A Chance Encounter

[Nickito]

'Why in the world did you come out so late, Kagami?'

The young kunoichi found herself out at a strange time of night. If the clock that stool over her in the center of the square was correct, it was about 10:37 PM. Why she had decided to go out at such an hour was beyond her. She knew she was bored, and she knew there was nothing for her to do at her apartment. However, she couldn't figure out what she had thought might be waiting outside for her underneath the moon. For all she knew, there could be some type of pervert or criminal standing behind something, waiting for her to be distracted.

It was true that she was a Shinobi, but not a very strong one and not a very fast one either. All she had at her disposal was the ability to affect another person's mind, but with so few techniques at her disposal, even that aspect of her talent wasn't very useful to her, especially if she were blindsided or surprised. Her main strength could only come out in a situation where she was able to get to her opponent before they were able to get to her. Naturally, she tried to improve herself, to grow and be better. Change took time though, and she had not spent a great deal of time on it to date.

Still, she did not wish to return home just yet, so she seated herself down on one of the wooden benches and placed her hands on her lap. She had to adjust herself somewhat, having sat down on the pouch that contained her kunai knives. Her shuriken were located on her legs and her tanto at her back, and with them she felt just a little safer. She reached up to touch the headband around her neck, feeling the lines that created her village's symbol.

She began to hum a song that her mother had sang to her when she was a little girl. The thoughts and memories of being lulled to sleep by the woman she always had, and still did look up to made her feel secure and comfortable. All she needed was to feel inwardly as she always acted outwardly, and she would be fine. She was strong and smart, she would be fine for a little while longer.

[Trigga]

Unknowing to the young Kunoichi, she would be greeted by someone on this beauteous night; though not by a criminal or deviant soul as she so eagerly edged to in thought.

“Its quite late to ne roaming the Village, isn’t it?” Mature in tone and equally as impassive, a voice would echo out to the child’s ear. She had the choice to turn and face the origin of such a rather dull and almost commanding quality of sound or continue to face the grand clock tower. It was her choice entirely.

Regardless, her decision to see what the entity that now focused on her didn’t change the fact that someone was there. Tall, stoic and unmoving, a male silhouette slid across the stone sidewalk and interrupted the space before her. Long, indigo waves cascading behind the man as his hair danced in the wild breeze. Calm, steady ocean blue eyes peering out some meters before him to rest upon the Kunoichi who indulged in whatever she was doing; as active as his mane was, his posture hadn’t altered. The silent chime of his Katana clicking against its shealth remained present to his left side and his black, fighting-style kimono garbed his clothing.

Haitsuchi—Jōnin of the Hidden Kusa, more insouciantly known as her ‘Oodora’ had taken it upon himself to patrol the streets of a quiet village. His title as Shinobi, and a high-ranking one towered only for his need to protect which belonged to this community bringing him to this very location. He didn’t need to say more, he didn’t want to. She had the option to speak or not, it was entirely up to her; he would simply wait for any form of activity she would attempt to associate with this odd, seemingly isolated meeting.

Sallow scarf swaying at the ends around his neck, the Jōnin didn’t mean to startle or set her on alert. She should have known someone would have approached her anyways considering she stood in the open of the town square.

[Nickito]

The sound of another person's voice turned her body to stone, though her auburn hair and deep red poncho ruffled ever so slightly in the breeze. Her eyes darted and pierced through the darkness to find the source of the speech, but she didn't need to look very long or hard. She'd be able to see those blue eyes anywhere, like a beacon in the night. Her own red eyes were so opposite to his, but at the same time they seemed to share something; uniqueness. The young woman's hand traced the slanted lines on her headband forward and back several times before she opened her own mouth to speak.

"I'm sure you would know. You're out here too, after all."

She was quiet, but she was sure that he'd still be able to hear her. With both feet firmly on the ground, she slowly rose up and straightened her legs, standing her full height, though that wasn't saying much. As many girls here age, she was on the smaller side, but she decided not to think too much about that fact. She was a Shinobi of Kusagakure, and she wouldn't be unless she was capable enough.

Kagami blinked once, twice, three times before she turned her body towards the man so as to face him. Her arms were crossed to sit over her stomach and her legs were close together. Underneath the light of the street lamps that surrounded the clock, her skin's lack of color was frighteningly obvious. It was chilly, but then again it often was during the night, even in The Village Hidden in the Grass. Her body was still tight and almost rigid, but with a deep breath she eased herself and cleared her mind.

"Who are you...? I'm Kagami... Kagami Taihen."

She herself didn't have a particular reason for being outside, alone and in the open. Her home was a lonely place at times, and though it was just as lonely outside with nobody around, she preferred knowing that there were other people somewhere, doing whatever they did. When she was cooped up in her small apartment, she felt separated from that. Being outside opened up that intangible connection for her. This man, however, was an unknown to her. Surely he had a reason for being out and about by himself.

[Trigga]

“Its not odd for an adult to be out at night.” A dispassionate comment, one that held no true substance or ire towards the young woman. It was obvious, as she turned and looked upon the visage of the man that had stopped her that she knew nothing of his origins, or his title within the very village the decorated the symbol upon her Hitai-ate. This wasn’t incommodious at the slightest and as she inquired to his name, as if dazed or confused, Haitsuchi did nothing more but to stare at the smaller entity that stood in the open.

Clearing his throat with a subtle cough, his right hand placed just centimeters before his mouth, he would transition into speech. “I am Haitsuchi, Jōnin.” Not making a direct reference to the village from which he held, the Uchiha simply pointed towards the metal on his forehead that glistened in the moon’s wake. The meandering etching that made up their village’s worthy symbol giving wealth of information to his motherland—his sanctioned title as a shinobi, however, he didn’t bother hiding.

He could tell from her posture and her inability to perfectly articulate her words that she was quite low in the Shinobi hierarchy; maybe even a Genin? It should have been obvious, having attended each class’s graduation for some years now, he had become quite accusomted to the faces of Kusagakure’s future, while equally keeping his own in the shadow.

[Nickito]

"I may not be an adult, but that doesn't mean I'm some helpless child."

She met his gaze and held it, her red orbs gleaming in the light of the moon. He knew nothing of her, and whether or not he had meant to insinuate that a child had no business being outside at night, she had taken his remark as such, and a bit personally on top of it all. As she stood and took in his appearance, her hands smoothed out the red cloth that covered her upper body, tidying it out and setting it even. The wind seemed not to want to let it be, which irked the kunoichi just a bit.

"A Jonin, huh? I'm just a Genin. I graduated from the Academy a couple of weeks ago."

Her tone was almost engaging. She wasn't just telling him who she was or what her status in Kusa was, she was actually conversing. If it surprised the man that stood before her, it surprised herself about 10 times more. Though she was generally kind and easy to approach, she wasn't usually what someone would describe as outgoing. Maybe the moonlight was having a strange affect on her, maybe she was just tired because of how late at night it was. Maybe there was something in the air that made her want to talk.

Though what he had said moments ago had irritated her momentarily, any aggression it might have evoked seemed to have faded. It was replaced with a curiosity about Haitsuchi. The only other Jonin she had met before was Neru, the leader of Sougen-Ko. This man seemed similar to her, but at the same time very different. He seemed reserved just as Neru was, but rather than coming off as apathetic and slightly snobby, Haitsuchi seemed mysterious and interesting. Her interest was piqued, and she had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, so she decided to continue on.

"One day I'll be something more though. I'll be one of the greatest kunoichi that Kusagakure has ever produced... Whether that brings to me be a Jonin or not, I don't know, but rank isn't necessarily everything, is it?"

[Trigga]

She held such an vexed, almost recalcitrant air about her that if the Jōnin cared for such antics, he would have been offended. Regardless, her bellicosity or whatever emotion was displayed through crimson jewels as dark as his Sharingan mattered little in the grand scheme of things.

“No one said you were helpless--- You are a child, however. ” He countered.

No matter the amount of strength she felt her body possessed, or the passion that ran through her veins, she was an infant in this world. Her mind hadn’t collected nearly enough information to have made such claims. Her muscles couldn’t have absorbed enough experience and memories to challenge the disputes of a veteran Shinobi; especially after solidifying her youth as a Ninja. “I was at your ceremony—all prospecting Jōnin instructors were in attendance.” A few words once again, keeping conversation at a minimal while still maintaining some level of interest to stay around.

He’d look away for a moment, peeking his gaze towards the moon-lit opus that rested over the Hidden Grass. This peace, this solitude; it was all he lived for, all his heart desired to keep intact. The youth that would one day protect over Kusagakure hopefully shared the same passion for their home.

The Uchiha would only turn his gaze back down at Kagami as she made reference to the importance of their rank. “Your rank in this world defines your stature—not your worth.” He would reassure the child almost indirectly.

“The most stern of Jōnin could possess unimaginable skill and strength; but their heart could be dwarf by even the freshest of Genin.”

He would pause, taking a deep sigh for the moment.

“Respect one’s stature, but never doubt your own worth.”

[Nickito]

"People always seem to think children are helpless. Especially me. People take one look and think I'm sick or weak just because of my light skin and small body. I didn't mean to jump down your throat or anything, I'm just sick of it."

She let her body relax only slightly, gazing not at him, but on and around him as he spoke, almost observing him in a way. She could feel that he had seen a lot in his time, not because of his rank, but the way he carried himself, the atmosphere that likely followed him everywhere that he found himself. She had thought that she had seen it in his eyes, as well. Not exactly a glint, but perhaps a lack thereof.

"I saw you there. Not you, you. All of the Jonin. I didn't pay much attention to all of you though. Sort of nerve wracking. Plus, you all sort of looked the same to me. Not exactly in appearance, but as people, if that makes sense."

They had all seemed so cold and distant from where she stood. There not to celebrate for people they had yet to meet or know, but out of requirement and what was perhaps a tradition within the Village, possibly the entirety of the Ninja World. It then struck that a great deal of the shinobi life was cold, and necessarily so. Battle required a lack of emotion, certain assignments required the same. If one was held back by their feelings, it could end in failure, or even death.

Ashe spoke again though, she found herself agreeing with him, nodding her head in understanding. Though she had grown up believing that her stature defined how much she mattered in the world, he told her it wasn't so. In essence, it depended on how much heart a person had, how much they believed in what they were doing, in themselves, and what they wanted to achieve.

"Respect one's stature, but never doubt your own worth... I'll remember that."

[Nickito]

"Well... It was nice meeting you, but I think I should get home. It's getting kinda late and you never know what tomorrow might bring. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

She brushed her clothes off and smoothed them out before moving towards her home. She turned for a single moment to wave at the Jonin that she had just met, and then disappeared into the darkness.

Exit~

[addy-hime ♥]

Nickito, 42 EXP.
Tae, 30 EXP.

[/justify]