The Height of Education [Open]

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

Daily routines were often events that ended with either one of two options, either the usual expected or on the other end of the spectrum the unusual. Unfortunately the porcelain masked individual was not a seer and could not foretell the events of the day to unfold. As to why his current location of patrol had been the academy, the reasoning was quite simplistic. Due to the recent events of a new Tsuchikage the academy was a prime area to have a ruckus for a multitude of reasons. In short he was ensuring there were no foul intentions revolving around the upbringing center.

Fortunately his presence wasn’t minded as he made it quite clear of his where a bout’s, settling upon the infrastructures wall; offside from the occasional gesturing towards his stoic posturing from the passing by academy students. His figure crouching, frozen tundra gaze scanning diligently and giving his best appearance if a threat wished to engage upon the unsuspecting it was wiser to do otherwise upon this day.

As the day continued the male would find himself wishing to enjoy the taste of a meal, his hand dipping into his robing to remove a rice ball, not that it looked particularly tasty due to his lack of the culinary arts; in fact the poorly shaped sphere resembled a block more than anything. Silently the males hand would shift the mask ever so slightly to expose his mask and to begin his indulgence.

Much to his dismay the meal was unsatisfactory and would be met with a distinctive sigh at his foul luck, perhaps his ingredients were not ideal. Never the least he would shift his mask downwards, clutching the remainder of the half eaten right ball to be eaten at a later point; though more than likely not as one could quite easily spot the poor structure from a league away.

". . . . ."​

 

[Murakami Reizo]

Reizo had been going about his usual routine at the academy, and probably would have continued like any other day if Sho hadn’t been brought to his attention. But, the ANBU mask had garnered some attention from other students, and by extension, Reizo himself. Sho had been earning himself little glances, up on his perch on the wall. The mask was a… curiosity.

I am kind of surprised to see an ANBU watching the academy… do they think that the instructors are not enough to keep things the way they are suppose to be…?

The student followed that train of thought several times over the course of the day, until it was an acceptable time for him to wander off and actually question the ANBU. Fortunately, (although others in Stone might call it fate, or intervention by the elements, or something of that nature) Reizo’s lunch time coincided fairly closely to about the time that Sho himself decided to have a snack. He grabbed the brown paper bag that his lunch had been packed into and walked purposefully towards the wall that Sho had made his “spot” for the day,

When he was standing in front of and nearly right below Sho, Reizo tilted his head to the side and sat down. He pulled his bento box from the bag, removed the top and found his chopsticks to begin nibbling at it. Nothing too fancy, but seeing as his mother (or sister…) had made the box, it wasn’t surprising that the container was meticulously packed into little fancy, cutesy shapes. Reizo set his chopsticks across the container and bit down into a rice “ball” in the shape of a bear, rather purposefully removing it’s head first. Then, once he had a good enough start (he felt) on his lunch, his attention drifted up to Sho once more.

”Excuse me. ANBU-san…” he paused, considering the form of address. It should be sufficient, right? ”I was curious. What are you doing watching the academy?” His tone managed to come across as a touch... naive. The tall kid was, after all, only eight. It stood to reason he still might have a few illusions about how the shinobi world actually worked... and the fact that the academy would be a good target for someone looking to destabilize Stone...

 

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

“ . . . . . “

His attention had been drawn towards the bento box the lad below possessed and a hint of jealousy boiled within the pits of his stomach. His pathetic lunch versus one that had gourmet shapes were certainly incomparable. Naturally on this accord, he would do his utmost best to not have his thoughts ponder upon this for far too long, but as the youth continued to disembowel the bear shaped rice ball he would himself faltering.

Fortunately his attention would once more be further drawn towards his first interaction of the morning, “There have been recent sightings around the village of bento box thieves.” he replies in a stoic tone, gesturing towards the lads own as an example. “I’m merely ensuring students such as yourself are able to eat freely.” he comments before having a laugh at his own humor, his frigid tundra gaze lightening up ever so slightly, “Some even say the thief is none other than myself.” he adds with a chuckle.

On a far more serious note he would begin to explain, “With the recent Tsuchikage coming into power there are often uproars in some manner.” he explains in the same method a sensei to a student would, “I am merely alerting the vicinity that the eyes of the village are keeping a close eye on what is most precious to us.” he truthfully explains gesturing towards the student once more. The youth would pave the way of the future, but for the mean time ensuring their safety to achieve the panicle was his sworn duty; along with other items he wasn’t allowed to usher aloud.

“Did you prepare your own meal?” he inquires with a mere tilting of the head. Truth to be told he hadn’t ever seen such an intricate meal and didn’t wish to startle the youngster any further than necessary.​

 

[Murakami Reizo]

Without conscious effort, the bento box was drawn just a touch closer to Reizo’s body. While he didn’t necessarily appreciate why his mother was so meticulous about his food, he did certainly appreciate the food itself. Of course when he realized that he had pulled the smallish box closer, and it registered that the ANBU was joking, the gangly boy relaxed a little and laughed softly himself, a small smile flitting across his features. He nibbled at the rice a bit more, the entire “ball” vanishing in a short period of time as he listened to the ANBU’s words.

He gave a slight nod of understanding. ”It makes sense, I guess…” his voice still soft. He uncapped his water bottle and took a sip, gaze on Sho once more and his head tilted to the side slightly. One could almost see his mind working through the idea of how important the academy was, and the brief flicker of… fear probably wasn’t an adequate word, but it was close enough, when Reizo realized just how much of a target the academy could be if someone were displeased with the village. He flinched, then took a slow calming breath and forced himself to relax again.

That is what the ANBU and other initiated shinobi are around to prevent, he reminded himself, now picking at some pickled vegetables. At Sho’s question, he blinked, looking down at the box, then up at Sho.

”Ah. No. My mother, probably. Maybe with some help from my sisters, if she was having a bad day this morning or last night when she made it,” he explained, flushing a little bit. It was unusual for shinobi to live with their families. But, he wasn’t precisely a shinobi yet, now was he? He looked down at the box, then up at Sho once more. He hmmed, set the box in front of him, picked up one of the other two rice bears and stood, offering the bear up to Sho, ”Would you like to try one?”

 

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

Initially the male hadn’t suspected that his sense of humor would be taken to heart, but fortunately it soon visible through bodily observation the student had relaxed. Furthermore the ANBU had nearly forgotten the innocence youth provided, becoming flustered over a simple meal was truly a spectacle to behold. Naturally upon the offer would he pivot himself from his perch to grasp the offering, rice ‘ball’ bear now in hand.

“If I partake, then I will become the food thief.” he jests before shifting his mask once more and indulging himself further. A momentary pause would ensue, his eyes widening ever so slightly. One had to note that many were far more gifted at the culinary arts than the male, but this particular taste blew his own pitiful meal to kingdom come. A sigh of satisfaction would escape his lips and ultimately the porcelain mask would once more settle properly to hide his identity fully.

“You have my thanks.” he comments, a bit ashamed he had taken the offering, but in truth this had zero actual consequences. His mind relaxing to focus on the grounds once again. “Have the instructors been helpful?” he inquires, attempting to limit his vocabulary to avoid confusion of words which would become understood as the lad aged. “Aided as an giving you a point of interest?” he inquires curiously, though he doubted an actual response would be given.

All the meanwhile he would continue to scan the surroundings, though it was far too early within the day for unexpected surprises to dissipate. In his experience the ideal timing would be during lessons or during the outdoor activities where individuals were the most vulnerable. Fortunately none were partaking in any kunai practices on target dummies; at least as far he could tell due to the lack of steel against wood noises.​

 

[Murakami Reizo]

”Not if it is freely offered~”

He turned after Sho had taken the rice ball bear and returned to his bento box, sitting back down and nibbling on the couple pieces of fresh fruit that had been packed inside. They vanished quickly, and he returned to nibbling on the main bits of the box. It wasn’t a large one, but it would fill the student pretty well normally. He usually had about half of a rice ball leftover anyways when he was done, depending on the day… He watched Sho’s reaction, and couldn’t help the smile returning as well.

”My mother is a good cook, usually. And my sisters have learned to cook too, for the days that my mother is… incapable. And that is not even counting my grandmother… or grandfather…” he trailed off for a moment, a little drool escaping the side of his mouth at the thought of his grandpa Murakami’s food. The older man didn’t cook often, but when he did…

He tilted his head a little to the side once more in curiosity as Sho spoke, continuing to nibble absently at his food. The ANBU had much more of his attention than his actual lunch, but that was to be expected, wasn’t it? And he could eat on autopilot without a problem. ”Helpful? Yes. Considering that if they had not begun teaching me I would not know anything about being a shinobi,” there was a little bit of smartassery behind the response, but it could also have just been Reizo taking things incredibly literally… ”I enjoy doing taijutsu. And ninjutsu. Genjutsu is something completely foreign to me, though…” he paused, considering it a bit further, ”The various branches have been explained some. Stone seems like it needs everyone everywhere though right now… I think I might want to learn more about the ANBU or guardians, when it gets closer to time for me to figure out what I want to do… ANBU are suppose to be insanely talented at what they do, though, are they not? I do not know if I could get accepted as either an ANBU or guardian myself...”

The next pause was a bit longer, "Buh! Sorry. I am babbling, you have a job to do, I do not mean to distract you..." and his focus flipped back to eating his food, entire body hunching a little bit to appear smaller than he was.

 

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

A faint chuckle would issue outwards from behind the porcelain mask at the comment, this particular youth was certainly cheeky. While perhaps the shinobi to be may have not understand the meaning behind his words, it was refreshing to bear witness to the bluntness only youth could truly provide.

Upon the subject of the village being in a dire start was one he was unable to decline, though he wouldn’t allow the youth to worry over an issue that was due to previous generation. “ANBU, huh?” he iterates aloud while shifting his position ever so slightly, allowing for his gaze to falter downwards upon the lad. “Not necessarily, no.” he responds truthfully. “One doesn’t need to excel at any particular portion as long as the user level rounded or has a good head about them.” he responds truthfully as in his experience there had been a plethora of unique individuals.

“Furthermore, what really is required is knowing that our duties are significantly different than that of the other branches.” A pause, “You dedicate yourself to a different degree than a medical shinobi or kunoichi.” he explains gently, coming to realize he was about to embark on some sort of lesson and thus halted himself from continuing unless inquired upon further.

In concerns to distracting if this had been enough to cause such then the branch itself would be disgraced, although he would merely waver the thought with a mere shake of the head. “Not to worry, you aren’t.” he finally states aloud before arcing a hand around the grounds, “As part of the village, I enjoy speaking to all and teaching when able.” he admits before halting the remainder of his sentence for the boy had silenced himself and attended towards his meal once more. Not a bad choice on his part as the meal was certainly delicious.​

 

[Murakami Reizo]

Reizo nodded at the question of ANBU. He didn’t necessarily consider any branch more important than any other, and honestly thought that more main branch or medical ninjas (or shaman) would likely be more useful to the village at the moment. But that didn’t make ANBU or guardian less appealing to him. There was time before he really had to choose anyways…

Even as he worked on finishing out his meal, the student was working on puzzling out exactly what it would mean for him to become an ANBU or guardian as opposed to a main branch shinobi. When Sho spoke again, he looked up however and gave a little nod, ”I figured I was not absorbing too much of your attention, but I also know that you have a job to do. That would be why you are here, so…” he trailed off. He honestly just didn’t want to be a bother, and had offered Sho a way out if he hadn’t been interested in speaking with the student.

”ANBU and guardians dedicate themselves to the village, right? I mean… no one is even suppose to know who you are by name really. They are suppose to be good at following orders, no matter what those orders are, as long as it is for the good of the village, if I remember right…” he waited for a moment to see if Sho had anything else to add to his description, or a better way of explaining it. All Reizo honestly had was the explanation that the teachers had given in their brief overviews.

Med-nin (or shaman) were very important to keeping the village running, and so was main branch, but it seemed to Reizo that when things came down to it and something absolutely had to be done, it was the ANBU that were called upon.. and it would definitely distinguish him from others if he could manage to take the (apparently) harder route of an ANBU.

 

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

Reizo had been informed of properly, for that was fairly spot on. Orders were absolute and a majority of the time for the betterment of the village; however one did have to note at times orders are given to also cause havoc to ultimate establish an order. “Not a bad description.” the male would reply with a faint chuckle, the youth were gathering a clear understanding quicker than he had expected them to; each generation was certainly full of surprises.

For the most part the male wouldn’t attempt to influence the youngster any further for any path within the village was chalk full of a multitude of surprises. For instance there was an enormous amount of gratification from aiding and contributing to research within the medical field. On the other end of the spectrum the very same held towards the Main Branch which had looser guidelines, but were able to interact with the village far more readily without needing to mask themselves as ANBU do.

“If I have learned anything from this village.” a pause as the shinobi’s left gloved hand would search against the wall surfaces to grasp upon a loose piece of granite. “That even the smallest of pebbles can become a part of picture or become its own.” he comments while placing it back down upon the walling, the very same that acted as a safe haven for the students to grow into fine adults.

The male was becoming soft, his teaching of others was an item he had never considered in the past, but at heart he was modeled after a particular mindset. “If you ever find yourself requiring any additional aid, feel free to call upon us.” he comments before lowering his tundra gaze downwards. “Shouldn’t you be heading back to class soon?” he inquires gently.​

 

[Murakami Reizo]

Reizo smiled slightly, unable to help the slight amount of pride he felt at recalling what the ANBU were suppose to be. He closed up his bento box, chopsticks being left inside the well cared for container. He dropped it inside the brown paper bag, looking to Sho once more. He didn’t think he’d be cut out for the medical branch, though he couldn’t be sure… it was something he would probably still look into eventually. It was far more likely that he would either take the looser restrictions of the Main Branch, or the more strict ANBU. He was unlikely to admit it at this point, but the anonymity that would be offered by being an ANBU would almost be a relief. While the rest of the village wasn’t comparing him to his father all of the time, the mask would become more of his identity than his actual face. It would further separate him from his father and family. Which would be beneficial in his case.

He looked up suddenly, his mind having wandered far from the original topic, when Sho spoke, watching the ANBU for a moment. He tilted his head to the side, looking at the small rock he had moved for several moments, then offered a sheepish grin.

”Probably. I am a little tall to go completely unnoticed if I am missing from class…” he mused softly, standing slowly and stretching out his limbs some, picking up the bag with the bento box inside. He looked up at Sho for a moment thoughtfully, ”I would not know how to contact you, or any ANBU honestly, if I were to need aid of that caliber…” he said slowly, ”...What do other ANBU even call each other to differentiate when you are looking for someone in specific…?”

Aaand Reizo was completely distracted. He rather suddenly looked and sounded much more like the eight year old kid he actually was.

 

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

Concerning the male’s height, the ANBU would merely chuckle at such an item, “I suspect that it would be difficult to miss your presence.” he agrees, though taking a momentary pause to clarify his disposition, “Not that there is anything wrong with you, means you are an early bloomer.” he corrects himself. Furthermore the male would adjust his positioning ever so slightly as to ensure none of his muscles would become too complacent and result in the sensations known as falling asleep.

“Each ANBU has an individual call sign, we are able to identify through that.” he explains, unsure if the academy truly taught such an item these days. “Contacting ANBU isn’t as difficult as a task you might assume.” he begins to assure the lad before looking upwards towards the sky, as if anticipating before locking his tundra gaze nearest the sun. Silently a finger would gesture upwards towards the blazing orb before connecting towards the shadows cast upon the turf by the wall, “You’ll be able to view ANBU headquarters momentarily.”

The inquiry of what “it” entailed would be answered in a matter of moments. For a brief moment an ominous orb would begin to appear in the distance, floating gingerly in all of its golden glory. “That is how you can contact us.” he insists before explaining, “That being the Shrine of the Gods.” a pause once more, “In title only.” he further explains.

“Using gravitational chakra the sphere is able to circle all over the village, giving an overview.” as the orb would gradually inch closer, one would be able to truly view the magnificent structure.

“Truly an impressive feat.” he comments before returning his attention towards the scene about him. Once the Shrine were to pass over was the male to take his leave and another would take the watch over the academy.​

 

[Murakami Reizo]

”Yes. I have been told that,” Reizo gave a little nod, looking down at his long frame for a moment, ”My father was tall. My family says that I inherited it from him. I think if it were not for my height, I would be fairly ignorable though.” He had a habit of making himself “small” sometimes. Appearing far smaller than his frame, but that didn’t save him from the sharp eyes of instructors. Sometimes, he honestly wished he was smaller. On the other hand, he was only eight. It might be that he wouldn’t grow too much more, and the others would shoot up past him in height…

The ANBU’s words caught his attention once more. While the instructors taught the basics of what the branches did, they rarely went into more specifics. That’s what individual research was for, or the classes explicitly tailored towards those that wanted to follow the path of the ANBU or Med-nin. Or Guardian and shaman, if you prefered. (Reizo honestly prefered ANBU and Med-nin, just due to the the guardian and shaman associations with the local religion, and all the problems that had caused for him already…) He tilted his head to the side and watched Sho curiously, then the Shrine of the Gods.

”...Oh.”

Reizo set down the bag he had been holding, then climbed up on the wall with Sho, exerting chakra to help him climb. He peered at the orb curiously. ”Being able to move like that must be useful… for both defense and observational reasons…” he mused.

”Reizo! Class! Now!”

”Gah!” Startled, the boy fell off the wall and laid on the ground in it’s shadow for a moment, ”...Ow…” he rolled over to his belly to look at the shinobi coming out towards them. His instructor, of course, ”Ah. Sorry! Be right there!”

He hopped up and grabbed his bag, turning to look at Sho once more, ”Sorry about that. Uhm. My name is Murakami Reizo. Maybe some day I will see you with my own mask on…” And with that, the boy rushed off back towards the academy.

[Topic Left, unless stopped of course.]

 

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

“For those exact reasons.” he nods in agreement to the statement of the academy student. The shrine was more or less an orbital observation unit which allowed dispatch to various vicinities within the village at nearly any given moment; an item most villages lacked. Unfortunately before the masked ANBU could continue the rather lengthy youth would be summoned, his presence being required in the classroom once more.

At the end of the day the shinobi would merely only be able to wave, “We’ll see, Murakami Reizo-kun.” he murmurs before stretching his arms upwards. Fortunately his remaining required time upon the premises was nearly ending as noted by a carefully descending other masked individual from the Shrine of the Gods. As he, the next would produce visible lookout status to give the appearance of a watchful eye until it had become ingrained to the world around them. Once this particular tidbit of information become more apparent, surface wise, would the group begin to retreat to the shadows and observe as per usual.

With a slight yawn, not that anyone would hear, the male would come to a full stand. A pat upon his shoulder would be enough to signify the change in shift. Not needing to be told twice the ANBU would depart swiftly from the scene, moving onto his next assignment for the day before heading to his own home; hopefully his own abode was kept semi-neat and the bed made for him to collapse within. With a lack of helping hands in the department as of late, most of the current force had to take upon an extra amount of tasks just to place a façade upon the village itself.

With the gravitational pull from the shrine pulling his form upwards, the ground below would shrink in size and the bird eye view becoming more realistic once more.

[OOC: My apologies on the wait. Thanks for the topic! Also on that note, topic left.]​