With mist hanging heavy over the village, the weather was chilly. Fortunately, her task today would not involve working outside as she had been on the Kiri Memorial. Having been decimated by an enemy ninja, Kirigakure put even more emphasis on raising powerful ninja and finally had decided to build a center dedicated to their training. This project had been given precedence and the building had already been constructed when Tsuneko received orders to work there. After checking in with the administrators, she was informed that they would be working on the lobby of the building today. The walls were all up, but it needed some paint and furniture moved in and arranged. She would be joined by another ninja, but it would just be the two of them today; the construction crew would be working on another part of the village.

Tsuneko had no trouble finding the sturdy building. With most of Kirigakure still in ruins or in just the beginning stages of reconstruction, any completed building stood out. Approaching it, she saw that her briefing was correct. There were what looked to be furniture under tarps, and when she entered the building, she found that the ceilings and trim had been painted and the walls had already been primed. That would certainly make their job easier. Drop cloths lined the walls, probably left from the previous day, and two small ‘step’ ladders were standing by the paint buckets, trays, brushes and rollers. She found some painter’s tape as well but wasn’t sure if she’d take the time to use it. She trusted that she had a steady enough hand to cut in, but she’d wait and see how the other ninja felt.

Tsuneko had checked in early, like normal, and had had enough time to go back to the temporary housing that they were staying in and change before coming here. She had tied back her long, white hair and borrowed a shirt from one of the workers. The already stained shirt was cut for the burly man that owned it, and although she had rolled up the sleeves to make it fit a little better, it still hung loosely on her slender shoulders It was long enough that it fit like a short dress, mostly covering the fitted black shorts that she had on underneath. The girl had lost most of her possessions in the fire, and with everything going on, she hadn’t taken the time to buy many things for herself and didn’t want to ruin her training outfit with paint. It had been fortunate that she had happened to have her forehead protector in hand when the fire started, or she wouldn’t have even had that to tie around her forehead, covering up her Kaguya marks. Although her long bangs mostly covered them, she preferred to make sure she was safely anonymous, especially among the civilian workers that were all over, rebuilding the village. Despite her stop at the housing unit, she still arrived a bit early and took a seat on the top of one of the short ladders, waiting for the other shinobi to arrive before starting.

Spoiler:

Strafe walked silently towards the new training building that hew was recently assigned to. He already watched over the Residential Area as it was rebuilt, and now he is already moving to the next mission. Kirigakure was a little short on ninja, so it would make since for him to be assigned back to back missions. Not that he minded, as the first one was quite easy to be a part of. Maybe he could team up with Kaguza some day.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he approached the building doors. He spoke with the guard and was let inside, immediately seeing why he was asked to do this. It was almost finished, requiring just a few pieces of furniture moved and a little painting. While he wasn't the best painter, he was familiar with the task and smiled as he looked around for a minute, seeing the various painting tool set up in the building.

If he remembered correctly, he was supposed to be working with another ninja on the mission. He was excited to meet another ninja from his village, but he suppressed the excitement. He didn't want to come across as annoying. He moved over to an individual chair sitting in the middle of the room and waited for his comrade to show up.

Spoiler:

Tsuneko watched curiously as a boy walked in the door. Apparently not seeing her already sitting there, he walked past her and took a seat in the middle of the room. ‘Why did the workers leave that one chair in here?’ She wondered before reasoning, ‘Perhaps they had another ninja supervising the construction who didn’t want to be on his feet all day.’ Not spending long worrying about some unknown ninja whose feet hurt, she hopped off the ladder and came over to the boy.

“Hey there, I’m Tsuneko,” she introduced herself in a friendly tone, but after a short pause for him to also introduce himself, if he chose to, she got down to business. “I’m not sure what they told you when they sent you here, but we’re to finish painting the walls; then, if the painting doesn’t take all day, we’re to move the furniture in here and arrange it. Someone will be coming by to check in at the end of the day to see how it all looks.” She moved back over near where she had been sitting and picked up the roll of tape. “They gave us some painter’s tape to use, or we also have some small brushes, if you’d prefer to just freehand the edges... What’re your thoughts?” She had slightly taken on the role of leader as she explained the situation. However, near the end, she remembered that this boy was most likely another Genin, and therefore, he was the same rank as her. With those thoughts, the last question came off as a sort of power-balancer: ‘here’s my information, what do you think of it?’ rather than ‘here’s my information, this is what we’re doing’. She intended it to be like the former, anyways.

Spoiler:

Shocked by the sudden voice, Strafe nearly fell out of the chair. Fortunately, he has more balance than that. He turned to the girl with a face filled with embarrassment. That's what he got for being so lost in thought all the time. "I'm Strafe Aisu." He said with a warm smile. She seemed quite nice, and confident to boot. This was going to be a nice day, at least that's what it looked like.

He smiled at the last part of her sentence. They would work together very well, as Strafe had no intentions of filling any kind of leadership role. "The painters tape is fine with me!" He said as he picked up a roll of it. "It's always better to be safe than sorry." He said as he moved across the room to gather the supplies they would need to start. From the looks of it, she was a Genin like him, but it was better to ask.

"So what rank are you?" He asked as he brought two buckets of pain over to the spot where they would start. He didn't expect this to take all day, as he was skilled in this task. However, the building was not small by any means. "I'm a Genin" He said as he adjusted his headband slightly. He hoped that she was a Genin. It's easier to be around those who are of similar rank.

He picked up the Painter's tape and started applying it to the appropriate places on the wall. The pattern they were doing was basic, and colors were neutral and easy to make even. A coat or two should make this place look great! He looked over at the girl and smiled as he continued to paint. He hoped that they would get to work together again in the future. He wondered what her abilities were, as being curious was a strong part of his personality.

Spoiler:

‘Aisu.. an ice user, like that Tenshi girl,’ she thought, taking note. ‘A cousin, perhaps.’ He seemed more friendly, though. Part of her wished that he had chosen to go without the tape, as it would take time to go around all of the edges, but it would be quicker to do that than to have to go back and fix any mistakes that he might make. As he brought over the buckets of paint, she replied, “I’m also a Genin.” She was not surprised to learn that he was of that rank. With his youthful appearance and unobservant ways, such as not noticing someone already in the room, it seemed unlikely that he was ranked higher.

"You specialize in Ice and Ninjutsu?” she checked, inferring from his clan that he also shared their Kekkei Genkai and guessing Ninjutsu would be the best way to utilize it. It was one of the results of her interest in bloodline traits; she often recognized the clan members’ skills by their family name and made assumptions based off of it. Unlike her own clan, most members of the other clans inherited their Kekkei Genkai. If he didn’t contradict her query, she would continue, “What are your other focuses?” Her question was conversational and focused on his elemental proficiencies and his second, or first as it might be, specialty. She followed his lead around the room, naturally taking over the taping of the baseboards and letting the taller boy take care of the ceiling.

When they finished taping the room, she used a small metal tool provided with the paint to pry open one of the lids. Carefully pouring the paint into a tray, she helpfully offered Strafe a roller and suggested, “How about you start painting the top half, and I’ll follow, getting the bottom?” This would hopefully be easier for the both of them, with their different heights.

Spoiler:

Another Genin? Strafe couldn't have been happier with that reply, as he was hoping to be put on a squad as soon as the reconstruction was over with. Maybe he would end up with her? Who knows with how things have gone, but he could hope. She was either quite knowledgeable on the clan or had done her research on her teammate. Based on the second question, she was just familiar with the clan.

"You are correct, I specialize in Ninjutsu using Ice." He said smiling. He enjoyed his jutsu and his abilities. He felt blessed to be a part of the Aisu clan, as they were unique and strong at the same time. "I also specialize in Medical Ninjutsu." He said grinning with pride as he answered her questions. "If you knew I could use the Ice chakra change in nature, than it's easy to see that I am also able to use the Wind and Water elements as well." He explained excited that someone was interested in his clan's abilities.

"What are your specialties and elements?" He asked curiously as graciously took the tools from her to start the project they were assigned."That sounds great." He answered as he started carefully painting the ceiling and higher parts of the walls. The color was somewhat neutral, but it was beautiful none the less. This seemed like this would be an easy day for the eager ninja.

Spoiler:

‘Another medical ninja?’ Tsuneko looked Strafe over curiously. She told herself that this curiosity was a professional one, merely to assess whom she might be working with should medical care become needed, but it was mostly competitiveness. Who was this unobservant, prideful boy that claimed the same specialty as her? Would he be a challenge, someone to push herself against, or would he simply get in her way, as the inexperienced normally did? Not showing her thoughts on her face, she smiled as they began painting.

“I use Medical Ninjutsu and the Muay-Thai style of Taijutsu,” she answered. “I have an affinity towards Water and Lightning.” In truth, she didn’t really utilize her elements. She had great control over her chakra, as is necessary to work as a medic. However, she hasn’t spent her time learning how to control water or to call down lightning; in fact, she only had one jutsu that was even elemental, and it was not aggressively made, primarily using her secondary element, Raiton, to stimulate a patient’s heart. Her offense came mostly from her Kekkei Genkai. Strafe seemed to be a different story. With Ninjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu, he was capable of causing elemental damage as well as healing with his chakra. ’A potentially strong combination; although if he was unable to utilize his chakra for some reason, Strafe would be useless,’ she considered, her competitive nature leading her to try and find a weakness in this aspiring medic. Considering pros and cons to his choice in specialties, Tsuneko continued rolling on the paint as they slowly made their way around the room.

Spoiler:

Another medical ninja? This was a rare treat that Strafe was sure to enjoy! "I'm honored to meet another medical ninja!" He said smiling at the young girl. What a unique combo to team up with. If they were ever to be attacked, they would have a pretty good combo. However, this wasn't the time to think about such things. He had to focus on the mission at hand.

He continued to paint with specific care, as this would be seen by many in the village. It was to be a place of training for the future ninja of the village, making it an important task for anyone to take on. At least, that's how Strafe felt about it. Maybe he was too serious about this mission, but it didn't matter really. As long as the mission was completed.

Eventually, Strafe came to a raise in the ceiling. It was too high for him to reach with the available ladders, or maybe Strafe just wanted to show off. He smiled as he turned to the young Genin ninja. "Excuse me for a minute." He said as he closed his eyes and formed a special hand seal. "Ice Style: Ice Disk!" He'd become much more efficient with the Jutsu, making it easier to use. He jumped on the disk and slowly rose up in the air to the ceiling.

He painted the small section he could not reach with extra care, as he didn't want to re paint something that required so much effort. This was a C-Rank jutsu after all.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Tsuneko couldn’t help but notice her companion’s attention to detail as he painted. Rather than just slapping it on, he seemed to really want to make the place look nice. A bit of a perfectionist, she shared the same desire and was pleased that she wouldn’t have to follow behind him and clean up any mistakes; she would hate to, figuratively, leave her name on something that was done poorly. Thankfully that wasn't the case, for it would have taken her a while to have redone hise part as she would have had to climb up and down and up and down a ladder to do so.

Just as she was thinking how she wouldn’t mind doing another mission with Strafe, he excused himself. Pausing, she looked up at him from her crouched position. ‘This mission isn’t that strenuous, not nearly as bad as that construction job. Does he seriously need a break already?’ Although she was too polite to voice the judgment that she felt in any case, it turned out that she didn’t have time to do much more than think those few thoughts before watching him form a hand seal and create a disk of ice out of nothing. Somehow the ice floated, even under Strafe’s weight, and lifted him up to the ceiling.

“Show off!” she called out, a joking tone easily masking the jealousy that she felt. Tsuneko had always felt that Ninjutsu were flashy tricks for those that didn’t have the precise chakra control needed to master something more refined…like Medical Ninjutsu. However, this Genin possessed the ability to use both, and it was hard to deny the usefulness. ‘Maybe I should take up Ninjutsu one day,’ she considered as she stood up, shaking out legs made stiff from the crouched position necessary to get the lowest parts of the wall, and admired the jutsu with the eye of one whom held those with a Kekkei Genkai in high regard.

Spoiler:

Strafe chuckled at the young girl's joke. He knew he was showing off, but he didn't care. The Ice Disk jutsu had many ways of being useful, so he was pleased that someone got to see it. He continued painting, careful not to drip paint on anything. After a few moments, he lowered himself to the ground, dispelling the jutsu with a hand sign.

The time was going by quite fast. Strafe stopped for a second, looking at the work they had done thus far. They were already halfway through, despite feeling like they just started. Tsuneko was pretty good company, so the process went by pretty swiftly.

After Strafe’s stunt with the ice disk, they continued working their way around the room. Tsuneko found herself still considering his specialties. From her viewpoint, Ninjutsu was normally for the show-offs and fighters, whereas Medical Ninjutsu tended to be taken by the more reserved and defensive type ninja. Was it because Medical Ninjutsu was a supportive type specialty that the defensive type opted for it, or was it because others forced medics into the background that ninja who took that specialty gradually became more defensive? Her own motives had nothing to do with whether she wanted to be the aggressor or not, and yet she placed herself in the defensive party on the way here for the sake of ‘what would you do if your medic was hurt and couldn’t heal all of the other hurt people?’. She supposed that she would have to agree with the latter of her queries. With him not privy to her thoughts, it was a bit ‘out of the blue’ when she asked, like one would ask about a major, “What made you focus on Medical Ninjutsu?” Glancing around, she found that they were over half-way done and moving more quickly than before as they grew accustomed to the task and working around each-other. They should be finished soon.

Strafe was taken back by the question, surprised that she cared enough to ask. He thought back to his father's death and why he did what he did. "When I was an infant." Strafe stopped painting and slowly looked down with a sad expression. "My father died of a rare disease." Strafe said thinking of his mother and how it effected the family. "When I was able to understand what happened, I immediately wanted to learn medical ninjutsu so I could help keep that from happening to anyone else." He said as he thought back to the times where he would have loved to have a father to help guide him. He could be a completely different person now if his father was alive. "It's my dream to become the strongest medical ninja in our village, so I can help everyone around me." He finished with a slight smile as he turned to her. He didn't talk about this much, as it was a difficult topic for him.

Tsuneko seemed to have a knack for bringing up painful memories in people. This wasn’t the first time that a conversational question had resulted in the same sad expression that she saw on Strafe’s face today. However, this time, she understood his pain and how that motivated him; hers was a similar story. Because she understood, she knew that there was little comfort to be given and that mentioning her own loss would merely be seen as one-upmanship: ‘My loss is greater than your loss.’ She always coped with her problems by pushing them to the back of her mind, especially when in public, because she never wanted to get emotional and show weakness in front of others. Trying to make things easier for him by lightening the mood, she replied with a smile, “Well, you’ll have some competition for that title,” clearly speaking of herself; her violet eyes were kind as she looked up at him. Not forcing the contact, she turned back to her work a moment later.

Strafe gave a half smile as he heard the girl challenge him. Some competition would be good for him. He smiled back at her with the light back in his face. "I look forward to beating you." Strafe said jokingly. In his mind, he knew he wasn't joking though. He wouldn't let anyone or anything stop his dreams from coming true. He refused to fall behind.

He then continued on with painting the walls and ceiling as he did before. He was careful like always, but made sure he had a decent pace so he wouldn't slow Tsuneko down. He was ready for this to be done with so he could go train. It seems that all this talking got him hyped up.

Tsuneko laughed at the idea that Strafe would beat her. Her competitive nature made her reject the idea that that could happen. Although, in truth, there might come a time when he would possibly be considered the better medic. Her main focus was on finding a cure for the Kaguya’s bone disease, not on saving every last Hiroto and Yui that walked through the doors; although, she would undoubtedly do some of that along the way.

The pair quickly finished the rest of the room. On the assumption that Strafe would work with her, she began moving the drop cloths outside. There was still daylight left, and they needed to move the furniture inside. Taking ahold of one of the chairs, she began the process of moving things inside. Most of the furniture was light enough for her to manage on her own, though she would need Strafe’s hand on the larger table and the receptionist’s desk. The inspector would be here soon to approve their work, so she moved quickly, wanting to have everything done by then.

Should he give her a hand on the moving of drop cloths and then the furniture, it wouldn’t be long until they finished and the inspector arrived. With generic black hair and dark eyes, he would look things over and offer his approval, saying that he would file the report for them and that they were free to go, before leaving himself. At this point, Tsuneko would look over to Strafe. Offering him a smile, she’d say, “It was nice working with you, Strafe. Perhaps we’ll be assigned together again; if not, I’m sure I’ll see you around.” Her words were friendly and genuine. The task had been generally pleasant with Strafe as her partner. If he made no move to stop her, Tsuneko would offer him a little wave before heading out. Their job here was done, and it was dinner time.

Strafe hurried as Tsuneko quickened her pace, moving to get the job done. Strafe followed her thought process quite well when it came to the task before them, being right where he needed to be. He helped first with the drapes, followed by the furniture, which were quite simple tasks. Soon after, the inspector arrived only to give them the thumbs up. "Same here! See ya!" He said smiling as he left the building to head home. It was time for some sleep.

-Exit-