The beginning of something special[Flashback. Shinobu | Hanzo | Ika]

Iwagakure; It's inhabitants managed to find beauty, and solace in something so unfavourable. Stone establishments tightly cluttered inside a well-hidden province of stone country. All looked fairly similar, no real variations of color. Protected by a desolate, rocky terrain. Dangerous as well. Albeit every crack inside of the stone concoctions told a unique story, and every establishment just as important in the village's development as the next. A full moon conquered the darkness of night, providing extra light on the rocky pavements below. This tranquil scenery hid a certain ugliness lurking however, a strict, militaristic lifestyle. While unimaginable for foreigners, it was all any who blossomed within its' walls knew. Sitting upon a decorative boulder, symbolic of the 'Will of Stone,', a figured gently sobbed. However, dry of tears. Angered, his fierce, analytical gaze locked upon the many stone buildings. Impressively, for someone his age he managed to outwit the wandering sentries who enforced the local laws. Slipping past them and onto his favorite rock.

Hanzo proceeded to gently rub his hand across a fresh and unsightly scar. One that paved a trail from the corner of his maw almost to his ear. Hints of blood still littered across it, a reminder of his disobedience, forever. "...Who's there?!" Hanzo wasn't the most gifted sensor within the walls, but he could almost sense another's presence.

With a turn of his cranium, he peered over his small shoulder with an infamously cold stare. Hanzo managed to effortlessly hide a fresh scar, etched into once virgin skin. Before she willingly revealed her presence, he was sure that his mind inched just shy of paranoia. If not already there. Once unnoticeable heartbeats rapidly, and seemingly banged against his sternum, miring into accelerated thuds. Lowering his folds he'd focus his ocular senses into a squint in some futile attempt to make out details of this stranger. Surely she wasn't a sentry, far too small, and judging from what escaped her maw she's undoubtedly young. Hanzo expelled air from his organ, releasing a relieved sigh into the immediate atmosphere. He recollected himself, reverting back to a calm, yet cold aura. In all his years frequenting the area, never was there another soul; The stone has always been where he'd silently vent frustrations.

All seemed well, however. She too rebelled against an enforced curfew much like Hanzo. "I'm fine, thank you." He replied with an unrivaled maturity for his age. Shrugging off the indisputable fact that Shinobu had indeed overheard him crying. His adopted demeanor mirroring a adult man's, confident. No sign of weakness, despite what gnawed at his soul from within. "This here is my favorite spot in all of Iwagakure, I've come since as long as I can remember." Hanzo planted his hand upon the giant boulder, shifting over to make room for the newcomer. Normally civilians admired it from afar, due to rules preventing physical contact with it as she may have knew.  "Best view of the village undeniably."

The small boy fixed his gaze upon the village, simplistic in design, but only it's inhabitants could truly appreciate the beauty of it. Often he'd sit upon the boulder, pondering on a different Iwagakure. One not bound by its' militaristic ideologies. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like without so much emphasis on discipline and we in some other reality lived with lenient rules?" He knew all too well that Iwagakure's shinobi were molded into gifted warriors thanks to government rules as it only demanded excellence and nothing short of it. He often wondered what other villages lived like, and if they weren't so different than any other. Breaking his train of thought, he quickly snapped back into reality.

"Oh, Haha. Er, sorry. I'm Hanzo!" Nervously, but not in an entirely obvious manner, he ran digits through his own peach locks.

Oboro was tired, obnoxiously so but couldn't help but to hear his fellow academy students carrying on in the distance. He was annoyed for sure but curiosity got the better of him, prompting him to go and investigate the situation to see who was there and what on earth they could be up to. The first person he laid eyes on was Shinobu, a quiet artsy type he saw around in class fairly often. She was fairly talented, projected to finish at the top of their class. Then there was Hanzo, a man of similar pedigree and yet he was a bit more of a mystery to Oboro. He certainly seemed to hold fond thoughts towards his village but his general nature was pretty unclear to Oboro.

Nonetheless he had probably been spotted by now, he had been gawking at them for at least a minute in a half by this point and because of that he figured it would be a reasonable time to make an appearance. He raised his hand into the air, casting a lazy wave in their general direction to announce his presence and intent to join them. "Sounds like you guys are having a pretty fun discussion, do you have room for three?"

"I see. I don't think my par--, uh...notices I'm gone either." Hanzo offered a genuine smile. He glanced at their village, then back to her paper. Pulled into a state of awe at her artistic expertise, not a minute detail missing from his visual comparison. Nothing deemed too insignificant to make it upon her paper, the degree of detail was truly remarkable. Before he could voice his opinion on her drawing, or question what the stands were, she'd offer him the paper. A seal of their friendship perhaps? Though, surely something for Shinobu and Hanzo to fight for, one day their mutual aspirations would ascend into reality. He'd take  what was more than just an artistic piece, and neatly lay it across his lap. Hanzo's features adopted a more bubbly expression, full of life compared to prior. He'd laugh at her silly expression, halting at the newcomer whom he hadn't personally noticed before.

He looked familiar. Someone from the academy, a fellow classmate in fact. Part of the more talented bunch if memory served him right. "Of course. Oboro right?" Hanzo pulled himself, shifting his position on the now shared boulder, making room for the newcomer. Despite him knowing Oboro most likely snuck out as well, he'd ask why just out of curiosity. "What made you risk being spotted by patrols? Boredom?" His demeanor far different from the sobbing boy that Shinobu encountered not too long ago. "They're pretty lousy if you ask me." Nonchalantly shrugging off their performance as night patrol. "We were discussing the 'Iwa of tomorrow, friend."

Oboro's presence seemingly brought Hanzo to a halt and soon enough he had acquired Shinobu's attention as well. "That's me, and you're Hanzo right? And you're Shinobu.." Oboro's face was pleasant put reserved, and he was clearly paying as much attention as he could to his surroundings to ensure that he wasn't caught. "Boredom does crazy things to people as you know, so yeah I snuck out and figured I'd stare at the moon like an idiot." Oboro's face formed into a small smirk as he shrugged his shoulders. "As for using my stealth to productive ends.. well.. I don't really want to be productive this early in life. Jeez, next thing I'd know they'd be training me to be a productive part of the village. Who wants to be a 12 year old with a full time job? Fucking weirdo's that's who."

Oboro shook his head in light disgust, but his ears perked up when the discussion about the Iwa of tomorrow came up. "The Iwa of tomorrow eh?.. Well what do you guys think of it? Think it'll be a beautiful place or do you think it will be the same shit-hole we preside in presently? Think they'll ever let us function like the other villages or are we always going to be like caged animals? I don't know man. I sometimes wonder about life outside.." Oboro caught himself rambling and shook his head mildly, snapping himself back to attention.

"Anyway, obviously not a fan of the super strict rules but I also think we might be a bit young for politics. So have you guys heard anything back about our squads?"

"Hm?" Concealing the hideous wound was easier said than done, and for a moment during their encounter he'd forgotten all about it. It's path left a trail of discoloration and due to its recency discomfort as well. A constant reminder of his disobedience, though it would have been ignorant of him to hold Shinobu accountable for the resurrection of this 'reminder.' Dismissing her curiosity, Hanzo proceeded with their conversation with an immovable smile. "I agree, Shinobu. The system breeds talented shinobi, but whose actually happy?" Hanzo pulled his shoulders into an shrug.

He all the while listened attentively to Oboro, whom of which shared similar thoughts about Iwagakure as well the surely fascinating world outside of villages' stone walls. They were bottled inside an virtually impenetrable fortress, with mutually negative morale. "We all do. Here, take a look." Hanzo offered Shinobu's drawing to Oboro. "One day we'll become capable shinobi and change everything for the better then!" Despite their depressing reality, he remained optimistic. Silently he agreed with Oboro, they were far too young to stress over politics, thus he'd end the idealistic topic without eliciting further information.

"I received my list earlier today. Eh, some names I didn't really recognize." Hanzo played on his monotone in a manner that wouldn't seem condescending, hopefully. Most likely two students who kept themselves under themselves under the radar in a sense. Albeit he was confident enough that he'd recognize them. "What about you?"

Oboro was a bit baffled by the care-free nature of the two young Genin. "Well it seems that squads might still be up in the air so who knows. Maybe we can end up as a squad together? We'd probably compliment each others abilities pretty well I'd say." Oboro's facial features pulled together to form a small smirk, and he glanced at both of them knowingly. They were arguably the three most competent ninja in the class, there was no real way they ended up in a squad together barring divine intervention or something of that ilk. Perhaps nepotism in some way could help them but that didn't appear to be a possibility for now.

Oboro laughed slightly, before changing the topic once more. "So.. I heard the next Chunin Exam is gonna take place in the Desert. I guess that's the one we're gonna have to aim to get in on isn't it?"

Hanzo appreciated the female of their newly formed trio, for her mentality and maturity that is; someone he could potentially rant with in times of need. Talk of pairing up slipped Hanzo's, as the possibility was quite slim. He had already received his letter. That's when he got an idea. Unknowingly to the other two Genin, he was housed by the Tsuchikage, due to unfortunate circumstances. They were not been bound by blood, but maybe there was miniscule chance he could sway the man into altering the newly formed squads. As Oboro mentioned things were still subject to change, and so they would. Despite his rocky relationship with the man, he'd give it a try. Neatly, he re-rolled the scroll, laying it across his lap once more. With talk of the chuunin exams being hosted in another country, he almost jumped for joy. "Its barren, but at least we won't be bound by these walls for a week at most! Definitely will aim to get in."

Suddenly it dawned upon him he'd been gone for quite some time, but pushed that thought to back of his mind. Finding momentary elation in their likemindedness, "Hell...I may bring some sand back." He continued with an attempt at humor.

The responses in regards to their Chunin Exams taking place in the Village Hidden in the Sand was varied to say the very least. Hanzo seemed excited, it seemed that anything outside of the walls they were normally confined to would be seen as a general improvement over the life he currently was forced to endure. It was a sad reality of the boredom and tedium of living in Iwagakure, but it was the price they traded for safety and security. As Shinobu made all of her concerns clear out the gate, she began to slowly but surely come around. Sure, sand was less than advantageous for her but the location itself could be beautiful. It was long rumored that Sunagakure was a gorgeous venue, and then they would get to see.

"I'm sure there are plenty of fun things out there, but I don't think I'm bringing back any sand. It would be interesting to see how they thrive over there though, free to roam and travel and so on. It's just interesting in general. Completely different culturally, politically, and otherwise."

Hanzo slid off the giant boulder, clouds of dust formed shortly after impact. He'd glance at both new compatriots, reflecting upon the trio's chemistry. Perhaps the dull regularity of everyday life within' Iwagakure's walls would not drive him insane after all, with friends like the two before him; he foresaw an unbreakable bond. Perhaps fate intended them to share the granite rock, and lose track of time through their monologues. Hanzo was sure the heavens blessed him with a family in place of those decease due to unfortunate circumstances. No longer would he be alone; he gained two individuals he could call to in his time if need, and so did they. In that moment, Hanzo couldn't contain a soft smile accentuating his visage.

"Suit yourselves." Hanzo tucked the papyrus into his pocket, handling it like glass, albeit careful enough not to ruin any of the expertly applied textures. His shoulders would rise only to fall shortly after; playfully shrugging. Matching a whimsical expression plastered upon his face. "I'm still very excited to see Suna soon, I agree Oboro. It'll be burned into our memories forever."

"We should hangout more often. Someone may notice im gone, probably already have. Goodnight, Oboro. Night, Shinobu." There was a hint of disappointment laced in his accent, genuinely wishing he could stay longer. With that, he waved goodbye, departing with calculative steps, careful not to alert any sentries.

[Thread Exit.]

Hanzo began to make his way for an exit, and to that Oboro would simply bid him adieu. That left him with Shinobu, the young artsy girl remained around briefly, prodding Oboro with quotes and questions, seemingly in good enough faith to warrant a response. She mentioned her thought that Hanzo was crying, prompting Oboro to shrug his shoulders. "I missed it to be honest, but if he was hurt let him cry. Nothing wrong with that you know?" Oboro shrugged weakly in response before continuing. "I say we're too young because I think politics are boring. Sure, we have to live within the confines of this villages rules for now, but maybe it'll change someday. Maybe the village will be different in five, ten, fifteen years or so. Hell maybe we'll find a way to leave, take a mission to the outside world and never come back. So I guess because of that I don't see much point."

Oboro once again shrugged his shoulders. "Not like talking about it changes much, but you're fine, I don't really mind." Finally, it seemed that she had gotten bored with their discussion, and she dismissed herself. "Yeah I should probably head back home as well Shinobu, see you tomorrow."

-Thread End-