sunshineverse | Taking the first steps towards greatness

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Taking the first steps towards greatness

Who: Adela Milani (

abileunaspada) & OPEN
Where: Uzushiogakure Area
When: August 14th - 28th
Why: After recent conversation with the Godaime Hokage of Konoha, Adela has been sent on an observation mission in Uzushio with a mutual friend and ally who may help her have some insight on what she intends to get into, but for the most part it's a vacation away from her leave and an excuse to expose her to more of the political world.

This actually wasn't so bad.

When Obito had basically sent her on a two week observation mission, at first she didn't take well to it. Really, it was just... Observing for two weeks, observing politics, and all from a different village? But, when she learned that it meant potentially spending time with Kushina (and after some thinking realized just how valuable the experience could be), her protests were minimized and she went on the solo mission without qualm.

At some points she was in the kage's office observing missions, other times she was exploring the town and trying some of the local delicacies. Still, it wasn't uncommon to find her by the oceans to relax -- she found that it made her the most relaxed, to look towards the endless sea.

She'd heard that there was at least one other Konoha nin in the area, but she'd had yet to see them. Well, it was probably someone she didn't know anyway.

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Kakashi had only been in Uzushio for a little over two weeks and already he'd started to memorize the winding paths the village had to offer. Most importantly, however, he'd managed to commit the locations of the best food vendors to his memory; complete with a mental list of places he had yet to try.

He was on his way to sample one of them now, book in hand as he wandered slowly in the direction of his chosen haunt for that evening. Kushina had him running around through midday and when faced with the choice of either feeding himself or staying on top of his duties, he'd apparently completely forgotten that his body needed food.

It was only when he turned onto the street where the barbecue grill in question lay nestled that he chanced a glance upwards at his surroundings. Everything was as expected, save for the glint of a foreign headband amidst a shock of red hair. Those clues coupled with the rather lost, tourist-y look on the girls face cemented Kakashi's theory that this might be the girl he'd been room-hunting for all day.

He headed over with a pleasant look. "How are you settling in?" he greeted without so much as an introduction. "It can be a little daunting at first, but you get used to it. Uzushio is surprisingly similar to Konoha."

Ah? A man with a mask... And a konoha headband. Was this the guy who Obito said was already in Uzushio ahead of her? Adela just blinked at him before shrugging, straightening as she relaxed a bit. It wasn't as if they were in enemy territory, and an attack in the middle of a ninja village was unlikely at best, "I've been settling okay. It's a little confusing, but trying to figure out Konoha the first time was worse. I guess you had to do the same thing?"

What? If he wasn't going to introduce himself, why should she have introduced herself? Besides, it wasn't like there were a ton of red heads in Konoha, and she knew she was infamous as 'the forge girl' already. Though, this guy kind of seemed familiar... Why was that?

Kakashi blinked at that. So she wasn't Konoha-bred? That was interesting.

"Ah," He waved his hand passively. "I was born there, learning my way around came second nature to me."

His mask pulled to indicate a smile as he studied her. In some way or another she looked familiar, but he supposed that probably had something to do with her red hair. He knew for a fact he'd never spoken with her before; despite his laid back work ethic he had a decent memory.

The sense of mystery about her meant he couldn't help but be curious about her purpose here. Kushina had been as vague and professional as ever, slating his curiosity where it stood at every turn as he went about fulfilling her commands. Regardless, he was quietly thankful that he wouldn't have to make two journeys to direct her to her new - albeit temporary - abode.

"Kakashi," he held out his hand to shake, eye creasing into a crescent with his covered smile. "And you are?"

Better. She smiled just a bit as well, shaking his hand with firm confidence as she returned, "Adela. It's good to meet you, Kakashi-san."

Hm... Maybe she'd seen him in the shop at some point. Maybe she didn't serve him directly, but sometimes when her uncle was managing the front and she was observing or something. Well, she saw a lot of ninja that way so that was probably it. Still, seeing him there did have her curios, "I guess you got sent here for whatever reason too? I doubt you'd be on vacation in full uniform."

... She'd just... Ignore the book in his other hand. That was the professional thing. Even if it kind of bothered her. Seriously, porn? Well, maybe he read it for the plot, and not for the sex-based adventures the main hero got in. She'd only heard about Icha Icha before, so what did she know? Oh god but it was porn wasn't it? No, she'd be respectful, he was older and likely the same rank or higher ranked than her, and he wasn't acting like a creep so who cared what he read? But oh god it was a fucking porno...

No. That didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. IT DIDN'T MATTER. Even if he was holding it and reading it in public-- GAH!!

Internally Adela struggled with herself then, determined not to mention it or to even give a hint that it bothered her as she waited patiently for an answer - even if it seemed like he should have given it an eternity ago, although truthfully it probably only seemed that long because she ended up giving so much of her focus to the damn book.

Edited 2014-08-27 06:56 (UTC)

He nodded his greeting and his approval at her strong shake. It was rare to find a shake that confident, which only helped to make him all the more interested about her.

"Ah, no. No vacations. I'm here on a mission as Lady Kushina's assistant," he explained with an idle shrug of a shoulder. It was difficult to keep his typical level of ambiguity when his mission was so atypical of what he was normally assigned to, but he supposed that here it didn't matter much since Adela would have to find out sooner or later when Kakashi gave her the details for her lodgings.

The scent in the air swiftly changed and though Adela looked on the whole as relaxed as earlier, there was a certain rigidness to her posture. He couldn't pretend he didn't see her eyes glaze over his book, and that evidence coupled with the smell of embarrassment rolling from her in waves gave Adela's inner struggle away wordlessly.
He'd almost forgotten, being so used to being open with it in Konoha, that not everyone appreciated his choice of literature.

He closed the book after marking his page with the dust cover, then slipped it back into the pouch at his back and opted for a change of subject.

"So, what brings you here?"

Huh? Oh, right, her mission. She cleared her throat then, going a little pink as she realized that she had been... Well, struggling not to make a comment on his reading choice. The fact that he put it away helped, and she managed to regain composure as she nodded, "It's more of a personal mission than anything official, if that makes sense. Hokage-Sama sent me here because he wanted me to observe how the missions office and paper work duties work, but he couldn't have me shadowing him so a trusted ally was ideal. That and Kushina-San and I know each other, so he thought it'd be good for me to visit while doing some work. We'll probably be seeing a lot of each other for the next couple of weeks."

It really was easy paperwork, now that she thought about it. So far it wasn't anything new, though observing where the mission classifications actually went was interesting enough. It'd probably be better if she didn't exactly mention why though, it was embarrassing enough that Obito had mentioned it in the letter and Kushina found out right away...

"It seems so," he agreed, unable to quench his curiosity on what he'd told her alone. He didn't mind so much if he came off as nosy, but being stuck in Uzushio meant that a lot of the gossip he would have been privy to in Konoha had to come through other means, and his sources were incredibly tight lipped. Even if it was something and nothing, it was better than sitting back and watching the water flow, letting the world back home pass by without him.

"I feel as though I've done more paperwork in the past two weeks than I have this year," he muttered absently, almost as if he were talking to himself. "I've never met a single person who enjoyed doing paperwork - so what in the world are you doing spending your free time observing how the system operates?"

...

Damn it.

Her shoulders slumped with a sigh and she felt her face getting more red. If he was Kushina's assistant here... Chances were that he'd hear eventually, from her or from Obito. Damn, she really didn't want to spread it around. But she managed to appear unabashed again, completely serious as she looked him in the eye.

"It's because I'm working on becoming a candidate Hokage - Obito-San's successor. In this way they're giving me a chance to learn what it really means, besides just being strong. I've done paperwork around the Hokage's office before, but I'm learning more about the inside to understand how the system works in detail right now."

That.. was a lot easier than he'd expected. Usually when he lured information, particularly village-gossip, out of people it took a lot more effort than this had. His silver tongue had barely warmed up before the opportunity was lost.

That didn't, however, mean he wasn't surprised by that news. As far as he could tell, she was still young, and so had a few more years to go before getting down to her future aims... But then starting early had never hurt anyone, he supposed.

He gave an impressed nod. "Interesting," he mused. "You sure are aiming high, hm? Though I wouldn't worry about starting your paperwork preparations too early, when and if you become Hokage you'll soon be sick of it."

Jeez, it wasn't like she was that young anymore! Still, Adela nodded at the words and seemed more at ease that he seemed to be taking it... Well, decently. Not as a declaration against the current Hokage, like a small shred of her had been worried about.

"I know, but if I don't do it for too long I'll get slow and clumsy with it, like with any skill. Even if the Hokage can delegate work as needed, they shouldn't be doing it too much right? The Hokage still has to take the lead."

"Hmmm," he mused, leaning his back against the nearest bollard of a building to his side as he talked to her; ever lazy, always leaning on something. "That's one way to look at it. But then there's getting too comfortable. Overworking yourself and becoming too used to a work ethic leads to lethargy, which makes the job something you deem easy and don't put your highest effort into."

"I've experienced the life of a Hokage up close. When you're not living behind your desk, you're left to juggle enough responsibilities to warrant a small army." He let his visible eye slide shut, thinking. If she was a strong enough girl, his lead would push her determination in all the wrong places, making her prove her worth - if there was even the slightest doubt in her mind, it would show now. It was an underhanded tactic, but an important one.

"I know."

She frowned then, her shoulders slumping with a sigh, "It's one of the biggest responsibilities of the village, and I just feel this is something I need to do. Even if I don't end up as Hokage, I need to at least try to give back as much as I can to the village. I think this is a way that I can do it, successful or not. So it's something I always need to put my best efforts in."

After a beat she glanced up at him again, pocketing one hand as she added, "But saying it is one thing. I'm going to have to keep trying if I'm going to see any success at all."

"You can't go in to this with doubt, you'll either be Hokage or you won't. There's no point wasting time to aspire for something if you're okay with it not happening." He nodded, seemingly satisfied before he turned on her.

"I'll give you some advice," he began, putting on his best soap-box sensei voice. "I grew up with Obito, and despite him not being a complete stranger to failure the one thing that he never failed to do was believe in himself. Every day he reminded us that he'd be Hokage one day, even after falling flat on his face from his own stupidity."

He put his hand on her shoulder, smile reassuring. "As long as you believe in yourself and give it all you've got, it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks."

Adela just blinked at him, both at his words and at the hand on her shoulder. It took her a second to grin as she nodded, feeling a little warmed by the encouragement and renewed motivation for her goal. He was right, she had to admit -- if she didn't go in thinking she'd succeed, she probably wouldn't. She'd just have to keep trying, no matter how hard it got.

Just like with everything else in her life.

"That's what I'm going to do, Kakashi-san. Thanks. I can only hope I'm at least half as good as Hokage-Sama, if that's the case."

Although the words themselves were self-depreciative, her tone was anything but -- even with all the teasing she tended to put Obito through at the office, she really did respect and admire him as a Hokage and fellow ninja. And hearing that Obito had to do it through effort as well... It was inspiring to her, even if that much went unsaid.

She was a good one, he could tell. A little shaky and uncertain, perhaps, but she had the same strings of fight and determination that Kakashi had seen in a very young Obito. Given a few years and a little more experience... Yes, Kakashi was very interested in seeing how things might pan out for her.

"As long as you understand you're doing this for you." he nodded, then gestured with a thumb over his shoulder. "Are you hungry? I was just going to get a bite to eat. Buying lunch is the least I could do to repay you for letting me talk your ear off."

"Oh... Uh, sure. I was just gonna get some takoyaki, to be honest," She scratched at her cheek then, not really thinking much of the offer at the time other than that Kakashi must have been really nice and polite. She'd have to pay him back sometime, maybe when they were both back in Konoha.

"Thanks, Kakashi-San. That's really thoughtful of you," It was weird, how easily the words were coming to her. She wasn't going to complain though.

It was rare to find someone who wasn't either intimidated by him or entirely overzealous in his presence. Adela was a nice mid-ground; polite, determined.. and she looked like she could probably throw a few punches, too. Kakashi didn't know how or why, but she put him at ease and kind of reminded her of someone he couldn't quite place confidently. Perhaps she just had an aura like that.

"It's nothing, really," he said, almost embarrassed. The fact that he didn't offer very often meant he wasn't entirely used to being thanked. He turned to find the closest street stand and paid his way for two servings of takoyaki. Once done, he handed Adela her serving with a neatly tied scroll.

"Now is as good a time as any to give you your paperwork," Kakashi announced, gesturing to the scroll with a jerk of his chin. "You should find directions in there. Normally I'd escort you, but unfortunately I have somewhere to be."

In all honesty he probably could have spared a moment to show her to her new digs, but his food smelt all too tempting to put off and he couldn't very well eat with her around, could he? In a quick flurry of movement, he'd packed his little box of dumplings into the pouch at his waist and pressed his hands together, offering her a quick but polite goodbye before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Edited 2014-09-11 03:38 (UTC)

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Taking the first steps towards greatness

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Please correct me if I'm wrong, just assuming it's Icha Icha. Thought it'd be funny

Heh.... It's definitely Icha Icha.

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And then all of Konoha imploded because Kakashi treated Adela to a meal on first meeting.

No-one will believe her if she tells them >_>