Friends at the Gate || Closed

[hisae]

The day was still early. Clear blue skies absent of cloud cover, crisp mountain air filling the lungs of the locals. Roaming outside to attend to their own necessary business and making business for others, it was the usual activity in Iwakagure No Sato. Blurs and shadows were observed moving throughout the village, genin teams and other squads mobilizing for their missions. There were rumors in the area about the happenings of Naruto Uzumaki dying. Many old shinobi who had know him, gave their own condolences and quiet prayers. Emi's mother did not feel in the best of the best of moods that day, so Eis instructed her to change her plans and take her guest somewhere else for the day. It was unfortunate. Thinking about it, her own death would be unfortunate if she refused to listen to her own mother.

"...I'll just wait outside," a quick conclusion the genin came too, her own attire put on. Emi headed out of the house towards the gates of the Hayakuni District, immense wooden pillars erected next to the entrance. It had depictions and drawings of some of its history, visuals of their techniques and a new one added of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. It was beautifully crafted by the artists of the clan, engravings of their major moments. Over time, their dedication to the image of the clan was evident in all their work. It was great to have them, having high praise throughout Iwakagure No Sato.

Emi passed her hands over it for the hundredth time it seemed like. Looking up and down, it gave her pride in the clan. It spurred a sense of urgency within her. She needed to increase her strength, Emi needed to be a force within Iwakagure and then the world. Her existence and the clan's existence was all about might, tactical ability and the will of stone. Her mission was to be an embodiment of it.

She hopped up to the top of the district gates, sitting on top of it. Closing her eyes, she meditated while hoping for her squad mate to be able to follow directions that she had given him a few days prior.

[RYU]

RING! RING!

Being excessively loud and annoying was the only way to ensure Ryu was able to wake up on time. Even then he had trouble, his arm fumbling around for the off switch on his alarm while still half-asleep. Reluctantly, he raised himself out of bed and stretched. How early was it agaiin? All he could think of right now was that he had planned a meeting with one of his team mates today, Emi. Almost forgetting about it the night before, he had remembered last minute and was able to set his alarm. They had just reconciled their differences a few days ago, it would be bothersome for him to upset her any more by being late, which was still something he was unsure of being able to avoid even if on time.

After several minutes Ryu finally managed to get out of bed and slip on clothes he found scattered all over his room. This outfit consisted of a plain white shirt and black shorts. He quickly used his fingers to fix his hair the way he liked it, which didn't take long as it was messy, and then moved downstairs.

"I'm gonna be late!! Ryu put the single piece of toast he had prepared into his mouth and hurried out of the door. Soon after getting out onto the public roads, he jumped high up to get himself onto the building roofs. Moving from building to building this way made for easier travel, avoiding pedestrians and such. While chewing on the toast he pulled out the paper slip that held the directions Emi had provided him with.

"What is this.." Not only were the directions complicated, they would eventually lead Ryu into a district belonging to one of the more prestigious Iwagakure families. If only he could remember the name of this family. Deciding not to dwell on it he began to pick up the speed to make up for the time he had lost while slowing down to read the directions. It would take a little while longer, but eventually Emi sitting atop the district gates came into his view. Once he had arrived there Ryu quickly quieted his movements and attempted to sneak up behind her since he had noticed her eyes were closed. His face took on the most creepiest expression he could manage, tongue sticking out.

"Not sleeping in are we Emi?" Ryu cackled loudly.

[hisae]

She could not see, but wasn't deaf. The Hayakuni district was settled in the less ventured part of Iwakagure, mild levels of commotion. Generally, the clan members made the most noise. To some extent, it was too quiet. The silence contributed to Emi improving her own skills with meditation, finding it basic to calm her nerves down, slow down her breathing. It brought clarity to her senses. Her perception of the world felt weird, listening to the birds chirp, extending their vocal chords to new ranges. Their song played beautifully, never paying attention to it till then. Emi found it an eye-opener.

Even though Ryu tried, she did listen to his footsteps before they began to become quieter and quieter. Emi pretty much assumed a sneak attack was underway. She recognized Ryu's own nature to be sly, somewhat vulgar. He had a temper too. Hearing his breathing close to her neck, she had her own surprise. Spinning around, Emi attempted to grab Ryu by the neck. She got up, supporting herself with one knee. She launched herself off the gate, with Ryu's head in her hand as she took him for a good ways down to the ground. She planned to body slam into the gravel, most likely cracking the earth around him. It'd be a rock angel.

"Good to see you too, ass!" she playfully said, smiling.

[RYU]

His expression was of complete shock. Had he known Emi better he could've anticipated she would react this way and had his guard up accordingly, but of course he didn't yet. Not being able to avoid the grab entirely, Ryu managed to reach out both of his arms, aiming to hold onto her wrist on the arm she was using to hold him. It only took them a couple of seconds to make contact with the ground, by bracing himself mentally he didn't feel much pain. Rather, she wasn't using the kind of force intended to inflict pain. Still, this girl was strong to the point where he found it slightly frightening.

If successful in finding a grip on her arm, Ryu would quickly shoot his hips upward and to the side while also pushing on her arm in an attempt to reverse the position he was in with Emi by throwing her off while maintaining his hold on her so that he could move to be above her. Being in his fair share of brawls, this move was one that he was familiar with, something that he used often to get out of being pinned to the ground. Even if he was successful in reversing positions with Emi, Ryu would remove his hold on her and take a few steps backwards.

"Oy oy, trying to kill me or what?" An obvious annoyed tone in his voice and same expression on his face. His annoyance was exaggerated however, with the expression disappearing nearly as fast as it had come. His white shirt had gotten dirty, but because they were suppose to be working together he chose to ignore it this time.

"So what did you bring me here for?"

[hisae]

His reaction time was slow. Although she managed to get him within her grasp, it was apparent that her own strength overpowered his by a fold or so. Helpless to stop her on the way down, the impact crumbled the earth. It rattled in the air, resonating in the surrounding vicinity. Ryu grabbed Emi's arm in vain, she could of lobbed him over the Tsuchikage's tower if she wanted too. It felt like that, anyway. His evasive maneuver was sloppy, but she let him get out of it. It was still early in the morning anyway.

"You will get over it," noted Emi, dusting off her hands. She smiled once again, generally pleased at her teammates competence to read purposefully jumbled directions. Though, his ruined white shirt did not look good beforehand anyway.

"My original plans was for you to come over, but my mother could tear through a village right now with the mood shes in. So your guess is as good as mine."

[RYU]

"Well I've been meaning to ask your..help with something." Ryu said, the last part of his sentence almost a whisper. The truth was that Ryu was slightly embarrassed asking for help from someone, especially since he had been relying on himself for so long. However after witnessing her strength on multiple occasions he had come to respect her. There was a lot to be learned and he wouldn't pass up on the opportunity to get stronger if available.

Before he could continue what he was going to say, his stomach let out a loud growl. This reminded him that he had rushed out here on only a piece of toast for breakfast. Being hungry almost immediately changed his priorities and gave him the idea of where they should go to next before anything else.

"First let's eat, I'm starving." The number of places they could go to get something began to pop into his head but he crossed most of them off according to how much he had brought in his coin purse, which wasn't very much. Normally his parents would've payed, but this was the first time he would be eating out with only one other person.

"How do you feel about ramen?"

[hisae]

"Uhh-- I'm not hungry..." she mumbled under her breath. It was awkward to go with another boy to go out to eat. She had been content with making her own bento boxes, home cooking that sat well in her tummy. It would be best to save themselves time, so she rummaged through the back holster of her right leg. It was large enough for one bento box. Emi always liked to carry some food with her, eating was a favorite past time of hers besides training. It smelled terrific without taking the plastic top off, covering the rice balls, Hayakuni sauced chicken and precisely cut salmon slices. It all meshed well, a hearty meal for a hardworker in need of a healthy brunch.

"Here, I made it. I've been making lunches since I could hold a knife. I cook more than my mom, hehe--," she chucked, finding funny to have the children cook for the parent. It was a passion that burned immensely within. Crafting art with edible delights found warmth in Emi's heart and blessed her taste buds constantly when she gave herself a chance to eat it. Renowned sauce had to wow Ryu, if not then he was not of this world.

"What is it that you need again? Help, was it?" pondered Emi, asking for confirmation. She had not heard what Ryu said earlier since he mumbled it.

[RYU]

Ryu tensed up seeing her reach into one of her leg holsters. Could it be that she was reaching for a weapon?! He tried to rack his brain for what he could've done wrong to possibly upset her, was it the cheap offer of ramen only? His suspicions were answered by the appearance of a bento box, one that happened to smell incredible. However he wouldn't let his guard down just yet. After what she had pulled earlier on top of the gates he knew now to be more careful around her.

"It's not..poisoned is it? Hehe..joking" Ryu asked in an wary, serious tone. He didn't want to accept it right away, seeing as how she might have had some ulterior plan.The truth though was that he was starved and if he didn't get something to eat before training he wouldn't be able to perform as well. He couldn't wait any longer, and the smell of good food was something he knew he couldn't resist for long.

Ryu took a few slow steps forward to get closer to Emi, his hand cautiously reaching for a rice ball. He gulped, the smell of the food getting stronger as he got closer to the box. He wasn't even aware of the small amount of drool that had escaped his mouth and was now making it's way down the right side of his chin. If she would allow him to continue, Ryu would grab several of them and begin wolfing them down.

"Surface..chakra..control..fighting" Ryu would say in between mouthfuls, not aware of the amount of rice pieces that were probably flying out of his mouth as he spoke. Once he was content and without food in his mouth, he realized what he had said before was probably incomprehensible and would have to clarify himself.

"I can move on water on walls, but I haven't had the opportunity to fight while doing so." The ability to mold chakra to his feet to stand on places that gravity normally wouldn't allow was an accomplishment in itself, but he wanted to be able to do so while his concentration was focused on fighting. This would serve to take his chakra control to a next level. An increased proficiency in this area would open the door to more things, such as learning more ninjutsu. Being able to learn numerous ninjutsu was essential to him becoming stronger, which was why he wanted to train with Emi. Ryu used his sleeve to wipe his mouth and stood waiting for her answer.

[hisae]

Straight face at a bad joke. Not the brightest sun in space, Ryu had no crowd to back him up with this one. Reluctantly now giving him the bento box, Emi got over it in a second. Really? Thinking that she would poison him? She obviously had a reputation to cover and maintain, along with the clan image. But, he would not understand, Ryu carried no such pressures. Emi ended up in her own world to calm herself down, focus broken by the jumbled words of Ryu. He had his mouth full of food. No manners in his decorum, sadly. She ignored whatever he said before. Pulling on a blonde strand for a moment, Ryu finally swallowed his food so he could actually have a proper conversation.

"Well, you seem to be in a--", interrupted herself, yawning. She stretched her arms in the air, arching her back to release all the tension. "Pickle," was her end sentence. "Just find someone to throw stuff at you and dodge it at the same time, I certainly don't plan on doing a light workout by fighting you," she inquired, bored expression. Emi said it nonchalantly too, no sense of a mocking tone in her words.