Akimoto was enjoying the usual refreshing strolls through the village streets way more than he used to. A couple of months passed since the young shinobi has started to regularly train with his new friend - Aratarema - and the results were already obvious. The katana, being an Akuma no Ken, that is, a demon blade, was simply amazing, although its constant hunger often lead the drained body of its wielder to the hospital chamber. "You should be extra careful, my dear", said the nurse once, "because you may end up in the cemetery next time. Am I clear on that?". "Yes, ma'am", easily consented the Sharky, cursing her ignorance. Couldn't she see the meaning of all this? Weren't the signs evident enough? He was finally improving! Just like Hoshigaki Kisame before him, the boy had the potential to tap into his genes and unleash true greatness! Just you wait, lady...just you wait...I'm gonna show you wh...
"...at the heck?". A small crowd has gathered in one of the narrow alleyways, crammed umbrellas covering their bodies like massive turtle shells. Everybody was wearing black suits, polished boots and suspiciously distasteful neckties. The heinous stench of something ugly gunged the air, negotiating treaties with the aroma of rotten fish from a nearby warehouse. Apparently, whatever happened there wasn't entirely in sync with what was planned to take place. "A procession, huh? I guess the fella' used to live nearby. Awful. If that isn't his smell, I guess it's what killed him, yeah? The industry sucks."
Unsure why he is doing that, Akimoto remained still and continued to observe from the nearby sidewalk. There was no coffin yet, but the people seemed determined enough to remain patient in the provided (horrible) circumstances. So it shouldn't be long before things started moving, thought the kid...
---

WC: 310

The village was quiet today it was unusual for Kiri, at least at this time of day. Oberon had spent most of the day in the train grounds pushing his limits with training and improving his skills, and so he decided to take the rest of the day off to relax which was something he did not do very often. The real reason he decided to take some time to relax was because his entire body was still sore from the training he had with Nozomi, the girl had pushed him harder than he would of liked but by the end of the training he did not regret one second of it. Had it not been for her pushing him he would of never of improved as fast as he had and would probably still be in the training grounds missing the target. The sun was starting to set however the shops had not closed yet, which was why it was so odd that it was so quiet today. Even the restaurant that he had eaten at seemed quieter than usual, considering the amount of people in there. Oberon got an ominous feeling it was as if something had happened and everyone knew it, but no one was saying anything. How strange Oberon thought to himself as he exited the restaurant and stepped out into the street and right into the rain had pick up since earlier that day. What had started as a drizzle was now coming down in the way of the normal rain fall of the village hidden in the mist, Oberon watched as many of the villagers were walking around with their umbrellas out. Oberon did not use one though he enjoyed walking in the rain especially after a hard day of training, not to mention the fact that he did not even own an umbrella.

The shops would closing soon so there was no point in trying to do any shopping today, but it was still to early for him to even consider returning home for bed despite how sore he felt. So he decided he would take the long way home, with a nice stroll through the village and enjoy the rain cooling him off. His walk took him through the industrial part of the village, the smell of fish instantly hit his nostrils however living so close to the sea he had become accustomed to the smell. There was something else in the air though something that did not belong, the smell of death and it grew stringer still as he continued down the street. Oberon saw the crowd up ahead protruding out of the nearby alley way it was far too crowded for him to see anything other than their umbrellas and there was no way he was going to try to push past to get a look. Oberon hated crowds so he figured he would just keep walking and hope that the smell will quickly leave his nostrils, but he noticed someone standing off to the side of the crowd also watching the crowd as if he too was trying to find out what had happened. Oberon recognized the grey skin of the Hoshigaki clan as he approached the kid that looked to be around his own age, he also noticed the boys clothes all torn ragged. Oberon wondered why someone would be dressed like that when they came from such a renowned clan, but he quickly dismissed the thought as he approached the boy as it was not important though he was curious as to see if the boy might know what happened. "Hello there, any idea as to what happened?" Oberon asked pointing to the crowd that was now off to his right side.

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625

"Wha-", mumbled Akimoto, surprised by the sudden interruption of thought. "Who the heck are you? And why do you think that I know what's going on? Rather...why would you think that I will even bother to care?! Can't a shinobi just stand and watch the crowd?! Geez!"
The Hoshigaki representative was already irritated for he hated being talked to. What's worse - he has also noticed how the unknown ninja eyed his rags. It was a quick stare, a well-known look, bearing the signs of natural curiosity, but it annoyed the shark boy mad. Then a different voice, the voice of reason, took control. "You really won't change, would you? Even after receiving that fancy sword of yours? At least try to be polite. You promised yourself, didn't you?".

The procession was still at place, frozen in time, and the rain was pouring down. It was just now that Akimoto took a closer look at Oberon, inspecting him carefully. He noticed that the boy didn't carry an umbrella which - for some unknown reason - sparkled a distant resemblance of rational civility in Akimoto's rascal heart. Perhaps the red-haired genin wasn't that different after all. Could it be that he was enjoying the bad weather without bearing any ill intentions towards the social outcast?

"I...am sorry. For being rude. It's just my...", the sharksman couldn't finish for there was a visible splat of excitement shared between the gathered people. Something was finally happening, something that could possibly provide more answers to this peculiar situation.

"Are they preparing to...", gasped the Hoshigaki in disbelief...
---

WC: 274
TWC: 584

Oberon was not surprised by the hoshigaki's attitude, considering all the others that he had met acted just like him. It must be some kind of family trait or something Oberon figured, before proceeding to answer the man's questions. "My name is Oberon, I only asked you because when I approached you had already been here and I was curious so I figured I would ask. And there is no law against crowd watching like I said it was merely a question. As a matter of fact why don't I just leave and let you be in peace, I am very sorry I bothered you" Oberon paused and looked over at the crowd as the man went to apologize about him being rude, however what was happening in the crowd distracted him from what he was saying. There was a body of someone  they were moving it seemed as though they had been waiting for the right time to move it or something. Oberon used the distraction of the crowd and the moving of the dead body to slip behind the man and jump to the rooftop and continue on his way home, whatever was going on he was no longer interested in. He had had a very long day of training and was in no mood to stick around and he decided he was tired of dealing with the hoshigaki due to all of them being nothing but rude and defensive people. He was done trying to make friends with them or having any thing to do with them, Oberon continued the rest of his walk home on the rooftops of the different buildings until he arrived in the residential area of the village jumping down to the streets before continuing. He learned a while ago that certain villager are not to happy when someone runs or jumps across their roof and the fact that he had already been warned about the complaints in the past was enough to deter him from walking on them again. Besides there was nothing wrong with walking through the streets, he was just glad to be away from the smell of death although the smell of fish still lingered in the air it was far less potent in this area of the village and made it easier to breathe. He soon arrived at his home and once he was inside he began removing his gear before heading up to the shower on the second floor after which he headed to bed. As he lied back in bed his mind flowed with everything that had happened to him that day and all the training he had gone through as well as what the future might hold for him.

Exit Thread

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1082
Endurance trained from E-1 to D-Rank = 675
Strength trained from E-1 to E-3 = 375
Total words = 1050