Tatsusa just finished his work out for the morning and it was time to take a break. It wasn't that often he got one, due to the ridiculous training regiment that he had found within the library. He was keeping up with it, it was only a matter of time before he was put in a squad and required to keep up with them all. His lack of ninjustu and genjustu made him more vulnerable than most ninja, but he would not let him become weak for any reason. Tatsusa started to take a jog around town, this is what he consider a break from training. It took him a while to get going again, he was tired from the ungodly amount of squats he had to do. Thinking about it he did not force himself to do anything. He did it on his own free will.

Looking up the Suna sun beat down on him, he was defiantly getting thirsty and he needed to remember to drink water. Sitting down in a shade of a building Tatsusa opened up his water bottle and sipped from it. Not wanting to give his body to much water. That would be a bad thing and cause his body to seize up. Having the cool water go down his throat was amazing. It was one of his favorite feelings in the world. Wiping the little water that got left over on his mouth off Tatsusa got back up and started to stretch his body. He needed to be ready for everything, and he really did not want his body to get to tense.

"Man, I wonder if I should shoot for 600 push-ups during my lunch?" He asks no one, it sounded like a lot, but there were ninjas in Konoha that did it in the past. He should be able too. He was a proud hero of Suna. Refusing to get surpassed by anyone was something Tatsusa just did every day. Tatsusa started a light jog around town, 'Someday' he thought to himself 'I will do this on my hands.' He continued to jog and then out of a spur of the moment he jumped on his hands and started to continue walking like that. "Your weakness is your greatest strength!" He yells as he starts to pick up a pace with a serious face on.

Tomorrow. 6 a.m. Meet me at the gates.
Gin's words still echoed in her mind as she made her way back to her home. Deep in thought, Misoka almost passed her father's old friend Moto without a word; his voice brought her back to the present.
"Misoka-chan, hello! How're you doing?" He stopped and had a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry!" She called out, embarrassed she hadn't noticed him before. Looking at Moto-san sparked memories of her childhood. She had known that corpulent, old man since she was five years old. There hadn't been one time when she would not see him in a cheerful mood with only good intentions towards everyone.
"What're you wearing this hood for, sweetheart? There's nothing you've got to be shy about!" Moto chuckled and pulled her hood off, tousling her hair right after. Immediately, Misoka's expression turned from gloomy to angry; well at least she would have been mad at him if his laughter hadn't been so contagious.
"Oh, Moto-san, you know I don't like it when you make a mess out of my hair!" She laughed. And when he asked her if he should buy some groceries for her in the evening, it hit her. Of course her father had told his friend to take care of his daughter while he was busy hunting the bandits down. 'Forget it, Dad', she thought angrily, 'Tomorrow I'll chase after you.'

-----
Ten minutes later, Misoka walked on alone; her home wasn't far anymore. Then she heard people murmuring in amazement at something. Or someone. She halted, looking at a small boy walking on his hands. Her eyes widened.
Curiously, she took a step closer, resulting into drawing people's gazes from the boy to her.
"Misoka-chan! Cutey!" Some of them called out, smiling widely. Said person flinched, recognizing some of the shopkeepers who had been in Suna for Misoka's whole life. They knew her, especially as Karisuma Yuki's daughter.
"Hi!" The blonde waved back awkwardly. Returning her attention to the strange boy, she decided to approach him.
"Um.. hey! That's awesome what you're doing there! You've got a really well-trained physique for your age!"
Just then, something about his appearance striked her. True, he was very short, but he didn't look like the little child she had imagined. His features were somewhat more mature.

Tatsusa was quickly making his round through town on his hands. This was the farthest he had ever made it in general. He was really proud of himself. It had been a while since he was proud of himself like this. He knew that people were staring at him, as long as girls did not talk to him he would be fine. He could hear the murmurs of the town "I did not even know that was possible!" Some would say in awe, for others is was "Oh my Kami I don't even know how he is doing that." It was normal Tatsusa tried to do things that were out of the ordinary to get his body ready for almost anything.

Then it happened, of all things in the world. He could feel the gazes that were on him go to someone else. That was nice he did not have to worry about them staring, but without warning a voice came to him. Worse yet, a female's voice. Tatsusa lost all control of his strength as soon as he was greeted and talked to by her. His gynophobia kicking in full swing like it always does.

His hand slipped loosing all grip on the world that was now rushing toward his face. 'This is bad' Tatsusa thought as he face hit the ground and he started to roll like a ball into a near by building. "Meep!" is all he could let out as he rolled away eventually followed by a giant "Oooffpphhh" When he hit the wall at the speed he was going at.

Looking up he tried to get a quick look at the girl who now caused Tatsusa some pain. Seeing her face, Tatsusa was awe struck for a little bit by her beauty. Then his fear kicked in, grabbing the closest plank of wood nearby he hid behind it like his nightmare was coming to life. "Than...Thank you." He stammers out, most of the time he would brag about his training. This was one of the few moments where he could not brag about it for hours kicked in. "I am...am training to bec...become the nex...next great her...hero in Suna." He gets out hiding behind his little piece of wood. He refused to make eye contact even though his eyes were hidden due to the fact he would really freeze up then.

Everything happened in a blur then. The boy lost his balance the moment she had spoken to him and crashed into a building.
Misoka was so surprised she couldn't even say anything; her mouth just closed and opened like a fish's. Soon enough, all townspeople who had witnessed that scene broke out in loud laughter.
"Hahaha, oh my goodness! You scared the living daylights out of him, girl!" - "He's probably never seen a girl before in his life!" - "At least not a Karisuma, that's for sure! Oh my, I should've filmed this!"

Misoka felt her face heaten up. How embarrassing for both of them! What the hell happened? What had she done? She stood there, dumbfounded, wishing the earth would open and swallow her up. With bright red cheeks, her eyes went to the boy who ran off to hide behind a plank of wood. There was no doubt: He was terrified of her. The laughter of the townspeople was still audible, but subsided when the boy opened his mouth. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and eagerly watched the scene before them.

"Than...Thank you. I am...am training to bec...become the nex...next great her...hero in Suna."

Before Misoka could answer anything at all, another wave of roaring laughter filled the air. "Hero? This is too much for me... I can't even ... hahaha!" - "If a girl gets near him, he'll probably pee his pants hahahaha!"
There seemed to be no exception: Everyone made fun of the boy they had admired shortly before his faux-pas. Misoka felt another emotion rising inside her; guilt. This was all her fault! They had to get out of here unless the boy wanted to listen to the people's insults some longer.

She approached him very carefully, holding out her hands in front of her as if she was trying to get close to a shy animal.
"It's all right, it's all right, I won't do anything, I won't hurt you," she whispered, hoping this would soothe him somehow. About three steps in front of him, she stopped. "We should, um, get out of here." She casually nodded to the townspeople, who were still cracking up over what had happened.

Oh Gosh, she felt so ashamed.

Tatsusa could the taunting to him once again, this was nothing new. He had been putting up with it for the longest time in his life. He feared that he could never out grow his fear and so far he was not out growing it. The taunting was making him frustrated but the fact the girl was in front of him was making him only hide behind the piece of wood he had in his hand.

The fact that people were laughing at his dream actually gave Tatsusa enough strength to bark at everyone laughing at him "Enough! I don't laugh at your dreams do I?" He wanted to go up to the closest person and punch him/her. Looking around he made eye contact with the beauty of a woman in front of him. Making him loose all ability to fight back to them. He quickly picked up the plank again and hid behind it again.

Then it happened in a what seemed like a flash to Tatsusa, she got closer holding her hand out. Tatsusa actually started to shake a little bit as she got closer to him. He could not control it as much as he wanted to. This was ungodly frustrating for him. He tried everything to get rid of it too. He quickly backed away from her as she reached out her hand.

"I...I know...That you....you won't hurt me....Its...its just a weakne...weakness I have." He knew that she was trying to be nice but Tatsusa got this treatment with every girl he met. He knew that they meant well, but he still wished they would just act normal to him. "You...You don't have to...worry about me...just act...normal..." He was slowly getting used to talking to her. Maybe in a few weeks he could have a normal conversation with her. While looking away of course. He slowly shook his head to her comment about getting out of here.

"Le...Lead the wa...way." He slowly stammered out. He wished his fear would just go away someday.

Misoka could see how the people's inappropriate remarks upset the boy. A frown crossed his face and when he shouted at them, it seemed as if he was angry enough to beat them all to a pulp. The more she felt it was strange that he began trembling again the moment she went to him. Why was he so afraid of her? Well, she was a shinobi - easily noticeable by her headband, which she kept around her neck - , but did this make her so frightening? Nah, it made no sense. After all, the boy walked around town on his hands and moreover, he was clearly a ninja himself.

Then the boy replied to her, stammering. Misoka couldn't help but feel a bit weird when talking to someone with a face mask that covered his eyes. Was he even able to see anything?
"You...You don't have to...worry about me...just act...normal..."

Misoka sweatdropped. Easy for him to say! How could you not worry about someone who seemed to mistake you for a huge T-Rex? Her own thoughts put a grin on her face. Yep, she was getting closer to acting normal now that her sense of humor kicked in.

"All right, follow me quickly," she muttered under her breath and ran off in a medium jog. Soon, she had left the rude townspeople behind her, arriving at one of her favourite spots of Suna.
It was located at the outskirts of town: She always called it her own kind of oasis. There were some plants growing in the sand, which was a nice change from Suna's usual terrain. Plus, the recurring gusts of wind drove the heat away.

"Okay, we're here." The young Karisuma stopped, obviously proud about the place she had chosen. Hardly anyone knew about this location so it was unlikely for people to cross their way.
She sat down, still keeping her distance from the boy, afraid he might collapse or something.

"So, um, .. what kind of weakness is this?"

'This is ridiculous' Tatsusa thought to himself. He wanted to become a great hero to save Suna and yet this one girl can make him loose his breath. Not in the good way either. She probably was thinking about how weak Tatsusa was, and probably don't even think of him as a ninja. This worried Tatsusa, he worked hard to achieve that rank, sure he only wore his headband on missions, but that was due to the fact people often stay away from shinobi if they look like they are getting ready for a mission.

He noticed she was started to jog away, He could just let her jog away and he could be done with this, never have to see her again. Use his ninja skills to hide from her for ever more. Yet this was not Tatsusa's ninja way. If she wanted to talk to the weird kid more power to her.

Keeping up with her was easy, nothing Tatsusa could not do. He started to think about how boring this was, and how much fun it would be to sprint to the destination they were heading too, but he wanted to keep the good few meters they had between them.

Tatsusa noticed the area they were coming to in an awe. It was an amazing place and the gust of wind felt great on his hair. Blowing his messy hair around making it look like nothing happened. He was deffinatly amazed that such a place existed in Suna.

He had been around the town a lot, but he never found this place. It was quickly broken by the girls voice. Reminding him the person that was near by. Freezing up again he jumped behind a nearby plant and hid behind it. If he did not even see her in the corner of his eye he should be good.

The fact that as long as there was something between him and the woman, made him feel more comfortable. Not by much, but it was start.

"I am sorry" Tatsusa said to the air, "If it makes you feel any better, it is not you that is causing this per say. It is the fact your a female." He sighed, he did not get the chance to explain himself often to the people. He often ran off in fear when women came up to talk to him.

"I have gynophobia," he explains to the girl. "I just fear girls in general. The only one I can really stand is my sister and my mother. Even then when they touch me it sends shivers down my spine."

He made sure his back was to the girl, "It is what I consider a weakness. It well...Hinders my abilities sometimes when it comes to training." He all of a sudden remembers that he did not introduce himself. "My name is Tatsusa. Of the drunken Myugan clan."

He was glad that he got used to talking to girls like this, his teacher growing up was female so they had this worked out to an art. Usually with a door blocking them too.

"So that is me. What is your name?" He asks the girl behind him.

Misoka listened to his explanation in astonishment. Gynophobia? He had an irrational fear of females? She'd never heard of such an illness, but she wondered if this might be the result of some traumatic experience in the past. Looking at the boy's back, the girl felt that her own fear of tall and broad guys was nothing compared to this. She didn't break a sweat or had to hide from them; in fact, she was just getting unusually quiet and reserved.

A wave of compassion washed over her for that boy who couldn't even make eye contact with females. She didn't want to agree with him aloud, but this was surely a great weakness. Especially considering he wanted to become Suna's next hero after the legendary Gaara.

His voice became more confident and left the stutter behind, she noticed with a relieved smile. He was getting a bit more comfortable, it seemed.

"I am Misoka from the Karisuma Clan. Nice to meet you, Tatsusa," the blonde introduced herself friendly. They both fell silent for a while when suddenly an idea popped up in her mind.
"I know!" She called out, rummaging through her backpack eagerly. She took out the face mask, which she put over her mouth, and also a mask similar to an ANBU's which covered her whole face, leaving out only the eyes. Then Misoka tied her hair up to a bun and pulled her cloak's hood far down.
Voilà: She was now disguised as a boy. Or at least, she hoped her cover was good enough. If it made Tatsua feel the slightest bit more comfortable, she would hopefully fool the Iwa-nins as well. A shudder went through her when she reminded herself of the upcoming Iwa trip.
This disguise had to work there.

"Turn around slowly, Tatsusa. Please." Her voice was muffled by the masks; she hoped it wouldn't sound so girly this way and give her true identity away.
Maybe Tatsusa could even help her bring her cover to perfection. How boys act and so on.

With anticipation, she waited for Tatsusa to turn around.

Tatsusa started to think about the other heroes of Suna, there were many. Including all the Kazekage that had been. He was slightly getting frusterated at himself. They did not have anything this stupid. Yet she told him his name, Misoka something he was not going to forget any time soon. She was the first person to put up with him like this. Which brought the thoughts of the Kazekages back to his head. He was about to grumble something about it when the slience was broken by a what felt like a brilliant "I know!"

He wanted to look behind him, he really did. It was just for the fact that he wanted to know. It was almost killing him inside to know. "What are you doing back there?" He asked, last time someone said that, they tied him up and hung him upside down poked him until he passed out. It seemed like he was being ignored though.

He could hear her rummaging around in her bags as she was planning something. This made him tense, he could hear every muscle in his body get ready to make a move.

He was not taking any chances this time he rolled forward and spun his body around prepared to for ropes again. This time he just looked like a fool as she was completely covered and hid her hair really well.

"Well then." Tatsusa mutters to no one as he looks at her. She did not look female, and it made it easier on him. He did not have the automatic urge to run away screaming for once. Until he made eye contact with her. Then all the fear came back with him.

Turning away quickly Tatsusa started to think. "It was a good idea, but your eyes scream female. No male have eyes that pretty Misoka." He explains to her. 'What could I do to hid the my eyes from her eyes.' Then it dawned on him.

Quickly removing his blindfold he tossed it to her. "Sorry if it smells a little bit, I change it every morning. Yet my training is harder than expected." He slowly turned around this time blinking showing his dark emerald eyes that he kept hidden. His eyes had a natural look of being pissed off when relaxed. He often forgot why he wore such a thing until he took it off.

"With that no one should be able to tell that your a girl." He said with a firm belief looking at her feet to avoid her eyes.

"Well then."
He looked her over and Misoka couldn't resist the feeling of proudness rushing through her. Her idea of a disguise was successful! She had snatched all the equipment from her father's things, both masks and of course the huge cloak, which she'd only had to cut at the ends so she wouldn't trip over it.
When Tatsusa made eye contact, however, Misoka's confidence crumbled. The boy fell back into the same patterns as before, trembling violently and looking at his feet.
He explained himself right after:
"It was a good idea, but your eyes scream female. No male has eyes that pretty Misoka."

Of course! She felt so stupid for not keeping that in mind. A small sigh escaped her lips, just like her voice muffled by the masks. "Oh, you're right... This is all my clan's fault." She couldn't help but add this last bit to her frustrated reply. Why did their kekkei genkai have this slight glow effect on her normal-mode eyes? In fact, she already knew the answer. A striking eye colour of female Karisumas increased their dowry. It was all so well calculated, it made Misoka want to puke.

She looked up in surprise when Tatsusa suddenly tossed something at her. What was that? He had slipped his blindfold off, revealing dark green eyes. She liked the colour. Why did he keep them hidden anyway? Curiously, she examined the blindfold in her hands. He said he washed it every morning and that he hoped it didn't smell. Misoka giggled. "It's okay, it looks clean to me."

So she put it on and was amazed that she could still see everything around her. But the best part was that no-one would be able to look into her eyes anymore! This was... plain awesome. Enthusiastically, she leapt to her feet and resisted the urge to shake the boy's shoulders out of impatience.
"Please, Tatsusa, where can I get such a blindfold? I desperately need it for tomorrow's trip! I-I," She spoke so fast she had to pause for a quick breath. "You see, I'm going to Iwa tomorrow and I have to disguise as a boy. It would just.. um, be more comfortable... anyway, can you tell me where I can buy one of those?"

The perfect disguise. At least, on the outside for now. She would also have to ask for advise on her behaviour.

Tatsusa heard her say something about her clan being at fault. There was a time when Tatsusa blamed his clan for everything too. Why people hated him and everything. He got over it quickly due to his father's wisdom that he shared often with him. He had the urge to share it with her too.

So he did "One cannot choose their blood, just the path they choose to follow." His father for being drunk most of the time had some deep meaning when it came down to things like that. He turned around and smiled at the girl in front of Tatsusa. He of course did not make eye contact with her, but the smile was serious.

"It's okay, it looks clean to me." She said to him with a giggle. This made him blush for once in his life. He never had a girl giggle at him, just straight up laughter due to the fact he was running away from them like a demon.

Her question confuse him greatly. "Why are you going to Iwa." His voice got deep and serious "You know we are not on the best of terms there. Do you have permission from the Kusakage? Rules are meant to keep you safe you know." He was about to ramble about rules first, but he decided to let her talk and explain herself before he went on.

Sighing Tatsusa relaxed a little, "My mother makes them for me, always had since I was little. I have plenty at home, you can keep that one. May it keep you safe." He did not want to loose the first female friend who put effort in being his friend.

"I can keep it? You mean it?" With a loud cheer, Misoka jumped into the air, lifting her arms in victory. It only occurred to her later on how stupid this must've looked. After all, she was completely cloaked; you couldn't see any of her face. Now imagine a gangster cheering in a high voice.

When she was finished expressing her gratitude or rather upright relief, Misoka remembered Tatsusa's question concerning her trip.
"Ah, you see..." To be honest, she wasn't sure what to tell him. The travel to Iwa would be dangerous and risky, especially if she tried to find her father and kill some high-skilled Nukenins with him. Well, first she had to look for her father at the outskirts of Iwa anyway; everything else could come later. After hesitating for a while, the girl decided to tell a half-truth. "My father is currently in Iwa and he needs my help. It should be nothing serious, though, .. um, I just don't want people staring at me and.. noticing I'm from Suna. Kazekage-sama will escort me."
She tried her best to keep a casual tone.

That said, Misoka remembered she should practise being a boy as she strongly doubted she acted like one at the moment. Voice, behaviour - These two things had to be changed.

"Tatsusa," she started. "I could use some male advise. Can I practise with you a bit on my behaviour? You know, so people won't immediately know there's something wrong with me."

She cleared her throat and whispered "Here goes." as if to reassure herself once more. Then she crossed her arms, took one step closer to Tatsusa - meant to look more intimidating - and growled in a deep voice:

"Listen, I'm not in the best mood today. If you don't stop bothering me, I'll beat you up so bad you'll be needing a walking stick for the next couple of weeks. So keep your fucking mouth shut before I make you."

A few seconds passed, then Misoka let her arms drop to her sides and asked in a more friendly tone,"How was that?"
Even though her face was hidden, you could hear her smile. She actually felt pretty good about her first practise. Granted, she hadn't really got to know many males ever since that incident. Her father would freak out when seeing her too close to someone of the opposite gender.
"Tough guys swear a lot, don't they? And they always want to compete with each other."

Tatsusa made a mighty flinch when she jumped in mid air and did her cheer. It reminded him that she was female, but it was okay. His button of run the hell away did not kick in when she did it. He knew that she was still female, maybe that is what had something to do with it. His face harden when he heard about her mission in Iwa though.

He understood that family, is family. He nodded at her when she came up with the idea to practice on him. "I can try to help you in anyway I can" He was weird that he was getting used to her being around. The fact she was trying to hide herself worried him though. Could she not just henge and call it good? It was probably safer this way though.

Tatsusa had to do everything in his power to stop himself from laughing up a storm hearing her growling voice. She sounded like she wanted to start a fight.

He quickly takes a step back when she came at him. "Oh boy," he snickers out, "You're trying to pick a fight them I am guessing? If you use that language you better be ready to take the stick out of your butt to beat them with it." He thinks about it for a second. He really did not notice how other guy act around each other. He actually spent some time thinking about other guys his age.

Snapping his fingers he realizes something, "First off drop the growling in the voice. That is asking for trouble for any reason. And swearing is not necessary it makes other thinks that you want to fight. You should try adding a quicken pace to you talk, you voice flows to well like a females." He shudders thinking about it a little ago. "I only swear when I think it feels right. It is not something I do often just due to the fact it seems clumsy and awkward."

He takes a second to think about it, "Either than that, you sound like another guy." He was actually having fun without training. This was a first for a while, "How do you walk? You are going need to change that. Especially the hip swaying most females have." He gave her an amazing grin, one he had not had in a while. He had a twinkle in his tooth; a small shine.

"Ahh... of course...," she mumbled under her breath, listening to Tatsusa's lectures. It seemed if she acted like this in Iwa, she would achieve the one thing she wanted to avoid: Picking a fight. 'Okay, I got that wrong. Not everyone is like Dad in his teens,' she realized, embarrassed because she had just imitated her father's younger self when he protected her mother from some other man. This was not the usual way for guys to interact as Tatsusa told her. She had made a complete fool out of herself.
Misoka was grateful for the masks to cover her blush.

"You should try adding a quicken pace to you talk, you voice flows to well like a females."

Oh, this was more complicated than she had thought in the first place. She could really call herself lucky for bumping into Tatsusa and having him lecture her on boy's behaviour. If she talked to the first guy in Iwa the way she had just now, they would rather beat her up.
The girl nodded, keeping everything he said in mind. No growling. No swear words only if necessary. Talk faster.

"Either than that, you sound like another guy."

At that, a big smile crossed her lips - of course not visible to Tatsusa - , but still, she was glad her disguise wasn't so bad after all.
"Okay, I think I can do all of this!" Misoka replied sternly although there was still a hint of eagerness in her voice.

Then Tatsusa told her that boys also walked in another way, which made her laugh. "Haha sorry, it's actually really funny to think about all the differences in behaviour!" Automatically, her right hand went up as if to hide her mouth while laughing when she yet again noticed this was a female-related habit she had picked up from her mother. So instead, she put both of her hands on her hips and roared with laughter (which was probably a bit exaggerated).

Looking at Tatsusa, she noticed his big grin with a shining tooth. "Wow, you should smile more often!" She said honestly, having recovered from her almost exhausting laugh. "And I think you don't need that blindfold either," she added friendly, "I like your eyes."

With clenched fists, she then continued their practise. 'Walk like a man. Walk like a man.' Over and over, she repeated these words in her mind as she put one foot in front of the other. It was not so easy to prevent her hips from swaying, like Tatsusa had called it, and consequently, she tried so hard that her walk could be best described by one word: stiff. Extremely stiff.
She had never believed it would take that much concentration to shake off all the habits she had obtained in her life. Especially all her mother's lectures on how to be as graceful as a Karisuma woman should be.

He was glad that he was able to help with whatever he could help with. 'Hero's do that right?' he thought to himself. His grin would not go away, he never got to talk to a girl this long. Thinking about it a dread came over him again, he had a shiver go down his spine that seem to shake most of it away.

"Yea most of the time I don't think about it either." He answered to her comment about behavior. "I often do not have the pleasure of hanging around other girls. Most of the time I end up running away." Calmly he started to stretch his body, it was out of habit now. He still had to get it done though. He did some quick basic stretches to keep his body loose just in case anything happened. Then she started to roar in laughter, making Tatsusa jump a little bit.

Laughing a bit himself he shook his head. "You don't need to roar that much in laughter. Just laugh with deeper tone." He had never heard someone work so hard to be male in his life. It was different for sure, and caused Tatsusa to smile inside and out.

He never really thought about it, but he never smiled that much. He just never found the time too with his training and everything else in his life. Giving her a thumbs up he had a stupid smile on his face. "I can't promise the blindfold thing, it just how I am nowadays. I usually take it off when I am super serious. Like it is hero time." When saying this he raised his left fist into the air and brought it down with a diagonal thrust toward the ground. Making his right fist he put it in front of his face. Making what looks like a very super hero pose.

He could tell that she was trying so hard to become someone else. All her life was changing in one scene and it must have been hard. She was trying to walk stiff, like he told her too. Tatsusa was actually kinda worried due to the fact she was doing this. He did not want her to act different after this. It was the first friend he had as a female, that he could talk too.

He looked at her with a confused look, "So what is your father doing in Iwa anyway?" He started to do push-ups just out of habit, but still keeping an eye on her making sure what she was trying to do was right. "In my opinion shouldn't someone either than the Kusakage be taking you if we are not on good terms with them? They might take it the wrong way."

Misoka couldn't help but smile to herself when she noticed how much more secure he felt in her presence. Flashbacking to the first time of their meeting, this was a huge improvement. And all because she was a man now! Gynophobia, she pondered once more. There had to be a way to overcome it. Maybe she could help Tatsusa out like he did to her.

Putting her stiff walk to an end, she looked over to Tatsusa and saw him striking a .. rather strange pose. "Like it is hero time."

Misoka chuckled, this time simply in a deeper voice. All she needed was practise so she shouldn't let any chance fade.
Keeping that in mind, she continued to walk, slowly trying to get rid of the stiffness.
In the meantime, Tatsusa started push-ups - he must be a really hard-working shinobi - and gave her what seemed like a confused look.

"What is your father doing in Iwa anyway?"

Misoka flinched. The boy went on that it might be safer to travel with someone other than the Kazekage.

She took her time with her reply and already had a lie on her tongue.
"Weell, you see..."
When she suddenly changed her mind. She was sick of that hiding and lying and making up stories. With a small sigh, she turned to face him. Then she crossed her arms in a man-like way, which was helping a bit with her growing nervousness.

"You are a hero, aren't you? Heros must not tell others' secrets."
Her voice was slightly shaken, but her own words strenghtened her trust. Tatsusa was not the guy to run around and stab her in the back; she truly believed that.

"The truth is I have to find my father. He's out there to kill some very strong Nukenins, but he's underestimating them! If I don't go after him and try to help him or talk some sense into him, I'm not sure whether he will even return. I don't want to lose him." 'Apart from my urge to avenge my mother the same way', she added silently. A small pause followed before she went on.

"As for why I'm trying so hard to disguise as a boy..." She fidgeted with her huge sleeves. "There are things, um... things a boy and a girl... ummm.. can do...to each ot-her..." Misoka trailed off, her face scarlet red behind the mask. She threw a side-glance to Tatsusa, not knowing how to go on. Apart from that, she wondered whether she would actually have to explain the birds and the bee to him. She had a really hard time guessing his age especially because she had never seen such a short guy.
Furthermore, his gynophobia might make him even more unaware of these things as he was probably freaked out when imagining something like that with a woman.

It was an awkward, yet short silence which Misoka still had the urge to break at any cost.
"So... as I said.. sometimes a boy and a girl do, um, something if they really like each other and sometimes the girl doesn't want to, though..." She spoke so fast and quietly that she wasn't even sure if he heard her. An embarrassed sigh escaped her lips. It was no use. "Tatsusa, how old are you?"

Straight-forward. Hoping he wouldn't be offended by her question.
But knowing about his age might be helpful in that matter.

Tatsusa did know how to respond to her chuckle to his hero time. He was really proud of that, it is what he lived for. That one moment in time to be the hero everyone was looking for. He would defiantly have to make it to chunin first before he could do anything like that. He sighed as a response maybe someday that would be something people did laugh at him for.

He snickered at the "You are a hero, aren't you? Heros must not tell others' secrets." Sure he was a hero in training, but that did not mean he was your normal run of the mill hero. He wanted to be the star of the scene, where everyone saw him and knew who he was. He gave her a sly look, "What's the point of being a super hero if know one who you are. I may hide behind the mask, but I have plans to make one...Dynamic Entry." He had a stupid grin on his face, he knew how he was going to do his missions and they were defiantly not what most teachers would expect.

He took some time to listen to her talk about her father. It sounded really sincere and it explained a lot to him too. "Did he go alone? Why would he do something like that?" He was not sure what to expect for her say. Her father was probably strong enough to handle himself. Things like still bother him though. There are rules set up to help protect people from things like this.

He could not question her anymore, he asked her enough questions. "Never mind, your father knows what he is doing." Maybe it was time to change the topic. He did not really know how to handle girls. It was different and nice, kind of relaxing. Seem like she was already on it though. She defiantly changed the topic, but she started to act all weird. Did she have a weird fear of men that he did not know about?

Was she trying to get something out? Tatsusa could not tell. What she was trying to get out came out really fast. Was she practicing her speech still? He wished that he could see some emotion, just to understand her was hard enough. Something about boys doing things to girls? Was she worried about getting taken advantage of? He had no idea anymore. Then the clear question came out.

"I am 16 why?" he thought about it for a while. 'Oh yea I am a little short am I not.' He thought to himself. Tatsusa often forgot about these things.

16?! No way! He was older than her! But... but how come he was so short? At that age, he must've hit puberty already... He must be some kind of Lilliputian.
Taken aback by his reply, she could only stare for a while. Then it occurred to her what a clueless face he made. Did that mean he honestly didn't know what these things were that boy and girl could do together? His gynophobia might be the cause for this lack of knowledge.
Or perhaps he had merely not understood her (granted) slightly confusing explanation.

Only one way to find out.

"Well, what I meant to say is," she took up the conversation again. "I'm just afraid I might bump into some ... um... bad guys who would take advantage of a girl. Along the lines of..." She paused for a quick breath. "..rape."

So.. it was out at last. Now she would soon know whether he was clueless in that matter, considering his lack of interest in women, she supposed, or whether he understood what she was talking about.

Tatsusa gave her a weird look when she looked surprised due to the fact of his age. He really did forget that he had the height of of a 12 year old. Not someone his age, sure he had hit puberty, it did not mean he grew in size while it was going on. He never had a growth spurt like the other kids. He was hoping he was a late bloomer, cause being this short was not very hero like. He was going to worry about it later though. He could not control his body in that way.

He was greatly confused now after listening to her. She was afraid of being raped? It was a normal fear, unlike his. The person wanting to take advantage of her made sense. Tatsusa did notice her beauty before, the fact that something like that did not even come to mind made him feel a little proud. Sure his fear probably had something to do with that. It was still something evil, and Tatsusa could not ever accept those things.

He looked at her with a straight face. He was very serious right now as he spoke his words. "I would never let something like that happen to you. You are the first female not to laugh at me and walk away." He pointed his index finger to the sky. "I swear that as a hero, I'll be there if you are ever captured. I can not be there for you always, so instead of hiding in disguises you should train to be a great warrior. Your a Suna nin right? We are proud warriors." Looking back at her he had a calmer, nicer smile. "Promise me when you get back we will meet back here, and train with me! So next time you go to Iwa, you will not have to worry about hiding yourself."

He suddenly realized what he said. He offered to spend more time with a girl. He was going to have to see her without the mask, everything those are a hindrance in training. He suddenly went pale right when he realized what he had said.

The silence which followed her words was almost unbearable. She could see by the look on his face that he slowly seemed to grasp the meaning of her remark. Relief rose in her - So he had been taught the facts of life.
His reply surprised her greatly, though.

"I would never let something like that happen to you. You are the first female not to laugh at me and walk away. I swear that as a hero, I'll be there if you are ever captured. "

She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't find words for the gratitude she felt. Although they had only met recently, he promised to be there if she ever needed help. This was so generous of him. She could almost feel tears well up in her eyes, but held them back successfully.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," she said instead and hoped he would hear her honesty and gratefulness even without seeing her face.
He then went on, saying how they were proud warriors and that she should come back and train with him.

"Of course! I'll get stronger and defend myself!" Misoka agreed happily. Someday, she would be as strong as the Kazekage and not let any man bother her ever again.
She also felt honored that Tatsusa actually wanted to meet her again. Maybe they could be friends. That is, if he somehow learned to overcome his gynophobia, at least towards her.
"Come on, let's swear properly."

Smiling to herself, she sticked up her pinky finger, completely forgetting about Tatsusa's fear of contact by the way.

Tatsusa could feel his color come back to him as she started to talk to him again. Maybe he was getting used to be around her for once. He could overcome this fear that he had in him. He felt great, this is what heroes were suppose to do, save those who could not save themselves. He was excited and happy, something he had not felt since he had graduated.

He was a little proud when he heard her talk about how she when to get stronger. He did not hate, but dislike those who stay weak due to the fact they start off weak. He was weak once upon a time, and with hard training he was a force to be reckon with. At least for any other genin.

She wanted to swear properly; to that Tatsusa had no idea what she was talking about. Most people were fine with just the words that come out of his mouth. When she held out her pinky finger Tatsusa could feel his body start to freeze up. It was starting again, and he refused to let it take its toll. Building up all his courage he took as many steps as it took to get close enough to grab her pinky with his. His hand was shaking uncontrollably, but he finally grabbed it with his own pinky. Making it a promise.

He could feel his body freezing up, 'yup this is the end' he thought to himself and he could feel his body freak out at what he did. His neck lost all control as he head flung backward and he could swear he saw a white little soul come out of his mouth when it flew open. His eyes quickly dilated in fear and caused his emerald eyes to look huge. Falling backwards he manage to recover in time to have his hands hit the ground and crab walk away.

"I am sorry, that was a little more response than I expected." he stammered and muttered out. He was still shaking and his body was now covered in sweat like he had been training for hours. He started to breath heavy like he just saw a ghost, but after a while he recovered enough to look normal.

They entwined their fingers, taking their promise to a whole different level. At least, so it seemed to her. Ever since she was little, both her parents would tell her how important it was to keep a promise. They would her do the pinky swear and say this way she could not back away from her words anymore.
The memory of her mother triggered both pleasant and unpleasant feelings. For a while, Misoka was caught up in her emotions when she suddenly felt Tatsusa's finger go stiff.
Shortly after, his whole body froze up, he staggered backwards, broke the contact and plopped on the ground. This all happened pretty fast so for a moment, the young Karisuma could just stand there and stare down on him agape.
She could see sweatdrops covering his face and he panted as though he had just fought a Chunin.

"Oh no, I completely forgot!" She called out, hiding her hands in the huge sleeves. Tatsusa apologized - he said something! - so he couldn't be unconscious.

Now that the seriousness had faded, Misoka couldn't stop herself from giggling. "I'm sorry," she choked out inbetween her soft laughters, "It's just that this looked really funny!"
Then something else came to her mind. "You touched my finger!" She stated seriously with almost a tinge of proudness. "Tatsusa! It seems we're getting somewhere - come on, you touched a girl's finger and didn't run away! At least not all the way.." She grinned so widely that it could possibly be heard in her voice.

"By the way, something else you're up to today? You're a Genin, right? Have you been assigned to a squad yet?" Due to her curiousity, her intended only question turned into three.

Tatsusa was at a normal state again, he was not panicked and his breathing finally got back to normal. He was sure that his body was about to kill himself just to get it over with. Yet here he was alive and well ready to go. He knew that if he kept this up he could eventually tame this drawback.

He was proud of himself, sure it was not the first female he had touch. Most of the time it was his mother and his sister jumping on him 'training' him. He finally had everything dawn on him, he was finally moving on. With a giant grin on his face he had that sparkle in his tooth again. He could hear her laughing and it was okay for once. He was not getting angry and he wanted to join her in the laughter for once. Most of the time when people laughed at him it just made him angry.

He was even prouder when she mentioned that, she took notice of his accomplishments. Unlike most of his family, who just expect him just to be normal. "I can't just stop in one place I have to keep becoming better no matter what it is in. I guess that is why I have trained so much in my time." He really could not stand being still so much. This time was different, he completely forgot about his training due to the fact of running into this girl.

"I do not have anything else planned today, except for the usual training. Either than that, most of my days are free. I help around the village when I need too. I also help my father in the family bar." He took second to give her a hurt look if she asked if he was a genin. He knew he did not have his headband on, but still he was hopeful that he screamed ninja to everyone.

"Ya I am a genin." He sat down and put his two feet together to make a circle with his legs. "I have not been assigned a squad. I have been waiting to hear from people to see what squad I am in. I was hoping for a full male squad so I did not have to worry about anything. Yet I am thinking about it differently now. I should face my fear quickly before anything bad happens." His face was really deep into thought now, he was thinking about everything that happened today.

He gave her a solid grin again after he realized he was in thought. "So what about you? When do you go to Iwa? Have anything planned for today?"

Misoka nodded to show she was listening carefully. Tatsusa was the ambitious type, she noticed with a smile. Training was very important to her, as well, mostly because she wanted to be ready for the time when she would be able to get her revenge.
And this day came at last. So why did she feel she wasn't prepared enough yet?

"Ya, I'm a Genin." Misoka could see the hurt in his eyes and realized what he must think.
"I mean, I knew you were a ninja, I wasn't sure which rank, though! You were walking on your hands!" She said quickly and emphasised the word 'hands' still with amazement in her voice.

Then she kept on listening and nodded again. "I'm sure you'll be assigned to a squad soon enough. I'm in Team One with the Kazekage as sensei. She's really strong-" she told him proudly, but cut herself off because she didn't like bragging about things.

"I'm going tomorrow." She replied to his other question, fiddling with her sleeves. Her voice sounded almost sheepish. The nagging feeling of being not ready for all this returned. 'Two years', she reminded herself silently. 'You've been waiting two years for this chance to come around.'
There was no way she could back out now like a little coward. Apart from that, her father needed her! He just didn't know yet, thinking he could handle it all by himself.

Misoka shook her head slightly. "No, I actually wanted to go right away, but the Kazekage told me to wait until tomorrow morning." She gestured towards her clothes and the backpack on the ground. "I've already packed my stuff. I was just on my way home, actually. Sulking at my place."
She let out a small chuckle. "But maybe, I should enjoy my last day instead."
A tremble ran through her body. Had she just said 'last day'? Not as in 'last day of my life', but still... Her chest tightened. What if she didn't survive that trip?
Clearing her throat, she pushed those negative thoughts to the back of her mind.

She wanted to say something, perhaps suggest to go somewhere else, but still with the lump in her throat which didn't go away, that was impossible.
Just why did she feel so nervous? She should be happy that the waiting had come to an end at last.

Tatsusa let out a sigh of relief when she explained why she was asking what rank he was in the ninja army they were in. He was just trying that out for the first time, he was glad that he made it look like he was doing it for a while. He was trying to find out how to make his training better at all time, no matter how ridiculous it looked like. As long as it worked it did not matter.

He listen her go about her squad, he was actually really jealous of her. She got to train with one of the current hero's of Suna. The legendary Kazekage, those who had that rank meant a lot of Tatsusa. "Lucky! You get to train with the Kazekage!? I thought she was just taking to Iwa! Man that is really cool!" He bunches his fist together and bring them into his chest in excitement. "You gotta tell me how she trains so I can incorporate it into my training."

She quickly changed the topic so he had to keep up with her. She was going tomorrow? 'That is quick, most likely was planned out a while ago. The Kazekage is really busy.' He heard her comment about sulking at her place, and enjoying her last day. That sounded iffy to Tatsusa, what did she mean by last day?

Probably meant just the last day in Suna, no other place was like Suna anyway. He gave her a look, was she really enjoying her day with him? He was scared of her and she had to hide herself for him to act normal. "Are you really enjoying this day? You must be burning up in that outfit." He relaxed his body completely and had his hands drop to his side.

Even under the cloak and everything he could tell she was tensing up, maybe it had to do with his ninja training. "Are you okay? Are you thirsty?" He takes his water bottle off and offers it to her. 'Hey! I am not shaking' He thought to himself as his hand reached out with the water bottle. "We have been in the sun for a while. The breeze is nice, but nothing like my family's bar."