Isamu was casually walking down the streets of Kiri, between the tall buildings, the paved roads, the strolling children playing amongst friends, all under the fog that blanketed them. He was cold, so he took another scarf that was bundled and placed into his coat and wrapped it around his face, covering his mouth and his frozen gasps of air. He hadn't been out in a few hours, and the temperature had changed from bearable to below freezing quickly. He still enjoyed the view, as monochrome as it was.

He pushed his silvery white hair out of his eyes as he noticed another person out walking whom he recognized. It was the same man who was at the steam bath with Yuudai-sensei. What was his name...Isamu took a moment to think.
"Strafe!" he called out, now remembering the Aisu clansmen.

Strafe walked down the street in a casual way. His shoulders were lowered and his stride was bouncy. He was loving this sudden change of weather. He smiled as exhaled only to see his breathe escape his lips. The blood of the Aisu made this cold so enjoyable for Strafe, that nothing could ruin this day.

Snapping his mind back to the real world, he heard his name being yelled out from a distance. He turned only to see Isamu walking towards him in his usual energetic expression. Strafe grinned as he waved with his right hand. "Hey Isamu! How are you?" He asked casually as he met his comrade half way.

"I'm doing great, just taking a break on ninja stuff, y'know? I made such a mad dash to making Chuunin, I'm chilling out for a while before going for Special Jounin. Do you want to hang out together? I'm free for a while, just out on a walk." Genuine happiness shone in Isamu's eyes, as everyone around him had been busy for a while and at this point he desperately craved human interaction.

The fact that it was Strafe made the situation better, as he had only met him once and would have loved to learn more about the mysterious, deep purple haired ninja. Something about Strafe's personality drew on Isamu and made him want to be friends with him. Then again, Isamu was kind of an overly friendly person.

Chuckled at the energy that vibrated off of the young man. He was quite a hand full, but he would grow to be a great ninja indeed. "That sounds like a great idea!" Strafe said warmly as he gave a genuine smile back at Isamu. "I'm actually going to become Jounin very soon." He said using the fact as a conversation starter.

Strafe's recent meeting with his two clansmen, Solstice and Yuudai, made him work harder than he had ever before. The council had recognized his hard work and had planned his promotion for a few days away. His heart was still racing with excitement as he thought about it. He was one step closer to his goal.

"Damn, Strafe! Jounin rank already. I'm pretty proud of you right now. Hey, let's go get mochi. I know a little shop next to the place that sells Ramen and Champon and whatnot." They took long strides further down the road, passing a few Genin around their age and a group of drunken adults. One of them reminded Isamu of Sero a bit, and his mind wandered. He finally got his thoughts back to his current situation, and looked over at Strafe.

"So how long have you been going for Jounin? Do you plan on becoming a Sannin or something, or maybe even the successor to Sero? Strafe, the Mizukage. It has a nice ring to it."

"Thanks!" Strafe said laughing with his face turning a light shade of red. He really wasn't a bragging type of person, so compliments always made his shy side come out a bit. "Sounds like a great idea! I'm starving!" He said rubbing his growling stomach. It was about lunch time, so it was time to get something to eat for sure.

Strafe walked at the same pace as Isamu, enjoying the small talk. It was great to have someone just to talk casually with. It wasn't something Strafe got to do often. "I've been going for it since the day I reached Special Jounin." He said laughing as they closed in on their destination. "I hope to one day become Sannin or even Kage, if the village would have me." He said laughing at the thought of being Mizukage. He had a lot of work to do until that even came close to happening.

They were only a few streets away from the food place at this point, and Isamu was starting to feel a little warmer with his newly placed scarf wrapped around his face. He breathed another calm sigh. "I think that Sannin and Mizukage are both noble goals, although Mizukage is a lot of work. Still, it's good to see you so ambitious. Following your dreams and whatnot, it's inspirational."

And a random question he had been wanting to ask appeared on his mind. "How'd you make it to Special Jounin? You must've taken a lot of missions. What's the hardest mission you've been on?"

Strafe's face was completely satisfied as he walked down the street in casual attire. His white and blue clothing felt appropriate considering the current weather. "I appreciate your support!" He said smiling and nodded towards his comrade. "I actually did a lot during the recent rebuilding of the village, being one of the few Medical Ninjutsu specialist left in the village." He said smiling as he remembered back to the days of him being a Genin. "I'm not a combat specialist, so I'm not usually sent on very dangerous missions." He said chuckling as he realized how lame he was. While he had put in the hard work to be promoted, his credentials were a bit lack-luster.

"Well, I guess not all stories are as grandiose as we expect them to be. Still, yours is one of hard work and it paying off." They entered the shop, and ordered 2 large balls of red bean mochi each. The woman at the front smiled happily, and returned within 10 minutes with their meal. Isamu picked up his, and turned to Strafe with an excited smile. "I love mochi, it's the best. Do you wanna eat in here or go outside somewhere and eat?"

"You are one of the few to recognize that." He said laughing, but quite serious in his heart. Most expect the great stories of heros, but it doesn't always end up like that. Strafe's mind was quickly interrupted as the aroma of the food entered his nostrils. He smiled as they walked through the threshold of the shop, ordering food immediately. The food was out in mere minutes, casing another smile to come accross Strafe's young face. "Inside is fine!." He said to Isamu before turning to the woman and handing her enough money for both Isamu and himself. He added a little bit for speedy service as well. "I have a bit more money because of my rank, so I might as well use it." He said turning back to Isamu, waiting on him to pick a spot to eat at.

Isamu thanked Strafe for paying before picking a spot near a window with a view of the village. "So do you think you're gonna get a squad? Do you want one?" The idea of Strafe being a Jounin-level sensei to a bunch of Genin seemed funny. Strafe was quite young himself, and picturing him guiding a few kids his own age seemed almost inspirational in a way. Anybody at any age can do anything they set their mind to, really.

"I would love to have a squad of my own." Strafe said earnestly as he sat across from Isamu at the table. He immediately dug into his food, taking a bite and sighing with pleasure as he swallowed the moichi. "I'm not sure if I'll be getting a squad of my own anytime soon, but I'm certainly up for the challenge." He said with a gleam of determination in his eyes. He was ready to take the next steps as a shinobi, regardless of something as simple as age.

Isamu ate his mochi with a smile. "It's good to hear that you're so determined. That's definitely a good thing when you're a ninja." He continued to wonder about Strafe as a ninja; he was still eager to see him in battle, since the match with Yuudai was postponed. "So what elements do you use? I don't know much about Hyouton."

"Very wise words, my friend." He said impressed at how much the eager ninja knew. Strafe started to think that he might want to mentor this ninja in the future. "I mainly focus on Hyouton, or Ice Release. It combines the elements of Suiton, Water, and Fuuton, Wind." He said explaining it carefully and simply. "Because of my ability to create Ice, I also have the ability to use the elements that make it up as well." He said proudly as he was one of the few people in his village to have a special element like Hyouton.

"And what about additional fighting styles? I notice that other members of your clan use swords, like Yuudai. Do you focus more on Taijutsu or Ninjutsu? Or do you use Genjutsu?"

Isamu shuddered at the thought of Genjutsu. He'd never been trapped in one, and never wanted to be. It was a terrifying thought; being in a reality that felt real but was horribly wrong. He had nightmares about being trapped in a Tsukuyomi.

"I focus more so on Ninjutsu than Taijutsu or Kenjutsu. I use the ability to fight at a distance so I can have more time to evade, should someone target me. " he said explaining his basic reasoning for his fighting style. "As a medical shinobi, my first priority is to stay alive so I can heal my comrades in battle." He said feeling like a sensei as he explained some of the basics of strategy from his perspective. He hoped that Isamu would take the information he was being told and use it to benefit him in future missions.

"Medical ninja, you say? Haha, Rudie and I often practice our medical skills together. You and I should train sometime. So have you worked in a hospital setting before? I find it helps with learning basics of medical ninjutsu." Isamu's kekkei genkai literally left medical ninjutsu in his blood. He had great respect for anyone who had dedicated their time to learning it, as it showed their desire to help others through healing. Or maybe an affinity towards death through nerve tissue-cutting. Eh, whatever. He still liked medical ninja.

"Training sounds good to me!" Strafe said with a smile as he wondered who Rudie was, but let it go. "Ive worked in a hospital many times!" Strafe said with a laugh as thought back to the memories that were made there. Not only memories, but lessons as well. He had made more than a few mistakes in his time as a medical nonja. All of them do.

"Perfect." Isamu finished off his mochi and his hair fell over his face as he felt full and satisfied. He wondered what Ryu was doing right now. He hadn't seen him in a few weeks, which was a rare occurrence since had they started dating. He figured he should go by his house and check up on him. He fixed his coat and put his scarf back on, seeing as it was cold outside, and looked over to Strafe. "I'm gonna go over to my boyfriend's house to see how he's doing. You wanna come with, or at least walk me there?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Strafe said finishing up his meal as well. His sighed in relief, noticing how full he was. He stood up, making sure he didnt spill anything and waited for Isamu to head out. He wondered what the young boy's significant other would be like. It was nice to finally meet someone else like hile was.

Strafe happily agreed to come over, and Isamu smiled with relief. He never really liked walking alone, not that he was scared, but he just felt lonely. They left the building and started walking a bit briskly. The weather was getting colder by the minute, and mist plagued the streets. Isamu took a moment to think as they continued; he hadn't been on a mission in a while, it would be good to fit in one. "So I figure that since I've been having lazy days for a few weeks now, I should be jumping back into missions soon. I'd love to go on a few with you; missions are always more fun with friends, like training. Ughh, I just want to spend more time with you in general. Your personality is so refreshing."

They walked at a steady pace as the headed towards their destination. He was quite happy when he hung out with Isamu, who was full of energy and kindness. It was nice to meet someone like that in comparison to the rest of the shinobi in Kiri, who were kind of serious and egotistical. "Im always down for doing missions! I need to get back into them as well, as I've been focusing more on training lately." He said with a warm smile. "Maybe I can take on a higher ranked one so you can get some more experience in the field!" Strafe said as he thought about the possibilties. He would love to another medic in any way.

"Yeah, I do need the experience. I haven't done much more than cleaning stuff and finding things, really, haha." They turned one more corner, and arrived at a small house, almost cottage-like. Isamu stepped up to the door, and knocked on it once, twice, three times. Ryu's mother opened the door, with a soft smile resting on her wrinkled face. "Oh, Isamu! It's been a long while. Ryu's over here." Isamu smiled back and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Aika." He went into the house and greeted his boyfriend with a hug. "Oh, and I brought my friend! I'll go get him!" he ran back outside and grabbed Strafe's arm, ushering him in.

OOC:

Ryu's Appearance:

"We all could use some experience!" Strafe said with a smile as they arrived at The house. Isamu knocked on the door and was greeted by a woman, who looked to be a middle aged woman. Isamu called her Mrs. Akia, so he guessed that was what he would call her as well. Isamu rushed in the house before coming back out and leading Strafe inside. "It's nice to meet both of you!" Strafe said with a warm smile. The house was very nice and well kept, which was pleasant to see. He wondered what Ryu was like, but kept these thoughts to himself.

Isamu and Strafe reached Ryu, who was sitting casually in his room, reading. Isamu let go of Strafe's arm, and pressed a finger to his own lips to signal "shhhh". He tiptoed over to Ryu, as quietly as possible, as not to alert him, before grabbing his shoulder and yelling, "Boo!" Ryu didn't respond at all. Isamu stood there for a few moments, unsure of why Ryu didn't get scared or at least flinch. "You're no fun, you know that?" Once again, no response from Ryu. Growing irritated, he jumped over the bed that Ryu was sitting on and went around the side, making eye contact. Suddenly, Ryu's face lit up and his amber golden eyes shone clearly. "Isamu! What're you doing here?" He pulled two earplugs out of his ears. Isamu sighed, and looked back up. "Coming to visit, of course. I haven't seen you in weeks! Here, I brought my friend Strafe. He's a Jounin!" Ryu laughed, thinking about how innnocent and childish Isamu could be, before he turned to face Strafe while pushing back his pitch black hair. He outstretched an arm with an open hand. "Nice to meet you, Strafe. I'm Ryu Aika."