[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

Kazui smiles at Issei’s reaction. It always felt pretty good to help people when they needed help, and not seek anything for your efforts. It was something that the young Uchiha was rather used to, even at such a young age. She often found herself helping younger kids or elderly people, but she mostly helped her grandmother. When her grandmother had fallen ill Kazui picked up the slack, she was only eleven years old but that did not stop her. The good feeling she got inside whenever she helped others was a feeling she loved, so she understood where Issei was coming from.

The two Uchiha continued on down the street with no set destination, they were just walking to walk, something that Kazui found herself doing quite often. It’s how she met so many wonderful people. Her answer about being a shinobi was rather simple, and Issei’s response was no different. They both dreamed of being shinobi for konoha, but Issei was living his dream already. She could tell, he looked a bit older and was probably leagues ahead of her. Kazui only wanted to be a shinobi to protect people like her grandmother, Kotomi. Or Yusaku, and many many other people she cared about. She wanted to protect them so that she would never have to be alone. It may seem kind of selfish, but that was the only reason why. His question concerning her troubles in the academy being revolved around the fact that she was an Uchiha would stump the girl as she thought. She did get bullied, mostly for being a weak Uchiha, but that was about it.

"Mmm..Yeah, kind of.”

The girl would reply as she softly nodded her head. She hated the earlier years of her academy days, they were the worst and it nearly caused her to quit. Being an Uchiha was one thing, being weak was another, the two didn’t mix together well. She was also scrutinized by her classmates and the elders of her clan for her lack of skill.

"It never bothered me though.”

Kazui would lie to the boy, her voice was soft and faded away towards the end. Part of her didn’t want the boy to worry, another part of her wanted him to know how she truly felt. The truth however could be told in her eyes, unfortunately he was constantly squinting and shading them.

"But, most of my problems were jutsu related..the academic part of it is a walk in the park.”

She would add on as they continued throughout the village.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Her initial answer was to be expected. If she told him otherwise it might have spark a completely different conversation, but he knew it would never have to happen because they were Uchiha. No way any of them ever got into the academy without some sort of attention. Good, or bad. It was to be expected. Either you were the kind everyone talked about for being so advance, or you were the kind that everyone hated because of what you were or how good you were. All depending on the class though. He knew some Uchiha that only experienced the first.

Her next response definitely triggered a switch within the Uchiha. "Doesn't bother you?" Issei mouthed silently looking down at the girl. He couldn't fathom how such an experience wouldn't bother her. Despite everything else good he had going in his life it bothered him to know that people he never did any wrong to was trying to hurt him, or feel like less than a person because of who they were. He even extended his time in the academy to find out why they were acting the way they were. He couldn't even imagine what kind of experience she had. Especially if she was dealing with bullying of any kind to go with what she was going on at home. He knew she was hiding something, but what?

"So Jutsu was your only problem you say?"

He could tell the latter of her explanation was spot on. Jutsu was a problem for a lot of the kids he was in the academy with, but if you were an Uchiha the academic part was a no brainer. It was in their blood and upbringing to be geniuses in that regard. "Maybe its not my place to prod you further.. But as someone who struggled with being picked on in the Academy I just have to know... How did you remain unfazed by it?" Initially he wanted to enter the convo with blazing words, but he didn't have the kind of place in her life to even dream about to do such a thing.

So seeing how far she'd take her explanation was the only way to truly see if his assumptions were correct, and the best part about it was that his reasons were much deeper than just knowing about her experience, but also what he did wrong to make the most of his. He spent so much unneeded time there, and the only thing he got out of it was that people were selfish, and looked to attack anyone they felt might over shadow themselves. His conversation with Inoyami seemed to only further that assumption, but there was still more to it than he was willing to admit and she was also proof of that.

The Uchiha hoped that maybe her life could perhaps make more sense out of his own. And if she was lying then he'd get to learn more about what she went through and could understand the thinking and perspective of those who actually had real tragedies in their lives. It would also give him the chance to build something he was afraid to confront outside of inability to understand the human emotion. Up until this point he'd pretty much spent most of his Shinobi career alone, and while he got some of the things he wanted done he still felt like he was missing out on so much more. Going on that mission with Nori sort of brought that to light.

[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

"Mhm”

The girl would mumble softly as she nodded her head. She wanted to make it seem as if she were unbothered by their actions, she wanted to be the bigger person, and wouldn’t talk down on them since they weren’t there to defend themselves. But deep inside Kazui hated the kids. Before they even took the chance to know her, they ridiculed, belittled, and outright abused her. As much as she tried to hide it, her anger was beginning to show through her actions. Her hand would accidentally crumble and crush the paper cup that the cotton candy was in. A sigh escaped her lungs as Issei moved to another topic. Jutsu was her only problem. The girl would slightly frown on side of her face as she shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah. Learning them seemed like it was just..impossible.”

The girl would explain as she grabbed another piece of the cotton candy and ate it. She was beginning to get tired of the cotton-like sugary construct. She tended to have strong urges for candy, only to have it fade away halfway through her finishing it, which is why she often tried to avoid acting so quickly, especially when she desired candy. Silence grew between the two as they walked side by side. Honestly she enjoyed the silence, it allowed her to hear the birds chirp and sing, unfortunately the silence was cut short as Issei brought up his question from before.

"Oh..um. Because, I just knew that they were jealous of my heritage. They envy the Uchiha, because they want to be the Uchiha.”

The girl would say softly. If it was one thing her shitty father taught her was that, the girl’s Uchiha pride should always remain high, regardless of who says what. She took his words to heart, and when he passed, they became engraved in her mind. She would never be ashamed for being an Uchiha.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Body language always had a way of showing the truth better than words ever could. Good thing he never really took his eyes off of her because if he did he would have missed out on a key moment of vulnerability. He wasn't entirely happy about it, but it was important to him that he got some truth out of those questions of his. There was a lot of pain she was hiding and subtle things like crushing the cup holding the candy bought was probably just the beginning of what she truly felt.

Her response to his previous question seemed about right. Learning jutsu wasn't everyone strong suit in the Academy. For him it just seemed to come natural. His mother said his emotional detachment played a big factor in why he succeeded so well in learning jutsu. Initially he couldn't make sense out of why she might say such a thing, but being detach emotionally made it easier for him to focus on things he could control such as learning, or even creating Jutsu. Obviously his social life lacked because of it, but that wasn't his goal, or was something that would pay the bills for him in the long run. He could always make time to learn the normal behaviors of people, or maybe not?

Talking to Kazuto sort of changed his perception on those words. Like What if he couldn't get those things back? They never outright had a discussion about it, but he could tell there was a lot of pain in his voice about some of the things he probably experienced in the earlier parts of his career. Including relationship. With who? He'd never know nor would he even start such a conversation. He wouldn't even have to words to participate nor did he have enough intellect to even participate in it. Nevertheless, silence followed for awhile before he'd finally take it upon himself to ask her how she handled her social struggles in the academy.

Her response left a rather interested look on the face of the Uchiha. He never thought those were the words that might come out of her mouth. They felt like the words of someone else. Probably older as his mother was once brought up on similar words, and that played a huge part in why she was so cold to everyone. Even till this days with the exception of his father and himself. "Cold words... But all of it is true unfortunately... I knew you were lying though..." A grin briefly showed on the face of the Uchiha. It wasn't like he was happy about, but he couldn't deny the odd possibility that she somehow remained unfazed by the kids that picked on her.

"Being us is hard.... A lot to live up to.. Blessed with incredible powers that everyone Shinobi would kill to have... Even our own people have supposedly gone to those lengths in the past. For what? Who knows.. I'd rather that information be for the adults... Oh wait, I am one now.."

Time had gone by so fast for the Uchiha, and once again he was reminded of how short he come so far in life. There was always room to recover and 'catch' up, but he knew that was going to take hours of dedicated work. The kind of which he couldn't do alone. He'd need a partner of some kind to do things with a long the way. At least when it came to missions. Alone he was restricted to doing D ranks. He needed more C rank missions on his belt, and that was something that could not be done without a team unfortunately.

"Also, to your early response....I wouldn't say impossible... I may not know you, but the vibe I get from the way you speak doesn't seem to match your struggles... I think something else might have been holding you back, and I hope whatever it was that is holding you back was makes you stronger."

"By the way uh..... The reason I ask if you struggled with being an Uchiha in the academy was because I went through the same thing while I was there... It was weird, and no matter how good about it I tried to be those kids just kept trying to use me as a Stepping stone.. I even dumb myself down to stay in longer just to see if things would change, and it still didn't.. Those eyes man... Anyways, I hope once you graduate that your able to find a team thats consistent and reliable. One that helps you grow, and ACTUALLY has a teacher... I have to grind without one unfortunately."

[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

"Yeah..well. They were my father’s words.”

The girl would say reluctantly as she avoided making eye contact with the other Uchiha. She wasn’t upset that he figured out, but he was bound to find out anyway. Deep down inside Kazui hated those kids who treated her differently. All she ever wanted to be was friendly with them, or at least to mind her busy and not encounter them at all. But of course they went out of their way to make sure the girl knew that they hated her. The feeling soon became mutual, but the girl never acted on it. It was simply againher moral code.

The boy was right, being an Uchiha was hard for multiple reasons both clan wide and village wide. They were frowned upon, yet the clan frowned upon others as well. They were blessed with great power, yet they ridiculed their children for not showing any promise. Issei continued on, and what he said was alarming to the girl. She looked up at him with a confused look on her face. They even went as far as to kill each other for power? Kazui would sigh as she continued beside a Issei.

"Yeah. I’d rather not speak of that.”

The girl would say as the two continued to walk. She didn’t want to delve into the talk about Uchiha’s history, no offense but not from him. He was still young like her, the information could have been false or taken out of context. There was no true way to find out unless they were allowed to read the Uchiha’s secret documents. Which she had no true interest in reading as of now.

"I suppose.”

The girl would mumble softly at the boys first statement. However, she felt as if she were the only thing that was holding herself back. Negative thoughts and feelings were hoarded inside of her, creating a mental roadblock in her mind which stopped herself from progressing forward. Issei seemed to know a lot, she could only feel happy to know that someone cared, he wouldn’t bring it up if he didn’t.

"People can suck sometimes. But I hope I get a good team as well, a group that can help me grow, not only as a shinobi but as a person. I have a lot to learn, according to my obaasan.”

The girl would answer.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Issei was glad to hear optimism in her voice in regard to what she was hoping for when they day came to be assigned to a team. The last thing he wanted was for his experience to rub her the wrong way. The majority of the people from his class that were placed on teams had already been promoted to Chuunin, or they remained consistent with the same people, teacher, and everything else. His case was pretty rare, and some time from now he expected for things to try to pick up from where they last left off, but there was also a good chance he'd be promoted by then as well. He had goals for himself, and if his potential was as high as he'd hope it was then it would not be long from now that he'd be on his way. He could feel the success deep from within. All he needed was to find it.

He wondered if she felt the same way. In between questions it appeared as though she was constantly in deep thought. It was hard to not want to pick her brain, but even he was starting to reach a point where he felt as though he was talking way too much. Communicating on this scale wasn't like him, but he really wanted to step out of them realms of being the typical edge lord Kazuto described. Sometimes it had its moments where it felt good, but there were times like this one where he'd feel as though he wasn't doing it right. "Sigh.. So what now?" The Uchiha asked rhetorically before responding to his own question with another. "Where does one go from here? I've never had anyone interested in actually sticking around unless I was sort of following them.." Issei had a strong feeling that his words might rub her the wrong way, but if he were to act like his normal self there was a god chance he'd just leave.

The last thing he wanted was for the girl to feel like she was problematic and contributed to being the reason why he left, but he didn't know what to do. Every encounter he had since becoming a Shinobi involved the other person sort of taking the lead. Whether it was Tsuume, Inori, Kazuto, or Inoyami. All of them sort of lead the way. All he had to do was express interest in something they might be able to help him with and walla, human interaction. "What should we do?" He asked in hopes that she might actually come up with an answer of some kind. Hopefully not the kind that might hurt his feelings though. She already had this way of seemingly being uninterested even though today showed it wasn't the case at all.

If she couldn't think of anything then he'd just have to step up to the plate and come up with something himself. With her being in the academy he was certain there wasn't much he could actually do for her unless she asked him specifically. It was hard for him to believe that at this point she'd need the kind of help that a teacher wouldn't have provided already. Training was just too one tracked anyways, and honestly was not the best way to build a relationship with someone. Unless you were teammate, or perhaps already in the process of training and might actually be of help by interrupting.

[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

Kazui’s eyes quickly shifted to face Issei as he spoke. So what now? - What now? Wasn’t he the one who started on this adventure, surely he had something up his sleeve, or at least something he desired to do on this boring day. The boy continued on, further adding onto his previous question. He wasn’t used to company sticking around whenever he did thing unless they took the lead, and he simply followed on. After being around Issei for this amount of time, Kazui began to realize that he was more like her than she expected, albeit that she did a way better job of socializing to an extent. Each moment they shared with one another, Kazui would see deeper into his personality from the way he spoke and the way he carried himself. The girl’s shoulders would shrug slightly as her gaze returned to the street in front of her as she walked.

Unfortunately she too was having troubles. If she had any idea of what to do, then she would have surely told Issei, but she didn’t know anything about her other than the few things he shared with her. Kazui was an extremely creative being, but her version of fun may differ from another person’s idea. So..what now? Kazui would ask herself.

"We continue to walk until something fun comes up. Or we could just chill in the park and just talk like we are doing.”

They were trying to talk, but unfortunately Issei had social issues, and Kazui was in no position to take the lead, since she was only tagging alone. However, at this point the two could just be together and not share a single word to each other, and Kazui herself would consider it a good time, and time well spent. After they continued walking, Kazui would turn to face Issei, there was something she wanted to know.

"What is your family like?”

The girl would ask, not trying to be invasive, she was only curious. She wanted to know what he had to deal with it at home, and try to see what has made him the way that he is. She likes learning more about other people, she was just always too afraid to ask.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Issei would have understood if her response went along the lines of her wanting to leave and trying again some other time. There wasn't a set amount of time that was required of someone to be around another right? Probably not, but it wouldn't stop him from thinking about how much of a loser he was if he left. What kind of person in his position would have a hard time holding the attention of someone younger than himself? That wasn't to say that her intelligence was beneath his own, but more so that the extra years of life he'd live so far might give him more insight on things to talk about than her own. Oh Well. It was all the Uchiha could think of as he waited for her to finally respond to him. He couldn't even look at her while he waited for the disappointment that was sure to come.

Much to his surprise she'd actually have a suggestion to go with. It was almost as if she was actually enjoying his presence. A small grin briefly made an appearance, ultimately fading just as quickly as it came. He didn't want to reveal too much of how he was really feeling, accepting her offer was more than enough. "I don't think I've ever gone to the park with anyone outside of my parents.. I'm down." From here on out he'd keep a straight face going forward. He'd already gone well passed the amount of times he'd smile in a day. The last time he smile this many time was when he had the pleasure of listening to Kazuto make jokes about their clan leader.

It was good for the time being that he finally had some sort of direction to go in terms of where the day might go. Not having to suggest anything related to being a ninja was a sigh of relief. Up until now that was the only way he ever really knew how to make use of someones time. Now he was getting a chance to do something different. Much like the time Tsuume invited him over to her garden.

Once they'd start heading in the direction of the park the girl uncharacteristically turned to face toward the Uchiha. Isseis optics met her own with widen eyes of curiosity as he thought about what she might be thinking about asking him. "What is my family like?" The question left the Uchiha in awe. Never had he been asked such a question before. More importantly it was something he felt he could use in the case he encountered someone else that got his attention.

"Never been asked that before... Hmm, I guess I'll start with my father..."

Issei wanted to make sure he took his time before responding to the girl. Not only did he want to accurately portray his father, but he wanted to describe them in the kind of way that she could understand. Especially after what he'd heard about her own parents. He didn't know if his response would help, or make her feel worst, but he'd do his best to give her what she wanted. "My father his a highly charismatic, optimistic, hard working man." He start his explanation with. If he had any gas left in the tank he might have actually smiled.

"He was one of the better Shinobi in the clan during his time.. Very popular, and was a model Uchiha for the direction they were heading. Graduated the Academy I think top of his class? And was actually loved by all the people he encountered... Very anticlimactic my mother always says when describing his life... My father went on many missions as a Genin, most of them D rank as he love serving the people of the village.. After about a year he decided he was ready to rise in the ranks to progress his career.. The Chuunin exam was a no brainer for him."

He hoped that his story about his father wasn't coming off as being too showy, but everything he spoke of was the truth. "Once he got promoted to Chuunin he did what many of the Shinobi before him did. Take things up another notch. That was until he discovered a love for something that would change his life.. Cooking meal." The latter leaving the Uchiha shaking his head. "Not much longer upon discovering that love did he called it quits." A shrugging of the shoulders followed. "That decision made ALOT of people angry.. I'm sure you can imagine how angry our people might have gotten."

Issei shook his head again before continuing probably what was unknowingly an unnecessary story. "The disappointment went beyond just our clan, but to a lot of the Shinobi in the village... But he didn't back down in his decision. The idea of making meals for his people and the village was something that made him happy, and is responsible for how he connected with my mother.."

A brief intermission occurred as he thought of how to properly insert his mother into the story. "She was considered to be heartless... Growing up in a time where woman weren't as respected as men in the world of Shinobi. Always having to work ten times harder she described.. Overlooked as a child, and rose through the ranks almost as fast as my dad.. She was even one of the people that looked down on his decision to retire early to be a cook.... Ambitious, cutthroat, powerful, and loving to those she cares for would be a perfect way to describe her.. Even if that love only involved myself, my father, and the village... She's the reason why I became a Shinobi in the first place.. Both my parents worked late, but they always found time to make for me, and have always been there for me when I need it... Something a lot of people don't have. They raised me to never take that for granted."

[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

Kazui slightly smile at Issei’s response. He had never been to the park with anyone other than his own parents. Kazui on the other hand had never been to the park with her parents at all, her grandmother may have taken her once, but other than that, she was often there enjoying her peace time alone, just relaxing without having to speak to anyone. As bad as she disliked making new friends and talking, she knew she did not want to be that type of person. Issei’s response led the girl into asking about his parents. For her it was to see if he had a loving family, to see if he had the same problems that he did. Who did he learn from? Who taught him wrong from right. A parent’s influence is exponential and very impact on their child, which often led to their child acting a certain way.

Dark eyes darted to the side to look at Issei as he began answered, she nodded her head to affirm her question. The simplest things often interested her, but she found them intriguing, she liked learning even if she didn’t realize it. Kazui wasn’t surprised that no one else ever asked him, most people weren’t like Kazui in that manner. As Issei went on about his father, Kazui smiled as he gave the girl pretty good details about his father. Speaking of his father in high praise, the girl listened. A smile on her face as they entered the park. Here he was, rarely talking, yet now he couldn’t shut up when it came to his parents, it showed a lot about him.

"Yeah..I’d assume that didn’t fly well with our clan. But who cares..follow your dreams, right?”

Kazui would say as she continued alongside Issei. The boy would continue on to talk about his mother. She was almost a better shinobi than his father, she shot through the ranks to prove a point it seemed like, that women were just as strong as men in regards to being shinobi. Overall Issei had a loving family, and they always took care of him. That was good, but Kazui wished that she could say the same.

"She sounds like an amazing lady, perhaps one of these days I’ll get the chance to meet her.”

The girl would say softly as she continued, squinting her eyes as she turned to face him again.

"Such an amazing family, that explains a lot about you.”

Kazui would add on. His family was probably the reason why he was nice enough to ask Kazui to tag along with him, and also pay for her cotton candy. Surely that had to be the reason.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

It was cool having someone to talk to that was actually supportive of the life he had growing up. It wasn't like he ever gave anyone else the chance to have this degree of insight, but he was smart enough to know that if he did they'd just scold him for having something else they didn't have. A vast Majority of the people in his class lost a parent, a few of them even lost both so there was a lot of resentment toward him. He couldn't deny the feeling of being able to brag about his own parents, let alone even talk about them. They meant the world to him, and every were model people for the village they loved so very much. "Right." The Uchiha agreed after her response to her dad choosing to pursue his dreams in becoming a cook rather than a Shinobi.

From the looks of it she remained unbothered by the fact that he was talking about his parents, even though he'd heard from his own mother that she did not have any. For someone to grow up in such a way he couldn't fathom why it was so easy for her to listen to him talk about his family, but others couldn't stomach even knowing you had them. This girl was definitely special. Probably the reason why his mother pointed her out to him. There were plenty of Uchiha who'd probably gone through similar things, but this was the first time she ever went out of her way to actually talk about one of them. She must have saw a great deal of promise in her. "Oh yeah... She's the best. Nothing better than having a mother that not only has a important position in the village, but is capable of whipping the butts of a vast majority of the people in it." His mother was a Lieutenant in the villages police force and had reached the rank of Jounin.

"Of course you can.. If you want? I have no problem introducing you at all."

There was no denying that by this point she'd most definitely gotten on his good side. Isseis parents were the people that mattered to him on a personal level. He knew no matter what he could trust them with everything. "Yeah they are... If only more people had someone in their corner like I did. But this job we are signing our lives away to doesn't always guarantee such a future unfortunately." There was no debating the risk that were involved by being a Shinobi. His mother worked and trained hard so she could come home to him, but being strong didn't always guarantee safety.

Sometimes it was a matter of pulling the right straw. Many of this villages best lost out on the chance to come on based on a variety of different factors. Most of them went down trying to protect others, while some were never even given the chance to truly defend themselves. The latter referring to being ambushed. Some were defeated by natural disasters, and even lack of resources. Anything could happen when you were days away from home.

"So um... What about your parents?"

The Uchiha didn't want to ask that question since for the most part he already had an idea of the answer, but he didn't want her to know that. Plus he didn't want to seem like the only interest he had for being here was himself. He wanted to know a lot about this girl too. Despite all the odds she appeared to be pretty well mannered, ambitious, and had goals just like anyone else. If he wanted this to go anywhere at all he had to be willing to take some risk. Not everyones life was perfect like his.

[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

Kazui shrugged her shoulders slightly as Issei responded to her about his father. To be fair it was his choice regardless, if he sought out to be the best cook in the leaf, then he had every right to do so, free of judgement from his peers and acquaintances. Kazui didn’t know too much about the world, but she understood that everyone had their calling, following that would more than likely bring blissful happiness. Ignoring it didn’t seem like the best idea, and while he was an important piece of Konoha's shinobi forces, forcing yourself to do something you had no desire in was bad for the soul.

Kazui found peace hearing Issei describing his parents, especially his mother. He talked so highly of her, and it was clear that he was grateful to have them both. Kazui never knew her mother so she didn’t quite have that type of relationship, which meant she wasn’t really sad when people bragged about their awesome parents, besides the girl had her grandmother, and she was just as good. When it came to her father, she liked to forget about him, but found doing so nearly impossible. She hated him with every fiber of her being, yet loved him with her entire heart. Thinking of him often brought her anger, he made her life a living hell and yet she smiled through it all. She hated herself for desiring the man’s affection, it was clear he had no intention of loving her as his child until it was too late. A sigh escaped Kazui’s lips, her eyes shifted to the ground and back towards Issei.

"That would be great.”

She would reply softly with a big smile. She genuinely wanted to meet Issei’s mother, perhaps the lady could help Kazui learn about her own mother. The girl would toss the empty cup into a trash bin as they entered the park. She enjoyed talking, although this was a tough conversation to have, yet the conversation got even more difficult. Issei would ask about Kazui’s parents..which felt like the girl was hit with a bag of bricks. The girl hesitated to answer, a weak smile on her face as her head lowered, looking at the ground below as she walked.

"Um..”

The girl would start. As bad as she wanted to lie just to keep the vibes light, she had a feeling that many people especially within the Uchiha clan already knew about her situation.

"I don’t know..I’ve never really gotten the chance to meet my mother.”

She would say in a ghost like whisper. She would shrug her shoulder before continuing. Her mind raced, and her eyes shifted up towards the sky. She wanted not to speak bad about her father, especially since he was no longer there to defend himself.

"My father..well.. he was a jerk...that’s it.”

There she answered as best as she could. Hopefully Issei wouldn’t want her to delve deeper into her parents, besides she had a loving grandmother who made everything better. Perhaps she should have started with her grandmother, and only mention her instead of her actual parents.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

If there were any looming doubts about how he was handling this conversation her smile definitely did well to show he wasn't doing all too bad. One of the things he wanted to get out of this conversation was for her to take a genuine interest in himself. Wanting to meet family members seemed like a positive sign going forward. All he had to do was make sure that his next question didn't ruin everything. He didn't really want to ask, but given she asked him the same question it would be quite unrealistic for him not to. Even if he knew deep down that her household history wasn't the best.

Her initial response to his question was definitely cringe worthy. There wasn't many times he felt grateful for being emotionless for most of his life, but this was definitely one of those moments where it came in handy. He needed to maintain a straight face in the midst of potential hearing, or seeing something from her with emotional negative implications he could never fathom. "Never got the chance to meet your mother?" The Uchiha mumbled slightly trying to keep his face together. The thought of growing up without his mother was the worst feeling he could possibly think of. He couldn't imagine what his life was like if it were real. No telling how his father might have responded to that, nor how he would have once he got to the academy. Maybe he be just as edgy as the very people in the clan he looked down upon.

Talking to her really had him feeling as though he took his life for granted, and even though he showed every bit of appreciation he had for his life those moments were he judged others begin to come into question. There wasn't many people like himself in the clan that had a mother and father they could talk to and see everyday. There were even more people in the village who experienced similar experiences like her own. If he didn't know one of his parents, or even both he'd probably be angry looking to hurt someone too. There was no telling someone how to handle feelings like that. He'd just take in a silent deep breath and prepared for the next set of words she had to share for him. It wasn't many too be frank either.

"Man..."

It was all he could say. Initially he thought about speaking of his father, but instantly his mind picked up on it not being the best idea. Even if he wasn't trying from a logical perspective it would just sound like he was rubbing his privilege in her face. For now he felt as though he spoke enough about family relations.

"Sooooo..... What kind of plans do you have for yourself in the future? Shinobi wise that is.. You figured out which nature you have the most affinity for?"

He felt this kind of conversation could be a good change of pace for the both of them. Especially this was the kind of topics he was good at. It involved nothing but the nature and business of everyday Shinobi life. No feelings and emotions involved. He was certain that this kind of topic was something that she might be able to handle on a much bigger scales. He knew of her struggles, but that didn't mean she didn't have vision like himself, or any aspiring Shinobi at that.

[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

There wasn’t much that she could or rather wanted to say about her family. To be honest she had gotten the short end of the stick and never really wanted to think about it, however she felt as if she handled the situation well enough that Issei would understand just a fraction of her situation. Growing up was hard, at least for her, she never got to experience the love of a mother, or the protection of a father. She always wished for better and thought of the "what if’s”, and although she eventually found peace in her own skin, she couldn’t help but envy Issei. It wasn’t fair.

"Mhm.”

Kazui would hum with a nod of her head. She wouldn’t add a follow up or anything after the description of her father, instead a moment of silence befell the young girl and her counterpart as they continued through the park. She scratched the back of her head nervously, hoping that the vibe wasn’t ruined. It was easy for things to turn awkward once sad things and what not made their way into the conversation. Luckily enough Issei would take it upon himself to change the topic and Kazui silently thanked him for that. An inner sigh would put the girl at ease as she listened to the boy’s question. ’Hmm..’ She would muse to herself as she placed her hand beneath her chin. Dark eyes shifted towards Issei as she spoke.

"I plan on being the strongest in the village...”

She would go on as she lightly placed a fist on her open palm.

"and protect everyone I care about.”

’And I’ll never lose anyone close to me ever again.’ The girl would add on mentally as she clenched her fist a bit tighter than before. As of now she only had one person who was fueling her fire, and that was her grandmother. A moment passed before Kazui caught onto the latter portion of Issei’s question. Chakra nature?

"W-What’s a chakra nature?”

The young girl would ask curiously as she tried her best to ignore the slight irritation of her eyes going in and out of focus.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Being the strongest in the village? A sort of sage nod followed as he stared briefly into the optics of the girl. The first thing that came to mind was all the stuff that Kazuto told him. As odd as it was he felt compelled to sort of tell her the things that was told to him, but then kind of just strayed away from the idea for many different factors. For one, that conversation was something that was between just the two of them, and while it didn't involve some sort of secrecy stuff that no one could know about there was just no telling how it might effect her. After all the conversation was catered toward him.

The next was that he didn't have nearly the same amount of experience that Kazuto had. Age aside, that was about the only thing they were close in. What the hell would he look like trying to put her on game with information he had not truly lived to understand. He needed to just be himself. Anything outside of that was just going to make things weird, and based on the way she acted toward him so far he could tell she wasn't the type to take bullshit from just anyone. She was extremely mature, and like his mother said many times trauma had a way with doing that to you. Perhaps that was why he was so behind in his life and career. It mattered little to him that he could make up for it, and mattered more to find out why he was in the place he currently was.

It sucked that meeting her was the way for him to truly understand. He never really experienced any hardship growing up. Outside of that incident that changed his life nothing else happened that was worth talking about. A robbery with no real justification didn't amount to much, but the people he talked to understood the deeper feelings behind that moment. Other than that his life was as close to perfect as you could get. Both parents alive, both of them respected within the clan and the village, and anything else you could think of. She had nothing but herself and whatever goals she set for herself. "I like the sound of that.." Issei responded calmly, but deep down he could feel a burning sensation from her words.

They were simple, but they meant everything to him. It was the reason why he decided to change the life he originally wanted to live as a kid. He wanted to protect the village and to be a beacon of hope for it in the darkness. Fame, and all of that stuff was for unsung heroes like Old Man Kazuto. He was the kind of person that cared very little for attention, but got it anyway based on all of his major accomplishments. Himself on the other hand? Just wanted to do whatever was needed of the village. Even if most of it might have to be done behind closed doors. Nevertheless, he awaited her response on what her chakra nature was. It was common for the Uchiha to have an extremely high affinity for Katon, but having an affinity for other natures was also possible.

"Whats a Chakra nature?"

Initially he thought it was odd that she would ask him that. She was extremely smart and well rounded, but maybe this was a result of having to deal with stress and the other issues that came with trying to be a Shinobi as an Uchiha. Not everyone had the luxury he was afforded. "Hmm... whats the best way for me to explain this." The eyes of the Uchiha begin to wonder around while his fingers resting on his chin to compliment his 'deep' thoughts.

"Chakra nature by definition are the five elemental chakra natures, which are the foundation of all elemental ninjutsu. So uh, Katon.. Raiton, Suiton, Doton, and Fuuton." He was certain that by this point she at least had to be familiar to what those are. At least he'd assume. "Everyones Chakra has an affinity to one of those elements.. By that I mean a connection with that nature that makes it much easier to learn, or use them. Your affinity to them is usually genetic.. Hm, so for me I have a strong affinity for Katon." The latter of his explanation being followed by a snapping of his left fingers. A sort of flame would ignite briefly from his lndex finger before shaking it off.

"One day I'll perfect this idea of mines, but I think you get the point.. Right?"

A sort of a cringe face followed as he hoped that the explanation he provided was solid enough for her to understand where he was coming from. Despite only being a Genin he was still further along in his career to where he felt he could explain something like this given his right of passage. He figured by this point she hadn't reach the part in the academy where they identified this. Although, to be honest his mother identified his affinity for him.

[Deleted]

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

Kazui offered a nod as she hummed in agreement to Issei’s statement. That was her dream and was the reason she worked so hard to achieve her goals. While the hardships she had been through were a big factor in the reason why she pushed herself so hard, that was merely just a part of her past, only a piece of her story, there was much more than that to the girl. The fire burning within that makes her want to protect everyone she cared about. Many would say that that was the true way of the shinobi, but in reality it was a more selfish reason than just protecting. She never wanted to lose another loved one, for her own well being.

While she was alone for the most part, she still had her grandmother to hold on to and to cherish, albeit that the time the two had together was nearing the end Kazui could feel it in her bones, but she tried her best to ignore it, that way she wouldn’t be concerning others such as Issei in her personal life and problems, even though he already knew a great deal about the young girl. The news of the girl often spread like a wildfire, not only throughout the Uchiha clan, but through some parts of the village as well. A weak child, no parents, and now her grandmother was ill, it seemed as if the girl could never catch a break.

Issei’s question threw Kazui off a bit, but once he explained it to her in depth, it all became clearer to the young girl.

"Ohh yeah yeah..adding elements to your chakra. I knew that kinda but..”

The girl would muse as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. Everyone always said this and that about chakra nature, and she always saw her sensei and others perform flashy ninjutsu with said chakra natures, but she herself was absolutely clueless as to what her own chakra was. Was it fire? wind? She was never taught how to find what her nature consisted of, which often made her question if she even had a nature at all.

"I don’t know my ‘nature’..”

She would say gesturing quotations as she spoke. Her eyes remained fixed on Issei as with a snap of his fingers, a spark of flames could be seen for a brief moment. Trying to mimic him, Kazui would snap her fingers as well, but nothing happened, which led to the young girl inspecting her fingers as if they were the cause behind her failure.

"Yeah..I suppose.”

The girl would add on as she continued to try to create a spark of fire with her fingers.

@tagsomeone ● notes here ● word count

MADE BY MIZO