It was the second day that Joruri had woken up in the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Ever since that run-in with Uchiha Tenzo, his new squad leader he had been on edge. The first day, yesterday, when he had woken up he had remained in his room until the afternoon where he finally exited to go for a walk and to find something interesting to do. After his failure with leading the squad to Kumogakure without a hitch, he hadn't been wanting to face more than one member of his squad at a time.

"Damn, that's sticking with me for a while," he said aloud as he pushed a hand through his rapidly growing hair. He had got it a week before leaving for the Chunnin Exams, but it grew rapidly and he wasn't entirely sure as to how he was going to control it... So he let it happen. It was almost back at it's regular, messy length, and he had been kind of missing it.

"Well, it's time to get back out there." Placing his hands on his hips, he looked at the weapons and scrolls that were strewn about the room and he chuckled a bit to fully see the mess that he had made. Kind of like home already, hah.

The only thing he took was his bag of Iron Sand, slinging it over his shoulders, he had already begun channeling his chakra to pick up and carry it.

Once Joruri had hefted the bag completely, he was out the door and he locked it before descending towards the first floor and out of the building. No more time had to be wasted, it was time for the shinobi to get out into the world and see what the Exams had to offer!

Once he had exited the inn, he saw how there were so many people out in the streets. Wow, it's kind of like home. He concluded in his thoughts, before looking again and then adding, times five. Before he chuckled and moved into the 'hustle and bustle' of the tourist ridden Village.

While he walked, he saw countless headbands that he had never seen in his life before, most of them he had seen however, but only pictures. Grass, huh? He shrugged, as he began to think there were too many people on this particular path, and he turned down an alley way and shoved his hands into his pockets. Damn. As he exited the other side, he bumped into a beast of a person. "Just like me to bump into someone within minutes of leaving the inn, huh?" He quietly muttered under his breath as he spotted a Leaf Village symbol as his frosty gaze met that of the man in front of him.

WC: 480

There was still the moment of pause when Joruri registered as to how he had bumped into someone and they were from the same place as he was! The chances of that happening was slim enough. He was extremely tall too. Joruri was tall for already, but this person was actually a lot taller than him which came as a surprise.

"I don't suppose you're here for the Exams huh?" The shinobi shook his head and Joruri inclined in response. "Have a nice day!" He said with maybe too much enthusiasm as the guy turned away chuckling, but an awkward look on his face. It probably pained him to be nice there. Joruri turned around with a strain smiled on his face, even after they had concluded their meaning it remained there for a few more moments. Not as much as it pained me though. He replaced the small smile that had been previously been on his face with another one and continued walking again!

He wouldn't allow his day to be undermined, not ever! There could be no failures, at least, not in the eyes of his peers and comrades. Not again. But in the depths of his mind, he knew he was going to experience failure again. Even though you didn't necessarily live a normal one, it was all apart of life, shinobi or not.

After conversing with numerous people and checking out the various vendors in the Village's Market Place, he looked about, and in the direction he looked, it looked as if it was going to take him to the edge of town. Well then, it seems as if it's time to continue exploring!

The edge of the Village, huh? He started to walk slowly, there was no need to be in a rush, besides, he had all the time in the world now. There weren't that many people around, at least none visible. There's plenty of tents, though. He thought as he passed the last vendor. "I'm in luck," he excitedly said aloud, although it was more or less to himself as he pulled out a handful of ryo to pay the vendor for an apple.

Once he chose out his apple, he did the cliche thing and threw it in the air and caught it before wiping it up and down on his shirt. I don't know why, they just did that in the movies. He shrugged, and continued walking until he saw a giant of a man, a lot taller than he was, kind of like the guy earlier, but this one was clearly younger. Unknown to Joruri, this man was Asura, but that didn't matter in that exact instance.

"Hey!" Joruri exclaimed, waving his hand almost childishly.

I fixed myself up real good. He said to himself sarcastically.

WC: 491

The big fellow was starting to head towards him, good. He wanted to meet other genin that were taking part in the Exams, and before he could even ask who the big fellow was, he had already done all that he wanted!

Asura huh? From the fabled Senju clan? Joruri didn't particularly remember how they had made their reappearance, but it was no doubt interesting to meet another one. Not only was the Hokage a Senju, but he was relatively young. And this guy here was young too! It was the second Senju that he had ever met! The first one was Tsuru, but he guessed she preferred to be called Tsu for short...

"Of course i'm from the Leaf Village." He said with a chuckle as he aimed a single finger up towards the forehead protector that was in it's aforementioned location, on his forehead. He took a bite out of his apple, and the ripe sound of it echoed slightly in the relatively empty area of the village.

"So you're here to take part in the Exams too huh?" He was simply repeating what he had said. Mostly to buy some time to wonder whether or not he should be giving him his full name, or just his first... And also to process the information that he had just been given. From the people that he travelled to Kumogakure with, Manami and Cho weren't participating, but they were coming to watch. It wouldn't have been hard to guess that this guy was here to watch too, but a guy looking like this... Yeah, he definitely had to be participating!

"The name is Joruri." He was grinning, it was cool to see another early bird from his village around. "I'm here to take part in the Exams too! I think it's time for us to win in the name of our Village, don't you think?" He said with a chuckle. "So, how long have you been in the Village Hidden in the Clouds?"

For Joruri, he had been there for a few days, two days actually, but tonight would be the third since they had arrived in the afternoon.

WC: 371

Asura is a tall, muscular man with sharp features, short white hair and bright purple eyes. "I'm from Konoha, a Genin, and I will never be put down." He wore a light blue T-shirt with a white trim, in addition to blue jeans, black combat boots, and a pair of black leather fingerless gloves. He also wears Gray shirt over his light blue shirt keeping the top three buttons undone to show his shirt that is located underneath. He wears a strap from the top of his right shoulder to his lower left rib which he uses to carry his equipment and supplies. And to his side was his leather backpack, holding his food and the book his brother gave him to read in his spare time. Asura's head band was placed around his waist, keeping it out of the way for when he went into combat. "Well, today would be the fifth day for me, I've been here for a while." He laughed and held his hand out to the other Genin, "Well, it is an honor to meet you, Joruri of the Leaf. And when it comes to the Exams, we're going to shatter our opponents, show them what the Leaf Village can do." Asura grinned, "Besides, my Jutsu is one of the best our Genin have!" He laughed, "Those other villages are going down." His mind traced back to a thought, an idea of the two Genin fighting in the exams, being put agianst each other in a fight to near death. Asura liked the village so far, the idea of meeting new people was something he was always fond of, however this time he was more in a hurry to get ready for the exams, to take down his opponent and become a Chunnin, that his current goal, that is what he needed to focus on for now, that and getting stronger, nothing would stop him from doing either of them, no matter what. His mind was always filled with new ideas to take down a target, anything from knocking them out with Taijutsu or using Ninjutsu to shatter their hopes and take them out with ease. His head always allowed him to come up with creative ways to use water and wood to take down almost anyone, but never with Earth, that seemed to be his weakened element, just like Taijutsu wasn't really his forte, which was another reason why needed to find some combat gloves to boost his standard strikes, to take his enemies down easily, luckily he was able to find some really good looking Combat Gloves that fit the purpose. After Joruri would have shook his hand Asura would take his gloves from his pocket and put them on, the gloves appeared to be made from two layers of black leather with a layer of metal in between at a few points, the knuckles and the back of the hand, they seemed to fit tightly on the hands to the point they feel comfortable but they aren't difficult to move in when Asura wore them. "You seem really interesting, Joruri, it would be an honor to face you in combat one day."

When he continued to pronounce his origins from the Leaf Village, Joruri chuckled. Asura was beginning to remind him a bit of Shinako, with how much he professed where they came from. "You know... You remind me of someone in my Squad." He smiled as he took another bite from his apple. The apple reminded him of the ones that he got at the market place from home, but between the villages, there was obviously trade. So no doubt the apples he was eating were apples from the Land of Fire, and with that in mind he felt a little bit more at home.

He nodded.

He certainly dresses like a fighter. He looked him up and down. "I'm glad you agree that a shinobi from the Leaf Village must win instead of one of us specifically." Don't get him wrong, he wanted to win as much as any other genin that was taking part in the Exams, but if he were to be eliminated and unable to complete the Exams, he'd want someone from his village to win. Not only would that genin become a Chunnin, but the chances of the Exams being held in the Land of Fire were great! Supporting their nation was almost first nature to the Kansen-Suru.

"Five days, huh? It's only my second morning here! We arrived two evenings ago." What had occurred on that evening he left out, mostly because he had temporarily forgotten about it.

Joruri had never experienced the Wood Style first hand, but he didn't doubt it was strong. The stories of the First Hokage were all over the library back home. He should know, he spent a lot of time there!

He put his own hand out to shake Asura Senju's hand. His peer and current companion was quite entertaining to listen to. It was clear that he was excited for the Exams in a positive way, and it could only serve to amuse Joruri to keep a laughing smile on his face.

Then he said he hoped to face him in combat one day. In response, he snorted. Joruri was a tall fellow, taller than a lot of people from the Leaf Village, but Asura was nearly a full head taller than him! To have such a large person saying that they wished to fight you, was sort of comical, but he understood what he meant. "To fight me huh?" He wondered aloud. He thought back to the time when he had sparred Shinako, she had been the one to ask him to join her in training as well, although he wasn't asking Joruri to train, it still felt similar in a way to him.

"Everyone wants a piece of this it looks like." He chuckled. The one person he wanted to encounter was Shinako, but if he had this guy in his way instead, he'd be certain to go way beyond his limits to win! Then again, would it be better to lose to a comrade, or to another Land's shinobi? He couldn't guess as to which, and he made sure to stop thinking about that. "I'll be a challenge, I'm not like those pushovers you've probably seen already." He gave him a side glance as he took another bite of his apple, the faint signs of a grin on his face.

WC: 571

"Ah, well, whoever I remind you of, I am not like, there is much that the world doesn't know about me." Asura lets out a little chuckle, "A piece? I'd like to take you on one day, face you while we are both at full power, fighting till either one of us passes out. I would like to fight you in a one on one fight, keeping things fair and not having anyone else jump into our little match, a fight like that is something I have always wanted. Maybe we will meet in the exams or maybe we wont, either way, it would be an honor to face you." Asura gave Joruri a bow, "Sadly, I must go now, it looks like it is going to rain again, and I don't want my tent to get wet, I'll catch you some other time." Asura yawned and started walking, leaving marks in the dirt as others watched him simply walk through the village, stepping on the stones or kicking them to the side without a thought as the giant of a man made his way past cafe and shop alike. He turned around and waved to Joruri as he ran off, running through the street and past the cafe, his backpack bouncing against his back. Asura ran out of the village, making his way to the river he normally camped next to. Once he had arrived he desperately looked for a cave of some sort, luckily he spotted the perfect place to put his tent up and keep it dry. He put his tent up in the dry place, still with a view of the river before Asura sat down next to the river, closing his eyes and crossing his legs, going into meditation.


Training
Strength, Reaction Time, Perception, Endurance
D-2 ~> D-3, 450 words each
1,800 Words in total.

When he said that he wasn't like whoever he reminded him of, Joruri was close to objecting since he was quite certain that he didn't know her, but he refrained from doing so. It'd be better to not create a scene at this point, especially before the Exams and with someone from his own Village. It would make all their camaraderie and whatever strength their village had look like nothing in a public place like this.

Based on his words, he had already deduced that this Asura Senju was a beast in combat. As in, someone who tore apart their opponent, or tried their best to do so. In the depths of his mind Joruri wished for a fight like that, but he knew that his own untapped rage and willpower would take him too far and one of them would probably be hurt for whatever reason, and whoever's fault it was. So instead of reacting in a negative and or cautious way, he laughed at the obvious enthusiasm of the Senju. "Quite the excitable fellow."

He raised a single eyebrow at the bowing male, but then he came to an understanding when he had said that he was going to be parting from his company now. "As you wish." He said shortly after his initial warning of his impending departure. Glancing up to the sky, it did indeed look like it was going to rain and he nodded his head in response. He wasn't entirely certain as to why Asura of the Senju Clan was explaining why he was going to leave, all he had to do was leave... But then again, Joruri knew he himself would react negatively if such a thing happened. And if it had, the next time they encountered each other wouldn't be a pleasant time for either of them. He wasn't against ruining other people, even if it ruined himself.

"A wet tent is one thing that someone doesn't want to get wet." It was spoken with a smile. Joruri thought himself clever at the hidden meaning of the joke, and he wondered as to how Shinako would act to such a statement, but her imagined opinion was pushed out of his thoughts as he chuckled softly to himself. If I don't become Hokage, I can become Jokage.

He cleared his throat after that joke as if he were cleaning himself of the hilarity that joke had racked through his body. By that time, Asura had already been gone and Joruri stood there for a few moments more to wave goodbye. In all that time, he had forgotten that he had purchased an apple!

So he did what any smart creature with an apple would do. He began to eat it, he had already gotten to the point that it was nearly completed, and once he had he dropped it at his feet and turned to walk away. There were times when he littered, there were times he didn't. In an early morning such as this, there were only a handful of people that could've possibly seen him commit such a treacherous act! And he continued walking as if nothing had ever happened.

WC: 542
TWC: 2455