[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

The first two rounds of the exams were hell to say the least. It had been a little over four days since the contestants first left their homes, and now some of them were beginning to make their way back. Kazui was one of the lucky ones to be finished, allowing her the luxury of returning home to recuperate before the start of the third round. Others however were still in the midst of finishing the second round, and the longer Kazui thought of it, the more concerned she grew over her "big sister”, Miho. The lady was strong so surely she was doing fine. Kazui would shake the thoughts from her head as she entered the dormitory and made her way to her room.

It felt as if everyone was watching her, maybe they were, she did finish part of the exam and perhaps they just wanted to know how it went. But if they paid enough attention, they would notice that the girl was in no mood to talk. She was still shivering a bit as she unlocked the door to her room and flopped down onto her bed. Kazui had never thought she would miss having a bed until she was forced to sleep against a wall. A sigh escaped her breath as she began to rest her eyes. There wasn’t much to do, well there wasn’t much that Kazui wanted to do except rest. The knock at her door however would draw her attention, a groan escaping her breath as she began to push herself up.

"Fresh towels!” The woman’s voice called out from behind the door. Kazui would sigh as her eyes drifted to the set of towels that rested on the table from the last time she was in the room. "Er..no thank you.” The girl voiced softly as she returned to her bed, only to hear another knock at the door the second she laid her head down. A muffled groan would fill the room as she continued to lay there. Part of her wanted to ignore it, but she just couldn’t.

"Whaaaaat..”

Calling out as she buried her face in her pillow, a sense of annoyance and anger in her tone as she spoke out. The door was unlocked, for the most part, she just had forgotten to lock it again, tiredness and frustration often had that effect on people.

word count ● Senju Kazuto ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]

[Senju Kazuto]

The exams had being a grind for the spectators and the participants as well. The Senju had being patient, feeling the gnawing blade of anticipation as he awaited for grim and dire news from his apprentice or his beloved fiance. As fortune would have it, Kazuto would feel some relief as the Uchiha had emerged from the grinding test that had being the first leg of the exams. Whilst he still had a part of his mind concerned about the progress of would be wife, he was able to hide the disquiet that had grown, but thought that he could, at least for a moment disconnect, enjoy a time with his apprentice that he loved as if she were a sibling. After picking some of the pastries that he had found palatable within this land of accursed never ending cold. Turning around the corner he saw one of the cleaning staff in the building in which genin had being housed during their time in the exams, knowing the door of Kazui's door and being turned away. She's in a particular good mood The Senju thought sardonically as he would stand before the door and knocked it softly and gently, only to hear her long groaning complaint through the plywood that made the door. As his hand rounded the knob, he would twist it open, pushing the door and stepping in. "That is the greeting I get?" He mused softly as closed the door behind him, eyeing at the girl tumbled on her bed. Kazui was a quiet girl by nature, as stoic as he was under most circumstances, but to see her so drained almost seemed to sap the energy from him. "Perhaps would you like me to come later?" He offered as he placed the bag filled with the pastries on the side table and took a seat at the edge of the mattress. "After all, you usually greet me with so much enthusiasm."

-tag- Lady Kazui -words- 335 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

The sound of the door opening wouldn’t get much of a reaction out of Kazui, the girl wouldn’t move a muscle. Her face remained buried in the fluffy pillow as she laid there on her stomach. If anyone were breaking in to rob the place, she decided she was too tired to fight back, at least that’s what she thought to herself. Luckily enough she didn’t have to think about that any longer, as the voice spoke out, Kazui would look over her shoulder and see Kazuto making his way into the room. However, the Uchiha would greet him with excitement like she normally did, instead she would just place her face back into the pillow as muffled sounds escaped as she spoke.

"Sorry..” The girl voiced softly as Kazuto placed the treats down and grabbed a seat on the foot of her bed. "I thought you were…” Her mind was drawing blanks as she tried to come up with a reason for why she was acting the way she was. Slowly pushing herself up to a seated position, the Senju would be able to clearly tell how tired the girl was. The distraught in her eyes and the messiness of her hair were signs of the exams getting the best of Kazui. Shrugging her shoulders, she would come up with an easy answer. "I don’t know.” She didn’t want to complain, but it was obvious that she needed time to relax.

A moment of silence would fall among the two as Kazui began to stare off into space, her eyes however were fixed on the treats that sat on the table in the middle of the room. He always brought her food, and she never understood why. It wasn’t something she would question however, since she enjoyed it, however the girl wasn’t really hungry at the moment. "Sooo..” Kazui would start, her dark hues drifting away from the sweets and towards Kazuto. "What’s up?” The girl would ask awkwardly as her hands flopped to her side as if she didn’t want Kazuto’s company. That wasn’t the truth though, she always enjoyed being around him and Miho, but she couldn’t think clearly at the moment.

word count ● @tag ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]

[Senju Kazuto]

"You thought I was the maid? Passing down blankets and fresh towels?" Kazuto suggested with a scoff as he watched the girl raise from the bed, worse from the wear and utterly tired. As if she needed just more than tea to wake her up. "I think I would be a poor housekeeper." He said as he raised from the the edge of the bed and fetched a chair. Sitting on the chair he would then look at his apprentice, still tired, still sore from what seemed to be perhaps some of the most grueling chunin exams to date, at least the most grueling since his own. Although he supposed that for everyone their exams were grueling. "I came to see how you were doing." He would tell her after he was being questioned on what he was doing here. Privately he thought that he could use a shower, or two. And then the hardest, bitterest tree that he could brew to then say that he was barely awaken. Raising his hand he would force the rebellious curls to settle in as her hair would look more or less normal, requiring to be combed whenever she had the chance. He knew that, it was very likely that she would be annoyed that he touched her hair, but he would do so out of wish to make her look at least presentable. A shinobi had to look the part when they had to. "But... if you prefer for me to leave you be, as you were in the middle of a date with your pillow... I shall do so." He told the young Uchiha with a teasing tone before he would opening the bag of pastries he had brought, producing from it one of the fried fritters that the people in Yukigakure baked. He would take a bite of the pastry before offering the bag to her. "So... go on, tell me how were the exams."

-tag- Lady Kazui -words- 335 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

The girl would clench her fist tightly for a quick moment, dark hues drifting off towards the floor as Kazuto guessed correctly on the reason she responded to him in such a way. "Hm...yeah.” She murmured softly beneath her voice. Kazuto would indeed make a terrible housekeeper, despite all the times he had taken care of Kazui and Miho both. The girl would shrug her shoulders. "With a little practice..you could do anything.” She would say jokingly, her voice a bit tired as a faint chuckle escaped her lips.

Kazui didn’t say much after that, instead she just watched as her master shifted around the room, grabbing a hold of a chair and sitting in front of her as she remained seated on the bed. What the Senju said however came as no surprise to the girl, he cared about her a lot and she knew that about him, so she didn’t even know why she asked him what was up.

"Oh, I’m fine.” She said softly beneath her breath with a shrug of her shoulders. It was true, she was fine but the girl was just a bit tired. She was robbed of her sleep for over four days, which was probably the toughest part for her despite her ability to adapt. As Kazuto joked about the girl’s tiredness, she would gesture her hands for the man to wait. "No no no .. stay, please.” She asked.

Accepting the bag that Kazuto had given her, Kazui would take one of the pastries and bite into it slowly. She still wasn’t a huge fan of sweets, but since he had bought them for her, the least she could do is eat one. "Ehh..” The Uchiha voiced gently as she thought over everything she had gone through over the past few days. "It was alright, it wasn’t anything crazy. They made us survive by ourselves in different biomes for four days, then directly afterwards we had to catch this little rabbit.” Taking a beat between her explanation, the girl would take another small bite from the pastry. "He was a cute little guy .. but man was he fast.” And annoying.

Silence fell upon the two yet again as she thought over her own explanation of the exams. That along with the fact that she had fallen through thin ice and into freezing water made her realize how shitty everything was. "It sucked.” The girl concluded, setting the pastry down for a moment. Her mind continued to race and of course the same thought remained in her mind, and it was her sister. "I miss Miho.” She added on.

word count ● @tag ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]

[Senju Kazuto]

The Senju listened to his apprentice speak about how had been the exams, finding himself surprised with the fact that it had been more of a survival test than an actual test of skill. He supposed that was the nature of the exams themselves, they could not be so easily anticipated and thus the time was better spend honing their skills with their techniques and bodies or learning a new wisdom that would require them to keep their mind clear from the upcoming exams. Well at least that was how it had been for himself when he had crossed that crucible at the time of his exams. But as she would continue to explain to him he would find himself chuckling at the idea of a rabbit giving his fast student a problem. "Perhaps I ought to teach you how to set a trap for a rabbit in our next lesson." Kazuto mused with a chuckle as he would continue to allow the girl to speak her grievances about the experience in what had surely being a harsh bio-dome. After she had concluded and then uttered that the whole ordeal had been less than satisfactory he would smile, imagining her how she would fare in an actual campaign when there was no one to give support, but he would led it pass, after all she had still not being in a mission that placed her life in the line against other shinobi. And then out of the sudden, out of the blue without any warning speaking about missing Miho. His eyes widened and then his sight softened before he took a bite of his own pastry, chewing the flaky nature of the treat he had bought before swallowing. "You speak of her as if she were dead." He told the young Uchiha as he gave her a reassuring look, knowing well that Miho was well trained and drilled in her abilities as a medic and if there was anyone that could survive the exams then it would her. "I miss her too... But I'm sure she's fine. She's too headstrong to let herself be defeated." He said, convincing the girl with his words and his confidence. "I'm glad you like her." He said with a hint of a smile. "She loves you too." He supposed that it was fair since both Miho and himself didn't have much family beyond each other and then the young Uchiha. "I hope she hasn't bothered you with dresses for the wedding." He said with a chuckle, remembering how he had need to get a traditional set of robes to wear after his fiance's insistence. "You don't seem like the sort of girl that would wear a dress."

-tag- Lady Kazui -words- 464 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

The girl would breath a chuckle through her smirking lips as Kazuto joked about teaching her how to set a trap for rabbits. It was funny to think about, simply because of how much of a pain in the neck that this particular bunny was, Kazui knew he had some sort of shinobi training. ”Deal.” The young genin would answer in return. She wasn’t a huge fan of hunting techniques and things of that nature, but she was however a girl that enjoyed picking up and learning new things, so learning how to make traps maybe wasn’t such a bad idea.

Although that idea did sound good, Kazui had little interest in catching bunnies. Placing her hand gently beneath her chin, the girl would start to think of other things. "But….” She started, her gaze looking all around before it came to her. "How about teaching me how to fish first.” She said with a tired smile.

Kazui had a good amount of knowledge on what seemed like an endless amount of random topics, so yeah she knew the basics and premise of fishing, but unfortunately she had never actually gone fishing. Therefore the idea was there, but her technique was far from being polished. Nevertheless, Kazui would continue on and mention how she missed Miho. Kazuto’s reaction caused the girl to smile briefly before speaking up. "I’m sorry, it was just a thought that has been on my mind for awhile.” Kazui explained as she shrugged her shoulders. "I’m not worried, I know she’s strong...it’s just that..” Trying to find the right words to explain how she felt, the girl would take a moment. She wasn’t worried at first, but since Kazuto said something about death, her mind made sure to remind her that there was a possibility that something bad could’ve happened. It was the unknown. Shrugging with her hands, Kazui would simply go on.

"I don’t know..I just haven’t seen her in awhile.”

She explained. Normally she saw the women almost everyday. These exams were going against everything that she deemed normal and often took for granted, but Kazui guessed that was the purpose of having them. A smile curled on her lips as Kazuto mentioned that Miho loved her, it was a reassuring feeling, something that she was still trying to get used to since she had been neglected of it in her earlier childhood.

Kazui was honored to be able to partake in their wedding, but she wasn’t a huge dress girl, and it seemed as if Kazuto understood that. Looking down at her own legs, she would kick/swing them back and forth, a smirk growing on her features as her dark hues focused on the grey shorts that she was wearing. "I guess you could say that.” The girl explained with a soft chuckle before continuing. "But no, she hasn’t said much about the dress to me yet. I’ll probably just let her choose mine whenever we all make it back to Konoha, I suppose.” Kazui answered. She wasn’t an expert at the matter, which was why she would just allow Miho to dictate everything, especially since she was in charge of the bridesmaids and things of the like.

word count ● @tag ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]

[Senju Kazuto]

"You sound as if you were going to marry her instead of me." Kazuto joked, trying to bring some levity to the conversation. Indeed it looked like she was more concerned than what he was regarding Miho being still in the testing bio dome more than she had been. Although he could say that the idea of her taking longer wasn't exactly something he agreed to, he preferred to remain hopeful rather than allow panic to control him. Patience was their best ally at the moment, that and faith that Miho would be able to surpass any obstacle thrown at her. Of that he was fairly confident that she would be. "But you must have patience Kazui, she won't be long." He said before taking another bite of the pastry. After swallowing his bite he would then consider her previous request. He had wondered when she had wanted to fish, it didn't seem to be an activity that she would enjoy, but then again she was the sort of quiet person that could enjoy the waiting and in general the stillness that was necessary to fish. "Tell you what, after I return from my vacations with Miho, I will teach you to fish, we can go camping." He offered as he made a mental note to squeeze such offer between returning, catching up with work and then an eventual trip to Kaminari no Kuni to see if the rumors about someone not from the Senju Clan being born with the ability of use Mokuton. "Sounds like a proper reward after doing so admirably in these exams, I think." He told the girl with a smile before squeezing the flesh of her left shoulder with his fingers. "But fear not about Miho, keep faith of her and you shall be rewarded Kazui." He told her, once more repeating the mantra that he had told her just a few instances ago.

-tag- Lady Kazui -words- 329 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

Kazui would smile with her eyes as Kazuto joked about the girl marrying Miho instead of himself. Well they simply just had a pretty close relationship with one another, which was why Kazui was concerned and why she would let Miho decide what she would wear at the wedding. If it were up to Kazui herself, then she would probably wear something similar to what she was wearing now.

Nodding her head, she would agree that patience was all that was needed. It was true, a little time could pass and Miho would be back with them. Kazui however was not concerned, she knew Miho was a tough lady, it was more so a selfish feeling she had in her heart and mind. Shrugging her shoulders, the Uchiha would simply listen to her superior. "Hai.” She voiced gently.

The reason behind her wanting to fish however was mostly because she knew that it was something that Kazuto enjoyed doing. That and because there was a portion in the first round that required her to do some fishing and she couldn’t really catch anything, which was frustrating for the girl. "Fine, I guess that’ll work.” The girl said softly. Vacations? Where were they going? Who would keep her company? These were all questions that raced through her mind. A smile grew on her face however as Kazuto mentioned it being a reward for her performance in the exams. Sighing, Kazui would shrug her shoulders, "There’s still more left.” She would remind Kazuto. She wasn’t perfect, regardless of how hard she tried. Anything could happen, in the remaining round(s).

Nevertheless the girl would look up towards the ceiling as she thought to herself for a brief moment, her eyes eventually returning to her mentor. "A camping - fishing trip and a surprise gift.” She started with a smile. "I can’t wait.” The girl joked at Kazuto, making sure he didn’t forget about the gift he was supposed to give her once everyone returned home. The teen was excited, which was as clear as day, she wanted to keep up the good work in these exams and make sure she left no doubt of her reliability or performance, making it impossible for her promotion to chunin to be denied.

word count ● @tag ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]

[Senju Kazuto]

"I know, it is exciting, but keep your mind focused and your eyes on the prize." Kazuto said, gently reminding her of what was going at the moment. He had always stressed on living in the moment, the now. Many shinobi had fallen on the pitfall of dreaming on the future, always looking into the horizon and not focusing on what they were doing or what was truly at hand. But a part of him was certain that the girl would do well, she had never failed her for the attempts that had not being successful were lessons that she had taken from those stumbles and had risen stronger. "There's no doubt you will make me proud, Kazui." He said with a warm smile before he would take a bite from his pastry before sipping his tea. "As you will make your clan and Lady Hiruko proud for sure." The Senju added, certain that the Jonin Commander would be proud that her adopted daughter would raise to the rank of Chunin and then begin to take more responsibilities within the village. Those possibilities gave him some thought for the girl's future in the village, something that he would have to talk with Hiruko when the time was right. "Do you like the pastry?" He asked, unsure if it was something that she liked. He wasn't really aware of what she preferred to eat for the few times that they had gone to eat together it had been something that he had suggested and she agreed without much complaint, eating almost the same things that what he was. "I think it might be a little bit oily, but otherwise it's pretty palatable. This land is strange, isn't it?" He said as he would look through the window. "It feels weird that there's no forests to be felt around here... Not birds, no animals beyond those that hail from here."

-tag- Lady Kazui -words- 328 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

"Yeah yeah.” The girl voiced softly as she waved her hand dismissively side to side, rolling her eyes at her mentor. He of all people should understand that her focus would never be broken. Kazui didn’t come to these exams for the experience, she didn’t sign up to meet with other genin from around the world. Instead, she signed up to show not only her clan, but Kazuto and Yusuke as well, that it was worth training her and believing in her, so in return she would represent them with the utmost honor.

Making them proud was a huge part of the reasoning, but that wasn’t the only reason of course. She wanted to become a chunin, to go on more interesting missions, and to be given more responsibility. It would also show that she has been growing stronger over the course of the past few months, which means she would be even closer to becoming the strongest kunoichi, so that she could protect those close to her. A smile curled on her lips, Kazuto was always proud of her even when she messed it, it was one of the reasons why she enjoyed being his student.

Shrugging her shoulders, the girl’s dark eyes would shift down to the pastry that she held. Sweets were not things she typically enjoyed, yet people always offered them to her. "Eh, they’re ok.” Her voice was soft as she murmured a response, not wanting to upset Kazuto knowing that he had spent his hard earned ryo for her. However, regarding the terrain Kazui would just shrug as she normally did. They had been sectioned off and limited to this one city of course, so she couldn’t say for certain there wasn’t anything the country had to offer.

"The snow is harsh.” She would whisper, "I wouldn’t want to live here either..winter is only enjoyable when you’re on the inside looking out.” The girl added on.

word count ● @tag ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]

[Senju Kazuto]

He chuckled at the way that she would hide her discomfort or her dislike about something. She was kind enough not to eat from the pastries that he had brought as if he would see that as a slight. He guessed that even despite what he had taught her in their time as master and apprentice he still needed to show her some manners, or at the very least make sure she understood that it was hard for him to get upset about something that she would reject, specially if that something was good. He felt the temptation of once again ruffling her hair, unkempt as it was, but decided against it as he knew that even if it was a gesture of endearment she would not appreciate it. "I've heard a saying that tough lands breed tough people." It was something that old shinobi believed, that facing deprivations and hardship made people hardier, sturdier against the elements of the world. And while he could agree with some of that claim, he also thought that people that had little to fight for but the perennial snow, the damnable winter and finding subsistence in such a desolate place wasn't the same as fighting for a homeland that provided you with shelter and nourishment. "Well.. It's an old saying. Can't see these snow shinobi marching through Suna and laying siege there... And I don't see many people coming to plant their flags here, there's not enough life in this ice cube to fill a ship." He added flashing a smile to his apprentice. He guessed that was a form of strength from this land. No one would be quite right to come here and steal what? The snow? Only thing this land had valuable was the rantamaru steel and that was rare as it was. He would look at the Uchiha and grin at the girl, reminding himself about her returning from her test and still finding her looking very, very tired. "I suppose you haven't dipped your feet in hot water since you returned?" The Senju asked, certain that such would be the last thing the Uchiha had in her mind.

-tag- Lady Kazui -words- 370 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

Kazuto read her like a book. Even as she tried her hardest to put on a front and tell the Senju that the pastries were okay, somehow he still knew that she was hiding her true feelings. Not because she didn’t want him to know, but because she felt as if it would be rude to tell him otherwise. Of course however, Kazuto never really took much to heart, especially when it came to the girl hiding her feelings and thoughts over something so irrelevant. Which was the reason he chuckled at her now. Dark hues looked over the pastry before looking up towards Kazuto’s green eyes.

"What’s so funny?” She asked curiously. Nevertheless, she would move on from the pastries and began focusing on her mentor as he spoke of those who were built by their environments. Kazui wouldn’t be surprised; the tougher the environment, the tougher the mind, body, and spirit of the person who grew up there. People were often molded by the surroundings and their background, and Kazui was no different, albeit she didn’t have to live in a wintery wasteland such as Yuki no Kuni.

A smile quickly flashed through the girl’s tired demeanor as Kazuto went on to joke about Yuki no Kuni and how crappy the climate was. It was funny, but he wasn’t wrong. "You have a point there..” She would say softly before lowering her head, her smile gradually fading as a brief moment of silence fell amongst the two shinobi. Her hands intertwined with one another as she tried to shake the tired feeling in mind.

Hot water? That sounded perfect, but of course she hadn’t. "Pfft.” She would blow gently through her lips before answering the man’s question. "It never crossed my mind.” Kazui voiced softly as she shrugged her shoulders. "I find it hard to relax with everything going on, ya know.” These exams were more stressful than she thought it would be, but Kazui was one to keep pushing, so it was definitely no surprise that she hadn’t taken the time to actually unwind.

word count ● @tag ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]

[Senju Kazuto]

"Even so, a shinobi does need a time to rest." The Senju replied before he rose to his feet. Kazuto reminded herself that she was young so her skepticism about her ability to rest in a time when she was supposed to be more on edge, when every instinct she has as a shinobi bid her to be on alert in case something would happen. To live a life like that, even when in active duty was really no life at all, no one could stand such pressure in such a short amount of time. A clear mind was necessary to perform, and the girl would need every edge she had to endure and triumph in the exams. The Senju disappeared into the bathroom and the girl would hear the sound of running water and vapor leaving the room before he returned, hefting wide wooden bucket filled with warm water before he would set it before the Uchiha. As his hand would go towards one of the pockets inside his cloak he would pluck a white bag made from cloth and wrapped in with a red rope that he indid, revealing a set of vials filled with powdered hers. Slowly he removed the cork of one of the vials and would empty its contents inside bucket and a fizzing sound could be heard as a slightly pungent scent wafted inside the room until it was replaces with a herbal and floral aroma that was much more inviting. "Well then." He said as he would resume his seat and point towards the bucket. "Go on ahead, dip your toes there." He told her as he would wrap the remaining vials inside the white cloth before he would put it back to into the pocket, before green eyes looked at the dark hues of the girl. "Is something my grandmother prepared for me. Told me it would work for the coldness and pain if I had any. I assume it would work for you." He would tell her before taking another bite of the flaky pastry, chewing its contents before looking at her. "Can't tell you what herbs she grounds, but you should feel refreshed after rubbing your feet."

-tag- Lady Kazui -words- 377 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Deleted]

Don’t just weather the storm.
Dance in it.

❧

"I guess you’re right, but..” She mumbled softly as she looked up towards the ceiling. The girl knew that he was correct, but even then she would find trouble in the idea of her trying to relax during this time. The exams weren’t that stressful but it was always better to stay ready, just in case. But of course that was no way to live even as a shinobi, and she understood that. However, it’s all that she had ever known. She was never really allowed to relax when she was younger, she had numerous things to deal with back then, and that ideology seemed to carry over as she grew older.

Dark hues returned to face the man as he stood from his seat and made his way towards the bathroom. Listening curiously, the sound of water running would grab her attention, and as vapor began to exit the small room, Kazui had an idea what he was up to. His presence returned, holding a bucket filled with warm water, steam escaping from the liquid before dissipating in thin air. A sigh escaped from her breath as the bucket was sat in front of her, her smile would return briefly as she chuckled softly. Even after knowing Kazuto for all this time, Kazui was still getting used to his random acts of kindness and affection. It was still all so new to her, she wasn’t used to it. She still had the mindset that no one would ever do anything for her, which the girl began to feel bad about. She felt as if it would be a slap in the face to the Senju if he found out she felt that way, after everything he had done for her.

Leaning forward and looking into the bucket as he poured the herbs into the still steaming water, Kazui would speak. "You’re always nice...even when I mess up.” Her tone was soft and quiet as she looked up towards the jonin. An indifferent look on her face, yet her eyes would show that something was off, one that was hiding sadness behind them, she wasn’t happy when she voiced those words. She wanted to ask him why, but instead the girl would just opt for silence, like she normally did. Her eyes would avert back towards the water before she slowly dipped her feet in.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Kazui would try to use this time to relax. She had to admit though that the warm water felt nice and that the smell of the herbs were pleasant. Silence would fall upon the two as the girl soaked her feet, but after a moment or two the Uchiha’s eyes would return to the Senju as she spoke, a faint smile on her face as she did so. "You should do it as well.” She would suggest. Kazuto being a jonin and all, surely he was more stressed than Kazui.

word count ● @tag ● notes

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

[newclass=.cred]text-align:center;font-size:6pt;color:rgb(132, 132, 132);letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;margin-top:5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.cred a]color:rgb(132, 132, 132);font-size:6pt;letter-spacing:1px;font-family:verdana;[/newclass]