Home away from home, away from home... away from home [OPEN]

[Samsara Saito]

It was well into Samsara Saito's first week in Konohagakure, and he had yet to visit the Konoha library. Tatsuo constantly kept the young student busy with training, taking him around the city, or otherwise just having fun, but today he found himself with free time alone to do as he wished. Quite unsurprisingly (for this particular boy anyways), spending time at the library rested at the top of his "to do" list. He took his time getting there, though... The day just reached mid-morning and he had no other plans, so he chose to dawdle; a leisurely stroll through his new home in the direction of the library seemed a fantastic way to spend time.

In a pair of loose, black shorts with ties at his knees, a basic white t-shirt with the Kumogakure symbol on its back in black, and a pair of green headphones around his neck, the 4'6", 9-year old boy smiles brightly as he pushes shaggy white hair out of his face. Blue-green eyes open widely in their framework of dark, Kumo skin as he walks through the city alone for the first time. How exciting to be in Konoha! The village... bustled in a way that Kumogakure didn't. The pace seemed more... easy, perhaps? People rushed around of course, but far more people just hung out and lingered over a conversation. There existed far more open air restaurants, too. "It must be the difference in the weather," the young student murmured to himself, observing that he would never walk around Kumo in anything other than long sleeves and long pants. But the citizens of Konoha lounged in light shirts and shorts or dresses, and while a visitor of the city so would he! Otherwise the heat would smother me here!...

Saito arrived at the Academy grounds -- the location, as he had learned, of the village Library. Hoping he didn't have to pass by any classrooms but certainly interested in Konoha's academy layout nonetheless, the boy continued his leisurely walk through the area, watching everything going on around him with big, observant eyes and open, apparent interest.

[MFT]

 

[Kenroujima]

Yaboi had been running errands for one of the academy teachers. Simple tasks really, just bringing marked tests from the teacher's lounge to the appropriate classrooms. 'That should do it.' Yaboi thought to himself as he placed the last stack of written tests upon the teacher's desk. The classroom was empty and oddly clean but Yaboi thought nothing of it and simply left, closing the door behind him. He wandered down the hall with his hands resting on the back of his head as he let out a quiet yawn 'I skipped breakfast. Not the best idea.'. Out of the corner of his eye Yaboi caught a glimpse of a silhouette going around the corner, and not being able to recognize it right off the bat he decided to investigate. Creeping up along the walls of the academy hallways he quietly stalked whoever it was that he saw. "Why am I sneaking around..?" the boy said aloud and with that he rushed off, darting down and around the corner to catch up with Saito.

"Ah ha!" the boy began with a loud voice "You must've been the one I saw.." Yaboi said before pausing, looking Saito over briefly "Wait, who are you? I've never seen you at the academy before, are you new?" the young boy of eight asked curiously with a tilt of his head. Yaboi was wearing his usual garb, a purple sleeveless undershirt with a white top. His hair rivaled Saito's in terms of being unkept. A belt with an array of pouches and small tools kept his many pocketed black shorts from falling down to his sandals on his feet. He wore no symbols and from first glance one could even assume he was just some average child. Yaboi blinked as he came to the realization that Saito was roughly five inches taller than him! He clicked his tongue quietly 'Tch, taller than me. Lucky you!' the boy said in his head like a pouting child. For a moment Yaboi had forgot his manners, he shook his head and stood up straight "Oh, I'm Yaboi by the way!" he introduced himself not a moment sooner, scratching at the back of his head.

[Topic Entered]

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo spent most of his time at the academy, the rest was really spent in the training fields, at home or running between the three locations at breakneck pace. Often a trail of shallow footprints from fast and light steps would be left in his wake along the dusty paths, that is before they were blown away by the draft which followed the boy as he ran. It was seemingly fitting that the shinobi hopeful would spend so long at the academy, considering his impatience Shinzo had managed to focus the excess energy into his studies. Clearly his mind was settled on the goal of leaving the academy, though he could never be sure if he truly felt ready to pass into the next level of his life as a ninja; well it wasn’t his decision really, but hopes were still high for the lad.

His light footsteps tapped on the pathway leading up to the academy and within moments he rounded the main gates into the courtyard. He chose to remain close to the wall for a brief moment. His chakra began to flow towards his feet as he continued to run at the boundaries of the open space in front of the academy. ‘Come on, come on. I can do it this time.’ The boy of only eight thought to himself as he drifted even closer to the wall, he was running parallel to it now. In a flash he was up against the wall, seemingly running on it, his chakra emitted from his feet to allow him the grip he so desired. ‘I’ve done it!’ A look of elation filled his face, but this too only lasted for a short time. His foot slipped. His face dropped into that of shock and frustration. There was nothing he could do. He fell, unable to maintain the output from his feet to the wall. The frame of Shinzo hit the floor hard, causing him to roll similarly to a log as his right shoulder made contact with the ground.

The combination of rolling and skidding continued for about a metre or two before the friction brought the Seikon boy to a stop. He wiped his eyes before standing, only to notice the two other boys of a similar age close by. The brown hair upon his head and the clothes upon his body lay covered in a thin layer of dust. His cheeks reddened as his stood up and brushed himself off, his face a picture of embarrassment. Hopefully they hadn’t quite noticed this flawed spectacle…

[Topic entered]

 

[Samsara Saito]

Saito ambled through the Academy campus, hands at his sides as he let his attention roam free to latch onto whatever it might. The neatly-kept grounds, the clean, open design of the building, and the seemingly carefree atmosphere sustained the young boy's buoyant mood as he wandered about, his smile and happy attitude leading the way as he went. The morning slid by easily and the boy found nothing to dampen his mood for a long time. Even when he sensed someone following him, this did not really bring him down -- especially since the "stalker" didn't take any great pains to remain hidden, instead stepping out from around a corner Saito had just passed and catching up to the 9-year old. Said stalker appeared to be Saito's age if not a bit younger since he was shorter. He looked like any kid one might find anywhere! Except the young cloudie would not be fooled into some sort of assessment based only on size and age... He's probably been taught more about being a ninja than you have, Saito thought as his gaze took in the leafie's assortment of tools and contraptions on his belt for a moment. I wonder what those things do?

"Ah ha! You must've been the one I saw... wait, who are you? I've never seen you at the Academy before, are you new?" the young leafie asked curiously, before introducing himself a moment later. "Oh, I'm Yaboi by the way!"

Saito responded to Yaboi with a happy smile, eyes closed as he raises his hand to the leaf student in greeting. "Well, hi! Yes, I'm... well, new to the Konoha, anyway!" Determining his "Academy student" status to be too much information at this point, the cloudie simply skipped that part, continuing on with his greeting. "I'm Saito, from Kumogakure. I'm here on exchange!" he chimes, voice melodic and cheerful as he points his thumb at himself. "I just arrived in the village a few days ago, with Shinri--... ahh, with Ranna Tatsuo, he's a Chuunin here. He's my sensei! Nice to meet you, Yaboi," he finishes brightly, offering the 8-year old a high-five!

He might have continued, except his attention had been captured at that moment by another Leaf student's approach -- though instead of walking around and/or otherwise next to the wall as Yaboi did, the newcomer ran on the wall instead. The 8-year old, clearly in the midst of training, zipped speedily along the wall, running parallel to the floor for several moments in an impressive display of chakra control. The boy couldn't maintain it for long and hit the ground with all momentum, rolling and skidding to come to a stop nearby before rising to his feet and dusting himself off. Flushed due to his exertion of effort, the brown-haired, green-eyed boy looked over at Yaboi and Saito, casually noticing them for the first time.

SO COOL... Saito thought to himself... he had to learn how to do that! He would make Tatsuo teach him that, tonight. Could all the leaf kids run on walls? No way would they know he couldn't do that yet! In the meantime though, the young Kumo kept it together as he simply upnodded the newcomer. "Hey, you're pretty good," the cloudie calmly called over with a smile.

 

[Arashi Takejo]

Arashi’s first day at the Konoha academy had not gone according to his expectations. At all. He had realised for the first time that he may not be cut out for all this schooling stuff. The day started badly enough as he woke late, something which never happened to him. He quickly put on his black jacket and cargo pants, before pocketing his gear pouch on his way out. He arrived late to his class, not that it was his fault. He just couldn’t find his classroom in a pretty big building as is. He grumbled about it to his teacher, but all he got in return were concerned looks and a few sneers from his compeers. Great job. He didn’t believe in all that first impression crap, but if any of it was true, he had blown it completely. The classrooms were decent sized and well maintained and could easily fit sixty or more students. He realised it was probably the first time he sat down with so many other children. Naturally, his inbuilt social awkwardness kicked into full gear. After a haphazard introduction, which was barely audible or legible, he rushed towards the last row, which was empty at the time. After the children had settled down, he looked around and mentally inspected his class mates. He was definitely among the older bunch of students at the academy, which was not necessarily a bad thing. The lessons on his first day were too basic for him. He already had basic ninjutsu and taijutsu knowledge, and wanted to show it off badly but decided against it. After all he had promised his brother not to cause trouble in the academy. After his first class was over, he decided to roam the grounds a bit just to explore if anything. There was a nice morning breeze and he loved walking leisurely at this time of the day. He wanted to stall longer, but didn’t want to be late twice to class in one day. His second class could be best described as deja vu. Once again he couldn’t find his way back, followed by another awkward reprimand from his teacher. Could this get any better? He mumbled to himself as he pretended to be aloof on the last row. There were a few shushed giggles and laughs and he could feel his image being dragged through the mud right in front of his eyes. He decided to not shed attention on it any further and tried really hard to focus on the subject being taught on the board, even though it was a familiar concept.


As the second class ended, the teacher called him over and kindly explained how he wanted him to fetch some books on the topics he had missed in the class. He handed Arashi a list of all the books.'This is as good as any opportunity to leave‘, Arashi thought to himself. He quickly bowed and took his leave along with the list, before his teacher could finish something he was saying. He should have stuck around or probably asked where the books were beforehand.
‘Aah..This is frustrating. Why do I not think these things though?’ He thought to himself as he wandered the halls, which all looked the same. He was pretty sure he would find the books in the faculty rooms, but he had no idea where they were. As he continued to search while fidgeting with his unruly long hair and his kunai, a sudden sound grabbed his attention. It was as if somebody suffered a fall. Wanting to investigate on this further, he advanced towards the direction of the sound. Instead of one person he saw three people, with one immediately catching his eye. The symbol on the back of his shirt was the unmistakable kumogakure crest.
‘Probably a visitor or an exchange student’ He thought to himself. He could see the boy who had fallen was up on his feet, embarrassed and brushing off his clothes. They were joined by a shorter boy who was in a white top.
‘Perhaps they can help me find the faculty room’ Arashi thought to himself, but he just stood around debating whether to approach or not.

[Topic entered]

 

[Kenroujima]

'On exchange? That's kinda neat!' the boy thought to himself as Saito explained his arrival at the village with Tatsuo "Oh, Tatsuo-senpai was with you?" the boy started but before he could continue his attention was caught by Shinzo and his attempt at wall walking! Yaboi had just managed to miss Shinzo's mistake, simply watching him roll upon the ground for a moment before rising to his feet. The young boy's head tilted to the side in mild curiosity 'Did he plan that?' Yaboi thought to himself before speaking "Now that's an entrance." he teased, a small grin forming on his face. Yaboi played with the hair handing down in the middle of his face for a few moments as if to distract his hands 'That boy is from Kenshin's class right? I think his name was Shinzo.' and without a wasted moment he would call out "Hey, hey Shinzo! Get this!" the boy threw his arms out in gesture to introduce Saito "This is Saito, hes from Kumogakure. Cool right?" he laughed happily. The boy paused to think, bringing his arms up to rest at the back of his head "Uhh.. How long was the trip? I've never been too far from the village before." he inquired, generally interested in how big the world was outside of the hidden leaf village. It was out of the corner of his eye that Yaboi saw Arashi standing 'Shinzo was loud, maybe he just wanted to see what the noise was?' Yaboi thought before returning his attention back to Saito with a small smile.

 

[Tomomi Chijimatsu]

Miyako strolls carefully through the academy, her footsteps light and ever so careful. Her eyes are focused on her feet and her mind is racing. She's looking for a large blank scroll, one to use with the new jutsu she's just mastered. Like many of the other students, she doesn't spend nearly enough time at the academy, only stopping by to be assigned missions by her teachers and superiors. Most of them are mediocre anyway, and Miyako lacks the belief that the Hokage will ever assign her a mission or that she'll ever be apart of a team that'll actually succeed in being put together and carry out missions like real shinobi.

Miyako sighs, brushing past the group of boys with little acknowledgement, she has things to find and books to read, didn't they know that this was not a place for open conversation? As she passes by the majority of them, she glances over her shoulder at them, her hair swinging over her face for a brief moment while she looks back. As her focus swings back towards her path, she can't help but to grin, each of them are cute but totally not her type.

She would disappear down the aisle that the scrolls are held in, admiring the various sizes of scrolls and estimating their stature with the length of her arms. Hopefully these scrolls aren't too heavy, she'll have to be able to maneuver it almost stealthily and it has to be able to move within her reaction time.

[MFT]
[Topic Entered]

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo looked down to the dusty path that he had just created upon his contact with the ground. He held one eye closed as he brought one hand up to rub a few particles of dust from around its surface. He smiled towards Saito and Yaboi, trying to recover properly from the embarrassing fall, though from all accounts Shinzo was needlessly embarrassed. A light chuckle escaped his lips while he moved both palms behind his head. ‘I can’t believe that just happened. What sort of ninja falls off a wall and doesn’t recover?’ He closed his eyes as these thoughts passed through his head but a brief moment later they were open once more and focused on the pair before him.

“Thank you,” He paused to chuckle once more. “I mean, it could be better, if I was any good I’d be able to stay on the wall. Sorry about that disturbance!” His attention was grasped by Yaboi, he knew he recognised him but now it all came together! They had shared a taijutsu class together not too long ago, though despite it being rather recent in the grand scheme of things Shinzo beamed at the memory of it. “It wasn’t quite the sort of entrance I was going for if I’m honest. I haven’t gotten the hang of this walking on walls thing. I have read about it and watched all the genin do it, but I haven’t officially been taught by an instructor.” His attention was then caught by the mention of Kumogakure. Though he was still aware of the third boy who had just appeared moments earlier, Shinzo turned his head to look towards Arashi before waving him over with a warm grin. He wanted to include everyone there, so why not invite this stranger to join them.

At this point the boy stood closest stood closeset to Yaboi was of most interest to the Seikon, he had never ventured much further than the village gates themselves in the eight and a half years he had been alive. Kumogakure seemed so very far away, beyond the scope of anything that the young boy had experienced. He felt excitement build up inside of himself as he considered the distance that the white-haired boy had travelled. As his interest piqued so did the volume of reality warping energy inside of himself. Shinzo beamed once more, this time towards Saito. Without warning the boy vanished, a small cloud of dust rushed into the area that the boy was just standing. Not even half a second later, Shinzo reappeared having travelled the distance between himself, Yaboi and Saito.

“It’s nice to meet you.” The now much closer boy said while still holding his ecstatic expression. This was followed with his own addition to the questions that were being flung towards the white haired boy. “How long are you here for? How long have you been here? Will you be joining us in classes? Did your family move here? Are you enjoying it? Are there many differences between here and your home? Have you met the Hokage? Is the weather different?” His excitement was still at an all time high as Shinzo gasped for air following his barrage of interrogatives. It may have been overwhelming but it was all meant with an atmosphere of friendliness, in all honesty Shinzo was just excited to have someone new around.

He paused for a moment, spotting the familiar girl walk past them. “Oh hi, Miyako wasn’t it? We’ve met before! Come join us, this guy is from Kumogakure!” He blushed slightly as she continued her walk on, he wasn't interesting enough to catch her attention anyway. Clearly the boy was extremely excited, but he couldn’t help himself, this was the most interesting thing that had happened for a little while now.

 

[Uchiha Ryo]

Ryo had been spending time in the library, studying the last test he took he didn’t do so well, this time around he wanted to make sure he passed. Realizing how he was there he thought that it would be better to get out of there so that he could get some fresh air or relax from all the studying he had been doing up to that point. He stood from the desk, along with the book he was reading from, and went to place it back in the shelf where he collected it from, walking past the Librarians desk he waved at the person behind it and made his way out.

Walking out into the hallway he was ready to go home, and take a well needed nap. Continuing his walk he stopped when he spotted his good friend Yaboi speaking with someone he had never seen before. Silently walking behind Yaboi, he smirked and shouted “Hey YABOI!” He sent a firm pat to his back, he turned to look at the newcomer “Who’s this?” he looked at the boy with the white hair. “I’ve never seen this kid around, this a new friend of yours?” His tired expression to one of happiness, “Hey, I’m Uchiha, Ryo. What’s your name?” he turned to look at Shinzo “Oh, hey Shinzo. I didn’t see you there.” He shrugged and turned to the interesting new character which had appeared in Konoha. He looked Kumogakure crest on the boy’s clothes, “Oh! You’re from another village!”

 

[Arashi Takejo]

As Arashi was standing with a brooding expression around the corner, mentally debating whether to join the three boys or not, He was swiftly spotted by them. Not really a surprise as he wasn’t trying to hide or anything. The boy who had fallen down, was now safely back on his feet and finished tidying up his clothes. And as soon as he saw the exchange student, he dashed over at almost the speed of sound to join the other two boys. He motioned an action with a warm grin for Arashi to join them. Hesitating for just a moment, Arashi decided to join them after all. He needed to know more people around him and this was a good opportunity. Plus he could learn a few things about the famed “Hidden cloud” from the Kumogakure exchange student. He had heard a great deal about the famous and mysterious village from his brother, which was said to be literally hidden among the clouds. He would have lied to himself, if he didn’t say he was curious to hear more about it. He had never gone beyond the fire country’s border, and though his brother claimed to have been to Sunagakure and Kumogakure, he didn’t give too much importance to his words.


As he proceeded to move towards the small group of boys, a girl brushed past the buzzing group. Arashi hadn’t seen her before but that was a given since he hadn’t been around this area many times. She didn’t seem to share the raging interest the boys were showing and simply glided past. But he did notice her sparing just one glance.
‘Maybe it was too quick to declare her lack of interest?...’ Arashi thought to himself.
As he joined up with the other boys, they were busy peppering the exchange student with questions. The curiosity was natural after all, since any academy student would rarely have been out of the city. As he joined along with the enquiries of different kind, he almost forgot to introduce himself. Pulling himself together he did the necessary introduction ritual,

“Hello, I am Arashi Takejo. Nice to meet you all.” He said with a little bow. “I must be very lucky to meet an exchange student on the first day of academy.” He finished with a not so subtle chuckle. Just as he finished they were joined by another boy, who seemed to be close friends with the other two boys. Arashi introduced himself to the newcomer as well and waited keenly to hear the responses from the Kumogakure boy, who had drawn almost a small crowd.

 

[Samsara Saito]

"The trip was really long, and me and Tatsuo-sensei trained a lot so I lost track... plus we were on horseback since we had a bunch of people with us," Saito responded to Yaboi. "Cloud ANBU came with Tatsuo-sensei and me to drop me off and deliver a kid from here, all bound up in chakra sealing chains! And then the Leaf ANBU found us after we entered the Fire country a few nights ago! The Leaf and Cloud ANBU looked like they were about to fight but then they recognized each other so everything was cool. It was exciting!"

Before Saito knew it, a group of Leaf kids had gathered, with the kid who had just run on the walls -- Shinzo, Yaboi said his name was -- essentially blinking across the space separating them, his disappearance and reappearance heralded by two small *poof* sounds. I wonder if Shinrin-sensei can teach me THAT... Saito thought, attention momentarily captured by Shinzo's display of abilities. He blinks, but smoothly transitions with barely a hitch, answering the boy's questions as quickly as they come at him. "Nice to meet you too, Shinzo! You can teleport, that's SO cool! Uhh -- I'm here for a year, though maybe more if the Raikage lets me! I've been in the Fire Country for about a week now, and in the village for a few days. Uhh, classes? I don't know, maybe! Classrooms give me the itchies, I try to avoid them... No family, just Tatsuo and me! Although he and I are a lot alike and we look out for each other, so he's basically my family!" That's what family does, right? Protect each other? "Yes I met the Hokage! She's sooo pretty, and very nice! And so pregnant! She must be crazy strong!"

"I love it here, so many trees! There are so many differences! Kumogakure is so much colder! It's way high above the clouds so it's cold all the time! Tatsuo-sensei complained about the cold a lot. I thought it was okay but this heat is great too, I don't have to wear layers! And you have so many trees! Kumo is all mountains, it does have trees and a forest but Konoha basically IS a forest! I've climbed so many trees! Tatsuo-sensei wants to get an apartment but I think he should just make a big tree fort for us to live in! The trees here are my favorite part!"

A dark-haired girl Shinzo called Miyako drifted by, giving all the boys gathered the once over but seeming to not hear Shinzo's call as she continued on her way, remaining somewhat within the group's orbit. The dark-haired boy Shinzo gestured to earlier came over, and then another dark-haired boy joined them. As the small group's size increased, the young cloudie kept answering smoothly, his own internal excitement beginning to crescendo even as he evoked the image in his mind of Tatsuo's patience when Saito peppered his sensei with a million questions.. "Nice to meet you, Ryo! I'm Saito -- Samsara Saito. Yeah, I'm here for a year on exchange from Kumogakure! Please take good care of me while I'm in Konoha! Hi, Takejo! Thanks, I'm lucky to be here! Though it didn't seem that way at first, Tatsuo-sensei knocked me over and bumped my head!" the exchange student said with a laugh before continuing calmly. "It's both of our first day here, but I think these guys will treat us pretty great!"

[MFT]

 

[Kenroujima]

'Wall walking huh..' the boy thought to himself quietly as Shinzo let loose a barrage of questions at Saito. Yaboi snickered at that then turned his attention to the girl Shinzo had called out to 'Miyako? No idea who that is.' he thought idly. His attention spun back between Shinzo and Saito for a brief moment before he heard his name shouted from behind him and a firm pat to his back. Yaboi recoiled a bit, jerking back around "Ryo! Don't be doing that, what if I fell and died?" he teased darkly. Yaboi took a step back to allow the group of boys' circle to form, nodding his head in affirmation to Ryo's words "Yep! New friend." he laughed and holding up a thumbs up. His focus had returned to the strange fellow that had kept his distance but had finally decided to come join the group. The young boy waved happily to the newcomer "Nice to meet you too, Arashi. I'm Yaboi and welcome to the academy!" he announced with a smile. Yaboi listened to Saito's story intently, taking a few mental notes of his strange arrival. He paused for a moment as to not interrupt but his curiosity was piqued so he spoke regardless "Hey, Saito. Should you be telling us about someone being brought here in chains? Seems like something that's usually kept on the down-low." he grinned before pressing the issue "But its out in the air now, heh! So who was the baddie, huh? Were they real strong or something?".

[MFT]

 

[Tomomi Chijimatsu]

Miyako had heard Shinzo's call, though she had things to do. She'd join them eventually, but first she had to find the perfect scroll. One with paper that's not too think, but also not too thick. Though her focus was set on the variety of scrolls on display in the library, she couldn't help but to think about the small gathering of students that she'd just kind of ignored in entering the library. She should say hi to Shinzo, but what exactly could she gain from that? Miyako's small palms rub against one another and she lowers her shoulders, still very indecisive as to which scroll she'd like to take for her own. Was that boy really from the Kumogakure? He sure looked like he wasn't from around these parts, obviously different from those who lived here in the leaf. Miyako openly wonders what his abilities could be, and why he mattered so much to all of the other academy students.

She recognized a few of the boys, Shinzo from the day that she met Akumi and she had heard Ryo's voice as she turned down the aisle of towering bookshelves. The younger looking boy with the simple white shirt looked awful familiar, but the last two who were apparently only on their first day here at the academy were complete strangers to Miyako. Now that Shinzo had called after her, all of them knew her name but she had no idea who three of the five were. Oh well, right? They'd meet sooner or later, they all go to the same academy after all, right?

Miyako shakes her head and presses two fingers to the bridge of her nose, focus. Instead of joining up with the rest of them, Miyako continues her scroll selection, still needing to find the perfect one without being interrupted by her own thought process, let alone the presence of a group of boys.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo’s eyes had be stuck looking at the floor since Miyako seemed to ignore his call for her to join the group. ‘Yeah, I guess she really doesn’t find me that interesting. A light sigh escaped his lips just before he heard a familiar voice call out, the sound of the only other Uchiha he actually knew brought his attention from the courtyard ground. “Oh, hey Ryo!” He forced his lips into a smile, his mind still dwelling on how the Uchiha girl had just ignored him, it wasn’t the most pleasant feeling but he didn’t want to demonstrate this to the other boys around him.

After Ryo joined the party, his eyes darted towards the now approaching academy student. He gave him a nod of acknowledgement and shuffled to the side slightly to allow him to integrate into the group fully. “It’s nice to meet you too Arashi, I am Shinzo.” The Seikon child returned his attention to Saito, he twisted the balls of his feet on the ground in response to the comment on his abilities. “Urm, thank you I guess. I didn’t really mean to do anything like that, I kinda have trouble with keeping it under control sometimes. It’s cool I guess but a little bit annoying, once I was looking for some rabbits and…” He stopped himself short of finishing his anecdote in order to listen to the volley of answers that were now streaming from the white haired boy. He scanned him over while listening, eyes darting from top to bottom of the foreign boy’s frame. Shinzo liked his energy, he seemed to really personable so far, potentially someone that he would be able to spend time with during the next year.

“That sounds so cool!” Shinzo offered a thumbs up in response to Saito as he rounded off his answers. “Can I come and live in your tree fort?” He giggled ever so slightly at the thought of moving away from home to live in a tree. “But yeah, don’t worry I will take care of you and I’m sure the others will too! I have only seen Ryo and Yaboi fight, but they are crazy strong so you’ll be fine here!” He made a gesture towards the two boys that he had just mentioned from the group, Shinzo made sure to nod towards Saito with great confidence and a toothy grin as he mentioned his comrades.

 

[Uchiha Ryo]

Ryo laughed loudly,”If you say so, Yaboi.” He looked at Saito, “It’s nice to meet you, Saito. And don’t worry Konoha is one of the nicest villages around.” Ryo turned to Takejo, “Hello Takejo, I’m Uchiha Ryo.” As he smiled as the boys made a place for Ryo to place himself in. Ryo listened closely to Saito’s story “Someone in chains? Oh man I wonder what that that kid did to be put in Chakra chains. What an interesting journey, Saito!” when he heard Saito mention Tatuso he could only think back to the time when he found Tatsuo screaming in the woods, but refrained from insulting him in front of Saito, those two were obviously close and he didn’t want to miss out on making a new friend out of this foreign visitor. Smiling at the compliments that Saito gave the Hokage “Yeah, she sure is. I met her once in a class, she was really kind.”

“Kumogakure sounds really interesting, I love Konoha, but I sure would love to see another village one day!” He turned to Takejo, “Takejo since this is your first day in the academy have you signed up for any classes yet? I remember my first time in a classroom.” He nudged Yaboi “Remember when w- I mean I was poisioned and we had to find out what the teacher gave us. That sure was a ride, I never expected to spend my first day in the academy being poisoned. And don’t worry the teacher quickly cured us the moment we discovered what we were afflicted with.” The memory made him shudder a bit but he was quick to put it at the back of his mind. “The best class I attended was hosted by Kenshin-Sensei, He really knows how to make a class exciting.” Turning back to the larger group Ryo heard Yaboi speak about how he wanted to know more of the Shinobi that was brought in chains, chiming in immediately after Yaboi was finished speaking “Yeah, do you know who he is? Or why he was in chains?”

 

[Arashi Takejo]

As he made his introduction, Arashi felt like he had done a decent job instead of sounding like a bumbling fool. That could have gone way worse than it did and it was one more reason to thank Saito that he was getting known among his compeers. Directing his utmost attention towards listening to Saito’s replies, he felt a little sorry for the Kumogakure kid. Being haggled by people over trivial matters could annoy anyone but to Saito’s credit he nimbly maneuvered around the questions and gave satisfactory answers to all of them. Along with that he talked passionately about his sensei from leaf, Tatsuo-sensei, who he seemed close with and some of their exploits on the Fire country border, while on their way from the Lightning country. Apparently they were escorted by ANBU along the way which meant that it was a big deal as someone had been handed over to the Kumogakure. Someone dangerous by the sound of it. He also mentioned meeting the Hokage, which sounded pretty incredible to Arashi and made him a bit envious. He could not wait to meet the Hokage in one of his classes, as it was rumoured she did visit the academy students occasionally. The vivid first hand description of Kumogakure was all he could hope for as he confirmed what his brother told him was accurate. He would totally never doubt him again, for sure. Appreciation of Konoha by a visitor did fill his chest with pride and he was totally familiar with the wildernesses of the fire country. Hearing something about a tree fort brought back memories of the forest hideout, he and his brother had hidden in for a while. Not wanting to be lost in middle of a conversation, he shook himself back to the present.

As the conversation went on, he learned a few thing about the other kids who were present there as well. Apparently Shinzo was able run on walls, which explained his fall. Along with that he could teleport as well, as Arashi had just witnessed. He was definitely someone strong and perhaps he could pick up a thing or two from him in the future. He also knew the girl who had just passed them by, but he didn’t feel enquiring more into it would have been appropriate. The other two boys, Yaboi and Ryo introduced themselves as well. They were acknowledged as strong by Shinzo and there was no reason not to believe him. As he was addressed to by Saito and Ryo, he smiled a little, and answered swiftly, as he didn’t want to interrupt an interesting part of Saito’s tales

“Yes, I am already having a great first day with meeting tons of interesting people.” He spoke, hoping not to sound condescending or sarcastic. It had been a quite a while since he had spoken formally.

Turning to Ryo, “I haven’t had any advanced classes, but will definitely make sure to be extra cautious when I have one.” He finished with a chuckle and took a mental note of the slight discomfort in Ryo’s demeanor on recalling his poisoning incident. Not a pleasant experience for sure. He also memorised the name Kenshin for future references. No doubt it could be useful while determining which classes to attend.

 

[Samsara Saito]

"On the down-low?" Saito thought for a moment about what Yaboi said, his smile briefly replaced by a thoughtful expression as he tried to remember if anyone said anything about the trip being top secret. Not Sensei, not Touma-san, not Reaper-san, not Raikage-sama, not Hokage-sama... "Nope... no one said it was a secret! They would've probably said something if it was?" The bright smile came back, a noticeable shine on perfectly white teeth. "But hey, how about we keep it quiet, just in case?" he says with a wink as he cheeses it, a little laughter along with a light elbow in the ribs for Yaboi. From there he keeps his voice a bit lower, almost conspiratorially so.

"I learned that the kid was a missing nin from here, and went to Kumo where he caused enough trouble that the Cloud sent him back in chains," Saito answers Yaboi and Ryo. "He didn't look too powerful... but Hokage-sama said that he was, and that he could've slipped out of the chakra chains whenever he wanted. Do you know him? His name is... Baba. Baba Gagooze," he told the group of boys, taking a moment to recall the name. The cloud student had something of an interest in the whole encounter anyway, maybe the Leaf kids knew something? Though the boy's interest in Baba specifically didn't really rise beyond the merely curious, the general topic of prisoner exchanges between hidden villages naturally snagged his attention. Plus it was a really cool thing to have happen! He hadn't even talked about it with anybody before now! And without compelling the boy's mouth shut with a strict warning of secrecy, the Cloud and/or Leaf shinobi either didn't prioritize the information as secret, or had made something of a predictable mistake.

"Sure you can, Shinzo! Or at least visit? Though everyone should visit our tree fort sometime! Or apartment, whichever one happens. I can make a big dinner! Does everyone like fish?" Saito invited in response to the teleporting boy's question, voice chiming in normal tones once more.

 

[Kenroujima]

Yaboi looked between everyone in the group and blinked idly as he had noticed Shinzo staring down at the floor. He kept quiet, listening intently to Saito explaining the situation with the missing ninja and cracking a small smile after the playful elbow from Saito, "Baba Gagooze? Weird name.." Yaboi commented, ironic. Being nudged by Ryo Yaboi snickered in response "Don't be smelling any flowers next time and it won't happen.". He folded his arms over his chest, thinking over something. After a momentary pause Yaboi perked up at the declaration from Shinzo that both Ryo and Yaboi were strong "I don't know about strong, we still have lots to learn. Ain't that right Ryo?" he turned his head to his childhood friend, grinning. 'Ah, that reminds me. Maybe I could ask Ryo for help with the Rasengan.. But maybe after, all work and no play afterall..' his thoughts trailed on.

"Hey Ryo, you probably know that Miyako girl right? You should go help her out and bring her over. Not like we will be in the academy forever, yknow!" he explained happily, his eyes peeking over to Shinzo. Though it was the mention of food that caught the young boy's full attention "Food?! I sure do love fish." he admitted happily, resting his arms down to his sides 'I need to get a bite to eat later, and I have to shop.. Ugh, that's a pain actually..'.

 

[Tomomi Chijimatsu]

In finding her perfect scroll, Miyako takes it to the front desk, smiling to the librarian and telling them that she'll be taking it for training and in uses of battle. In dealing with shinobi quite often, the librarian understands and lets her take it. She slings the scroll over her shoulders and begins towards the group of boys. She slips her fingers through her hair and grins to each of them. This will be a good chance to get to know some of the students that she's either never met or has only saw in passing.

She takes the position next to Shinzo, knowing him possibly the best aside from Ryo, the only child here that shares her blood. "Hi everyone." She doesn't speak too loud, trying not to interrupt Saito as he's barraged with questions and hastily responds to everything he's being asked. She offers about half of a bow to Saito and a small wave that covers the general population of the small group.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

’I’ve blown it. I have completely blown it.’ The young boy continued to think to himself as the conversation continued to flow around him, even the idea of living aloft in a tree fort didn’t draw his attention away from the embarrassment of being ignored previously. It lingered on his mind like a stale taste, something that could have gone so well just didn’t go according to plan. Shinzo thought he was pretty interesting, at least he tried to show that to the people around him. Recognition was the thing that most drove the boy, having parents more interested in painting than the accomplishments of their children could do that to someone; obviously he wasn’t from a broken home and he had no real tragic backstory, he just didn’t know praise that came from home. Saito seemed to openly have some interest in what Shinzo could do, that in and of itself was enough to put him straight into the Seikon’s good books, even if that was a naïve choice after having known him for such little time. In truth the conversation around the green eyed boy seemed interesting but he couldn’t bring himself to join in properly. Instead his eyes still looked down towards his feet, ripples of embarrassment still flowing through him.

He sighed but perked up as Arashi spoke, now was the time for encouragement and acknowledgment. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far, sometimes it’s a little boring but even then you can make your own fun.” He tried to casually glance towards the patch of dirt in which he fell earlier in an effort to seem like it was intended, or at least prove his point. He then continued to listen to the group as they spoke and perked up a bit at Yaboi’s suggestion.

“I, erm, I… is it a good idea? I’m sure she’s busy doing something important. There’s no need to bother her right?” Then out of the corner of his eye the exasperated boy noticed Miyako making her way back, she was going to join them? A moment passed, yes she was. Then another brief moment, she was going to stand close, wait, no, next to him. Shinzo attempted to take a breath to calm himself but this wouldn’t work. ’Just act cool, just act cool. It’ll be fine, you’re a pretty cool guy Shinzo. Yeah, super cool, like you can run really fast and stuff. Yeah, cool! Wait what to people find cool? Urm, got to do something with my hands so they don’t just hang there. Urm… Pockets!!’ Quickly, Shinzo rushed his hands into his pockets as Miyako moved to stand next to him. “Oh, hey.” He said trying to deepen his voice slightly while standing up straight. He could feel his cheeks growing into a rosy shade of red but he tried his best to keep this from getting too obvious.