Isamu had heard news of Sairento leaving for the Chuunin exams, so naturally, he was rooting for the Genin. Sairento was the only Genin that Isamu actually knew who was participating, seeing as Shigure had dropped from the face of the earth and was no where to be found. He hadn't heard much and he hadn't bothered to go all the way to Kaze no Kuni to view them himself, so since Sairento's departure, he had spent his time doing plenty of reading and a bit of training. He was really alone, as Yuudai had also left Kirigakure and hadn't returned yet. As soon as he got wind of Sairento's match and that the boy was returning, he had Kuremachisu fly to Sairento's home and leave a letter on his doorstep telling him to go straight to the village's crossroads across the Administration Building.

There Isamu sat, now waiting patiently for the boy's return. Isamu had his sights set on ANBU, but he had taken a personal interest in Sairento and wanted nothing more than to be a rolemodel for the boy, as odd as the goal was. He mulled over the idea of taking him in as a student, just until joining ANBU...but no, he shook the thought from his mind. He would wait and ask Sairento himself once he arrived. He leaned against the sign that pointed out which street led where and created bubbles to play with using his Ninjutsu as a way to keep himself occupied. The sound of footsteps could be heard approaching slowly, and a smile crept onto his face. "Yup, he's back alright."

Sairento had just arrived back in the village and reached his place of residence when he looked down and noticed a letter on his doorstep. He bent down, picking it up quietly and opened the envelope. It was from Isamu. Tears welled in his eyes as he realized what the other male wanted. It would be information on how the fight went and what all went down. He was asking Sairento to meet him at the crossroads in the middle of the village near the kage manse. He wiped away the tears with the back of his right arm, and went inside to clean up. After closing his door, he pulled off his netted shirt, and shinobi tights, tossing them away. He moved to his room and got into his normal blue jeans, with his blue shoes. Pulled on a black T-Shirt with a broken heart on it and pulled himself into his blue hooded sweatshirt, zipping it up a little less than halfway. He pulled the hood over his head, the hood casting shadows over his face, excluding his mouth area.

Sairento exited his house once more, making his way to the crossroads. His footsteps were slow, and hopeless in a sense. He shuffled along, coming closer and closer to the cross roads where Isamu awaited him. He saw the man sitting and tears welled in his eyes again. He tried holding them back, hearing Isamu speak, if only barely."Yup he's back alright." Sairento stopped, staring quietly at Isamu from beneath his hood, tears welling once more. His fists clenched as he fought to hold them back even harder.

Isamu heard the footsteps stop, and then there was silence. Why had Sairento stopped walking? Isamu cracked his neck and stood, brushing the dust off of his pants and facing the boy. He wore a hood that obscured his face from view, only his lips visible. They quivered lightly, but Isamu knew exactly what was wrong now. It only made sense, Sairento had just come from the Chuunin Exams...early. The match couldn't have ended in his favor if he was here now. Without saying a word, Isamu wrapped both of his arms around Sairento, holding him tightly. He held the hug for a few moments, cherishing the embrace of someone he cared for. It was a feeling he hadn't had in over a month now; human contact was truly something that he took for granted. He finally released Sairento, pulling the hood down and looking into his eyes.

"I just need to know, are you ok? We don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to, though."

When he felt the arms wrap around him, he could no longer hold it back. The tears flowed down his cheeks, as he wrapped his arms tightly back around Isamu. He sobbed uncontrollably into the man's shoulder, thinking himself pathetic but for the moment he could care less. He was so broken emotionally at this point he doubted that being pathetic could matter anymore. He had lost in the first fight of his chuunin exams and was filled with such self doubt now that he didn't think he could pull himself back up. Was he okay? Physically maybe, but emotionally no. The males had let go of each other and Isamu had pulled his hood down, staring into his eyes. His eyes themselves had the hues of a dull brown color, showing his sadness. Though, only someone who knew him well or had read his file would know the meanings of his eyes.

"I will be I guess. My physical wounds are healed, thanks to the Sunagakure medical shinobi. I just can't believe I lost. I want to be stronger, I want to be better, but..I don't deserve to be a ninja. I froze up when it came down to it and could not do anything about it. I couldn't stop her from beating me and..I'm just pathetic."

Sairento cried for a short while, letting out the pain. Defeat was never a good feeling, but Isamu knew it well and he felt strong sympathy for Sairento. The boy explained his feelings, saying he didn't deserve to be a ninja and that he was pathetic. It was saddening how a competition could have this effect on an aspiring ninja, but Isamu made it his obligation to help Sairento back up from this shortcoming. "Sai, you're looking at this the wrong way. Just because you lost doesn't mean you're a bad ninja or you don't deserve to be one or ANYTHING like that. Everyone his their victories, and at the same time, everyone has their losses. You should be walking away, proud to have participated in the exams, rather than feeling down on yourself for losing. No one is perfect, inside of battle or out."

What else was there to say aside from that? Maybe this would be a good time to bring up the whole sensei proposal, at least indirectly. "I'll tell you what; you wanna be better as a ninja, I could help you. I'm not sure that I'd be the best at training people, but I can certainly try. We could train together again, and I could teach you a new jutsu or something. I just want to help you however I can, Sai. I care about ya."

Sairento's eyes shifted to a lightened yellow hue as he mulled over what Isamu had just said. Training again? True, Sairento did want to train and get stronger but the way Isamu had put it sounded different from what he said. "I care about ya." Those words held such power in Sairento's heart and a smile slowly came to his lips. His eye color shifted to a light azure hue with slight yellow and pink mixed in. Care, he had only known that from the old geezer who raised him from a small child, and now he had someone else who cared about him. It made him very happy to feel this way again..Just tingling on the inside.

"Are you saying you want to be..My sensei?" True, he was already on the Mizukage's squad but he could always request to be transferred. He had a feeling that with a role model like Isamu training him, he might actually reach his goal and aspire to be greater than what he first thought he could be. This man was nothing but supportive since they had first met and that was something that Sairento really needed in life. "If that's the case..Yes, we can do that. But I have a new goal..I want to become an ANBU black op. I want to be one of the strongest ninja this village will ever know and I ask you to help me reach that." He smiled, looking into the eyes of who would be his new sensei.

"If that's the case..Yes, we can do that. But I have a new goal..I want to become an ANBU black op. I want to be one of the strongest ninja this village will ever know and I ask you to help me reach that." Isamu's eyes widened ever so slightly in response. Sairento wanted to be ANBU now? Looked like they had similar goals, then. The Jounin's pursed lips cracked into a wide grin. Maybe they could even be on the same ANBU squad, when the time came. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with, or at least that's how Isamu imagined it. "Good! Setting goals for yourself is always good. It's the start of a journey towards achieving them and proving yourself." he wasn't ready to disclose his own goal to become ANBU just yet, simply because he wanted to have as few people know about it as possible and Sairento would find out eventually anyhow.

There was still a few pressing questions that were in the back of Isamu's mind, so he tiptoed his way into asking them. He didn't want to ask anything that Sai was too sensitive about, at least not yet. "Now, if you don't mind, how about you tell me about the Chuunin Exams? What were the events? Who did you fight, y'know, stuff like that. I'm dying to know what it was like, back when I was a Genin I wanted to be in them so desperately but I didn't get the chance to." Isamu knew that even if the exams had taken place back when he was compatible to enter himself into them, he probably would've lost. He wasn't the strongest ninja that long ago...and that led his train of thought to the years that he was a doctor. He shuddered a bit, even if only at the simple thought of how much stress it was to him. As good as he was at healing, he was happier as a shinobi.

He smiled as Isamu praised his willingness to set goals and agreed with him. Good, this would be a great start to what he hoped would be a long-standing friendship. Becoming ANBU only recently entered his mind, honestly. On his way back to Kirigakure he had thought of becoming stronger, but ANBU had popped into his mind out of nowhere and he just suddenly blurted it out. Oh well, no harm no foul. He smiled still, until the moment Isamu questioned the chuunin exams. What were the events and who did he face. He shuddered, thinking back to his fight with the Koga girl of Sunagakure no sato. He then let it pass to the back of his mind as he smiled once more.

"The first event was a race to the Ivory Tower. They said it took the normal shinobi three days, and normal genin; five. So they gave us five days to get out there. I made it in three. I was taken captive by bandits, willingly, and I escaped with their food and water rations and a horse in the middle of the second night, escaping to the tower. I fought this girl named Suzume Koga of the Sunagakure no Sato. A gifted Taijutsu user to be certain. I almost had her but in the middle of the fight..I choked. And she took the oppurtunity presented."

Sairento explained the exams, set in multiple events. The first was a race to Ivory Tower, which must've been some sort of monument in Sunagakure. He claimed it only took him three days, even though he was captured by bandits. He had escaped them while also taking their rations. All of these feats just made Sairento out to be a pretty decent ninja, but he didn't seem to think of it that way. Isamu gave him a half-smile and pushed his ponytail back over his shoulder. "Are you blind or something? Obviously, the fact that you advanced thus far in the exams shows SOMETHING."

Sairento still seemed a bit downtrodden, so Isamu wracked his brain trying to think of something to cheer him up. "Sai, c'mon now. What can I do to make you feel better? I have cash on me, we could go out to eat or to a bar or sport or something."

Sairento thought quietly as Isamu gave a few suggestions. He did like the idea of going to a bar. That seemed good not only because it was something to do but he knew the alcohol would get his mind off of what had happened. He smiled softly and nodded to the other man."The bar idea actually sounds nice. It will help me get my mind off of things. I could go for a good ol' Kiri sake or something. Or at least just relax and enjoy the atmosphere." The man yawned a bit, stretching. The sun was no longer as high in the sky anymore, it was beginning to hang lower in the sky, showing that it would set soon. Sairento enjoyed the nighttime and was actually looking forward to it. He thought quietly on things for a moment, wondering what his parents would say about him losing the chuunin exams, were they around at all.

"The bar idea actually sounds nice. It will help me get my mind off of things. I could go for a good ol' Kiri sake or something. Or at least just relax and enjoy the atmosphere." and like that, it was a plan. Isamu actually had never been to the bar in Kiri, or any bar for that matter, so a nervous chill ran down his spine at the thought. He could drink! He was 21, of course he could drink. He'd been able to drink legally for years, now; it had just never occurred to him until that moment. A mischievous smile crept onto his face, as he looked into Sairento's eyes once more.

"Then let's go!" Isamu chanted, turning to face the village and making his way there. What adventures lie ahead! It was going to be a blast. Or maybe, from what he'd heard of alcohol's effects, it would be a blast for a few minutes, and then it would all become a blur and he'd wake up not knowing what happened. Either way, he was ready to roll.

(Exit Thread, continued here)