Hey, Is It Okay If I Hate the Rain? [Tatsuo]

[Higeki Tenko]

The incessant tip tip tip of rainfall, reverberating in an irritating chorus from every direction. Soft spatters, heavy ones, a mingling colloquially of sounds and sensations. A small blonde girl bit her lip, a rare sign of distress that she offered only to herself in this haze of misfortune. Her teeth dragged across the plush pale of its rim, pulling the skin in until it snapped and her eyes blinked in a momentary glimpse of pain. She had to pull herself together.

Tenko Higeki hated the rain.

The smell of petrichor was wonderful. It was a pleasant scent; earthy and thematic, the right touch of gloom for the impending weather it brought. As she'd often privately remark, it's when theory was put into action that she lost all sense of appreciation. The current matter helped its case none - did it need to storm here of all places, when she was miles & miles over sea and away from "home"? The fact that she was alone didn't so much bother her as it did tilt her head; she was accompanied by numerous other students and a handful of Jounin on her way here, yet now that the festivities had started she was allowed what amounted to free reign? This was how you lost shinobi.

It was quite lucky there wasn't a force on this earth that could pull her from Kumogakure's grasp. Misplaced students would be the course of nature, she supposed ... a worrying thought if she ever had one, considering she currently fell squarely in that category. She should have known better. She had her weapons, ninja tools - she didn't let her guard down within the village, let alone in a country filled with its enemies - but she didn't bring an umbrella along. After the incident with Takeshi and the faint blush it drew to her high, angled cheeks she elected for the future to always be prepared for stray weather. It would be disgraceful for a shinobi to fall to a cold.

It wasn't supposed to rain here. The combatants hadn't even stopped fighting in the midst; she had half a mind to wonder if it was ninjutsu that called forth the storm, but the means no longer mattered to this end. She was left wandering the carts along the edge of the city road, bustling forms hurried to a trickle when they ducked into their inns and houses. Her first instinct had been to find a superior rank from her village - one of her escorts, even a chunnin - which she had failed in. She wanted to believe it wasn't her fault, deep down in the recesses of the [her that could still wish], but the truth was that she wasn't working at peak efficiency. Not with this rain. Not with this noise. Not with the slick, wet rivulets straining through her hair and down her neck.

She kept her composure intact with sheer force of will; but there wasn't a point of focus, ally nor enemy, to center herself with. She was left overloaded and lost, the map between her thin fingers drenched and muddied. She needed a direction, any direction, and then her natural instincts would kick in and she'd chart the most practical course. Tenko didn't panic. She couldn't get worried, or nervous, or scared. She could, however ...

... just not know the way.

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo had no issue with the rain, despite his aloofness to the cold, a warm spring rain could be refreshing. A tree needed both sunlight and water to grow strong and it had been a while since Tatsuo had been stuck in the rain. The hotel they were staying at wasn't that far from the arena so he decided against finding refuge until the rain gave up. It'd only take a warm shower and a fresh change of clothes to fix everything up, after all. Though he couldn't expect everyone to be so nonchalant about the weather. Due to his skills as a shinobi or his connection to Natural Energy, Tatsuo could sense negative feelings almost like one could hear a sound.

As he made his way down the street he noticed Tenko up the street from him, while it was admirable her attempt to stay calm it was easy for anyone to tell she was lost. With no intention of scaring her, he formed a quick hand-seal before she noticed him. Extending his hand a wooden tendril grew, growing upwards like a branch before twisting into itself and creating a large wooden umbrella. Considering it was solid wood, it was heavier than your average umbrella but it did it's job. As the distance between them closed, Tatsuo lifted the umbrella over her head. The rain now falling to either side, taking away the sensation of rain from her in an instant. Looking at the water-logged map, he rubbed the back of his neck and smiled tenderly, "You seem a little lost, need help?"

While it was probably wise to dress for the occasion, Tatsuo had opted out of the ninja gear for today. A pair of black ninja pants with bandages wrapped around the leg for no reason other than looking cool, a t-shirt with a jacket over it. The only real identifier that he was a shinobi was his headband where the symbol of Leaf was proudly displayed. No matter where he went it was rare Tasuo forwent the headband, it was not only a matter of allegiance but a matter of pride for his homeland. But just because he was from one village, it didn't mean he couldn't help those from others.

"Sorry to bother you, your map just looks a bit.. well it's probably seen better days." He smiled again, holding the umbrella over her as the rain continued to fall down on him. He had hoped with a little bit of cover from the rain she could gather her thoughts a little bit and figure out what she was doing.

 

[Higeki Tenko]

"Konohagakure," her mouth was forming the words before she had the chance to respond to anything else. "The Village Hidden in the Leaves." Her eyes trailed from the identifying headband to his own green gaze, a severe blue meeting it head on. Her eyes reflected nothing; her features were practically chiseled with indifference, a frosty austerity in every sharp angle. She had nearly twitched when she noticed his approach, shifting on her foot to face him fully while he walked within feet of her. "Our villages are at peace. I am a student from the Hidden Cloud." Introductions were important, yes? There wasn't too much information she needed nor wanted to give him, but establishing amiability seemed important. Especially so in this city, where people of all types gathered and mingled, and the disadvantageous position she found herself in.

She was still on guard, watching his every movement with swift glances and a pointed stare. She attempted to do it subtly - following his hands and his feet, the wooden
umbrella he carried, out of the corner of her eye - but the compartmentalized stress of her situation disallowed her from approaching this with her typical ascetic nature. She remained at her best to the best of this ability, however, and kept a careful distance between the two. Her preferred weaponry in her bat and the toolbelt at her waist were never more than a flick of her wrist away. She wouldn't initiate aggression; it was only practical as a ninja to be prepared. There were too many variables in this instance.

A hand lifted up to tug on the deep blue of her cap, pulling its rim down just enough over her eyes to shade them. She could still see every angle she needed to, but this way her own expression took on a more guarded light. It made little difference considering she didn't betray her thoughts within those cloudy irides to begin with, yet it ... made her feel safer. A nod was the first of her response otherwise, a lilt of her head that conveyed a formal respect. "I've been separated from my proctors. We came to observe the fights within the coliseum. I ... lost them in the crowd." A hint of a frown in her tone despite no shift in the lines of her mouth. Her timbre was even, moderated, a studious monotone.

This time, before she spoke, she lifted her chin to analyze the contraption of wood he held above her. There was a muted sense of relief now that she was out of the rain - between the lessened assault on her senses and a new focal point for her attentions (the man before her), the ever-present gears in her head resumed their turn at a more leveled speed. She returned her aforementioned attention to the leaf shinobi, the hand not primed pulling her vest closer over the black of her shirt. "I would accept your help in finding our meeting place, if you really mean to offer it." There was an odd quality to her speech, a child emulating a more educated senior with methodical delivery. We all had our roles to play.

"And you would be, sir?"

 

[Tatsuo]

"Yep, it's pretty nice this time of year, too." he said, a flash of a smile appearing on his face as he made sure the umbrella was still covering her from the rain "A lot less rain." Looking into her eyes he questioned why she looked so intense. Everyone seemed to grow up so fast nowadays. It was common for battle hardened Jonin to have that look, something that was familiar, but from someone just a few years younger than him was unexpected. Even if Tatsuo managed to become a Jonin he was still a kid and most of the time he acted like it. Shrugging his shoulders and ignoring the thought he responded to her as tenderly as possible, hoping to ease some of his perceived tension between them. "Whether our villages are at peace or not, do you think i'd just cut you down in the street?" he said joking to himself. "You're not even wearing a headband, not honorable to attack an unarmed opponent, ya' know?" Tatsuo did not worry about geo-politics nearly as much as he should, so the fights between villages tended to be on the back burner for him. He wasn't looking to start any fights.

The skill difference between them as shinobi made it easy for Tatsuo to notice her attempts at subtlety. While she was on her guard and ready to spring into action at any moment, Tatsuo looked as comfortable as if he was sitting at a cafe. catching up with an old friend. While he wondered what happened to her to make her so distrusting of strangers, it wasn't uncommon for shinobi to behave this way. Being too comfortable around strangers has definitely gotten him into troubles before, but some people never learned. He hoped by relaxing himself, maybe she would grow more comfortable and make this whole interaction a lot less awkward.

Tatsuo watched as she pulled the rim of her cap down, hiding her face from the taller boy. It was obvious she didn't trust him but once again it didn't seem to matter. He listened carefully as she explained how she lost her teachers after the fight. She was almost like his opposite, her voice was monotone, and her movements practiced while Tatsuo's speech was unplanned and his movements passionate. "Man, is that some new thing they're teaching you guys in Cloud?" He asked, referring to her voice. "None of my friends from Cloud spoke like that, but Hoshi and Hira weren't exactly classroom types." he offered a shrug and continued to hold the umbrella over her. Droplets of rain beginning to fully soak his clothes.

He was happy however to provide her a little comfort away from the rain. Even if she did not seem expressive at all, anyone could notice she was not enthralled by the fact she got caught out in the rain. Especially lost in a foreign country. "Yeah of course, do you know where they're staying at?" he wondered if Hoshi was there too, he had tried to avoid him before the tournament, as to not undermine his accomplishment of entering the World Martial Arts tournament with his own promotion to Jonin, but he couldn't deny the fact he wanted to see his best friend.

Despite finding her choice of words and the tone she used strange beyond belief, he tried to go along with it to the best of his ability. Training techniques changed every once in a while, maybe she was an ANBU, they tended to be the strangest folks. Shrugging his shoulders he looked around the street looking to the directions they might head.

When asked his name he looked down to her and smiled, "I'm Tatsuo. And you are?"

 

[Higeki Tenko]

He was so quick to smile. Could senior shinobi truly be this carefree? Her betters in her village were no less severe than Tenko herself was. She found there was a nagging feeling in her stomach, a warning of discomfort. No; this had to be a trick, some kind of manipulation. She wouldn't fall for any attempts to lower her guard. It's not as if she could, anyway, whether she had wished to or not. There was a curse within the responsiveness of her nervous system, a burden to picking out and overanalyzing every detail that presented itself to her. There would be no chances to rest nor relax.

"It wouldn't be my place to assume your actions," she stated, that same calm tenor underlying each word. She wanted to reassure him that she was sufficiently armed and he needn't worry - however, that might be taken as a threat. She wouldn't intend it in that way, of course, but there had been a non-zero amount of times where her intents were misconstrued because of her direct way of talking. Speaking of ... "Is there a problem with my manner of speaking, sir? I assure you I'm only being polite." The taste of chagrin under her tongue fumbled her lips, but she pressed on.

A slight shift of her heel, planting herself firmly in the ground and allowing their eyes to meet once more with a far tilt back of her head. He was tall, much taller than her, though this didn't seem to intimidate the young kunoichi. Standing even just a smidgen taller than his waist not once did she waver in that angled look of dedication; she practically exuded a sense of duty. "You have friends in Kumogakure, sir?" If applicable, that would be a relief. She continued to regard him as stalwartly as she had to this point, yet she wouldn't deny her curiosity. Shinobi weren't meant to have friends. Even so, that wasn't the point of this unlikely meeting. She wouldn't get hung up on any such inclinations.

"It's impractical to remain in the rain." She was speaking pointedly, arms hanging at her hips as she motioned with her head towards his umbrella. It was a small - though appreciated - kindness he was offering her by shielding her from the elements, but that didn't mean he needed to leave himself out in the wet. She also had to admit that the drier air was more conducive to her thought process, which meant he was similarly putting himself at his own disadvantage. "You should step under, as well." She would keep a careful berth, but she'd welcome him closer. It was only the right thing to do.

You're beginning to look like a wet dog, she left out of her observation.

"A hotel." A twitch of the muscles in her forehead followed this, the shadow of a furrowed brow. "Kurosawa Residential. Many of our people came, so we required proper accoma -," thp, "accommodations." What an ugly blunder. There had been an innumerable amount of nights spent practicing with her literacy books, pouring over advanced curriculum to properly grasp the mature speech she tried so hard to incorporate. She didn't notice her own desperation, but she did assign herself to this task. It was necessary, as a ninja, to grow up. Presentation was almost as important as skill. That's why nothing reflected in those insouciant blue eyes.

She carried on resolutely, stepping a space behind to his side. "Higeki Tenko of Kumogakure." It was important to her, having her village next to her name. "I'm obliged for your assistance, Tatsuo-san. Shall we?"

 

[Tatsuo]

He was quick to smile, but not at all carefree. He was always worried for those around him, whether he looked it or not. But a smile makes everyone happier and it wasn't that hard to do. So why not smile? At least that's the mantra Tatsuo lived by. Whilst Tenko was worried and ready to pounce at any moment Tatsuo kept his calm. It wasn't hard to tell she was uncomfortable.

"I guess you're right." He offered a lazy shrug as she voiced her reasoning for her earlier statements. "Probably a good idea to not expect people to do what you want them to. Ninja can do some pretty unexpected things." When she brought up his question about her speech he shook his head and said "No, just a bit unexpected is all. Just nothing i'm used to." Which was definitely true. In his whole time in Cloud he really couldn't think of anyone who spoke like that, at least not in an informal meeting like this. Maybe she just was that scared. It made him feel bad for her potentially antagonizing this way.

"Quite a few friends in Kumogakure, yeah. I spent about four years there. Two of the three people representing Cloud I know on a personal level. One is my best friend and the other is my Sensei." A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he was almost brought back to his second time going to Cloud. Fighting giants in the Mountains of Momentum Deo with Kaji, or facing pyromaniac zealots with Hoshi. He was in a different place in his life now, with students and responsibilities of his own. But part of him yearned for those same adventures. Perhaps that's what brought him to Tea.

Tatsuo laughed a bit when she talked about the impractically of the rain, "I suppose you're right, no point in me getting sick. You just seemed so uncomfortable He as he stepped under the umbrella himself. The faintest of smirks appeared on his face as she made the blunder, it was admirable for her to try so hard. When he was a student he would've probably talked anyone ear off, had they given him the chance, but shinobi seemed to get better and better every generation.

"Nice to meet you Higeko, Tenko of Kumogakure. I used to do that all the time when I stayed in Cloud, Ranna, Tatsuo of Konohagakure. I always felt a little silly saying it, but I understand. Sometimes you feel the need to represent your village wherever you're at. I think my headband is a big enough give away though." He grinned once again. "So I rarely do it nowadays, but it also helps that there's about as many Leaf shinobi here as any other villages. Though I think my squad was one of the first foreigners to arrive here. Other than the fighters of course."

He nodded as they continued, keeping the umbrella over the both of them as he made his way down the street. He had an idea of where the Kurosawa Residential was, but mostly because it was one of the options Saito hammered into his head before they arrived. That student in particular was very good at finding deals and was very adamant about not being cheated. So he had somehow managed to scrounge up every little detail of information he could about the many different living spaces in Tea. And no matter how much real estate bored Tatsuo, he always found it important to listen to his students, especially about something they felt so strongly about.

As they continued to walk he wondered just how uncomfortable Tenko was, while she seemed confident in herself, she definitely seemed worried that Tatsuo might pull something. The detour didn't bother him, but keeping her on edge until they found her hotel was. The last thing he wanted was for her to be uncomfortable.

"You know, the umbrella doesn't cost me a thing. If you want, I can take you to one of the shops nearby and you can get directions there. I'll let you keep the umbrella, too." He said grinning once again, something she had probably learned to expect by this point.

"I can tell you're a bit uneasy, so I won't mind if you just want to stop somewhere. I can make plenty more umbrellas were this one came from so don't worry about that much at all." He said giving her an offer to leave if she really wanted to.

 

[Higeki Tenko]

He talked a lot.

Tatsuo was a superior ninja, Tenko could tell for certain. It remained to see whether this gave him more merit than her passing, polite respect - though it was likely it didn't make a difference. He wasn't much older than her yet he had a look of experience that outweighed her own scars; maybe it was simply her insight, picking out the wear of the life constrained behind that happy-go-lucky expression of his. Everyone was miserable, she was so very sure. She wondered why he put in such effort to appear otherwise - they were shinobi, were they not? and shinobi weren't meant to be smiling.

She almost considered mirroring him. (It would be horrific; the sight of those thin, hard lines lifting up in the facsimile of a grin. She might send the whole of her village into cardiac arrest.)

She did not. The current level of niceties she afforded him were more than enough among ninja. She merely nodded to his words, picking out phrases of interest that lined the sides of her ladder-centered brain on plaques and signboards. Anything within reach, as long as she didn't stop climbing. "Shinobi must always be on their guard," she recited, the tenor at which she delivered the words appealing them to something grave and structured - as if she was reading a bible from memory. The various rules and regulations dictating her existence might as well be, "not exclusively in the midst of their duties. I bear you no ill will, shinobi of Konohagakure-no-Sato."

Another step, having to fall more in line with the male to avoid the rivulets that poured down his wooden umbrella. It was a pragmatic response, hiding from this weather - at times, however, it seemed like she refused to allow even a foot to stray among the pattering drops. Now that she had the choice - wringing the water out of her ponytail with a stoic expression - she would prefer to avoid the climate until it had settled entirely. Her cap was a little wet, adding an air of discomfort to her frame, but she appeared to ignore it and content herself with another twist of those gold locks around her fist. Squeeze.

"Four years ...," she echoed, not quite trailing off in that typical wispy fashion people did but instead letting the thought drop to its death. She checked off the three people she had a passing knowledge of that were involved in the tournament. "Who?" The word was delivered abruptly but not without her trademark lack of infliction. "You have a Sensei from my village, Tatsuo-san? That's a lot of time and energy to devote to a place that isn't your own. Why would you come - and why did you leave?" Her inquiries were monotonous, yet obviously intrigued. Should he ever motion for or tell her to stop she would drop the "interrogation" immediately and walk in complete silence.

"I'm not uncomfortable." She didn't miss a beat when he offered that consideration, staring straight ahead with those piercing blue eyes. "Comfort isn't a practical concern. I apologize if my responses to you have been unsatisfactory." Her gaze trailed off to the side, watching the movements of his hands and feet out of the corner of her sight. She read signboards as they passed them, scanning any word she could make out along their path. She didn't have any better indications to her location than she had at the start; relying on him was the most efficient option currently. "Ranna-san," a little more her speed. "I agree. I don't have my headband yet, however. My introduction will have to do as a show of my loyalty for now."

Not for a lack of trying - she had only recently met the age of requirement for Geninship. Even with those exams a more serious consideration these days there hadn't been a chance or need to change her training regime. It turned out: if you spent every waking second of your life pushing your physical and mental faculties to their absolute limit you couldn't actually improve on that, in most scenarios ... even if that would never stop her from trying. There was a part of her, the little voice that could think for itself, that wished she hadn't come along to Tea in the first place. What precious, wasted time.

He presented her with an out - one she considered, but her perspective of this entire situation was practically lukewarm. She could have asked anyone for help; Tatsuo was the one who approached her, which had made this ... easier. "Would you prefer that, Ranna-san? I don't wish to take your item with me, should I continue alone." Not out of a lack of respect for it, she would note with her eyes glancing upwards. It would simply be rude and downright uncharacteristic to take a stranger's belongings - especially those of another village's. Even his attempts at placation didn't seem to breach this train of thinking.

Besides, if he had made it himself ...

How strange.

[ MFT 12/21 - 12/28 ]

 

[Tatsuo]

"My sensei, once, was from my village. He ended up staying in Cloud after our trip there. I decided to return to Leaf when the time came." He listened to her question his reasoning for putting in so much effort for a nation that wasn't his and he disagreed but understood the train of thought. "Why do you say that? The people I met matter to me more than the village they're from." It was true, while Tatsuo was a native of the Fire Country and a Jonin of the Leaf Village. Some of his closest friends were from Kumogakure, the lines dividing shinobi based on nationality were heavily blurred for him. Unfortunately for him, most people did not think the same way he did and it was obvious this girl did not. It was common that a shinobi was trained from an early age to believe that all others were a threat, but it was such a sad existence to Tatsuo. While she thought his happiness was a facade a piece of armor to protect him, it was everything but that. He genuinely was always in a good mood. Tenko was probably right in thinking a shinobi should behave a certain way, Tatsuo had been betrayed more than once because of his eagerness to trust.

"Must be hard always being on your guard." Tatsuo said honestly, he couldn't imagine living like that. While you were less likely to get injured, it just seemed exhausting. He wondered just how far did that girl take it. He could only hope that she wasn't like this with everyone. It sounded like a terrible existence. "And I bare you no ill will.. Cloud kid." he said joking with her a bit. In a somewhat feeble attempt to make her laugh.

He was happy to hear she wasn't uncomfortable even if he felt like it wasn't completely true. But if he wasn't bothering her enough to take his offer he decided it'd be worth sticking around. Maybe by the end of it he could even get her laughing a little bit. When mentioned comfort he shrugged, "It's a pretty practical concern, you ever had your kunai loader on the wrong side? It's pretty uncomfortable, never can reach it right and you end up just patting the empty side of your leg." He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking back to one of his earliest fights where he totally didn't forget his kunai loader on the wrong side. "And your responses are fine. Kids these days are just more intense, I guess." For some reason it seemed to be a trend nowadays.

When called Ranna-san Tatsuo cringed a bit, "That's my dad. C'mon i'm not that old. Just call me Tatsuo." He smiled at her and said "I'm sure you'll get your headband soon, you'll probably fly through your exams if you talk to your teachers like this." Villages probably loved kids like these, follow order to a tee. Don't ask a lot of questions, must be nice. He thought back to his own childhood, where he questioned pretty much anything anyone told him and grinned a bit thinking about how dumb he was back then. But after talking to Tenko he realized there really needed to be a middle ground.

"Nah, i'm enjoying our conversation and I definitely can't go without giving you the umbrella. You might get wet again and you didn't seem so happy the first time." he smiled and let out a yawn. Parts of his back were getting covered in rain because of the size of the umbrella, funneling a little bit of chakra into it, the umbrella grew wider, enough to cover the both of them easily.

 

[Higeki Tenko]

An inaudible click of her tongue. "It seems our decision has been made, then. Your gracious accompaniment is recognized." She gave him a nod, then, as if she had run through the declaration in her head before adding the punctuation. As they walked - and as they talked - she seemed to slowly grow accustomed to his presence, fingers absently drifting from the pack at her waist. There was less concern of an ambush ... and an assuredness that she'd either respond in time or she wouldn't, with the former being the ideal. Realism, however, was always the go-to.

Her hands had strayed to her sides and then behind her back, busying themselves with a quiet sort of fidgeting that she corrected every time she realized she had fallen into the habit; only to shortly resume when their conversation did. Her eyes were a piercing, studious blue, squared once more on the shinobi at her side - but of interest, not wariness. With such an intense gaze it was a wonder the full brunt was offered solely to him, as opposed to "looking through" her acquaintance. "Loyalty is important." A sharp quality had entered her tone, influencing but not permeating her words. It was little more than a hint; this topic was serious. "I can't fathom how someone could leave their village, let alone join another ..."

It's not my place to question, she wanted to add. She didn't, teeth lightly scraping the tip of her tongue, but there was a twinge of a muscle in her jaw that gave away her restraint. There were so many more things she wanted to say - so many thoughts this new avenue of interpretation filled her head with - but this was another test, wasn't it, to prove herself? Being the ideal ninja meant suppressing yourself to the point of a knife. A short, low breath through her nose, tilting her head back some to survey the rain above while keeping him within her sights. "Rather," she detracted, "... camaraderie is important. An alliance between villages is a necessity from a diplomatic viewpoint, but serves little purpose in your day-to-day job as a shinobi. Yet, you seem tied to these bonds."

Bonds that served no practical use, no less. She was still quoting from a handbook, picking apart sentences to oblige him with. Would it make sense to him, she wondered? It did for her, but she rarely had anyone around she could consider a friend within her own village ... it seemed a far stretch to form relations with another. Out of everyone she knew, she probably - and solely - regarded Kumo the fondest, Takeshi Takahashi's little ninken. He kept her greater company then any of her fellow students. This was correct, yes? Bonds like the ones Tatsuo spoke of should be meant for convenience, not desire.

Sometimes, her thoughts flickered to Takeshi himself, and her fingers would interlock and squeeze before separating in a nervous flutter. "It isn't 'hard' - it's efficient, Ranna-san." She spoke in reply to his concern. "This is a ninja's duty. Ignoring the ramifications of dropping your guard around -," she seemed to regard him for a moment, picking her words as carefully as ever. " - potential threats, you would be hard pressed to serve any nation if you weren't prepared for every outcome. No?" She asked this, presenting these ideals, and it was likely truer for her than it would be for anyone she spoke it to. It was that same frost of cold paranoia, a silent and steady outline on every action she took. Maybe it was; exhausting, that is, tiring and hard, at times. That was of no importance, however, in the end.

She couldn't stop if she wanted to. Not after getting this far. "I'm humbled, Ranna-san," she didn't seem to stop the title, even post his request. If he was a teacher of hers, maybe, but as it stood ... this was only polite, and there was a discomfort she wouldn't approach with anything more familiar. "I will be sure to put forth my best effort." That's all she gave him, this time. She already felt as if she - they - had been talking too much, a slightly quickened shuffle to her feet pushing her to match his longer stride and even outpace it. He said he was enjoying their conversation, another perplexing notion. If she was more than an ascetic observer she'd call him strange - as it was, he was definitively different and there was no reason to remark further.

"You're doing that with chakra," she motioned towards the umbrella. "I had assumed you made it that way, but you're still ... doing things, with it. Is that a particular technique?"

[ MFT 1/28 - 2/4 ]

 

[Tatsuo]

Tatsuo could tell she was growing more comfortable with him, at least as comfortable as she was capable of getting. It was strange just how uptight she was but it made sense, sometimes a Shinobi had to behave that way but he rarely ran into people this intense. While she was worrying about ambushes and potential threats, Tatsuo seemed as relaxed as one possibly could. After she assured him he wasn't bothering her any he smiled and continued to hold the umbrella over them. He hated seeing kids freaking out so he always tried to help out when he could.

"Loyalty is important, but I think loyalty to a village is less important than to individuals. I would give my life just as quickly for a Cloud ninja as I would a Leaf ninja, a life is a life ya' know? We're all people." He knew it probably didn't mean much to her if anything she probably thought he was crazy. "After all the things i've done, I'm more worried about protecting anyone, rather than just those who I happened to be born in the same village as. When I was younger... I was sort of like you? Never in the professional way, I always was kind of a troublemaker but I used to declare from the roof tops that I would protect Leaf and do anything for my village. But then I grew up a little bit. Not to say you're childish, there are plenty adults who see eye to eye with you in terms of protecting your village." He grew quiet for a moment, collecting his thoughts while also taking in the environment around him. He had never been in this part of Kurosawa and while he had an idea of where he was he still kept his eyes peeled for anything he recognized. After all he was leading her home.

"The bonds are important to me, yes." He shrugged his shoulders thinking about Kaji, Hoshi, and Hira. "I met people in Kumogakure that I will consider my brothers until the day I die. I nearly died beside them and trained with them until I grew stronger than I could ever imagine. It didn't matter that I was from Konoha and it didn't matter they were from Kumogakure. We were friends." He smiled thinking back to the days of training in the Blazing Spirit's dojo. He wondered how it was now, he was sure Hoshi was maintaining it well, but maybe they had forgotten about their childish guild. The thought hurt his heart, but he hadn't seen them in a year and time changes everything.

"You're right, you probably make a better soldier than I do. Even at your age. I'm more likely to fight my superiors if they give me a command I am not comfortable with carrying out then you are. But is that a bad thing?" To him it wasn't, to her it probably was. She probably couldn't think of anything so blasphemous but that was part of his intention. Sometimes he felt like people needed to hear things that were a bit uncomfortable.

When she questioned his chakra he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I have access to a pretty interesting technique." he said raising one of his arms and wooden tendrils growing out from it, wrapping around his arm quickly, before retreating back into him. "Useful, especially for getting out of the rain."

"Tell me something, Tenko. Why do you care so much about your village? What reason does it hold such an important place in your heart?" While these questions could seem a bit invasive, he thought they were important. Too often were children brainwashed into being perfect soldiers, something that always rubbed Tatsuo the wrong way. Even if she'd just get mad at him and storm off, he thought it better than never trying.