Since Takashi found his life partner, they haven't planned on parting. The Ninneko will always stay by his master's side. And this is especially helpful for navigation. The two developed such a great coordination - if Nyanko needs Takashi to go left, Nyanko just pressed his left paws harded while sitting on Takashi's shoulder. If needed to steer left - then both right paws. And so for all directions. Sometimes when Takashi tried to annoy Nyanko, the cat would release it's claws through the robe and still want Takashi to steer that way.

And they decided to put this complex method to test and get up the Bastion Adamantine. Of course it was Takashi who wanted to test their cooperation and coordination. Nyanko on the other hand hoped that there would be some tasty birdies on top of the fortress. "Have you been here before?" Takashi inquired as they were getting closer to the fortress. For most part Takashi remembered the road since his last visit. It was just a week ago, but he was alone and he didn't actually get to climb the fortress. He run into some guards who asked help instead, and Takashi ended up brewing some tea for another Iwa-nin and actually murdering some saboteurs who planned to ruin the reconstruction process of the grand structure. "No," Nyanko effortlessly said, like he didn't care about the structure at all.

When the two were close enough that they could even touch the fortress, Takashi recognized a smell. More like he recognized the humidity in the air. The pot of boiling water at the guard's resting place was still there. "How fortunate!" Takashi exclaimed and started rustling through his robe in search of a cup and some tea leaves. "It's time to prepare some tea!" there was happiness in his tone as he smelled the cheap green tea leaves and put them into the cup which he then poured over with some hot water. "Actually, I will make another one - for later," he justified. Nyanko just smirked and kept on looking around while sitting on Takashi's shoulder comfortably. When both cups were full and the excess leaves were removed, Takashi pulled out one more thing - honey which he added to both teas. "No whiskey this time?" the cat was actually surprised seeing Takashi drinking pure tea once in a while. "Not this time, Nyanko! Now guide me!" he felt pompous with two cups in hands, he even danced around a little - the boy would never dare to act like this in a crowded street. Apparently he thought no one was around while he fooled around here.

"Okay, you will need empty hands if you want to get to the top fast," the cat warned him. "You think so?" Takashi thought of this as a challenge and was ready to prove him, so with a smile on his lips he performed a shabby jump of Nekomata - he elevated some 12 meters in air and then landed back on ground without spilling a drop. Demonstratively he then sipped the tea and showed how satisfied he was with himself. "Whatever, show-off," Nyanko enviously said and decided to guide Takashi through all the stairs anyway. Of course the boy didn't know that he could make it to the top by jumping up the platforms a few times, so he completely trusted his companion and took more than a thousand steps upstairs.

"Geez, I'm exhausted," Takashi ranted when he finally felt the strong breezes of winds on the top of the fortress. Perhaps it was very logical of Takashi to not drink any alcohol when coming up here, he was struggling to stand upright after such an exercise anyway. Nyanko was doing his best to pull the guy together and make him not fall off. Cats do fall on all fours, but Nekomata ir not a cat. "Is it a good sight?" Takashi inquired for only Nyanko could subjectively tell Takashi how it looked like up there. "Yes, it is. You know you can use that jut-" Nynako briefly answered without going into any details before getting interrupted by his owner, "No. I'm not doing that," the boy seriously said and that was the end of discussion about this mysterious jut(su) that Nyanko was offering.

The fortress seemed rather abandoned after the patrol guards were relieved of duties after the shinobi had taken care of the bandits. On their way up Nyanko notified Takashi of some humans also walking around, but they never met. They never walked past each other. But it was bound to change for Nyanko was very serious with his description this time:"A young kunoichi of Iwagakure, sitting, no idea of height or weight, looking through binoculars, orange long hair, white and red casual clothing. 20 meters" Takashi was going to approach her. After all, this fortress didn't end up being such a challenge for them anyway, but the boy was exhausted from climbing up all the way. So the boy wearing a white and orange robe with some dirt stains on it was going ahead to the girl. It was breezy up there and since it was just his robe - he was kinda cold. Only the tea to warm him up. The sound of his sandals should be heard as he was closing in on the young lady, but Takashi initiated the conversation anyway:"Hi there!" there was this awkward silence for a few seconds for Takashi didn't know if the girl even heard him, and Nyanko was sitting still and not giving a clue of girl's actions. "It's quite breezy here. Do you want some tea?" he took a few steps forward and offered the cup which he had no tasted yet. But he knew that the tea was perfect and sweet - just like in the cup he was drinking from.

It was just a friendly gesture and the tea wasn't spiced or anything (for there has been history of Takashi spicing teas which he then gave others to drink). The cat on his shoulder probably would make this situation less creepy for it wasn't everyday Takashi spoke to girls and this could end up pretty awkward and maybe too friendly.
If the girl accepted his cup of tea, Takashi would proceed to sit besides her with some guidance of Nyanko. It was best to enjoy tea sitting and not walking like Takashi has been doing for the past few minutes.
1093

Having his left hand relieved, Takashi took the advantage of the situation and sat down besides the girl, letting his legs hang freely and giving them a fine rest. To keep it less awkward, Takashi still kept his distance of more than a meter between him and the girl. The boy would now safely sit and warm his both hands with the single cup that was left in his hand. At least the strong gusts of wind were not harming his legs anymore and it got a little warmer. Nyanko would jump off his shoulder and go exploring on his own. A cat would land on all fours after all if anything happened. Takashi had the freedom to lie down on his back and stare straight up. It didn't matter to him - wether he was looking straight up or forward into the distance. It was blank either way. It was a little more difficult to drink the tea in this position, but he would bear without ingesting tea for a while.

Thinking more of the tea, he recalled the reason he travelled to the Land of Earth in the first place: to share his knowledge of tea (and preferably gain even more, but that hasn't happened yet). Thus in order to break the silence between the two, he would tell the girl about the rules he had displayed at his tea stall:"I hope you're enjoying it," he started off completely neutral, not showing any signs of what he actually desired, "Actually I owned a tea stall a few months ago," Takashi continued without waiting any good remarks about his tea. In fact, that was somewhat a lie - the boy never owned a tea stall. He rented it, but it's no lie that his services were very popular amongst Iwa citizens, and some Iwa-nins too (perhaps Oki would be an exception). "But no one paid for the tea," he revealed something that would shock the girl. Of course, people were encouraged to leave a tip, but it rarely happened. There was other currency that Takashi demanded:"They were supposed to introduce them, tell me about themselves and give details on one funny or memorable adventure, they've participated in and.." there was another, fourth rule, that Takashi couldn't recall. But he improvised anyway and made something up:"give me details about their favourite food - so I would know what tea they would prefer," that was completely untrue for Takashi always decided on the components of tea based on people's character. "But I guess you can skip that, for you already have a serving of green tea."

Meanwhile the cat wandered past the girl and was on his way to do whatever. Takashi wasn't bothered by it. He wasn't planning to get up before Nyanko returns anyway. And if anything - he hasn't lost his senses which he used before Nyanko came in his life. The cat probably remembered the real reason he wanted to come up - to catch some birdies. Those flying animals probably loved this high place. Chirping in distance was audible, though Takashi was quite unsure if those were birds flying around somewhere, or actcually a flock of them had landed somewhere on fortress and was just resting. The birds didn't sound like pigeons or ravens that you could find in Iwa's streets. These probably were some high-altitude birds. Takashi will inquire about it later when the furry hunter returns.
584

It was actually hard to enjoy his warm beverage, if he decided to lay down. If he tried to take mouthful of tea, he would gag and just spit it out (or cough for a while and get it the liquid out after a few deep coughs). Not even mentioning that tea would flow alongside the porcaline and end up on his hands or robe. It it ended up on his robe, it probably wouldn't be that bad, since his clothing was quite dirty ever since Takashi left Konohagakure. Perhaps the boy was not able to enjoy his drink as much as the girl did.

His position didn't harden him to speak, so he easily asked all that he wanted to get out of the girl. Those weren't lies. Takashi clearly remember Oki, Yusuke and Takamura who all shared their tales and adventures with the tea vendor.
Sadly though the girl wasn't keen on sharing these details. She complimented the tea. Everyone would say good things about free drink, especially if it's made by someone like Takashi. There has been no one who has critized his ability to make tea before. And he didn't expect to get negative reviews here either. The questions kind of confused Takashi, was it like uncommon for someone to climb up here? Wasn't that what all the tourists did? Didn't he just look like someone lost? Last time he ended up by the fortress a guard mistaken Takashi for someone who wandered away from a festival. "I like..." the boy hesitated on giving an answer. He wasn't sure wether he should tell the mundane truth or come up with someting intriguing. The original reason for coming up here was to train. The Ninneko and Nekomata had been working on a complex method for coordination. It had to be put to a test. Initially climbing all the way up seemed like a good challenge, but it turned to be just an easy task which the boy would easily accomplish all by himself. That was his reason for climbing up. For Nyanko, however, there was other reasons which were being fulfilled at this very moment. "The quiteness from people," Takashi finished with a contradicting sentence, since he chose to approach a person up here anyway.

The gusts of wind truly were a lot stronger up here and it kind of got Takashi worried for both himself and his feline companion. Takashi seated back up straight, gulped down all that was left in his cup and did a backwards roll to a state from which he could straighten himself and appear as a tall and fine person. "Hey Nyanko, your hunt is over," he called out, not sure which way the cat had gone to. This sentence also revealed the reason why Nyanko desired to get be up on the fortress - some fresh bird meat. It will take a while for the Nyanko to actually return and therefore Takashi ended up awkwardly standing. The girl probably felt uneasy for using his cup if he was going to leave, thus Takashi decided to say some relieving words:"We will just go to refill," this too was no lie, for he did want to consume another cup of tea - with whiskey this time. "I can make an extra for you too, .." the boy realized at this moment that the girl never introduced herself. Of course, neither did Takashi, but he never introduced himself first - he would do it only if request. His clients, on the other hand were required to do it before receiving tea. The girl had skipped those steps, thus Takashi was left confused and could only guess what her name was.

Takashi would just take a few steps forward and backward, completely clueless about his location on the fortress. One wrong step could result him falling down. And Nekomatas don't land on all fours. Occasionally Takashi would try and stare approximately at the girl, though he was just focusing on the sound of the tea being sipped - that was the only way to determine where the girl was residing at. "So, are you enjoying the sight?" Takashi asked after just wandering forth and back for a few minutes. He couldn't see what was beyond the wall, but Nyanko had done an incredible job leaving Takashi curious. The cat never mentioned using that jutsu for seeing in regular day. That jutsu was only to be kept for important and dangerous situations. Was the sight really that great? Could the girl possibly describe in such a detail that Takashi would be left speechless? Would she be able to impress a blind boy who has never seen the sun, the stars, the moon, the forest, the sea or even his own cat with his own eyes.
807

Silence was established for a while after Takashi's request. At first he got a little disappointed because the girl wasn't very talkative. It was first time he met a citizen of Iwagakure who wasn't keen on talking with the boy. People are always so full of themselves that they rarely hesitate when asked about their life, their interests and adventures. And everyone he had met so far was proof of this. Maybe except for Yusuke - this individual wanted to hear more about Takashi too. This girl apparently wasn't like all the others. She piqued Takashi's interest with her unique behaviour. Perhaps it was the mystery that Takashi didn't know a thing about her, and had no idea if the tea was of any help to her, or only a delightful treat. But it was still sad that she never introduced herself for he couldn't make her a perfect tea the next time they meet.

But then she spoke. The feminine voice rang clearly and loudly. And Takashi's concealed wish was fulfilled - the girl went in deep detail about the wonderful view. He thought the description would contain only things you can see, but he has never heard someone to speak so beautifully. Who would've imagined that being up so high you can still see earth? But the girl said that wherever you would look - you would still see the earth in every direction. Weird, the blind ninja couldn't grasp it. And you could see mountains too! This huge fortress can give people information about the elevation of earth too, wasn't that useufl? And the sky and sun's warmth - the thingss that Takashi never had witnessed. He knew that every person shows warmth with their actions and facial expressions, but he didn't know how easy it is to notice. But if even a mountain could emit visible warmth, then the world was so full of surprises that Takashi didn't even realize yet. And clouds of teabags? "Ha," the boy quietly let out a laugh of joy and smiled, as he could imagine the form of teabags he used to make his tea, floating around in the space above people's heads.

After the girl stopped, there was no more speech. Just the sounds of wind, birds and footsteps leaving. The tea apparently was good for it was all drank. Like always, like it should be.
A jump, and something landed on Takashi's shoulder with feet kicking the boy's back. The soft paws were immediately put to use and Takashi could use the stairs to leave the same way he got up here. "So, did you get any?" the boy asked his companion to break the silence. "No," the cat shamefully said. After all, what was a cat who couldn't even catch a rat with wings, "they are evasive, those bastards," of course the cat would find some reason for his bad luck.
Descending the stairs, there was one thing that was giving Takashi hard time:"What's a jasmine?" he inquired on his way down. Nyanko had no context, so he plainly answered the boy's question:"It's a tree," of course Nyanko would answer in only one short sentence. It was a rarity to find a girl like her who would let a blind boy see for a short time.
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[Exit]
Total WC: 3052