Tick … Tick … … Tick.

The irregular sounds of the clock sitting on the wall seems to deliberately pick at her nerves, the uneven beat making her cringe in irritation as the moments passed by. Sachiko found herself glaring at the inanimate object - willing it to just function normally - as she waited idly for something, anything to happen. It had only been about thirty minutes since she woke up, yet it felt like hours, especially with the broken clock still hanging on to a single thread of life, disrupting the proper flow of time. She wasn't necessarily a control freak, or one that studied details obsessively, but without a doubt, the girl was just about ready to help rid the place of a clock if it didn't stop completely or fix itself.

The worst was yet to come, she knew that much. She had had such a peaceful sleep, but she had woken up before her alarm. No doubt the broken clock being the reason behind the delay. So for now she just laid in bed, staring down the small analog clock as it's minute hand slowly neared the set alarm. It was only in the next minute that the alarm could go off. The trepidation was beginning to overwhelm her. Stupid analog clocks, she grumbled in her mind, if Shingen would just let me get a digital one this would never happen. Still, the offbeat ticking continued, her eyes narrowing as if to make it just stop completely. That would be better than hearing it ring off the wall.

No matter, she still had no mental powers to stop the flow of time or even disrupt the functionality of her half-working clock. But as if to mock her, the clock's minute hand finally budged and the alarm rang.

TING-TING-TING-A-LING-DING-DING-DING-DING-DINNNGGGG--SMASH

Her hand sprang into action the moment it started ringing, the sound a pull on her delicate nervous system that acted as a hair trigger for her arm to reach out and grab the devilish device. With a fluid movement of her wrist the clock went flying across the room. It soared for one second before slamming against the wall. The clock cracked and pieces fell, but the entire thing still managed to stay together as it fell and bounced against the tatami mats.

With that out of the way, she got dressed and ready for the day. She had been awake after all, just was a bit angry with her broken clock, which she had just broken even further. It didn't even tick anymore. She sighed with the knowledge that she would have to go out and buy a new one. Yet this would be her chance to finally get a new one, maybe even a digital one. And with Shingen away on a mission, she could pick whichever one she wanted... and could afford.

Her ryo was a little low, but still something. Lunch would have to be handmade if she intended to buy a clock though. Oh, the trivialities of life. With everything ready for the day, she headed out into the village. Her job: find a working clock.

---

Sachiko had gotten herself into quite the situation. A brand new digital clock was what she wanted, but she had never paid any attention as to where a clock shop could be found. Shingen had always had that clock, so there was never a time where he had needed to take her shopping for clocks. This was a big issue for her as a clock was the only thing she needed. But where to go?

There were deli shops, gift shops, book shops, craft shops, clothing stores, candy vendors, hair salons and parlors, bars and restaurants. No clock shops. At least not in sight. She was having a very troubling time when all of a sudden things got even worse.

PFFFFFFFF-GERRRRREEEEEEE-UUURRRRRRRWWWWWWW-UGGGGGGHHHHH

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, realizing what had just happened, her words coming out loud when she thought she was just screaming in her head at the tragedy befalling her.

Explosive Diarrhea.

Only a few people that were closest to her had turned around to see what was the matter, but her scream was the real cause for everyone's heads turned in her direction. The entire street was soon to understand the very issue arising from her rectum. Of all the places for this to happen, it had to happen in public. She seemed to have the worst luck today.

Frantic and in a panic, she clinched her legs tight but that did nothing. She tried covering her behind with her hands but already some fits of laughter were spewing here and there. It was like watching dominoes fall, except instead of the tinking of hard plaster hitting plaster, it was laughs of all snickers and giggles coming at her like a barrage of emotional kunai. Oh, the horror!

Tears were soon to follow, she could feel them building up in her eyes. Only a matter of time before the dam would break and her embarrassment would be complete. It was a pathetic sight to be seen like this, and she could feel herself collapsing from the weight of humiliation. Why did I break that stupid clock? It's all the clock's fault!

Maigo was out and about again, he was looking to get his sword, it would be something he needed as a ninja and he was at a serious disadvantage without it in a fight. The day was sunny, a rare event in Kiri, for at the least it was cloudy and even then usually raining. But the humidity of the air and the sunlight, it was a bit much and Maigo wasn't used to it, it would just be an uncomfortable day to say the least. He had made the unfortunate decision today to go get his sword though, he needed it and putting it off any later would almost be unacceptable in his mind, so he made a trip down the village and to one of the more prominent shopping areas. He knew of a weapons shop that had some decent weapons but for a cheap price, and many other stores along the way, he chose to bring his pouch of ninja tools and everything since he was going to be out and anything could happen at anytime. He entered the shopping area, a few people around looking at things here and there but it seemed a quite day for the most part. He dragged his feet as he headed to his destination, hands in his pocket and his head down looking just a head of his feet. He wasn't much in the mood for anything today really, just wanted to get his stuff and head back home where he could sit in the cool air and relax a bit today.

More steps, more people coming and going as he entered an alley of shops and stores he looked around, the number of people grew in such a small area or maybe he was just more alert. A few steps in, and he heard a scream towards on of the shops on his left, he immediately wondered what was going on, most everyone had turned to see at this point along with a few stall managers. This girl, whom he might have thought of as pretty before this incident, was having quite the struggle, the snickers and giggles of others began to fill the air. Maigo was only a few meters away and he knew almost immediately what was going on, he started out giggling to but once tears began to fill her eyes he immediately felt the regret. How embarrassing Maigo thought to himself, he just had a little bit longer to go, he knew that if he got involved he would not only embarrass himself, but he may as well forget getting his sword today. But she seemed so helpless and Maigo wanted to help, he enjoyed humor as much as the next person and especially jokes at the expense of others, but he knew the line, and she seemed as if she was at the line.

Maigo immediately had an idea, he could test out a new jutsu of his, see how well it worked on groups. He weaved the signs Bird-> Ox-> Dog and the chakra rushed through him, he put out a bit more as well so that the girl would be affected as well, he used his Illusion Art: Cloak, to create the illusion that the two of them weren't there to the crowd. He finished covering the last meter as he walked up to her, and began to speak softly as a few bystanders started to get concerned, Listen, you looked like you needed help so I decided to do something for you. Wipe your tears, I cast a genjutsu on the both of us, to the crowd, we're invisible, but I'm not sure how long I can hold this so let's get out of here before I lose my concentration. The people outside of the jutsu's range can see us but that far away and you can appear completely normal. Maigo felt pity for the girl and his words were soft spoken and sincere, he did feel kinda bad for her and her...current...situation. With a pause he spoke again, Well, if you're ready let's go get you cleaned up. He wasn't sure if two people in the jutsu could see each other or if he was just some mysterious voice, but could she see him, he would be smiling, trying to keep it together in as ridiculous a situation he had gotten himself into, but inside his mind, he was mixed up in emotions of pity, and frustration among others. Regardless, this is not how Maigo had intended his day to go.

[773 words]

140/150 chakra:

As the tears began flowing down her face, when the sound of the crowd's laughter began to die down. She was too occupied with her tears to notice this until a voice came to her. Looking up, she saw the dark haired older boy standing over her, speaking gently to her. He seemed kind and she took a few seconds to look up at the crowd. They were looking around and growing worried, muttering questions about what had happened to her. Sniffling, she wiped away her tears and nodded towards the boy.

Sachiko would get up and leave the crowd with the boy, and with a bit of some leading done by her (for she really wanted to get out of that area) she would run over into a small clothing store where upon entering she didn’t hesitate to step into the first bathroom she saw. Although, as it was just a clothing store, the only bathroom it had available was one designated to just employees. Still, it was a single person bathroom and with the door locked shut behind her, no one would be coming in on her. Quickly she cleaned herself up, and then reluctantly she came back out.

The cleaning process took quite a while. There was a lot to clean up. As much as she tried, there had been no perfect way to clean up the stain left on her pants, although it wasn’t nearly as dark as before. She was smart enough to have chosen a clothing store to hide away in, as she knew she’d have to get herself a change of clothes. Coming out of the bathroom, she would make a glance around the store for a good pair of pants as her main goal was to get changed out of her now ruined ones. Once found, she would grab straight away from the first pair of pants she could grab and then head back to the bathroom to change. Sachiko had grabbed without much worry about if it matched her normal clothes or not, as it didn’t matter so much to her at the moment, but she had grabbed a good pair of dark pants. She threw away her old pair and made sure to keep the pouch which held her throwing senbon and kunai. Definitely not wanting to throw away any of her weapons.

Upon finally exiting the bathroom for the second and final time, she would search for the boy that had helped her, if he still stuck around, so she could thank him for his help. She hadn’t deserved any of it, especially another’s pity. In fact she felt very ashamed for what had transpired. Yet a noble deed was done and it would be a crime had she not acknowledged such kindness being bestowed upon her. There, she would make an oath to the boy of a debt she would owe him her services as a fellow shinobi of the mist. It would be an oath he couldn’t deny nor have to accept. The oath was hers to make and the debt hers to repay.

All this she would tell the boy and more, had he stayed nearby enough for her to find him. And then she'd push back her hair behind her ears and introduce herself. "I am Sachiko Hattori, and I promise my debt to you will be repaid."

This was quite more business-like than she had ever been, but throughout her talk of oath and debts, she was restating what had been taught to her by her caretaker and master, and so she took this very seriously. In fact, with how young she was, she took it a little bit too seriously. Every bit of her manners was trying too hard to be on point. Sachiko didn't want the oath to feel untrue or forced in any way, but her movements and words were all too rigid as it was clear she had never been so serious in her life.

Maigo helped the girl out and they quickly arrived in the first clothing store nearby, as they arrived she quickly ran into the bathroom immediately, and from there Maigo figured he could release his illusion. As he released he could see some shock on a nearby customers face, probably weird to re-appear in the middle of the store, but too late now, he browsed shortly, just to make sure that the girl was alright. She quickly ran out and grabbed a pair of pants, it didn't look like she checked the size or matched the color, just grabbed and ran back to the bathroom. Maigo sighed and put his hands on his head, She seems fine, I'll go wait outside he thought to himself and walked back out the door. He went outside and sat down on a bench, leaning back and waving to a few people who walked by he waited, maybe the girl would come find him, maybe she would be so embarrassed that she ran away almost immediately. Oh well, it would be a few minutes before he would know for sure.

A few minutes walked by, he sat there enveloped in his own thoughts for a few minutes, nothing really sticking, just random thoughts coming and going, he had almost all but forgotten that he even helped the girl out. That is until she found him sitting outside the clothing store and approached him, her voice was serious as she introduced herself and, in some ways, thanked him for helping her out. Overly-formal about it to possibly one of the most informal of people, for a split second all that was running through Maigo's mind was how he could abuse his power that he had now been granted. There would be a short pause as he thought to himself, leaving her to awkwardly stand there for a second before snapping back into reality. Maigo snapped his golden eyes to her to make eye contact as he began to speak letting out a sigh as he began, Well Sachiko, my name is Maigo, and it's no big deal really, nothing to freak out over atleast.

Maigo would wait again to see if she changed her stance or demeanor at all before continuing, himself rather intrigued now by a girl, who didn't seem to understand how small a task that was, but instead seemed to over react. I'll tell you what, you can make it up to me by keeping me company for the afternoon and telling em about yourself some, I'm a brand new genin so there's lots I don't know about the village that you might be able to show or tell me about. Maigo had fashioned a smile while he was speaking, he was hoping this girl didn't abandon him and this task was simple enough to easily repay any debt she would've had. That and he could use the company, for today at the very least.

[505 words, 1278 words total]

There was a quiet silence. Sachiko shifted her weight as she awaited a response from the shaggy haired boy. He seemed to be thinking about what she said. She watched impatiently as he formed up some response. Was he already planning on her repaying the debt? HAd she been too formal? I mean, she was saved in a sense. Although she was certain her master, Shingen, had only meant to owe debts to those that had saved her life, she was quite certain that this could be called saving her 'social' life.

Finally the boy spoke, but he more of waived off her debt as if it were an over dramatization for the event. She almost felt offended by his statement but the truth was she had gone over the top, she could admit to that. Yet still it was very, very embarrassing and she did owe him something for that. And then he went around the debt by just asking to walk around a bit.

"Well, I mean, if you don't want a debt then okay," she consented. Debts weren't really her thing, thus why she had been over the top about this one, but the emotional scar left from the humiliation had been quite big for her so she thought it necessary. "I'm not sure what all I can tell you. I've only been a genin for a while myself. And I'm not originally from here either."

Sachiko had been in the village for nearly a year now. A lot had happened and she had learned a lot, but she wasn't someone that had been born and raised in the Hidden Mist. There had been some that had taught her more than others, but the main gist of her knowledge was from what her sensei taught her. She owed everything to that man, especially when she lived with him.

"I guess I'm not the best person to help tell you about things, but I can share what I do know." Her arm sheepishly went behind her head as she spoke, scratching the back of her head nervously. "Where were you going?"

Maigo watched Sachiko as she shifted her wait, a pause came after he spoke, was she thinking or unsure of what to say? After the hesitation she spoke again, "Well, I mean, if you don't want a debt then okay," her statement seemed sassy as if he didn't care about what he had done. The truth was that he cared, he felt empathy for her, being in many an awkward situation before, but it was no big deal, and had it been someone else, he probably would have done the same. It was really just no big deal and didn't need to made out as such, and Maigo gave his option for her to join him, "I'm not sure what all I can tell you. I've only been a genin for a while myself. And I'm not originally from here either." He wasn't sure if that was a yes or not, but interestingly enough she was a genin too, that was good, so they were about equal in terms of ability, well maybe they could wander around aimlessly together and chat about...well whatever comes to mind.

Then came an agreement to join him and share what she knew followed by a question of where he was going. It was an interesting question indeed, Maigo crossed his arms and put his hand to his chin and hummed as he stood up from his bench, as if he was thinking deeply, he would keep her waiting for a second then proclaim, Well, to be honest, I really don't know. I guess anywhere, everywhere, no where. Kinda whichever one shows up first. he chuckled as he waited for her response, he wasn't really sure what to say, he had nothing in mind for the day and really just wanted the company. He would quickly burst out, Well, if you don't much and I don't either then let's just go explore some a pause would come in between his sentences as he raised his arm to the back of his head and he looked down towards her feet, I mean if you want to of course, you don't have to. he had edged away some, anxiety had hit again and he was becoming nervous again, he wasn't sure that she would want to keep dealing with Maigo, and it would only be a matter of time before he did something dumb around Sachiko or even directly to her.

He waited for her response, if she would accompany him he would lead the way to the center of the village, towards the admin building, just aiming to see the sights and talk to one of his fellow genin while she was around. But for the time being he would wait for her response, if she agreed and had anything in mind to see maybe he could follow her to wherever, it didn't really matter, Maigo wasn't a picky person when it came to anything and especially not when spending the afternoon with a very pretty girl and a possible future teammate.

[523 words, 1801 words]

Posting to exit this thread, it's been over a month and no response, and with the chuunin exams coming up I need to finish threads off, if you return we can always start another thread but for now, I'll be taking my leave.

[Exit Thread]

Training: