Once again finding himself wandering the streets of Konohagakure, Kaito couldn't help but feel sick and tired of the all the fireworks, festivities, and fake smiles. So many tourists had come to watch the Chuunin Exams that the Hidden Leaf village was begin to swell with extra foot traffic. The various public bins for trash were overflowing, vomit from alcoholics and overeaters mixed with used fireworks in the sidewalks, and the air stunk with all the perfumes and incense that had been burned in the last week or so. With the exams not yet over, Kaito wanted nothing more to return to his home, and despite everything he had already learned, there was one last thing he wanted to do.

No better place to learn Katon Release then in the Land of Fire itself, or so he'd thought. The actual attempt at finding a local shinobi, or even one from another village, to train him either resulted in insults or prejudice price gouging. While rare among his countrymen, Kaito knew of a few individuals that could teach him, and for a while there it seemed he'd have to wait till he returned to Mizu no Kuni, which he wouldn't have minded in the slightest, as so many either hadn't come to Kohona, or weren't so easily found. In the end, Kaito had heard rumor of a Kiri-nin here in Konoha that was also a Katon user. Since then, a few hours ago, Kaito has spent his time searching for this mysterious shinobi of the mist.

It wasn't until his search brought him to the sparring grounds of Konoha that he saw the individual he assumed to be the ninja he was looking for. Obviously she was here to train, as there were actually many shinobi loitering around from all different corners of the world, either sparring, chatting, or holding contests to display shear power of their abilities. Kaito bagan to make his way through the crowd, noticing a few Kiri-nin that looked like genin and chunin, as well as scary looking woman wearing a headband he'd never seen before, not that he paid her much mind. There were more than a few people that recognized him, some offering smirks or crude gestures. Afterall, he had lost his first match, before his second opponent forfeited, and then he forfeited in his third match. To many he was a poser, or worse a disgrace.

Paying them no mind, as Kaito didn't expect anyone outside his closest friends to understand just how deeply the death of his brother had effected him, nor understand why he felt he needed to guard Xiao's body. The only reason he wasn't there right now, standing a silent vigil over the fallen body of his adopted brother, was because Haka Osada herself was guarding him, the closest thing Xiao had to a mother, though Kaito doubted that relationship. In truth though, Kaito was still trying to understand his own feelings on the matter, as he knew he'd started to think of Xiao as a little brother, but they hadn't yet known each other long enough to cause Kaito the kind of suffering he had felt when his mother died.

When he took a step back to think about it, Kaito understood that it was kinda tragic that he, with no living relatives or family, had been trying to connect to another person again, only for that person to be murdered. The thought that he was suppose to be crestfallen rather than simply confused by it all left a queasy sensation running through him. Perhaps it was that uneasy feeling in his gut, the one telling he should be sad, heartbroken even, now that Xiao was dead, maybe that was the reason he wanted to learn Katon Release right now, rather than waiting. If anything, perhaps it was the thought that he simply wasn't able to feel truly attached to another person which made him so insistent on it now. Or perhaps it was because the technique that killed Xiao was Katon based that drove him forward. Some twisted shit that was, Kaito thought, as the realization stung more than he wanted to admit.

Clearing such thoughts from his mind, Kaito stepped up to the woman he'd come in search of. He didn't recognize the Kiri-nin, but that wasn't too surprising, the Hidden Mist was a large place, and there were far to many shinobi for someone like Kaito to have met them all, much less remember the names and faces of. "So, I heard you like it a little hotter than most of our fellow mist shinobi. Name's Kaito Osoroshi." Kaito made no move to offer his hand in greeting, afterall, among Kiri-nin, you were more likely to get your hand bitten off if you didn't know the shinobi personally. "I was told you could teach me Katon Release, I could pay you for your time." Kaito followed up, scanning the woman to size up her worth. Even with the difference in rank, it was practically be an insult if Kaito didn't treat the woman with an air of caution.