Blemished Jewel

Tin sat grumpily at the side of the street. Well. He didn’t particularly sit so much as crouch. His behind and feet planted onto the floor with his knees upward, ready to leave at a moment’s notice. He stared down at the tin cup to which his name was derived. ‘Tin Boy’. He didn’t really like being known as a boy, so he just kept the first part. He thought he’d get more money after becoming a genin, but really it was just back to normal until they found a mission for him. Or was he supposed to find the missions? It got confusing at times. People barely gave him a second glance, he was in what they called the ‘Clan District’, or Hozuki Clan district. He didn’t really like going here since they were a little hostile to people like him. Probably because he muddied up their ‘Jewel of the Village’. But it gave him good sympathy from some people.

No such people were around today. His cup was empty.

He caught something at the edge of his eye. Something he didn’t like. He glanced over to the left. Big people with sticks. They definitely weren’t shinobi, otherwise, they would’ve appeared right in front of him. No, these were hooligans. Big, dumbass brutes who’re just looking for kicks. Sometimes literally. One caught his eye. Not good. There were five of them, and the rightmost one tapped his friends’ chest and pointed at him.

Very not good.

Tin frowned at them as they approached. They were big and looked healthy. This wasn’t a fight he wanted to be in. Even if he were a genin, he didn’t bother bringing his forehead protector from his stash. As the apparent leader opened his mouth to speak. Tin wasn’t very interested in it. He grabbed his cup and dashed off to the right, where the group hadn’t surrounded him yet. He could hear them thundering behind him. That wasn’t good either.

And thus the chase did begin. It wasn’t a very good situation for him. Either he escaped, but ended up winded and tired without food for tonight, or he’d get caught and was beaten with sticks. One way or the other, he loses.

Satori was on a walk. Exploring Kirigakure to be precise. The tall young man was standing on top of one of the building roofs, examining the Hozuki district curiously. It was... very different, from his own clan compound. Size aside (which was quite a bit to set aside) it was lavish, overly decorated, and full of brown nosing noble snobs that he wanted to smack. So, he'd decided to stick to the rooftops. Doing so had made it easier to enjoy the beauty of the district.

If the individuals themselves weren't so disgusting, he would have actually thought it was beautiful. Fine craftsmanship was always to be respected. The issue was that none of this had been done by the Hozuki. It was all bought and paid for, they had no such skills. In a way, it had been disappointing, though he had expected it. Rich and weak. Perhaps not in rank, or raw power, but in will and mental strength. Pathetic.

Sighing, he had begun to slide down the roof of the building to begin traveling back toward the center of Kirigakure, when he'd heard yelling and jeers. Glancing down curiously, his head tilted to the side slightly. A small girl--or boy? It was difficult to tell, was dashing through the streets as fast as they could. They weren't dressed very well, and were clearly malnourished. On the other hand, they were being hounded by five very active and healthy men carrying large clubs and one even wielding what appeared to be a hand-me-down katana.

Kirigakure was high-class. They were a metropolis and crime rates were incredibly low; but you could never snuff it all out. Even more so, you could never get rid of just outright bullies. Satori was a Genin, it was his job to deal with things like this. So he jumped. Without hesitation he came crashing down, the six-foot tall young man landed with a loud thud only a few meters in front of the sprinting beggar. Straightening slowly as the headband on his arm gleamed.

Wearing well made leather pants and a leather sleeveless vest, both edges with white fur, wild black locks falling about his back, Satori didn't exactly look like someone a normal person would want to pick on. This was emphasized further by the fang tips peaking from his lips, claws adorning his hands and bare feet, and crimson feline eyes that burned with intensity. The five men came to a stumbling halt, staring at the wild-looking man who's gaze lowered toward Tin.

His head tilted.

"Did you steal anything from them?" He asked simply, his eyes unjudging, simply aiming to obtain information on the situation.

The padding of his light shoes running and skidding past corners were a stark difference to the crashing boots that followed him. Their jeers and taunts were becoming louder. And louder. He glanced back, they were close enough for him to notice that one of them had a katana. He wasn’t an expert on swords, so he wasn’t sure how good it was, or how good he was at using it. But if the other four men were beating on him, it wouldn’t matter. Being cut wasn’t on his list of things to do today. He picked up the pace, but he found his energy dwindling.

Not good. he thought as he felt himself begin to slow. They were catching up to him. He was huffing and puffing, his stomach growled. His vision was starting to get a little dim a little while on, irritably glancing behind him to see they were still in pursuit. Don’t they ever give up. They were practically within reaching distance, until a cart moved behind him, cutting them off for a few moment and giving him precious breathing space.

The chase continued.

He was beginning to think of giving up and accepting his fate when his path was suddenly blocked. Not by a wall of bunch of crates, but by a man. He was so exhausted, he could barely slow down. They must’ve chased him around the entire district. He bumped his head onto the guy’s chest should he be less than willing to move out of the way, before falling onto his backside and gulping in air. Some of his vision returned, and his eyes were drawn not to the humungous man before him, well over a head taller than him. No, he couldn’t help but notice his head protector. He was a shinobi, judging from his size, at least chuunin, or maybe jounin.

He took a moment to respond, still huffing and puffing from exerting his body without food, shaking his head rapidly. “N-No.”

“The hell he didn’t! He stole my… Uh…” the guy glanced to his compatriots. Tin didn’t look as though he had anything but his clothes and cup. “He stole me drink!” he said.

His fellows jumped on that one. “Yeah! He stole his drink! Look at that cup!” one of them said.
“Yeah, that sake!”
“We didn’t have sake today…” one of them frowned.
“Shut up!” the others said.

Tin would’ve rolled his eyes, had he not spent more energy trying to get up. He flopped onto his arms after getting off of his back, groaning. “They.. Chase…” he croaked, barely able to make out a sentence, shaking his head again. “Mine…”

The boy--he knew for certain now, the scent was clearly male--was exhausted. Malnourished, weak, and frankly a mess. His sensitive nose was almost insulted by the scent. Making a mental note to deal with that in a moment, Satori idly stood where he was, watching the men bicker amongst themselves. If Satori was an idiot he may have hesitated, but an idiot he was not. Casually kneeling down for a moment, he idly patted the boys head a few times.

"I doubt you can move anyway, but stay, alright? We'll get you tended to in a moment, first I need to do my job," with this, the wild young man straightened. The men took a step back, not that it really mattered as Satori's eyes locked onto them, his chakra dispersing through the air before the Genjutsu smashed into the men. In their eyes, the world became dark all except for his frame towering over them despite the distance. Glowing green, snakelike eyes seared into their own as killing intent radiated forward.

To a normal ninja, it would have been a minor nuisance, intimidating at the most and a bit debilitating. But to a normal person, especially a simple bully that had never felt true murderous intent, it was terrifying. The men collapsed onto their backsides, frozen in fear, the stupider one outright passing out. Satori released another burst of chakra--and the ones that had been barely holding on fell over as well. Releasing a grunt, Satori shifted his gaze down toward the beggar(?) and smiled.

Long fangs flashing he offered him his hand. "I'm Satori Ryuutei, fourteen, Genin of Kirigakure. Let's get you up," his words were deep but kind and collected. Clearly meaning no harm. He could, technically arrest the men and bring them in for their actions. But knocking them out in terror seemed a decent enough punishment, especially considering they would likely be woken up quite rudely for laying in the center of the street.

So, for now, he focused on the boy.

Once he caught enough of his breath, Tin was able to look up a little bit more. His eyes narrowed and his skin prickled, and not in a good way, as he was pet. He clenched his clawline, and lowered his head and ducked away from the patter. “D-…” he coughed a bit. “Don’t.” he said, giving the tall man a suspicious glare. His hair was scruffy, and a dark blue. It was soft, so not really all that bad to pet, but he was rather dirty. Especially on one side of his hair where he probably laid against the ground to sleep.

The guy had weird marks on his face, and overall didn’t look like the kind of person he wanted to follow. He already mistrusted normal looking people, but this guy was on a wholly different level of sketchy looking. The moment he felt his gaze leave him, his limbs shook as he tried to heave himself up. His muscles were screaming against it, he’d just ran a marathon through fear and adrenaline, and one was used up. He took a bleary glance about. There was an alleyway several meters away. He began a slow and unsteady crawl toward it. There he could maybe find some trash to hide under.

The group looked, scared as their world became dark it appeared. “Whattathefu-“ one of them began, only to be pushed forward as one of them seemed to be more interested in his own life than others. Tossing aside his comrade as he fled in the other direction, only to be sent directly to the ground with his burst of chakra. Men down.

Tin glanced back, the group chasing him were down, either knocked out or dead. He didn’t care, they weren’t chasing him. But now he had a different problem. The group had fallen too quickly, and now the large guy’s gaze was upon him again. “Hggghh..” he groaned, each movement was a labour. His arms burnt. The man sounded kind and harmless, but he knew better than that. No one was nice to another for no reason. It just wasn’t in human nature. A beggar would stick a shank in another one’s stomach for a morsel of food. No, he didn’t trust him, not at all. He raised a quivering hand, before aiming to slap the man who introduced himself as Satori’s weakly away.

“L.. Leave me alh…” he began, only for his eyes to gaze over, the world was growing darker, his eyes gazed over then shut. Darkness overtook him. ..one... he thought as he fell unconscious

Satori didn't appear perturbed by the hostility, in fact, he had the same expression one would have when dealing with a feral animal. As his hand was weakly slapped, the man simply continued forward. His hand grasping the beggar by the shirt and idly hoising him up by it as he began to flutter into darkness. He wasn't insulted, he knew those eyes. The eyes of an animal that had been wounded one too many times and didn't know how to do anything but react in fear or distrust.

That was fine, Satori wasn't going to do this for free.

He knew how potent a weapon that survival instinct could become, it just needed the right push and resources. So, with a simple decision, he brought the boy toward the Ryuutei compound. Idly traveling along through the streets and out into the edge of the village.

Several hours later once the boy awoke, he'd find himself in clean--if plain--clothing, scrubbed clean in a simple cot with a blanket over him. Next to him was a tray of light foods, things that would be easy on the stomach for someone that hadn't eaten well in what was likely months. Satori himself was sitting nearby on the floor, legs crossed and munching idly on an apple, a book in his lap. Hearing the slight shift behind him he stated in a blunt tone:

"It isn't for free, and I'm not after your body. So eat first and test out your body before anything else, then we can talk," he stated simply, striking at the heart of what was likely going to be the boys first concerns. He had a pretty face, so he'd probably gotten hit on or tried to be taken advantage of several times. Similarly, he'd probably refuse outright kindness if it put him in debt. Satori wiped those ideas away casually as he continued reading, waiting patiently for now.

Tin was lifted with much less of a fuss than he was when awake. He smelt a fair bit, though mostly of river water. He looked as though he’d never taken an actual bath in his life. Though it was closer half a dozen years. In the end it made no different. He was fairly light, owing to his weakened state. He breathed in slow, long draws. As if savouring ever piece of oxygen he could get into his lungs. Every now and then it devolved into short and quick bursts, but it always came back to calm. His limbs swing gently.

He awoke several hours later. His eyes shot open, his head swinging wildly as he threw the blanket from his frame, jumping upward into a crouched, ready stance. Only to fall over back into the cot. His back hurt, likely from the comforts that his body had been forced to endure. “Ugh..” he groaned, but clawed his way back to his feet, though hunched. He smelt something. A tray of food was behind him. He looked around suspicious, only to find Satori there. He frowned heavily, looking around for an exit.

His hostile gaze didn’t waver as he stared at the man sitting on the floor. He absolutely did not trust him at all. He, of course, wanted something from him, that was the way of the world. You can’t get something for nothing. He clenched his teeth. Even if he did refuse, he could charge him for the apparent bath he had taken the liberty to give him. He sat and stared at the man for a while, his frown deepening and lightening as he thought. His stomach growled, then he turned to stare at the food.

Dare he trust him? He hadn’t eaten in a while, and not even a ‘genin’ could survive all that well without food. On the other hand, it could be poisoned, or tampered with. But if he wanted to do that, he could’ve just done whatever he wanted in his sleep. After a couple of minutes, he pushed a tentative hand toward the tray, picking up a piece of food, then snatching it to his chest, turning back to glare at the man. He then ate quickly, devouring its contents with reckless abandon, as though it could be taken away at any moment. When he was finished, he stared at the man mistrustfully. He didn’t eat his fill, instead pocketing some of the food for later.

Satori idly flipped a page as he was glared at, but only glanced at him briefly. As if silently saying 'well go on'. This was all it took as the young man bit into the food, it was mixed. Fresh fruits, steamed vegetables, and roasted pork primarily. Relatively balanced with a wedge of cheese as an added treat. Watching him scarf the food, Satori shook his head idly.

"Eat too fast and your stomach will refuse it," he commented idly before he slid a string into the book to mark his place. Around this point, he was done eating, and Satori idly turned to face him. The room around them was made from polished wood and was clearly a spare bedroom of sorts. It was cool, and the window was high, marking them as being half underneath the earth. The light through the window was dimming, and bookshelves dotted the walls along with scrolls, animal furs, and a few pieces of other furniture.

"First off, what's your name?" He inquired simply, placing the book down next to him. There was only one exit, the door behind Satori. The window was far too small for even his lithe frame to fit through.

He pocketed the cheese and ate the vegetables and roasted pork. He avoided the fruits. He knew what they did to his teeth, he saw another guy who didn’t have any because he ate fruit and didn’t clean it. No fruit, no matter how nice it looked. The pork was divine however, even the most pedestrian meat to a noble was an offering from the heavens to someone like him, even the soft, steamed vegetables were delicious to an urchin.

He ignored Satori. He didn’t care if his stomach revolted against him, he will fight right back and keep it down. His stomach hurt a little as he finished, then turned to him. He noted several things. The room looked a little fancy, with the gleaming floor. The window was high up, like a cell. But he could maybe climb up when he regained his strength. His eyes picked up a few more things after a few moments, bookshelves and furs. He didn’t really care for either. Well, maybe not. He could sleep on the furs, and they’d keep him warm at night.

His attention was brought back to Satori. His frowned deepened. Though he could reach it, the window was small for him, and the only exit was behind the man. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the man before finally answering. “Tin.” he said.

“Why did you bring me here?” he asked, his fingers tightening on the edge of the cot, ready to bolt at any given time, despite his stomach-ache, giving Satori a defiant expression. He didn't feel as though he'd been... Touched during his unconsciousness, but he'd been changed and bathed. He didn't like it.

Satori nodded once as a name was offered. Tin--as he had addressed himself at least--was reacting as he'd expect. Cornered and willing to sprint at the drop of a hat. The large man rested his chin in his palm, by comparison completely at ease and retaining several feet in distance to help keep him on the calm side of things.

"Your eyes," he stated bluntly, setting the core of the apple down at his side idly, "and a whim," he explained in a bit further detail before continuing on.

"You have a survivors eyes. Strong eyes that will fight to the death or run as fast as you can, anything to keep living. It's a rarity, even among ninja. So many are so soft. But you have the mindset to be something truly dangerous. That's a talent in and of itself." As Satori stated this his eyes remained half-lidded.

"But Ryuutei do not beleive in offering out charity. I'm offering you a deal. Train with me and let me hone you into a proper weapon, a real ninja. Me and my clan's teachings will make you strong, and with strength you will never have to live the life you current suffer through," as he stated this he glanced at his weak limbs and body.

"I help you become a potent weapon. You gain strength, food, and shelter in return for doing what you can as your part of the work. In return, you become a strong ally that is loyal to me. It's fairly simple." His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug before his gaze focused on his own. Crimson feline eyes meeting green bird-like eyes. The offer was laid out and blunt, it was his choice from there.

If he'd wanted his body, he could have taken it. If he'd wanted him dead, he could have left him to the bullies, or killed him. That much was painfully obvious. Satori's tone was firm, it was the words of a general offering the life of a soldier to a bullied child. No secrets, no deviations--only the cold cut truth. He wanted a loyal soldier and saw potential in Tin, it was that simple.

Tin’s eyes lingered on the door, then frowning at Satori as he gave his answer. His frown deepened, tilting his head a little. What did he mean his eyes? Usually people reacted negatively to them, passing self-righteous idiots who didn’t like the look of them. Sometimes they ended in him being shouted at. Sometimes they ended in worse. The beating he could’ve suffered today weren’t the first, and he doubted they’d be the last. Satori continued. He couldn’t deny he had a strong desire to survive, no matter how bad his life got. The last thing he wanted to do was end up a random corpse in the side of the street. He’d seen his fair share of those.

He felt a little less on edge as the large guy continued to explain himself. Something for something. What would he do if he refused? He wasn’t doing it out of charity, as he said. He doubted the man’d just… Let him go. He straightened his back, feeling it click a few times. Stupid beds, then drop down to a hunch again as he thought. Staring at Satori, his thoughts unreadable from behind a veil of frowning. The omnipresent, unending frowning.

He didn’t really know what kind of clan the Ryuutei were. He hadn’t even heard of it. But he guessed it didn’t hurt to have a place to run to if he gets in trouble. But something held him back. Sure, he didn’t kill him right away, but how could he know he didn’t have some kind of ulterior motive? Thinking about it hurt his head. He didn’t want to think about intrigue or the like.

His left eye twitching, he held out a hand, with his index finger extended upward. “I’m not sleeping here. I have my own… Place to sleep.” he says, then extending his middle finger. “Open fields only, I want to know where I can run, I don’t like closed up buildings.” he said, his eyes betraying his nervousness as he glanced over the room. Finally, he raised a third finger. He paused. He wasn’t sure what third thing he even wanted yet. Then he remembered. “Don’t… Pick me up like that again. I still don't trust you.” he finished, staring at him.

As Tin had his internal battle, Satori remained casual as ever. Waiting patiently as he remained in his seated position, tilting his head slightly in bemusement as he clearly over-thought the problem. But that was to be expected. Trust was earned, not granted by right. He didn't mind the demands, though it was amusing watching him struggle so much trying to think properly when it was clear he rarely had any social interactions. When the final demand was listed, Satori simply tilted his head.

"You can sleep wherever you like. But the place you're talking about to sleep probably isn't going to match with our deal--I want you healthy, remember?" Idly he stretched and pushed himself up to his full height once more.

"There's plenty of room in my yard, you're welcome to make yourself whatever kind of lean-to makes you comfortable. It's open here as well so it should ease you. You can bring whatever you've made here as well, it'll be safer anyway, aside from that I agree to your term," with this he would idly turn and open the door, exiting and leaving it open.

Through the frame revealed a hallway leading to several other doors, and a stairwell that went up. Satori jerked a thumb at one of the doors.

"That one is the backdoor and exits the hill from the base. You're welcome to go outside or come upstairs with me so you understand the layout of the house a bit more. Don't get up until your body can handle it, though. The door isn't going anywhere." With this, he moved toward the doorway once more and exited. Heading up the stairs with near silent movements befitting his feline-like traits.

His frown deepened a little as Satori didn’t quite agree with his first term. It was fine, where he lived. It was a grotto on the outskirts of Kiri, just a couple of minutes walk from civilisation. It had a roof, was near a body of water so he could clean himself. It was a stream too, so he could drink from it, he had only gotten ill the first few times, but his body had gotten used to it. To lose it was annoying, but he guessed the open yard would be better for him, he could run away easier if someone came to get him, and if there was some outside roofing around he wouldn’t have that annoying drip patting on his head.

Still, he was paranoid. He glared at Satori as he stood up. “Fine. I’ll get my things.” he said, pausing then frowning as he realised he’d lost his tin cup. He guessed he didn’t need it anymore, but something told him he should always be prepared for the worst eventuality. If not death, then he’d just be back where he started. On the street. He crawled out of the cot, testing his legs. His stomach had settled into a faint ache. He still felt a little woozy. He pressed his hands onto the edge, and let out a sigh.

After a moment of closed eyes and preparation, he stumbled toward the door, exiting. He couldn’t really move toward his grotto at the moment, he felt a little too strange to do so. So he decided to look further around the compound. He started to lumber up the steps, his legs still ached, but he could make it up them in moderate time. He wasn’t quite recovered enough yet to not make a sound.

He followed the man, glancing around the house nervously. “I want to look around. But I don’t want to be in here.” he said. He didn’t trust the closeness of the houses. Once he got up the steps, he paused on the last one to look around, so he could still retreat back down and exit through the back door if he needed to. He rested a hand upon the central piece of the stairway, or a railing, eyes looking around sharply for threats. A thought occurred to him. “What happened to my clothes?”

Satori glanced back at the explanation. Well, he was more willing to talk now if nothing else. A low rumble of amusement filled his chest before he continued up the stairs.

"That's because you're senses are too weak to detect when there may be danger indoors, or have ways to escape on your own," he explained simply. It was true, if the boy knew he had a way to get out at any time, or knew the layout like the back of his hand, there wouldn't be nearly as much fear in his body language or eyes.

As they went upstairs, Satori stepped to the side so that Tin had a clear view of the inside of his home. The second floor was mostly taken up by a large living room and kitchen. A few doors branched out, and Satori idly pointed at each, in turn, listing their purposes.

"Bathroom, library, laundry room, master bedroom, medical room and armory. You're welcome to whatever you like, but please be certain to let me know anything you take so that I can properly replace it." With this, Satori then glanced down at Tin and arched a brow.

"That one's the exit," he pointed to the door with an archway at the end of a short hallway, holding a rack with several jackets. The other question caused a simple nod toward that same door.

"Drying outside on the line. I washed them and patched the holes with flax-cloth," he explained idly, before moving toward each door and opening them all so that he could see into the different rooms before moving toward the kitchen. The sound of water running filled the air as he began washing the dishes he'd used to cook the meat and vegetables while Tin explored inside.

He ignored the comment about his senses being weak. Tin’s eyes narrowed as he looked around the room. It was far larger than his grotto, but it was still a closed space. He couldn’t feel the wind, nor did he feel particularly cold in the house. It was unnerving, he didn’t like it. His fingers tightened their grip on whatever he was holding. He didn’t really get Satori’s explanation. What was a laundry room? What was laundry? The rest he got simply enough. A library was for books. Like the ones he had to read while in the genin place. He shuddered as he remembered how packed that place was, it took him weeks to coax himself into the room, and always stuck in the very corner of the room.

He eyed the exit. It was through a hallway, with an arch. There was clothes about. He glared at Satori. How did he not expect him to steal something? Did he actually, truly trust him to not do so, or was he just stupid, or did he not plan for him to leave at all. He shook the thoughts out of his head. He was overthinking this. What he knew right now was he hadn’t been killed in his sleep, and he was in a large house with food.

First he had to get his bearings, find out where this place was, then come back with his things. His clothes were on a line outside. Whatever he meant by line. “I’m going to get my things.” he stated, eyeing Satori suspiciously as he moved carefully toward the exit, eyes beaded on the larger man, checking for any sudden moves. Now that he was putting in the effort, he moved quietly, with some of his grace returning. The food helped, most likely.

Once he reached the door, he kept his eyes on Satori, while opening the door, then crept slowly out, aiming to leave the compound while taking a breath. Should he leave without trouble, he’d aim to figure out where he was, how to get back to it, and then move toward the grotto to pick up his things. His kirigakure forehead protector, raggedy bag of things he didn’t want to sell off, like spare clothes and such. Now that he had been cleaned, he realized just how rough everything smelt. He shook his head, it was bad for him. He might even get a cold because of the bath. He moved out and trudged his way back to the Ryuueti building.

Satori simple glanced at him and nodded once as he commented on getting his things. If the boy didn't return, that was his choice. What Satori had offered him was a deal that he wouldn't ever be able to get again, and so it would be his mistake, not the large young man's. He wanted him as a weapon, but not so badly he was going to chase after him like some lost puppy. If he returned, fantastic, if not--oh well.

"Run back here if you get in trouble," he stated simply in response before glancing back toward what he was doing.

As soon as the boy stepped out, he'd realize that the home Satori was in was not the compound. It was a single house among many. The house had a large yard and garden, as well as what was clearly a training area that had been dug out and filled with sand, lined with stone for fighting and weight training. A single guard tower was attached to the house which was built half-into a large hill for extra defensive measures.

The next thing that would be noticed was that there were fields and other houses decorating the area, with other guard towers in the distance heading toward the open area and Kirigakure's walls, though there was forestry, bush, and other fields to travel through to get there. On the opposite side were pathways of circular stones leading toward a group of far larger buildings where the hospital, combat room, townhall, power station, and other buildings resided. Behind those buildings was a large wall that encircled half of what was now clearly the true "Compound".

Ryuutei just like Satori with varying shades of hair, feral traits and leather clothing walked the fields wielding spears and claw. Some on guard duty, others tending to the farms and gardens or doing manual labor. Some wore headbands, some didn't, all appeared strong in a fight regardless bearing the same piercings except for the large children that tackled one another or were heading into the forestry to hunt despite their obvious youth, eyes prepared to kill and butcher. Outside on a thin flax line was Tin's outfit, patched, repaired and cleaned. Drying in the breeze, still slightly damp, but wearable.

If he went toward the forest he would find multiple lynx-sized cats that would examine him carefully, but allow him to pass if he had the courage to try. If he went toward the wall, he'd get the occasional look or idle wave, but the Ryuutei would mostly pay him no mind as another one of Satori's "adoptees" to exit from the gate and follow the stone path that looped back around toward Kirigakure's wall.

Tin didn’t really pay all that much attention to the houses around the place. He looked about, memorised what the house looked like, and assumed they were just a part of another quarter. He glanced around. He moved carefully through the Hozuki Clan District this time. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of last time. He didn’t want to run, he tried to be casual. Like a regular person. He was wearing fresh clothes, even if they itched against his skin because of their crispness. He was used to his old clothing. He should have put on his spare pair. He passed by some kind of forest, and couldn’t help but notice some rather large cats. He tried to go completely out of his way to avoid them, before remembering that he had passed by the creatures without even noticing as he left. He went through. Weird place.

He only really noticed the extent of the compound when he got back to it. He blinked, glancing over to the identification. The Ryuutei Compound. Weird, he’d not really been here before. Or at least, he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Or maybe he did a few years ago and got shooed out. So, it wasn’t a district of houses. It was a district of houses that belonged to one Clan. He held onto his things a little tighter, as though someone would come over and snatch it from him. There was a tower built onto a hill. He wondered what that was for. He began to walk back to the house.

There were fields and houses all around with yet more guard towers. It was all a little bit overwhelming, for one group of people to have so much stuff. They had a training yard and everything. The others in the district or whatever place it was had the kind of wild looks that Satori had also. The place had massive children, he kept to his own business, people years younger than him looked as though they could break him in two. Some were even heading into the forest. What, or where, did he get himself into?

He returned to the house, he could tell because it had his clothes, despite being un-butchered. He didn’t like them being patched, how were people going to take pity on him without dirt clothes? How were they going to give him money? He shook his head, remembering Satori’s deal. He stood outside the house, wondering whether he should really enter. His nature overwhelmed his curiosity, and he walked around and into a spot that was in the house, but not. A nice, open spot where he was in the grounds, but not walled in. He could see when someone decides to come mess with him. He sat down. “This place is weird.” he muttered to himself, knocking on the wall to signal his return.

Satori's ear twitched at the soft knock on the wall from outside. Giving Tin time to work as he wished to settle in properly before his body straightened a few minutes later, exiting out of the home from the backdoor and walking around the hill to examine the spot he'd decided on. It was against the side of the house that was exposed instead of being built into the hill, where the roof overhung as a location for him to store things outside. Usually during winter as he needed the extra room to last it out. Currently, there was only a stack of firewood there. Confident it would at least keep Tin dry and relatively warm, he nodded once.

Curious, he examined whatever changes had been made with the items he'd brought along--when he blinked and noticed the headband. He was a ninja? Why the hell was a ninja in such a bad position?

Ah. Because he was too weak. He couldn't take many missions, likely, and the ones he did take he probably struggled at due to his physique and personality. Ruffling through the long wild black locks, Satori fell into a crouched position a few feet from Tin and tilted his head lightly.

"I'll show you how to make a proper cot and futon later. If you make it, you'll be less inclined to say no anyway, and it'll be made to your liking so it doesn't hurt your back. We'll start doing basic physical therapy and conditioning tomorrow, and I'm going to make sure you eat six small meals a day so your body can properly adjust. You'll pay for the food by taking the training and lessons seriously and helping me gather the food so you can learn how to do that as well. Deal?" Watching the azure-headed young man quietly, he remained where he was, patient as ever.

Tin settled down into his new spot, he took out a large rag, enough for him to huddle into and placed it onto the floor. It was a pretty good spot, he could see all around, he had some space, there was a roof up ahead, and he was relatively out of the way. He placed his forehead protector onto the ground, it was good for warding off potential thieves, who would want to remove a Kiri ninja’s stuff? If only he could actually back up the silent warning that he gave.

He also had a rag and charcoal. It wasn’t for burning or anything, he used it to clean his teeth. The last thing he wanted was for a stinging ache in his mouth. He bundled up his ‘bed’ near the end to put his spare clothes in. He kept the rest of his stuff in his bag and placed it underneath the bundle, for a pillow.

He glared at Satori as he got closer, and crouched in front of him. “I don’t want one. I don’t want to adjust to something that might be temporary.” he said, drawing a little in to himself instinctively, to make him appear less of a threat. He wasn’t really much of one right now anyway. He looked, confused at the large man. Six meals a day? He was usually unable to even get one, barring when he was at the ninja academy. He looked suspiciously at him, but said “Fine.” as he smoothed out his ‘bed’. “Deal.” he added. He was still a little confused by how he got into this position. “Now, or later?” he asked curiously.

"It's only as temporary as you make it out to be," he stated simply as he stared into his eyes, unperturbed by the young man's hostility. As he seemed to shrink into himself, Satori said nothing and simply waited as Tin seemed stunned at the idea of six meals a day. Six to eight large meals a day was a Ryuutei standard. But there was a different reason he wanted the azure-headed young man to eat so often.

The body struggled to digest large meals after long periods without proper nutrition. The stomach shrank. If he wanted him to eat properly and gain the nutrition required to progress, he would need to eat small meals often instead. After a few moments, Tin agreed and Satori nodded once in approval. The second question of 'now or later' caused Satori to shake his head once.

"Later," he clarified simply before he slowly hauled himself up to his full height once more.

"I want you to get used to the area, first. That way you won't be quite as on-edge. We'll start the day after tomorrow, but you'll be eating the six meals and I'll give you some basic stretches to do as well just to get your body warmed up for what is to come." With this he turned and raised a hand in silent farewell, heading back into his home. Calling simply over his shoulder as he went:

"I'll call you for meal times, beyond that feel free to explore. The clan knows you're my guest, you'll be treated as such."

As he closed the door behind him, Satori mused about the young man--Tin. He had good eyes, and his attitude needed a bit of work, but a few months with the Ryuutei would help him tremendously. Of that, he had little doubt. As well, once he realized the kindness was earnest, he'd had his loyalty. It would depend on Tin if he could offer enough trust to last that long.

// Thread Exit.

Later. Good. He didn’t want to ‘train’ right now. Satori stood up imposingly, looming above him like some monolith statue thing. Then he explained their regimen, or rather, when they were going to start, and some things to do beforehand, and he turned around and walked off. He stared at his back until he walked out of view, into the house. He looked at the door for a while. Then he looked around him, at the houses in the compound. He could steal things from here. Fence them. The Clan didn’t look particularly poor, especially since it had its own estate.

On the other hand, they were a clan of giants. Not to mention, despite Tin’s reservations about trusting him, he hadn’t done anything to earn particular mistrust other than bathing him in his unconscious state. His skin crawled about that, to be held at the mercy or someone. But he didn’t do anything. That he could see. He heard about all kinds of things in the academy, seals, illusions and so forth. He discreetly checked around his body. No markings that weren’t there before. He looked at the grass, then up at the roof which provided him shelter.

He laid down onto his coverings. Despite the sleeping he did, he was still tired somehow. Resting his head against his back, he glared at the ground for a while. This was weird. This shouldn’t happen. This wasn’t the way the world worked. It simply wasn’t. No one came and did things out of the kindness of their hearts.

But he didn’t. He wanted to make a deal. He wanted something from him, warrior? Bodyguard? He looked as though he could take care of himself. His brain didn’t usually swarm like this; it didn’t make sense. It didn’t compute.

These were the thoughts that drifted through his mind as he fell, once again, into a restless slumber. Over a dry blanket, and under a roof that didn’t drip.

// Thread Exit.