Years had passed and time felt like a plague endlessly gnawing away at his life. These feelings he could not shake constantly in the back of his mind like a tumor of sorrow. Many people as they got older would forget about their past, bits and pieces fade into oblivion, details about loved ones gone, and family forgotten. He however was not like most, he could still remember how cold it felt to be kicked out of home and cast among the wolves of the wild. The ever growing fear of abandonment and torment that haunted him every step he took on his own. Two years alone in the wilderness as a mere child of seven hunting, defending, and starving. Those feeling of loneliness never eased as he grew older in a village filled with people. People saw him every day and yet chose to ignore him as if he was a blight on society, an unwanted outsider. It was because he was in such a populated society and being alone that made these feelings worse.

He would never admit these feelings though. To him showing emotion was a sign of weakness and among shinobi, weakness is not welcomed. There was also the factor that if he did express his feelings he was outcasted even more. Relying on himself is all he had ever known but it didn't make his longing for companionship any less potent. Today however, was like any other day. He would always walk through the market purchasing the few things he could afford, like apples, and other snacks the get him through the week. His diet wasn't the best but he trained so much he never really cared what or when he ate. He would also walk the market just people watching, observing, and questioning himself what it meant to be a normal human of Kiri.

Dameon took a bit of the fresh red apple as he ducked into an alleyway he knew all too well and sat down. He rested his back against the cold foundation of one of the market buildings and stared up at the cloudy sky, his hair ever so slightly blowing in breeze. He took another bite, whipping his mouth of the juices that flowed from the fruit. The day was particularly cold because of the breeze so he had his jacket buttoned up to the last two buttons, the leather straps and belt lying against the ground. He turned his attention back to the market, observing the people of the village as they passed his alleyway. He envied them in a lot of ways.

He watched a young family with their children no older than five playing with one another as they walked the length of the market. He wondered where that had been in his life as the haunting memories of his parents being jailed filled his mind. A single tear fell from his face, mixing with the moisture left over from his now half eaten apple. This was why he had become a shinobi, to endure the rough times, and take on the pain of his own lie, so other people wouldn't have to go through what he had. He didn't know if his ideology was correct or if it was the misguided judgment of a foolish teen. All he did know was that it felt right to him, so he would pursue it.

He finished his apple departing it among the trash of one of the stalls he sat between and retook his seat in the alley. Every day for seven years he had walked this path and sat in this alley eating the same apples from the same stand. Not once had anyone so much as even asked him his name. It was a depressing thought to be in a world so busy and still be considered alone. He wondered if it would ever change, but he was always prepared for the worst.

Reina had been walking by the market, having agreed to pick up some groceries for her parents. She would have been much rather off working on a new jutsu or her stances, but everyone needed a break once in a while, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that this was merely her parents' way of telling her to get her ass of training and relax for a bit.

Reina reached into the grocer's bag, filled with items that scratched off all on the list her parents gave her. She picked an apple and fascinated herself by the way the skin glinted with the light, before taking a deep bite of the apple. It wasn't as fresh as she would have hoped – to do that, she would've had to walk an hour to one of the further markets – but it had to do. It was good as any in her opinion, considering this was the first time her teeth sunk into an apple in six months.

A boy, playing around, bumped into her from the side. Inwardly, she cursed herself for always getting bumped by things despite her supposedly being a ninja. The apple tumbled out of her grasp and she spat the part in her mouth out, having almost choked on it in surprise. She shot the small boy a glare, only to find he was nowhere to be seen, and ran off after the apple that had rolled into an alleyway.

She picked it up and threw it in the nearby trash can. It was filthy, and while delicious, was potentially a health hazard. Besides, she had at least a dozen other apples among her groceries. She was not going to be going without apples for another few weeks, if she had her way. She was about to turn and leave when her eye caught a figure in the shadows of the alley.

'Why would someone be hiding out here?' she wondered.

To sate her curiosity, she placed her grocery bags somewhere near the entrance, confident that she would be able to catch the thief should anyone attempt to steal them, or that she could just double back to the groceries if she failed the chase. Grocery shopping was what she did every week or fortnight, at best a month, but seeing someone in an abandoned alleyway – a ninja, at that, if his headband was anything to go by – and someone of her age, too, called out to her heart.

“Hey, is anything wrong?” Reina asked, not too sure how to proceed with the situation, but determined to sate her curiosity nonetheless.

Dameon kept observing the market place as the people came and went. Never did the thought occur to him that alleys went both ways. The fact someone had been walking toward him from the opposite direction startled him all the more when the young lady began to speak. Jumping to his feet and turning around quickly to confront her not knowing what to expect he heard the words exit her mouth. The words hit him much the same way a punch to the stomach would. He was caught off guard his mind rattling with different answers and solutions to her question. He was never one for lying or bending the truth. The trail from the previous tear exposed in public as he wiped it away with his hand and he cleared his throat, buying time.

“No, just the same old same old,” he said with kind of a puzzled frown. The truth was he didn’t know if his emotions or feeling were ‘wrong’, or justified. It was also kind of surprising having someone talk at all to him. He could count the number of times people had talked to him on one hand in the past year, and most of those were one ward like ‘move’. It was a bit new to him, talking with anyone face to face and he didn’t quite know what to do or expect.  He knew it felt right though, not necessarily his words or how much a fool he felt like he was making of himself but that someone like her would talk to someone like him.

She had a very warming demeanor about her, like someone that actually cared. She was cute too with her long blonde hair and her blue eyes that expressed genuine concern. He was at a loss of words not knowing exactly what to say or do. Like anything being sociable requires practice to some extent especially when he hadn’t talked with someone for such a long time and constantly feeling alone. He opened his mouth to speak again but seemed to not be able to string along an actual sentence.

”I…uh…”, was all he could say before he closed his mouth to prevent any further embarrassment to himself. He didn’t want to be judged any more than everyone else in his life had already judged him.

Reina looked confused. This boy here had obviously wanted to say something, but had shut himself up immediately. That alone arouse her suspicion. There were only a handful of reasons why people would be so unwilling to speak when they were, say, locked in self-exile in an alley, and having traitorous information about the village was among them. Then again, while it took the top priority on her list of reasons why he was being so secretive, it could also have been the stunted social abilities that he had, something she could more than relate to, considering she had been focused more on her clan than her friends when she was in the Academy. Having another friend definitely wouldn't hurt in the slightest.

And what he had said at first struck her as weird. For one, you didn't tell someone 'Just the same old, same old' if you had never met others before. Reina would be hard-pressed to guess what this 'same old same old' he mentioned referred to, and she controlled herself at not pushing it further. Or, at least, until they found a more proper place to talk. Two people speaking in an alleyway, while not uncommon in a ninja village due to the need for secrecy, did turn up some questions. After all, why would ninja speak in secrecy in an alleyway when they could do it somewhere more, as people would refer to it, 'civilised', such as in the Mizukage's tower.

“So...” Reina began. She had never talked to someone unwilling to talk back. Usually, they did the talking and she gave the witty retorts, which usually only served to drive said people away from her and destroy any hope of hers of them being anything close to friends. She didn't want to make the same mistake. Regardless of who he was, the fact there weren't ANBU chasing actively after him (at least she hoped not, considering how secretive they could be when they wanted to) told her he was at least safe to be around. “... What are you doing in this alleyway?” she tried lamely.

Dameon again was faced with a question he had to actually think about to answer in his mind he was speaking out loud and bluntly but this time he had to actually manifest words from him mouth. He had a couple options, at least to him as he reached and placed his hand on the back of his neck as he continued to think. He could just ignore her altogether and walk away, continuing to live and be alone by himself, but that didn’t seem to be the answer to this situation at all. She felt like someone he could at least attempt to talk to and that half got the better of him.

“Sorry, I’m not used to people wanting to talk to me,” Dameon admitted as his hand that was on the back of his neck moved across the branded scar of his clan symbol. He had at least spoken this much a little didn’t feel like it would hurt, but in all honesty he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect if he continued. He looked past her and could see the bag she had left before entering the alley to talk to him. Something he wouldn’t have personally done. There were a lot of people in this area of the village who would gladly take the bag and run off.

“In fact, I’ve been coming down here to this alley every day for the last seven years and you were the first person to even acknowledge my existence. I should thank you I suppose,” he said showing a little uncertainty with the ending of his last sentence. His words getting ahead of his brain, he honestly didn’t know how to respond to acknowledgement.

“I guess you could say I come here to be with the people of the village. I am not looked at very nicely because I am not from here. So people just tend to ignore me and others follow suit out of risk of being ridiculed…seems like my life story in fact,” he said opening up a little bit as he scratched the back of his head in a sort of nervous demeanor as he looked at the ground. He kind of expected her to just walk away at this point. He wasn’t entirely sure why he rambled about what he had. Perhaps his feelings and emotions about everything just needed to be released to sort of vent his pain. She was a stranger though and it was embarrassing. His internal conflict continued to rage on as he slowly turned away from her.

“I’m sorry I bothered you…maybe I should just go.”

Not used to people talking about him? The way the boy in front of her brought his hand to the back of his neck normally told her he was nervous, but the way his hand seemed to caress something there instead of scratching his neck told her otherwise. Maybe he had some sort of scar that reminded him of his past or something. Already Reina felt as if she had some sort of connection with this person, if their similarities were anything to go by.

She had been about to speak up when he told her she was the first to acknowledge him in seven years. While a part of her was taken aback by the fact he had lived in the face of loneliness for over half a decade, the logical part of her mind didn't find it all too outstanding, and even agreed with what followed. The people of Kirigakure weren't just busy; they were also weary of outsiders. It was normal, perhaps, and the Mizukage's trust in this boy to allow him to enter the village did little to water down their suspicion of the man.

“I'm sorry I bothered you... maybe I should just go.”

Reina had been about to reply when she heard a small shuffle behind her and saw a young kid – one of the locals, if her eyes weren't mistaken – reach for her bag. Normally, she would've turned round and sprinted after the little boy, but realised that he was stealing out of necessity, and she did sort of invite it by leaving it at the entrance of the alleyway. So, instead of abandoning the stranger and going after the poor boy, she sighed and turned her attention back to the boy in front of her.

Groceries were one thing, and they could be bought again if she needed to. Her parents had certainly given her enough extra in case something like this happened. Of course, they hadn't been expecting her to be robbed. No, they actually expected she would've engaged in some sort of self-training on the way home and accidentally destroyed all the groceries, but what mattered was she had money to spare. Her parents would probably be annoyed at her by this, but they were close enough it didn't matter.

“Nah, it's no bother, but maybe you're right. Leaving is probably for the best,” Reina said as she turned to leave. “Come on then, this alleyway's too dark and deep for a conversation. I know a teriyaki store just down the road. Lunch is on me. Consider it a belated welcome gift to Kiri.”

Dameon stopped just before he could take his first step toward the exit of the alley. He didn’t quite understand. This young lady was offering him company despite her groceries being taken. This meant she wasn’t worried about the groceries, perhaps because she wasn’t really the one paying for them to begin with. Best he could figure was that her parents had sent her out to get them and now they were gone because of him. Yet she still offered to be with him and even offered him a warm meal, something he wasn’t too familiar with.

“You are... very kind and I appreciate your offer but I couldn’t take money from you,” he said turning halfway around to reply back, not wanting to be rude to someone who was being incredibly nice to him. There was a brief moment of silence as his stomach let out aloud growl and his face filled with embarrassment. He hit his stomach as if it was going to make a difference and his hand ran back up the back of his head out of a nervous habit. He kind of looked away for a second then back to her regaining what little composure he could. Dameon had been known for being a resilient person, completely emotionless, and reserved; yet this young lady was breaking him down piece by piece and he didn’t quite know how, or why.

“If uh…you insist though I won’t decline. I will repay you though…I am not one to just take free offerings. Nothing in the last eight years of my life has been free. Besides I’m sure your parents won’t be too happy you let your groceries get taken,” he said having had his stomach change his mind. He also wanted to know more and he couldn’t learn about this young lady from not talking to her or being around her. He didn’t understand why she put trust in a stranger like himself, especially one that just admitted everything he had. Was it pity? He didn’t know, all he did know was to follow his instincts, and his gut. His instincts were telling him to trust her just like his instincts eight years ago had lead him out of the wilderness and into a village.

He didn’t know what else to say and he really wanted to know why she was insisting on talking with him and even so much as offering him a free meal. The concept of kindness was something that had eluded his own personal life and was more something he showed to others. He didn’t realize he was in need of being kind too, but it felt good.

”If you don’t mind me asking, why are you being so kind to me?”

Reina almost grinned. The boy had been insistent on not eating, until his stomach seemed to rebel against his mind and intentions, going so far as to prove its desire for food with a loud rumble that even she heard at her distance feet away. At least she knew the boy was sincere; he wouldn't have declined her offer for food had he been scraping for pity.

“I don't really see a reason not to be kind,” Reina answered. “We may be ninja and we may handle underhanded missions like sabotage and assassination, but underneath all that, we're all still the same. We're human. And as humans we can't ignore the calling of our hearts when we see others in danger. That's what my grandfather always told me.”

It somewhat warmed her heart as she recalled what he had said just seconds before. It was rare to find someone who was unwilling to take up a free offer. Most people she met would jump at the opportunity to eat with her, only to never hear from her again out of their obnoxiousness. She was glad for a change of pace in this stranger, even if she did feel somewhat guarded about it. Her wallet was also complaining, since she would technically be dishing out money from her monthly allowance.

“Don't worry about the freebie,” she smiled. “Besides, I don't plan on giving it to you free anyway. Promise me you won't go lounging about in the alleyways thinking of whatever sad past you have, and instead train so you can make Kirigakure proud of you and acknowledge you. Oh, and don't tell my parents I skipped out on grocery shopping if any Aisu ask. If they found out I'm forgoing training because of you, they'll fork over cash for lunch every day and there goes my training time,” she almost groaned.

Reina skipped ahead a few feet, waiting for him to follow. “So, teriyaki? Or sushi?”

Dameon listened to her explanation to his question and it was a very well-spoken answer. It was exactly the same way he felt toward others, he just didn’t feel as if kindness would ever pertain to being done for him. It started to form half a smile on his face. It made him feel welcomed for the first time in his life and that meant something. When she mentioned about him putting his past aside to train harder he kind of looked down then back up with a little bit of a grin.

“Ma’am you don’t have to worry about me training any less. It’s because of my past that I train for twelve hours straight then come through the market to eat. After all I am a Shikyo, the founders of elemental jutsu created by The Sage of the Six Paths, their blood runs through my veins. You could say I am the next Lightning Emperor,” he said with a warm smile. Despite his past hardships and trials and being kicked from one of his clans town he saw it as a challenge to prove them wrong and become more than the little boy they exiled. It actually brought a smile to his face as he tried to fight away his loneliness, after all for the moment he wasn’t lonely anymore.

“You don’t have to worry about me giving up your secret. I wouldn’t betray a friend like that,” he said specifically because he was now considering her a friend at least to some extent and she would be the first he had in the village. He took a few steps forward to be closer to her as she would lead the way to wherever they decided to go. He was taller than her for sure but he didn’t realize how much until standing next to her. When she mentioned that he had a choice it wasn’t even a choice in his mind.

“teriyaki for sure, raw fish and I came to an understand where we stay away from one another. Any cold food for that matter. When I was seven I lived in the wilderness between fire and lightning country on my own for two years, didn’t understood the concept of fire with the food I ate,” He said clearing his throat.

“Perhaps when we finally sit down I’ll explain to you everything. People ignore me because they don’t know about my past you’d be the second person to know.”

Reina actually smiled definitively when he said there was no way he was going to skip training. Her own interest was piqued when he said he trained for a straight twelve hours. It was difficult to keep going for that long and not feel the effects of the exertion of training. Even she herself only trained in bits and pieces, and even then it wouldn't add up to twelve hours at the end of the day.

Reina had been secretly glad he had not chosen sushi. She and seafood did not come to any understanding. The feel of seafood in her mouth filled her with an intense queasiness that not even the fruit of the dragons would have been able to wash. It would have been a straight three hours of vomiting and squatting by the toilet bowl had he chosen to go for sushi, but she herself admitted that it was slightly intriguing, the idea of this boy.

As they walked down the street, her eyes looked around. She saw the same boy who stole her groceries, and saw him distribute the food to his family, all of whom seemed to live on the streets and make a living by collecting scraps of whatever they could find. She grinned inside. She had expected the kid to do that. If anything, she just shrugged it off as a donation. She would have fulfilled her monthly charity quota, at least.

“So, a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, huh? Well then, make sure you live up to that name and make Kirigakure proud or you'll have my wallet to answer to,” she smiled. “I just realised, I don't even know your name. Mine's Reina. Aisu Reina. What's yours?”

That was the question she asked as she directed them under the flaps of the teriyaki diner she led them and into the restaurant itself.

It was nice seeing her smile, it was something he hadn’t seen a whole lot and it fit her very well and more so it made him want to smile in return, and smile he did. As they walked back the homeless family he nodded at them as they waved back with a small smile on their faces as he pulled an apple out of jacket and handed it to the mother. It was something he did every day, he had very little money but at least he had a room to call his own and enough money to eat, so every day he always bought two apples one for him and one for the family.

“Well to be more detailed, The Sage created the six paths. One of which being Ninjutsu the first five people who learned Ninjutsu each had a separate element. These five shinobi called themselves Shikyo, I am a descendant to the creator of Raiton Ninjutsu, he was mostly known as The Lightning Emperor. If you don’t believe me you should look at the back of my neck. Most of the towns created by the Shikyo are peaceful out of fear of creating a corruptible shinobi with extreme power. Its why…I was kicked out of my clans town at seven,” he said her being the first person he had ever told that part of the story too.

“My name is Dameon Shikyo, and I’m glad to have met you Reina.,” he said with a slight formal bow and a smile on his face. He truly was happy to have met her, what many could not have done in years in the village she was accomplishing in minutes. He was opening up and his armor that guarded his emotions for so long seemed to fall into shattered pieces. As they entered the diner he let her lead the way to the table before sitting down himself across from her.

“This is my first time in here,” he said as he looked around the place quickly observing the people and opting for the seat facing the door just in case something were to happen that needed his attention.

“So I take it your parents don’t approve of you training so much?”

Reina's eyes narrowed playfully somewhat as he asked her about her training. “Now why would you want to know that?”

Then, they softened, and they gained a faraway look as Reina reminisced all the things that had happened in her life. While none of them were even half as bad as what Dameon had just described, they had all changed her life and put her on the path she now walked, and she would dismiss none of them as unimportant.

“My parents don't approve of me training so much... because they don't find my goal worthy... Since I was young, my clan has always been telling me that I should be lucky to be born into the Aisu clan. My grandfather and my parents used to joke around that I should try my best, but since I was too young to understand their humour, I took it to heart. And so, I grew up, thinking that I had to be the best of the best, or I would be nothing more than a failure in the eyes of my clan, and in the eyes of Kirigakure.

“My grandfather used to tell me stories of how, three hundred years go, Kirigakure was known as the Bloody Mist, the place where students killed each other for graduation and where bloodline wielders like us who walk the streets are hunted and killed gruesomely.” At this, Reina chuckled, “”Not really the kind of bedtime story to be telling to a four-year-old, huh?”

Reina's brain kicked into overdrive as she realised she had just revealed what had been in her heart for over a decade to some stranger she had just met, and didn't regret it in the slightest. It felt good to actually have someone to talk to, someone to share her problems with. It made all the weight on her shoulders of being a prominent Aisu clan member seem so much lighter, and if it didn't even do that, it just made her feel good to express herself.

“Well, that's one reason anyway,” she dismissed her thoughts. “So, mister Lightning Emperor the Second, if you don't mind me asking, what's your life story?”

Dameon listened to her seeing the same expression on her face that had given when he had opened to a more or less stranger. He smiled at it listening to her words carefully as he listened intently. He even thought to himself how fate had driven his entire life up to now. Fate had hardened him in the wilderness hell bent on walking one direction for years till he was found half dead by Kiri ninja, and to become a shinobi the reason for exile to begin with, all to follow the same routine every day and meet someone he could share everything with. His life seemed to be picking up now more than it ever had.

“Life story…depends on what you consider living, it’s been more of a constant struggle than anything. I was raised till the age of seven in the far end of the lightning country with my parents. They took in a lot of strangers that traveled to show peace and promote neutrality for their town. A stranger one day came in and much like your grandfather used to tell me all about the shinobi life, only from a side of adventure and fun. I began to dress up like a shinobi and play like that around town, and one day I was kicked out for it because of rumors being spread the neutral town was raising ninjas to be spies. My parents protested and were thrown into jail as I was exiled from my home at the age of seven. From there I started a two year journey in a single direction hoping it would lead me some place special. My instinct told me to keep going that one direction, and so I did,” he said pausing briefly.

“Two years I walked that direction eating the raw fish I could find. I Sharped sticks to protect myself against wolves, bears, snakes, and other animals. If I happened to kill a wolf I would drag it with me till I hit a town and sell it for pelt and use it to buy bread or water,” he said starting to unbutton his coat to which he never wore a shirt underneath it.

“Eventually I became starved and weak and passed out just short of a clearing in the woods. It was that day kiri ninja returned from a mission and happened to find me. They fed me and brought me to the village, I never saw them again. I spent my ninth birthday in the kiri hospital recovering from gashes, cuts, bites, infection, and stomach issues from eating raw food. Only one person ever came to see me in the hospital. The same man from two years prior who told me about the shinobi. He got me a room paid for in Kiri, a small, wet storage unit, and gave me enough money to ration food for a year, and then he left. Six years later I am here after going through the academy and becoming the very thing I was exiled from my home for. Everyone that’s ever been nice or gotten close to me in the last eight years has left me, and this village hasn’t been all too welcoming. Aside from you,” he said finishing his story as he opened his jacket revealing the scars and gashes from his youth and the bite marks along his arms from defending against wolves.

As Dameon started unbuttoning his coat, Reina began to feel slightly warm and uncomfortable. She had a feeling he wore nothing underneath, as most shinobi dressed lightly, or at least so it didn't impede on their movements, and Dameon didn't seem like one to unnecessarily dress for style anyways, and was sort of unsure of how to proceed with the entire situation as button after button came loose from his coat.

When the coat was revealed, all red faded from her cheeks as her eyes scanned through each and every scar on his body. While some were faded due to age, her sharp eye could still make out the small difference in hue in his skin, which allowed her to properly guess how deep and long some injuries had been, which was only a testament to how long Dameon had to remain in the hospital to await his recovery. Kiri was nothing if not careful when it came to their patients.

“I'm... sorry. If you didn't want to talk about it, you could've just said so...” Reina's voice trailed off as she took a small sip from the cup of tea in front of her.

When she had met the man in the alleyway, she had merely wanted to grab something to eat and make a new friend, or any excuse she could pull out of thin air to avoid having to return to the grocer's so quickly and look like a fool for buying the exact same things. Part of it was also because her heart was telling her to walk up to him and ask him out, lest the poor man decide to remain in the alleyway.

She had never expected him to come clean about his life story like that. Ninja were known to be secretive, especially those who had lived tough lives and had dark pasts. But Dameon in front of her had just opened up his past and shoved it in her face like it didn't matter, like he was totally fine with it. The strength he maybe unknowingly displayed truly warmed her heart, and she felt a pang of jealousy that when he was able to admit his own exile, she wasn't able to admit her own nightmare.

“Well, trust me, Kiri is a great place. The people are just too busy to care if you don't walk up to them and say hi, and maybe you've been trying with the wrong people. Maybe other people your age will work. I mean, Kiri did bring you in when you were at death's door, and you did catch my eye, right?”

She took another sip of her drink, waiting for his order.

“It actually felt good telling someone. I played over and over in my head what I would say if they asked, but it’s not the same as letting it out and getting it off your chest,” he said smiling at her as the plates of teriyaki chicken and pork landed on their table. He buttoned his jacket back up and reached to his right grabbing the first utensil he could find, with it being a spoon, it seemed useless so he set it back down opting for the fork. He didn’t completely understand but he felt like he could trust her with a lot and she seemed to have a very welcoming demeanor to her.

“Catch your eye? A lonely man in an alleyway, tired and hungry from training. You Reina are special and unlike the rest. One eye in seven years…though I suppose if they are even half as amazing as you are It would be worth the wait,” He said taking a bite of the chicken with a smile on his face. He could tell she was taken back a bit by him unbuttoning his shirt. It could mean she wasn’t used to guys being so open and blunt, but that was Dameon. Dameon always had a habit of just doing something because he didn’t care most of the time what other people thought.

“So, what about you? I’m sure you haven’t told me everything about yourself,” he said with a warm smile as he grabbed another piece of chicken.

Reina was impressed. For someone who had little taste in food, if his self-exile was anything to go by, he seemed to have a good eye for delicious dishes. While half of the food currently laid out on the table in front of her had been ordered by the man sitting opposite her, she had ingested and moaned at every single bite she took out of it.

“You might want to be careful what you say, or it's going to be another seven years before someone else looks at you,” she joked, reaching for the teriyaki pork. Damn, she would need to order another if this went on. She never really frequented this store due to its price, and damn was she cutting into her pocket money. “And why would you want to know everything about me? Is there something you're not telling me, Dameon? Perhaps you're digging for info on the Aisu clan?” she joked.

“I'm not really sure what else there is to know about me, though,” she said, sitting back against the soft cushioned bench. The day's training began to show its effects. The soft surface tempted her with sleep, and she was hard-pressed not to give in. “You know I lived a normal if somewhat stressed life. The elders used to push me to do well until I finally gave in at five after witnessing someone die. I tried my best in the Academy and lost some friends. I came out and got trained half to death. Nope, not really much else there is to know,” she said, looking at the cup of tea in her hand and watching the contents swirl.

He blushed a little bit at her words; apparently she had completely interpreted his previous statement. That meant she was also intelligent, and he liked that as well. He watched her expression as she ate what he had selected. Dameon had a sort of passion for warm cooked meals. After being deprived of it for so long he took an interest in learning how to cook as well as finding the decent places in the city to eat and what to order.

“Find out information on the most popular clan in Kiri? I could go to the library for that,” he joked as he could see the exhaustion in her eyes knowing that feeling himself after having trained earlier himself. Another question arose to his mind as he remembered that she was a shinobi as well. He wiped his mouth with the cloth next to him and looked up at her.

“Do you have a squad yet? Has the Mizukage decided on your squad and sensei?” He asked curiously a sort of worried look on his face. He had known a lot of people from the academy that had already been assigned squads. He felt like he may have been left out or perhaps intentionally stopped at his current level, though he hoped that wasn’t the case.[/b]

“Do you really think that you can find information about our clan – top secret information that could lead to the downfall of the clan that is normally known only by the clan members – in something as public as a library? Tell me seriously. Do you?” she asked with a smile.

Then his question hit her. She was also confused as to the Mizukage's decision, but considering she was one of, if not the most, powerful shinobi in the village and also the clan, as well as being Reina's idol, Reina had no questions regarding her status without a squad. If anything, it taught her not to rely on her teammates overly, the same trouble that her grandfather had gotten into when he was young, causing him to suffer the death of both his teammates and sensei.

However, the lack of a team also meant that teamwork could not be built, and trust would not be forged. As a ninja, one could only do so much before they reached their limits. This was why having a ninja squad was so important. It was to cover one's weaknesses and help them grow, both emotionally as people and physically and mentally as shinobi. It helped increase the village's success rate, and also their own survival rate.

That was why she had submitted her application to be on a squad to the Mizukage multiple times, each time asking to be placed on a squad. However, up until now, that request had yet to be fulfilled, and Reina was soon doubting she would get a squad before she hit Chunin. For some reason, she felt as if she was very late in becoming Chunin, especially since she came from the Aisu clan. Almost everyone else she knew had already hit Chunin at her age, and she was feeling left out and pressured to improve.

She had been so deep in thought she almost forgot to reply to Dameon's question, and realised her brow had been furrowed the whole time. “Sorry, I was just thinking. I did send an application, but until now I haven't heard anything from Lady Mizukage. I've been trying to get on Kaguza-sensei's team, but I guess that's not gonna' happen. I'm likely to hit Chunin soon – about time – and then I'll be more on solo missions.”

“Well I didn’t say clan secrets or anything, but basic general knowledge. Heck my clan is so secretive and unknown it has no secrets,” he said joking. As he ended his question he saw her drift off much the same way he would when he went deep into thought about something. He patiently waited and even ate a piece of pork from the plate. He waited and when she gave her response and when she did he listened carefully even leaning in slightly to show how interested he was.

“Then that’s the team I want to go on too. I’ve applied to squads but not listed a preference of a sensei because I didn’t know any of them, but I do know whatever team you get on I want to be on the same team,” he said kind of excited and a bit relieved to know he wasn’t the only genin without a squad. He didn’t even know you could get to Chuunin without first being on a squad. In fact he didn’t even really know why he admitted what he just did and saying it in such an enthusiastic way even through him off guard. He recomposed himself and cleared his throat to speak.

“I mean to me it would work out at least. I owe you the least I could be is your body guard. You use the ice element, I can only know and master lightning, so I can at least protect you with my sword,” He said with a half serious smile on his face as he also felt embarrassed again and began to scratch the back of his head.

Reina felt somewhat touched that the boy in front of her would have made that decision just half an hour after meeting her. It wasn't every day you met a guy who demanded to be put on the same team as you just so he could be your bodyguard. It almost felt... nice, in a way, and Reina believed only the Aisu's known low body temperature kept her cheeks from flushing red at that moment.

“I don't think you'll be put on the same team as me, though,” she said. “As soon as I hit Chunin, I'll stop with the requests, and if I'm put into a team before that, I'll be taken out. So, I don't really think you should be basing what team you want to be on just because I'm on it, haha,” she laughed nervously.

"For some reason, I feel like I have to hit Chunin as fast as I can. I'm already left behind by many of my peers. Quite a number of the elders in the clan are also sending me questioning looks, wondering why I'm still a Genin when every other member my age was already a Chunin. And I get this sense of foreboding that I have to get stronger, smarter, faster. And I get the feeling I have to do this quickly, for some reason..."

Then returned the calculating, sharp look in her eye. “But I believe you could learn quite a lot from Kaguza-sensei. He's quite famous for his skills in Bukijutsu, and if I'm not mistaken, Kenjutsu. He could really teach you how to wield that sword with skill that other Kage would be jealous of. He might even know a thing or two about the properties of Lightning Style. Maybe then you'll be able to protect me properly, mister big shot Lightning Emperor," she added in the end with a warm smile.

“Oh I see you don’t take the whole Lightning Emperor thing seriously,” he said teasingly as a smile came across his face. He extended his and out and a crack of lightning snapped up followed by and arc of lightning going from the center of his palm to the wrist and began to move up his forearm and soon enough around his shoulders and head and back down into his left hand and vanishing again with another crack. He smiled having practiced doing that with his clan’s ability a lot when he got bored.

“That wasn’t using any chakra at all. My body naturally produces a high amount of electricity kind of like an electric eel, and I can harness it to make my lightning jutsu even stronger than it normally would be,” he said smiling yet again. He had a new motivation now however, if she was to become a chuunin soon he needed to work even harder to be a chuunin as well, it meant even more training than he was doing now, and to take even more missions from the Mizukage.

“I would like very much to be with a sensei that is so strong with a katana and he sounds like a great fit for both of us. You know, if you’re in such a hurry to become chuunin perhaps we should train and work together to get stronger. Training alone will only get you so far,” he suggested feeling like he had started blushing himself at that suggestion.

When Dameon had first mentioned he was a natural at lightning jutsu, she had truly believed him. While she was someone who questioned everyone's motives and everyone's words, trying to look underneath the underneath to find some hidden meaning, she didn't seem to do it with Dameon. Besides, he didn't seem like the type of person who had to lie about such things.

However, seeing it in person actually made Reina feel as if she had been underestimating his skills with the electrifying Lightning Style. When the spark came to his fingertips, she noticeably jumped slightly and moved away. Then, her eyes followed the lightning as it trailed an arc down his hand, before moving to his other hand and disappearing. That level of control was unheard of among Genin, and few Special Jonin could even hope to accomplish half of what this boy had done.

And to think he had done it without chakra? Reina was beginning to sweat from the prospect of the things he could do with his lightning style jutsu. Maybe she had come on too strong with the teasing regarding him being the Lightning Emperor, but deep down, she felt he truly would be a great master of the art of channeling lightning.

Everyone knew that lightning was like wind in many ways. Both elements were very hard to control, but where one directed the wind on where to go, letting it flow before pushing it in large and controlled amounts to make either strong pushing or cutting, lightning was a different story. You had to hold back the lightning and concentrate it in one area, before letting it out. Channeling it the way he did was almost impossible, as he seemed to be one with the lightning itself.

She shook off the fear that threatened to envelope her. Lightning jutsu scared her, no matter how much she tried to fight it and hide it. She didn't seem to be able to get through what happened all those years ago. Whenever she saw lightning out of the adrenaline of battle, the sound or sight usually reminded her of that horrid night when she had witnessed a murder relating her father. Shaking her head subtly, she breathed in and continued.

“Are you seriously asking me to train with you? Like, really?” she asked, fighting back the red in her cheeks now that the full extent of his words sunk in. “I'd love to, but my whole week's packed. And, I've got to abide by it or the clan elders will lose it. They don't really like me training with anyone my grandpa doesn't acknowledge, and it's hard to get said guy's acknowledgement because few are allowed in the compound, and my grandpa's never out of it.”

Dameon grinned during his trick and watching her expression made him feel all the more worthy. Afterword he could see the expression on her face loud and clear, the same expression he had at the fear of being along or when he had his nightmares about his youth. Something in her life made her afraid of lightning techniques and all he had done was a simply Shikyo party quirk. An expression of concern came across his face.

“Of course I am serious. We seem to have at least a small connection or bond between us after such a short time. Imagine how strong we could become if we worked together to improve ourselves. I would push you and help you focus on the things you want to work on, and you would do the same for me. I have my own training spot within the village, kind of remote but great for focusing on what you need to get done. I understand if you can’t I wouldn’t try to get you to go against your family,” He stated as he cleaned his mouth with the cloth again and set it on the table and looked deep into her eyes as if he stared at her very soul.

The eyes could tell you everything you needed to know about someone. Their determination, their motivation, if they were meant to be a fighter, or meant to support those that fought. Reading someone’s eyes was no different than reading a book, if you knew what to look for. He smiled as he waited to hear her speak.

Reina almost gulped. Dameon was looking at her. Straight at her. The intensity of his gaze unnerved her, as if he was staring straight into her soul and leaving no rocks unturned, no secrets untouched, no corner undiscovered.

His words also touched her. She knew one only got so far training alone. It was one of the reasons she had applied to train under Kaguza-sensei. Under his tutelage and the watchful eyes of her would-be teammates, she was sure she could improve herself leaps and bounds, exponentially compared to what she was achieving now. At the rate she was going, she might as well make Jounin at the ripe age of eighty.

“Sure, I'd love to train with you,” she answered with a smile, something she realised she had been doing a lot that night. She didn't need to be a genius to figure out why. Damn, if her parents got wind of this she was going to be in trouble. She didn't want the talk so soon. “I'll see when I'm free. I love the sound of your training ground, but I don't think it will suit me too well. You don't seem like the type of person to practice near a water source, and that's my one strength right now. But if you want, you could always invite me when you go training, or just plain search the northern grounds. I'm usually at one of the sixty-two training grounds that litter the place.”

She got up, leaving a bundle of cash on the table, as they had already been done with their food for quite a while.

“Let's see if the same instincts that got you out of the wild will tell you where I am, Sparky,” she grinned.

After hearing those words a big smile came across he face, he almost wanted reach across the table and hug her. Truth be told he didn’t really want to train alone anymore either, he didn’t really want to be alone ever. He felt like Reina was the person that fate had brought him to meet after all these years. He didn’t know for what reason but he wasn’t just going to ignore a good thing. He stood up with her and listened to her. He knew this city well, maybe too well from endlessly walking it from a strictly observational point of view.

“Well, you are at a Teriyaki bar in the downtown district, finding where you are when you’re lost is all about figuring out where you want to go. So, where was it that you wanted to go?” He teased her before asking that question and truth was he really didn’t know where he wanted to go or in which direction her house was in. He did know the city though and just a mention of something that was familiar to him would be able to set his mental map in motion.

“I would assume your clan house but I was never one for making assumptions,” He stated as he held the door open for as they stepped outside into the now raining darkness that was Kiri at night. Much more time had passed than he had actually anticipated, and the rain was just unfortunate but he always welcomed it in a way. It didn’t bother with his clan’s abilities and it felt great after having trained earlier. He looked back at Reina to see her reaction to it as well