[Deleted]

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

The day was still young, and Kazui found herself off from work rather earlier than she usually did. A slow was an understatement, but at least she was able to work a few hours and earn a bit of ryo before she was allowed to leave. A sigh escaped the girl’s mouth as she made her way from the back of the kitchen towards the front, offering a half assed goodbye to the other employees that were working.

Kazui pushed through the double doors, taking off her apron as she did so, and took a deep breath of fresh air, taking in all the freedom and open space that was around her. Once she exited the building the energy was always different. It was quieter, more calm, and didn’t smell too much like the food they served, unlike the inside of the building. The girl didn’t like a lot of things, but it was nearly impossible to take for granted the feeling that freedom presented to someone.

Dark hues shifted as the quiet streets as she came to a realization that without her job, she had nothing else to do. ’I could go home and read, or I could train but..’ She would think to herself as she took another sigh. Everything she did was getting boring, even the things she loved doing so much. Her life seemed routine at the moment, and although she enjoyed her personal alone time, she knew that unless she found some friends nothing would really change. The Uchiha began walking down the sidewalk, and saw a face that she had seen before. Her dark gaze quickly shifted away as she tried to avoid meeting eyes with the boy, but curiosity led her to wanting to find out who the boy was and where she remembered him from.

Her brain quickly went into action as she began renouncing each and every theory she could possibly come up with until it left her with only one option.

”The academy..”

Kazui would whisper to herself as she celebrated with a subtle pump of her fist before she unknowingly walked past the boy.

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MADE BY MIZO

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

A stern gaze facing skyward, but with a purpose. There was a certain cliff, a famous one known not only throughout the village but the shinobi nations as a whole: the stone faces of the Hokage. They sat carved into the highest cliff face overlooking the village and was pretty cool to look at but... it wasn't enough, not for a certain young shinobi. He wanted to get up there and see the view from the top, maybe even pop a squat on one of the carvings, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

So the boy stood, almost in the middle of the street, as he contemplated the best method to reach his goal. A more experienced shinobi could have simply walked right up the face of the cliff but Mairusu was missing a certain technique to make that possible, so he'd have to find a new way. Surely there was a path that would take people right up to the top, right? Then again, the higher ups probably didn't want people loitering and littering so even if there was a simple way it was hush hush. No matter, that only made the journey that much better!

The genin's fixed gaze shifted slightly at the near brush by... someone. It was then that he realized just where he was standing and probably needed to get out of the way. Eyes narrowed at the figure that had passed him by, she looked familiar but with only a passing view it took him a couple moments to figure out who it really was. "Hey! Hey! Just going to walk past me and not speak, Kazui?" It was the Uchiha, they had been in the academy around the same time with Mairusu being a bit older and graduating ahead of her, though he figured that the girl would be getting her own headband soon enough.

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

Kazui remained to herself, her mind wandered as she passed by the boy on accident. She remembered where he was from but she couldn’t quite recall his name, something she often had trouble with. ’Was it..Matsu? No..no no no, they can’t be it.’ The girl thought to herself as her hand softly rested beneath her chin. The Uchiha would have kept walking, but the voice that called out to her made her stop in her tracks. The girl slowly turned around and saw that he was talking to her. She didn’t even notice that she had walked past him. Her mind raced, in addition to not knowing his name off the top of her head she also felt as if she weren’t ready to run into someone she knew, and to make matters worse, he knew her name!

’Oh no. I look gross, disgusting, and I smell like food.’ Kazui would think to herself. She was being self conscious about her appearance, and it was making her nervous, and so it was shown in her smile as she greeted the boy. Nervous laughter followed suit.

"Oh hi…”

She would say, still brainstorming what his name could be. ’Mai..uh. Maisu..MAIRUSU! Her facial expression lit up like a ray of light as she finally remembered who he was.

"Mairusu! I didn’t mean to walk past you I just wasn’t paying much attention. Sorry.”

She slowly approached Mairusu with tired legs. She had only worked for a few hours, but during those hours she did work, she gave her all. The girl stood beside Mairusu, for the first time in awhile and honestly she couldn’t remember if they were close friends or just acquaintances during their time in the academy, but it was nice to see a familiar face every now and then.

"How has things been? Ya’know being a genin and all.”

The girl would ask.

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

A brow raised as he watched the girl hesitate to turn around, perhaps that wasn't who he thought it was? It kind of looked like Kazui but then again she had moved past him kind of quickly so maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. He hadn't really seen the girl in a while and certain people did have a tendency to look alike. Well, that'd be awkward if that was the case but a simple apology would surely fix that and he'd be on his way after that.

Thankfully, his hunch had been correct and indeed it was the Uchiha. He remembered her being a bit more straight laced in the academy but everyone had an off day here and there so he wouldn't rush to judge. "Ah don't worry about it, I was zoning off, too." He replied while waving a dismissive hand. Telling the girl that he was contemplating a way to get to the top of the Hokage monument would be weird, especially in their first meeting after so long, though it'd probably be awkward regardless.

"Umm, it's going, I guess. Kind of on my own right now to do some special training. You've got to be close to finishing up at the academy, yeah?" Mairusu would reply. He had gotten an exception to forego joining a team, or rather, continuing with his team, for a little bit in hopes of getting the elusive and legendary sage to train him, but that was kind of at a standstill right now. He hadn't met the woman yet let alone started any training and his time frame was dwindling by the day.

Going the traditional route seemed so boring to him and the last thing the boy wanted to become was another middling ninja without anything cool to call his own. Even the girl standing across from him had the possibility of getting a cool pair of eyes which he wasn't necessarily the happiest about, but at least for one conversation his disdain could be tempered.

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

A smile grew on her face and soft laughter escaped the girl’s lips, well kind of, it was a tad bit forced and nervous more than it was genuine. At least he didn’t catch on to the fact that she didn’t know his name right away, that would’ve been painfully awkward, but luckily things worked out pretty well. It seemed as if he had also gotten lost in thought, but it was surely for a different reason than Kazui’s.

Offering a grin to the boy’s response as she approached closer, it certainly had been awhile, and seeing him here and now was very unexpected, it was different..a good difference. It reminded her of their time in the same class, and seeing how much he had grown and progressed, leaving her in the dust as he took strides towards graduation, it was inspiring to say the least, especially for the girl who was still lingering in between the realm of becoming a genin and being a student. She was ashamed of her past performances, but that was the old her. One meeting changed the way she operated as a shinobi, and she instantly began to show progress.

"That sounds really bland, but if it’s for ‘special’ training then I guess I understand...kind of.”

The girl would say before taking a deep breath. Her history at the academy wasn’t much of a secret, she was horrible when it came to anything other than academics, but times have changed.

"Yeah..I’m actually just waiting for everything to be finalized before I can officially call myself a genin, but as for the academy, I’m finished for now.”

’And hopefully I’ll never have to step foot in there ever again.’ She would think to herself as her gaze shifted to the ground beneath her. The wait was so boring which was the reason she picked up this silly job at mister Yusuke’s restaurant. The girl wanted to experience the life of a true shinobi, she was excited and her impatience wasn’t helping at all.

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

He didn't like being vague about his current situation, but a true explanation he felt wouldn't make much sense, either. Telling someone that you were getting personally trained by a sage was one thing, a cool one at that, but the genin hadn't reached that point yet so any deeper questions would have been met with a bunch of 'I don't knows'. He was going to go find that woman soon, his life as a shinobi depended on it as those he graduated with were surely learning new skills by the day and even those he had left behind in the academy weren't too far from catching up to him and the last thing Mairusu wanted to do was waste a bunch of time and have to play catch up to his peers.

"Yeah it's... kind of a weird situation, but it's gonna be so cool." He replied sheepishly hoping that Kazui wouldn't delve deeper for more details as they were scarce at the moment. As he figured, however, the girl wasn't too far from becoming a full fledged shinobi herself and was in the middle of a waiting period for things to get finished up. The boy had no clue how any of that official stuff worked nor did he really care, but it was always so annoying when stuff had to be put on hold for a certain conversation to happen or a specific piece of paper to get signed by an even more specific person; as far as he was concerned once the proper work was put in the results should have showed right then and there. "Done with the academy? Oh wow, you're farther along than I thought. Any idea what the hold up is?" He'd ask fully expecting to hear something along the lines of grown ups being the cause.

It was then that he remembered his singular purpose for being in the area and also his conundrum. Kazui seemed a smart girl so maybe she would know how to help. Granted, they were near polar opposites in terms of how outgoing they were but everyone had the capacity to pull an ace out of their sleeve every once in a while. "So hey.. you wouldn't know the best way to get up there, would you?" Mairusu would ask as he pointed to the top of the stone monument cliff. Just getting to the top would be great, but if she had a way to actually get on top of the carvings that'd be even better!

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[Deleted]

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

Seriously? He wasn’t going to give her some insight on this "special training” of his? Well she couldn’t exactly blame him, even if he were only being confidential, it had to be for a good reason. Kazui shrugged her shoulders slightly, as much as she wanted more information on this training, she understood that it wasn’t her place to have to know, and so she took his vague answer and settled with it. As for her own training, well, that has also come to a standstill for the most part. However, the girl was kind of glad that Mairusu was looking forward towards his training, at least one of them continued to take strides.

"Yeah.”

Her soft voice spoke out. In her mind she had begun formulating different scenarios he could be referring to. Was he training personally with the hokage, or was he getting some pointers from some random shinobi that just so happens to be a pretty good fighter? There were too many possibilities to note, but whatever it was, she wouldn’t let Mairusu out work her..not this time. The girl slightly shrugged at the question.

"I dunno.”

The reasons and cause for her wait could be literally anything, she wasn’t sure, although it hadn’t been that long. All she knew was that they were finalizing everything, she hadn’t even taken her picture yet, let alone be appointed to an actual squad. So hopefully her uninformative answer would suffice. Kazui’s eyes scaled the mountain side until it finally reached the faces of the current and previous hokage. Why was he trying to get up there? The girl had never even gone close to the monument, let alone standing on top of it. Her shoulders shrugged again as she answered.

"Hmm..I’m not sure. There’s only one way to find out.”

Kazui would say with a smile.

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Mairusu wasn't super surprised at the revelation that Kazui didn't know exactly what was keeping her from being promoted as the proverbial red tape was always tough to see through. "Just like grown ups, always hiding stuff." He'd reply with a huff. Even his own request to try and train with the sage was met with more than his fair share of waiting around, a bunch of meetings he either wasn't privy to or wasn't aware of at all, and just a general sense of 'what-the-hell-was-going-on-ness'. Albeit, their reasons did have some merit as the training was supposed to be some of the toughest in all the world and the village probably didn't want one of their newest shinobi to be broken at such a young age. There was also the fact that while the sage was a part of Konoha she more or less did her own thing, so the rumors had it, and there really wasn't a way to make her take on students. It was all up to chance whether or not the elusive woman wanted to take the time to train someone.

No matter, if the girl was progressing as well as she said she was then all would be taken care of in due time. For now, there was a more pressing matter to tend to, one that she didn't have an answer to either. Well that wasn't good. The boy figured that getting to the most viewed part of the village wouldn't be so difficult, though part of him enjoyed that the path to get there wouldn't be super easy. "You're right! Let's get a move on then!" Mairusu replied with bristling excitement. If you wanted to have a path somewhere but didn't want everyone to know about it then chances were you'd hide it behind some stuff, and around these parts it was a good guess to pick some trees or stuff.

With feet beginning to move the genin would start making his way out of the bustling center of the village; they'd also at some point need to get some elevation but that would come later. "So outside of the academy stuff, what you been up to?" The boy would ask trying to find a way to fill the silence. Granted, he was genuinely curious but avoiding awkward pauses was his top concern.

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

"Yep..just like adults.”

Kazui would repeat to Mairusu to let him know that she agreed. The girl could only guess what the hold up was, but all she did know was that she still had more to do before being assigned a team as well as a leader to teach them. According to the words of her sensei, she would be appointed to a squad before all of the genin teams were scheduled to rally, well she was waiting patiently, hoping that she would get the green light soon. It just sucked that everything was always kept confidential until the higher ups felt the need to provide information. It was annoying, but understandable to a degree.

As for the hokage monument, Kazui had no clue or idea of how to get up there, but since Mairusu brought it up, it seemed like something fun, interesting, and most importantly challenging. She had never been close to it, mostly because she never had time to due to the issues she was faced with on a day to day basis. Also it never truly appealed to her until now. As she looked closely at the faces carved perfectly into the mountain side, the girl noticed that it had a deeper meaning than what she thought. They overlooked the entire village, as the protector and leader, it was their duty. Kazui could see her face being up there one day. She however followed Mairusu’s voice and footsteps as they made off towards the mountain side. A smile on her face as she did so.

"Oh uh..I’ve just been trying to settle into my new life..if that makes sense.”

Kazui would say softly as her eyes shifted to the ground. She wasn’t sure if the boy had heard about her recent situation, but if he didn’t then that was great, she wouldn’t have to talk about it that much. It would be best for her not to do so, keeping her mind in the past wasn’t healthy for her, especially since she was trying to forget about her old life. Dark hues shifted back up towards the boy as she added on.

"and I also got a job, something to do while I wait, ya know.”

She would say as she showed the boy the apron that she normally wore while on the clock. The words "Drunken Monkey” embedded nicely across the front.

"It’s a funny name..I know.”

The girl would say with a slight chuckle. It was funny to her because she didn’t understand the context, and also monkeys were funny creatures already let alone them being drunk.

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

New life? A brow raised at the strange comment. Was it really that much of a chance going from the academy to almost being a genin? Granted, the full transition was different but Kazui hadn't graduated just yet so just what all was going on with her? Admittedly, the two hadn't really kept up with one another after Mairusu graduated and even when they were both still in the academy their differing levels of outgoing-ness usually had them running in different circles; not that it was a bad thing but it made remembering more minute details of a person's life a bit more difficult.

His head would turn at the mention of a job, dark hues taking note of the apron with a rather odd named printed on the front. Had she really been waiting around that long where getting a job had become a viable option to pass the time? Just what were those grown ups doing? "Is that a bar? How'd they let a kid get a job there?" Mairusu would ask as he continued walking. Already they'd made good headway out of the busier parts of the village and were now heading into some of the side streets. "So what are you gonna do once you get put on a team? Trying to balance team stuff, missions, and a job seems like a lot..." He'd continue.

Though the boy wasn't on a team himself he had been present for all the lectures when the academy instructors told those who were graduating what their new lives were going to consist of. Genin were going to spend a bunch of time with their new team training, going on missions and whatever else came with being on a squad, and it didn't leave much time for much else.

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[Deleted]

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

Kazui sighed deeply within as she anticipated what was going to come next. ’Here it comes..’ The girl thought to herself with a wince in her thought. She just felt that he was going to ask her what she meant. The look on his face said it all, he was confused and with confusion, curiosity never fell far from the tree. In her mind, she began practicing ways of how she could possibly divert the topic, things she could say that would make him leave it alone. She could challenge him to a race, or ask him about his life outside of shinobi work, those would be good ways to respond, so she thought. Fortunately for her, the words never came out. Mairusu instead just continued on, and didn’t think much of her comment.

More confusion seemed to come when Kazui showed the boy her apron with the words drunken monkey on display. It was a confusing thing to have to explain, yes it was a bar but it was more of a restaurant than anything, they just so happened to serve sake. Mairusu’s response however would cause the girl to look at him with a piercing gaze, her smile faded as she proceeded to slowly smush the apron into a ball, holding it in her right hand.

"I am not a kid..”

The Uchiha would start as her eyes were averted again. She hated being called a kid, the girl felt as if she were much more mature than most teens, let alone actual kids. Was it true? Eh, probably not, but it’s what she believed.

"Besides…The owner doesn’t let me go near the bar, we only serve people their food.”

It wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world but it helped her kill time whenever she felt as if training was beginning to feel a little too routine. It was also a good way for her to make some money on the side, money that she was using to save up for some gifts that she was going to give to Hiruko and Kazuto, to show her appreciation. As for the balance well, that was easy.

"You underestimate me Mairusu, I’ll be able to juggle all of my responsibilities, all while making time for myself.”

She would say confidently with a smile as the two continued on towards the monument. As they got closer to the mountain side, something made the girl wonder, exactly why he wanted to to get to the top.

"What gave you the sudden urge to get on top on the Hokage’s monument?”

She would ask.

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Were there was once a twinge of awkwardness but mostly lighthearted conversation the tone had shifted to a more tense and heavy direction as Kazui seemed to try and pierce the boy's very soul with her gaze and words. Was being called a kid all that bad? It was very much true and though she may have felt a leg or so above her peers for being done with the academy that didn't really change her age, appearance, or the fact that she got all edgy when being called a kid. Irony at its best.

"Sheesh, tone it down a notch, it was an honest question. 'Sides, if you want to run yourself ragged keeping up with all that then go for it, just don't give me that same look when you figure out I was right." The boy would reply as he turned his attention back to the path ahead, fingers interlocking behind his head as they continued on. Though he wasn't speaking from first hand experience when it came to the busy schedules of a genin, he had heard plenty from friends and former classmates about their current lives. It was either training, a mission, or some other team exercise that occupied their time, and though the 'missions' sounded more like chores that people or businesses were too lazy to do themselves they were assigned by the village and counted on their official records, so there was little choice but to do them.

Kazui would inquire as to why the boy was so set on getting to the top of the monument, a question that would cause him to stop and turn to look at the girl. "Why not?" He'd plainly answer before actually giving it some more thought. It would be a cool view of the village and perhaps he'd be able to brag to his friends about it but aside from that... well, did he need any other reasons? "It's something I haven't done yet and I'm always looking for some cool stuff to do, this just happened to catch my eye today." Mairusu would add. Whether the explanation sated the Uchiha's curiosity or not didn't really matter and if she asked if there was something better he could have been doing then the answer would be yes, definitely yes.

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"Still as annoying as ever, I see.”

Kazui would quietly mumble underneath her breath as she pouted, turning to look away from the boy. While he might have envisioned himself failing in her scenario, he had to keep in mind that Kazui was different than the rest. She held herself to higher standards, and always felt pressured to be perfect in everything she did. That’s why she always worked herself to exhaustion and would do it all over again the next day. She was much more responsible than most kids, even at a much younger age the girl was faced with hardship and scenarios that no kid should be faced with, yet she did so and never complained, so lumping her in along with a bunch of snotty nosed brats was almost as good as an insult to her. For a brief moment, her mood was beginning to get spoiled, but the girl continued alongside her friend as the silence grew between the two. However the silence was eventually broken as Kazui asked why he wanted to reach the top of the Hokage monument, in which the boy gave a bare bone, run of the mill answer. ‘Why not.’

Her gaze remained on the boy for a moment as she processed his answer, he did eventually add onto it however. He just wanted to do so on a whim, there wasn’t a particular reason behind it other than..well...why not. Kazui rested her eyes and slowly shrugged at Mairusu’s response, it was a good enough reason for her to tag along.

"I guess that’s a good reason. Although I’m not as adventurous as you, it seems fun.”

The girl would say, looking at the faces that were on display, and it was that moment that she decided that one day she wanted to be there, on display for the entire village to see, that was her new goal.

"Would you ever want to be up there?”

She would curiously ask.

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[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Kazui not being as adventurous as most people wasn't surprising at all. From what he remembered about the girl she tended to stick to herself or a very small group of friends and didn't really stick around all that much after lessons were done; something about taking care of her grandma or whatever. Having that amount of responsibility didn't sound fun at all, wasn't that what parents were for? Mairusu had never asked, not that he really cared all that much, though he did wonder every now and then if maybe she'd have been more fun without that family related chore?

"Well you're here now and that's what matters, so it's pretty adventurous in my book." The boy would reply with a cheesy grin. He was silently thankful to run into someone else who agreed to take this journey with him mostly to have a second pair of eyes in case there were any guards roaming about trying to stifle a kids creativity. But... y'know, having someone to talk to was nice, too, he guessed.

The girl would ask if Mairusu ever wanted his face to be carved into the stone monument and for a few moments he fell silent in thought. It was honestly something he had never thought about before now and it was quite the question. On one hand, it was a symbol of being recognized as the strongest shinobi in the whole village which was amazing, but on the other side of that coin the role probably came with being stuck in meetings all day and drowning in mountains of paperwork, which was not so amazing. "Mmm, nah, seems kinda boring. They probably have to be stuck in their office all day." He'd reply while mentally shoo'ing the idea away.

"Might be right up your alley, though. I think you'd do well."

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He was right, she was there with him, so even that in itself was adventurous for her. Normally, reading and training was all she found time to do, she had a schedule for almost everything so she never really found the time to be spontaneous or adventurous, and although she loves to experience new things, they usually come along naturally without her putting much effort into finding them.

"Yeah, I suppose you’re right, even though it’s your adventure.”

The young girl would say as she shrugged off the thought. She understood she was "boring” and what not, most kids and even adults thought of her in that light. Kazui however never understood why she liked the things she did, she didn’t like candy or ice cream that much, she liked to read, etc. Perhaps it was because of the way she grew up. A sigh escaped as the two got closer upon the mountainside. Mairusu’s answer didn’t surprise the girl all that much, it did seem like an extremely stressful job at least that’s what she learned from the academy. Kazui on the other hand liked the sound of the challenge, although she had no idea what she would be getting herself into.

"Thanks. Maybe one day I can be up there, if I work hard enough. But that can’t happen until I get assigned a team and stuff.”

It was true, she wasn’t even a genin as of yet, she still had a long road ahead of her. Kazui came to a stop as her eyes remained fixed on the stone, her chin rested gently in her hand as she thought, How the hell..do we get up there?

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