Another Day Chasing The Petals

Spoiler:

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Flash Back

June 23^rd

A single crow circled overhead and cawed out to the boy below. The sunny sky would nearly blind Amesuke as he looked up, putting a hand over his brow. Placing that same hand towards the sky with a finger outstretched, the bird would caw once more, spiraling downwards to alight upon his finger. Amesuke would tilt his head with a smile on his face, noticing the beautiful scroll wrapped to its back. Pulling the scroll from it's roping, he would smile, letting the bird take flight. Watching as the bird flew away, a single feather would drop to the ground. He would open the scroll, beginning to read it.

Spoiler:

Moving a year ahead.

Looking at the scroll before him, the boy's face would begin to sadden. She had remembered his birthday after all of this time and even though the message had arrived a tad bit late, he'd gotten one. The sadness came not from the message, but from the thought that Sage was off fighting in a war and could at any time die. The thought that he was unable to help the one person he wanted to help the most. He had known his enemies were ruthless, killing anyone who stood before them and he knew they could not be reasoned with. However, he knew they respected a powerful leader and in a sense, he knew they were the same as Konoha. Scrolling the scroll up, he would place it in his pouch, thinking about sending a message back to Sage, but he had long stopped doing that.

Deep down, he wanted the girl to forget about him. Deep down, he secretly wish the girl would focus her time on growing stronger and not on writing to him. He wished she would focus her time on learning to survive in the harsh world. He believed that he wasn't good enough for her, that he wasn't worthy of holding contact with through such a perilous war. He clenched his teeth, closing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair. Why can't you just forget about me Sage? You'll be better off if you don't worry about our promise. Deep down, he had lost hope in Sage returning. Maybe it was hearing a shinobi had died on her team. What if it had been her? He would feel terrible knowing the girl had not only broken her promise to see Amesuke again, but died on the battlefield for something she didn't even truly believe in. At his very core, deep down, he believed that Sage had forgotten about him and had hoped she'd moved to somewhere nice out in the outlands. Safe, away from the world.

Current Time

Looking at the scroll in his hand, he would toss it up and down, placing it back into his pouch and walking to the training grounds. He had planned to train Kohaku and himself now that he was back in the Stone Village. His recent trip to the Konohagakure had been eventful and mentally stressing to say the least, but he understood he still had a job as the Tsuchikage. He kept his plans as dark as night and kept his emotions to himself which probably wasn't a good idea in the grand scheme of things. With his scarf floating gently in the breeze, he would slide it down from his face, revealing his serious demeanor. He would stand, waiting and leaning on a log, waiting for the young girl to show herself.

794 Words, Jutsu Learned.

Kohaku had been given quite a bit of down time since joining the stone village. It was likely that the council had decided that she needed to be examined further before allowing her to walk freely. It wasn't all that implausible after all. She was formerly a shinobi of an enemy village. It wasn't like she planned on returning to the Konohagakure, but at the same time, it wasn't like she wanted to stay where she was either. Her plan was to get to the Frost Country and that was it. She didn't have the amazing goals of becoming a great shinobi or ending the war. In fact, she didn't care at all about the war or the people involved. She just wanted to return to her place of birth. Sure, it was a selfish wish, but she didn't care. The war hadn't cared about her or her family, so why would she care about the war?

Midway through her thoughts, she would be interrupted by the sound of an older man. Saotomi Kohaku? You've been requested by the Tsuchikage. The sound rang through her head. The Tsuchikage? Since when was there a Tsuchikage. More than anything, what does the Tsuchikage want with me? She would stand, looking up at the man and waiting for him to lead her to the man or woman. She would follow close behind the man through the winding streets of the village which she had never once even been through. It would have been really easy to get lost in the massive village. Though it was roughly the same size as the Konohagakure, she was really never one to remember directions and she'd gotten lost plenty of times in the Hidden Leaf Village in her younger years.

Before she knew it, the two were approaching a large pool of water with a pedestal in the middle. Atop the pedestal sat a tiny pebble. It looked no different than the pebbles that were surrounding the pedestal, other than the fact that it was not submerged in the water. Without noticing, both the older shinobi and Kohaku had stepped into the pool of water and were approaching the Tsuchikage who stood with his back to the two, looking up at the sky. It could be easily heard that he was singing to himself softly, tapping his foot gently in the pool of water.

I apologize to you for the wait, Lord Tsuchikage. Kohaku would look at the man who was to acknowledge the other shinobi. She had met him before, though she couldn't quite recognize him from this angle.

Lakin wandered about town. He had the day off from his training, he knew as much as anyone that working too hard would work against him. He usually had several weeks between missions, and so now he was taking every other day off, he was a bit overdue for a mission, and had to make sure he wasn't exhausting himself. Besides, he was getting a bit bored. His geta kicked up dust and his jacket and hair billowed in the breeze. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, wandering aimlessly, not really deep in thought, simply allowing his feet to carry him somewhere. He could hear the academy children in the distance, the younger ones learning games that taught them skills that would become lessons which would then be translated to what they would end up having to do, and that would be fight. There was a war out there, and there were times when something seemingly unrelated would bring that fact up to Lakin. He had fought in battles himself, as part of a team of genin being led by first jounin, then occasionally Chuunin. Now he was a Chuunin and would lead missions, as well as cooperate with other Chuunin, and even be sent on solo missions. The last actually made him more comfortable. Not because he didn't like being around others, but because he didn't have to fear losing a comrade. It would happen. It did to everyone, and that was why he trained, so he could be strong enough not to fail his friends.

To him, the entire village were his friends, even if they didn't know it. This thought returned a smile to his face. He truly had many friends, and he would do anything to make sure those friends would have their needs met. He stopped, and looked up. The wind shifted direction and was now blowing his hair and jacket in front of him. It was bright, and the sky was blue. It was too good a day not to train, and so he made up his mind. He would go change, then find someone to play with. Of course, what he meant when he said play, even to himself was often seen as moderate training to others. Though compared to what he usually did, it was quite light.

He looked around, and he had only managed to make it ten blocks from his place, simple as it was, and had actually practically doubled back, though he had probably walked at least five times the distance of going there and back, it was quite interesting how his wanderings always brought him to where he was going prior to him even coming to that conclusion. He quickly went inside, grabbed a light snack, it wasn't yet time to eat a full meal, and changed into his training clothes. They were actually almost ready to be retired, his current mission outfit would probably become his training outfit and he would buy a new mission uniform. As he finished tying the knot for his forehead protector, now around his waist, he grinned. Now it was time for fun. He would start by stalking someone around the town. It would have to be someone interesting.

Lakin climbed out onto the roof of the building in which he lived, and swiftly found someone, or more accurately two someones. They were both heading in the same direction, one leading the other. The one in the lead, probably a Chuunin doing his rounds as a messenger or bringing people to the Tsuchikage when he wished to see them. The other was a genin by the looks of her. Excellent targets. They were only a few blocks ahead, so he would have to be careful not to make too much noise, something he found to be the part of being a shinobi that happened to be the most fun, the emphasis on staying hidden. He leapt between buildings, and moved across the various things on the tops of buildings that would normally impede movement almost as though they weren't even there, not losing sight of his targets and always attempting to anticipate their destination. He did all this while doing everything he could in the mean time to avoid detection. He knew the Chuunin never noticed him, but the genin may have gotten a glimpse, he couldn't be totally sure. He did figure out their destination in time to make his way there across the tops of the buildings, and before they would be able to get there.

He didn't know who would be there when he got there, he knew that messengers were sometimes sent to get ninjas to see audiences with the Tsuchikage, but he had no clue that this was the case in this situation, which it turned out to be. He got there before the other two, but the leader of the village hidden in stone was there, and though he only briefly let down his guard, he did not know if the Earth Shadow had managed to detect him. Though he didn't doubt he had, all Lakin could be sure of was that he could hide himself from the other two when they made their approach, He quickly used Henge to make himself a stone that was off to the side.

Looking up into the stars, the man would walk through the pool of water, shuffling pebbles here and there with each step. I think I'm gonna let it go... He would mumble to himself softly, almost inaudible among the other sounds, such as the water at his ankles and the pebbles at his feet. Yeah... I've gotta let it go. The only way to get anything in the physical universe it to let go. By letting go, I will be able to hold onto it forever... Finishing up his own inner dialogue, he would notice that Kohaku was standing behind him. The Jounin would bow his head low before Amesuke held his arm straight out as a sign of dismissal. You may leave, Sora Nodding his head, the Jounin would disappear with a shunshin.

A long silence would sit before Amesuke would eventually speak. Miss... Saotomi. He would pause again before continuing his sentence. He heard heard a sound of another shinobi approaching and thought about investigating it. Brushing it off, he would continue speaking, not yet looking at the girl. I understand you want to return to the Frost Country... Holding his hands behind his back, he would clear his throat a little before turning on his heel and allowing the Yondaime Kanji on his shoulder to show in the small amount of light which penetrated the deep dark of night. His face was also shone in this light and a grin which stretched from cheek to cheek sat gayly across his facade.

He knew the girl would understand who he was immediately and he walked to her with a single hand on his hip. His dark black gloves bore metal protectors which would glint in the light as he stretched his hand out to her. He would notice her head was held low and would close his eyes, keeping his reassuring smile, and speak something only one fit to be a leader would say, Hold your head up, little one. Look beyond the stars and find who you are and what you stand for. If you always look at the ground, that's where you're headed and that's where you'll always be. Originally reaching to shake her hand, he would instead put his pointer finger on her chin, lifting her face up to see his own.

To most, his reassure smile would either creep someone out, or calm them to their very soul as it seemed to give off the air of Don't worry. I've got a plan for that... Even when it wasn't particularly true. Now... Down to business. Miss Saotomi. I called you here to let you know. I will be your teacher from now on. You are to answer only to me, regardless of their rank. As a matter of fact, I'm making a program for my young shinobi to become very strong. I've not come up with a name yet however. He would chuckle a bit, scratching the back of his head as he spoke of not having a name for the program he was making. Taking what he knew of Konoha's ANBU squad, he planned on making something similar, though not for hunting shinobi.

His eyes would keep their almost closed look as he smiled and he would crouch down to the height of the girl. Okay... How about this. I've narrowed it down to two names. Between "Shock and Awe", "Petal Chasers", and Star Gazers. He would laugh and smile, feeling a tad awkward with the names he had given. It didn't really matter though, the name was unimportant. Waiting for the girl to answer, he would smile, looking into her eyes.

((I honestly don't feel like rewriting this post. But bottom line is, she figures out that Amesuke is now the Tsuchikage, Decides upon the name of Shock and Awe, and accepts the training that Amesuke offers her. Sorry Dread. Your post now. Amesuke gave you plenty to go on anyway =]))

Lakin was glad he had assumed a seated position while he was doing this, henge didn't actually turn you into another object in most circumstances, so if he were to move, it would ruin the facade that he was taking, as rocks don't move on their own. While he would feel like stone, he would not be as hard. It was a bit interesting, he was learning things that could become useful in the future. But then again, they may not. Regardless of use, the offer from the Kage to the girl for training shocked a slight gasp from him, even with the knowledge that they had somehow known eachother. He realized what he had done immediately, releasing the henge and using Shunshin to move to a different, and slightly more obscured location.

The fact that he was here was known now, however, so it was only a matter of time before he was actually found, but he wasn't going to make it easy, though without any weapons he certainly didn't have many options but to simply dodge incoming attacks. And if they were to come from The Tsuchikage Amesuke, that would likely not be enough.

[OOC: Sorry, but I had to create something to do as there was no action actually taken towards Lakin, so it is kinda short.]

((Try to give people more to work with. The reason this has taken so long is because you've given me like nothing to react to or work with lol. Take some liberties. xD))

Amesuke would turn around, folding his arms behind his back and nodding his head. Alright, Shock and Awe it is! He spoke with a suddenly uplifted tone. Probably due to enjoying the choice the girl had made. The other two names were rather silly, even though he had thought them up himself, they were completely irrelevant to the type of task force he had taken an interest in creating. Additionally, the creation of this small task force would get him a step closer to his goal. Looking once more to the stars, he would speak arbitrarily into the area around them. Your hiding is both unnecessary and inadequate. He had heard the sound of the spying shinobi long ago, hoping he would show himself out of respect. Apparently, him being Tsuchikage wasn't enough to expect to be respected by those beneath him.

Turning back to Saotomi, he would pat her on the head softly, saying, You are dismissed for the rest of the day. He had intention on training her today, but decided not to due to the late night. It was probably a little after midnight at this point and training in the dark was probably no good for the young girl. Plus, sleep is a major component of any training session anyway. Putting his hands on his hips, he would speak out into the forestry with a slightly annoyed tone. It disturbs me that you would attempt to hide when confronting the leader of your own village. It gives you a bad impression and makes you look like a coward. Stand up so we can talk guy to guy.

It was confusing to see a shinobi hiding out among his own peers and more importantly, the leader of the village. It wasn't as if Amesuke had any intention of fighting his shinobi. Why are you here anyway? Are you interested in joining the group I've created or something?

Lakin stood upon being addressed about the inadequacy of his stealth. He was quite ashamed and was grateful for the cloaking darkness, as his face felt warm, he was surely flushed. His eyes were filled with a spark though, as he had only been noticed by the Kage until he had made his mistake. He completely exited his hiding place so as to properly speak to the leader of his village. He bowed deeply, then spoke. His voice full of respect but not soft.

"It would seem I need more practice then, Tsuchikage-sama."

He waited to speak again until after the younger girl had been dismissed and he was again the brunt of the Tsuchikage's harsh words. He felt embarrassed, he had not meant any harm, it had been merely playful, a game of sorts, though he wasn't sure if the strongest shinobi in the village would understand. He had insulted the man, and he felt the need to try to abate the leader's potential anger.

"There was no harm intended, in fact I had no clue you would be here, it was a kind of game I do to try to practice stealth when I am feeling restless between missions. The reason I hid after accidentally revealing my presence was to react to a potential attack."

He stood firm, at attention and bowed, and upon returning upright decided it wasn't enough, and went to his knees to bow deeper, placing his head upon the ground. He normally was not one to show such displays, but he recognized the importance of the particular situation. When Amesuke spoke again, asking him what he was doing here and if he was interested in joining the new group he was organizing he decided to remain honest, and spoke loud and clear enough that he could be understood without raising his head from the ground.

"Well, it wasn't why I was here, but it certainly has me intrigued, sir."

After speaking he raised his torso, and sat in the seiza position. A position used that one could still fight while seated. His eyes were serious and he had a grin upon his face. It wasn't conceited, it wasn't cocky, but it was indeed a smirk. He enjoyed the idea of potentially being invited into something that the head of his village was organizing himself.

Watching as the boy stepped out of the dark which enshrouded the environment, Amesuke would put a single hand on his hip, his free hand now moved to his chin as he looked the boy up and down. The ruffles in his clothing would form shadows all over this body. Normally, he would protest against anyone calling him 'Tsuchikage-Sama', but this time, he would let it slide, he was in an alright mood. Tilting his head to cause a slight pop in his neck, he would move his hand from his chin to his neck.

He would laugh a little, then let out a long, low whistle as he watched the boy bow before him. Well then... Stand up. Moving his hands from his hip and neck, he would rub his palm with his other thumb before speaking again. Quickly, quickly, stand up. I'm not much of a fan of people bowing or worshiping the ground I walk on. With a smile on his face, he would turn and hold his arms behind his back, thinking to himself. The boy was intrigued with the idea of Shock and Awe. Putting the middle of his pointer finger to his mouth, he would sigh to himself, shrugging as if debating something internally.

I'll let you join it. Though mostly as an escort for Kohaku. Now that I mention it. I'd like for you to watch out for her even if you decide not to join the task force. Knowing who she is, she's a little irrational, she needs a babysitter. He laughed a little, running his fingers through his hair and beginning to walk. He hadn't dismissed the boy, but then again, he was almost a grown man at this point, he could make his down decisions. Take some incentive. I'll call for you later when I've laid out all of the important information about the organization. Keep your eyes peeled. He'd smile, looking back and giving a thumbs up, then walking away with his hands in his pockets.

{LEFT}

Lakin stayed in the seiza position until the leader of his village beckoned for him to stand. He stood, not quickly, but easily and with no pain. Once he was standing he muttered a quick 'I do not worship, simply respect,' under his breath. He followed the Tsuchikage with his hazel eyes, scanning for a hint of what the man was thinking. His head roiled with thoughts, analyzing the man's every move and word. He quickly gave up on trying to guess the words the man would eventually spoke, and devoted the energy to properly listening. The man spoke of allowing him to join the group, this Shock and Awe.

While he was pleased with the fact of being able to join this group that was forming, the Earth Shadow's intention seemed to have him as only peripheral to it. He still didn't understand the purpose of this organization. The head ninja was being careful to avoid mentioning it, or so it seemed to the young man who was still not totally comfortable in his leader's presence. But it didn't stop the wheels of his mind from moving. He was thinking, if she was to be trained by the Tsuchikage himself, and Loche was going to be a protector to her, which would make him not much more than a babysitter, perhaps he could take advantage of the situation and get some advanced training as well. Training by one's self could only progress you so fast, but to get training from someone else could make one's progress exceed those rates. When Amesuke began to leave is when Lakin decided to make his response.

"Very well, I accept your invitation, even with it's condition." The sound of his voice betrayed his excitement.

When the man told him to take some incentive, he did, barely catching the rest of the statement. By the time that the village head turned around, Lakin had already left, and was on his way home. His hair trailing behind him like a comet's tail. The grin that now consumed his face was born of pure excited determination. The leader would see a small piece of paper fluttering down, which simply read: Understood.

[/end]
{365 words, C ranked jutsu, that means water clone.}