[Yuie Junichi]

Being a shinobi didn't mean that Junichi was going to get out of helping with the family business. He much preferred the work, honestly, and held a fantasy that Kenichi would quit being a shinobi and the two of them could work at the hot-springs in peace for the rest of their lives. So he wanted to learn what he could about the business, and also help out their auntie on days when her joints were too achey to keep up with all the manual labor.

Keeping the front entrance of the hot-springs compound clean was one of the most important things to do. The establishment needed to seem clean and inviting to all guests, and with all the foot traffic, it could get dirty quickly if not kept up. So Junichi was hard at work.

He put up a sign to let everyone know the ground would be slippery in the area he was working and began to mop. Instead of using a bucket of cleaning supplies, his shinobi training meant that he could forge a hand seal with one hand to focus his chakra into producing soapy bubbles, projecting it directly onto the floor. Then with the other hand he could wield the mop.

He was pretty efficient at it, too, though that meant he got really focused.

Tenka Yujukumono

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Yuju was playing hooky. Specifically he was skipping out on his chores. While there was a certain amount of almost pride for his clan helping maintain Arashi Teien, the hidden gem and park of Amegakure, actually having to do the work of maintaining it was a huge pain. Especially since there were more adults than kids in the Tenka clan, meaning Yuju constantly found himself being expected to help as one of the few child labor sources available. But today the adults could do the work, and he snuck away into the village.

What he should do with his newfound freetime was a whole other question. The young boy wasn't really all that sure, there wasn't much point in going to the market district, he was very much broke. And dropping by the Academy on a day off was just masochistic. And he couldn't really go hang out in the park. Though the way things were looking going home and doing chores might be the most exciting thing he could actually do today. That is until he looked up from his increasingly depressing train of thought, and found himself looking at the village hotsprings. And a smile slowly grew on the boys face.

While not having money in the marketplace meant he couldn't do anything, here it was different. Here, he could sneak in. And honestly, who wouldn't enjoy a nice, hot bath on a cool day like today, especially a free one. And there was only one obstacle in his way. Some kid cleaning the front. Yuju would smirk to himself. Easy. And then he'd enter. I'm back~ While it wasn't necessarily directed at the blonde boy, he'd also be the only one there to talk too, Yuju wearing his usual attire of a striped shirt and Capri length pants that just made it past his knees, and the cap resting stop his head. Hello oni-san~ Do you remember me? Of course he wouldn't, they'd never met before. But he didn't have to mention that part.

[Yuie Junichi]

Someone spoke up, drawing Junichi's attention. He stopped his work, expecting a customer, but instead found a younger kid greeting him quite familiarly. Junichi furrowed his brow, looking over Yuju to try to recognize him.

Junichi was fairly sure he didn't recognize the young boy, though he tried a few times to place him. He wasn't one of the members of the clan, unless one of them had recently adopted him maybe. Could he be a student from the academy that had been in classes with Junichi a couple years ago? But he seemed too young for that to be likely. No, he didn't think he recognized Yuju.

Maybe this boy had met Kenichi before and was getting the two of them mixed up? It wouldn't be the first time it'd happened. Other than the glasses, the two of them were pretty much identical. Kenichi was even a fan of trying to use that to their advantage for pranks, by pretending to be one another - something that Junichi had only rarely indulged.

"Sorry... I think you might be confused," Junichi said. "I'm Yuie Junichi. It's nice to meet you." Hopefully that would clear things up for him. "I think Kenichi is at the training grounds today, if you're looking for him." He set aside his mop for the time-being.

Just in case this kid was a regular customer and needed help after all!

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Yuju blinked for a moment, caught off guard by the boys remarks and surprise very plain to see on his face. His original plan had been pretty simple, pretend to be a customer who'd just so happened to step out when the worker here hadn't been in the room and just play it from there. But now that this boy mentioned it, he did look quite similar to his fellow academy student. Of course, Yuju didn't really hang out with Kenichi, he didn't even know he'd had a brother. But now something had landed on his lap, and the cap wearing boy let out that cheshire grin that his fellow Academy goers knew to mistrust. Too bad this boy didn't know that. Yet, anyways.

Oh! Sorry, yeah you two do look alike~ Though I thought you might recognize me actually from the Academy. I talk to Kenichi and I see you there sometimes. A half truth, he did talk to Kenichi sometimes but never about anything in depth, and he'd certainly never seen his brother on school grounds. I guess you are pretty different in age though huh? With him being in the Academy and all. So I guess he just didn't think you'd be interested hearing about me. Oh, I'm Yujukumono by the way. The only true thing here was his name, and even then it left out the fact everyone called him 'Yuju'. Though there was a reason for this beyond the fact the boy thought it was funny, the same reason he didn't mention his family name. He'd rather not get in trouble for this later.

Im actually here to pick something up for Kenichi. He'd said it was important and he'd forgotten it. Another lie, though hopefully this one would get him access to where he could get to those sweet, sweet hot springs.

[Yuie Junichi]

Pretty different in age... If this boy actually knew Kenichi at all, he'd definitely know that him and Kenichi were twins (because Kenichi loved to talk about it), and also that the two of them had graduated recently. They only still used the training grounds near the academy because young genin were allowed back in to use the resources, as they could provide good examples to the academy students, or provide age-appropriate sparring partners if they were young enough.

And why would Kenichi send this random kid to get his stuff instead of running back to get it himself?

He furrowed his brow, looking quite put-out for a second before responding,

"An important skill for a shinobi is learning how to lie in moderation. If you start taking things too far without knowing any details, you're obviously going to get caught." His tone was chastising - it was clear he was the spoil-sport type, the kind who would tell another kid off for pulling a prank or other such things. In sum, he was trying really hard to seem mature and only kind of succeeding.

"Haven't they taught you that stuff in your classes yet? Like if you're trying to impersonate someone's friend, you need to learn a lot of details about them first. Why are you trying to sneak in here anyways?"

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Yuju had made a few assumptions here, mainly that this boy was probably older than Kenichi given one was still on the academy, and that Kenichi's brother had probably visited the army once or twice while Kenichi was there. And while he couldn't know at the time where he'd gone wrong, it seemed he'd only gone one-for-two on his big gambles when it came to this lie. And upon being called out his eyebrow would raise in curiosity, before his face relaxed and his carefree smile turned into almost a smirk. Heh. You'd be surprised how often it works on adults~ His tone of voice hadn't changed at all, sounding just as relaxed as when he'd been lying. He wasn't taking getting caught seriously at all it seemed.

And I do talk to Kenichi sometimes, that's like being his friend. It's not my fault if you're not cool enough to be brought up. What the cap wearing boy failed to bring up was that he'd never actually asked Kenichi about his family, or how his day had gone at home, or what he planned to do after classes. Really anything beyond a small greeting was an unusually long conversation with the boy, and it was always Yuju doing the talking. Unimportant details. Lies weren't meant to be boring and practical like the boring kid playing adult here was saying, they were theatre! A role you took on, like a performance in a play, and then you'd make a series of steps like it was a dance. That's what made it fun!

The long haired boy shrugged again at the question of what he was doing here, still not taking the situation too seriously. Just trying to find a way to relax~ Some of like to enjoy the day instead of working Oni-san~ Though the boy did have a point, there didn't seem to be much point in sticking around here anymore, it seemed like he was gonna have find some other way spend the day. Now that he knew Kenichi had a brother, maybe he could mess with him a little! But when the boy turned around, his eyes shot up, the boy clearly taken aback by surprise. He could see his father outside, and he was now taking this situation deadly serious.

It seemed his playing hooky on clan responsibilities hadn't gone unnoticed after all, and now his dad was out looking for him. Would he come in here to check for him? Yeah, probably...And if Yuju was caught, well his dad never liked the idea of extreme punishment, even when the clan specifically requested it. But his mom though...

Thr surprise on his face washed away, replaced by nervousness to the point a few beads of sweat fell down his face. He definitely had to make an escape. And it seemed the only way out, was through. Well...Uhh...It was fun talking to you Oni-San but uhh...I gotta run~ And he'd run right past Junichi, trying to escape into the hot spring area. Never noticing the wet floor until he suddenly found staring at the ceiling as he slipped and started to fall.

[Yuie Junichi]

This kid seemed like... a lot of trouble. Even when he was caught out on lying, he didn't seem embarrassed at all, and just tried to justify himself. It would be one thing if he was a really good liar, maybe, but the confidence after being caught pulling a trick was bad news. Junichi was an anxious sort and didn't like the idea of other kids going out into danger unprepared, really. Someone needed to teach Yujukumono... something, though he wasn't sure what. Discipline?

While Junichi was contemplating this, mostly ignoring Yujukumono's condescending attitude, the other boy suddenly took off past him!

"Wait-" The floor was still slippery! Junichi could confidently walk on it, but- Yujukumono slipped and started to fall.

Junichi dove forward to catch him, arms under the other boy's shoulders. He applied chakra to his feet to try to help stabilize the both of them, hoping he could do something even vaguely like what Yasuraka-san had managed in the exams. It... kind of worked. He barely managed to catch the other boy, but they kept on sliding for a second right into the hot-springs area, finally skidding to a halt right at the edge of one of the springs.

Junichi heaved a great, relieved sigh.

"You have to watch what you're doing! Why did you suddenly run like that?"

[Tenka Yujukumono]

It was weird, slipping on the ground like this. Everything seemed to go slow at first, yet he couldn't really process what was happening, or even move beyond pure instinct, his army flying up to grab an invisible ledge to catch himself but grabbing nothing but air, only just able to make out the fact he was staring up at the ceiling while he was falling. If he didn't know any better he'd say he was dreaming right now, everything feeling unreal, disconnected from himself. But it wasn't a dream, and this fall could end up severely hurting the boy. At least, if it hadn't been for the blonde workers efforts, catching the black haired boy. Then the tricksters feelings had a 180°, the unreal, dreamlike state turning slapstick and cartooney as reality sped up and hit him smack dab in the face with whiplash speed, as the slid outside the entrance area and out into the hotsprings themselves.

WHAT THE HEEEEEEEECK- The boys cap fell off during this escapade, left in the entrance area, and it might've been better off for it as Yuju was clearly not enjoying the ride so far. He'd never really done this, and never on anything that wasn't pure ice. He didn't really know how this was happening, just that it was and he really wanted it to stop. Especially as one of the hot springs got closer and closer. STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!! And they would, stopping just before both boys had gotten an unwanted dip, and finally Yuju would be able to breath again. I have to watch what I'M DOING??? WHAT DID YOU JUST DO??? For a so called "friend" of Kenichi's, he also never really learned much about his clan. Or their Kekkei-Genkai.

But while the boy was recovering from...Well, all of that, he did at least acknowledge the second part of the question. And it was...It was for no reason! I just...Wanted to take a dip that's all! Alright? Normally Yuju was a good liar, or at least better than this. But the shock of having slidden outside a room and almost into a hot pool combined with his dad being just outside had led to some cracks in his act, to the point he actually avoided the blonde boys eyes. He really didn't want to get caught, and his carefree act was falling apart because of it.

[Yuie Junichi]

Suddenly, the confident and quippy liar that had entered the hot-springs didn't seem so confident at all. What was it that had troubled him? While he was contemplating this, a bell at the front of the springs jingled, someone entering. Whoever it was asked after Yuju. Junichi clammed up.

Though he was kind of tempted to turn this kid over to whoever was searching for him just so he wouldn't have to deal with the trouble anymore - or, worse, get accused of being complicit in whatever mischief he was up to - the troubled look on Yuju's face was enough to convince him otherwise. Junichi was a spoilsport, but he wasn't a tattletale.

"Wait here," Junichi whispered, authoritative, before creeping out to the entrance. He greeted the man in the front in a friendly customer-service manner, answered a few questions, and told him that Yujukumono wasn't here and that he hadn't seen him at all. Junichi was less comfortable lying than the miscreant in his charge, but he had plenty of experience from helping Kenichi with schemes. So with just a little effort, he was able to send the man out.

Junichi returned, a little frazzled.

"Okay. I don't know why he was looking for you, but I've sent him away. Will you stop running around dangerously now? I can't have you getting hurt while I'm in charge."

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Yuju was not some child locked in an abusive household, far from it. While members of Yuju's clan are known for their aloofness, he still had what were indisputably loving parents, even if it was expressed in their own way, in a caring household where he even made an weekly allowance due to the clan being so well-off. But while Yuju might always manage to find trouble no matter the circumstance, that didn't mean it was approved of at home. Quite the opposite, his parents and his clan were both willing to not only throw the book at him, but beat him upside the head with it. Especially his mother, who used her iron fist to not only control the household, but crush those who stepped out of line. But it didn't end up killing the young tricksters love of pranks, instead it turned almost into a game. Not getting caught. He could always make up a reason why they couldn't find him in the park, but if his dad caught him, it was game over.

Which is why when the blonde boy stood up in response to the bell in the entrance, Yuju was desperate to stop him, desperate to not lose the game he was currently playing. And he was absolutely certain that this do-gooder was absolutely going to sell him out and ruin the game. And the rest of his week as well, since he'd spending it making up for skipping work. No wait! He'd reach out to stop the boy, but he'd only be grabbing air, as the blonde hot spring worker had already left. I'm dead... He could only express his thoughts aloud to himself now that things had already been set in motion, and he was powerless to stop it.

The man in the store did have some similarities to Yuju looks wise, the same black hair, twinkling eyes, and managing to look young for his age. But how they presented themselves couldn't be more different, his hair shorter, cleaner then the messy haired youth in the backroom. More presentable. And instead of a cheshire grin that never seemed to leave the boys face, the man here had the expression most would expect from a Tenka. Serious and aloof. Not even Yuju saw the man smile much, it was simply how things were with his clan. Pragmatic and serious, not a lot of emotion. Which is why the man's questions would be short and curt as well, giving a quick greetings before getting straight to the point. And he'd take the answers seemingly at face value, thanking him before leaving. A most efficient conversation. A boring conversation.

It was the complete opposite of the young prankster, whom Junichi would return to missing. Looking like he'd run away, until a splash and a gasp. He'd been hiding in one the hot springs, a last ditch attempt to not get caught. Except, to his surprise, his father wasn't here. Huh? Where'd my dad go? Is he still back there? What's you say oni-San? What had started as a teasing nickname in order to get him to comply was subconsciously sticking for the boy, he hadn't even meant to do it that time. And he'd get his answer, the seemingly stuck-up boy had sent his father away. Yuju couldn't help but laugh, it seemed so out of character. [colo=seafoam]You did?! Why would you do that? And fine. I'll stop~[/color] He didn't mention he'd gotten what he'd wanted here in the end, a nice dip in the nice, hot springs. And he made no moves of leaving as he continued asking questions. But why did you send him away? I thought you had a stick up your butt about fun, oni-San. But turns out you're full of surprises! The Cheshire grin returned. Maybe we're not so different~

[Yuie Junichi]

Yujukumono was surprised that Junichi was willing to cover for him instead of turning him over directly. Junichi sighed at Yuju's continued crassness, but he still wasn't going to change his mind about turning the boy in. He would just need to find a way to make this work.

"I'm not someone who's going to turn another person in if I don't have to. I don't want you to get in trouble as long as you don't keep making trouble for me," he informed the other boy. Even though he was young, too, he really was such a bossy kid.

"I have a lot to do, and I still can't have you wandering around the springs alone, so if you're going to stay here you'll need to help me out with the rest of the chores so I can keep an eye on you."

However, he didn't want to be a cruel dictator. Yuju was stuck here if he didn't want to go back out onto the street and risk being spotted by his father, so forcing him to work with no reward was basically akin to extortion. So he offered,

"If you do that, I'll help you with some training to get ready for your academy exams. How does that sound?" It might not be the fun and games Yuju was imagining, but it was better than being bored.

[Tenka Yujukumono]

The black haired boy's face would immediately fall flat, and it'd be very obvious that he was going a bit slower getting out of the sauna than was necessary when Junichi mentioned work. I don't know if you remember but I'm trying to avoid working today oni-san. While the spa running boy might be more than meets the eye, that wasn't enough to get Yuju excited for the prospect of hard work. But the boy could also read between the lines of the explanation given as to why he wasn't sold out. You won't turn me in as long as I don't keep making trouble for you. So if I refuse your offer, then you'll turn me in? He'd lifted himself out of the sauna, taking his soaking shoes and socks off, before letting his legs rest in the warm water still. He was going to milk as much sauna time as he could get. You sound more like a hostage taker than a negotiator. He'd take his shirt off as well, squeezing it to get it as dry as he could before shaking his soaking hair. Saunas were nice, but he wasn't trying to get sick by wearing wet clothes all day.

I'd have thought you'd get a kick out of being able to tattle, oni-san. I'm surprised. How'd you get to be so cool with having fun? And it brought another thought into his head. Did Kenichi have any surprises up his sleeve like this as well. Yuju didn't know what his fellow Academy member thought of things like pranks, or tricks. He'd never asked. And now the young boy was starting to wonder just what he might say to Kenichi tomorrow. And how maybe, he should ask him about just what he did with his day. But while the trickster boy was reconsidering his approach with one of the twins, the other one was acting just like the young boy expected, offering to train him as a reward. And Yuju couldn't help but let out a laugh, a laugh at his insight, and a comfort at some things going as he'd expected. I take it back oni-san! You don't know fun at all. Yet he said it with a huge smile on his face. Yuju, despite everything, was having fun. Though what training did you have in mind?

[Yuie Junichi]

A hostage taker more than a negotiator? Well... Maybe a little, in this situation. Junichi wouldn't usually assign himself a title so harsh or intimidating, though. In the language of the academy, he's threatening to be a tattletale more than he is taking hostages. And it's not like he _likes_ threatening to tell on others, it's just that he doesn't want to get in trouble because of other people. So this is the balance point he can come to, even if he comes across as totally hating fun for it.

"The training would depend on what you already know how to do, I guess. I already have a lot of practice with the academy techniques, so I could teach you any of them..." Junichi's personal favorites had always been body replacement and the transformation technique, two techniques which had served him decently in the exams.

He went to grab another mop, offering it to Yujukumono to try to get him to start working on cleaning. Then he went to grab his own and get to work cleaning around the sauna.

"I think the one that I could teach best in the sauna without you getting caught is... probably the body replacement technique. Trying to avoid falling in the water is how I learned it," he explained. He'd done similar with learning water walking, too!

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Yuju would be looking up at the boy as he approached him with a mop, not having been rushed out of the sauna by the boy during their conversation on Yuju's situation here and expectations of him, but now it was very clear his time was up. And with a sigh, he got up, though even that was done slowly. Every second of not working being miked now. Even the training offers weren't getting the boy worked up, he knew Habiki had learned another jutsu outside the academy techs and while Yuju was close to nailing the Senbon Spitting Technique, he still wanted more. Another ace, something he could rub into Habiki's annoyingly try-hard attempts to look cool by not caring face. And while he'd normally try and disguise his true feelings about this under a whole show and dance, this time he was a little more upfront. Don't you know anything more...I dunno, exciting? Yuju didn't really know what he was asking for, what he wanted. He just knew he wanted something different than body replacement. But nothing came to mind.

And since he had nothing, the young boy reached out to grab the mop, going on auto-pilot at this point as he subconsciously reached out for it with his right hand, something he had to start doing when his left and dominant hand had been in a cast for a few weeks. Oh yeah! I'm left handed. The boy realized his mistake just before he grabbed the mop, and proceeded to switch hands as he grabbed it for real. I broke my hand a little while ago. Or, well, someone else did, so I'm still getting used to being able use it again. The boy explained how he could mistake using the wrong hand as he started mopping. Honestly using the right hands wasn't making much of a difference, the boy usually worked at a park, a place that very rarely needed mopped and his inexperience would be obvious to everyone but the now indigo eyed boy. Still, he was at least trying.

And I guess substitution is better than... The boy was going to accept the blonde boys offer, use the spas to help him learn the technique. But talking about his broken hand, how he'd been a able to do anything with it, not even make handseals, was giving him a realization. Wait!! Do you know anything about single-handed seals, oni-san? It was seeping into his voice, the idea giving him dreams of potential. He couldn't hide it now, the potential excitement for training.

[Yuie Junichi]

Yujukumono took the mop, though he quickly corrected which hand he was using and gave an explanation. Junichi understood well. His arm had been broken at the exams when Yasuraka-san came down on him hard, the bones split right down the middle. It wasn't like he'd never been hurt badly before, but... Even now he kind of felt like he could feel it lingering in his arm, even though a crowd of medical shinobi had welded the bone back together for this next fight. Sometimes he found himself favoring his other hand too, just because.

He snapped out of it when Yujukumono started actually mopping. His motions were a little sloppy and uncoordinated, clearly unfamiliar with this particular chore. Didn't his family make him sweep or mop at home? Maybe he was still too young.

Finally, the rowdy kid decided what he'd like to be tutored on. One-handed seals?

"Oh, uhm... I haven't mastered them myself yet, but I've been trying to master them and making some pretty good progress," Junichi answered, hesitantly. "That's what I was practicing when you came in. I was using one hand to create soap for the floor and the other to mop... I guess that's how you could practice it, too," he instructed. "Practice forming the hand seals for the technique with one hand while the other hand is busy."

He shuffled off to grab another mop, then came back to demonstrate.

"When I first started practicing, I decided to mostly focus on the hand coordination at first, before even adding chakra to the mix."