The sky clouded over, on the verge of raining, yet not quite there. And, for once wearing shoes, and also for once alone, Oki of the Kuma clan walked through the streets of Iwagakure, aiming for a single destination. He was on crutches, his right leg injured and needing rest from his recent encounter with the large Kirigakure ninja… The person that was exactly his reason for going out and about in his current state. Walking via the aid of his wooden walking aids, the bear ninja made his way to one of the more recognisable buildings in Iwagakure no Sato, the most recognisable to any shinobi from the land, and the most important – the administration building.

Pushing the door open with his shoulders, Oki stepped within the building, walking over to a nearby desk. The receptionist there was flipping through papers, writing down facts and figures that Oki had no business knowing, so, didn’t ask further information on it. Instead, he simply stood there, coughing to make sure she knew that he was there. After a brief moment where she held up a finger to indicate him to wait, she continued to write for a while, before looking up, and raising an eyebrow. “Name, and reason for visiting?” she asked blankly, clearly having the sort of stare that told her she had a lot of paperwork to sort through, and didn’t really feel like sitting there waiting too long.

“Kuma, Oki. I requested a meeting with lord Tsuchikage recently, regarding information that is deemed confidential and relating to events that occurred both over borders, and within our own forces, as well as a meeting to organise a second meeting. I heard that he’s not got other meetings today, just lots of paper work, so, I promise not to be long.” As he finished, the woman nodded slowly, picking up a piece of paper and a quill, handing them to the bear man and pointing to the bottom right of the page. “Sign there please, and then make your way. Follow the signs, top floor.”

Quickly complying, the bear man signed, a signature that can best be described perhaps by a paw print formed out of letters, specifically O, K, and I. Then, returning the paper and quill to the receptionist, Oki made his way to what would inevitably be an obstacle he hadn’t prepared for – stairs on crutches. Sighing, he hobbled over to the stairs, crutches clacking with each step, and, on step at a time, slowly pushed his way up the stairs at a slow pace. He could walk short distances without the crutches, and could probably walk without them at the expense of pain. But the doctor’s orders were clear; he had fractured his knee in the fight, as well as several parts of the leg, and had to rest it. Medical aid was making the recovery brief, and it wasn’t fractured any longer, but that still meant the readjustment and recovery period.

After a hassle of a journey up the stairs, one which left even Oki somewhat out of breath, he had made it to the floor indicated, now standing before a door with a sign that stated it was the office of one “Lord Sekuro”. Preparing himself, Oki stepped forward slightly, crutches giving away his presence before his knock as his hand made contact with the wooden entrance. And then, he’d wait at attention for the sign to enter. It’d be rude and grounds for arrest to bust into a Kage’s office screaming and shouting after all, no matter who you are.

597

It was a cloudy day, leaving Karumo in a bit of a melancholy, staring out of the window of his office. He knew he had things to do, traffic logs to skim through and sign off on, mission requests, vacation requests on top of it for various people for a variety of reasons. But yet, he just couldn't bring his mind to focus in on it, for lack of a better term, nothing was going on and he wanted nothing to happen. Thinking on moments like this to be a good chance to relax and take a nap even, when the rain and storms arrive rather than standing around and musing in his office.

His musing though, was broken by the sound of a click outside his door. Unique to say the least, he couldn't make out exactly what the quiet cracking was but he'd heard the details, half turning his head so that his ear was flush with the door, he waited for whatever came next. It was followed by a knock, Karumo's whole body turned to look at the door, nothing came next, just the knock?

He'd paused for a second, wondering if they would enter, he exhaled lightly and slid his way over to his desk, taking a seat at the chair and speaking up, "Come in." Clearly loud enough to be heard, his tone was more commanding as if he were talking to an ANBU agent, not knowing who would be on the other side of the door. He folded his arms in front of him, letting his elbows rest on the desk, stacks of paper on each side of him and a cup of pens and pencils and such in front of him.

Karumo held his hands with crossed fingers and looked down, waiting for whomever would enter. Waiting for the moment they entered for his purple eyes to flicker up to them, waiting to see if they would just begin talking, only to find that instead of the usual secretary or masked ANBU agent, he would be met by... a giant on crutches? A giant he'd never met or seen before, his eyes going from piercing to... astonished instead.


[371 words]

As permission was given, Oki pushed open the door that held the title of the Tsuchikage on its exterior. As he walked inside, shoulder nudging the door open before stepping within the room, the olive eyes of the bear chuunin scanned around, somewhat out of curiosity. There was a rather fanciful looking desk, with papers piled on it, and several bookcases in the room, as well as other pieces of décor that he didn’t care about. Yet behind the desk, seemingly surprised and allowing the expression to be apparent in his eyes, was the lord Tsuchikage.

Oki walked into the room properly, shutting the door behind him, his crutches clicking with his steps. Finally, he stood in front of the desk, a brief distance back to not be imposing or too close for comforts sake. Leaning on his crutches for support, the bear chuunin spoke up, slowly, and clearly. “Lord Kage. I’m Oki of the Kuma, a chuunin and student of Harichimo of the Kazako. I apologise for the meeting of such short notice, and, regardless, it is nice to meet the man in charge of the village.” He smiled, gesturing to himself for a moment as he made his next point. “I was at the Coliseum recently for training, when a man with a monkey, both larger than myself, arrived, and requested to fight me in a spar. I’m not one for fighting with those I don’t know without reason, so, I asked who they were. I’m not sure why, but, the shinobi lied, lord Kage, and declared himself to be of the village hidden in the waves – a village that doesn’t exist. I managed to get him to confess that he was not from the made up village, and that he instead was from the village of the mist – our ally. Regardless, we then sparred, and as you can see, for some reason the man opted to take it perhaps further than a spar needed to be.”

He sighed, stretching out his injured leg for a moment, still relying on his crutches for support as he cracked his neck, and then resumed his prior position. “I requested this meeting for two reasons. The main reason was concern. We’re allies with the mist, so I was both confused and worried about why a shinobi from our ally village would feel the need to, rather poorly, hide his identity.” He stroked his beard, as if trying to answer the question himself, before shrugging and continuing. “The second thing, is, while I know there are many others I could ask, and I will understand entirely if you don’t have time, or just aren’t interested. But, well… I feel bad that I lost to a bigger guy, and would like to be trained if you will train me!” he nodded, standing up somewhat with a wince as he went on. “I’m a taijutsu and pet specialist with my companion, Debu. I specialise in close quarters fights, but I lost in a close quarter fight. You are in a position where you are arguably the strongest, or one of the strongest, shinobi in the village. If you will, it would be an honour for you to teach me anything!” he nodded again, standing at attention and awaiting a reply.

546 + 597 = 1143

The door slowly pushed open and the figure that emerged was quite large, towering in stance and structure. With each step the crutches clicked with every step as Karumo glanced to the unknown figure. Karumo sat up straight, undoing his fingers and coughing lightly to clear his throat, leaning back into his seat all the same. His purple eyes tracked his guest as he exhaled, waiting for the moment where he would bring up his reasons for coming or introduce himself. After a moment of shutting the door and approaching the desk, the man spoke up, “Lord Kage. I’m Oki of the Kuma, a chuunin and student of Harichimo of the Kazako. I apologise for the meeting of such short notice, and, regardless, it is nice to meet the man in charge of the village.”

Karumo's eyes widened a bit, he motioned to a chair in front of the desk and offered the wounded man a place to sit if he would take it. A student of Harichimo's come to visit him, all but ignoring the bit of pleasantry he'd offered afterwards. He'd even forgot for a moment to correct him about calling him 'Lord' and opted instead to want to ask about his old friend. He continued on after the fact before Karumo could really interject between the talking points. He revealed a story of a spar in the coliseum with some unknown shinobi hiding their identity and taking a spar too far. Karumo hadn't really the heart to question where the ending of a spar should be before it turned into a fight or anything of that nature, but he listened intently and mused on it for a second.

He continued on to describe the reasons for his meeting, “I requested this meeting for two reasons. The main reason was concern. We’re allies with the mist, so I was both confused and worried about why a shinobi from our ally village would feel the need to, rather poorly, hide his identity. The second thing, is, while I know there are many others I could ask, and I will understand entirely if you don’t have time, or just aren’t interested. But, well… I feel bad that I lost to a bigger guy, and would like to be trained if you will train me!” Karumo listened in and nodded, he supposed he should start by addressing the first point, leaning in and letting his purple eyes focus intently towards Oki.

"Well, I should probably start by turning over the info to the ANBU, I'm sure they'll be interested to find some skulker running around the village and starting fights but..." he paused for a second and grew a little stern, "You need to be more careful in picking your fights, in the village and out. Some people may just be idiots and not know their own limitations but the world isn't a friendly place for our kind. Ninja live off fighting and killing, negotiation and politics are secondary to those who choose that angle. Our skills lie entirely in how well we can kill, how we infiltrate, gather information from enemies. If you come across a ninja from another village, even claiming to be, I should point out that you need to treat that situation with a severity of caution much greater than you would... can't afford to be caught off guard and sustain any more injuries..." his eyes flickered down to the leg, before back to Oki himself, "Or worse..." he ended his lecture and musing for the most part.

"Still, anonymous ninja running around is problematic and cause for concern, I'll file a report with the ANBU later to investigate around the coliseum. I do have to say... I kinda admire your drive. In loss, you strive to train and get better, something I can get behind in every fashion." a smile would build on Karumo's lips as his tone would shift from stern and commanding to... more curious than anything. "You have a pet you work with and focus on Taijutsu, I know a bit of Taijutsu myself but I am a tried and true ninjutsu specialist... maybe though, I can teach you a bit about that one day, and... how to approach a fight better?" he raised a brow. He had no real... internal expectation that his experience outweighed anyone else' at any given point but he also understood that every experience offers a different value, and learning from others, even if they were less experienced, could offer a lot in terms of gaining knowledge.

"So, what do you say? I have a few tricks and things I can show you, but my Taijutsu is no better or worse than yours... since, Harichimo is the one who taught me to fight in that way." he chuckled a bit, wondering if Oki knew that his own sensei was far more skilled than Karumo would ever be with Taijutsu, but that bit of... continuity was probably only funny to Karumo really. "But still, might be a bit of fun to get out of the office and all for a while." Karumo spoke, rolling his neck around and cracking the bones while he waited for a response.


[883 words, 1254 words total]

Oki accepted the offer of the seat as it was made, not wishing to be rude, nor put unneeded pressure upon his injuries. As the Kage took in the information Oki had provided, with his expression shifting from one to another throughout, Oki would simply wait patiently for a response, which would come aptly. As Oki imagined would happen, the Kage stated that the information would be passed along to ANBU; an anonymous person going around and starting fights wasn’t a healthy thing in a village. Perhaps Oki hadn’t given enough details, however, since, the man was large, distinct, and had a pet with him… If it came to it, he could give more details though.

Next, Oki would listen as… The Kage would give him a lecture. Not something Oki would understand the reason of at first, but as he listened it became clear. Oki was trapped within the mind set not of a shinobi, but of a warrior. Oki hadn’t thought about it like this. The need for politics and negotiation as what should, as it seemed was implied, be the priority. The idea of violence as a fall back. Ninja were in a world of death, and in this instance, it would seem Oki was lucky to still be alive. Oki wasn’t cautious enough, which in hindsight, he knew. Fighting with a stranger was never a good idea, even if Oki set the terms. And as the Kage stated, there was nothing to stop the enemy from dealing something worse than injuries. Oki’s throat grew dry at the thought, and he shuddered as he remembered the nightmare he had… The nightmare of drowning in his own blood, cut in the throat by a shinobi he had never met before.

He shuddered the thought away, and it seemed then with the implication that the lecture was over. Still, after that, the man would speak up again. “Still, anonymous ninja running around is problematic and cause for concern, I’ll file a report with the ANBU later to investigate around the coliseum. I do have to say… I kinda admire your drive. In loss, you strive to train and get better, something I can get behind in every fashion…” the Kage appeared to smile then, his tone of voice less stern and commanding now than it was prior, and Oki would continue to silently listen. “You have a pet you work with and focus on Taijutsu, I know a bit of Taijutsu myself but I am a tried and true ninjutsu specialist… maybe though, I can teach you a bit about that one day, and… how to approach a fight better.”

“So what do you say? I have a few tricks and things I could show you, but my taijutsu is no better or worse than yours… since, Harichimo is the one who taught me to fight in that way.” After finishing this speech, the Kage seemed to chuckle for a bit, seemingly amused by something about what he had said. Oki had no idea no idea what he was laughing about, but, he seemed jolly enough, a mind set Oki could relate to. “But still, might be a bit of fun to get out of the office and all for a while.”

He thought on it for a moment. He did come here to request training, after all. He paused for a moment, before grinning, and nodding. “I came here to request training, and to request to learn. I think it would be counter productive of me to decline the kind offer, no? So, I say yes - if you will teach me, then I will listen and learn!” he grinned with pride then, before continuing. “Although, I’m not sure what I can do while in the physical state that I am. There isn’t permanent damage, and I have been told it will be healed in a week or two of rest, but, that is still time that I would rather be training, or, being productive…”

He shrugged, clearly oblivious of what to really say from that point. “So! I’m not much of a thinker! Any suggestions, sir?” he laughed at this, and simply waited.

696 + 1143 = 1839

Karumo cracked his neck and fell back in his chair, leaning back and letting his hands fold behind his head, fingers interlocked as he waited and mused to himself. Oki himself broke the sudden silence with a grin and a nod, Karumo blinked widely as he looked, seeing the clear found idea on his face. He accepted the offer to learn, which... well, it was a start to an idea? Continuing on to the obvious impediment of his injury and how that would hinder him, Karumo hummed and nodded along, knowing he was right, getting ahead of himself a little with false ideas of escaping paperwork and the droll atmosphere that sitting at a desk provided.

Oki shrugged anyways, still mentioning how he wanted to train and be productive, Karumo smiled and nodded, letting his hands fall back down to his desk. Leaving the floor open to Karumo for suggestions, "Right, well... if there's anything I've learned in my time as a ninja, exascerbating and injury isn't an option at all... so, how about this?" he would pause to see Oki's reaction, knowing the lecture to rest and get better would fall a bit hindered to him, he'd probably heard it enough from doctor's and all else anyways.

"Take your two weeks, get up to your best shape possible, then you and your pet meet me on... Training Grounds 17 in two weeks time, early morning and we'll have the full day out for practice and all else. I'll set the appointment and get out of my paperwork if possible." He looked with a raised brow and widened eye to see what he would think about it all. Truthfully, Karumo would just be happy to get out of the paperwork, a whole day out of the office... just off to do what he needed, he could even cut out early in the afternoon, enjoy a cigar, something of that nature. But... the thought hit him, some emergency popping up, he knew it would come. Something to interrupt it, mental dismay struck him but he kept it off his face for now. Holding his inquisitive facial stance and waiting to see what he would have to say to it all.


[377 words, 1631 words total]

As the Kage placed his arms on the desk, and spoke up to make sure he had the bear man’s attention if Oki had to guess, he watched. It seemed, after not a long amount of time, that he had an idea. Oki stroked at his goatee, wondering what idea the Kage could have possibly come up with in such a brief amount of time. The rumours of the Tsuchikage were, in this case, true. They had to be, the rumours that he was a strategist, stronger in mind than of fist. Given the studying the man had, the look of thought, he wasn’t planning on just repeating the words of the doctors like a parrot. Oki was pleasantly proven to quickly be correct.

“Take your two weeks, get up to your best shape possible, then you and your pet meet me on… Training Grounds 17 in two weeks’ time, early morning and we’ll have the fully day out for practice and all else. I’ll set the appointment and get out of my paperwork if necessary.” The Kage said, Oki nodding along and listening. A part of him wondered, and hoped, that one of the reasons he offered was to get out of paperwork. It amused him that thought, and also made him relate to the Kage if it were true. It meant that truly, there was nobody who liked paperwork. Practical stuff was far more fun.

Oki’s grin should have been able to say it all, but instead the big chuunin spoke up anyways. “Thank you very much sir! It is an honour to hear such an offer from yourself, and I can assure you Debu will look forward to meeting you! I just have a quick question, if you do not mind. You said to meet in two weeks’ time. Is this two weeks, including the time allocated by my doctor? Or is this two weeks after the time the doctor recommended to rest for has passed? It’s important to make that distinction, I think. Don’t want to show up on the wrong day aha!” he declared with a chuckle, nodding to himself. Look at you go Oki, actually thinking something through.

364 + 1839 = 2203

Karumo blinked for a slight second and adjusted in his seat slightly to change his posture back upright. Oki then began to speak, Karumo smirked awkwardly at his comment about it being nice to meet him, the formalities of such were... un-enticing for Karumo up to this point. Or perhaps it was more that he was mostly disinterested in them since they came about so regularly and he had no want or drive to hold some fancy title or position above others. His job was his job, same as before really.

Still Oki continued on, Karumo giving slight nods as he caught the name Debu, presumably the bear pet companion but there wasn't time long before Oki moved onto a last question about semantics of their meeting time. Karumo nodded and spoke up a bit, moving to stand behind his desk, keeping his feet still and letting his arms help push him up from the chair. "Two weeks from today..." Karumo glanced up towards him, the tone of his voice dulled as he nodded along with his words, "That should give you plenty of time to heal up, no? If not, we can push it back further, just say the words..." Karumo would blink for a second. In his mind, with Oki's draw to be about and involved, push forward and not waste time with things like rehabilitation, Karumo had figured that the sooner the better, and what better way to get back into swing than a friendly spar and training session?

Well, perhaps Karumo had pegged him wrong initially and he'd want more time to fully recover and such, maybe it would be a factor of knowing that he wouldn't be able to recover as quickly if he pushed himself too hard in the intermittent time. Still, Karumo would pause standing behind his desk to see how he would respond, waiting for the final confirmation to their little event or final set of their bout.


[331 words, 1962 words total]

Oki grinned as the words he wanted to hear hit him. The schedule was for two weeks’ time. He felt happy, and excited, ready to be rid of the crutches and back to active exercise. Using his crutches for support, Oki stood himself up, giving a wide, toothy grin, and a thumbs up to the Tsuchikage as he spoke up, voice regaining the loudness of his unbridled enthusiasm. “That sounds like a great plan! Thank you very much for the explanation lord Kage! I look forward to our meeting a second time, and I can assure you, I will be ready for your training!”

Nodding proudly, he got up, walking with a click of the crutches towards the door. When there, he turned once more, smiling. “Thank you kindly for agreeing to the meeting, lord Tsuchikage. I look forward to meeting you at the Coliseum! I can promise I will not let you down!” he exclaimed, before bowing, and exiting the room with a hearty chuckle, one that came from the pit of his belly. A truly jolly laugh. The clicking faded down the stairway as he left, off to head home, drink, and rest.

A couple weeks later.

Oki found himself frowning, now recovered and fully prepared and geared out for the meeting, as he read the note. It appeared the Tsuchikage was busy, and would need to reschedule, due to needing to work on diplomacy between a foreign village and the stone village. He wasn’t sure of the details of it, and it wasn’t his place to ask. Instead, the big lug of a chuunin just prepared himself to train alone – he set out a log, with his companion Debu, and the duo began striking in unison, practising together as a team. Training had begun.

297 + 2203 = 2500

[EXIT]

Training:

Karumo watched as his words rang around the room to hit Oki, bringing a smile to his face as he stood up proudly. Karumo's eyes widening in response and looking up to him as he began to speak, thumb raised in the air towards him and his voice filling the room far more than before, assuring their course of action was fine and offering thanks. Karumo smirked and chuckled a bit, nodding in response, such an eccentric response that came so rapidly, clear excitement embodied him and the future of their plans.

With another nod and confirmation, Karumo stood up from his desk and nodded along as he turned around. Offering his own sentiment as Oki turned and headed for the door, "I'll be looking forward to it, and having you at full health all the same, I will see you then..." Karumo ended and watched until the doors closed, standing behind his desk. He really was such an eccentric fellow, so seemingly off the walls at the same time, but not in the crazy way that a psychopath would. This was... almost like a childish excitement at the challenge? The sort of mentality that Karumo could almost envy from time to time, if his own apathy and drive to relax didn't outweigh that feeling.

Still, Karumo stood behind his desk and looked around, patting his pockets for the pen he'd had not too long ago, to write a note to the administration and make plans for the future at the same time.


[257 words, 2219 words total]
[Exit Thread]

Training: