[Our] Stroll back home

[kininata]

[Kininata and Kamitsuke Travel Thread to Rain]

Kininata left the city feeling more relaxed than he had. Certainly, it had been a tough spar, one that made him push harder than he had expected, but in that he learned a great deal about his own skills, his own thinking, and about fighting those with his style of thinking. He had learned many lessons this spar, ones that would lead him to prepare for his next mission. He was ready for the Chuunin exams again... at least, that was what he was leaning towards. The last time he had thought that, he found himself vastly under prepared. It will be different this time. I am different this time. He turned his head towards the city, waiting for his team mate to close in.

'So, what do you think? Am I too rusty after being away for a year?' He asked with a smile, the kind of smile where he would have been pleased regardless of the outcome of the spar - that was how he felt. Whether he had won, lost, or drawn as they had done, he was pleased with all he had seen, all he had learned.

[M$]

"Just a bit", I joked as we walked away from the capital city and into the dephs of the country, a warm, playful smile visible as the three words crept from my mouth.

The spar had been much more than I intially thoguht it would be. It served as the perfect way for me and my newly aqquired "teammate" to bond, and get a feel for each other's battle tactics and persona, in a way that both taught us and allowed us to have fun. To be truthful, I hadn't had the amount of fun since I was younger, around eleven or twelve years old, and besides the fact that money would have to be spent on renewing my shinobi arsenal, this served as a great experience for the both of us.

" And how about me Kininata-kun ? A little rough 'round the edges'".

[kininata]

Kininata held his hand out for a moment, horizontal, and shook it a little. 'Your style is pretty good, and the combination of releases and skills you have is liable to distract and confuse some of the less experienced you will come across. I was genuinely impressed.' He slid his left hand under his shirt, feeling around where the senbon had stabbed into his shoulder, massaging it a little. 'I don't often fight against people who can think two or three moves ahead. Most ninja's usually end up throwing out their largest techniques straight ahead to overwhelm... but like I've said before, "its not about who has the bigger Jutsu's, its about how you use the little ones".'

He held his head low for a moment after saying that, looking at the hilt of his katana for an instant. 'I went overboard when I resorted to Suiryuuben. That genjutsu of yours made me react on instinct rather than a plan, and I was a little ashamed of that - if I had hit, it would have caused some serious harm to you which was not my intention. I thought I'd managed to purge myself of those kinds of instincts while I was travelling the world, but I guess it wasn't quite enough. So, I'm sorry for that.'

[M$]

"It's quite alright, Kininata - kun. Each mistake made, brings more knowledge, or so my mother used to tell me."

I had been thinking of Kininata as more of a friend now, than just the previous Amekage, like I had done when I first met him. Perhaps it was the time that we spent together, or maybe it was just the fact that I was acknowledging him as a peer now, instead of him being the previous Kage of the village. The walk seemed much shorter than it had on the way there, for already in the distance I could see our home; it was still a ways, but it would pass rather quickly.

[kininata]

Kininata grinned at the words of wisdom, recalling similar words from his own mother. 'They always are the wise ones, mothers, eh?' He nodded to himself at that, his mind wandering to what his life was going to moved towards now. He had expected to simply carry on as a lone ninja of Rain, until he was ready to move on towards greater things in his life. Meeting Kamitsuke reminded him - a little - of Kouushimei; same smarts, same quirky smile. He had found someone he could make good friends with over time, if time allowed.

It wasn't long before the village came into their sight, and the rain started to drop onto their heads. For a few moments it caused a brief irritation, as he was still getting reacquainted with his rainy home, but once the initial shock of cold water felt more natural, he resumed his steady pace.

'Lets get paid today then shall we Kamitsuke-kun.'

[Exit to Amekagure no Sato]