An Unintentional Meeting{Open}

[Aito]

It was cold. Again.

Damnit, even after being here for so long, he wasn't used to it. No, he was comfortable in warmer climates...much more comfortable.

Aito slowly strode down a small road leading in from the outskirts of the village, his arms wrapped protectively around himself, trying to keep the warmth in. His entire body shivered oh-so-slightly, his teeth clenched forcefully. It was mid-afternoon, and still very bright out, with the sun easily reaching the furthest corners of the village, so how was it so damn cold?

Aito gave a chilled sigh, with the sound of trembling teeth mixed within. He tried to hold back the shivering, but failed. Ninja-sandaled feet fell heavily upon the stone walkway. His shivering caused Kuroitsuki, the katana at his side, to tremble slightly with Aito, making a constant jingling noise. The walls of the village were easily in sight from afar, where Aito had been training near a small frozen pond. There was no snow, it was Autumn, and sakura blossoms littered the ground whom Aito's feet trodden on. All of this went unnoticed to him in his attempts to dissolve his shivering, just like the Genin before him. So very wrapped up in stopping himself from looking weak, trembling in the cold, that he smashed directly into the boy before him.

He fell backwards, landing on his very cold rump, blinking stupidly, "A-ah...Sorry."

[Gunzou Masahiro]

Apparently, it was cold.

Masa had absolutely no idea. His massive robe kept him plenty warm. Though he usually kept the front open, he usually got in the habit of closing it up as soon as fall rolled around. He rubbed his forehead and stared at the person who just ran into him blindly. He appeared to be cold for some reason, before the obvious finally occurred to Masa, it was probably very cold at the moment. He shrugged off his obliviousness and cleared his throat, "Huuurhackk!!!"

He sounded a lot worse than he actually was...maybe he should start eating better. Masa shifted his attention back to the other person who had run into him. For a moment, he just stood there, trying to think of something to say. He was terrible at this...conversation thing...

He scratched his nose and continued, "It's fine...cold enough for you?"

[Aito]

Aito rose, dusting himself off a bit as the boy before him made a noise which...Aito wasn't sure just what he was doing. Oh well. They both stood there for a moment, Aito was never one to speak much...

Finally, a sound escaped from the other, one that Aito knew what it was. Yes, he spoke. It was simple, and, as such, Aito responded in a similar fashion, nodding his head up-and-down, "Mmh..."

It was then Aito noticed that all his shivering must have jarred Kuroitsuki loose, which now lay on the stone floor, out of its sheath. Aito bent down, grasping its hilt. As he lifted it, Sakura that had found their place on it fell to the ground. He grasped his sheath with his free, left hand, and pushed it forward a bit, extending his right hand and inserting the blade of his katana. A small gleam of light shone over the kanji which read "Eternity" on its blade, just before disappearing into the hilt.

[Gunzou Masahiro]

A simple question received a simple answer. Made sense, Masa supposed. He watched as the other guy played around with his blade a bit. Apparently it wasn't sitting correctly on his side or something. Masa didn't even try to think beyond that, he knew nothing about swords in the first place, besides the fact they were metal, and it would most likely hurt if you were hit by one. He also knew they didn't burn too well.

He pulled a book out from under his coat and opened it up where a bookmark sat within it. Masa read a few words before he realized he should continue the conversation, "So...what are you doing up here? Your rather close to the Black Field."

[Aito]

Aito fiddled with his katana after re-sheathing it, setting it in position just-right. During this time, the Genin had apparently pulled out a book, and began to read. Aito looked about himself for a moment, and seemed to doze off watching the sakura fall, until a voice brought him back into reality.

"Ah-Wha...? The Black Field? And that is...?" Aito questioned, unsure of what exactly this "black field" was. He was a bit curious, now, though, and hoped the Genin would provide him with information.

[Gunzou Masahiro]

This comment was enough to get Masa to stop paying attention to his book. He noticed the fact that this guy was wearing a Cloud Headband, so he was rather surprised that he had not heard of the black field of all things. The Gunzou clan's testing grounds were infamous within the village; no normal person in their right mind would ever go there.

Masa shook his head and decided to educate this...swordsman, "The Black Field is an area under control of the Gunzou clan. We use it as a test site for our experiments...if you will...I think it's clear right now, but I wouldn't take a chance and head there right now. You may come out a charred remain if your not careful."

[Aito]

Aito was fairly new to the village. He wasn't born here, or anywhere near here, for that matter. The boy seemed surprised Aito didn't know what the Black Fields were, which didn't surprise Aito. He had never payed much attention to anything but the Academy until he graduated...

"We? You're a Gunzou? Ah, well, anyways, I was training a bit out there...Its better alone..." He ignored the rest of the Genin's words, he didn't care much about being charred if he went there or anything- he had no interest in the place, anyways.

[Gunzou Masahiro]

"Yes...I'm a Gunzou...you're obviously not from around here are you." Masa was a bit surprised that this person wasn't turned off by the simple mention of his clan's name. Most people will try and make some cheap jeer or taunt in his general direction, even people from other villages and nations. The Gunzou clan didn't have a clean track record, and everyone else seemed to enjoy pointing that out.

Masa cracked his neck and continued, "So, where ya' from?"

[Aito]

"Er..." Aito didn't like much to talk about his past. It wasn't something Aito liked to put out there as idle chatter to pass the time. He transfered his weight from his right to his left leg, while thinking of what he should say.

He decided to be honest, "Not here..."

...Somewhat honest, at least...

He sighed, he supposed he should tell the whole truth. He had debated simply walking off, but decided not to. "I was born in the Land of Tea...As the son of two Missing-Nin, so..We were never in one place very long...Lots of stuff led me here...Which, was not too long ago..." He kept things short and simple, no need for details, he would get the point...and probably note his reluctance to speak about the subject, and why.

[Gunzou Masahiro]

"Tea...huh?" Masa mostly just ignored the rest of what this guy was saying. He didn't really care about his past to be honest. He was just confirming the fact that this person was not from the local area. Masa's main goal was basically achieved, everything else had little meaning after that. He turned back to his book and read about a page or two more.

After he finished he looked back at the guy he was talking to and moved on, "So...you were training here right? Err...what was your name again?"

Masa didn't even pause when he realized he was never told the guy's name to begin with.

[Aito]

Aito began to walk towards a Sakura tree nearby as the other began to speak again. He managed to slide down, his back against the trunk and his rump on the ground just as he asked for his name, "Ishikawa Aito. And you are...?"

He fiddled with his sheath as he spoke, setting it so that it was comfortable at his side in his knees-bent position against the tree. This conversation was beginning to take his mind off of the cold, and he was a bit more comfortable now.

[Gunzou Masahiro]

After realizing that he had just been asked his name. He put the bookmark in between pages 488 and 489. He quickly snapped it shut and put it back in its designated pocket within his robe. Masa nodded at the swordsman, Aito, and answered him, "Gunzou Masahiro, Masa for short if you wish...pretty much everyone but my mother calls me that. Someone else does too, but I don't want to get into that...."

He began walking around the tree that Aito had rested himself against. Masa looked up at the pale sky and continued, "So what's with that sword of yours? You seem to hold it pretty dear to ya'."

[Aito]

Aito bobbed his head up and down a bit at Masa, confirming his attention. He watched him as he began to walk towards the tree he was resting against, and, feeling a bit uncomfortable watching him, drifted off once again to view the falling sakura. Not that he'd admit to something like this, but he really enjoyed Sakura, especially during this time of year.

He noticed that Masa was speaking with him once again, and he was surprised he noticed that he seemed attached to his katana. Was it that obvious? Ah, well, it didn't matter.

"Ah, well...It's kind of a long story..." Aito said, he had noted earlier that Masa didn't really seem to pay attention to him when he spoke the little he did about his past, "You probably don't want to be bored with it, anyways."

[Gunzou Masahiro]

Masa heard Aito's comment and laughed, "I would rather listen to your story then deal with what my mother has in store for me back home. So please continue, this is probably my best option in terms of escaping my...'fate'."

He sat down next to Aito, almost on the other side of the tree and whipped the large wrap of hair to his backside. Masa cracked his knuckles and looked back towards Aito, "So swordsman, describe that weapon of yours to me. I need something to do to pass the time. I've been so bored lately."

[Aito]

Masa sure did open up after a little conversation. Or, at least, he became more talkative when faced with home or conversation with strangers...

Either way, Aito let out a small chuckle, "Ah, well, I suppose..." There was a very distinct shnick sound as Aito pulled the guardless katana from its sheath, turning it over fondly in his hands. "See this?" Aito lifted the sword so that Masa could see it, "Eternity" was engraved into the blade in kanji, "Eternity. My parents...They were Missing-Ninja, as I said, and they were very superstitious..." He paused, talking non-stop was not something Aito was very fond of. "When I was born they said the 'stars said' that I 'would live for eternity'...Or something..." He trailed off at the end, letting the link set in. "Well, I won't go into detail...But they were either captured, or killed, I don't know quite yet...But what I do know, is that after arriving here, I received this sword from an anonymous person..."

When I questioned the blacksmith, he said that he had recieved orders and Ryo outside his door to craft this for me..." He sighed, sheathing the blade, but never rising, "I had always been proficient in swordsmanship as a child..." He didn't need to explain why all of this linked together, or why it was important, he was sure that Masa understood.

[Gunzou Masahiro]

For a normal story teller, Aito's story would have been full of holes. But for a casual listener like Masa, it was enough to get the point across, though it wasn't enough to spur his curiosity. This was enough for now. After seeing the blade he looked up at the sky again. He didn't exactly know what it was like to be on the run. Masa never had a troubled childhood or past...or whatever. He had a hard time relating with those people.

He looked around the tree and tried to waste a bit more time before his mother found him, which was inevitable. Masa cleared his throat and continued, "Well, it's only fair if I let you ask me a question...anything you want to know?"

[Aito]

"Sure none of it's my buisness." Aito responded, shifting his vision from the sheath at his side to the sky. It was littered with the pink cherry blossoms, which Aito enjoyed. He brought both hands up, setting them behind his head and against the tree with a sigh. It was nice to relax like this, sometimes.

He jerked his head a bit, freeing his vision of his long black hair. The sky was darkening as the day headed into the later hours of the evening, and at this time of year, daytime was becoming limited...

[Gunzou Masahiro]

Masa snickered a bit, "None of your business eh? I think your the only person I meant that seems to mind their own business..."

The bark on the tree crumbled a bit as Masa pressed his back into a little more. There's was no sign of his mother anywhere, unless she was going for a more indirect approach this time instead of burning down all the brush around him. The sun seemed to be beginning to set, which was good. If his mother did find him, he would just get punished and would most likely not be forced into the extra training.

He coughed a bit and said, "How long have you been in Cloud...?"

[Aito]

Aito seemed to ignore Masa's first statement. It wasn't that he payed no heed to Masa, but that he simply had nothing more to say. He sat in that same position for a while, watching the sky.

There was a cough, and then Masa spoke again, "Ugh...Two years, I guess its been...Never payed much attention to anything but Academy until I graduated, though..."

[Gunzou Masahiro]

"You too eh? I think I slept through all of the academy...or read something, I kind of forgot...aced the tests still though, except the physical exam. I actually almost failed that one." Masa scratched his head, "I don't think you were in the same class as me though. Never seen you around before now...Unless I'm forgetting something..."

He began playing with his Spark Hand jutsu, firing small sparks into the air and watching them fall onto the dried soil. It burned a few of the sakura leaves when they landed, but nothing dangerous happened. He coughed a bit, but remained silent beyond that.