Talk To A Friend

[ShinobiTruth]

Maru knew that part of a shinobi's duty was to face war and death. He had been ready to fulfill that duty when he graduated from the academy, and he had no delusions about how grisly that would be. Despite all that, however, considering his current mental state, he had to admit that he was just slightly relieved when he had not been deployed to the front in the Soul Country. It was not that he feared that aspect of the shinobi life. He had killed before, with his bare hands no less. But this entire ordeal, between his father's death and Seng's betrayal, had taught the obscenely young jounin that he valued building things up instead of tearing them down. Thus, after making sure that all of the necessary posts were still manned at Jousai headquarters, he made his way down to one of the many construction sites in the village. Perusing his options, he found one that would find good use of his equally nonsensical strength: a structure of reinforced concrete being built, which required metal support beams with concrete bases to be erected and partially buried in the ground for stability. The foreman was both confused and just a little bit terrified as someone who was clearly a shinobi walked straight into his construction site, but after a very cautious agreement and watching him work for about five minutes, he relaxed considerably.

There were many questions. Clearly. Though shinobi were common in the village, they were of a higher social class. The notion that someone of that stature might see himself equal to those beneath him was a rare notion. Maru answered as many as he could and respectfully declined to answer those he could not. All he knew was that he had anxious energy he needed to burn. He had arrived in the morning and by early afternoon (other than the sight of him literally hoisting massive metal garters and beams with his bare hands), it would have been difficult to differentiate him from the other workers. Aside from being a bit stoic, the workers took a liking to the boy, respecting him for his hard work. Though it didn't make Maru open up, per se, it was easy to tell that it helped divert his mind from more disturbing thoughts.

Midday arrived, and with a bit of effort, Maru bought the entire crew several bundles of pan-seared pork dumplings and bao with a creamy spicy sauce. The men were elated, and Maru knew he had little use for the literal mountains of cash he had stocked up in his account. He knew better than to tell them it was from his father's savings and the sale of his childhood home. Now that he lived in the barracks at Jousai, he had no need for the extra space... and the memories it brought back weren't pleasant, either. Maru quietly separated himself from the other workers for a spell, eating his dumplings in peace. His skin glistened with sweat, and the white tank top he wore bore dirt and oil stains. Despite how dirty he was, the work was cathartic.

[Willoria]

Shoshiki Reina walked down the path quietly. She had made a stop at a bookstore. She could have gotten what she needed from a library but she didn't much like them, libraries meant returning books after all and her father didn't always allow her the time. She picked up a couple books on various theories she wanted to study to work on new jutsu, hopefully without telling her father, and also something for herself. She was blushing ear to ear as she walked down the street with a bag slung over her shoulder and a romance book in her hands. She knew her father would never approve, but planned to simply keep it in the stack with the others, hoping he'd never notice. Just as he never noticed what books she brought home any other time.

As she walked along, looking at the book as she opened it to the first page and started to read while walking, she hardly noticed anyone or anything around her. She might have tripped over Maru if she hadn't suddenly become aware of him in her peripheral and stopped dead in her tracks. She lifted her head and looked at him a moment, almost seeming to freeze. "Hi." she blurted almost dumbly, staring at him as she slowly began to realize how filthy he was. It was only after that she also began to notice other certain details, such as his arms. She found herself staring for a moment before realizing she still had the book out and quickly tried to tuck it away in her bag, not even noticing when it dropped to the ground instead. "What're you doing out here? That doesn't look like training sweat..."

'...damn it...'

[ShinobiTruth]

Maru was busy quietly chewing on the remnants of a dumpling as Reina approached. The normally perceptive jounin was relishing in the fatigue his muscles felt from the work. That sense of exhaustion and being able to see what you have been building slowly take form before your eyes... It was something truly fulfilling. As a matter of fact, he was looking at that building, now much further along due to his efforts, when a flash of blonde from the corner of his eye suddenly stopped moving, and a familiar voice pierced the raucous din of the street. Looking over, though his eyes were still muted, reserved in the emotions they displayed, even Maru could not stop them from widening in mild surprise. ”Oh... Hello, Reina-san,” he greeted, able to muster at least a little warmth in his voice. He wasn’t really certain why her cheeks were so red. Perhaps she wasn’t feeling well? Regardless, he had to acknowledge that he was glad to see her. Reina’s presence was a comfort to him.

Unlike the genin, the book falling to the ground did not escape his notice. Much to Reina’s relief, even as he got up and walked towards her, Maru didn’t really connect the title of the book with the subject matter of the text itself, instead taking a clean towel from his waist and picking the book up with it, not wanting to ruin the book with his oil and dirt-spotted hands. ”You’re correct. It isn’t. I’m helping those fine gentlemen with this construction project... They were kind enough to let me work with them. Put my energy to good use,” he explained before returning to his lone bench and shifting over to its side. He motioned to the seat next to him, offering Reina a seat, returning to his food.

Should she choose to sit, Reina might notice the subtle heat radiating from his skin. Maru was a bit of a radiator in that regard. No one had ever received a cold handshake from the boy for that very reason.