[Graded][Social] Nothing Like Iced Tea

[Nevermind]

In the midst of a freezing cold day, Kaito was wandering through an almost empty town in the Land of Tea. The howling of the wind wasn't enough to scare the villagers away, so Kaito wondered why this place was nearly deserted. He stumbled past a few buildings that looked like they were made centuries ago, with the large amount of cracks and holes he wondered how they were still standing. The corner of Kaito's eye stood a small coffee shop, it wasn't too big but it seemed friendly so Kaito decided to give it a go. Placing his hand on top of his straw hat, he paced towards the entrance with a slight thirst kicking in.

The sign above read, "Grand Opening," which was hard to believe because there was only one person inside. She wore a cream coloured apron with several coffee stains, there were so many it looked like it had never met clean water and soap before. The waitress seemed to be very elder, she was hunched over the counter writing on her notepad. Kaito took a seat on a small wooden chair, the chair seemed as new as the waitress working here. He raised his voice to a degree where she could hear from the counter, "Can I get an iced tea with two sugars please." "Won't be a moment!" exclaimed the waitress, she was certainly more energetic for her age. Watching her hurry over to the coffee machine, Kaito kicked back and stared blankly out the window.

[Jeff]

It had been a long time since Koutaishi was able to call anything his home. He had been wandering around for months now, it had almost seen natural to not have a home. At least he had his family of Hana and Amaria as he would watch as the two girls would feel unsafe within the deserted town. Broken windows, doors, porches, even buildings were all that stood around the area except for a boy who walked into a nearby shop.

"Interesting to see someone else here." he would speak as both girls would nod. "I guess we should see if he knows anything about the deserted town." he would add before walking in that direction.

After a few steps he would near the door before opening it up and seeing as only two people were there. Interesting. he would think before walking up toward the waitress behind the counter and ordering three cups of tea. Hana would stare at the boy with a bit of unease as Amaria kept nudging her to look away. They were all ready to strike if needed to, but violence was never really the answer for Koutaishi as he gave a smile and looked over.

"Pretty lonely town wouldn't you say?"

[Nevermind]

A bell would chime when the door opened, it was likely placed by the owner to alert them when customers came in, by the looks of this place the bell didn't ring much. His head was tilted down and his lips were pressed against the glass, he channeled hyouton chakra into the cup to chill the beverage. He had the constant feel that somebody was glaring at him, Kaito always hated that feeling. He tilted his head so he could see past the straw hat, his eyes latched onto three but he kept a constant glare with the little girl who returned the stare back at him.

Kaito was becoming severely annoyed, it wasn't due to her staring at him it was because he didn't know why she was staring. He kicked his chair forward and slammed his cup onto the wooden table, a slight ring echoed but it was minimal. He kept his head down for a few seconds, he thought to himself if she kept staring he'd have to say something. Kaito wasn't the type to go off at a little girl but she caught him on a bad day, a few breathes were in and exhaled and he tilted his chin upwards once more.

He heard the older of the group ask him a question, he was definitely around Kaito's age. "Pretty lonely town wouldn't you say?" Kaito took the time to stare down the group, it was an unusual pairing indeed. "Yeah I guess you could say that, in fact this whole town gives me a weird vibe."

The waitress came out from behind the counter, she had the expression that she needed to confess something. Kaito's eyes ran up and down her body like a marathon, he observed her for a brief moment until he began to listen to her. "T-The truth is, a group of l-low lives came into the village and scared everybody away! They will be back soon to collect payment from all the shops, well the ones that stuck around, you guys need to get outta here!

[Jeff]

Koutaishi would hear the responses of both the waitress and the fellow ninja. It did not really mean much to him since he wasn't really trying to get involved in anything he didn't have to. His only real concern was making sure that Hana and Amaria were safe at all times.

He would continue to sip his tea a few moments, before taking a deep breath. "Why must the weak always try to pick on the weaker beings? Do they honestly think that it is fair to do such a thing?" he would start to talk as Amaria would let out a short sigh while Hana would speak, "So we are going to beat them all up right?" Of course the little girl was more excited of the three to get some real action going in as Amaria would just nudge her with her shoulder to stay silent.

"No Hana, things of these matters do not really concern are behalf. I believe this other person would believe so as well right?" he would respond to Hana while looking down at the ninja. "In fact, without any form of strength like a ninja or a samurai, we would all be useless in any kind of battle." he would add as he continued to sip on his tea, Hana looking down with a bit of disappointment and frustration.

Without much time or even warning for that matter, the building would begin to rumble and the sounds of war cries would be heard from outside. It was starting to seem like the tide of wars were going to start around here as Koutaishi would look up at the waitress. "Its time for you to leave now as well." he would speak as if realizing that it was not safe for anyone, including her. "Are you coming?" he would ask the boy sipping his tea to the right. He wasn't really sure of what the boy was gonna do, but he did know that his course of action would probably become Koutaishi's own.

[Nevermind]

Into the midst of the speaking, a marathon of ideas began running through Kaito's mind. He knew he couldn't look himself in the mirror after abandoning this town, the good people worked so hard to come here and Kaito wasn't going to stand idle while some low lives were ruining everything. He finished his iced tea and took a moment to soak in the flavours, a benefit of his hyouton chakra was that his drinks never became warm, no matter how long he'd been drinking it for.

He directed his attention towards the man who began speaking, Kaito hadn't gotten the chance to learn his name. "Why must the weak always try to pick on the weaker beings? Do they honestly think that it is fair to do such a thing? Kaito thought about what he had just said, "Why do people pick on others anyway?" Hearing the girl ask if they were going to beat them up caused a chuckle within Kaito, he began to like her.

Hearing the man talk about how it doesn't concern him slightly angered Kaito, but then again he just looked like an ordinary man who's responsibility was to take care of those girls. Kaito didn't have any bonds anymore, ever since that night he hasn't had anybody to protect. He agreed with that the waitress should leave for a bit, he knew what was going to happen wouldn't be pretty. "Are you coming?" These words buzzed through Kaito's mind like a swarm of bees, he stood up and positioned his straw hat to stare him directly in the eye.

Am I coming? Am I coming to run away.... or am I coming to fight. If I don't protect these people I may as well go back into hiding. I understand if you want to run, but I'm going to stay. This will prove if I still have what it takes to protect, if I don't try ill never be able return home.

After Kaito's on the spot speech, a bald headed man ran through the doors holding a large knife. He had a wicked grin and a devilish look in his eyes that made you feel sick. "Wheres the money! Hehehe." Kaito shifted his vision toward the man with the two girls, wondering if he would take care of it or would Kaito.

[Jeff]

The boy seemed to want to fight, which ultimately meant that he had some kind of power. This was a power that Koutaishi wished to see for himself as he decided to remain in his seat as a burly man would walk in through the building, demanding money from the old lady. There was no need to take any unnecessary actions just yet; that was of course until he was being attacked himself.

Let's see what you're going to do. he would start thinking to himself, as Hana would hold a hand over the hilt of her blade and Amaria would nervously sip her cup of tea. It was obvious who enjoyed fighting and who did not.

Especially with a speech like the one that he just gave, I highly doubt that he is going to back down from anything so simply. he would continue to think again as he took a sip of his tea, looking around the area if he were to ever have to spring into action himself. And this man here has no posture or manners to be walking in like that. he thought as he identified the man.

"You sir, have no business being here. You may leave or my friend here will take care of you." Koutaishi would speak to the man as he pointed to the Aisu standing up.

[Nevermind]

Kaito began reaching his bowling point, if this was a cartoon steam would be blowing out of his ears. He hated scum like this, people who thought they were above everybody else. Kaito began to stretch out his fingers, his neck cocked to the side and a slight crack echoed. He faced his direction towards the bald man blocking the entrance, out the window a swarm of fifteen covered the area.

"Ha, this little short stack? Ill pulverize him into tomorrow ha ha ha! And then.... I'll make mince meat outta your little friends here ha ha ha!

Hyouton chakra surged throughout Kaito's body, the inner Aisu power was coming into play. The chakra flowed and sustained inside his hands, two snowballs formed and cupped in the palms of each hand. "Ha! Snowballs! What ya gonna do, make me a snowman ha ha ha!" Kaito wasn't going to reason with him or tell him to stop, he was going to finish everything here. Both snowballs were plunged into the bald man, they each exploded unleashing tiny bits of icy shrapnel into his body. The man was sent soaring out the door and he crashed into his group of thugs, he sustained deep cuts throughout his body and passed out due to the blood.

Kaito flipped out the doorway to find twenty angry and ugly men, they all discovered Kaito's location and began shouting unnecessary war cries. They were banging their axes and fists into the ground, they were a group of skin coloured orcs. Kaito peered behind his shoulder to stare at the man in the shop, "You gonna help?" A grin was displayed on his face, Kaito was having fun.

[Jeff]

There was a lot of men, way to many men for just the four of them to take on. Koutaishi knew that this battle would have to be done through strategy and not bronze. He would have to ensure that both Amaria, Hana, and himself all made it out of there alive as he watched with curiosity as two snowballs were formed within his acquaintances hand. Through all of his traveling, he had never really seen snow or any form of ice release; though he did once hear of it as a rumor.

This is an interesting subject, who can come into play for me in the future.

"Hana, Amaria. Lets go." he would mutter to each of them as he listened to the boy ask if he was going to help them. "Be careful the both of you. There are too many of them to fight recklessly." he would speak once more before grabbing four kunai, two within each hand.

"You have my attention for now." Koutaishi would reply back to Kaito before walking out the door and throwing two kunai toward his left, and two towards his right, sinking them both into two of the crying men. Hana released her long blade from its sheathe as she stood next to Koutaishi with a smile, and a lust for fun. Amaria was standing ready, just looking around for anything really unusual before taking a quick jump onto the rooftop of the building.

"I'll keep watch" she would cry softly as Koutaishi nodded.

[Nevermind]

As Kaito expected they were either samurai or ninja, the longsword the girl was wielding didn't make Kaito to think otherwise. He was hoping that they would say yes, otherwise his chances would've been fairly smaller by himself. But the fact the little girl had a longsword amazed Kaito immensely, watching her in action found its way onto Kaito's bucket list. Kaito was in the wrong place at the wrong time to doze off into daydreaming, he had to take on twenty thugs and he wasn't particularly in the right mind frame, which was strange because steam was shooting out his ears three minutes ago.

"You killed my friend!" "You punks will pay for this!" "Lets annihilate them! The mob became furious and raised their weapons, they were becoming clumsy and too enraged. They ran towards the group in a sluggish manner, it was time Kaito delivered them some icy poles. Extering hyouton chakra throughout his body, Kaito's hand flickerd into an array of seals. Chakra would expel out the mouth and create frosted wind, covering the ground before them in two inch thick layer of ice. Many thugs slipped although many were able to maintain their posture and continue forward towards the group, this led Kaito into a few more handseals.

The chakra would pump its way into the foot, causing an aura to encase around it. His foot would slam into the snow, channeling his chakra into the icy floor. Ice Assault! Thick jagged ice spikes would shoot from the ground into the bodies of the fallen thugs, they would pierce through almost half the group and render them useless. Blood would be squirted out from everywhere, the unforgivable ice being coated in.

The rest of the group would launch simultaneously into the air, there was no way Kaito would have the speed to fend them off after pulling off that technique. He peered back to the other three hoping they would counter in time.

[Jeff]

Koutaishi watched as his counter partner in this fight would use more ice techniques that would prove to be fruitful. For starters, he was able to cause them to slip and fall and even use ice spikes to come from that same part of the ground to come up and stab many of the bodies. It was like fighting a bunch of kids from back at an Academy who had no real fighting prowess; just a bunch of weapons.

Will this is getting real interesting.

At that point, Hana would look over at Koutaishi for the approval to strike as she ran forward with her sword before causing it to strike; coming down and across the bodies of the thugs as it would slice its way into them. It was not a pretty sight, but for a little girl, she was definitely very skillful and Koutaishi was grateful for that as he grabbed another kunai before throwing it at another thug who was unaware of it.

"This was easier than I thought." he would mutter to himself before looking up to Amaria who was still doing okay at top.

jutsuShow

*Shinden • Grass Cutter
D-Rank Kenjutsu
A stance shift combined with a technique the Shinden user quickly draws their weapon to their waist with the blade facing away from their body. The user then delivers a quick and brutal horizontal thrust that earns its name by being quite effective for cutting down unwary foes. In addition, the user can also use this ideal for a more effective defensive stance.

[Nevermind]

Kaito was impressed with the little girl's fighting ability, she defiantly fought to his standards of her. Kaito laid his eyes upon the battlefield, this was becoming bloodier by the minute. So many of the opponents were dying, Kaito wasn't the one for bloodshed but he had no other choice. He planned on scaring them with a few deaths and hoping they would retreat, but then again things don't go as you planned. Sweat dripped from the ends of Kaito's hair, he looked down upon the remaining thugs with despair in his eyes. It was either Kaito kills them all now to prevent future terror, or let them live and allow more towns to become ravaged.

Kaito ran down towards the battlefield with two kunai in his grasp, he leaped into the air and targeted two enemies. Without hesitation he threw the kunai and flickered into various hand seals, his chakra molded around his hands and created twelve inch long blades of ice on the released kunai, and pierced through the brains of the two unlucky foes. Landing onto the ground, he raised his chin to find the remaining five. A large breathe was inhaled and shortly exhaled afterwards, he turned back towards his allies observing their combat.

[Jeff]

This was getting troublesome, and Koutaishi was getting bored of fighting. It was already enough that he had to slay down so many weak thugs, and it wasn't really his cup of tea. It was as if he was at a stand still within himself because he didn't wanna show that he could use any form of ninjutsu, but he just wanted everything to end as quickly as possible as he looked over at Hana who put her sword back in her sheathe, running up to the Aisu and jumping onto him to bring him to the ground.

At that moment, Koutaishi would get a exploding tag and a kunai and wrap them together before throwing it over and activating a kai seal to release the tag into a burst of eruption that would blow up near the remaining five.

"Just leave us now." he would say with a sigh before holding his figure together and looking at Hana who would release herself off of the ninja and walk back to Koutaishi.

[Nevermind]

Kaito decided to let his allies finish the remaining off, the center of the town was painted with blood and decorated with dead bodies. The sky began to dim down, and moon was showing its reflection on the cracked windows which fell onto the floor. He watched as the little girl and teenage boy finished off the thugs, was there another way this could've been solved Kaito wondered. Was all this bloodshed necessary, no matter what way Kaito looked at it he couldn't of found another resolution that would've benefited the villagers.

His body shifted back a few steps and got within speaking range of the group, all the enemies were defeated. He raised his chin and pushed his straw hat upwards, his hair was brushed against his forehead and tangling over his eyes. "Thanks for helping out, what you did today was a good thing. You guys will be remembered for what you did today."

He turned his chin over to the dead bodies, the blood was blending in with the light from the sunset. He faced towards the direction where he was originally heading, he stood there for a moment admiring the night sky.

[Jeff]

Koutaishi would let out a deep sigh of relief before checking to make sure that no blood was staining his clothing. He of course, would not be perfect in terms of neatness as there were a few spots here and there that would frustrate him to no end as he just glared at it, before Hana would giggle slightly and push him. Koutaishi could not help but smile at the girl as he realized that she and Amaria were growing more and more each and every day.

His concentration was broken as he listened to his new found comrade thank him for the good deeds he had performed. Were they really good deeds? he would think to himself as he stared at the bloodshed that was around him. I painted a wall in a color that resembles the death of others and this person claims it to be good. he would think once more before exhaling.

"There were a lot of deaths. We do not know if these men were ordered to do what they did, or were forced into it. We acted without full knowledge of the situation and got lucky. Next time they could be ninja from a village or samurai." he would speak before looking around. "We were lucky." he added.

[Nevermind]

He faced the opposite direction of his allies, the wind was blowing from an angle that made it uncomfortable to look over there. The sky finally dimmed to the point that it shifted into night time, the night breezes arrived on time and sent chills into Kaito's spine. His ears widened up to absorb in what the man was saying, the words were arriving through the ears and sleeping inside his mind. A jumble of thoughts jumped around Kaito's mind and hopped its way into Kaito's heart, he understood that his allies mind wasn't at peace with what he did.

"Death necessarily isn't a bad thing, I believed these men needed to die to benefit those who live peaceful lives. It doesn't matter if these men were forced into it or not, from the looks of it they were clearly enjoying terrorising this town. The knowledge I possessed put me into the situation where I had to do something. It wouldn't have mattered if they were ninja or samurai, anybody who does this deserves the same treatment. And next time, if there is a next time, I will do the same thing I did today because it was the right thing."

He turned his face to gaze upon his ally, he stared blankly into his eyes for a moment before saying. "And trust me, I'm nothing close to lucky."

[Jeff]

Koutaishi would just take in a deep sigh once more before looking around. The woman seemed a bit relieved but still frightened of what had just happened. A few complete strangers just lifted her of a complete burden for the rest of her life and all she could do was stand with a wide mouth and listen to their conversation. The conversation was serious and Koutaishi was enjoying the answers of the fellow as he decided that it was time to accept him.

"Well, you are indeed right and I see that your motives in life are true and pure. Might you tell me your name?" he would ask as Hana would just smile in place of him, Amaria looking away in embarrassment. "I may have a proposal.. If you would like something to do with your time that may benefit us both." he would continue to speak for a bit.

[Nevermind]

"Usually people tell their own names before asking for somebody else's, but my name is Kaito" A smile founds its way onto Kaito's face, his eyes squinted and he began relaxing his muscles. "But I believe one of your friends called you Koutaishi, so I guess ill go along with that." He looked down towards the two little girls, he started staring at the vicious one like before at the coffee shop. He knew he wasn't going to intimidate her or win the staring contest, Kaito was the one who felt more frightened out of the two.

He let Koutaishi finish his sentence, a proposal was made to Kaito although the proposal itself was unknown. "I don't think you know what benefits me or not, my time is valuable to me but if you make an offer that I can't refuse then I'll begin listening." Kaito began smirking as his eyes flickered back between the three individuals, his hands slumbered inside his pockets and his neck began rolling in all sorts of directions.

[Jeff]

An offer he can't refuse? More like an that he won't have a choice to refuse. He gave up a lot. Koutaishi would think to himself before nodding yes. "My name is Koutaishi and I am from the Marsh Country. I was visiting here in the Tea country, looking for someone who would be of great importance to me. A certain person that can help me thrive within one of the smaller countries and lead them to match the powers of the larger ones." he would start to speak as Hana would turn her attention to Amaria before giggling and poking her.

"Hana stop." Amaria would speak as Koutaishi would stare over in their direction, causing them both to stop acting up.

"Someone who is willing to protect our loved ones and the less fortunate who have no one else to protect them. Is that going to be you Kaito?" he would start to speak again before realizing something else. "where are you from exactly?"

[Nevermind]

Kaito was becoming frustrated, he wanted to end this conversation as soon as he could without sounding rude. He wasn't sure if the man was fooling around or that he was actually telling the truth, the more this man spoke the less Kaito trusted him, but then again Kaito didn't trust anybody especially somebody he met a few moments ago. "So let me get this straight, you... want me... to help you empower the strength of a small weak country to that of one of the great nations" Kaito didn't have the slightest interest in this idea, Kaito knew even if he wanted to he wouldn't possess the power to do so.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but my path and your path seem very different. If I can't protect the ones I hold dear then how can I protect a whole village. Don't get me wrong, ill help out a few people every there and then but I won't make it my life's work."

Kaito became slightly surprised when he was asked where he was from, he hadn't been asked about his origins in a very long time. Kaito obviously wasn't going to mention anything about Kirigakure or the Aisu Clan, especially to somebody he had just met. "Where am I from? To be honest I don't really know anymore. That is something I have to find out for myself, you may call it my own path."

[Jeff]

It was starting to get obvious that this fellow teen was not going to do anything with Koutaishi and the girls. It was making everything seem kind of pointless to try and fix after that, which was not a problem to Koutaishi who would stand up and stretch, getting himself ready to leave the Tea Country. If one thing was for sure, it was that useless conversations and even more useless people were not going to be of use to him.

"Well if that doesn't follow your path, then I'm not going to try to force anything against you. You do not need to take a window of opportunity that I have given you to find out who you want to be or who you want to become. Being lonely will not help change anything that has happened to you in the past, nor will it help you become any stronger towards the future." he would smile at the girls before looking back to Kaito. "Kaito. The three of us will be leaving Tea Country in about three days heading back toward Marsh and Rain. We are going to be figuring out where it is exactly that we wish to stay and if you would like, you can meet us in three days near the border where we can give you a family, home, and purpose." he would add before starting to walk away.

"Hopefully you will find your purpose in life." he would speak as he walked away holding up a waving hand. "As you can see, mine is these two girls." he would turn his head and smile.

[Nevermind]

Kaito watched as Koutaishi and the two little girls began walking away, in his heart Kaito wanted a family but he didn't trust anybody enough. A mountain full of thoughts and emotions began flowing throughout Kaito's mind, old memories of Kirigakure and the Aisu were slowly being replaced by the idea of moving on. It was Kaito's dream to prove his innocence and return to the Aisu, what he thought could be reality slowly faded into a mirage.

From that moment on Kaito didn't consider Aisu his clan, just a source of power that will benefit Kaito in the later future. He wasn't becoming angry or wishing vengeance upon his clan, instead this thought made him feel happier and more at ease. The investigation on what happened the night Kaito fled was still in thought, all Kaito wanted was answers. For the time being Kaito needed to move on with his life, and he saw it walking away from him.

Kaito turned around, faced the other direction and began walking, it was up to him to decide if he would either remain lonely or greet those people at the border. Trust was a thing Kaito took way seriously, maybe it was time to grow up.