Theme Music:

Oh, mercy...

The morning sun sent forth beams of light through the window blinds of Yūen's small apartment, which danced gently across his face and eyelids, signaling the familiar response - the young man's eyes gently opened, revealing the same plain, speckled white ceiling he had woken up to so frequently. A lighthearted and almost liquid smile cracked across his face as he welcomed this waking moment. It certainly was not a bad way to wake up. As he pivoted his body and placed his feet upon the carpeted floor, his instinctive morning stretches seemingly snuck up and out of him, his back arched and his arms rose up above his head as a yawn slipped from his mouth and the euphoric sensation released alongside his stretching caused a shutter throughout his body. As his armed lowered and returned to their position gripping the edge of his bed, Yūen pulled himself up to standing and made his way lightfootedly to his bathroom.

All my life I've been looking for the magic...

Cool water splashed his face, as he began his routine of cleaning his face and brushing his teeth. For but a brief moment the Karisuma clansman stated into the mirror at his own eyes, intense lavendar orbs of power. This scene in itself would foreshadow much, as what Yūen saw in his mirror was not what actually reflected back at him. Instead he saw a frame of darkness closing in on him. The hallucination disappeared with a splash to his face from the sink.

Fantasize on a silly little tragic..

His shower was short and sweet, hot water dropped tenderly down his fit form, soaking his pearl white hair as he scrubbed himself down carefully, taking his time to enjoy the heat and relaxation of the shower itself. The water and white soap suds would slide down the drain, like light being swept into a black hole.

I've been looking for the magic, in my eyes.

Yūen finished his morning routine by dressing himself in his favorite white and purple cloak, a small red bow kept the cloak tied in the front just beneath his neck. There were things to be done today, perhaps monotonous tasks like grocery shopping, grabbing the mail, or even taking on some low level missions for the village. Or perhaps something more exciting was waiting around the corner for Yūen as he pulled open his apartment door and stepped out into vast sea of social opportunity that was the busy streets of Sunagakure no Sato.

WC: 429

The day was busy and the streets were bustling, much too crowded for a morning in the village hidden in the sand. Sunagakure no Sato had an air about her of potential yet untapped, with fresh graduates, the genin, and their chuunin friends buying their tools or running about on low level missions while the special jonin and jonin would patrol the village and her gates or walls looking for any trouble. It was business as usual it seemed, everyone was rather ignorant and blissful about it as to the dark happenings behind the scenes in the village. Still, there would be one figure that would gracefully avoid the throngs of ninja and civilians, doing his best not to call attention to himself. One would find it hard to tell if it were a man or woman due to the cloak they wore, covering their body in jet black darkness from head to toe, with only trimmings of crimson around each hem of the cloak upon the bottom and the hood itself.

This person had the cloak drawn about themself tightly, with the hood pulled down to ensure that all but their mouth would be cast in shadow. the only thing that would help one ascertain who might be in the cloak was the scruffy beard that peaked out of the darkness in the clothing. The feet that carried the figure were that of a sure footed person, possibly a shinobi. The way they carefully and gracefully danced between the passersby meant they had some sort of training and experience in avoiding people or dangers. Still, one would be hard pressed to ascertain the identity of such a person. It wasn't long before the figure found themself near the boy who had just left his apartment, taking in the sun and the sky of Sunagakure no Sato. The figure stopped, sizing up the one he stopped near, trying to determine something before moving past him to touch upon a mailbox not too far from where the two could have bumped into each other.

Of the apartments that the boy had stepped from, there were many and one such used to belong to a ninja by the name of Syekren, his mail left in heaps upon the pedestal near the mail boxes. The figure silently began to go through each piece, shaking his head at them. Some were bills, letters from friends, letters to report in, debt collections for the unpaid bills, and a lot of junk mail. Heaving a heavy sigh, the figure moved away from the mail and went to match his stride with the boy he had nearly stopped to talk to. This was mainly for the sake of cover as, the boy with lavender orbs in his skull was a good couple of inches taller than he. No more than two, but cover was cover. He said not a word and walked beside the other quietly, looking this way and that for any eyes that may be watching. He forgot himself for a moment and decided it was rude to walk beside someone without so much as a greeting. So he spoke, softly, barely audible above the crowd but loud enough for the one he walked next to to hear. "Morning."

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Sunagakure no Sato's streets were absolutely loaded down with people and activity at this time of day. Yūen was a social person, and in that way he was envigored by the presence of social opportunities and the swarm of faces to associate with if he so chose. The Karisuma man was quite a beautiful person which granted him some form of a boon when it came to strangers, they seemed more comfortable around him, be it an advantage or a threat to his safety, it was inescapable reality. Fixated in his surroundings while blending himself into the crowd to make for a seamless entrance into the flow of walking traffic, his walk was gentle and yet still confident. As he passed the mailboxes and made his way deeper into the crowd, Yūen would notice a hooded figure sticking to his side, a little closer than what most people would have found acceptable. The figure never once even came close to bumping or treading on Yūen though, even so, the confidence and grace with which the stranger navigated the crowd spoke volumes.

The only sure details Yūen had gathered of his new "shadow" was that he was only a tad bit shorter than himself and that he was accustomed to treading this sandy beaten path. It did not in any way bother the young Karisuma man that this stranger was at his side and had yet to speak. Yūen was not the type of person to become bothered by the social habits of others, as he accepted long ago that everyone was different. He was a kind young man.

Upon their entrance into a smaller scale version of the market district, just as Yūen prepared  to depart the crowd, his "shadow" spoke to him. A simple greeting. It was pleasant though, as Yūen was more than prepared to engage in some conversation to dull the quiet chaos of the crowds. Yūen would access his general understanding and proficiency at making acceptable conversation and start out simple, as not to come off as too chatty for his company and scare him off.

"Good morning to you as well. I hope the day so far has treated you fairly. What brings you into the hellacious bustling of Suna's mid-morning crowds?"

As his words rolled out of his mouth politely, Yūen made sure to cast his look to the side to look at his conversation partner, as etiquette would endure.

WC: 418
TWC: 847

Syekren quietly pondered the question before he decided to answer. His eyes moved around the faces of the crowd as they walked, sensing no immediate danger. With a yawn and a sigh, the man moved his hand up to pull the hood from his face, bathing the porcelain skin of it in the sunlight. While his right side was to the man's left, his left side would be out of view. It was just as well, as upon the left side of his face he bore a large scar from eyebrow to cheek bone. It even cut through the eyelid as though he had been sliced through it with medical precision. With a smile he turned his head a bit to look at his temporary companion, the smile stretching his scruffy beard a bit. "I really just came out to check the mail, I used to live around the same place you did and well, for reasons I can't disclose currently, I shouldn't be seen there. What about you? What made you decide to come through the village proper on this fine morning? Going to train or something?"

His yawn came again, he really hadn't gotten enough sleep last night. He stretched his arms behind his back as they walked, nudging the tanto on the back left side of his belt that was hidden under the fabric. He was wearing his normal clothing underneath but had taken to not wearing his headband today, so his bangs fell a bit over his eyebrows. His different shaded blue eyes scanned the crowd faces once more as he tried to listen for his companion to speak, before he decided to say something else. "I used to hate crowds of people when I was younger, made it hard for me to get through anywhere. As I grow older and more mature as a ninja, I realize how useful it is to be able to walk through a crowd and maybe disappear in them. If you're agile enough and have enough stealth power, you could probably get away from just about anyone you know? The things you learn as you grow older really do depend on your experience through the growing. Ah, listen to me prattling on as if I'm some old and greyed man." A bellow of laughter escaped him, deep but playful in nature.

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OOC: Sorry it took four days, My hand was swollen form my cat biting me.

The man was personable and that was all he truly needed to be to draw Yūen happily into the banter and lifted up his spirits even beyond the prior good disposition. An inquiry struck Yūen as to where it was he was headed on that particular day, as his new acquaintance seemingly had only been seeking out his mail, stealthily albeit. Yūen pondered momentarily with a small and low “Hmm..” This small sound of deep contemplation only lasted a moment as he looked back to the man, no longer hidden under his hood, and projected his actual options to him.

“Well, I truly left home with an assortment of possibilities at hand. Many menial tasks remain in need of doing. Stocking some groceries in my home, buying a new book for when time is too plentiful, or something of that ilk. And then on another hand I desperately need to begin training and sorting out this life as a ninja I have chosen to embark on. With so much freedom of choice in what you choose to take on mission wise as a genin, I feel many just laze about. I surely don’t want to fall into that category, but what’s a man to do? Where does one start? I have no idea...”

Yūen cut himself short after realizing what a rant he had just gone on. He wasn’t sure if he even still had the ear of his partner in the crowd or not. It had been quite a barrage of words, non-stop from start to finish. He hoped he’d done nothing to embarrassing or off-putting as he silenced himself and gazed forward into the crowded plaza. He took note of the man’s words about crowds and his comment about being old and used that as an escape from the awkward nature of the prior events, chuckling alongside him.

“I actually do not dislike the crowds. As much as I can understand why some would. There are so many opportunities to meet new people and friends from within. They create an atmosphere in which one would seek an ally where there may not be a conventional one. All of us reach out for stability and something to lean on in times of loneliness.”

Yūen continued matching the man’s pace forward toward wherever they were headed. Speaking again only to say “I’m Karisuma, Yūen by the way.” He extended a hand to shake in greeting formally.

WC: 421
TWC: 1268

OOC:

There was a sound of contemplation from his companion as they walked and Syekren shot the other a glance for a moment before he looked forward, continuing his pace and his looking around.  His partner began to speak himself and went off on his own tangent about the trials and tribulations of taking missions as a genin, something Syekren himself had done five years ago. He also spoke about having a lot on his mind about what to do when he left home that morning, which mostly seemed to revolve around menial tasks. With a shrug to himself, Syekren considered what could flow next into the conversation. It wasn't as though a genin would have too many troubles doing any missions of their own rank, but when it came to C-Rank missions, those would be just a bit harder for someone fresh out of the academy to complete on their own. It had been a while since he'd had a squad or even a student since Zu had up and disappeared, so he was reluctant in offering help, but would inevitably cave and do so anyway.

"Well, no need to worry too much about the tools unless you are a weapons specialist or make traps as your bread and butter. By that I mean you specialize in tactical warfare and laying out traps then expertly leading your quarry into them. The most I had as a genin was my hitai-ate, kunai, and shuriken. Though I am a Jonin now, should you require anyone to do a few missions with that you can not do alone, I can assist you. I used to train my own squad of students and well, let's suffice to say that none of them remain. I'm not that hard of a tutor but I do expect a lot from my students if they want to be serious ninja. You're right, many do laze about. In the five years it took me to climb the ranks, I've seen only one person in my class rise to anything, and she became the Kazekage before our current lady. Her name was Suzume of the Koga clan. Feisty girl but not as strong in battle as one would wish of a future kage. Of course, after I beat her in our spar, she went on to better things. Me? I guess you could say.. I did as well." They were talking so much as they walked, Syekren had absent-mindedly steered them towards the training grounds outside of the ninja academy.

He was shaking his head about his forgetfulness to keep on target when he noticed the guy was speaking once more, this time about the crowds. Then his name came out to be Yuen, of the Karisuma. Syekren shook his hand and gripped it with a bit of tightness, although allowing himself some restraint so that he didn't hurt the fragile looking kid's hand. "Syekren of Sunagakure no Sato. Clan's not important, this is my home and I am one of her children. It seems we have come to the training grounds the academy students would use during a school day, it appears no one is here though. Tell me, what kind of ninja are you? Do you practice taijutsu?" At this, he'd let go of the other's hand and clench his fist, channeling raiton through it. The raiton would crackle before dissipating completely and then Syekren would open his hand again, conjuring katon chakra into it, making a small fire ball and following it after with a wind ball. "How about ninjutsu? Maybe you like to use weapons?" Syekren's hand moved with the motion of a practiced shinobi and fluidly reached into his cloak, pulling back out at his top speed with a tanto shining of the bluest hues due to the raiton chakra.

He flipped the weapon around his hand then retreated the weapon back into his cloak and sheathed it with a click.  "Of course, I know other things if that isn't your fancy. I just wish to know what you can do so we know how you should proceed on your missions. I know a bit about the Karisuma, given that one of my former students was one of them. She liked to use her eyes on me often, though from what I have learned... Her powers were different. She would fill you with a sense of dread and death with that stare. I've since been told not all Karisuma do that, of those that actually remain." With that, his hands came from the cloak, with a small notebook in hand, which was flipped open a few pages to a certain place he had written information on the clan at hand. "Ah yes, let's see.. The dazzling eye or something is your bloodline.. Most of you were wiped out by a Sarutobi man named... Mitsuo? I think. I dunno, this is all I could find on the public records and by talking to what few Karisuma stuck around this place. Sad story that. Sorry to hear about it, but I'll let you know a secret: my clan also went through a sort of purge like yours." With a sigh, the ninja went to looking at the training dummies scattered about, considering what the pair could do.

The notepad was just within view of what the other could see though and the words were still legible, despite seeming to be written in a quick hand:


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