Rippa had finished with a round of meetings the night before. Shop owners and heads of households either demanding a meeting with him for their own prestige or simply wanting to know if taxes would raise or lower. As if the subtle change in power would alter their realities. It was tiring but he was more than happy to comfort them. Their fear of pain brought upon their lives eased. At least for the time being. Still even though it had been a late night he had returned from his home in his clan compound at a reasonable working hour in the morning. Coming in at nine that morning before even his secretary who had stayed even later to file some paperwork. However for a time he would help catch up. Running down this rabbit hole at such an insane pace as alice did down the rabbit hole. However he was keeping track of the end of that path and watching for when he could alter that pace. Minding his own exhaustion. So there was a need for a break soon. One that wouldn't require scribbling or staring at papers. Yet still at the same time something that would accomplish progress. Or so he hoped.

For now he was busy scribbling down some notes as he compared two different claims on a property dispute. It normally wouldn't be up to him but it involved two shinobi training houses. One clan was demanding their ancient land be returned to them while the other had evidence of having acquired it through time honored bouts long ago. It was an interesting issue based on poor choices of men long passed. Still he compared the notes and would consider this an inner office issue for the time being. His large wooden desk sitting in front of him with a small stack of papers, a pen and his Kage hat to his right facing forward. To his left on the desk was a single file. Behind him on the wall was his twin Katana Adam and Eve crossed together but easily accessible. Around the top of the room was hanged pictures of the Kage of the past. While next to the door was a long red coat on a coat rack with his ammo belt. Eight bolts left within it. On the other side of the office a fire crackled With a couch facing it with a chair on either side facing slightly more inward. All with red cushions.

His own chair was a high backed red chair with copper buttons running down it in two lines of three. Across from the desk was two smaller black chairs. Less cushioned but suited for a somewhat lengthy meeting if need be. For now Rippa was waiting on his next meeting. One Jamie with no surname to speak of. An outsider which had only recently been allowed admission into the ranks of Konoha. His picture appeared to be far more frail than that of the others. Though his age stated twelve he looked closer to half that. A part of Rippa wondered if the kid had lied about his age if only to retain his shinobi status. Still he would be let within the top floor of the administration building via either the elevator or stairwell. There if he came he would run into the receptionist. A woman behind a single white desk taking calls and arranging papers. A dark haired woman with tan skin and dark eyes wearing traditional robes. Dark blue in color with a single tanto on her hip and a headband around her neck. Once he announced himself should he do so he would be shown down the single hall towards a pair of double oak doors. As soon as he arrived of course she was to prepare Oolong tea. A darker tea with a smell of Jasmine. His personal favorite. He could only hope the child thought as much. After all he desired an outsiders opinion. Still his summons had been sent via word messenger only earlier that morning. It was only ten now and that meant the summons had only been sent out an hour ago. Perhaps he was too eager and expecting too much.

706

Jamie had woken up that day as he ate his breakfast early, he told his goodbyes to his new family and went out as some of the dogs gave him some glares as he was an outsider not only among the villagers, but also to the clansmen of his family who were part of the Inuzuka clan. He went out early passed seven in the morning to find out the progress on his new throwing weapon as he made his way to the blacksmith who seemed a bit saddened as he approached the smith gave him a reply. "Sorry, but you will have to collect it later. I will send it to your home when it's done." Jamie nodded and then made his way down the street and out of the market area.

He then made his way passed the nearby hospital around eight as he just visited the area to greet some of the staff there and checking if they needed him to gather more herbs again as he performed these missions on a rather regular basis supplying the herbs needed for certain medicines as well as some more experimental herbs which needed to be researched. After doing that he went to the one doctor's office for a quick check up as he got on the bed he took off his sandal and the doctor examined the sole of his foot, the bleeding and swelling had healed up properly and he was given the okay to be on his feet actively again. He gave his thanks and before he could head home he received something he never expected.

He received a summons from the Hokage which made him feel both excited and fearful at the same time, as he could not contain his nerves that well as he took a deep breathe and proceeded to make his way towards the Hokage's office. While on his way he thought about the other times he had made attempts to meet the Hokage, the previous hokage had been a really busy man who he only saw passing by or during a small event. The closest he had to a meeting was getting to reception only to be told the Hokage was out and then after the hokage got back he was told he was busy. The man seemed intimidating, but there was something he should have noticed sooner and he was in hospital on the day of the change, but apparently they had a new Hokage which was someone with a name he was too scared to attempt pronouncing. He decided he would simply refer to the Hokage as the Hokage-sama and avoid making any accidental insults since he had discovered he was like that at times with Shippo.

He made his way towards the building as he was hoping he was not too late, he entered the administration building very silently and walked rather uniformly in order to appear more formal as he wore a simple lime green t-shirt and a white shorts with sandals. When he got there he was told to wait for a while as he wondered why, having forgotten that people do not simply see the Hokage without being properly identified which did not really take too long.

After that he was sent up the stairs as he walked it seemed to not be too many, but he did not really like stairs though he was not sure why at the time. When he finally noticed the upward trend come to a stop he was at reception, there was a single white desk with a woman who seemed rather busy. He wondered if this was the same receptionist from before or a new one as he could not really recall. He moved forward slowly as she stopped to look at him he simply answered. "I am Jamie, I have come for my summons" as she listened to that she just gave him one more quick look over then pointed him to two large doors and went back to her work. Though as he headed towards the door he thought he saw her pass him by as she seemed to have gone to do something else now upon his arrival as he got to the doors, he pushed them open slowly as he entered before slowly closing them again. It was a bit easier opening them, but he had gotten just a little bit stronger with training. He was simply glad he was able to close them since not being able to open and close doors would have been a great embarrassment and a disgrace to the shinobi of the village.

He thought he smelled something like a herb or flower, was it Jasmine or did he spend too much time gathering herbs and smelling them even when they were not there. He had a surprised look on his face when he noticed how few papers there were, he may not have had a proper meeting with the previous Kage, but he was expecting a mountain of papers as he blinked to get his eyes back to a more plain look in them. He then noticed above the head of the Kage two beautiful swords as he wondered if he would be able to attain swords of such high quality for himself in the future. He noticed there was quite a lot of red as he began to feel like he fit in a bit more with his red hair, he decided to be respectful and then stood straight as he put his hands in front of him to the sides as he bowed his head slightly in greeting not wishing to sit down without getting permission since this was the Hokage, the most powerful man in the village. At least that is what he had learned when catching up on the information of normal shinobi.

"Morning, Hokage-sama" as he gave a very polite tone as he waited to hear the voice of the man who would be leading them to the future.

(1011)

Rippa would quietly wait at his desk. His pen scratching along the current piece of business he was taking notes on. After all he was supposed to handle a great deal of this business. However he perhaps had a benefit he wondered if the Kage before him had. The office always held the strongest but strength did not dictate education. He wondered just how many warriors sat in the seat he currently rested within feeling less relieved and more trapped by the pen and paper. If there was one way to fell a warrior it was to chain him or her to a desk. However the majority of Rippa's clan or at least the branch he was head of had been bred to be doctors and scientists. For a long time his choice to become a shinobi had been shunned. He had only discovered later his father had approved of it simply so Rippa could fight to defend himself. Knowing the danger he was in when Rippa did not. Still his youth had been spent studying and part of the agreement with his father was as soon as he graduated the academy he was to spend several years memorizing a great deal of the medical knowledge his clan had acquired. This office was far more comfortable than that secluded cabin had been.

Still his attention was drawn from his papers at the sound of an interaction down the hall. The double doors had heavily muffled the sound but Rippa's sense of hearing was far from a joke. His blue eyes glanced up to the door before he decided he had a good couple of minutes before those doors would need to be addressed. Really mere moments but he could finish the document he was working on. His hand lightly gripped the pen as he raced to finish the last sentence of words as small foot steps approached. His words were meant to comfort a specific individual that squads would be asked to include searching for an unruly student of his that had ran off to the hills of Konoha. Of course that wasn't the half of it. Those hills mostly belonged to a clan of highly skilled tracker nin. The inuzuka. If this student wished to hide there he would need a great deal of skill or their permission. Perhaps even their protection. Of course his next letter would be to that clan asking for their inclusion on the issue. Politely of course. Still he would hardly finish scribbling his notes when the doors slowly swung open as a child entered. Smaller than Rippa had expected.

The doors while oak seemed almost heavy to this child though he hardly showed it. Once more this close to him Rippa would have judged the age to be closer to six than twelve. Far too young to serve as a genin of the village. He would leave an open mind to the possibility of the boy being more of a runt than a child. Still sharp blue eyes would study him as he bowed and spoke in greeting. Rippa would of course nod his head in return before his right hand would indicate the chair across from him. If the child moved to take it, while he did Rippa would finish his note with rolling it up and placing a wax seal on it. Setting it to the side. With that done his gaze would return to Jamie as he collected the boys file with one hand and stroked the stubble on his chin as he leaned back. His own snow white hair falling about his face. With his one hand he flipped open the file to glance at it before glancing back to Jamie. His voice was warm and calm. Yet curiosity rang in his tone.

"It says here in your file you recently joined our ranks in Konoha from being a wanderer. Yet your name is only listed simply as Jamie, have you no clan?"

1373

After the Hokage gave a nodding bow in return he noticed him motion for him to have a seat as he came out of the formal stance while walking showing that he was used to being in an open space as his stride was a bit far as he had to step back a bit to get on the seat carefully as he then retook a formal stance while sitting. Jamie observed as the hokage seemed to be thinking about something or maybe the stubble of his chin was just really itchy. The white hair stood out quite a bit as he wondered if the hokage was really old or just had a natural white.

The Hokage mentioned that the file said he recently joined their ranks which was true as he had served a few minor missions before being adopted into the village through Ashi and Shippo. As he sat there the Hokage asked him a question he did not expect as he looked down fidgeting with his feet for a bit as he took time to think on his reply rather then just give a rushed answer. "I don't have a clan" as he paused for a moment to breathe as he showed signs of continuing his dialogue. "My family is part of the Inuzuka clan", as he remembered that day in the hospital with Shippo and Tsume before being adopted by his mother Ashi. He was generally a freelance wanderer who did simply missions here and there, as well as meeting a few people in the village he got a long with some rather easily while others were not too friendly with outsiders.

He began to think on how he ended up wanting to stay here as he met Arashi who had vanished, the mysterious green fairy Airi, the Ramen Guy Nayota and many others who helped him feel at home in this strange land. He began to establish himself as a gatherer performing herb gatherings for the hospitals of konoha on a regular basis as he even performed another with the help of his new brother Inuzuka Shippo. He had always tried to get the attention of Inuzuka Kenta one of the former Hokage who was always too busy and now he was finally face to face with a Kage who was not face deep in a mountain of paper work. The nervousness that Jamie felt at meeting him was rather overwhelming as his heart began beating a bit loudly as he was just slightly panicked as he was reaching a point where he thought Kage never actually met people outside of the big ceremonies they had. The man's appearance also gave an aura of intimidation, of a man who was experienced in ways that Jamie would never understand.

Even with all his fears and doubts, he was not here to simply meet the Kage and run away. Jamie wanted to become more useful to the village and train to become someone his family's clan would respect. Though it was mainly to give Ashi a reason to boast as he wanted her to be happy. He also had strange blood which he did not understand, it was a bloodline, but it was unclear which bloodline it was as undiscovered at this point. Only time would tell as he had no choice but to listen and follow the wise words of the Hokage

(569)
[1580]

Rippa would pause a moment in his thoughts as the young man would cross the room and take his seat that was offered. Sky blue eyes seemed to hold an infinite amount of power and wisdom within as they studied him. As deep as the skies stretched on and all of it fell on the boy. However it wasn't meant to be a sensation of despair. Instead it should have been obvious that the man who sat in his current seat was destined to be there. There was no disgrace to the mans history and his intentions had never been designed for benefiting himself. Some might claim of course he only appeared to have pure intentions. Everything in life had been handed to him on a silver platter. Born into wealth and power he was destined for anything he wished for. However that world had only been his child hood and that masked had been removed before he even came of age. The wolves in sheeps clothing revealed upon his fathers passing. He had known hunger and want. He had known anger and fear. Scraped along the underbelly of society and fought his way back up. Even mastered the katana when his clan avoided all close combat to begin with.

Still Rippa would flip through the file as his gaze shifted to study it. He supposed it wasn't too odd that such a fragile young man would still be a shinobi. However his file had a great deal of time spent in the hospital. Perhaps more so than any other genin or even academy student. If Rippa had to make a claim as a med nin he would of suggested this one be forbidden from doing missions until he could actually take care of himself. However there was a small series of notes scribbled by different hands. A great deal of thanks signed by some medical professionals he knew and a few he didn't. Apparently this child did have a talent for collecting some much needed herbs and had even been commentated for collecting far more than what was being utilized on him. An interesting note at least. However that only eliminated the immediate expulsion from missions. Instead of course Rippa would rather give him reason to wait and train as well as a choice to hold off. If of course the boy refused to stop it would be his choice. Rippa's hands would be clean of the consequences.

Still the young man would speak up as to the inquisition of his clan. How interesting and yet not uncommon that a child would not know of his true clan. Yet was more interesting was the clan that appeared by his words to have adopted him. That brought a raised eye brow and his gaze redirected to the boy. Studying him again once more over. The Inuzuka. If there was a more physical clan he wasn't familiar with them. The Hyuga perhaps but far more regal with their fighting. The Inuzuka almost embodied physical strength while this child couldn't be considered more than a pup. With a shift he would snap the file closed and set it down once more. Straightening it before he would lean forward. Folding his fingers between each other. Tilting his head. This child must have someone watching his back. Surely someone looked into him when he joined the village and was seeing something he wasn't. Still it was the decent thing to give the benefit of the doubt. So Rippa would speak calmly while attempting to hold eye contact. Looking for the truth in the answer he would be given.

"I am familiar with the clan. If nothing else they own the most land in Konoha outside of the village itself. A powerful and large clan. I have found the ones I met value raw strength a great deal. Yet you have been accepted by them? With all your trips to the hospital one might be hesitant to continue sending you on even more simple missions until you have grown more. Still somehow you claim that clan name of all names. Do tell young Jamie, how did this come about?"

2074

Jamie had tried to remain as calm as possible as he was attacked with the rather unique raising of an eyebrow that was like a sword being unsheathed from the top of the Hokage's eye. That observant look was making him nervous as he remained so still it was like he was frozen with fear or just dead calm, both of which were true to an extent. He never felt so overwhelmed before as he wondered if this was what it felt like to be near the strongest man in the village or the world since he was not really that clued up on the strength between other villages as he had been in Konoha a bit longer then he had expected at first. His wandering nature would have lead him elsewhere if it was not for some rather interesting and kind shinobi as well as people within the village.

The snapping of the file startled Jamie slightly as his eyes seemed to change focus for a moment as he was still keeping still as his shoulders began to feel a bit stiff with the tension he seemed to feel in the air as he sniffed a bit he was beginning to think the tea would be nice right about now as he instinctively took his cup to take a sip as it seemed to calm him down a bit. He still disliked the taste, but it made him feel better which was something that perplexed Jamie to no end.

The Hokage finally spoke telling him that he was familiar with the clan and that they owned the most land outside the village itself, though with how often Jamie went into the forests he was not really sure how big or small the land itself was, other than it never seeming to end until the border just jumped up and hit you in the face. The mentioning of raw strength as he looked at Jamie it seemed he was suspicious of that which to be honest was something that bothered the boy as well as he felt the weight of the Kage's words as he spoke. The mentioning of his hospital visits as well as asking how all of this could be possible as he took a deep breathe and a sip of more tea as he seemed to be getting used to it.

"I made friends with Shippo and when he found out i had nowhere to stay his mom let me stay with them. Then I just became part of the family, but most of the clan members do not like me." Jamie paused for a moment before continuing again as he took another breathe. "I think they do not like me, but Ashi wanted to look after me and Shippo also said its okay, even Tsume too."

He had long since forgotten that Tsume was not an official shinobi, but Shippo's partner not to mention Ashi's partner whose name he usually had trouble remembering. However a part of him felt like the Hokage wanted to take him away from missions which was something he could not allow as part of a family of shinobi, while Ashi would be okay with it he would be bothered by it as he did not want to be left out of the family business. He took another sip of tea as he seemed to close his eyes deep in thought before opening them again with a some what more determined look in his eyes.

"I am not strong, but I got my sword"
"I am not fast, but I am always on time"
"I might be behind everyone now, but if I keep chasing, I will pass them all one day"

He was a bit troubled since he was speaking a bit more openly now, but he did not want to be looked down on too much. He never failed any of his missions, he was not that strong but he had his skill with the sword to make up for it. He was not that fast, but he was rather good with timing and general time management as well. He knew he was nowhere near the rest of the members of his clan, but he did not want to run away from his life or his missions, he wanted to chase after his goal and to do that he could not turn back simply because life was dangerous.

(742)
[2322]

Rippa would watch the young man. He seemed nervous. Of course that was to be suspected when meeting with a kage of all people. Rippa had a similar amount of anxiety when Mitsuo had called him into the office and he had been far more than this child before him. A sannin and captain of the sword priests. A jounin of renown throughout the village and beyond as a warrior and a diplomat. He had remembered being nervous even then meeting the Hokage. How much such a thing was amplified with a genin of his village was beyond him. The fact that the kid wasn't crying or shaking though was a nice step in the right direction. Some courage resided there at the very least. If nothing else Konoha was built upon the foundation of having the courage to step forward and improve mankind. That was after all how they became the first of the great five hidden villages. Even now Konoha still seemed to stand slightly above the rest as if by some unspoken word. However hard the others tried Konoha held the history filled with heros and firsts. It was a matter of pride to serve within Konoha. Not that he would ever share those thoughts with anyone from Kiri.

He spoke of Shippo and Ashi and Rippa made a note to look into them both later. Kindness was interesting in this day and age. Of the Inuzuka that were renown for being territorial, to let this child live with them was a matter of surprise. Perhaps they saw him as a lost pup? He could understand that at least. Even a territorial wolf when finding an abandoned wolf pup might keep it as their own. Dogs were not much different. Still he wasn't about to openly question the clan. Which meant that to take away the boys right to do missions he was going to have to deal with the clan claiming him. That alone was enough that he didn't wish to chance it. Still the young man seemed to take a breath. Bracing himself and closing his eyes. It was good that he could take a moment to steady himself in such a stressful situation here. In battle if he could do the same when he was older he would save his squads lives. That was if he grew strong enough to be of help to a squad instead of a hindrance.

Still when the boys eyes opened once more there was a passion Rippa hoped to see in most his Shinobi forces. He would pause in his own thoughts and let the child speak. Going over some sort of ritualistic statement he likely said to himself fairly often. What caught his attention was a mention of a sword. He would certainly need to keep that in mind. A swordsman being told he could not do his work was one to find frustrated sharpening his blade. If this child was going to build up into a swordsman though he would hope they put a medic on his squad. Their work would likely be cut out for them. Either way Rippa would sigh and rub the back of his head. His body leaning back as his free left hand would idly tap on the desk as he thought. Still his gaze would find the boys again. Looking him over before speaking.

"Very well Jamie. You are free to continue missions within your ranks limitations. However I would like to have you undergo some personal physical training. The Inuzuka clan will likely be a good place to start asking about that. With that aside, you come up her unarmed, what sword is it you wield?"

2694

Jamie kept as still as he could, as he resisted the fear in his heart at speaking up for himself. As the Hokage sighed and rubbed the back of his head the tension was building as Jamie kept a straight face showing almost no other emotion besides the slight hint of nervousness he could not completely hide. Then began the desk tapping that started creating a panic deep inside Jamie's psyche as a slight bit of sweat began to roll from his forehead. The air felt heavy as he just breathed in silently, but deeply as he wanted to keep himself as calm as possible until the moment when the Hokage would give his verdict on the situation.

The moment he was told he was free to continue missions his shoulders began to slouch down a little bit to their regular height as he pushed them up a bit due to the intensity of the situation at the time. His breathing shot out like a sigh as his heart was racing and pounding, if one had really good hearing they would notice how much of a relief he felt at hearing those words as he heard the Hokage suggest he do some personal training he was getting more relaxed as the Hokage started to give off the impression of being a rather regular and wise shinobi.

Then the Hokage asked him about his sword that he wielded his eyes seemed to light up a little bit as he resisted the urge to look down and ended up looking to the side before redirecting his view back at the Hokage. "I only have a rusty tanto, but it's really useful for cutting herbs" as even he knew his only real talent now was herb gathering as he took a deep breathe and mentioned another name that the Hokage might know. "Izayoi showed me how to make better use of it though in this boar hunting mission we did together"

He then looked down, "He showed me I still had a lot to learn, since his not even really good with weapons but he was using his better. He also has really cool eyes..." and then he stopped when he realized he went off topic as he bowed his head slightly. "Sorry for getting carried away, Hokage-sama"

Hyuga Izayoi had once assisted Jamie in a mission and it was then that he had actually seen the Byakugan, however what he learned was focusing on weak points to take advantage of when your weapons were not good enough to get the job done. Izayoi was not the only one to reveal the special eyes of their clan, but Jamie did not yet know what they really did yet or care other then them looking cool. It would be clear to the Hokage that Jamie tended to learn best from demonstration, rather then written out theory as was shown by his mission reports. As he continuously did missions he got hurt less and completed them faster showing he learned the most from experience, however his maturity was not yet that of a chuunin even if he was reaching the combat strength to be a rather weak one.

It was also clear he did not often have opportunities to properly train his art of the sword given he was mainly gathering herbs as compared to entering combat filled missions which were the best experience.

(572)
[2894]

Rippa would settle back into his own chair with the folder forgotten for the time being. He was always curious when it came to a bukijutsu user. Of course the mention of a tanto being their primary weapon for the time being was almost....well it lacked any sort of interest weapon wise. A tanto while still dangerous was so very common. Especially as a back up weapon with the ANBU. He was familiar with how to use one but they lacked range and functionality. Not to mention no one with any form of their own weapon was intimidated by a tanto. However if he was being honest with himself no one was going to immediately be intimidated by a kid anyway. He was so used to having someone with talents that make them a walking powerhouse introducing themselves to him that this kid was an oddity. If nothing else he was certain that who ever was looking after him was hoping he didn't do any B rank missions any time soon. That said there was room for growth and a base level was something certain instructors could work with. That wasn't to say he wasn't without a though process for improving on the individual before him himself.

Rippa would lean forward as his hand would shift from its tapping to touch a button barely noticeable on the side of the desk. A sound of static would lightly fill the room as Rippa would speak as if to nothing at all. His voice carrying into the static. "Juka, Bring us a light crossbow with one bolt please." With that he would release the button and sit back in his chair. Looking to Jamie a moment with his blue eyes as he took him in. He was small which meant he was easier to overlook. While it wasn't ideal for him to let this kid go into combat he was ideal for a sniper. So Rippa would speak as much. "There is actually a Bukijutsu art I would like you to consider picking up. One where remaining away from danger and even hidden is to your advantage. The art is called Kyujutsu. More prominently known as archery. Perhaps with your small size you might find it easier to find a hiding spot and attack from there. Thus I would appreciate it if you would observe what I am about to show you. Perhaps even take my advise to heart."

With that said there would be a knock at the door before a couple of seconds passed and the door would swing open. Revealing the secretary having returned promptly from the armory. Within her hands was a light crossbow of tarnished wood and rusted metal parts. A single basic bolt in her hand. Only the string on the crossbow seemed even remotely fresh. A low quality version but fine for demonstration purposes. Perhaps her own way of reminding him she wasn't to play fetch. Still she delivered both to Rippa before leaving in a huff. Closing the doors behind her. Still Rippa would clear his throat to make sure he had the boys attention. With the crossbow turned to let him see clearly Rippa would show him how to load the bolt. Making it look rather easy before taking the loaded crossbow into his hand. Aiming it as he looked down the site with one eye. Adjusting for the poor quality of the make. He would let the bolt loose. Letting it fly into the back of one of the chairs and stick there. With that he would turn the crossbow and hand it over to Jamie. Speaking once more.

"Now go and collect the bolt. Attempt to replicate what I have just shown you as best you can."

3326

Jamie did not fully understand, but the patience of the Hokage was on a level he could never understand. He was like a mother on a village scale, strong with words and overpowering with her patience which could speak volumes on its own. As the Hokage leaned forward his hand moved to touch something as a static sound made Jamie startle ever so slightly as if he was ready to jump at any moment as his hair rose up slightly.

The Hokage requested Juka to bring a light crossbow bolt and with that he learned the name of the secretary, it was something he probably should have asked a long time ago. She had her own scary persona or image that was simply her doing her job, not that Jamie could fully understand that to begin with. Jamie would remain still as he began to wonder if he did anything wrong as he remembered reading some story of an angry Kage taking a weapon and beheading a shinobi for looking the wrong way as he kept as still as possible, the fear building up deep inside as he decided to have blind faith in the will of the Hokage before him.

He listened as the Hokage mentioned that there was a bukijutsu art that he should consider taking up. It relied on avoiding danger and being hidden which was actually something he had done in a mission with Shippo before. Shippo seemed a bit to wild and flashy to hide though, as he wondered if shinobi could be both flashy and sneaky at the same time. This art's name was Kyujutsu, something he had read a bit about but never had the time to look into until now. The Hokage advised him to listen and to consider taking up the art itself as he simply nodded in reply to that as he waited.

After a while there was a knock on the door as it swung open as Juka had gracefully returned with a tarnished rusty cross bow with a single bolt in her hand. She handed them both to the Hokage as Jamie stared intently at the hokage with high hopes and a lot of expectation from the strongest man in the world. Jamie watched him carefully loading the bolt and began to think how easy the Hokage made it look, he aimed it while looking down the sight and then would fire the bolt as it went into the chair as Jamie got startled by how quick it was. Not something impossible to dodge, but it was something you would need to see coming to react to as far as he knew then.

He nodded again and received the crossbow which felt a bit heavier then he thought it would be since the Hokage seemed so strong as well. He took the bolt and pulled realizing he needed both hands he put the crossbow next to him and used both hands to carefully grip the bolt and pressed down with his foot to pull it out. Strength was clearly not a strength of Jamie as he then moved over to load the crossbow, it took him a little while longer then the Hokage since he was trying to remember what he saw. After a while he got the bolt in and then moved towards the desk and took aim at the chair.

He carefully took aim as he focused as best he could then he pressed the trigger as the bolt completely missed the spot the Hokage hit and went to the side just hitting the edge of the chair as Jamie fell back a little bit moving his right leg fast to stop his fall as he balanced himself.

"Is that okay, must I try it again Hokage-sama?"

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Rippa would watch the young man move over to the chair and pull the bolt with some considerable effort from the spot it hit. Of course whoever had decorated the office was likely to give him hell if he used the furniture for target practice often but two holes or a few would hardly ruin the aura of the room. Besides it was a fairly cheap repair. It wasn't like they were leather so he could always stitch it himself. Still he would watch as the young man would finally yank the bolt free. Moving back to him to take his time learning how to load it by hand. A good hands on experience to have. Watching simply didn't do it justice until you did it yourself. Still the boy would manage to load it before taking aim himself. Far less skillful at aiming than Rippa. Which was to be expected. Still Rippa would predict the trajectory and wait. The kickback from the crossbow affected Jamie more than he had expected. Hence his choice of a light crossbow. It shouldn't have been much to deal with at all. Still it wasn't like it knocked him down. Perhaps just a stance issue.

Still with a click and a twang of the crossbow firing the thin bolt. The metal wined as the release on it eased tension. The bolt itself being launched along the wood with a slight scrape that would alter its trajectory. The condition of the crossbow was poor enough that aiming straight was pointless. The wood was warped and the crossbow itself was done for in most part. She must have dug deep into the armory for the piece of junk that needed to be recommissioned. Still his blue eyes would follow the bolt as easy as a kunai throw in his eyes. Watching it zip through the air at an angle and slam into the arm of the chair. He would consider it a small success at least. Still Jamie would speak up and his attention would return to the boy. Considering if he had anything else that needed to be covered. Deciding he didn't he would speak up once more.

"You may practice in your own time Jamie in a more practical location. For now collect the bolt and return it to the front desk with the crossbow. You are excused for the time being. Oh and do keep an eye out for squad assignments soon."

He would wait for Jamies response before turning back to his work. Acknowledging him enough to dismiss him. He had learned what he wished for the time being. A considerable amount to consider. However it wasn't proving to be a critical thing at that very moment. Jamie would have further guidance soon from a sensei figure that would report directly to Rippa. He would keep track of his progress and judge for himself if the young man was a danger to his surrounding shinobi. He wouldn't lose his headband of course, but he would be limited from more dangerous missions he couldn't handle if need be. To keep both him and those who would need to rely on him alive. The world was perhaps a more harsh place than Jamie yet realized. With any luck the small lesson in Kyujutsu would keep him out of trouble.

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Jamie waited for a reply from the Hokage and was told to practice in his own time, as he proceeded to follow the Hokage's instructions as he needed to find a good location for training as he began thinking of the river. He was told to collect the bolt as he did so with much more easy since his shot was not as clean as the Hokage's which is why it was so hard to remove. He went towards the door and before he would go out he would turn to face the Hokage and gave a slight bow, "Thank you, Hokage-sama" as he went out the door.

Jamie was curious about what squad he would end up in, but there was no time to worry about that now. There was one thing though, he learned something new and with that he would think about a way to improve on what he was taught.

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Exit Thread

1500 (Training subspec kyujutsu)
+2000 (Training Scaling E-C-rank jutsu Stream of Chakra)
3500 Words Used