Well, somebody's got to get stuck with the boring parts. [OPEN]

[noboatbigenough]

Who: Hoshigaki Kisame
Where: Various places around Kirigakure
When: First week of February
Notes: Mostly day in the life things, with a little bit of Chuunin exam fallout. Mingling, for Kiri-folks and visitors! Posting character toplevels and threadhopping encouraged, or respond to Kisame's prompts.

The problem with the Chuunin exams being held in Kiri was that there was always so much to do after they were done, and that was when he hadn't spent the whole time proctoring. Luckily, Kisame wasn't alone in cleaning up after the spectacle, but there was still a lot to do, and most of it was the dry, lifeless work that he hated, so Kisame made sure to spend ample time doing more interesting things, so he wouldn't take someone's head off out of frustration.

Pretty close to literally. These next few days were going to be long ones.

Cypher Headquarters and T&I:
The first several orders of business were to debrief all the Cypher members he'd had out all exam, watching the crowds and visitors and gathering information. Most of them had been posing as visitors themselves, to get at things visitors wouldn't say around Kiri-sympathetic ears, but there'd been more than a few out and about as civilians, or as their public faces, so Kisame would get a good look at everything that could be discovered.

He'd already put in his reports about his meeting with the Hokage, and the others he'd ran into or been pushed into escorting for the third portion, and his observations of candidates during the first portions of the exam, and that at least, saved him the tedious job of sorting through everything. Kisame already knew what was strictly necessary to report from his own observations.

Their jutsu made sure nothing was missed, but it also left the task of wading through it all and picking out what was gold and what was dross. He'd pared down about a quarter of the preliminary reports, and already he wanted to take a break.

Well, a break wouldn't hurt, and perhaps some of the more enjoyable company in T&I or Cypher would be taking a break too. If nothing else, comparing notes and findings with another person who hadn't turned themselves into a living recording device for the duration would break up the tedium a bit.

Kisame left his office, teapot in hand, and went out into the greater area that held most of Kiri's most sensitive information and secretive ninja.

Public training grounds:
At least training could combine two tasks into one. Keeping himself in fighting form, and doing a little bit of scouting for Seven Swordsmen potentials. How he always got this task put on him, Kisame didn't know, especially since he wasn't officially the leader anymore, but at least he didn't have to deal with the fallout if one of the members chose a controversial apprentice. That was on the official leader's head.

That aside, it was fun to put his sword skills to the test against all comers, and some of the kids actually made it easy to focus, and sometimes even pushed him a little.

Kisame knocked his current opponent back, and nodded. "Not bad, kid. Train more, and we'll make a decent swordsman out of you yet. Now, who's next?"

Eagerly Kisame looked through the crowd, hoping for someone with a different style, at least.

Mission office:
The mission office was the perfect place to work on improving his patience. At least, that was what Kisame kept reminding himself as he tried not to grind his teeth. There was almost as much paperwork here as down in Cypher, and for some reason, he'd been "recommended" for a shift handing out and filing missions.

Handing the missions out was easy enough, as most ninja didn't have any particular restrictions on the missions they could take, and it was usually as simple as handing out scrolls, but taking reports of completed missions and making sure everything was complete was dull.

But at least there was one benefit to working the desk. Kisame could look at the missions available at his leisure. None that he'd instantly jump on right now, but there were a few that would at least get him away from the village, once he was finished with all the extra work.

At least, if it was dull, there were opportunities to size up the ninja he rarely got to interact with, much less anything more. Kisame waved the next in line waiting for an assignment forward.

"Rank and clearance, please."

Hoshigaki training grounds:
The training grounds outside the clan compound were technically public, but so often used by Hoshigaki, that they might as well have been private. This was where Kisame worked on his more sensitive training, mastering new kata and jutsu.

It didn't mean he wouldn't be interrupted, but fewer people passing through meant fewer accidents if a brand new jutsu slipped outside his control. It didn't happen often, not anymore, but if Kisame injured someone, he wanted to do it intentionally.

Right now he was working on a new Wind Release, and the training logs were taking quite the beating. It wasn't fine-tuned enough yet that he'd use it in a fight, but Kisame liked the feel of forming the air around him into blades. Kisame went through the seals again, and gathered chakra, and this time the training log toppled, cleanly sliced right in half. Better.

Comments

Public training grounds

[knifependulum]

Nothing quite like a crowd to draw attention. Nori loved crowds, wove through them and let his fingers wander into various money pouches or otherwise picking off a shiny trinket while everyone watched the spectacle in front of them. Nice and easy. Course he didn't expect the kid to stride through the crowd and practically run into him either.

A knife flicked through his fingers, but Nori caught sight of the kid's opponent and palmed it back into his sleeve just as quickly.

Shark-Face don't need a reason.

"Watch where you're goin', eh?" he said instead, and endured a truly impressive glower for a few moments before the kid stormed off, mood ruined.

Nori shrugged, all too aware of the attention drawn by the encounter. "Kids these days."

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame might have missed it if all his years and experience hadn't beaten into him awareness of even the smallest movements--that habit had saved his skin more than once. A knife, quickly drawn and just as quickly hidden was interesting, as was the man who'd called all that attention to himself.

"They learn, or they get themselves killed. Fun to watch, whichever way it goes, eh?" He didn't make any attempts to hide his appraising look, taking the small man in from the top of his distinctive hair to the bottoms of his booted feet. He let his stare linger on the hand that had drawn that knife in a very pointed, and his smile was full of natural knives.

"Come for a spar, visitor? I enjoy facing new opponents."

[knifependulum]

Those beady eyes were quite unnerving- almost more unsettling than the attention he'd unwittingly garnered. Lucky his fingers hadn't been caught anywhere, and now this crowd would be paying too close attention to him to let their attention wander far.

He knew better than to disagree, and decided Shark-Face didn't have any younger siblings.

Prolly ate 'em.

And okay, that's unsettling. But Nori sauntered forward, all swaggered confidence as if he'd planned the whole thing. He hadn't, but he'd talked his way out of worse.

"Don't fink I'd be much of a fight. I'm just one o' them mercenary types. Not up to snuff against legendary shinobi like yerself."

And maybe legendary was laying it on a bit thick, but he's not stupid and knew what the Seven Swordsmen were, thank you very much.

[noboatbigenough]

"Every clash can teach a lesson, if we're both willing to learn." For all that Kisame was still grinning full of teeth, his tone indicated his belief in that statement.

He was still obviously looking, interested and assessing every movement. Just an average mercenary? Kisame doubted it, and that meant this would be much more fun.

"Legend ruins so many good fights," Kisame tossed out, mock disappointed, but he bowed all the same. "Still, it'd be rude not to introduce myself. Hoshigaki Kisame."

[knifependulum]

It was a predatory gaze he knew better than to shy away from. But that smile was worse, revealing rows of very sharp teeth, proving his chosen moniker further than he'd hoped to look. He was blue. Not that this was his first time seeing it- it was a unique flavor to Kirigakure. Moreover, that smile was his, and the petulant part of him was vexed that Shark-Face wore it better.

I spent thirty years perfecting that smile. Guess he has a natural advantage though.

And now he had an actual name to go with the bloody grin and he knew it was his turn.

"Nagata Kin," he said without hesitation or flourish. He was of a mind to pick his nails if he didn't want to keep both eyes on this particular challenger. Most of him wanted out, knew that Shark-Face-- Kisame-- didn't believe him and was in no hurry to prove him right. But he didn't want to be caught hiding anything by refusing either. His back story was solid enough.

"Alright," he said, feeling fairly suicidal, but the crowd was restless and they'd spent too long posturing. And as he stepped closer, their difference in height made itself readily apparent.

Perfect knee-cappin' height. He'd take his axe out for that, but this was a spar- at least for now. Knives flicked between his fingers.

"Don' blame me if you get bored though."

[noboatbigenough]

"Don't sell yourself short, Kin-san. This fight will be far from boring, for either of us, I think!" Kisame flicked away a little of the blood his last partner had been too slow not to lose and snapped a gesture at the watching crowd. More room, or your injuries will be on your own head, the gesture said.

"Been a while since I've fought an expert with knives. This will be good practice."

That was all Kisame gave before moving forward, a little quicker than his bulk suggested was possible, and slicing the blade around in a tight arc. It was a normal sword, but killing-sharp, and obviously well cared-for and loved. The blow was potentially deadly, but more than that, it was the kind of blow a skilled fighter used to test and prod at an opponents' defenses.

[knifependulum]

Never said I was an expert. The words were on his tongue, but left with little chance to use them as Kisame swung forward.

Sword: bad.

Nori threw himself into a roll and danced out of arm's reach. He made no move to go on the offensive, keeping his knives tight between his fingers as he assessed his opponent and searched for openings.

He's not goin' easy on me. A bit of a surprise, given most usually looked at his height and underestimated him. He's been taking advantage of that for years. Wonder if he's as strong as Dori.

Not the best idea to test, but if he couldn't slip in close, he'd have to match Kisame's sword with his favored weapon. He was decently strong himself, but had nothing of his brother's strength. No, for now he'd play this careful, test Kisame's speed and reaction times.

He threw two of his knives, whipped out from between his fingers and new ones materializing in their place as though he'd never loosed them to begin with. Both were aimed at different vital points, targeting Kisame's neck and knee.

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame was aware that he wasn't the fastest--oh, much faster than people expected of him, of course, and he was careful to keep the true extent of his speed hidden as a trump--but he had ways around the differences when they really made themselves known.

In this case, it was economy of motion. A tip of the sword had the edge intercepting the knife for the knee and knocking it spinning away, and a fraction of a shift moved his neck out of the way. Even so, the knife nearly sliced him open and Kisame felt its passing. He would have let it cut him, the better to make his opponent underestimate his ability, but this man was much better than most civilians, and with that small stature, Kisame was sure he'd worked out ways to make himself more deadly. Kisame wasn't going to risk poison, just in case. He'd have to wait and see if one of the knives hit an onlooker and what happened. They were still too close, stupid kids.

"How fast you are, Kin-san! I'm impressed."

Kisame pressed the attack, using his longer reach to his advantage as the blade arced in beautiful and deadly paths. A thrust, a feint, a diagonal cut all coming in without even a moment between, and faster than the first strike had been, as that one had been dodged.

[knifependulum]

It was an incredibly fast exchange, the kind of rapid movement that almost seemed to suspend time itself- the mark of the highly trained.

Guess that title's not jus' for show.

He was hard-pressed to keep up, using every bit of his compact size and reflexes just to keep from losing an arm. His knives were exchanged for a traditional kunai and a scroll, and Nori just barely managed to stop the motion of Kisame's angled strike with his kunai.

The edges wore at one another, and Nori was very concerned about the safety of his fingers if his strength faltered or the blades slipped the wrong way.

"If you're gonna play it that way.." The scroll flew open in an arching ribbon of parchment, and fingers touched the seal markings within. His hand closed around the shaft of a battlestaff, and he swung the maced head toward his opponent in a wide arc with the sole intent of disengaging him.

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame's expression went sharp-smiled with interest when the kunai appeared. This one had been trained. And then to sheer delight when the staff appeared.

Instead of disengaging completely, though, Kisame switched to a two-handed grip and angled the blade so the curve caught against the place where the head of the mace was attached to the staff. For a flicker of a second, he held still, and then pushed. Strength was one thing everyone expected from a Hoshigaki, and Kisame was stepping up in intensity. It was so rare he got to stretch his skills!

"Now this is a fight! Watch and learn, kids. This is what all of you are missing in battle."

The fact that there were all ages represented, many of them with the look of seasoned ninja, didn't seem to deter Kisame from making that comment. It got grumbles, but no one spoke up to argue.

Kisame held his position, defensive for once, and waited to see what other surprises were in store.

[knifependulum]

Nori dropped the kunai instead of slipping it back up his sleeve- no time for magic tricks when his opponent was shifting to a two-handed grip. He was forced to respond in kind, pulling in contrast to Kisame's push. Strong. He almost wished Dori were here, because his brother possessed a monstrous strength and he bet it'd be a good match for this one. This was a losing battle for him.

"Givin' me.. a lot o' credit, aren't you?" Maybe it was his age or that Shark-Face just hadn't had a half-decent opponent today.

Nori loosed his grip, let Kisame's sword push his staff to the side and stepped to follow it. He disengaged, then swiftly brought it back up, jabbing the blunt, pointed end towards Kisame's midsection.

Hoshigaki training grounds.

[silverterror]

He'd been working on freeing a moment to track the man down since the exams concluded, and he was pleased to manage it. He had been sent on no less than six courier missions this week alone and it was grating to say the least.

He'd be quite glad when ships could proceed again safely and he'd stop being used as a glorified messenger.

Still, he was hanging back, observing the man as he worked, and finally hummed a low note to get his attention rather than risk being injured, unlikely as it was, by an unperfected jutsu.

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame was never not on full alert in Kiri, but if Sephiroth just wanted to watch, Kisame wasn't going to force the subject. He continued his training dutifully until he heard that low note, and his grin spread like wildfire.

No matter what the result of this, something good would come of it. Maybe they would talk again; Kisame felt refreshed and lightened to have spoken of his private burdens to anyone else. Or maybe they would spar. Or simply train side-by-side. All of the options were pleasing.

He dipped his head. "Sephiroth-san."

[silverterror]

"Kisame." He never had been particularly respectful of anyone or anything, though his tone was much less dismissive with Kisame than most. The difference was slight, but clear. "I was unaware you had Wind affinities."

[noboatbigenough]

"It's a new one for me, and not battle-ready yet." He had tested it out on an assassination a while ago, and it was almost ready, but he wasn't about to test it in a spar or in an open fight. Civilians couldn't fight back as well as shinobi could.

"It's foolish to stop learning just because we're strong, eh?"

[silverterror]

"True. I would be displeased to be left behind by my own stupidity." He shook his head slightly, regarding him with sharp, thoughtful eyes.

[noboatbigenough]

"And there's always more to learn, and techniques to refine, eh? I wonder how the retired deal with knowing that they're missing out."

Well, Kisame didn't wonder much, because he'd seen more than a few technically retired Hoshigaki that were far from retired in truth. Kisame returned the regarding look, just as sharp and intent.

[silverterror]

"There's no such thing as a retired shinobi." He scoffed, then tilted his head to the side, raising his eyebrows. "I've never attempted Wind."

[noboatbigenough]

“Only on the official rolls, eh? Just another polite lie.” Kisame barely gave the statement more than that, going through the seals again.

A flick of his fingers later launched an all-but-invisible blade of air at the training logs. Another chopped in half.

“I’m sure you could pick it up. You’ve got more than enough skill in multiple elements, Sephiroth-san. This one, though, I need to condense the motion more. It will be too easy to read in a fight. The benefit of wind is that it’s hard to see, eh?”

He was probably overestimating most opponents, but there was something to be said for pursuing perfection in a technique.

[silverterror]

"Less a lie, more a lifting of obligation." He shook his head once, focusing his full attention on the topic at hand. "Many new jutsu have grand motions. Admittedly I've never attempted a new element but my theatrics in battle isn't all for playing."

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame nodded, laughing. "They do! Some have motions that tell our opponents exactly what we're planning seconds before we can execute it. If our opponents are good enough, that is. Sometimes the challenge is a welcome one, but the less my opponent knows about my plans, the better for me, eh?"

Maybe it was because he'd been in Cypher so long, surrounded by secrets and surprises, but he had less patience for the grand motions and long strings of seals than he used to. Condensing them could only be to his benefit, and in doing so, he could use the grand motions when he wanted to misdirect, which wasn't very truthful, but if a ninja hadn't learned to look at all the layers, the deserved a defeat.

Cypher Headquarters and T&I - I bet you thought I forgot about this

[pursuitoftruth]

Nanako being, well, Nanako, she knew when he entered her domain, why he had, and when he had arrived practically as soon as he crossed the threshold of his office door. She was ready for him by the time he reached her own, making sure to finish off her own round of paperwork for the moment. A break did sound nice, and she was in the mood for some face-to-face interaction with somebody who wasn't a naughty child or one of her own.

Given just how big-hearted and enthusiastic about her job she was, that was a fairly short list. Shorter still were the few who were on it and cleared to spend an unrestricted amount of time with somebody as deeply entrenched in vital intelligence as she was.

She opened her door before he could knock, smiling up at him beatifically. "Just the man I was hoping to see. Please come in, Kisame-kun."

[noboatbigenough]

"All-seeing as always, Shishito-san." Kisame said, hand already dropped back to his side before the door even started to slide open.

Nanako was one of the few he gave the honor of such deference--most got their first names, if they got anything at all, even if they had a clan name to use--and Kisame was glad she wasn't busy enough to not indulge his need for a few moments away from their work.

"I thought you might like some tea."

He'd filled the pot with water and had her favorite variety steeping already. It should be just about done as soon as they got settled.

[pursuitoftruth]

"As excellently prepared as always, Kisame-kun," she bantered back, stepping aside so he could enter the office. The large tank spanning the back wall of the room was filled with her summons, glowing softly as they drifted along. It cast them in an ethereal sort of light, softer and colder than the stock bulbs in the hallway behind him.

She drew two chairs in front of her desk and rummaged around before pulling out a metal trivet for his pot. "Really, you spoil me." The metal tin of snacks she withdrew implied that he'd be getting a taste of his own medicine soon.

[noboatbigenough]

Kisame dipped his head in acknowledgement of the compliment, taking the time to admire the summons. Beautiful, delicate-looking, but oh so deadly, just like their mistress. They had a soothing sort of motion that the predatory fish of the Hoshigaki compound din’t quite have. Not that they weren’t elegant too, in their way, but it was the grace of a predator on the hunt, and not the ethereal dance before him.

“I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago, eh? And we spoil each other, if what I think is in that tin really is.”

Well, it could have been a variety of his favorite treats and the statement would still be valid. Even if it wasn’t, Shishito-san always served excellent snacks to go with their tea.

He set the pot on the trivet and settled himself. “In an environment like this, it helps for the heads of departments that work so closely to get along well.”