[Ishikawa Ren]

     "Oh, it's one of the best spots in the city." the writer had said. "Just a rock, but it's my favorite place to write." It'd been Ren's prize: the man had bet him this tip in a friendly game of cards. With the next hand, he'd won exclusive use of it on two days of the week.

     Past the Takeda compound. Ren knew that one. Hang a right down by the creek, follow the old wooden stairs. The dew hung heavy from the trees as he walked past. "You'll see a cairn I put there." he remembered. He saw. Hop down, and there it'll be.

     It'd been a worthwhile win. There was a small clearing there, unseen by the clan compounds and away from the path. It would have taken an intrepid explorer to find it. A large mossy shape stood there in the middle, which the writer had put a small pillow in front of. Ren approached and put a hand on the shape, which he thought to be a rock. A piece of lichen fell to the ground, revealing incredibly faded characters. It was a statue!

     Whatever it was of, it was old. Very. The subject had been long forgotten, the writing erased by time and rain. Perhaps a clan founder? One couldn't tell anymore.

     Ren sat there, head down, back against the stele. With one hand he ate a packed lunch he'd brought, enough for two - he was hungry from training. With the other he practiced his seals, cycling through each in turn. Then he did their order backward: every seal. Then, in random order. Again. Each time attempting to speed up the process and eliminate mistakes.

     Raindrops plopped onto the ground from limbs laden with them. Animals could be heard chirping and calling. Ren seemed to be in a world of his own, unaware he might be chanced upon by another adventurous soul.

Tenka Yujukumono | 315 words

[Tenka Yujukumono]

The Seven Wonders of Amegakure. For most, a legend passed down to the older Academy Students to the younger ones, seven explainable mysteries and unsolvable treasures that could be found in Amegakure. To most, it was a children's fairy tale, made by overimaginative kids for overimaginative kids. And Yuju was one of those imaginative kids, he was determined to go on a quest for all seven. His attempts at solving the first wonder with Tsuri-chan, a treasure underneath the pond of Arashi Tien, had unfortunately led nowhere. But he wasn't going to give up, he hadn't even given up on the treasure in the lake. But he had decided to move on to the second wonder, another treasure, hidden in the woods of the Village Hidden in the Rain. And like any good treasure, it had directions that very much sounded like they were made by children. "Struggle past the devils eyes, while crossing the brook try to not meet your demise. It is here that you will find, the treasure that's been left behind."

And in what might be the most anticlimactic way to approach this adventure, Yuju had simply started exploring around all the different brooks in the village, unable to make heads nor tails of the cryptic directions. Some might call this cheating, or at least going against the spirit of seeking the Seven Wonders, but Yuju felt differently. What were the devils eyes supposed to be anyways, some rock formation or something? It couldn't be any person or anything like that. Though it couldn't be said that he'd chosen an easier route, he'd been spending most of his day searching by all the different creeks and brooks in the village, not an easy task for a place that always had lots of water. The young boy had actually been about to call it when he smelled it, food nearby. His stomach growled, and he found himself coming upon another person eating in the middle of the woods, the young boy having walked into the open without realizing it until it was too late. But he saw it, the other boy, and with him, something....Unusual. He couldn't quite tell what it was but it at least didn't seem to fit in the middle of the forest, it was something left here. And his eyes lit up, was it the treasure he was looking for? . And the cap wearing boy wanted it, along with perhaps some food as well. 

[Ishikawa Ren]

     Ren glanced up from his practice and food to see a young boy standing at the edge of the clearing. Couldn't be more than 10 or so, he thought. In some regards he looked a little like a younger Ren - thick black hair and a similar build to his own at that age. But the blue eyes were a vast departure, and Ren had never been that pale.

     "Hello," Ren called out between bites of a fish-filled rice ball. The tray that sat beside him was filled to the brim with riceballs of different flavors, sausages, two sandwiches, eggs, and more. Ren could be a voracious eater. All of it was cooked by himself. It was mostly simplistic - Ren had the skill to make food with more flair, but in the interest of time and money it was mostly unadorned - still tasty though.

     The boy still stood there, stomach growling. "Are you an Academy Student? Care to join me in practicing? There's some food in it for you!" he said while laughing. Ren's hand was still flashing between different single-handed seals, a mostly autonomous process at this point. He sat up against the moss-covered statue. Finishing off the rice ball, with a few grains stuck to his face, he gestured for the boy to come partake.

Tenka Yujukumono | 216 words

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Yuju's eyes were perhaps one of the most befitting things about him, totally reflecting his trickster attitude in how they seemed to change colors depending on how the light hit them. In the day they often appeared like the ocean, light blue to perhaps even a tint of green depending on just how the light hit them. And in the evening, as it got darker, they slowly turned darker, more indigo, sometimes looking like they were reflecting the stars, twinkles of light sparkling in the dark blue hue. But for now it was still lunch time, with the sun technically out, even if it was usually overcast here in the Village Hidden in the Rain.

And the boys gentle blue eyes contrasted with this new boys earthier tones, his brown eyes and tan skin. With his muscular frame and height, he really did give off a 'salt-of-the-earth' vibe, to the point if Yuju had to guess he'd almost guess the boy to be a farmer rather than a ninja. But that was only on a first glance, the boy was clean shaven and just clean in general, with well managed hair and appearance far beyond something that some peasant could achieve. In fact, he was likely the opposite of a farmer, clan born. But even if he ignored all that, there was a simple truth, no farm boy would've found that statue.

If Yuju's accidental stumbling out into the open hadn't given him away, his stomach definitely did as it audibly growled as the different smells of all the varying foods hit him, he almost started drooling until he caught himself and quickly wiped his mouth. Oh...Umm...Yeah. I am. Yujukumono. He had a slight blush at first, not much embarrassed the young boy but getting caught in part because of an empty stomach was kinda lame. Still, that didn't stop the boy from pulling a little prank in their very first meeting, leaving out how he usually went by the much easier to say "Yuju".

But just because he was pranking the teen didn't mean he was going to deny the offer of food, or the chance the get closer to his ultimate goal. The statue. But for now, the boy indulged himself, grabbing a few rice balls and eggs for starters, and eating them in a manner that was just only a few steps above simply shoveling them into his mouth his bare hands. And with his youthful face now covered in rice from his rice ball, he watched the boy practice his handseals. With one hand. Something he himself had been working on recently, and an eyebrow raised in interest. You know...I was gonna say you were lame for suggesting practicing out here. But you can do one handed seals? And of course, he hadn't fully swallowed as he asked the question.

[Ishikawa Ren]

     "Lame?" Ren asked incredulously with a laugh. "I'm hurt, 'Kumo!" he continued, irreverently christening the boy with a shortened nickname. "Couldn't be a less lame place for it!" Ren certainly preferred it to any other solo training locale - though he preferred to train with others.

     He gestured around. "Beautiful canopy of trees, ambient noises, peace and quiet," he said - only a little in jest, then patted the statue, "and whoever this guy is! Or, was." he laughed. He figured that question would be one that would go unsolved. Though he dabbled in it and enjoyed it, he was certainly no practicing historian.

     This place was relaxing for Ren. Perhaps others didn't think of it that way - maybe students least of all - but he'd always associated certain places with certain feelings. And the feeling this place gave was one he'd yet to find anywhere else in Amegakure - a sense of ancientness.

     "But if this isn't cool enough for you, then yeah - I can do one-handed seals." he joked while rubbing his shoulder. He took a bite of the lunch and then weaved a few single-handed seals for him to demonstrate.

     "Unless they changed things up, they don't teach these at the Academy. How are your regular handseals, Yujukomono? You on track to graduate?"

Tenka Yujukumono | 212 words

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Huhnf? Food mixed with his confused statement at the bringing up of Kumogakure, more rice spilling from his mouth as he started at the boy, obviously lost in the conversation. Until suddenly it hit him, that Kumo WAS him, and he finally swallowed the food he'd been chowing down on. Ohh. You have weird taste, in names and hangouts. He said this with complete sincerity and unironically as the young boy grabbed another rice ball, seemingly quite happy with this boys taste in cooking if looks were to go by. But he'd be eating a lot quieter this time as this pale teenager went from talking about the beauty of nature to what really mattered here. The lost wonder, the entire reason he was here. And it was actual treasure! This had turned out better than he could've hoped, it was nearly within his grasp.

Adults care way to much about the past. Who cares who it was or why, all that matters now is what it is. He waved his had dismissively at the at the historical value of this idol, he got enough looking back to the past st home with his clan. All that mattered about that statue, at least to the young boy, was that it was part of the wonders he was seeking. Anyone who knew what it was supposed to be was probably long dead by now. Or well, he might know of one person who might know what it was. But the cap wearing boy didn't bring that up, didn't offer to blow the mystery wide open. After all, it wasn't his mystery.

And after grabbing some sausages and a sandwich that also wasn't his, he watched the demonstration done by the short haired boy with much more interest. He hadn't come here to train, but single-handed seals was a personal project for the longer haired boy, something he very much wanted to learn. Of course, I'm top of my class! It was a bold faced lie that he said with the smugest of looks. So now I'm trying learn more advanced things to keep my interest. And when some jealous loser broke my hand, one handed seals seemed like a smart fit. His eyes narrowed as his self-congratulatory look and smile slid into a smirk. Especially since I'm wicked with a blade~ Then the moment passed, and he went back to a more excited look. So! Whaddya say!? Willing show me?~