A Late Practice Session [Open]

[Chi]

Chi had set off early in the morning to look for the Academy only to find it hours later, after constantly asking passing residents for directions. It was now afternoon and the although Chi regretted not taking her uncle's navigation advice, she was pleasantly surprised by the lack of students outside the Academy. She figured classes were over, considering the long amount of time she wasted strolling around the area and continued her way to the other side of the building. The yard, presumably.

Chi generally found it difficult to express her emotions, especially around people. It wasn't fear of showing weakness or anything. It was mostly just lack of excitement, and while today had certainly drained all of what was left of anticipation, Chi couldn't contain the soft smile that cracked at the view in front of her. The yard was huge. Chi had never seen bigger training grounds. She gently walked across the soft, subterranean ground examining her surroundings. Stopping in the midst of the field, she glanced down at the small bag tied to her waistbelt. Her black hair was tied up in the usual two pigtails, letting some hair fall down her forehead. Wearing a dark high collared top that exposed her midriff and dark, greyish shorts, Chi opted for keeping a small bag around her waist containing some shuriken. Small garments that she had borrowed from her uncle. Reaching down to unzip the pouch, she fished out a clean shuriken. The effort that was embedded into cleaning it was clear from the way the sun reflected against the iron. Chi held the weapon in the air, inspecting it. Not a single stain. Her lips curved into a content smile.

"If I remember correctly, it should go something like this..." Chi mumbled to herself, slowly shutting her eyes. She focused on the sounds around her before eventually throwing the ninja star high up towards the sky. Quickly, she brought her hands together and tried to recall the correct hand signs. Initiating them, nothing seemed to happen. She tried again with no results. And again. Panic started to rise in her and finally in Chi's last ounce of hope, relief washed over her as her fourth attempt succeeded. With the sound of exploding smoke came the shuriken flying down, this time slightly larger. Chi quickly held out her palm to catch it, accidentally earning a cut on her index finger. She opened her eyes with a yelp as she stared at the weapon. Although it had enlarged successfully, the size wasn't impressive.



// MFT //

 

[Aurora]

Spoiler: Fox Spirit

"Hey, wait up!"

Chasing the little spirit through the streets, Misaki playfully ran after the twin-tailed fox as it pounced on and off the walls. It was a game of catch, the spirit winning the game so far as its weightless body twisted out of harms way and took the least expected routes to escape its huntress. Most people couldn't see the spirit, making it seem as if the little kitsune simply ran through the streets, chasing some ghost they hadn't seen pass by, but to Misaki it had become a common occurrence to spot the presence of spirits these days. In this case, it was a small kitsune, which she attributed as being a messenger of her most revered Inari Okami, but the spirit itself didn't seem to realise that. It merely played a fun game of cat and mouse, proving that it was still the better trickster of the two.

Their little game had started as Misaki was walking home from a day at the Academy, spotting the spirit sitting on a perch with blue eyes fixated on her. She had halted to pet it at first, but even then the fox spirit had started its little displacement game by 'appearing' on a different place than it originally was. Rather than to sit on the perch, it suddenly walked away all casual-like. She had walked behind it, stooping to pet it again, only to find it sitting on her head licking its paw. That's where it at all began... and now they were running through the streets, the little fox seemingly leading Misaki back to the Academy.

Reaching the Academy's grounds, the little fox spirit had quite a lead on the chase and was sitting in the vicinity of Chi, quite a ways out of sight, licking its paw as it waited on the running - and panting - Misaki. Acting as if nothing was up, it allowed itself to be caught by the kitsune, who triumphantly held it up with a "I got you!", before attempting to nuzzle its soft fur. Batting a paw on her nose to stop her, it seemed to grin as Misaki looked up in confusion, and vanished from sight to leave Misaki behind pouting slightly. Until her ears caught a 'poof' from a nearby area. Shifting her gaze from the place where the fox spirit had been to where the sound came from, Misaki spotted a young girl still training despite school already being over. It looked like she was training shurikenjutsu at first, but for some reason had halted her actions as she stared at the weapon in her hand.

Curious as to why the girl was still training at this hour, as well as wishing to know what she was doing, Misaki checked the white onmyouji robe with black sash to make sure everything was still in place and looking presentable before walking over to the girl with the shuriken. Confidence unbound despite still recovering her breath from the sprint, tail swishing playfully, the young kitsune made sure she could be spotted coming closer from the corner of the girl's eyes, and greeted her once she was fairly certain she would not startle the practising shinobi.

"Hellow, I'm Misaki. Who are you?"

Her amber eyes would look at Chi with genuine intrigue, taking in the simple but efficient attire she wore as well as the slightly larger than normal size of the shuriken she held, and with it the small wound on her finger. She was obviously dressed as a shinobi, probably practising her shuriken kata or something, and perhaps a little clumsy or untrained in dealing with the weapon in question. Was she training to make up for a low skill..? Perhaps, but Misaki found it mostly admirable she was meeting someone who actually was into weapon practise since she herself had barely any affinity with taijutsu.





​

 

[Chi]

Although it didn't show, Chi was disappointed and quite surprised. Achieving this technique was very simple, almost too simple back home. However today, it seemed impossible. Chi deemed it might've been mere anxiety. She needed to be more relaxed and focused, perhaps less effort would ease some tension. Or so she thought, her mind quickly wandering off. She almost didn't catch the voice of an approaching girl nearby.

Spinning around - shuriken still in hand, Chi blinked curiously eyeing the furred ears on top of snow white hair. A fox was something unusual to witness in the lands of sand, however, a human fox was something even rarer. Chi couldn't help but wonder if there was a bounty on the girl's head, a thought she quickly had to brush off as she continued to inspect the girl who called herself Misaki. Misaki's eyes seemed to spark an interest in Chi, though this would not show on the girl's face. She noticed a look in Misaki's eyes that she couldn't quite register. In fact, Chi was unconsciously fascinated by the way this fox lady dressed. The traditional black garments, as well as the white hair, suited the elegance of the kitsune's race and Chi was unsure if she would ever encounter a person like this in the future again.

"Chi." The girl responded with an unintentional cold, monotonous voice. She wasn't aware of this, she was more concerned with the fact that the girl had shown up to the Academy at an inconvenient time. Chi's initial guess was that the girl had arrived late to her classes, as Chi had, but quickly disregarded the thought for Misaki didn't look like she was the type to be late. Not in the slightest. The second guess was that Misaki probably lost her way walking around the village. This, also, was disregarded. Chi would probably be the only one to get so lost. She figured it would be less counterproductive to just ask.

"What are you doing at the Academy so late?" Although Chi asked with genuine curiosity, god forbid it showed on her blank, expressionless face. She simply hoped the girl wouldn't mistake her for a rude, stuck-up shinobi, but that is usually how it went so Chi's hopes weren't particularly high.

 

[Aurora]

"How cold... =.=;;", Misaki thought, feeling a little uncomfortable with the emotionless expressions of the girl, a total opposite of the rather expressive person she was by nature. Her ears flattened a brief second, as if trying to get away from the distant answer by creating even more distance, but quickly perked up again as she was asked what she was doing here. Yes... What was she doing here? Could she tell this girl she had followed a fox spirit on a goose chase only to end up back there where she had initially left, assuming that it simply wanted to show her this lone kid all by herself? No... That was probably too awkward an explanation even though it was the honest truth, so the kitsune had to figure out something else to talk about in hopes to divert the attention.

"Your name is Chi? Aw, you're so lucky. That's such a lovely name! It has so many meaning depending on what kanji you use to write it.", she said, immediately sinking in thoughts as she tried out all the different kanji she could think off, along with its equally large amount of meanings this presented. Thousand, wisdom, lifeforce, scatter... There really were a lot of different meanings, the kitsune concluded after a couple of seconds, making the girl even more intriguing as how she had such a versatile name while seemingly being so closed. Continuing on the namesake, Misaki drew into the air, leaving purple wisps of foxfire behind to form the kanji 美咲 in the air. "This is mine. Written like this, it means 'beautiful blossom', but there's another version that means 'beautiful sand chronicle' which I prefer. How do you write your name?"

Her question had already left her lips when she realised that Chi probably couldn't manipulate foxfire, or fire for that matter, the way she did, and as such moved her hands towards her mouth in a gesture as if she had said one thing too much. With an apologetic expression, she smiled sheepishly, her ears flattening in the process.

"Sorry about that, Chi-san. I tend to forget not everyone uses foxfire. Ah... uhm... I didn't want to offend you. I was just excited to meet you since I saw you practise with shuriken..."

 

[Chi]

Chi noticed how the fluffy ears lowered for a split second, a sign she assumed was uneasiness. Though she couldn't exactly understand why Misaki would display such feeling. While Chi's thoughts wandered off again, she ended up realising too late that the kitsune had switched topic, essentially avoiding Chi's question. This bothered the girl but was quickly overlooked as Misaki stated a question, quickly followed by various kanji meanings representing Chi's name.

The kitsune spoke fast, almost too fast for Chi to process. She then surreptitiously averted Chi's attention to the drawn kanji emitted by fire. Foxfire to be precise, as it had a captivating charm to it. Chi's eyes stared at the magic, astonished, though this didn't last for long as Chi's senses clicked and she automatically took a small step back. If this kitsune had enough power control of her magic to draw kanji in the air, there was no telling what other tricks she could do. This alarmed Chi, but she made sure to hide it. Instead, she decided to give a response.

"I'm not offended," she responded glancing down at the cut on her index finger, "Chi solely means thousand so your first guess was correct." She finished, slightly disappointed by the lack of creativity her parents' had embedded into her name, on the contrary to Misaki's. In fact, everything about the kitsune was the complete opposite of Chi. The girl appeared cheerful, elegant and looked overall far more decorated while Chi was void of excitement and very much so casual. It was an unpleasant fact, but it didn't bug Chi excessively. She was far more curious about Misaki's power.

"Have you ever sparred?" The question blurted out of Chi's lips before she could prevent it. While slight regret lingered in the back of her mind, Chi observed the kitsune's expression anticipating a reaction though she was unsure of what kind. It's not like she truly wanted to fight on her first day, she was simply testing Misaki. An individual with power would display confidence when asked a question of such kind and Chi wanted to know if Misaki possessed more than just appearance.

 

[Aurora]

Hearing Chi state she wasn't offended, made the kitsune's ears perk up again. What a relief. The girl explained 'chi' only meant 'thousand'. To Misaki, this was the world. There was so much you could do with thousand. Thousand prayers, thousand possibilities, thousand friends, thousand wishes... the list went on. Chi saw it differently, considering the slight disappointment.Tilting her head a little as she didn't understand where the disappointment came from, Misaki looked at her curiously and thought she could try to cheer her up a little.

"That's a good meaning. There's a lot you can do with 'thousand'. It's a large number with a lot of potential that enriches anything you place it next to. You must be destined to be a good team leader, or friend, or wife. So I'll consider you a friend from now on~", she said happily, tail swishing softly. A rather self-indulging action, perhaps, but the Aikayume were anything if not proud, so to find something or someone that could give them more reasons to be proud could never be a bad choice.

Chi's next question changed the topic, and didn't quite as a surprise since she had been training with her shuriken. Had she done so because she had no one to spar with? Misaki hoped not, and if it was the case she now had the solemn duty, as a new friend, to do something about that.

"No, not really. I spend my days in meditation, learning prayers and onmyouji arts. There's also some kitsunebi, ninjutsu and genjutsu training, and healing and purification lessons. I used to go to class often, but mom said class lessons were not keeping up so now the priests at the temple train me. I have so much to learn...", she said slightly complainant as she experienced more and more of her time being taken away from her for more lessons and duties. Even now she was supposed to be home to help out with cleaning duty, but since the spirit had brought her here Misaki was now fully enjoying every moment of not helping.

"How irresponsible... =v=", the voice in the back of her mind stated, which she ignored it completely in favour of talking to Chi. "Do you fight with weapons? That looks so cool. What is your specialisation?"​

 

[Chi]

Chi couldn't help but take Misaki for the chatty type. She was unquestionably outgoing and friendly, traits that Chi lacked but admired. While this didn't cease Chi's caution significantly, it was nevertheless reassuring. Once again, it was almost too difficult to catch up with the kitsune as she went on, perpetuating the different meanings Chi's name could carry. Even further so when Misaki declared the girl a friend from now on, her white tail seizing Chi's attention. It truly caught Chi off guard.

Misaki's response was different yet reasonable. The girl was a kitsune, a creature most people associated with mythological and spiritual beliefs. It seemed rather stereotypical for a kitsune to spend time in shrines and temples. It was when Misaki mentioned the word 'kitsunebi' that Chi raised an eyebrow. The girl had never heard that term before. She mentally noted the other strengths such as genjutsu and healing, two techniques Chi essentially avoided, but noticed that the kitsune had not mentioned taijutsu.

"I do, and um... I don't think I specialize in anything yet. I enjoy fighting with shuriken though." Chi gave a dampened smile, "I've never practised any techniques besides throwing taijutsu. I'd like to be able to summon multiple large shurikens someday." Her smile widened. Imagining a massive amount of shuriken dropping from the sky, all controlled solely by the girl. Chi could only dream of such heaven. She quickly dismissed the smile setting her joyful plans aside.

"Healing sounds helpful." The girl glanced back down at her finger. It wasn't bleeding but there was an obvious red line slit across the tip of it. She slowly held it up for the kitsune. "Would you be able to fix this?" She questioned, firmly eyeing Misaki's expression. Chi wanted to see what the kitsune was made of, how far her powers went and if she would be considered a threat in the near future.

 

[Aurora]

Of all the fighting styles, Chi used the one Misaki was downright horrible at. Physically, she was in top condition for athletics, but anything else was mediocre at best. She hesitated too much when punching and kicking, so the 'legendary strength of the nine-tail kitsune' never broke through, and though she was good at dodging, she had a low pain resistance despite the healing properties of her blood. No, taijutsu was far from being her strong suit, making it so much more interesting to meet someone who was actually good at it and envisioning a future of multiple shuriken raining down on her opponent. She could hear her mother's haughty 'ooohoho~' laugh already resonate in the back of her mind at the thought of overpowering her enemies with tremendous skill.

"I'm sure you'll be able to do that in time. You are really working hard to get there, aren't you?"

Yes, much like her mother believed that Misaki would eventually reach a high level of power with her chosen shinobi skills, so did Misaki believe Chi could. It was all a matter of practise, wasn't it? Her attention to the giant shuriken dream was being pulled away as the girl showed her the cut in her finger, red blood trickling down. It wasn't a big wound, but some tending to was necessary. And when Chi asked if she could fix that, Misaki realised she had nothing in the form of a first aid kit. A simple band aid would have done the trick for this, but she didn't even have those. Her belt pouch was not quite like Tatara-san's yet, ready and able to provide the tools for a proper Medical nin. She was just a student.

"I... I don't have any band aid with me, but I could try with chakra."

Holding Chi's hand with her left, she inched closer to take a good look at the wound in question. A clean cut, no dirt. This shouldn't be the hardest. Coating his right hand in healing chakra, she wrapped it around the wounded finger, the kitsune inherent Fire affinity eminent as the chakra's balming warmth spread through Chi's finger, closing the wound. Once finished, the kitsune took a step back, grabbing her own arm as the other snaked around her back. Even it wasn't the most difficult wound, she was glad nonetheless that she had kept control over her chakra. Medical jutsu required far more concentration than any other technique she knew, and she wasn't as used to it as working with foxfire.

"Are you feeling better?"

 

[Chi]

Chi blinked, slightly uncertain if she was truly working hard. Perhaps if she put a little extra effort she would consider herself hardworking, however, the majority of her time was usually spent on napping or daydreaming away the day. It would be erroneous to call herself hardworking. Still, the mere fact that Misaki perceived her as hardworking was a positive remark. This could possibly be a means to make friends, Chi thought to herself with a nod.

She had to give another nod when Misaki explained that she carried no band-aid. After all, it was intentional to find out if the kitsune was capable of using healing chakra. And apparently, she was. This sparked an interest in Chi, though she made no attempt to show it. She considered the urge to verbally declare Misaki worthy of her friendship, except, that was an improper thing to do. It was no way to gain friends and Chi knew that much. Nevertheless, it was commendable that the kitsune was capable of so much.

"Sure. It didn't hurt or anything," Chi responded with a grateful nod. "thanks by the way. You don't happen to um... want to become a med-nin in the future, do you? Not that it wouldn't suit you.." She gave a soft yet fruitless smile, putting the shuriken from before back in her uncle's pouch making a mental note to come back another time for practice. The training sessions would have to increase in both quantity and effort. Today was unpleasant enough and now that Chi had a skilled acquaintance, she would have to be prepared to impress her. Impress her how exactly? By challenging her, of course! Or so Chi thought.

"Oh right... you never answered. How come you're at the Academy at such a late hour?" Chi raised an eyebrow, addressing the elephant in the room. Misaki should assume by now that Chi had only come to practice so there were no issues there. However, Misaki had yet to explain her sudden arrival. In fact, she had clearly stirred the topic earlier and avoided answering it.

 

[Mikaboshi]

"A fair question for both of you, actually." Called out Katsuo as he soundlessly approached the two students that were practicing out in the school's yard. He'd noticed some activity from within the school's building and come out to investigate who was utilizing the grounds after the academy's hours were already expired. The school wasn't empty of course, administrators and teachers still lingered on the inside of the building finishing up the tasks which were required of them but the vast majority of students had left as soon as school was "out" for the day. After all, who would want to stay at the academy longer than they had to in the underground portion of the city?

Dressed with a bare chest beneath his now iconic long black and white haori, the symbol of the Sunahoshi Clan glinted in golden embroidery upon the right side of his chest and also upon the back of his haori between his shoulder blades. He eschewed the gargantuan Kazekage hat that he was supposed to wear as a symbol of his office as he always did, preferring to instead favor a long scarf wrapped around his shoulders that was somewhat at odds with the pristine clothes that he otherwise wore on his person given the clear age of the scarf from it's faded gold color to it's frayed edges. Beneath the haori strung to Katsuo's waist was the ever-present sword of his family Tatsumasa that carried the spirit of his tsukumogami partner Caliburn and as he walked the quiet jingle of his sword belt was the only sound that he made upon the stone floor of the yard.

Given the level of buzz that there had been around the return of the true Kazekage and the clothing he wore on his person it would likely be pretty easy to guess who this red-haired man was but Katsuo didn't bother to introduce himself as the Kazekage. He never did. He hated it when people thought of him only as the Tenth Kazekage because it generally meant that they were guarded around him. People felt that because he was the leader of the village that they had to be formally respectful around him at all times and he hated the way people stiffened around him once they realized who they were talking to. The only time he generally used his title was during matters of the state and even then only when he felt it was necessary to impress some gravity into the people he was dealing with.

"What brings a pair of kids out to the practice yard so late after school is out?" He asked quietly. There was no reprimand in the way he asked, he wasn't a teacher looking to send children home. He was genuinely curious.

 

[Aurora]

"Exactly, yes. I've signed up for Medic class already even though I should be genin first. Mom said it would be fine."

Of course, her mom had a couple of solid onmyouji who could remotely read the future. What her mother said had mostly, if not always, been correct so Misaki didn't question her claims. To those not of the clan, this wasn't as obvious and most therefore questioned the credibility of the kitsune until they had performed a couple of those 'fortune readings'. People could be so skeptical about things, especially when it came to spirits and the divine. Misaki, born into it, was used to deal with 'disbelievers' all the time, casually going about her way whether or not they believed her. Eventually, Chi returned to the question Misaki had tried to avoid explaining, causing Misaki to chuckle sheepishly.

"She hasn't forgotten... =v=;", she thought as she tried to figure out a new way to not explain the girl that she had been chasing a fox spirit. She knew she'd have to explain it eventually and, as if on cue, a second person appeared asking about the same question. Startled, Misaki jumped up and turned around to see then young man that had dared to meddle with the affairs of two future S rank shinobi. She'd have to deal with him, narrowing her eyes as she looked up at the perpetrator upon girly chats. She had never seen the man before in person, but his reputation was widespread enough to know that he was the *gasp* Kazekage! Though her heart skipped a beat by meeting up with the legend ruling the Sand, she knew there was no escaping an explanation now. The man certainly wouldn't fall for a young kitsune's tricks like hers. Right?

"Kazekage-kun...", she greeted him with a sheepish smile. "You see, I was just playing tag with this fox spirit and when I could grab it, the little brat vanished from sight, leaving me all by myself here. So when I noticed Chi-chan practice so hard, I wanted to praise her. That's how I stuck around for a chat. Did you know she's into taijutsu? I think that's so cool of her."

Redirecting attention to Chi-san, attempt the first.

 

[Chi]

Chi figured she had either abandoned her guard completely or the unexpected intruder was sufficiently able to sneak up on people without their awareness because as soon as she had questioned the kitsune, the voice of a man had appeared from nowhere and startled the two. Chi had frozen up completely countering the urge to jump in surprise before turning to blankly glance at the man. She had noticed Misaki's little flinch and expression of annoyance before she also turned around. And as if one surprise wasn't enough, the man had turned out to be none other than the Kazekage himself. This time, Chi was definite that he had seen shock register on her face before she could hide it. Who would've thought she'd encounter the famed Kazekage on her first day to school?

There was a silent sigh of relief when Misaki chose to speak up first, a gesture Chi would soon understand why. She glanced at the kitsune as she started explaining herself, mentioning foxes and spirits, terms that only confused the girl even further. Chasing a spirit was the least thing Chi expected Misaki to confess as an excuse. Nevertheless, it seemed reasonable whether it was true or not. After all, she was a kitsune. It was when the fox decided to slyly divert the topic to Chi that Chi realized the Kazekage's attention was now aimed at her. With a slight flinch, she slowly turned her head to face the man. Is this where she's supposed to greet him? Does she bow? Would a response to his inquiry be enough? Chi's thoughts overflowed with anxiety and it seemed that whatever she chose to do, the outcome would be unpleasant.

"Um," Her voice finally broke through and with a stoic voice, she continued. "I was just practising a shuriken technique." It was a short, direct explanation and nothing else needed to be added, right? Hopefully not because Chi was about to change the topic as well. She wanted anything but to be the centre of attention right now.

"Are the school grounds prohibited?" She suddenly found herself asking, turning to stare at the kitsune. "Misaki-san, you never told me that. Kazekage-san, I apologize if we're not supposed to be here. I just couldn't find a place to train and so I decided to come here." Chi explained leaving out the part where she pretty much got lost the entire time looking for the Academy. Although the apology clearly sounded insincere and quite frankly aloof, she decided it was good enough. Hopefully.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Both of the students seemed startled by Katsuo's sudden arrival and as they turned towards him in a start he raised his hands in a non-threatening manner with a smile on his face. They recognized him immediately and though he was a little disappointed he wouldn't get to play the part of unimportant adult he didn't allow that disappointment to show through in his expression at all. There was a piece of him that hated wearing the symbol of the Sunahoshi Clan on his breast and back but at the same time he had to admit that there was a little bit of pride in it. In some ways it gave him a connection to his father that he'd never had before in the past and even though he'd never met the man it helped him feel closer to his predecessor as Kazekage whom everyone always reminded him had been a great man and a stout leader.

"A fox spirit? In the underground? That's quite special. We don't see as much of spirit beings as much as we used to here given the way humans usually react to them." Katsuo had grown up in a nomadic desert clan that was well known for their skills and talents as exorcists and demon hunters. The Masashi Clan was one of the very few clans that had still clung to the old ways before the modern restoration of the Orders. He was no stranger to the fact that spirits ranged a wide gamut between vicious predatory spirits and peaceful benevolent spirits but often found himself at odds with men and women who were content to paint all spiritual beings with the singular brush represented by monstrous creatures like Mikaboshi. "Be sure to treat it right if you see it again, okay? Often times people mistreat spirits because they're afraid of them or because they think they're gonna do something bad but a lot of times they're just folk like us trying to get through their day."

Katsuo had always felt that way since he was young but it was a sentiment he felt even stronger in recent weeks thanks to the deeper connection he'd discovered with his tsukumogami partner. He'd subconsciously always thought of and treated her like a tool even while he used the word friend to describe her. He never stopped to consider what she wanted, what her thoughts and feelings were. She'd opened his eyes and shown him where he'd been wrong and that had added a new dimension to his feelings towards the supernatural even if they'd always leaned a little more towards the liberal side. Turning to Chi, he noted her sense of awkwardness in the abrupt meeting and there was a piece of him that couldn't help but laugh a little bit given how the formality of most interactions with him tended to make him uncomfortable.

"Taijutsu, huh? Good skills. I wasn't much of a shinobi when I first came to Sunagakure years ago but I've been a martial artist since I was your age. There's a lot to be learned in those skills besides their more obvious combat uses." He remarked, looking down at the shuriken that Chi had been practicing with. "And no, the yard isn't off-limits after hours. At least..."

He stopped talking for a moment. He... didn't actually know if they weren't supposed to be here. Was the yard off-limits after hours? Katsuo made a mental note to ask his adjutant later if they were and make sure to change it if they were.

"... you know what if anybody hassles you just tell'em to take it up with me." He finished with a grin and a wink.

 

[Aurora]

Misaki nodded at the kage's explanation on spirits and his request to treat them well. Of course she would treat them well. She was an Aikayume of the temple, and partially a spirit herself. She bore no ill intention with the fox spirit of which she believed it was a messenger of her most beloved Inari Okami. She had only wished to play tag with it, and catch it for a snuggle or two. Unfortunately the spirit was more of a mind to trick her than to play along.

"Don't you worry, Kazekage-san. I'll be watching spirits really close and do whatever I can to watch over them, cleanse them or protect them, whichever is required."

That had already been the case with one of the trickier spirits, the Ashiarai Yashiki. One of the sort that, when approached in the wrong way, could thrash a whole house. The spirit was not the hardest to deal with if one had to right lore to do so, but the knowledge was so uncommon that most people ended up wounded or dead because of it. Her mother had considered it an 'easy spirit' she could deal with, but the threat of dying could have been more than real.

The Kazekage then pointed out how great taijutsu was and how he wasn't that great a shinobi when he first came to Sunagakure, but he was kind enough to go so far as to tell them that anyone causing trouble with their late night training had to be sent to him. Misaki's ears twitched twice on that thought, the glint of untouchable mischief sparkling in her eyes as she could imagine herself sending all the people to the kage at the slightest of problems. Still... thinking about it, she wondered how strong exactly a kage was in comparison to them, or what a kage exactly had to do aside from wearing a cool kage hat. Did they drink tea? Play games? Did they still require training?

"Kage-san, what do you fight with?"

 

[Chi]

Chi couldn't evade the joyful smile that crossed her lips as soon as the Kazekage had praised the art of taijutsu. She didn't particularly find martial combat amusing. Even so, at the mere thought of the Kage practising a style similar to hers, Chi was overwhelmed by a sense of pride. She listened carefully when he mentioned the yard not being off-limit before reassuring them that he would take responsibility if there was to become an issue. It was a display of true authority and Chi hoped to grow as powerful as the man some day.

She glanced at Misaki when the girl asked about the Kazekage's skill. Chi immediately found herself curious as to what Kage's fought with. She suspected the man used none other than his fists, but quickly disposed of that idea as she understood you had to excel in all styles to become a Kage. In that sense, he would have to be able to use ninjutsu, a thought that excited Chi. She internally hoped she would be able to see the ability of a Kage some day. Glancing back at the red-haired man, she awaited a response in plain curiosity.


[Sorry for the temporary short post]

 

[Mikaboshi]

"I dabble a little bit across the board." Katsuo responded to Misaki's question about his own fighting talents. He still didn't possess any natural talent for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu but over the years his experiences with the piece of Primus that he'd inherited from his ancestors had augmented his abilities to use them. "But my greatest weapon is my bond with my partner Caliburn."

As he remarked about the spirit of his sword, Katsuo let his hand rest on the hilt of his sword for emphasis. He didn't draw the blade because there was no reason to do so but he certainly spoke the truth. Even above his considerable instinct for battle and his skills as a martial artist, the most powerful thing in his arsenal was the relationship that he held with the tsukumogami spirit that he'd give life to.

"This sword was passed down through my family from Kazekage to Kazekage until finally it was entrusted to the Steward before me when my father died." Katsuo explained, his thoughts turning to his father Sunahoshi Hiro. He'd never met the man as he'd been sent into hiding in his youngest years and Hiro had been assassinated before Katsuo had come of age and returned to Sunagakure but the history books commonly reflected kindly on his father as a leader of considerable integrity. "Then it was passed to me when I finally came to Sunagakure. It's been a long trip."

Caliburn imparted nothing to Katsuo through their connection but he felt a warmth grow in the part of the hilt that he had his hand on and it brought a smile to his lips. She'd been with him almost from the beginning of his journey in Sunagakure and had been with him every step of the way since then even if he hadn't known it. Looking up from his sword, Katsuo released the hilt and pointed a finger at each Misaki and Chi.

"But that's enough about me, huh? Why don't you show me what you can do?" He said with a smile.

 

[Aurora]

A bond with a sword..? Misaki tilted her head some. Did that mean it was a spirit sword of sorts? She wouldn't mind touching the sword just to figure it out, but that was a little too rude to her liking considering the value it had and that being put in it even now. A heirloom of sorts, connected to a long history... Her mother had once said that 'legends', if they survived long enough, could end up forming their own spirit. All it needed was a name known by the masses and their faith giving value to the stories and reputation the 'legend' in question would have. Perhaps this blade would have a similar spirit...

Finishing his story, the kazekage asked about their talents instead. Or rather, what they could do. Misaki scratched her head, thinking. There were plenty of things she could do, but nothing that could amaze a kage. She could pray to the spirits and the kami, for example, she could deal with minor spirits. Purify them and banish them. Of course, she had her foxfire and genjutsu, but the best she could show were D rank techniques. She could also laze about and sleep for a long time, like her mother did, but that wasn't quite a skill she wanted to show off. Besides, Misaki preferred to wander through the streets in her spare time rather than to stay asleep.

"What do you mean?"