1 At his house [Private] Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:48 am
Issei
D-rank
Issei didn't talk to Isamu much. Sure, Isamu had done him a huge favor by escorting him to Iwa in order to keep him within the travelling shinobi guidelines for Kirigakure no Sato, but at the same time, that didn't mean he was obligated to become friends with Isamu. It was fairly obvious that Isamu didn't see it the same way, but he had to face it; they were two very different people, and where he was a sociable and accommodating type, Issei was a solitary and cautious type. Now, this didn't mean that Issei was going out of his way to be rude or anything; he spoke to Isamu whenever he felt necessary and did his best to be kind. But the moment he had a chance to do something, he would leave Isamu to do his own thing and leave it at that. I'm sure Isamu has been busy doing missions for Kirigakure like he was supposed to be doing, anyway. Otherwise, there would be no real point in him staying here with me, since he already did his escort job, aside from not having to make another trip to come pick me up. He wondered how long Isamu had been a shinobi; he was a Jounin, Issei knew that much, but Issei didn't know his age or other specific personal information about the boy. One thing Issei did know was that he personally would take a long time before he reached a rank that high.
Some would argue that Issei was a strong shinobi. Sure, he was an experienced taijutsu user with a good backup in ninjutsu, as well as the ability to use two elemental releases and a rare kekkei genkai. Looking at other shinobi his age, though, he was so far behind. Most 30 year old shinobi were at least Special Jounin or Jounin, and Issei knew that if he were to take on someone of that rank, he would be defeated in no time. He planned on improving, obviously, but it would take a while. That morning, he left his hotel room and went to a local dojo to practice his taijutsu, getting in as much training as possible to the point of exhaustion. His arms were by far the most muscular part of his body, honed into devastating weapons through years of practice, even during his time while he wasn't a shinobi. Exercise and close quarters combat were a lifestyle and a hobby to him, rather than something that came along with being a ninja. That was likely the only reason why he'd gotten through the ninja academy in the first place, because back in the day when he was a little 12-year-old with no real skill in ninjutsu and a dormant kekkei genkai he didn't know about, he relied entirely on his physical prowess and his intellect to get by.
Once Issei left the dojo, he went back to the inn to bathe and change. He noticed that Isamu wasn't there when he returned, and the room was cleaned and the beds were made, meaning that either housekeeping had come in their absence or Isamu had tidied up before he left. Issei disrobed and went into the bathroom to wash off and unwind. The warm water relaxed his muscles as he sank down to the bottom of the tub, and brought his legs into his chest in a fetal position, resting his chin on his knees. He'd be sore in the morning, but that was always a sign that he'd done well and there would be an increase in muscle mass and strength. He remained in the tub for another five minutes or so before he washed all of the dirt and sweat from his body, his face, and his hair, then got out, drained the water, and dried himself off. He took the right side of his hair along with the strand that usually fell down the middle of his face and pulled it back behind his ear with a bobby pin. He let the left side of his hair dry a little more before letting it hang just so he could retain some of his bangs, and then he tied the back into a short ponytail, just down to the base of his neck. Looking at himself in the mirror, he looked like an oddly masculine middle aged mother and housewife, but he couldn't care less. He liked to put his hair like that from time to time to keep it out of his eyes and easier to manage.
Just then, Issei recalled that he was supposed to be meeting up with Masa to hang out at some point. It had completely slipped his mind, but it didn't make much of a difference considering Masa lived alone and would likely be more than happy to have Issei over at anytime. Issei put on tight black shorts, bandaged both of his legs in place of socks or tabi, and put on sandals. He shrouded himself in a split-he, sleeveless burgundy shirt tied his Kirigakure headband back around his left arm. Finally, he packed a bag with toiletries and extra clothes in case he was going to spend the night. With his outfit fine-tuned for comfortability on a warm, Tsuchi no Kuni night and having prepared for whatever would ensue, he left the inn again, this time headed for the Living Quarters.
Gushiken, Masahide, known by most as simply "Masa", was Issei's closest friend in the world. He and Issei had met seven years prior, when Issei was in Iwagakure still on his journey to find purpose in the world. Masa was working as a delivery man for a parcel service, and he'd collided into Issei during one of his deliveries. He immediately apologized and noticed that Issei's kekkei genkai had unintentionally activated, causing bones to stab through the package that Masa needed to deliver. Despite this, Masa wasn't angry and he noticed that Issei seemed downtrodden and flustered for having ruined the package, so he invited Issei to dinner at a ramen house that night in order to make up for crashing into him. There, he broke down Issei's walls with his assertive and extroverted personally, and the two really got to know each other. From that day on, it was history; Masa enrolled at Diamond Heights University and Issei joined his friend group and ended up moving to Tsuchi no Kuni 2 years later, at the age of 25.
Issei had grown to be cozy whenever he was around Masa, and he thought of the man like a brother to him. Masa knew how to make Issei feel loved and cared for without smothering him or pushing past his comfort zone. They had a mutual respect for one another that Issei truly valued. He found himself on Masa's doorstep, knocking on the door in a little four-on-the-floor beat, excited to see his friend. Masa rushed to the door and opened it before engulfing Issei in a hug. He was one of the few people that Issei allowed to touch him, despite Issei's haphephobia. It took Issei a long time to learn to consciously stop his kekkei genkai from activating as an automatic defense when it wasn't necessary, but he'd mastered it by age 26 and Masa had been hugging him at every opportunity since. "It's been a few months, Issei! How're you doing?" Issei gave a soft smile. "I'm good, can't really complain."
"Haha, every time I see you, you never change a bit. Come on inside, man, I'm making dinner." Masa replied as he ushered Issei in and closed the door behind him.
Some would argue that Issei was a strong shinobi. Sure, he was an experienced taijutsu user with a good backup in ninjutsu, as well as the ability to use two elemental releases and a rare kekkei genkai. Looking at other shinobi his age, though, he was so far behind. Most 30 year old shinobi were at least Special Jounin or Jounin, and Issei knew that if he were to take on someone of that rank, he would be defeated in no time. He planned on improving, obviously, but it would take a while. That morning, he left his hotel room and went to a local dojo to practice his taijutsu, getting in as much training as possible to the point of exhaustion. His arms were by far the most muscular part of his body, honed into devastating weapons through years of practice, even during his time while he wasn't a shinobi. Exercise and close quarters combat were a lifestyle and a hobby to him, rather than something that came along with being a ninja. That was likely the only reason why he'd gotten through the ninja academy in the first place, because back in the day when he was a little 12-year-old with no real skill in ninjutsu and a dormant kekkei genkai he didn't know about, he relied entirely on his physical prowess and his intellect to get by.
Once Issei left the dojo, he went back to the inn to bathe and change. He noticed that Isamu wasn't there when he returned, and the room was cleaned and the beds were made, meaning that either housekeeping had come in their absence or Isamu had tidied up before he left. Issei disrobed and went into the bathroom to wash off and unwind. The warm water relaxed his muscles as he sank down to the bottom of the tub, and brought his legs into his chest in a fetal position, resting his chin on his knees. He'd be sore in the morning, but that was always a sign that he'd done well and there would be an increase in muscle mass and strength. He remained in the tub for another five minutes or so before he washed all of the dirt and sweat from his body, his face, and his hair, then got out, drained the water, and dried himself off. He took the right side of his hair along with the strand that usually fell down the middle of his face and pulled it back behind his ear with a bobby pin. He let the left side of his hair dry a little more before letting it hang just so he could retain some of his bangs, and then he tied the back into a short ponytail, just down to the base of his neck. Looking at himself in the mirror, he looked like an oddly masculine middle aged mother and housewife, but he couldn't care less. He liked to put his hair like that from time to time to keep it out of his eyes and easier to manage.
Just then, Issei recalled that he was supposed to be meeting up with Masa to hang out at some point. It had completely slipped his mind, but it didn't make much of a difference considering Masa lived alone and would likely be more than happy to have Issei over at anytime. Issei put on tight black shorts, bandaged both of his legs in place of socks or tabi, and put on sandals. He shrouded himself in a split-he, sleeveless burgundy shirt tied his Kirigakure headband back around his left arm. Finally, he packed a bag with toiletries and extra clothes in case he was going to spend the night. With his outfit fine-tuned for comfortability on a warm, Tsuchi no Kuni night and having prepared for whatever would ensue, he left the inn again, this time headed for the Living Quarters.
Gushiken, Masahide, known by most as simply "Masa", was Issei's closest friend in the world. He and Issei had met seven years prior, when Issei was in Iwagakure still on his journey to find purpose in the world. Masa was working as a delivery man for a parcel service, and he'd collided into Issei during one of his deliveries. He immediately apologized and noticed that Issei's kekkei genkai had unintentionally activated, causing bones to stab through the package that Masa needed to deliver. Despite this, Masa wasn't angry and he noticed that Issei seemed downtrodden and flustered for having ruined the package, so he invited Issei to dinner at a ramen house that night in order to make up for crashing into him. There, he broke down Issei's walls with his assertive and extroverted personally, and the two really got to know each other. From that day on, it was history; Masa enrolled at Diamond Heights University and Issei joined his friend group and ended up moving to Tsuchi no Kuni 2 years later, at the age of 25.
Issei had grown to be cozy whenever he was around Masa, and he thought of the man like a brother to him. Masa knew how to make Issei feel loved and cared for without smothering him or pushing past his comfort zone. They had a mutual respect for one another that Issei truly valued. He found himself on Masa's doorstep, knocking on the door in a little four-on-the-floor beat, excited to see his friend. Masa rushed to the door and opened it before engulfing Issei in a hug. He was one of the few people that Issei allowed to touch him, despite Issei's haphephobia. It took Issei a long time to learn to consciously stop his kekkei genkai from activating as an automatic defense when it wasn't necessary, but he'd mastered it by age 26 and Masa had been hugging him at every opportunity since. "It's been a few months, Issei! How're you doing?" Issei gave a soft smile. "I'm good, can't really complain."
"Haha, every time I see you, you never change a bit. Come on inside, man, I'm making dinner." Masa replied as he ushered Issei in and closed the door behind him.
1,309