[UCHIHA ISSEI]

The smell of breakfast was easily the best part about waking up on the weekend. Issei had a rather long week of training to get himself back into mission form after taking some time away after his team once again separated following the new orders given to Yuuta. With no teacher yet again there seemed to be no reason to stick around again. He tried to get something going with Nori after getting a new third teammate, but he was no longer interested in doing the whole team thing again, and he couldn't blame him. Even he reached a point where he felt it might be better to try to wing it alone until he felt as though he was ready to enter himself into the exams.

It wasn't going to be as easy given he'd be limited in the kind of missions he could get himself into. The only time he could ever get himself a C rank mission was if another team was missing one of its members due to other obligation, or even sickness, but in a village filled with ambitious Shinobi that did not happen often. A Heavy sigh would start the day for our Uchiha. Looking at the time he'd see that it was rather late in the afternoon, but after his busy week the sleep he got was well needed and deserved. Today was going to be his day to relax before he'd take things up another notch the following week. His outfit for the day would reflect as such. A loose black long sleeve shirt with the clans signature logo covered his torso, cargo shorts with compression pants underneath covered his lower extremities while black sandals covered his feet.

"Whats for breakfast pops?!"

Yelled the Uchiha as he walked into the kitchen. "Supersized egg Omelettes.. Also you got a letter today." His father responded while pointing to the table where the letter was sitting. Issei couldn't think of why he'd suddenly get a letter. It wasn't like he was actively involved in anything important. The Uchiha thought very little of it and decided he'd much rather look at what his father was working on as food was the major focus of every weekend morning for him. It was the only time his dad was home early enough to do this before having to open his own food shack out in the village.

Once breakfast was finished being made he'd grab his piece of what was made and wished his father well before he took his on out before heading into the village to prepare for what was going to be another night for him. While he sat and ate he reflected on a few things. One of them about how he could improve the capabilities of the Jutsu he created over the next week. The other thought was how he could get himself a mission higher than the D rank ones he was stuck on. After he finished with his meal he'd attempt to walk out of the kitchen before spotting the letter on the table.

"Oh yeah... He did mention that."

The letter was from the village which caused a lot of confusion as he opened up the letter. Upon reading it he'd discover that his 2 man team had finally gotten itself a third member and was currently in the process of getting a Sensei. "Utuki Yurako?" The last name was sot of familiar to him, but not really. If his memory served him well it was one of the many clans in the village. In the letter was a brief description of the girl. A picture, height, and age was apart of what little information was provided to him. For a girl she was rather tall which had him wondering if she was a close range fighter.

Nevertheless his curiosity gave him an idea on what he was going to be doing today. The second teammate he'd already met a while ago back when Yuuta was still around. The guy turned out to be one of the many kids he adopted over the years and somewhere down the line finally was legitimized on their team, but this girl he knew nothing about. Was she as talented as the two of them? Was she ambitious and committed? Did she like to talk a lot? There was so many questions Issei had floating through his mind. "Hmm, this page should do.." The Uchiha muttered to himself while grabbing the picture of the girl.

If he was going to have any luck with finding the girl he'd need something to go on right? After leaving his house and the Uchiha compound he begin asking some of the locals if anyone had seen her or anyone that looked similar traveling around. If she had the appearance of a normal girl he'd have to find himself a new strategy, but those ears of hers was going to make finding her a hell of a lot easier. After about half an hour of looking he finally got word from a friend of his fathers that he spotted a girl not too far from him looking to try a variety of different foods today.

Following the guidance of the man he'd climb up to the top of one of the nearby buildings in the area to see if he could spot those ears of hers. "Finally..." The Uchiha muttered to himself as he begin to hop safely down the building he climbed up. Issei spent little time thinking about how he was going to approach her ultimately deciding he'd much rather wing it than to make things even more weirder by being that version of himself. "Yurako?" He'd asked the girl peaking around her while she was in the middle of talking to a woman at one of the many food stands in the area.

[Utsuki Yurako]

Yurako just got her money today! She did get some ryo from her recent missions and doing some odd jobs around the village, collecting and saving some money. It helped that her mother cooked some meals as a reward so she could save up some money. She wanted to buy a book or two, as meeting Kazui help inspired her to try and read. Plus, she could use some of it to get some new clothes and her old ones repaired. She was growing taller, so some of her clothes started to feel a little tight.

That, or she was just getting fat. She figured it was the latter as she didn't feel like she looked heavier, although her shorts felt tight. She looked down slightly as she tugged on the rim of her shorts, barely able to budge them out of place. 'Maybe I'm both getting taller and a little chubby, I should work out more... Hopefully I'm just outgrowing my clothes... I should go back to the doctor to check it out... Hopefully, Miho can do it, the sleepy dude was a drag...' She thought quietly to herself as she finished off another stick of dango.

Today she decided to take it slow, wanting to shop and stuff and do training later, she already did some laps and other exercises earlier anyways. Though tomorrow she would probably start training double the time and effort! She didn't want to slack off. Yurako was wearing a simple white crop top, with pink short shorts, showing off her rather long rabbit-like legs, with bandages on her legs and arms, as she usually did. Her forehead protector bandana was still on her head, even if she didn't need it.

On her legs were her usual blue leg warmers, covering her heavy weights she wore around them. For now, she had been to at least five different stands, trying whatever she could get her hands on and basically collecting a lot of food in a big bag she had slung over her shoulders, happily moving from place to place. So far she had three orders of takoyaki, six (now five) sticks of dango, five pieces of taiyaki, two containers of curry and all of them were the largest portion size she could get.

It was making her bag kind of heavy on her shoulder, but she was fine. She happily bounded over to her second to the last stand, waving at the lady who was cooking up some yakisoba. The smell was divine, making her mouth water. Now it was her turn to order, she walked over, placing the bag down and pulling out her white furry wallet that was shaped and made to look like a rabbit's foot. "Three large orders of yakisoba pleeeeasee~" She hummed in delight, almost getting to close to the woman.

"Coming right up ma'am... Just, step back a little." She said, feeling a little awkward with the rabbit girl... Which was a rare oddity. Not someone one sees often. Yurako blushed slightly before stepping back, "Sorry~ I'm just hungry and it smells absolutely delicious. I can't wait to taste it..." She said before wiping some slight droll off of her arm, and onto her pants before paying the woman in advance. As she waited, her ears perked up, noticing someone trying to talk to her.

Turning one way before the other, she spotted the guy. He was only slightly taller than herself, minus her long blonde ears. He actually looked quite handsome, as far as she thought about things like that. She didn't blush (hopefully) but smiled awkwardly as she looked him over. "Hey there! Sorry! But do I know you? How did you know my name? Are you a stalker or secret admirer? You shouldn't be so shy!" She said while waiting for her food to be done as she slipped her wallet back into her pocket.

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Tag: UCHIHA ISSEI

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

The first thought that came to mind when he saw her was internal disbelief. He knew what he was looking for, but he didn't expect their description of her to be so literal. He thought maybe she was apart of some sort of cosplaying group. He saw those people many times as a kid growing up when his fathers food stand was selling various foods during village festivities. The next thing that came to mind when she responded to him was the many questions she asked. immediately he begin to think of himself and took this as moment to sort of do a self evaluations. Questions had always been a big deal for him.

Especially when he had a multitude of them. He had no problems when blurting them all out at once, but now that he was encountering someone with the same mindset he couldn't help but wonder how overwhelm he probably made some people feel when asking all of them. Granted he was quite the intelligent man so remembering everything she just said wasn't going to be an issue. More so the issue was figuring out how to implement his own intentions with her inside of all the questions she had. This interaction was already beyond him, but this was what he spent all this time looking for there was no backing out now. They were going to have to meet each other one way or another anyways. Adding another teammate always meant a new teacher was on the way.

"Uhm... Lets see.. No, you do not know me.."

"I know your name because..." Before he could blurt out his answer the Uchiha took a brief moment to think over his soon to be response. Depending on how he answered this question could lead her to believe he was the very thing she asked him for her next questions. "I know your name because the village told me.. You're supposed to be my new teammate.. For like the millionth time." The latter of which he muttered based on the amount of times he'd been given new teammates over the past two years.

"I'm definitely not this stalker you speak of, and a secret admirer? What is that?" The term stalker was definitely a term he was familiar with, but a secret admirer was something he knew nothing about, nor had he ever heard being used before. What followed wasn't a question, but a statement he had no idea on how to respond to. He didn't mean to come off, or appear so shy but he still wasn't entirely the best when it came to meeting people. Nonetheless, his approach with her was definitely much better than his encounter with his 4th teammate Tsuume.

Looking back on it now was kind of embarrassing seeing as he felt bumping into someone was the best way to get their attention. She could have definitely tied him up using her unique Senju prowess, but she instead greeted him with kindness. The kind he would never experience again now that she'd been taking from the world via Chuunin exams. He might have not gotten the chance to know her truly, but he'd always leave a place for her in his mind going forward into his career.

[Utsuki Yurako]

Yurako watched Issei, only occasionally glancing over to the person preparing her delicious yakisoba. She was looking at hit rather handsome face as he took a moment before he told her that she didn't know him. She was about to say something, keeping her red eyes on the boy, as she kept her light smile as well. She was excited that someone approached her for once instead of the other way around. He finally explained that the village told him that she was his new teammate!

"Well then, I hope we can get to know each other then! I'm so happy I'm meeting one of my first teammates! I sadly haven't had a millionth teammate, they took a while finding me a team after I graduated last year, y'know?" She stated, just in time for the person making her food to interrupt politely, handing her orders over. She nodded and gave a polite thank you before taking the bag, placing it along with the rest of her food. Said addition made it look as if she was going to deliver a feast to feed a family, not herself for the day.

As she placed her food with the rest she heard him give her some relief that he wasn't a stalker and apparently a secret admirer either. But he also asked what was a secret admirer, to begin with? She put a finger to her chin for a second before blushing, pressing her index fingers together as she thought about how to explain it. She never was that good at explaining things, to begin with. "Oh! Well... Well... They're someone w-who is too shy-shy to ap-approach them, so they admire, wa-watch an-an-and send them stuff like notes from a-a distance." She tried to explain, her face turning red.

But, sadly she never had one and her new teammate wasn't one as he stated. She shook her head and it managed to turn her face from red as a tomato to normal again in the process. "Oh well... Anyways! We should hang out then! Wanna share some of my food! I kinda got some money so I spent some of it on food. Do you have a name? What's your clan if you have one? Do you wanna train?" She said and asked, firing off a couple of more questions his way.

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Tag: UCHIHA ISSEI

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

There was definitely a lot for him to take in meeting this new teammate of his. For one he'd never encountered someone with such an altered, yet normal appearance. You could tell she wasn't your average everyday Shinobi, but at the same time you could. Face was still relatively normal. The only odd part of it was her ears. That he didn't so much have a problem with. Well actually he didn't have an issue with any of her altered features. He just knew it was going to take a lot for him to get used to. Her torso seemed to also remain intact. She had all the features that were typically associated with a developing woman. Her physical appearance could be argued to be a tad more masculine than the average female, but she was a Shinobi so it made since.

The lower half of her body was the most mind blowing part. It was amazing, yet terrifying at the same time. He couldn't imagine all the pain she might have had to encounter with her legs growing in such a way. To be honest he didn't want to even think about it. He just took solace in the fact that she appeared to still be a happy person despite all the things that clearly made her different than everyone else. "Lucky you.. Fortunately you haven't been missing out on much, but at least going forward you get to finally progress as a Shinobi." The woman seemed to be ordered quite the amount of food. He wondered if her appetite had something to do with her abnormal bodily functions and features. He wasn't going to bring it up though as the female body appeared to be touchy subject.

He experienced this one time before in the latter part of his days in the academy. It was around this time that the bodies of the girls in his class were beginning to "change." Being his usual ignorant self gave him no problems with asking this. In return he'd be met with a mouth filled with anger from a multitude of them and hand prints across his face. His mother said those changes were impolite of any male to bring up. The same had to apply to her he'd assume. Nevertheless, after she got more of her food from the stand she was at she finally begin to elaborate on what a secret admirer was. Something he'd almost forgot he'd even asked based on his observation of her features.

"Funny... I can't tell if you were giving a demonstration of what it means to be one, or if you yourself are an admirer... You seemed to be doing quite a bit of stuttering.."

Issei wasn't the most emotionally sound person, but he always had an easy time putting situations together that were logical. She seemed rather comfortable speaking all the way up until she had to explain what being a secret admirer was. All of a sudden she started talking like himself. Surely that meant something about those words connected with her. Even her face had changed colors. Luckily for him his much darker tone made it abundantly harder to see any form of embarrassment.

"Eh, I think I'm good on the whole food part, but thanks for offering anyway.. And Uchiha Issei is the name." Hopefully his named answer the question she had about him being in a clan or not. There weren't too many people in the world, let alone this village that did not know about the Uchiha. "Wow... You ask a lot of questions.." It was odd to encounter someone who talked so rapidly, and asked so many questions, but maybe the most interesting part was that for a moment he got to see a little of himself in her.

"Um.. We can if you want. I think it'll be great to see where we stand in terms of combat prowess.."

[Utsuki Yurako]

She could tell that she was looking her over. Probably amazed or weirded out by her appearance. She was quite a sight to behold to most people, extremely tall for her age mostly due to her digitigrade legs and she had wider hips than most. She also had long rabbit ears with soft, yet slightly spiky blonde fur instead of regular ears. She was used to odd looks and bewilderment, so it didn't bother her at this point. She was rather used to it in fact. She assumed most people in her clan were.

Listening to him she nodded. "I guess so! I'm sorry none of your teammates lasted tho! But don't worry! I'll be around! I don't have time to die or fade away, I can't become the fastest kunoichi in the world though!" She stated with a wide smile. She hoped so at least. She did hear rabbit feet were lucky and she had two of them! So she should be extra lucky! Double the fortunate! Maybe quadruple? She wasn't sure about the multiplication of good fortune. Was there even such a thing?

When he commented on her explanation she simply tried to wave it off. "Oh! Uh! Yeah! It was just a demonstration, don't worry about me too much, I was just trying to give you an idea of it! Hahaha!" She said trying to play it off to the best of her ability. She normally didn't look or think about people in such ways. She was usually too focused on her training or food or thinking about new combinations for her jutsus. When he said he was fine on the food she nodded. she didn't mind sharing but at least for now she could have the food for herself.

"That's fine! More for me then!" She said before pulling out another stick of dango again, before munching down on it. When he told her his name and clan she thought to herself before finishing off her dango in record time. "Oh! I've only met a couple of you! Well. One of you. A girl named Kazui! She's pretty strong for an academy student. Hopefully, you're stronger! Sadly, not many people of my clan are known, they usually aren't as social as I am. Mistrusting heavily of others." She stated, trying to give him a basic rundown.

He commented on her asking questions and she shrugged. "It's how you learn new things, y'know? Information is a good thing. Also how you learn about people and make new friends!" She said with a grin before discarding her stick in the trash. When he said he'll train with her she gave him a thumbs up. "Sure! Or we can talk for a little bit more, though I'd like to eat first and find a place to sit. Maybe you can help me carry this to the training grounds? I can't wait to show you what I'm made of Issei!" She said happily.

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Tag: UCHIHA ISSEI

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Issei had no clue how to feel about this energy of hers. It was so bright. It didn't feel real to see someone around her age be this happy being in such a field of work. Did she not get picked on in the academy like himself for the way she looked? He couldn't have imagined a reality where she would not have been. Maybe she had an Uchiha in her class and he took all the headaches away that she otherwise would have experienced out of their jealously of being an Uchiha. As prideful as that statement might be it was a problem that the people of his clan ran into on a daily bases. Everyone wanted those eyes. Even he was beginning to feel curious about them after his time with Kazui. Suddenly the possibility of making positive use of them seemed like a reality.

Although the outcome of whether or not she really had them might determine a lot. In the meantime he'd remain afraid and cautious of creating bond with others. Including her if it meant he'd get to keep his sanity. "Hm.. Thats a positive way to spin that." Issei responded sort of tilting his head when she mentioned something about becoming the fastest Shinobi in the world. Maybe a close second? Because everyone knew that Hokage-sama was the fastest. Although, now that she mentioned it he wondered if that might of been what was so specially about those legs of hers. Animals were fast creatures, and could perform athletic feats that even most Shinobi couldn't. He wondered if the possibility of her inheriting such power was possible.

Nevertheless, she finally responded to the odd way she responded to his question about what a secret admirer was. Her answer wasn't entirely convincing, but that probably had a lot to do with how hard it was to take her seriously based on how happy of a person she came off as. He hated to admit that, but something about happy people made it hard to trust them. Even his dad fell into that category. He couldn't see how he got such a thrill out of cooking for rude people all the time, but having that conviction was what separated his business from so many others. There was also his training as a Shinobi that made it possible, but what was her reasoning for being like this? Why did she have so much light in her eyes that it hurt his own? Hopefully sticking around long enough might reveal those answers.

She mentioned training so maybe that would be his chance to see. Maybe on the battlefield he'd see an entirely different side to her. If not then he'd just have to push it out of her out of curiosity, and most importantly to help her grow because if he were being honest he couldn't go on the battlefield with such a positive person. As backward as that sounded he needed to know that in times of real situations if she could hold her on, or would hold them back. He might not have had the edgy personality most of his fellow clansman had, but his still had the fire that burned from within the Uchiha when it came to their Shinobi prowess and fighting. That was instilled into him at a young as by his mother to see if he was strong enough to even make it as a Shinobi.

"Odd, but given my lack of knowledge I guess I'll have to take it for what it is."

A nod followed his response just before he'd deny the offer she made to him earlier. Seeing her eat the way she did was kind of unreal. He'd never seen a girl with such a masculine appetite. It was quite interesting. He was curious to see if whether or not her stomach had a lot to do with all that power that might have gone unnoticed by himself. Oddly enough in her next explanation after introducing himself she mentioned meeting another person like him. What followed had to be pure coincidence as only it just happened to be the young woman he met a few months ago."Kazui?" She had a lot of positive things to say about her which kind of made him smile. She was a tough up and coming Shinobi, and he couldn't wait to watch her beat the odds of her mostly negative life.

"Theres a good chance I am stronger now, but that doesn't mean she'll surprise me in the coming months once she graduates.." He could feel her potential in his soul. He knew it wouldn't take her long to get the hang of all the things she was struggling with now. "Well maybe you get the be the difference maker.. The people in my clan tend to be a bit edgy as one Jounin I know put it." A shrug of the shoulders followed before he talked of how she asked many questions. Like himself, but he'd make sure to leave that part out now that he sort of knew how overwhelming it could be. "That is true... It has been helpful to me in my time of need, although I never saw overwhelming it could be until talking to you... No offense to you that is, I'm just not as social as yourself?" A sort of cringe face followed before she rambled on about a number of things they could do.

"Hm.. How bout this, you can find us a place to sit so you can eat your food.. Something tells me your going to need the energy later." The latter alluding to the training that was going to take place after their moment here expired.

[Utsuki Yurako]

She felt a little weird that he has been inspecting her body, she would notice some of the subtle shifts in his eyes. Was he thinking about her biology? It was unique, though some people thought it made her look odd. She did get made fun of for it when she was younger but she mostly would distract people by acting out and being a class clone. To her, better to be seen as a joke than a freak. Though, nowadays she was proud of her heritage, as it just made her one of the kind in her opinion.

Well, not literally of course but to the majority of outsiders she was unique. Though, with all of the clans out there, she didn't think her's was any weirder than others. When he said that she had a unique way of spinning it, she'd nod. "You can count on me! I'm not one to abandon a comrade, I'll do whatever I can to make sure we stay as a team. Just trust in me and I won't let you down." She said giving him a thumbs up, making sure to hit home that she was one who not only meant what she said but kept her promises to the best of her ability.

"Unique enough and dumb enough to work in my opinion! Won't know until I try!" She'd say, pumping her fist in the air. When he said that her white lie that she was only giving a demonstration to his question, she'd almost give a sigh of relief. It would've been embarrassing if he thought she liked her in that way. He was cute she guessed, but they just met. Not only that but she had training, no time for romance yet. She couldn't waste her time at the moment thinking about cute boys or anyone for that matter.

When it came to light that he knew Kazui and would even smile and give her some praise she'd nod happily. "She's quiet but nice! I won't let her get too far ahead of me though! She'll be a good rival hopefully! I'm excited to see how strong she'll get." She'd reply, agreeing with him while clearly getting a bit fired up with the idea of sparring her again when she got stronger. When he talked about his own clan she'd raise both of her brows in curiosity.

"Oh! What does that mean? Do you like, have a secret dark side or something? I hope not, you seem like a nice guy, ya'know?" She'd ask. She always liked hearing about other clans and abilities. There were so many in Konoha, it was slightly a chore to keep up with to some degree. She liked meeting them though. When he talked bout her asking a lot of questions she'd only shrug. "No offense taken. Just how I am. Who knows, maybe you'll start becoming more social with me around ya. I look forward to it. You're doing a good job right now." Yurako would reply, giving him a compliment while she was at it.

Then when he agreed to find a place to sit down and eat she'd smile, "Sure! Let's go! Don't think you'll get that much of an upper hand! I've been training hard!" The Utsuki would say before picking up her many bags and would give him a calm smile. "Just lead the way Issei!"

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Tag: UCHIHA ISSEI

[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Trust in me? The Uchiha thought long and hard over those words. His trust nowadays wasn't nearly as high as it was during the years he first became a Genin. His career had been filled with such inconsistency. What was thought to be an explosively quick career had gone sour over the last six years. That wasn't to say that his journey into becoming one of the top Shinobi in the village was supposed to be a quick one, but at the pace he was on early in his career at the very least should have been heading into Special Jounin territory, and even in his opinion that was putting it lightly. When you added on his previous teams failure and constant abandonment all he was left with now was excuses for why he had not excelled as a Shinobi.

He allowed those problems to become crutches. Relying on the village to supply him with the people he felt he'd needed to push his career, and every time he did something bad happened. The first team was just too selfish and full of themselves. Constantly holding him back, but the next team after almost a year involved the death of a sure fire Star Shinobi in the making in the Chuunin exams. That was a huge let down for the Uchiha. Not only did he lose someone that was as kind hearted as the people that raised him, but she was someone that trained her heart out, and if rumors served him correctly she was related to Old Man Kazuto. Odd that it was only just recent that it was brought to his attention. Although, a lot of that had to do with his reluctance on talking about her because her story was just too sad.

Her death kind of created a fear that lingered for the years to come. Then came another whole new lineup of members and good old Yuuta. This finally looked like the team that was going to finally reach the endgame, and then one by one members begin to disappear again. The most surprising being the presence of Yuuta. He was extremely head strong about how he was going to be around for them. He was the first teacher that believed in what he was capable of and put in a good deal of time to make sure all of that happened. Even tried to change his views on the Sharingan which he couldn't deny helped for a bit. But after he vanished from the group he found himself back in that same hole Yuuta tried so hard to bring him out of. Luckily he had Kazui to thank on his new conviction and perspective on the Sharingan, but that didn't mean his presence didn't play a part int hat discovery too.

"I hope you don't... This time I don't intend to let my team be the reason for my lack of success, but I'll hold you to those words anyways."

He hated to come off so straight forward, but with everything that had happened he wanted to remain as honest as possible. Her excitement and pose reminded him a lot of Yuuta and his optimism when he first became their teacher. He hoped that her fate would not be the same, but if it were she would just be replaced just like everyone else that gave up or decided this field wasn't worth the training and everything else needed to be a Shinobi.

"Yeah.. She's really special, and I can tell she's going to be a work horse once she gets out of the Academy. So you'll have your hands full for sure."

The thought of her becoming a rival crossed his mind many times, but if he were being honest such a happening might diminish his own ego. Given the amount of years he had on her he wanted to become something she could aspire to be. He knew that his presence as a Genin didn't help much, but if he really worked his ass of he could perhaps become one Uchiha she wanted to be like. Not in terms of copying his persona, but what his presence would mean to her, the clan, and to the village as a whole.

Nevertheless, the conversation for the time being transitioned into a talk about their clans. He didn't think she'd really take into account what he just talked about as he kind of hoping what he said might help her, but if she had curiosities it was his job to sort of speak on them. "No... I don't have a dark side. At least not one that I know of, but my clans power has a way of bringing darkness out of you if its there.. My mom has stress the need for surrounding myself in 'light,' but I'd rather just not risk that."

At least thats what he continued to tell himself. Usually he could say that with a straight face with no worries, but after talking with Kazui the words left him with a much different feeling. "Well... Thats how I use to feel, but I guess I'm open to it? I don't know."

He spoke hoping the conversation would sort of go over into another one that he'd be more comfortable talking about. His inner feelings was something he like to keep to himself. The only person he actually took the time to open up to had been Yuuta, and more recently Kazui. One was his teacher, and the other was a clansman that had gone through hell to get to where she was and kind of won him over emotionally. "Hmm.. I hope your right about that. I've actually been hoping to improve my social skills." He spoke sort of scratching his head nervously. He'd made some strides recently, but he still had a long way to go if he didn't want to become an edgelord.

"Thanks for pointing that out... Although, I'm sure I haven't been the most friendliest."

He kind of felt bad about the way he had acted so far since he'd been with her. While he hadn't said anything that might be considered too rude, his straight forwardness could easily come off as insensitive. He just didn't want this encounter to be so buddy buddy. Especially given all the other teammates that left. He only had so much positive energy to give off in a day before he'd run out of social gas. He'd just have to hope she was worth the time. "Working hard huh? Well I can't wait to see you put all of this hard work your speaking of to good use." It wasn't until after her words that he noticed she'd tell him to lead the way after he requested that she be the one to do so. The first thing that came to mind was the talks he had with Yuuta.

With him being on the team much longer than anyone else, and based on his personality trait he was considered the best fit currently to be team lead. And while this could always be subjected to change he sort of had his mind set on it now, and this moment sort of built up on that notion. It was kind of nice being trusted to lead. Even if it was just leading someone to a place to eat. Given the control he had over the situation he'd find a location about 20 meters from the place she got her last order of food that wasn't crowded with as many people. He'd find a large table with four chairs proceeding to take it before anyone else might get the same idea. "Feel free to use all the space on this round table here.. And take your time too."

[Utsuki Yurako]

"You can count on me Issei! Even if just my words I hope to prove it to you!" She said proudly with a wide grin and her signature thumbs up. She never wanted to go back on her word once given. She wanted to be someone others could not only trust but rely on. It was becoming her way of being a kunoichi. Not only that, but she knew that it was what her parents would've wanted from her. She was going to uphold the legacy no matter what, she wouldn't stop doing so until then.

She would die first in fact. When Issei talked about Kazui she would nod in response. "I completely agree. She's wonderful. I can't wait to do all of the missions I can with her. But she isn't going to show me up in the chuunin exams." She stated proudly. She wasn't going to even let her friends outdo her in the exams. She was stronger than that and she would show it to everyone. Not only that but she would be on her next step towards becoming the fastest in the five nations.

When he told her about his clan and their inner darkness she would think about it for a little bit. He didn't have a dark side but he apparently needed a light to keep him from going dark. She smiled at him, her eyes closing a little bit when she did. "If you stick around me, I don't mind being this 'light' your mom talked about. I can't have my teammate go dark, ya'know?" She replied, her voice filled with genuineness and confidence. She was told that she was a bright person to be around.

Mostly due to her bubbly, boundless energy and friendly nature. He did add that he didn't want to take risks, but she shook her head. "Nah, you should do what you can and not be afraid of the possibility of getting stronger. If it is such a risk, then as a good teammate, I will just take the risk with you!" She would add to her previous statement. She took being a comrade and her role as a teammate seriously after all. While she did want to get stronger, she didn't want her team to fall too far behind her.

If that meant taking great risks she would do it without batting an eye. Then he welcomed her help with becoming more social. "No worries there! I'll probably be the most socialist person you would ever meet!" She said, not even knowing if socialist was the right term or even a word. If it wasn't she was gonna make it one. When he said thanks she would wave her hand slightly. "No problem, I do what I can. And you don't at all come off as rude to me at least. Don't pressure yourself as much, ya'know?" She said with slight humbleness.

She didn't reply to him about him wanted to see her hard work in words but with a simple nod before making sure she had all of her bags, carrying them off and following him around until they found themselves at a table. Once he sat down, she began to pile up her many dishes on the surface, trying to decide which one she would take down first, sitting down across from him. After a few moments of thinking and staring at her food she decided to start on the yakisoba, devouring the delicious dish with great gusto.

"Ohhh maaannn. Sooo goood." She moaned to herself after the first few bites, placing a hand on her cheek before she continued on her speedy eating.

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TAG: UCHIHA ISSEI
HEX: #b54a50
NOTES:

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[UCHIHA ISSEI]

Everything about the girl was beginning to feel just a little too perfect. She was filled with so much positivity, and optimism that in some way, scared him. How could she have gotten this way? Anything he said that even had a hint of negativity in it she intended to fight against it with her own positive energy. She wanted to be someone that he could count on. From a logical perspective that was something you definitely wanted to hear from your teammate, and for awhile he sort of got the chance to build that comradary with Nori, but after things with Yuuta failed even he gave up.

Speaking of Yuuta, he was the primary reason why all of her words of optimism bothered him. Yuuta, to a much different degree spoke the same kind of words, and for awhile he was doing well to live up to them, but suddenly he just vanished. He asked a few people if they might have seen him around. His parents mainly, but he still asked someone. To be honest he probably could have found more out if he really tried, but like a child he felt if he prodded too much that it might be a sign of attachment. He refused to admit he'd made a bond with anyone outside of his two living parents whom he was extremely grateful for.

The one thing he was okay with hearing, and talking about was Kazui, whom they both seem to feel strongly about to a degree. They both saw a lot of potential in her, and they both sought out to be apart of her life in one way or another. After that things started getting even more uncomfortable, but he didn't really know how to feel about any of it either. It wasn't bad, or wrong of her to want to be the light his mother spoke of. He was just afraid of how he might feel if she let him down by giving up, or even worst like dying. If the latter happened on duty how could she possibly become his light? The only feelings he could see coming from such a happening was pain.

He needed to grow up too though. By not giving others a chance he was removing the opportunity to grow not only as a person, but as a Shinobi too. How long was he going to keep running away from situations in favor of playing it safe? He couldn't imagine how he felt if his dumb ideals on the Sharingan had rubbed off on Kazui. Luckily she was a smart girl that obviously spent a great deal having to think for herself. It wasn't like she had people at home who loved her to give her all the advice she'd need to be successful in life.

"Whatever.."

He muttered to himself looking away briefly as he reflected more on her words as the two of them spoke to one another. "Do what I want? Not be afraid of the possibility of getting stronger?" He mouthed off silently to himself as he stared off into the distance. She also spoke of taking the risk with him. Something he never really heard from anyone before. Even with Yuuta.

Although, he was sure the latter was definitely trying to head in that direction before his disappearance shortly after their last training session. No matter, he'd get to see how serious she was about all of her words as time passed. He'd earn the right to hold anyone new to the team to that standard. To be fair, he'd also make sure that he provided them with a fair chance as she wasn't responsible for any of the mishaps that happened before her.

"That's fair.. I won't pressure myself at all then."

If she was okay with the way he was communicating then he'd leave it at that. Once the two of them got settled in at the table she'd begin to start eating. "Wow... you must have been really hungry." It was apparent that Yurako was really excited about getting the chance to finally eat. She was eating as though if she didn't eat fast enough that her food might run away from her. "You don't have to answer this now, but I do have some questions for you." He brought up as she continued to eat like a starving Shinobi after returning from a deployment.

"Do those ears allow you to hear better? Also do your legs give you complications? Like having a much harder time with clothing. And why are you eating so much? You do know we are fighting after this right?"