Didn't the hotsprings remind people of something? Takashi always thought that hotsprings were a holy place. The hollow in the ground reminded him of a tea cup. What if the hotsprings were the tea drinking place for giants, gods or Takashi? Obviously no one could compete with Takashi when it came to the amount of tea drunk.

Iwagakure also offered a service of hotsprings. "It would be a nice change," Takashi was thinking of booking a time to visit. He didn't do much missions or training lately, but he was so busy running the tea stand that he needed some time alone. His neck and legs were fatigued. He felt exhausted. And some of his customers even said that his tea tasted better the first time they came. It was clearly time to relax.

Takashi knew his way around the hotsprings. Maybe the customs changed from place to place, but he had visited Konoha's hotsprings for a few times. He felt confident enough to go alone. The worst that can happen - he gets bad and weird looks from the commons. Although that happens all the time because of his apparel. No one walks in a festive robe that doesn't even cover his legs. And Takashi walks in it all the time. And it's gotten dirty too since he started to live in Iwa. He hadn't had time to clean the robe. When he arrived, the robe was white and orange. Now it was grey, orange with red, yellow, green, black spots. And it smelled of tea. And not the nice kind of tea - but old and bad quality tea. Although Takashi did keep the tea leaves in his pockets, their smell could never be felt.

At the appointed time (9PM), Takashi appeared in the hotsprings reception. A young keeper showed him around, took the money and wished him a well stay. A nice young lady. Takashi easily remembered what each room was. The lady also told him where the women rooms were, so it was also easy to remember where not to go. Finding each place was really easy since the walls had no decorations and Takashi could walk around while touching the walls with one hand to locate the door handles without the fear to knock down a vase or scrape a painting. The place itself seemed empty since he didn't hear anyone or stumble upon anyone. Even better if he was here alone. It's not like he lacked any company, he was here to relax and he can get it done all by himself. It was so quiet in this place that he could hear the wood crack under his footsteps.

After locating the men's room, Takashi first got undressed (there wasn't much to take off in the first place). Then he prepared tea. It was a hot black tea with lots of sugar. After stirring it for a while with spoon, it was ready to be digested. It's purpose was to boost Takashi's metabolism to the maximum. Although it was rather paining, he tried to drink it while it was maximally hot. So he was sitting in men's room with a big cup between his hands and forcing himself to drink it as fast as possible. His robe lied next to him on a table. The room itself was a little cold, because outside it was already dark and there were no means to heat this room.
583

Now that he had some downtime from the escort mission at hand, Kashizudoto decided to indulge in some quality bathing. The conflict: he didn't want to take off his clothes. No way was he leaving behind his mighty Tentetsutou, the Sword of Heaven forged out of meteorite, just to go bathe. No, no, he would not abandon his robe either. And to tell the truth, he didn't want all those other people seeing his privates. He kept them to himself. No need to share, seriously.

He saw the receptionist, who immediately noticed his Konohagakure headband, and checked into the hotsprings. There was no rule that said that you HAD to undress nor was there any statute that prohibited bringing weapons along. He was a ninja, what could he do about his love of the tools, weapons, and gear which he was clad in?

He passed through the dressing room without undressing, half-naked Iwa citizens just staring at him as he went right towards the door to the hot springs in full attire. This must've been their first impression of Konoha ninja. He didn't care much; he was simply expressing his individuality, although he wasn't sure how Iwagakure would understand that with the Will of Stone (at least by Kashizudoto's interpretation) seeming to assert that all people are copies of one another - as the stone could simply be replaced by any average stone sitting in the fountain.

He smelled... tea? He turned around, scanning a nude individual who he immediately recognized to be... Takashi! The blind genin from his own village, Konohagakure. What was he doing here? Could it be a coincidence that they both had missions here? And furthermore how was this blind kid traveling alone. And what was he doing with tea in the hot springs anyway? Addiction?

He decided not to accidentally scare the boy, so he approached cautiously, step by step. Although he was very discomforted by the nudity of his friend, he tried his best to ignore it. He doubted that the blind boy would notice his grimace, although it would be obvious to anyone else in the room with normal eyesight.

"Hey Takashi," said Kashizudoto, "Remember me?"

WC: 369

Someone was coming. A few weeks ago Takashi could've recognized these footsteps, but not now. Nekomatas usually rely on their hearing senses, they are just too lazy to open their eyes and check out what people are around them. An experienced Nekomata could remember a few hundreds of distinct people's walking noises. The only problem occurs when people decide to change their footwear. It could be anyone coming in the room right now. Even the receptionist who would freak out upon seeing Takashi naked. Fortunately this person did not freak out, instead Takashi was greeted. This was very surprising, since Takashi still hadn't made any friends in Iwagakure. The boy obviously felt very awkward standing with no towel or anything to cover himself and just holding a tea cup in both his hands. Before giving any response, he started to think harder of who could it be. The prison warden could still be trying to hunt him down. Or it could be some fanatic that wanted to steal his secret tea recipes. Maybe even a rival tea drinker?

But in the end, Takashi recognized the voice of a fellow Konoha shinobi. They did go on a mission together after all. They even ate some ramen together and formed something of a friendship before Takashi ran off to Iwa. Of course Takashi now felt some guilt of not saying goodbye to Kashizudoto. Takashi took another sip of tea before answering, his face lit up in a good mood and he was able to say:"Oh hello, Kashi-," there were some problems remembering the name though. No one in Nekomata clan was named like that. Probably a unique name for Sarutobi, "zudoto!"

Usually Takashi offered tea people who came to visit him (technically this counted as visit, even if Kashizudoto wasn't expecting to stumble upon Takashi here), but unfortunately he didn't have any spare cups and his tea reserves were still tucked into the robe's pockets. It was a poor service to not offer tea at the reception. It was a custom to drink tea before hotsprings, after all.

"Sooo," Takashi said to break the awkward silence. He felt just fine standing there naked, but by hearing the footsteps, he could imagine that Kashizudoto was still dressed. "Did you come to enjoy a hotspring too?" it was a dumb question that was probably going to be answered by just as dull "yes". There weren't really any other activities to do in hotsprings. Except if you were searching for someone who hasn't reported back to Hokage since mission completion. What if Kashizudoto was here on Hokage's behalf and his objective was to escort Takashi back to Konoha? Takashi had seen what Sarutobi was capable of, even at such a young age, so there would be no objections on his side. But better take precautions and go out, where fire would be not so effective:"Or was there any other reason you came?" without letting Kashizudoto answer, he continued,"Well, you can tell me about it when we get outside!"

Takashi then placed his cup on the table next to his clothing and touching the wall navigated his way to the door that lead outside. It was actually a little bit dangerous to search for the hotspring by himself. It's easy to lose footing here and fall down. And you don't know how deep the pit with water is. Instead of taking small steps to find the place where the wooden floor ends and soil or water starts, Takashi simply took a big leap in the air and hoped to land in the water. His nakedness could be seen from outside the facilities, because of the high jump he took. And then he successfully landed into the water with a big splash. The water was pleasantly hot and he shouted loud enough for Kashizudoto to hear too:"Ohh, so nice! Hurry up and join me!"
662

"Oh hello, Kashi-," responded the blind boy after recognizing his voice, seeming to struggle with his name a little, "-zudoto". He wasn't all that offended about the poor memory that Takashi had, after all, Kashizudoto was a name from a foreign land; somewhere along the line, the foreign clan moved to Konohagakure, and they'd merged into the Sarutobi clan - retaining their regressive traditions even when merged into such a prestigious clan. Of course, Kashizudoto didn't give a crap about anyone's useless traditions as long as they kept it to themselves.

"Sooooo..." said the blind genin, ""Did you come to enjoy a hotspring too?" That question was so obnoxiously dumb that Kashizudoto wouldn't bother saying "yes" - it'd be a total waste of breath.

"Or was there any other reason you came?" asked his friend, placing down his teacup next to his clothes, "Well, you can tell me when we get outside!" The blind boy ran out and made a huge splash into the water. Sheesh, this guy was impatient. Of course, Kashizudoto couldn't judge when it came to that.

He didn't plan to take off his clothes or anything. Kashizudoto simply redirected chakra to his soles while he ran out, allowing him to walk on water with ease. He would take one step onto the bath. Aaaaahhh... That was so relaxing for his feet. Aaaahhhh... He continued taking steps, walking around Takashi as he started catching up with him.

"Alright, let me tell you all that happened while you were gone..." said Kashizudoto, "So basically the Hokage, Lord Kenta Inuzuka, called me for a meeting in his office. I came on time, and we ended up having quite the discussion on leadership. In the end, I was promoted to the rank of chuunin and assigned to a diplomatic mission in Iwa whereby I would escort Lord Kenta to the Land of Earth; I won't mention the specifics of the trip or its purpose, that is relatively classified - even for friends. Before our departure, I gained a short apprenticeship under a retired shinobi living within the Dense Forest known as Master Piandao, the Blacksmith. There, I was able to forge the only blade ever made out of rock from spacial origins, the Tentetsutou - basically, I gathered rock from a four billion year old meteorite, melted it down, and made my blade out of it. He took the katana out of its bamboo sheath, bringing it near to the blind boy without being dangerously close.

"Here, feel it! he said excitedly, "Anyway, after that, I ended up departing for this mission with a letter for the Tsuchikage himself. Lord Tsuchikage and I ended up discussing a bit about the ongoing war after I delivered the message. Oh ya, that's right; I forgot to tell you. Another thing that you should be aware of: there is a war going on between Kiri and Kumo, the former invading the latter as a power play, with the casus belli of freeing prisoners. Konoha has sent troops to reinforce Kiri from attack, which is outrageous since Kumo is so undermanned that it can't even defend itself, much less attack Kiri..."

Kashizudoto Chakra:

WC: 903

Takashi hadn't taken a bath since he had come to Iwa. His skin really appreciated the hot water washing away the microscopic dirt. His hair was messy too and it felt more heavy when it got wet, since the filth clung in his thick hair and didn't wash away as easy as you'd hope. But he didn't seem to mind or to notice the state he was in. The sweet tea scent always overpowered the negative aspects. His clothes could do a wash up as well.

However it didn't seem like Kashizudoto had the same idea of hotsprings as Takashi did. Kashizudoto didn't jump straight in the water, instead he was walking on the surface. Why wasn't he getting in? Perhaps his abidance here indeed was not with an intent to enjoy bathing in hot water. It was silly to miss this opportunity if you had paid for it after all. If Kashizuduto were here to capture Takashi, they both could enjoy a bath beforehand. The young Nekomata hasn't even started working on escape plan yet, so it would either go awkwardly or he would go willingly back to Konoha.

Though after Kashizudoto started talking, it put Takashi's mind to ease. He hadn't come on Hokage's behalf to bring Takashi back. Instead Kashizudoto was visiting Iwagakure to escort the Hokage here. Not to capture Takashi, of course. Apparently a war has broken out between Kirigakure and Kumogakure and Hokage was doing some talking with Tsuchikage regarding the political situation. Takashi didn't really care about the politics. Nothing of it really affected him directly (that's what he thought at least).

But Kashizudoto had more surprising new on hand. He was promoted to chuunin! Upon hearing that Takashi's face lit up in surprise and his mouth took a round and open shape calling out:"Whoa!" And the boy, standing on the water's surface, took out a sword that he forged himself. This Tentetsutou felt scary. Even though it was being held a few meters away, the blade was still facing Takashi. He could feel it's position just by the chakra flowing through it. The blade was emitting a cold aura. At this moment, Takashi was having second thought - if Kashizudoto really wasn't going to confront him right here and now. But thankfully, he went on talking and nothing ugly happened.

"Do you know anyone who was sent to defend Kiri?" Takashi finally asked to relieve Kashizudoto of his monologue. He wasn't genuinely interested, since he didn't know many Konoha's shinobi anyway. But he could be impressed even more if the fresh chuunin would have already made acquaintance in the upper ranks. Takashi would much rather asked more personal questions, but the atmosphere here just didn't feel right. Kashizuduto was fully equipped, while Takashi was naked to the skin. Even if Takashi didn't see the absurdness in this situation, he would feel much more comfortable if Kashizuduto joined him to relax in the water. Most of these personal questions would include Kashizudoto's way to chuunin. Did he have a party after promotion? Did he feel like he is carrying out Will of Fire by ranking up in shinobi hierarchy? What were his future plans?

But Takashi felt obligated to do some talking anyway, since Kashizudoto wasn't scrimpy with words. "You might be wondering what I was doing here myself," though Kashizudoto never had asked that, "I too was sent on a mission," it was probably safe to tell him about the escaped prisoners, but he lowered his voice anyway, "two Konoha agents were captured and held prisoners. Had to help them escape. Since then I've just been hanging around in Iwagakure. I run a tea-stand here as well. You can come over someday, if you have free time. Invite the Hokage as well! " he loved to brag about his no-income part-time job.
667

"Woah!" Takashi cried in excitement as he heard of Kashizudoto's promotion to chuunin, his face noticeably lighting up. The blind proceeded to touch Kashizudoto's katana, made out of cold, hard meteorite. The blade really was a wonder. He was really happy that he apprenticed under Master Piandao, that was for sure. Or else he'd have a normal katana. He shuddered at the thought of not having a sword that he could truly call his own masterpiece.

"Do you know anyone who was sent to defend Kiri?" inquired the blind boy. Yes... Yes... His own sensei, the sannin Dr. Chi Rippa, had been sent to lead the forces of Konoha to garrison Kiri, apparently setting up an encampment there specifically for the shinobi.

"You might be wondering what I was doing here myself, the boy went on, giving no chance for Kashizudoto to answer, ""I too was sent on a mission. A mission, eh? So this blind boy, a genin, was sent on something serious?

"Two Konoha agents were captured and held prisoners. Had to help them escape," said the blind boy in a hushed tone, trying to make sure nobody else could hear, "Since then I've just been hanging around in Iwagakure. Wait. Wait. They sent a frickin' blind boy - a genin - on a covert operation to rescue agents of Konoha who were held captive by Iwa? What? What? Why not try diplomacy first? What about a little common sense before possibly creating a crisis like the one going on in Kumo! He held off on his opinion for now so that he could answer the rest of Takashi's questions and also so that their discussion would not look like a suspicious exchange of hushed tones to anyone watching.

" I run a tea-stand here as well. You can come over someday, if you have free time. Invite the Hokage as well!" said the blind boy, a tea addict. Yup. Kashizudoto remembered that he suggested this exact thing to the boy back when they were at the ramen stand. Well, that was that... He probably wasn't going to stop at the tea stand; he didn't have the taste for tea, as much as he didn't want to tell the boy.

"To start, yes, I do know someone who has been sent to Kiri," said Kashizudoto, "My own sensei, the sannin known as Rippa Chi, is, in fact, leading the forces that are being garrisoned in Kiri."

"About this mission," he added in a hushed tone, "Who were they being held captive by? I'm sure that they wouldn't be sending a genin to do covert operations in a hidden village."

"And... errrrrr..." added Kashizudoto, back into his normal voice, "I guess I might come over to the tea stand sometime. Perhaps even with the Hokage. Don't count on it though. Either way, it's a nice job you've gotten yourself into." A white lie. He wasn't planning on coming at all. He doubted that Lord Kenta had an interest in tea either.

"So I'm wondering..." Kashizudoto said before asking, "Do you have a cat assigned to you yet? It's been a while and considering you've been on a mission like this one, I think it's about time they gave you one..."

WC: 1462

As Kashizudoto started replying to Takashi, he settled down resting his back against a rock. This pose was perfect for relaxation. He could even close his eyes and fall asleep. But that wouldn't polite, so instead Takashi continued to stare in the distance in hopes that he was making eye-contact with the speaker. Apparently, people liked when their conversation partner looked in their eyes. It's not like Takashi saw anything, so he might as well close the eyes, but it contained risk that he would actually drift asleep.

Kashizudoto knew someone who was sent to Kirigakure. Although he previously had said it was weird, since Kumogakure couldn't do counterattacks, Takashi supported these actions. First of all, it didn't need to be a huge counterattack with many casualties. A small group of assassins to take out the key people, like generals and strategists, were enough to make a huge difference on the battlefield. The defenses could never be too low. Secondly, it provided people with experience. For example, this mentioned Rippa Chi was a squad leader before. Probably with no or very little experience with leading huge forces of defense. Even if nothing dangerous happened, he would still be able to prove his leadership and other good traits.

Next, Kashizudoto seemed surprised and interested in details of the mission. It was anything classified, so Takashi eagerly told him:"Oh, it wasn't anything THAT big," perhaps Kashizudoto had the impression that it was some kind of a huge scale S-rank operation, "I'm not entirely sure who was responsible for capturing those criminals," Takashi had forgotten what they were accused of. They had told him when they were looking over the village in Waterfall Point, but Takashi just called him criminals. "They were small-time thieves or something that just bespattered Konoha's name. I had to deliver pardons for them, but those papers weren't actually," Takashi now remembered that someone might be listening in, so he quieted down and leaned closer to Kashizudoto who was still standing on the water, instead sitting and relaxing, "signed by the prison's warden. So he found out, which was not part of the original plan. But I don't do things your way," now the boy hoped he hadn't insulted the young Sarutobi. It was just the impression - that Kashizudoto would deliver Will of Fire in that situation and kill every guard that tried to stop the escape, "I just helped them escape and did so myself. I'm sure that they went back to Konoha and they will be judged there and probably sentenced with community service which in my opinion is way more useful than just rotting in a jail cell," Takashi hadn't actually told them to turn themselves in when they returned to Konoha, but it was hard to go past the gates unnoticed. Even if a blind person was working at the gates (and yes, Takashi knew this from experience).

When Kashizudoto promised to stroll by the tea stand (and potentially with Hokage), Takashi started dreaming of that day. He would need to prepare the best ingredients available for him. That occasion would be no time for experiments and new recipes. He should hold on to proven values like the linden flower tea. He didn't serve it to just anyone. When he got his hands on the linden flowers, he either prepared them all for himself or shared with special people. And Kashizudoto and Hokage obviously counted as special people. But it was rarity to see linden flowers in Iwa's market. Maybe it was more common in the outskirts. Therefore, he had to make his way to outskirts and it should be tomorrow to get prepared for this event. Just imagine what popularity his stall would get after the Hokage himself visited it. What if the Hokage decided to invite some more important people like Tsuchikage? Maybe his income would skyrocket so high that he could afford his own stall and wouldn't need to rent one ever again!

But back to Earth, Kashizudoto asked about the Ninneko. When they were eating at Ichiraku's ramen, Takashi had told that all Nekomatas get a Ninneko pet at some point. Well, this time still hadn't come for Takashi. It wasn't bad news, but it still felt bad to admit it:"No, I don't have one yet." He couldn't even blame anyone. It wasn't anyone's fault for not giving him a cat. "That's why I'm working so hard. I need the extra money to take care of a cat. It costs money, you know," Takashi had asked if Sarutobis kept any pets. And they didn't, so perhaps Kashizudoto didn't know that they (especially Ninnekos) are very picky on food, they drink only milk and love catnip. A good catnip can be hard to get and expensive. "And a Ninneko brings big responsibility. He will be my squad mate." if Takashi had applied for a real squad, he probably could get some human squad-mates as well. "You could tell me more about your squad. I have never had to work in a team. Except that one time," he was referring when he and Kashizudoto went to Kodachi town.
888

"Oh, it wasn't anything THAT big, replied the blind boy, "They were small-time thieves or something that just bespattered Konoha's name. I had to deliver pardons for them, but those papers weren't actually- The blind boy paused mid-sentence and looked around to see if anyone could hear him.

""- signed by the prison's warden. So he found out, which was not part of the original plan. But I don't do things your way," said the boy in a more hushed tone. Wait. Did he just sass Kashizudoto with the "your way" comment? Oh, he was gonna get it!

"I just helped them escape and did so myself, continued the blind boy without giving Kashizudoto a chance to respond to his burn, "I'm sure that they went back to Konoha and they will be judged there and probably sentenced with community service which in my opinion is way more useful than just rotting in a jail cell. Alright, at least he agreed with that part. But that previous slight was inexcusable.

"No, I don't have one yet, continued the blind boy, probably referring to the cat that he was supposed to be assigned to, "That's why I'm working so hard. I need the extra money to take care of a cat. It costs money, you know." Aha. So he still didn't have enough ryo for maintenance. Made sense. He wouldn't want Takashi to starve his cat or anything.

"And a Ninneko brings big responsibility. He will be my squad mate," Takashi went on, "You could tell me more about your squad. I have never had to work in a team. Except that one time..." Obviously the kid was referring to that "mission" where they'd gone together to gather some citrus fruits from all the way in the Dense Forest. Apparently the blind kid needed the citrus fruits for... of all things: tea leaves.

"I'll have you know that my way involves much more finness, my friend. At least I don't get caught," said the Sarutobi, responding to the blind boy's earlier insult with one that was equally sharp. Tor rub salt in the wounds, he took out a few meters worth of wire and set up a trap at the entrance while he was talking that would trip the blind boy when he left the hot springs and went back to change. Nothing all that harmful, just a bit of a prank that would get back at him for the sass. Of course, having no eyesight, the boy would probably have no idea that it even was Kashizudoto who tripped him and even if he figured it out through the process of elimination, he'd have no proof.

"Anyway, I agree with you that reform through community service is a much better way of handling crime than putting them in dungeons, especially for small crimes, continued Kashizudoto as he finished setting up the trap completely.

"About my squad, we don't really have much of a team, persay," he continued, "So it was gonna be Sensei Rippa, me, and an older man named Jinta. I think Jinta pissed his pants or something, but, either way, he never showed up after the first meeting, so now it's just me and my sensei." The advantage of losing the older, relatively bothersome man was that now there was a 1 to 1 teacher:student ratio; although, there wasn't much for Rippa to do in the form of teaching at this point, considering that Kashizudoto was flying through Konoha's ranks at an unprecedented rate. Plus, the war had really disrupted interaction between the pair. Kashizudoto didn't even get the chance to show Sensei Rippa his new katana! Perhaps... Perhaps after the mission at Iwa, he'd travel to Kiri and learn kyujutsu from Rippa Sensei. Yes... Yes.. That would be a great way to get the "squad" back together. Not to mention, a katana and bow combination would be pretty sweet for Kashizudoto.

"Anyway, Takashi, it was nice meeting you here, though I really have to get going, said Kashizudoto, leaving the trap that he had set up earlier behind as punishment for the blind boy's insult to Kashizudoto's style. Perhaps the prank would open up his eyes, pun intended. He vitalized his body with chakra and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, masking his disappearance with the steam generated by the springs.

Kashizudoto Chakra:

WC: 2212

[Exit]

Strength: D-3 -> C-0: 525/525
Speed: D-3 -> C-1: 1100/1100
Endurance: D-3 -> C-0: 525/525
Leftover WC: 62

Finness in Kashizudoto's techniques? Takashi wasn't a chuunin to judge, but there's nothing finness about straight up killing your opponent. Yes, Takashi remembered what happened in the Dense Forest. Perhaps the higher-ups and Hokage agrees that Kashizudoto is an exceptional and talented youngster. Most likely someone had already presented these statements to him for it also seemed that Kashizudoto thought of himself higher than Takashi. Although they both were Konoha's shinobi.
Takashi didn't have anything to respond here. After all, he came here to relax and didn't want to start an argument. It was still confusing Takashi - why had Kashizudoto come here? A direct question wouldn't be appropriate here for it would show how unpleasant Takashi felt. But the boy didn't want to prolong any negations.

Kashizudoto walked around a little bit, never submerging into the water. Takashi didn't have any idea what the fellow shinobi had prepared. The clueless boy only could guess that this silent and awkward moment encouraged Kashizudoto to get a little bit jealous and enjoy the bath too.
The silence was soon broken when Kashizudoto finally admitted that killing people wasn't the best approach to dealing with criminals. Yet a little contradiction here - just a few months ago Takashi took part (not literally though) in dealing with criminals in just this way. Perhaps Kashizudoto had changed his mind (and ways) after becoming chuunin. It definitely sparked a hope in Takashi.

Yet this little belief of good in Kashizudoto was soon broken when he declared someone had pissed their pants. That's not an appropriate way to talk about people. And it again showed how cocky and unfriendly Kashizudoto was. In fact, Takashi thought his friend just might be a hypocrite - talking behind people's back. A student probably wouldn't say anything like that when his sensei could hear it.
And soon after that Kashizudoto rushed off. Takashi was still confused - why did he even come to the hotsprings? Wasn't his day tense enough when he had to spend it with such an authority as the Hokage? Relaxing is never bad for anyone. "Okay, bye!" was the mundane thing Takashi could respond to this chuunin.

"Enough of this overanalyzing. Kashizudoto probably had had a rough day, and his number one priority is protection of Konoha. It's good to know that he gets stronger and experienced. We need people like him who can protect everyone!" Takashi tried to force a good feeling about Kashizudoto. But the reality was that he had mixed feelings of this chuunin at best. These utopic good thought were just to trick his mind. Was doing something like that a good thing or not?
Enough thinking in general. The boy still had time to enjoy bath before returning into his rather dirty robe. Distant voices of people could be heard, some birds chattering in trees joined in too, after the hotspring had cleared of Kashizudoto's voice. The ocassional wind breezes brought a little chill to the skin left above the water.

Getting inside and wrapping himself in a towel was priority, when Takashi got out of the water. No, he didn't use any tricks to just skip on the water. Instead, he made his way through the water and pulled himself ashore. Soon his feet found the wooden planks. He will end up inside if he just followed these. Luckily for him, he wasn't running inside like he had run outside before. Kashizudoto had left a little surprise for the boy. This suprise brought a new set of negative thoughts about the Kashizudoto. Was he some kind of prankster? Didn't he take his rank seriously? Was he a bully with too much strength? Hopefully not, but Takashi ended up on floor with his hand implicated into the strings. After tripping his feet, he tried to soften his fall by placing both hands in front of him. However, only one of his palms reached the ground. The other was implicated, clenched into fist, in the wire and it didn't allow the boy to get up. Instead he had to crawl inside to successfully get up and then help himself with his free hand.
How unnecessary.
710
[Exit]
Total: 3510
Training: Seijutsu from C to B 2000/2000
C rank jutsu: 1000/1000
Leftovers: 510