[Kojima Daisuke]

DO NOT MISTAKE MY KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS

It had been a very long day for the young sage. His day had started before the sun had even begun to peak over the horizon, training with Kaede and Don’yokuna in an effort to be able to utilize natural chakra. Their training had been growing progressively more intense as of late, with Daisuke actually working with the strange energy, learning to bend the chakra through his body, but it was such a taxing process. It was no wonder he was requested to do more physical training prior to using the energy. Even gathering natural chakra in the body seemed to take a lot out of him, and balancing the chakra was still quite the struggle.

Now, the sun was setting over head, the young Chunin clearly losing track of just how far he’d been pushing his mind and body. He felt exhausted to say the least. He had said goodbye to Kota, in addition to his two teachers for the day, and was now back within the village walls of Kumogakure, just as the stars above had begun to sprinkle the sky with their dull twinkling light. Oranges, pinks, and purples danced above, as the warm spring breeze trailed through the city streets, which had been very much alive due to the nicer weather. As much as he could have enjoyed a time like this, right now, Daisuke wanted nothing more than a cold drink, and warm food in his stomach.

Hands found themselves in the pockets of his gray joggers, still dressed in his sweat covered training clothes, feeling like returning home to change and head back out for the night, a task much too tall for his current energy levels. Following his nose, though, there was a great teppanyaki and hot-pot place that seemed to be calling his name.

Stepping inside, passing the curtains that draped over the door frame, Daisuke would be greeted with the familiar calling, "Irasshaimase!”

He’d nod his head in respect, giving thanks for the warm welcome before taking a seat where he found one at one of the larger communal tables. Shortly after, he’d be greeted by a hostess who would take his order, a large vegetable and meat assortment platter, a spicy miso broth, along with a tall glass of water, and a double shot of Suntori Toki whisky on the rocks.

"Oh man,” Daisuke would say to himself resting his tired head against the table. "What a day.”

^{FOR THE BEAST IN ME IS BUT SLEEPING}

---

^{hirana kizumi}

Temp By: A

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Another day, another bar—well, more of a restaurant this time, in an effort to shake things up a little bit. It was a little hot-pot place with amazing food and decent beer, nicer than what Kizumi normally enjoyed, and recently she had been gamely trying to break old habits and form newer, slightly nicer ones. Like average beer, instead of cheap. Still, hot-pot by yourself was… something else. She felt like the hostess kept giving her pitying looks, like she wasn’t supposed to be there on her own, and by the time she had finished nursing her first beer she was already in a thoroughly foul mood and contemplating just going home. The promise of sizzling meat and crisp vegetables was tempting, though, so instead she just waited for her order. Which was taking a while, she thought. Maybe the hostess was holding off, thinking she was waiting for someone. Kizumi had been waiting for ten or fifteen minutes already when a young man came and sat at her table, much to her surprise—before abruptly realizing that she’d sat at one of the bigger communal tables. Well, no shit. That explained something, she supposed. The boy ordered, his order not too different from her own, though he clearly had a finer taste in liquor than she did. He looked exhausted, though, poor kid. He was sweaty, clearly dressed in workout clothes; probably a shinobi, though she didn’t actually know him. She wasn’t exactly recognizable either, though, dressed plainly in shorts and a tank top. "Training day?” Kizumi asked sympathetically, sidling over until she was sitting across from him, slightly at an angle. "Looks like you went pretty hard.”

Kojima Daisuke -- 280

LAIKA OF THQ

[Kojima Daisuke]

DO NOT MISTAKE MY KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS

Daisuke's brow shifted slightly as he turned to meet the voice calling out to him. The woman, now sitting across from him, wasn't a face he'd recognized. She was a bit older from the looks of her, dressed in a tank top and shorts, a good figure, all in all still quite the pretty face by his account. The corner of his mouth tugged upwards in a cross between a smirk and grin as the thought of a little flirting came to mind.

"Wouldn't know any other way.” Daisuke said rather plainly before his eyes darted to the waitress who brought his water and whisky, offering her a small nod in thanks as the drinks were placed against the table before him. His fingers reached for the whisky first, a long sip taken, and the familiar burn of alcohol trickling down the back of his through before his gaze would once more turn to his new dinner partner.

"My sensei doesn't exactly take kindly to half-assed attempts. Makes for half-assed results, y'know?” The young sage couldn't help but let his eyes wander for a moment, drifting over the woman's figure for just a moment before he'd turn down to the amber liquid in his glass. The young boy's mind would quickly begin to turn, thinking more over how he might not have minded if the night took a turn that would wind the two of them together somewhere, even though she was closer to Kaede's age rather than his own, but the thought was just as quickly shot down when his body reminded him just how fatigued he really was. Despite his constant chasing of women, one of the prime things he'd always mention a distaste for when it came to his master, Kaede, tonight was simply not the night.

He decided to take this conversation a little more casually, a simple chat, rather than his usually flirtatious mindset when with the opposite sex. "I can't say I've seen you around the village before, miss. Though I guess I haven't been around much lately myself. Spending a lot more time with the wolves than anyone else past couple years.” Daisuke said with a light laugh, before reaching for his water. He'd take a few louder gulps, the cool refreshing liquid reminding him of just how thirsty he actually was right about now. As the glass hit the table, though, the young sage would let out a small sigh of relief, his gaze turning to the door to the kitchen eagerly waiting for his food to arrive before they would once more drift back to the woman he sat with.

"Daisuke, by the way.” He said, leaning back into the cushion on the back of the barstool, his chin tilting downward slightly as he expected a return of the woman's own name.

^{FOR THE BEAST IN ME IS BUT SLEEPING}

---

^{hirana kizumi}

Temp By: A

[hirana kizumi]

A HEART'S A HEAVY BURDEN

Her curiosity was immediately piqued—who was his sensei? Surely she’d know someone who was so much of a hard-ass that they would push the kid this hard on apparently a regular basis… but her train of thought was derailed by the incredibly not-subtle once-over he gave her. Kizumi didn’t care to bother to hide her eyeroll, but she didn’t say anything, either. She wasn’t about to fault someone for looking, so long as he kept his hands to himself and stayed respectful. The young ones were chronically oversexed, anyway. Something about the constant near-death experiences did that to a developing mind. No point in lingering on it, though. Her eye lit up at the mention of the wolves—was this kid one of the sage apprentices? The whole group was so strange and reclusive, it was no wonder she wouldn’t recognize one of their number on site. "Hirana Kizumi,” she replied, returning the introduction. She rolled her half-empty beer bottle in between her hands, the condensation dripping onto her palms. "The wolves—have you been training with Susano-o?” She knew the elite jounin strictly by reputation only: that he was wildly powerful, maybe even moreso than Chuya-sensei or the Raikage, and that he’d been looking for students for some time. If Himemura Kaede was his sensi, then it was no wonder the kid was training hard. Her food still hadn’t arrived, but that was the last thing on her mind now, curiosity plain and rapt upon her face.

Kojima Daisuke -- 250

LAIKA OF THQ