Sweat was dripping down her brow in thin streams and her crimson hair kept getting in the way and sticking to her face. Suzue panted heavily, bending over to regain lost breath whilst resting her palms on her knees for a moment. Agility training was truly taking it's toll on the young shinobi. She tried shaking her head to get her sweaty hair out of the way, unsuccessfully, the result of which brought an annoyed sigh forth from her lips, as she straightened up and used her gloved hands to wipe away her sweaty hair.

She slowly started walking home, back into the hidden leaf village, with barely any motivation or energy left in her step. It was late in the afternoon and most shops would be closing soon, with the citizens returning to their families. The thought of family sent a shudder down her spine, she never really cared much for hers. All her father was to her was an examiner who determined whether she was a successful kunoichi or not, and whether she was worthy of carrying forth his legacy. She sighed, thinking about a way to reverse her train of thought and eventually her mood when a wonderful aroma filled her nostrils.

Of course! Ichiraku ramen! She quickly hurried to the stall and took a seat, hoping to get a bowl of her favorite beef ramen. Now that would surely cheer a grey girl up!

By some miracle, Takao had earned himself a day off from missions and the like. Even as a Tokubetsu Jounin, Takao still lived with his parents in their home. It shouldn't have seemed that out of the ordinary, as he was only seventeen. They had left the village for a week, though the reason had slipped Takao's memory much too long ago. How he'd survived this far was a miracle, he hadn't gone to the market for food at all since their departure. Now the kitchen was empty, and Takao was forced to voluntarily leave his home. But, being the completely responsible and self-self-sustaining teenager that he was, Takao had decided to eat out rather than going and buying some real food at the store.

He stopped his wandering outside of the Ichiraku Ramen stand. The smell of the freshly cooked Ramen must have lead him there, and the smoke coming from the pipes on the roof was enough for him to know it was open. How the damn building was still standing must have been a miracle, it had been through hell and back. He shrugged off the thought and pushed away one of the curtains, then sat down on one of the stools.

Takao smiled and returned the greeting he was given from the waitress, then his head turned to notice the other girl in the stall. Takao gave a friendly enough smile before turning his attention back to the waitress. He knew what he wanted before even walking inside, having had the craving for the past hour or so. “I'll have beef ramen.” Takao said. He watched as the waitress disappeared for a moment to prepare the meal, and then return a moment later.

“Looks like you're in luck! We have one last bowl of beef ramen left!” the waitress replied as she set it in front of Takao. “Enjoy!”

Suzue sat down on a stool, forcing a smile back to the young shinobi sitting beside her. She turned to order the a bowl of beef ramen, but as she opened her mouth to do so; she was interrupted by him, ordering exact the same item she wanted herself. Instead of plain waiting awkwardly for the waitress to show back up, she decided to talk to the shinobi beside her and make small-talk.

"Best item on the menu, eh? Beef Ramen. I simply love it, it's a must for me- every time I come to Ichiraku, I end up ordering that bowl all the time." She told him, matter of factly, the corner of her lips curling up slightly in a fragment of a smile.

Soon, the waitress re-emerged, with a steaming aromatic bowl of glorious beef Ramen and set it in front of Takao. For a moment Suzue was dumbfounded, her mouth agape slightly, obviously unable to comprehend the fact that she had missed her favorite bowl of ramen by mere seconds. "Wait what?!" Suzue asked the waitress, in childish protest. "There has to be another bowl of beef ramen! I come here every-time. I came here specifically for that item!"

The waitress slowly shook her head, smiling back slightly. "I'm terribly sorry miss, but it's been a busy day and we must've ran out of beef. We're about to close up shop soon anyway. However we do have Miso or Veggie Ramen if you want." She replied, waiting for Suzue's decision. Sue sighed slightly, obviously annoyed and sneaking the occasional jealous peek at Takao's bowl. "Miso or veggie? But but..." Suzue shook her head slowly, obviously discontent with the selection of ramen offered to her.

Takao's attention was immediately directed from the waitress as she left to the Kunoichi who began to speak and make small talk. “Huh? Oh! Yeah, it's up there. It definitely hits the spot when you've only eaten fruit all day.” he said, a short fit of anxious chuckling following immediately after. Takao held very little talent in the art of small talk.

He watched in silence as the bowl was placed in front of him, and then observed the woman's reaction from the corner of his eye. It seemed as though he had been lucky enough to receive the last bowl of beef ramen for the day, and she appeared to be rather upset about it. Takao did his best to ignore the slight outburst that came from Suzue, and got as far as breaking apart a set of chopsticks to lift some ramen to his mouth, but stopped upon feeling her gaze settling on the ramen.

“Well,” he began, quickly clearing his throat just after. “This is a bit awkward.” Takao said as he rested the utensils on the side of the bowl. Takao was normally a nice and reasonable person, but this was the last bowl of beef ramen... He couldn't give it up easily.

Suzue sighed, scratching the back of her neck, obviously still unsure what to do. She turned to Takao, obviously with the intent to try bargaining with him. If she was to get that bowl of ramen she was to do so soon. Before it got all cold and soggy.

"Would you be willing to trade that bowl for Miso or Veggie ramen by any chance?" She asked, innocently and hopefully, "I'm willing to go through anything to get that bowl. Name your price!" She offered, hoping that somehow Takao would give it up.

However, she recalled that the shinobi had also come to Ichiraku specifically for the item too and she realized he probably wouldn't be that looking forward to give it up, she awkwardly added a "Please?" trying to sound polite and hopeful, subconsciously using puppy eyes on Takao.

Takao changed his glance from the bowl of steaming ramen in front of him to Suzue beside him. He inhaled sharply while rubbing the back of his neck, then gave the bowl of ramen one last glance before he released his breath in a sigh and slid the bowl along the counter towards the kunoichi. “Don't worry about it. I'll just get some Miso for myself, I like it just as much anyways!” Takao said. Though it wasn't entirely true, he did favor beef over miso, it wasn't worth the guilt. He was a complete sucker when it came to being asked politely.

He waved the waitress over and ordered a bowl of Miso ramen instead. As the bowl came to rest on the counter in front of him, he broke apart another pair of chopsticks and lifted a pile of the noodles to his mouth. After swallowing, he turned his head to Suzue. “Those are some interesting eyes you have, by the way. I swear I've seen them before..” he said, trying his best to refresh his memory. “Oh, right! You must be a Nekonote. I sparred with a member of your clan when I was a genin.” he said. Takao didn't look like anybody of particular rank, due to how he was dressed in simple civilian clothing.

Takao leaned down to slurp down some more of the miso ramen before it got cold. The winter Konohagakure had been experiencing thus far wasn't harsh, but Takao definitely was not favouring the cooler weather. The warm ramen was unquestionably hitting the spot, but the beef would have been better.. Oh well, he'd have to come back tomorrow.

Suzue kept looking at Takao, raising an eyebrow of doubt at him. She didn't really expect him to hand over the bowl of Ramen so easily. After all; no one ever was so nice to her off the bat. For once in her life, she felt guilty and shook her head slowly, offering him a genuine smile. "Arigatou, however, I can't accept your kind-hearted offer. We'll split the godly beef ramen and then take a bowl each of Miso Ramen to fill our the rest of our stomachs!"

Suzue turned to the waitress and ordered an empty bowl, carefully pouring half of her beef ramen into it and sliding it over next to Takao's Miso Bowl. There, she had coped with her guilt feeling. With a smile she grasped a pair of chopsticks and lifted the first biteful of noodles to her mouth; when her eyes were brought up. She jolted and her noodles slipped from her chopsticks' grasp and plopped back into the bowl, she wasn't comfortable with people mentioning her eyes and would've ordinarily snapped back at anyone who did. Yet, she couldn't force herself to be arrogant to Takao, after he offered her his bowl of beef ramen.

She nodded slowly, forcing a small nervous smile at Takao's direction, although not maintaining eye contact. "Yes... I'm of the Nekonome clan." She replied, obviously somewhat uneasy. "A genin? So you're a shinobi?" She asked Takao, she had assumed he was a mere civilian due to his attire. Her interest in him had been piqued by the fact. "Name's Suzue, by the way." She said matter of factly whilst holding out a hand to him. She was still having difficulty with sounding friendly and establishing eye contact although a small smile was on her face.

Takao gave a rather genuine smile as he watched the bowl of beef ramen slide his way. He nodded his head once in gratitude before going back to finishing the bowl he had already started on. Saving the best for last, no doubt! He took a break from shoveling the noodles in his mouth to swallow and reply. “There's perceptive of you! Yeah, I am a shinobi. A Tokubetsu Jounin actually, I just have the day off. Didn't really feel like wearing the uniform since I didn't have to.” he said in response.

“Pleasure to meet you, Suzue. My name's Takao.” Takao said in response. He noticed her difficulties with responding in a friendly way, but disregarded it rather quickly. The reaction she gave when her eyes were mentioned was also noted, and he chuckled in amusement. His talent for perception was much greater than his talent for hoarding beef ramen.
“So, are you in a squad yet? I might know your sensei, could give you a few tips on how to stay on their good side.” Takao brought up in an attempt to change the subject from her eyes, which seemed to be a topic she didn't like to talk about. Or that's just what Takao had understood from the conversation thus far. “A lot of the Jounin are pretty rough on their genin, at least that's how the Hokage was with me. First day of training and I get a water dragon to the face.” he said with an exhausted exhale following immediately after. Just remembering that occurrence was tiring.

Suzue widened her eyes slightly in amazement, "A Tobetsku Jounin? At your age?!" She asked, amazed at how young Takao looked. "That is quite an accomplishment." She noted, with a small smile whilst enjoying the occasional bite of her noodles.

Suzue simply nodded at the name and smiled, acknowledging it but being somewhat too awkward to work up a reply. Interacting socially was something she didn't do frequently, she was obviously having some difficulties; although this conversation was still going much better than usual and she did feel somewhat at ease talking to Takao. Caution was still exerted though, her trust issues held exception for no-one.

The bowl in front of her was almost drained of contents; having given half of it to Takao and drained most of the other half, when her face lit up at hearing the direction this conversation was taking. She was obviously very interested in the current topic, so much so that she established eye contact with Takao and smiled. "I still have no idea with whom I'll be assigned; the squads still need to be set by the Hokage, I guess." She replied, sounding quite impatient. "Seriously?! You were trained by the hokage himself?! No wonde you're already a jounin! Does that mean you can teach me cool jutsu and the way jounin train? I'd love to train like a jounin! What's your area of specialization? Currently I'm undertaking Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu; both offensively and defensively." She asked, bombarding Takao with questions restlessly, obviously very interested in him.

Resumed slurping the last of her ramen bowl and ordered another Miso Ramen one soon after, whilst waiting for Takao's reply. She had amazed herself, she had never told a stranger so much about herself on Day 1; unless he demanded to know by force. Now that she thought about it... She never really told strangers much about anything, let alone about herself.

Takao finished the bowl of miso ramen that sat in front of him rather quickly, then slid it out of his way. “I'm sure he'll get around to it soon. With everything that's been going on lately he's probably got his hands full, especially with the rumours about the Tsuchikage that've been floating around.” Takao said, releasing a sigh afterward. As a shinobi of ranking authority, he'd taken an interest in foreign affairs and spent a good amount of his time reading about what was going on with the world. Well, it was partially his interest in the subject, and partially the fact that he was lazy enough to have time to dedicate to it.

“Squads tend to change a lot. Most genin can't handle the training or tests that they're given to get onto squads and just drop out entirely. Works out well for some people though, if you can form good relations with the right people you tend to move up the ranks pretty fast.” Takao added after finishing the last bit of beef ramen. He was rather unprepared for the barrage of questions that came flying his way, and his first response was to laugh!

“Whoa there, slow your roll!” he said after she had gone through her long list of questions. He inhaled sharply and then looked over at her. “It was rare that I trained with the Hokage, he was busy with managing the village for a large portion of my time in his squad. Hell, the most he taught me was that you can't rely on others to make you successful. You have to pave the way to your own success. It feels better when you do things on your own anyways, much more rewarding.” Takao said as he pat himself on the stomach once. That ramen really hit the spot. “I specialize primarily in Taijutsu and use Ninjutsu for backup. I suppose it's worth mentioning that I use stealth and strategy as well, but that's practically the definition of a shinobi. A bit different from what you use, but I do also have an affinity for Fire and Wind jutsu, if you know what your nature affinities are.” Takao said, releasing his breath afterward. What a mouthful.

“Doesn't look like I can teach you too much when it comes to jutsu, but I could probably show you a thing or two about training sometime. Maybe even a mission if you're up for it, those are great for experience.”

"I can't wait." Suzue replied, smiling. She obviously wasn't lying, impatience was obviously killing her- she was dying to get assigned to a squad and resume training seriously. "I am not one of those genin! She replied, giving Takao a determined grin. "I'm still unsure if I want to become ANBU... or possibly one of the Hokage... But rest assured; I will be a successful kunoichi!" She vowed, obviously motivated to work hard.

Suzue heard Takao's replies and answers to her bombardment of questions, all the while enjoying the Miso Ramen. It wasn't as good as beef ramen, but hey... it was still ramen of a godly standard! Suzue let out a slightly disappointed sigh as she realized her and Takao's styles varied greatly, she was really hoping he would be able to teach her a new trick or two. However, she nodded quickly at the prospect of training with Takao, obviously very eager to. "Why yes, I'd love to train and do missions with you, Takao." she replied with a friendly smile, "When is your next mission?" Suzue grinned, hoping that they would be doing missions like hunting Missing-Nin and rogue ninjas. Things would be WAY more interesting than the D rank missions she was getting now. He decided she would go pester the Hokage for clearance at going to a mission with Takao, first thing tomorrow morning.

"What's natural alignment?" Suzue asked curiously, "I thought that was just a thing for ninjutsu users, denoting which elements they can use. Wouldn't that be useless to me since I don't use any form of ninjutsu?"

Suzue finished the rest of her bowl and by the looks of it the stall was about to close. "I'll walk you home," she offered, smiling slightly as she got up from her stool. "That way we can keep talking on the way there."

Takao reached to his back pocket and retrieved his wallet while listening to Suzue respond. He dug around for a few notes and set them on the counter, enough to cover both of the bills for the two of them. He stretched his arms and released a yawn as he stood up from the stool and pushed the cloth banner away from his face as he exited the stall with Suzue. “ANBU or the Hokage, huh? That's good! It's important to have ambitious goals, it keeps you going.” he said after he finished his yawn.

As he heard her response to the offer of training and missions, a smile made it's way across his face. “Great!” he replied. Then the question of when his next mission would occur was brought up and he moved a hand to rub his chin. “I don't think I've scheduled myself for any missions since my last one. I'll have to pay the office a visit and see what needs done.” he said with a sigh. He really didn't like going to that office... Or, it would be more accurate to say he didn't like going anywhere that wasn't in his home, that is.

He listened quietly as Suzue then asked about nature affinities and offered to walk with him, to which he nodded. “I'll tell you on the way then.” Takao said as he turned to one direction and began walking at a moderately slow pace. He wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere, as he had the day off! “Nature Affinities aren't just for Ninjutsu alone, though it is most common for them to be used with such. Nature Affinities can be used with anything that uses chakra. Medical Ninjutsu and Genjutsu included. As an example, nature affinities in Genjutsu tend to influence the theme of the illusion. Like making somebody think they're on fire.” Takao explained as he walked. His home was a bit of a way from the ramen stand, as he lived closer towards the inner residential area. “I've heard about it being used in Medical Ninjutsu as well, for things like burning wounds shut or wind scalpels... Really, it just depends on your imagination. Hell, people probably use them with Taijutsu and Kenjutsu too.”

Suzue smiled and nodded in determination, as her sandals plopped lazily on the cobbled streets- step after step. "I don't know which path I'll take, I swear I have no idea. However I know that whichever path I do end up taking... It will lead me to greatness." She replied, clutching a fist in front of her and grinning.

Suzue nodded slowly and looked into the distance, at Takao's remark about missions. She was clearly thinking deeply, setting up a plan. It looked like Takao would be hearing from Suzue again, very soon. 'Was he the lazy kind?' Suzue thought, 'Well either way, his days of being lazy are over. I'll drag him around if I have to. He's my passport to higher ranked missions.' The thought widened her smile a little and made her let out a chuckle.

She listened to Takao's lecture with deep interest and nodded slowly, "Interesting... And... How do I discover which are my affinities? I heard it might be predominant to personality, but how do I find out exactly?" She asked, wondering what elements she would be able to manipulate best. The uses of elements in jutsu seemed limitless, and she started coming up with ideas she could try out for new jutsu... but there were so many the possibilities were endless. "Thanks so much for your help, Takao-Sensei!" She replied respectfully. Takao seemed like a knowledgeable shinobi. One who could teach her a lot about the arts of being a great ninja, she decided that she would try to shadow him as much as possible in the future, as long as he didn't mind.

Takao sluggishly lowered his hands to the pockets of his trousers, his half-open eyes set on the thinly crowded streets as he walked along. “Well, hold onto that ambition. It'll get you through the rough times. Being a shinobi isn't as fun as it may seem. One day you'll have to make a tough decision that could change you forever.” Takao said, his eyes still set on the road in front of him. Thankfully Takao hadn't come to such a crossroad in his life, as he was still relatively young, but he was still preparing himself for the day where he would have to make such a decision.

“I wonder if that Windmill mission is still up for grabs... Last I checked those Kirigakure ninja snatched it up, but they were just genin at the time..” Takao mindlessly muttered to himself in a low, yet still audible tone of voice. He exhaled heavily and continued his forward advance down the road, giving little extra thought into the topic as he stepped along.

Then the topic of elements was brought up again, and Takao prepared another breath for his response. “In some cases, a person's nature affinities can influence their personality, but it's a rather unreliable method of determining their affinity. The most common way is to use chakra paper, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's just a slip of paper that you focus chakra into, and the reaction the paper gives you determines your element. In cases of shinobi with multiple elements, which is actually rather common nowadays, you just have to learn how to isolate your chakra as to not use one affinity when checking. That way you can determine multiple elements, rather than your primary which is the most potent.” Takao said, exhaling heavily afterward. “For instance, if you have the wind element, the paper would be split in two. The fire element would burn the paper, earth element would turn it to dust... and so on. The reactions themselves are pretty self explanatory, a genin such as yourself should be perceptive enough to observe the results.”

He gave a wave to a common newsstand shopkeeper as he passed and received a friendly greeting in return. Takao stopped a moment to pick up one of the papers. He had a habit of keeping up with international news, and reading the completely biased indifferent and honest newspapers were his preferred way of doing so. After paying for the paper, he rolled it up and stuck it under his arm as he returned to walking at Suzue's side.

Suzue nodded slowly, in a pensive manner; thinking deeply about what Takao had just told her. "You're talking about going rogue, right? Being consumed by power and possibly becoming a missing-nin." Suzue looked at Takao analytically, studying his reaction carefully. "Do you fear that decision? Do you fear you'd make the 'wrong' choice, Takao-Sensei?"

"Wait, what? Windmill mission?" Suzue asked, inquisitively; obviously quite interested in the topic. "What would the mission consist of?" She asked again, with a slightly trembling smile of excitement plastered on her lips.

Suzue listened through the continuation of Takao's lecture about elemental affinities, obviously enthralled. "Wow... I'll definately get my hands on some chakra paper and try it out soon!" Suzue concluded, wondering what her affinity would be. Judging from her personality it could've been any, she had no clue. She barely even knew herself that well, come to think of it.

Waiting outside the news-stand Suzue whistled calmly to herself, thinking of genjutsu she could develop in relation to her elements. Possibilities were endless; she had to start training very soon!

Takao lowered both of his hands deep into the pockets of his trousers, still holding the rolled up paper under his arm as he resumed his moderate walking pace. “Going rogue? I suppose that could be qualified to be such a decision. But there are other hard choices that would have to be made as well. Someday, you might have to choose who lives and who dies between two friends, or even family. It's just something you can never prepare yourself for.” he said, yawning again immediately after. All that deep thought tired him out right quick. “I'm afraid of being forced to make that decision at all. In that situation, there's no right or wrong decision.” Takao said.

“I think I may have some chakra paper somewhere at home. Speaking of which, we're here.” he said as they approached his home. It didn't look like anything special, just a traditional Japanese-style home that blended with the others that looked similar. “I'll take a look, see if I can't find some. You can come inside if you'd like.” Takao said as he stopped at the door and brought out a set of keys from his pockets. He made quick work of undoing the lock and slid the door open. He stepped inside and gestured for her to enter after him.