Aimless

[Ace Trainer]

Shio's morning of floundering about with Kasai had been interesting. Kasai was most likely going to be the next Mizukage from what whispers in the wind told him, so creating a relationship with him was going to be important. He walked with his hands in his pocket, his glasses had slid down his nose and sat almost at the top, so he was scrunching his nose up occasionally to keep them from falling. As people meandered and wandered around him, Shio seemed to simply move through the crowds unnoticed. Despite being a small child, Shio was not the type to run through the crowds, laughing and giggling with his friends. Quite honestly, even only at 9 years old, Shio didn't have a lot of friends. His professional, shinobi of greater calibre, didn't really want to pass time with a child, and his actual peers were far more interested in throwing rocks and playing tag than they were in shinobi business. This complex dichotomy that Shio existed in was why he spent the vast majority of his time with his people, studying and training.

And truly, that was for the best. They all felt he needed to get stronger and attune his connection to the world, not experience life as a kid.

One thing Shio had noticed about Kasai was the fact that he was almost certainly not human. Or at least not fully human. Something about him was unusual, and it had piqued Shio's interests. If only he could have gotten more data about the man...

[Sia]

Another dull, boring, drull day in the wonderfully damp village of the mist. It had been months since Kasai had found Maido in the heart of a cave and forced her to return to the Village. She wasn't exactly happy about it, but it wasn't the worst fate she could have been given by any means. Maido estimated it to be a Tuesday. The passing of time no longer phasing her, she didn't exactly have any plans going on for the time being. Day and night, she was awake. Day and night, she was bored. She needed something to do. Anything. Anything?. Inner-Maido materialized in her peripheral vision.

The streets were crowded. Mostly adults, save for a lone child. He appeared largely unnoticed by the general populace. He sulked through the streets, hands in pocket. Maido noticed him. He did seem a little out of place, in a way. Children didn't normally frequent this part of the village. He appeared to be rather bored. Or sad? She couldn't really tell which. She thought about asking him if he needed help. On the one hand, he seemed like he may be lost. On the other hand, he did not appear to be frightened, so perhaps he wasn't lost? You could just kill him, ya know. "Shut up!" Maido hissed. To any onlookers, she would appear to have been talking to herself.

She took a few steps forward as the boy grew closer. "Are you lost, little one?" A sincere smile spread across her host body's face. Her voice was soft and nervous.

[Ace Trainer]

The hair on Shio's neck stood as a body seemed to force its way out of the crowd and in front of Shio. His eyes thinned as he inspected Maido, pale skin like many, if not most, in Kiri. Red tints spotting her face in various places, stark red eyes, and an interesting hair style. She was skinny, far taller than Shio (no surprise considering his age), but something about her was almost certainly....off. Her voice seemed different took, not quite right. Despite the comfort she seemed to be presenting to him, she didn't seem entirely comfortable herself.

Nodding politely, he smiled at her. His pen fell from his sleeve, hidden but easily accessible, and into his hand. Curling it through the air the fancy orthography was meaningless until viewed.

"Aimless, maybe. But not lost, thank you."

The pen slipped back up his sleeve, and he reached up, adjusting his glasses to get another look at her. Something was off, not like Kasai, but not unlike him. He was interested. He stood, staring at her patiently like the polite child Shio was.

[Sia]

A closer inspection of the child revealed beautiful bright green eyes and chubby cheeks. What a cute kid. The child before her proceeded to whip out a device of sorts from seemingly nowhere, his sleeve perhaps? He then traced it through the air, causing words to appear in the very air before them, materializing his thoughts into words for her to view, rather than hear. Another interesting individual to acquaint herself with, it would seem. This type of thing seemed very jutsu-like, in her opinion yet she hadn't seen and indication that it took chakra to perform. The kid looked incredibly young, she thought. Is he a shinobi?

There eyes met, red to green. Though the words came out, her mouth remained closed. "That is an interesting little device you have there. I find myself a rather curious person by nature. Care to explain to me how it works?" Her gaze narrowed a bit. This could turn out to be a rather interesting encounter, she gathered. Very rarely did children so young have access to anything quite as interesting. He had to be a shinobi. Was he mute? Did he speak at all? She aimed to find out. "Are you in the academy?"

[Ace Trainer]

Shio could feel her inspecting him. It made him feel uneasy. Kasai had done the same thing but this felt far more...sinister? Was that the right word. It wasn't quite evil. But this woman was almost certainly more than she immediately presented, his intuition told him that much. Her bright red eyes sent a chill up his spine as they stared into each other. Then she mentioned his pen, a curiousity. His grip around the pen visibly tightened. This was his communication with the world, he wasn't going to risk some curious mind in a village of thugs and thieves get too excited over it.

Sliding it through the air, perhaps a little more reserved than previously, he wrote a simple message,

Its a gift of the universe. A voice for those who reserve their own.

A recited answer. This wasn't the first time Shio had to stave off curious minds. The reality was it was a simple fuuin inscription, something Maido would probably recognize by looking at it a little more closely now that her curiosity had been piqued. Then she asked if he was in the academy.

Shaking his head, he pointed to the forehead protector, smiling widely. The pen scribbled through the air again.

"I'm a chuunin. My name is Shio. Its nice to meet you."

Even Shio liked to brag.

[Sia]

A voice for those who reserve their own. How interesting, Maido thought to herself. As she scrutinized him, she realized that she was setting him on edge. Oh well. Maido did tend to do that, she supposed. Her other half materialized in her line of sight. He's so young to be a chuunin. That's true, Maido supposed. Quite impressive, actually. She could only recall one or two other's from before her imprisonment that reached Chuunin at such a young age. He had to be all of nine years old, she would guess.

Scrutinizing the pen in the boy's hand, she deduced that it was in fact made to utilize fuuinjutsu. Simple enough, she supposed. A droplet of blood flew from her fingertip and began to spell out words of her own in return.

Muramasa, Maido. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.

If the boy before her wasn't going to speak, she wouldn't either. It was a bit fun, truth be told. Bar putting writing on walls, Maido had never utilized her Sanguiskinesis to spell things out before. Certainly not in the air. Not that it was an incredibly difficult task, mind you. The occasion had just oddly enough never arisen. That should could recall, anyway.

Her blood-font continued to stretch out into more writing and were elegant and flowing, as though from a much older time. The way the words materialized appeared almost ancient in form, an older style of writing. But discernible enough especially to those with sharp minds.

I am impressed, silent one. Not many reach Chuunin at such a young age.

[Ace Trainer]

As Maido's finger dripped with blood, Shio took a step back, visibly shaken by the sudden appearance of blood. His glasses dropped a little, the rims obscuring his vision by just enough to make it so Shio no longer had to make direct eye contact with Maido or what she was writing. Almost immediately it became clear that Shio was not happy about the presence of blood. He read what Maido wrote though, his lips tight together as his eyes scanned through the air taking in the two blocks of text that would occur.

Part of him liked that Maido had adopted his style of communication, though different, the attempt had merit. However, the chosen medium, blood, made Shio wildly uncomfortable. It was incredibly obvious as such.

His pen lifted back into the air, his hands unsteady now, the swirling with the pen brief, reflecting his hesitation to speak at this venture,

"Thank you. I worked hard to achieve this rank."

He added a quick swirl on the end,

"What of you? Your talent seems to suggest you're quite strong."

He pulled back quick, taking another small step backwards to create more space between himself and Maido's eventual response.

[Sia]

Though it was immediately and blatantly obvious to Maido that the young boy before her was uncomfortable with her, she did not immediately catch on as to why. Ah, perhaps the sight of blood? She thought to herself. He was very young. Even to achieve the rank of Chuunin, he would have to have worked extra hard at such a young age. Being grossed out my blood was not so unheard of. An unusual trait in most shinobi though, she knew. Those with that issue tended to be weaned out or forced themselves to get over it. Some never really did. Some just buried it deep within the corners of their minds. Was she ever afraid of blood? How ironic that would have been, she mused to herself. She couldn't recall. Perhaps she was at one time, perhaps not.

Shio assumed she was strong just by answering back in his own style of communication. Or so that's what it seemed to her anyway. It was no matter. But was she truly strong? Sure, she could bend the bodies of men to do her bidding. Take complete control over another being against their will. Was that strength? She gazed upon the young boy for a moment before responding. Her hand came up and her fingers moved in ways not like that which one does when performing jutsu. Her words from before all joined together, forming into a singular mass of blood, small in size. It stretched out, forming her response.

I am sure that you did, little one. I am curious as to how your exam went.

A little saddened I did not get to witness it. I'm sure it was quite the spectacle.

I am unsure. Strength is relative after all. I haven't pushed my limits lately.

I apologize for the medium, I believe you'll find more of it during your career.

Maido wasn't entirely sure what to do or say to him. Perhaps it would be better if she spoke. Perhaps that should be the end of their interaction. She was curious, of course. Why choose not to speak? Was he a prodigy of sorts? To be a chuunin at such a young age was no easy feat, for certain. What a rather intriguing individual.

[Ace Trainer]

In an interesting dichotomy between the two, as Maido expressed herself with more blood in the air, the blood in Shio's face seemed to disappear. His cheeks, normally flushed with blood and visible pink, were instead ghost white. The same could be said for his small nose. His features, overall, just appeared slightly more gaunt, making it abundantly clear that he was very uncomfortable with all the blood that was in front of him. He tried to stand strong though, the statement that Maido punctuated their interaction with was correct, and despite his fears Shio was very much aware of it.

The mention of the exam had brought some momentarily relaxation to Shio, a small sigh of humor to himself.

'Quickly'

Was all he wrote. A quick curl in the air, a single line, truly defining how little he thought of the accomplishment, perhaps only further reinforcing how quickly it truly went.

'Relative I suppose. But measurable nonetheless. Not having the push your limits indicates strength all on its own.'

A good bit of insight from the child. And accurate to a boot. He paused, not sure where this conversation was going. Not entirely confident in getting any closer to Maido, in part because of the scary presence she gave off and in part because of her usage of blood. She did intrigue and interest him, though. Where had this woman come from.

'How do you do this ninjutsu?'

It had occurred to him she was manipulating the blood without any hand seals, had she channeled? He didn't notice if she did. Shio was no ninjutsu user, but the art did pique his curiousity.