A Winter Stroll [O]

[Natsy]

[Enter]

i

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; background: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/1zz3nde.png); width: 450px; height: 524px; border-radius: 400px 400px 0px 0px;]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; width: 450px; background: white;] The soft wind rustled at my hair, flicking it against my rosy cheeks as copper eyes traced the area surrounding me. The cotton yellow and orange beanie with a white pom pom ball sitting on the end bobbed around while it sat firmly upon my head. Due to the cool winter air, my Mother had insisted that I dress warm while traveling outdoors so I had chosen to dress in a thick red dress with five small golden round buttons running down my torso. The dress had white trim rimming the bottom of the dress which sat aligned with my knees, around the long sleeves and the collar. So despite it was a mere dress, it was very warm. This time I had chosen a pair of black and white striped thigh – high nylons and a pair of black two inch heel shoes to wear. The shoes had recently been shined and polished to the point of glamor, and a rosy smile is left to complete the entire appearance. I quickly throw a quick 'bye' over my shoulder as I leave the premises of my family home and darts down the street with the haste of an excited child. I am not due at the tower for another few hours, so until then I have decided to have a little bit of socializing time with whoever is lingering around the village. The constant running of water had long since become accustomed to my everyday senses. It's sound is ever present and has come to the point when the waterfalls have become soothing and comforting for me. I am ware that almost every Ninja is out of the village at present and but a handful are left; the village is very vulnerable, open to attack, but not once has Takigakure been invaded or found by any villages. And I intended on keeping it that way. As I rounded a nearby corner, it lead me to the main path leading toward the Takikage Tower, but instead of heading down it, I turn to the right slightly and heads toward the heart of Takigakure. My current destination, the village's park. But will anyone be around at this hour? The lush green grass was moist due to a slight drizzle that occurred earlier this morning. The fresh smell of grass and soil filled my nose as my shoes created small indentations on it's surface. Little did I know about nature, I had always had a soft spot for it's beauty. Perhaps this park might be the main site for me to visit when I'm off duty. The park at this point seemed empty of children, but give it another half an hour and soon it will be buzzing with screams and laughter..

[Cacophony]

[Enter]

Stretching for the sky as if he had been sleeping for years, the novice ninja begins to stagger off of his front step. Due to his typical disregard for the weather Pax was sporting his usual black, white, and red attire. Although he has been living in Takigakure for most of his life he hasn't really met any of his fellow shinobi yet. Figuring it would be a good idea to take a break from his constant training, the Taki-Genin departs in search of other Taki ninja.

He has never really been the social type, and he hasn't met a single ninja around the town yet other than his guardian. When he was a bit younger he had no problem with that but now that he is a registered ninja, it would be his responisibility to help any of the village's ninja. If atleast one person knew him then maybe he wouldn't feel like such an outcast or a loser. So finally, after a while of thinking to himself, the young ninja sets out to find an ally. The village was big but there had to be atleast one friendly face throughout Takigakure.

The wind had been strong and chilling but Pax just shook it off and kept walking around in search of anyone. Wandering around aimlessly for almost an hour he is begining to feel as if there is noone left in the town. " What? Did i miss out on some type of war or something" he chuckled as if to try to fool himself while he tossed around other theories in his head. Nothing was seeming to add up and in the end it seemed as if this was just a bad dream that he could not wake out of. That idea had scared him a little and then he just laughed and proceded walking to try to find someone.

Head still heald high, the genin begins walking towards the center of town where he finally starts to see some civilians. Still not a single ninja however, but he was content that he wasn't alone in the village. Without a single sign of weariness or boredum, Pax starts walking through the park when he spots a small female who had seemed to have a Taki-headband. Not wanting to seem like some kind of weirdo he just began walking atowards her slowly untill he was standing infront of the girl. He was completely calm for someone who trusts nothing and he says" Hi, I'm Pax Tetsui and i just recently became a genin". For someone who always carries on about deception and trickery he is surprisingly calm standing next to his fellow shinobi.

[Natsy]

i

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; background: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/1zz3nde.png); width: 450px; height: 524px; border-radius: 400px 400px 0px 0px;]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; width: 450px; background: white;] While I enjoyed the cool morning air and the rustling of the stray leaves on the ground, my ears suddenly picked up on a faint sound of thudding and frozen grass crackling from behind me had caught my attention. I had not bothered to bring my weapons with me this morning and remembered leaving them back at the tower the previous night. But now when I thought about it, I felt slightly vulnerable. My body spins around on the heels of my shoes and had come face to face with a boy much younger than me. His hair was the color of ash and had dark grey eyes. To me his skin color made him look slightly transparent or maybe he was sick, but I smile anyway. “Hi,” I say softly and glanced up to see the headband that he wore. This kid was a Ninja? A new recruit? But as I listened to him speak, he sounded barely seven maybe nine and had explained that he was just made Genin. I blink at the name Tetsui, and remembered last night that I was given a folder with that name printed on it. But in response to his small introduction I extend my hand and says, “hey, Pax-san. Congratulations on making Genin! I'm Rosalie Salt, Takigakure's current Takikage.” I say awaiting his response and move. A small child ran across the park and latched onto the rope ladder leading up to a platform that was connected to a long winding step. A loud squeal echoed through the park as the child slid down the slide to repeat the same motion again. His parents were standing at the end of the padded section, watching their son playing without aide. The wind was also more heavier this time, tackling and destroying a small pile of leaves that were raked up earlier this morning. The caretaker will not be too pleased about that. “So, what made you want to become a Ninja?” I then ask if Pax decided to accept the awaiting handshake.

[Cacophony]

He shakes the hand of his superior and replies to her question, " Mainly for the power to protect those closest to me", not wanting to share his whole life story with someone completely new to him he leaves many details pourposely out of his answer. After his hand returned to his side he began to think about many things. The village's leader was right infront of him and to his surprise that he had just stumbled onto her in public like this. Figuring that it must have been sheer luck he clears his throat to try to figure somethings out.

"You're the Takikage huh? That's perfect i was going to try and see if i could get intouch with you soon anyways. You see i want to go on a mission but i feel as if my inexperience will slow it down if i do it alone." he gingerishly admits to his superior. The feeling of embarrassment filled his body because he wasn't sure the village's ninja situation. To him it had seemed like the village has very few shinobi to begin with. The feeling completely subsided when he had remembered that the village has never once been invaded in his life time.

He rests his hand ontop of his blade and smiles to be polite. Even though he had never really been social he had known much about social etiquette. The wind was stirring whirlwinds of leaves in the streets and one can even see the children playing around with them. The air had started to cool down fast and soon his breathe would be visable but this had not concerned Pax. Realizing he was daydreaming yet again he snapped back to reality and awaited her reply.

[Natsy]

i

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; background: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/1zz3nde.png); width: 450px; height: 524px; border-radius: 400px 400px 0px 0px;]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; width: 450px; background: white;] Pax accepted my awaiting hand wholeheartedly and I give it three firm shakes before releasing it. His brief explanation about why he chose to become a ninja seemed predictable but it was understanding. It was very similar to my own reason actually, at this point I moved toward a nearby tree and leaned up against it, folding my arms and studying the boy before me. But it also seemed as if Pax had wanted an audience with me for quite some time now and had mentioned that he was reluctant on partaking in missions due to inexperience. My gaze softened slightly and my eyes darted to the right slightly to watch the child sliding down the slide again, screaming in delight. The parents were clapping and encouraged him back to show them again. My mind went back to Pax's hesitation for serving our village and what type of first mission would best suit him. It was obvious that Pax has never been on a mission and for a moment I wondered if he wanted to take one with someone. A simple mission crossed my mind. It was not difficult and I could send a few Ninja with him on this task as well. “Well everyone has been in that situation before. Even I have. My first mission was a B rank one, two comrades and I were sent to slay a troll outside the village. The whole squad survived and the troll was killed. I was also the youngest and shortest in this squad as well. But don't worry, I'm not going to suggest you a B rank mission. But I am aware that there is a woman who doesn't live too far from here in need of Shinobi help, and I reckon you will be of great help for her.” I say, studying the boy's small yet athletic build. “I can send you, along with two others to the home to do as instructed and you can come back and tell me if you found it difficult or not.” I paused for a moment, studying Pax's reaction. The roughness of the bark up against my back suddenly seemed too hard so I stepped forward and away from the tree. “The Old Lady's name is Mushi, and if I remember right, she wants a few Ninja to well do a few things for her to help prepare a feast. No fighting is needed, it's just s simple retrieval mission. The Old Lady is really nice and this particular mission should be relatively easy for you. So what do you think?” I say with a encouraging smile, crossing my arms, my eyes shifting upward slightly to meet Pax's pale ones.

[Cacophony]

When her words reached Pax's ears he had become extremely excited. The ninja had wanted to do a mission and it had seemed like it couldn't be too hard. Without hesitation he started shaking his head and said " In that case when do i set out?" His enthusiasm was extremely noticable and he knew he wanted to see what it was like to carry out a mission.

Many thoughts raced on through his mind when he finally remembered. The Takikage had mentioned something about two others. Had she already planned to meet him and had this arranged? Or maybe its the villages custom to use a certain amount of people for every mission? Either way Pax wanted to complete the mission as fast as possible.

He cleared his troat for a second to try to shake off his enthusiams, atleast while he asks a serious question to his superior. " You said you can send me with two other people? Who did you have in mind?" He asked honestly because he wanted to atleast get to know a few other fellow shinobi in the village. After asking the quesion a breeze pleasantly flew over him and he started to relax his stance a litlle to try to keep his emotions on the inside. His hands behind his head and awaited the response to his questions while day dreaming about his first mission. "Wow, finally my first mission, i can't wait!" he said with a massive grin on his face. Not caring that he may seem a little imature on this thought but he was young so it is to be expected.

[Natsy]

i

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; background: url(http://i50.tinypic.com/1zz3nde.png); width: 450px; height: 524px; border-radius: 400px 400px 0px 0px;]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, bpx-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #ffffff; width: 450px; background: white;] Hesitation to enthusiastic. Pax's reaction was so quick and visible that I felt my jaw drop. He seemed anxious to perform the mission and as soon as possible by the looks of it. “Well, you can set out now if your ready. Totally up to you.” I said cheerfully, unfolding my arms to brush a few strands of my hair behind my ear. The child playing on the slides was now accompanied by another two children, twins by the looks of it. The breeze had warmed slightly once the sun came out from it's hiding spot behind a cloud. But the smell of moisture in the air indicated that it will rain later on today. Living in this country for as long as I have, one will soon grow up to realize the change in weather, but the ever present moisture will always get heavier before it rains. But when Pax mentioned about the two other Shinobi who would tag along on the mission, my attention went from the park back to Pax. He seemed so excited about the mission and the other Ninja who will be coming, but these two Ninja I had in mind have taken a mission like this before, and would most likely guide and help Pax through it. “The two other Ninja are called Sakura and Shinji. Both are really nice people, so if you have any questions during the mission, you can always ask them.” Judging from Pax's excitement, putting him on this mission now seemed a good idea. My arms drop down to my sides before I walk past Pax in the direction of my Tower. “If you are really anxious to go on this mission, follow me.” I say, pausing in mid-stride for a moment so Pax could follow. If the young new Genin decided to follow me out of the park and into the Tower, he will be put on this mission within the hour. If not then, we can continue to chat about it until he was ready.

[Attempted Exit]

[Cacophony]

"I can't waste anytime!" he thought. So excited for his first mission he had almost forgotten to go over his gear but what she had said had made it seem like there was no combat at all. Either way he patted his side and he had his sword and his secondary bag so he was ready right now. When his thoughts were directed to the two names he heard, Sakura and Shinji, he had never heard of them before but they seemed to be experienced enough.

As the Takikage began to walk away he said,"I'll do it now! And ill be back before you know it!" with a massive grin on his face. The young boy may have been a ninja but he was still a boy. He wanted to do his best for the village which he had finally started to realize wasn't corrupt. It was very surprising to him but he trusted his superior almost immediately but she had given him no reason to distrust he at all. She actually seemed very straight foward with him despite his young age.

His thoughts continued to wander as he began to follow the Takikage. If he can return fast enough maybe he can take an even more dangerous mission. Many subjects coming and going inside of his brain. Half the time none of them had even related because he had an overactive thinking tendancy.

[Exit]