The morning sun was already dawning over the land as Anshin sat on the cold sandy ground, his eyes closed. His hands were folded inside on each other, trying to meditate. There were no weapons with him, nothing that would imply hostility, it was literally just him and his meditation. Of course, this wasn't training, it was trying to understand what was happening. He'd found out about the death of the kato clan that morning, and he'd already decided that he had to go see Ray about it... but there was the fact that he was having to talk about the death of an entire clan. It was depressing, he admitted, but maybe it was for the best. There had been suspicions circulating about the clan for a long time that they were up to no good, although nobody exactly knew what they were doing. Maybe this was just coincidental, but there had also been plans for what looked like an assassination, circulating around his sister's office. This was so not good news, in fact it was anything but. After all, if there was one clan that was thinking this, there could be another. He sighed and had to admit to himself that this was not getting him anywhere. Maybe he should find someone to talk to about this... no, they were all out of the village on assignments. What was he going to do, this wasn't the way it was supposed to work. He really wanted someone to talk to right about now.

A sweet and soothing sound was slowly growing louder and louder. Almost like it was coming towards Anshin. At first, if one listened closely, it might have sounded like a bird. As it progressively grew louder, it sounded more like a wind instrument. It's melody sounded calming and seemed to quiet everything around the source. Rikuto was simply playing and walking at the same time. He was more focused on his playing than his surroundings, but he still managed to be aware of where he was. Once he got about a few feet from Anshin, he noticed his presence. As soon as he looked up and saw him, the music had stopped. His ocarina pulled away from his mouth, and now stuck right by his side. He wasn't really afraid of this guy, but he knew that he might have been interrupting something judging on how Anshin was sitting. Seemed he just didn't want to be rude or anything. "Oh... uh... sorry... I didn't know anyone was around here... I... I didn't interrupt anything... did I...?" If anything, Rikuto was trying to make sure he wasn't intruding on someone's meditation. If he did, he would gladly just turn around and head back the way he came. Rikuto was normally on the shy side tried to stay out of everyone's way if possible. A slightly nervous grin came up as he tilted his head and waited for an answer back. If there was no answer, he would be out of there in a matter of seconds.

The silence had been deafening, so as Anshin heard the small tune coming towards him he was both relieved and on his guard. Summoning Kiretsu, he put it behind his back so that he would be able to attack whoever came to him. Then a young boy turned up and the music stopped. He didn't know this guy, so he was clearly not in the advance class or doing Kenjutsu. He forceda small smile as the man apologized to him, waving away the apology with a hand.
"No, No...." He said, before putting his sword in it's holster on his back, making sure not to disturb him. Wait... he'd thought he'd seen this guy around before... Oh god this was the guy he'd put into a chokehold back in the arena. Of course, back then it hadn't been out of choice but merely out of trying to make sure the poor lad didn't have a heart-attack but he knew it could be seen as hostility

"Umm.... sorry about the other day..." he said embarrassed, putting his hand out to show that he meant no harm
"I'm the Kazekage's brother, Anshin Kuroka. And you are?" His smile was genuine and surprisingly disarming. This was the smile he used at class, but there was only one problem with it. People had one of two reactions to it. Firstly, they could either see that he was indeed trustworthy and know that he meant no harm. OR, they could feel terrified of his dark aura and start to cack themselves. After the events in the arena he didn't know how he'd handle it.

Rikuto squinted when Anshin apologized, and suddenly it hit him. This was the guy who put him in that choke hold and nearly gave him a heart attack! "Craaaaaaaaaaaaaap...!" This panicked him, but he refused to show it. He took a step back, but quickly remembered what happened the last time he tried to do that. Planting his feet on the ground, he stood still and nodded once. When his Anshin's name was given, Rikuto's name was asked. "Ri... Rikuto Shiro..." Without any thought, he answered right back in a quiet tone. He was still somewhat nervous, and the fact he had remembered who this guy was didn't make him any more comfortable. "Um... You're Gin's brother...?" Swallowing the lump in his throat, his eyes drifted down to his ocarina for a quick moment. "Craaaaaaaaaaaaaap!! This keeps getting worse and worse." The training, or more like torture he had to endure with the Kazekage definitely put Rikuto even more on edge now that he knew this was her brother. "Um... I didn't know Gin had a brother..." The moment Anshin's smile came out, a flow of chills rose up from Rikuto's feet and managed to work it's way up to the top of his head. He shook slightly as this happened. "Uh... so... were you meditating...?" Trying to change the subject was the only thing he could really do at the moment. Running away was not an option due to how Anshin might possibly react.

The boy didn't know she had a brother? Well, that was understandable. They hadn't known each other for all that long, and besides, it wasn't like Anshin threw himself into the public's eye very often. For all intents and purposes he was just a very skilled Genin. He smiled softly
"Well, Half brother to be precise. We come from the same clan, and the same father, but we were brought up differently... hence why I'm the kenjutsu teacher at the academy and she's the kazekage. still, there's one thing we both like doing..." he smiled as he pulled out his sword and licked along the side, not choosing to activate the lightning chakra it was endowed with.
"... and that's torturing genin. It's sooooooo much fun." he said, teasingly messing with the poor boy's mind. His voice sounded almost sexual in the way it was said. However, seconds later he burst out laughing and put his sword away, smiling wildly as he tried not to fall over in his hysterics. Damn it was hard being this awesome.

Rikuto took another step back, but stopped once more. As much as he wanted to run, he couldn't. The fear of being put back in a hold made him too afraid to run. "Uh... ... ..." His voice shook slightly as he gripped his ocarina a little tighter. "Please tell me you aren't going to do any torturing today. I've already had my fair share when Gin did it and that hurt a lot. I really, really, really, don't ever want to go through something like that ever again. And if your her half-brother it still doesn't matter because you could probably do ten times worse than she did and-..." Rikuto stopped himself from spamming any more words by bringing his hands up and slapping them over his mouth. Well, only one had covered his mouth because the other had his ocarina. He blurted out a bit more than he meant to and was now quite worried that he'd be in for torture. Rikuto looked up at Anshin with fear in his eyes. This wasn't good. It was far from good! In fact, it was the opposite of good!! Taking two more steps back, he brought his hands down, turned around and started walking. "Please don't do anything... ... ..." He didn't look back, he only hoped he would be safe enough to just walk away.

Oh god he actually took that seriously. He didn't know if he should laugh harder or feel sorry for the poor kid. He settled for a mix of both, especially as he said that Anshin could probably do more than she could. She was the kazekage and as little as he liked to admit it his skills had atrophied whilst working as an instructor, he needed more missions to give him the workout he required. Now that she was turning away, he felt sorry for the poor kid. He was obviously scared out of his wits, and as much as Anshin liked to scare people, this wasn't his goal. As he turned, Anshin pulled him back into a hug. It wasn't romantic, it wasn't even all that comforting, it was more reassuring. The kind a teacher might give to a student that was worried about an exam.
"Look, kid, it's alright. I'm not actually going to do something to you. If I actually liked hurting kids would I be a teacher? No, so you can calm your ass down and sit down. Let's talk."

Rikuto blinked a few times, stepped away from the hug, and sat down. He was a little shocked that he got hugged. Especially by a guy he really just met. A hug was a hug no matter what, and generally not something Rikuto was used to. "Um... uh... calming down now..." He let out a loud sigh and put his ocarina on his lap. Brushing off a bit of the sand, he blew in it once to see it the sound held up. The single note that came out was still pretty good. Looking over at Anshin, his eyes drifted every which way before finally focusing on Anshin. "Uh... so... do you like music...?" Only real reason he brought it up was because this guy wanted to "talk", and it was just never really something that Rikuto was too psyched to do. More like he thought that if he stopped and talked to someone, he'd only be holding them up and getting in their way. Anshin didn't seem like he was busy and he start up the conversation. As Rikuto asked about music, he held his ocarina up and shook it slightly to show that he could play it.

he wasn't taking the hug well. Oh well, at least he's not panicking now. Rikuto sat down and Anshin sat down opposite him so they could talk properly, as if this was some kind of conference or something. As he asked if he liked music, Anshin cocked an eyebrow. Was there anyone in the world who didn't like music at least slightly?
"Kid. everyone likes music. It's just the type of music that people disagree on." he said, shrugging slightly
"personally I prefer classical, and something with a good beat to it. Give me a little bit of Mayumi Miyata to start my day and I'll be in a good mood. Give me a bottle of whiskey and I'll be in a better mood, but that's not really the question is it?" He said, chuckling slightly.
"I assume by the fact that there's an ocarina in your lap and I heard ocarina music earlier that you play? Anything apart from a miniature turtle shell?" he said, curious but a little mocking. Not in a mean way, but in a spirited playful way.

Rikuto flinched a little at Anshin's jest. It was kind of hard for Rikuto to take jokes as they were. He'd usually see them as serious and needing the entirety of his attention. But for this one, he seemed to just let it slide. Changing the subject back to his music, he grinned slightly and held his ocarina up. "Well... I can play pretty much anything... Any style, any register, any tempo... I can even combine it with some genjutsu to make it sound based..." Rikuto sounded proud of himself. His little ability to play songs and make his own impressed himself a little too much. "Did the Kazeka-... I mean Gin ever happen to tell you where I'm from...?" A legit question consider not many people in Suna could play as well as Rikuto, or even play at all. He stalled on calling Gin the Kazekage. She had already yelled at him for making that mistake around her. Once he had realized his error, he had some trouble trying to block the memory of his training with her. Eventually, he got it out and was able to resume his conversation with Anshin.

Wait, he had flinched because he'd mentioned drinking? Was the kid's parents abusive drunkards or something? He made a mental note not to mention alcohol or drinking again and listened to his boast. Well, that was rather interesting. He seemed legitimately skilled, maybe he could use him some time. There were many festivals in Sunagakure, they could always use another good musician to join in and help out with the entertainment. Then the question was asked. Someone who played music.... someone who had a music genjutsu. He had heard about someone like that. Someone who was apparently a little bit of a threat due to their origins... he clicked his fingers as if it had just occurred to him

"Oh yes!! You're a sound village ninja, aren't you? That was Lord Orochimaru's personal village wasn't it?" he smiled slightly, as if the thought of lord Orochimaru was a happy one. Which, surprisingly enough, it was. He had managed to achieve what few others could. Semi-immortality. Not that he wanted it, immortality was a curse not a blessing, it was just highly impressive
"Honestly, I'm rather interested. What's the Sound Village like? I've never had a reason to go, but It's always been of interest to me."

"Orochimaru..." Just the name made Rikuto feel a bit uncomfortable. He remembered the name and a lot of the stories that went along with the name. The horrible experiments that were conducted. The conquest for immortality. All of the details on it. Rikuto shook his head slightly. "I never liked the stories I've heard about Orochimaru... but yes, it was his personal village." Seeing Anshin's smile, he felt calm enough to continue on. "What's the sound village like...? Uh... It's really quiet and has a good amount of forests... and as for where I spent most of my life, it was near the rice patties." His memory of the sound village was somewhat fogged since he had not been there for a good amount of time. The description he gave was poor as a result.

The sound village was quiet? Well, that sounded like an oxymoron... seriously, that was all he remembered? He knew that the boy hadn't been there for many years but he also knew that there should have been something that was more noticeable than "near rice patties" and "a good amount of forests". Besides, that was what the land it was in was like, not the village. He guessed it wasn't important enough to continue drilling him as he clearly knew nothing, but it was certainly disappointing.
"By the way...." he said, a little confused about something. The sound village had been this boy's home, where his parents were, and yet he was in Sunagakure instead of there. That only confused Anshin
"... what made you leave? I mean, it's not been run by Orochimaru for years, not since he was slaughtered by the remnants of the Uchiha clan, so what caused you to want to leave?"

Rikuto looked down at his ocarina and seemed to be deep in thought. The reason he and his family was no longer in the sound village? He had been asked many personal questions in the time that he came to Sunagakure, but this one topped the others. Looking up at Anshin, he decided that he would toughen up and tell him why. "My... My grandmother... she got sick and we couldn't find out what type of sickness it was in the sound village... We tried nearly everywhere in the sound village, but we had no luck... The only doctor my family really trusted was in Suna... So we decided to move there since we only had enough money to travel once... I know it sounds odd but... my family never abandons one another... When we got here, my parents found the doctor and she took my grandma in to look at her... She... She died..." Rikuto looked like he was on the brink of tears, but he was surprisingly able to hold himself together. "We settled in Suna and have been here ever since..." It obviously pained him when he tried to remember his grandmother. They were really close. Closer than most kids would be to their elders. Ever since his grandma's death, he's been quiet and distant from others. "All that's left of my family is me, my grandpa, my mom, and my dad..."

What was it with Sunagakure and people joining with huge amounts of dead family members. This boy had it better than most, he had to say. His grandmother would have had plenty of time to live her life, and she would have been able to die with her family around her. They sounded close since they never abandoned each other. It almost reminded him of him and Gin. It was almost touching in a strange way, but when he finished his story, Anshin looked him in the eyes, making sure that he didn't look away with his most intense and transfixing gaze

"Your grandmother was lucky to have her caring and loving family around her when she died. But... I have to say this here and now. You're not as bad off as you think you are." he knew it would sound harsh, but he wasn't finished yet.
"I was born into this world, causing the death of my mother in childbirth. My father never really got over it. Then his brother died and he got even worse, It got so bad that he abandoned me and went off alone. I don't even know where he is anymore. He could be dead for all I know. But.... I didn't mind. I knew that this was his way of living his life and I had to find my own, so I moved to Sunagakure to get strong enough to surpass him one day and show him the importance of sticking with your family..." he stopped for a second. this was the part he'd never told anyone before. The part that was slightly painful. Only Gin knew about it. maybe he shouldn't say it....
"Rikuto.... do you mind if I admit something to you? You need to hear it."

Rikuto looked down for just a second, but seemed forced to look at Anshin. He seemed to just sit there as Anshin told him the story of his life. It seemed like Anshin had it at least ten times as bad as himself. As soon as Anshin stopped, Rikuto put his head down. His problems weren't the worst, but he couldn't get over them. Anshin had been able to find a purpose that would keep him going and pushing forward. After thinking things over in his mind, Anshin asked him if he would be able to admit something to him. Something was off though. Anshin didn't seem to happy to say it. "Al... Alright..." His voice was silent, and sad. He was bracing himself for anything that would soon be said. It almost looked as if he had been expecting something horrible.

He smiled softly as he was given permission to tell his tale.
"I'm not a man of peace, Rikuto, but I know when killing is and isn't important and I know the value of honour. But the last Kazekage didn't have that. She had no concept of honour or self-restraint. She made me sick to work for her and if I had been forced to work as most genin were, I would have defected from the village. But, I applied for a job teaching at the academy, and they accepted me. For the last seven years I managed to escape having to commit horrible acts by merely being in the right place at the right time. But, better than that... that was where I met my sister." A flash of memory hit his eyes as if it was just yesterday

"She was in my class for Kenjutsu. I knew almost immediately that she was related to me from her clan-name. Kuroka, it's the same as mine. But, for a moment I thought it was only the same clan, then I saw her file and found out that we had the same dad. Although I could never tell her, I realized that I wasn't alone anymore. That even if she didn't realize it, she was there for me and I no longer had to carry the burden on my own. Seven years later and she's taken over as the Kazekage and ushered the village into an age of peace and prosperity..." This was the morale he needed to teach the kid

"That's how I know... that even in the darkest of nights, even when the whole world seems to be falling down around you, even when you have a sword through your stomach, there will always be a better tomorrow. Misery and unfortune can't last forever. The world doesn't allow it to stay that way forever."

Rikuto listened closely to every single word that Anshin had said. It was really surprising, yet touching at the same time. Anshin had definitely made his point using the story as support. He didn't seem to react to it right away though. It took him a second to process what he had heard. One main topic that bounced in his mind was the "misery and unfortune can't last forever" bit. Mentally, he started getting a bit fuzzy because of these thoughts. It started to cause a bit of sorrow to stir up, as well as a bit of acceptance. He gripped his ocarina. For some odd reason, the ocarina always makes him better. After all, he did just get hit with some pretty deep material. Rikuto only uttered a single word right after Anshin was done. "Thanks..."

After a few silent moments passed, Rikuto looked back over at Anshin. He sighed once and tilted his head slightly. "Anshin... Why did you want to tell me that...?" His voice was silent as he talked.

He wanted to know why? Well, the answer was fairly obvious, but that might have just been Anshin assuming everyone knew what he did. His words were what might have seemed a little mean, or maybe fatherly depending on the way that Rikuto heard them.
"Because, Rikuto... you're pathetic." He smiled lightly, the words he had said hadn't been said in a mean tone, or even one that was mocking, it was harsh reality
"Any good shinobi would have fought back when I put them in a choke-hold, but you? You took it without trying to fight it. That's not a good sign. If that wasn't bad enough, there's something about you that contains unmentionable sadness. I don't know what it is... just something in your eyes. You remind me of myself at your age, so I wanted you to know that as bad or boring or inevitable that things seem right now, they will get better."

"I'm pathetic...?" Rikuto whispered this single phrase to himself. It didn't irritate him or make him upset. More like it compelled him to change something about himself. He looked up as Anshin kept talking. Once Anshin was finished, Rikuto cleared his throat. "Then I'll make things better right now... I... I can fight back... and... and do better." Even though his voice was still quiet and nervous, it did have a slight bit of confidence behind it. He stuck his ocarina in the pouch on his hip and stood up. "Anshin... Thanks..." Something must have clicked in Rikuto's mind. He looked a a bit happier now. Well, happy in his own sort of way. He gave a slight smile to Anshin.