was a friend yes, but he was more than that in a way. As a student of Lady Haka of the Osada, Kaito had met the Spider-nin on none other than Spider Island not to long ago, though with recent events it felt like an eternity ago, or at least it had. Now with Xiao gone, Kaito realized just how short of a time he and Xiao had gone from mere comrades to friends, and then to adoptive brothers. Xiao of course had started calling Kaito his older brother right away, with their strange connection through Haka Osada, it had seemed natural to Xiao to consider Kaito family, though at first Kaito had held reservations. In the end though, the two Kirigakure shinobi had found friendship, and then Kaito had made the mistake of letting himself desire a sense of family again.

He'd been alone since his mother died, a few years before that really, ever since he'd graduated from the academy his mother had run off on one mission or another, always for extended periods. She'd felt distance since Kaito's grandmother died, as if she'd been searching for something. It was an odd thing, to think that his mother might have been searching for something. His grandmother's murderer had never been found or caught, so perhaps his mother had sought him out and died before she could seek her vengeance. Kaito couldn't help but wonder if his own search for information on his own mother's sudden disappearance and assumed death might lead to a similar fate for himself one of these days. Who would be left to then search for him? No one, Kaito had no family left, and with the death of Xiao, Kaito felt like he never would know what it was to have family again.

Eventually, after wandering the streets mindlessly for hours until after sunset, Kaito's feet had followed the paths of the people around him until he found himself in the heart of Konoha's night life. The town seemed so alive, so full of light and magic, it almost made Kaito smile. Xiao would have loved this place, Kaito was sure of it. Eventually though, Kaito had spotted someone he'd hoped to run into. He'd made sure to look up everything he could get his hands on after hearing the news, and luckily, all participants of the exams had been required to submit a short record of themselves just for those that might have had an interest in such information. Nothing overly personal or sensitive, not much on skills or abilities either, simple things like a shinobi's rank, village, name and such. The basics. But the basics was all that Kaito had needed to spot and confirm that face in the crowd, he would have narrowed in on him from a mile away at this point.

Of course, withdrawing a senbon and exposing a few arteries to the night's air would be frowned upon, and Kaito had to remember this was not Kirigakure no Sato, those with the Hidden Leaf had weak hearts, unable to do what had to be done most of the time, always hiring Hunter-nin from the Hidden Mist to deal with Konoha's more delicate trash. If Kaito were to so much as attack another participants in the chunin exams, or at least do so in such an open location, he'd be banned from the village, assuming he wasn't executed once they returned home. Bloodshed wasn't an option, Kaito would have to keep that in mind, though in truth he felt no anger. He was running on empty, a steady pulsating numbness tempered with what he assumed he should be feeling. Kaito knew he was suppose to feel hatred, so he thought about killing the man responsible for the death of his little brother. Still though, Kaito more than understood that he would be in hot shit if he tried anything like that.

Once the man named Ryo stepped into the tavern, Kaito followed him inside, keeping track of the genin's location in his peripheral as he saw down diagonally from Ryo, ordering a cucumber tonic and a shot of lime juice. Kaito watched as not one, but two shinobi approached his target, dashing salt across his tongue before throwing back the shot of lime juice followed by the immediate swig of about half the tonic. His tongue both sour and sweet, Kaito picked up the slice of cucumber and ate it in one bite before watching the two shinobi closer as they approached Ryo. The young woman seemed to be more interested in stopping a confrontation as one of the civilians stood before being subdued by the genin. The other, an Iwagakure shinobi like Ryo, moved in as if he might know Kaito's target. Kaito didn't know what all he would do, but he wanted to have a word with Ryo before the night was through, he needed that much at least. To meet the man responsible for the death of a twelve year old boy from Kaito's home village, to say nothing of the fact that Xiao and he had chosen each other as kin.

Flagging down the waitress who seemed to be getting harrassed by another young shinobi, Kaito ordered another shot of lime juice for himself, as well as two cucumber tonics and shots of lime juice to have them delivered to the table with the two Iwa-nin. He'd instructed the waitress to point him out once she delivered the two drinks. Pulling a senbon from his pouch, Kaito began swirling it in his fingers, occasionally eyeing Ryo from across the room as the shot of lime juice was delivered to his first before the drinks made their way over to he two ninja from the Hidden Stone. If all remained civilized, Kaito would dash his tongue with salt, before taking the juice down and following it up with the last of his tonic. He'd make sure the two Stone shinobi would be able to see him, a subtle hint that they should do the same. If Ryo didn't immediately stand up and bolt at the sight of the Kiri headband on Kaito's forehead, Kaito would walk over there before ordering another round. All that needed to happen was a little chat.