"Here I am.. The Outer Wall.. Amazing work." Kaicho thought to himself, admiring the wall, he was now a Genin, still awaiting a message about which team he would become part of, but it mattered not, he could use this time to look around some more, maybe even talk to other people around the village, the wall might not be the first place to go when trying to meet people, but it was nice to be there, if just for looking at the wall, perhaps someday when he has his own village, he would also have such a great wall around it, protecting it from outside harm. Yes, it would be a great village with a wall like this one.

Well, time to look around[/i] He said to himself, starting to walk past the wall, he was trying to remember how it was before he came here, the place he grew up in.. Did it have a wall like this? He was not sure anymore, and it would not matter, he might never see that village ever again, perhaps only when trying to take it for himself. Unless... He started to think, already forming more plans for the future, what if he were to return to his clan once he becomes, would he be able to become the leader of the Uchiha clan? It would be a great advantage to him if that were possible, bringing the whole clan into this new village within his mind, he never worried about time, he knew it would take long before he even got close to being strong enough, but at least he had a plan, allowing it to change slowly as time went on, this way he would use everything he found to make it better, stronger, finding ways to make people look up to him.

But enough thinking about that, it was time to keep watch, he wanted to make sure he would not interrupt anyone that had to watch the wall, only seeing a passerby every now and then, waving at him as he gave a smile and a nod in return, they were kind people, and he sort of liked some of them, like that old lady that gave him tea that one time, or the boy who tried to show off against him, good times, it was a rather nice and quiet day, still cold, but after being here for a while, he did get used to it, perhaps if he learned more Katon Jutsu, he would be able to warm up the place here and there. Of course, trying to avoid burning down a village.

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A slight shiver goes down his spine making him finally decide to turn away from the edge of the wall. Izokomyo was towards the end of his normal after-meditation walk along what he calls the battlements of the wall. He was particularly excited when he heard the news that he had been granted the rank of Special Jounin. Perhaps a little too excited as the celebration with the closest person he might have to a friend left him with a miserable headache the following morning. He spent the previous two days in hard training as a self-imposed punishment, followed by this morning of meditation to calm his mind.

Izokomyo hops down from where he had been standing on the edge, directly on the edge of the enormous wall of ice. For some reason he felt alive when standing on the edge of the long fall atop the wall, holding nothing but a flag pole to keep the heavy winds from pushing him over. He enjoyed the heavy wind in his face and staring out into the distance, but the blistering cold winds offer significant reason to abandon such a sedentary task for long. Especially one who doesn't dress for a long watch on the wall as he does. While he wouldn't admit it out loud, Izo still maintained pieces of the foolish pride from being around the mercenaries. They often wore less layers than advisable, thinking it showing them more macho to suffer the cold than be smart and warm.

He tucks his collar more tightly around him to stop the wind from travelling down the back of his shirt again, muttering a quiet but earnest farewell to the wall guard he often shares casual conversation with. He doesn't even know his name, just his face and voice. More often than not they simply stand in close proximity, staring off into the windy distance talking about the same things boulders do. He turned to offer a final chide, "And a cheers to summer-time, eh?" He laughs to himself and turns back without waiting for a response. He nimbly ducks around a man carrying an over-sized crate of supplies, glancing sides at him. The man barely noticed, the crate mostly blocking his vision. Turning again to regard the man he thinks to himself "Not exactly the best plan to walk nearly blind when a slip and stumble could be the end." Still he walks down the middle of the at a brisk pace, dodging in and out of walker traffic as they run supplies to the guards staying on the wall. He notices he's still in an unusually peppy, energetic mood after thinking about his recent position.

He takes notice of a dark-haired youth seemingly deep in thought walking in his direction. He slows his pace, giving casual greetings to those he recognizes until the boy is closer. "Dark cloud or fresh legs?" he remarks towards the youth, having a quick flashback of himself when he was that age. "Mischief" he thought to himself "Mischief is the look most youngsters have as they blaze along the wall naively. Rarely pensive."

Spoiler:

Still deep in thought Kaicho would walk forwards, even after telling himself to start looking ahead he still kept getting lost behind a new thought, always trying to think ahead, even about conversations, things people might say, even when the possibility is minimal of them saying it, apart from one question, which suddenly caught him by surprise as he snapped out of his thoughts, he could hear someone asking him something "Dark cloud or fresh legs?" he stopped walking, he was clueless about what he was asked, his mind going blank for a short moment. "I.. What?" His mind was slowly starting up again, trying to actually think about the question, yet he still fell silent, now more focused on observing the one he saw, trying to see if he knew the person, perhaps seen before or even spoken to at some point. After a few seconds he told himself he had never seen this person before. But.. why would a stranger suddenly ask a random question, he would understand if someone asked for directions, but this one threw his mind off.

"Heh, sorry, I was not paying attention when you asked the question, bit lost in my thoughts." He decided to tell the man as to why he responded in such a way, in case the man misunderstood his earlier response, it was now that he also noticed that he lost his string of thoughts, along with the topic. Ugh.. Guess it'll come back to me soon enough, might as well see what this person is on about, perhaps talk a bit He thought to himself, now looking towards the person, he was listening this time, trying to see if he missed something the man said. Perhaps it was about as to why he was on the wall, this would be weird if the question was for some person behind him, but he resisted the urge to look around, he would see from the  response of the man anyways, he hoped he did not need to go away from the wall, he was so enjoying being near it and to see all the people he had talked to before, people he knew from the academy.

Now that he stopped walking, he started to actually notice how cold it was, the wind that ran past his hands, standing still did keep him more away from his thoughts, it was a good chance to have a better look around, to see what the things around him actually were. he shivered lightly, folding his arms in front of him, his hands beneath his armpits, trying to keep them a bit warm, he had been outside for a while, and even while he had gotten used to it all, he still was not immune to the cold winds, it would be nice to sit inside a cave at times like this, perhaps he would go there later, just to get a bit of nice and quiet, without the cold winds reaching him.

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"Focus, attention to detail. Every movement, every person, every object. It is all important because you do not know what is lurking where." The old lesson from his sensei sprung to mind. How many times does he remember being reprimanded for letting his attention wander or fall back into his own thoughts? Too many. He was at times energetic and lacking all focus or withdrawn into himself as he thought of the life and family he had left behind. It was easy to lose focus and there is so much benefit to staying focused. It was nearly beaten into him and while he hated his sensei for it at the time, he has since come to cherish it. All the same, not his place judge he thought.  Especially since while the lessons were useful to have instilled in him, the man responsible still felt like a dark mark on his soul. Lies, more lies and deceit. Betrayal. No, no need to go down that path again. This was no time for mixed emotions and not all memories were bad. The thought left a slight smirk on his face, though clearly solemn in nature.

"All in the past," he thought to himself, bringing his focus back to the youth. "A question the elders would oft ask when someone would walk with only their thoughts, for one would be walking that lonely path only if they had a dark cloud over their head or restless energy they were working off. The wall is a precarious place for a dark cloud to loom." Izokomyo quirks an eyebrow towards the youth as he speaks.

"Look at you, playing the wise elder all of a sudden. Then again one can't just let someone walk off the edge of the wall or something." He plants his feet placing his left arm on his hip and running his right quickly through his hair before letting it fall loosely to his side. "I have time before getting my next mission anyway."

Spoiler:

Observing the man still, Kaicho focused on the things around him, rather then what was on his thoughts, tried his best to look at each movement the person made, not to find anything, but just to keep himself from going back to his thoughts, this might have been easier if he were sparring with one of the people at the academy, being more focused on what to do, but he never took too much time to actually talk with someone, which made him lack attention when he did actually speak to someone, perhaps if he did it more often, he would be able to easily focus more on the actual conversation.

Listening to the man explaining the question, Kaicho thought about it, he was walking alone most of the time, some of his thoughts not being the best, perhaps it was true, he was walking with dark clouds above his head. "Hm.. I see.. I guess I might be walking with a dark cloud over my head, seeing as I don't have any energy that needs to be walked off." he would then smile lightly, he did remember a day where he had too much energy, the day he became a Genin, it was that day that he spend running from early in the day, until the sky became dark. Each time he would think about which Squad he would be part of, he would still get this light spark within him, energy that wants to come out, but is waiting for the right moment. He knew that once he met the members of his Squad, that he would be starting training even more, to become even stronger, it would be a new step towards reaching his goal, but for now, he just had to focus on the conversation, perhaps it would be good for him to tell his name to the man, that way he could get to know him better, he seemed like a nice person so far, he was certain that he would have enough time before the day of meeting his squad arrived to make at least a few more friends.

"I do not believe I have seen you before, my name is Kaicho.. Kaicho Uchiha, nice to meet you." He would bow his head lightly in the form of a greeting, he did notice that when he focused on the conversation, the cold was less of a bother, it made him want to keep on talking.

Spoiler:

It just now strikes him as amusing that he approached the youth about his motives. He had trekked a similar path this morning himself; alone and thoughtful along the wall. Though for him this has been common place for the past year he has been in the village. That seems to be the routine here, at first your adventures along the wall are treated as suspicious, followed by indifference, and if you keep coming around they accept you like the weather. No matter good or bad on that particular day they accept and acknowledge you. Izokomyo guesses it is an acceptance that comes with the pitiless task of constant guard duty. You accept the task, you accept the location, you accept the routine, you accept the often bitter and relentless weather, and in turn you accept the people. “Mostly.” Izokomyo thought. Some hold a bitter grudge to those who travel the wall for leisure.

The corner of his mouth tucks back into a slight smirk again as the youth responds. “A dark cloud, yet with a smile? Interesting combination” he thinks to himself. He is rather convinced the youth didn’t fully understand the nature of the question, but doesn’t mind in the least. He is however a bit distracted by the name. He had heard the name previously and recalled relevant analytics spoken to another by none other than his late sensei. “Uchiha: Katon specialists. Dangerous dōjutsu. Considered A+ level threat. Max charge. Ha. Max charge..” His thoughts brought him back to a mission he had eavesdropped on in a small village between Shippuugakure and Kusamuragakure. Two of his old ‘comrades’ broke down the details of a contract with his old sensei. Neither had returned from that mission. His sensei had to close it personally. A waste Izo remembered thinking. The one, Isaki, had been a very attractive woman.

A curiosity built around Kaicho’s stated name; age still not having driven out his insatiable want of information. Ever since he had been granted his rank as a Hyouga shinobi he had been regaining his confidence, which included his penchant for asking pointed questions whether they were socially acceptable or not. “An Uchiha, huh? You’re a long way away from home. What brings you to the Ice?” He stares intently at Kaicho, though not in an accusing manner but a curious one. “A young one, too. Could he be of this village? I’ve certainly not been paying much attention to anything but myself this past year..”

Spoiler:

How long? How long had he been standing here? not just where he stood now, but on the wall. He felt like time flew past him, when he thought about it, he couldn't remember exactly when he got to the wall, perhaps because it wasn't as interesting to him how late it had been, or he was just bad at remembering when he got somewhere, anyways, the man seemed to look at him, he can see the corner of his mouth moving into a slight smirk, wondering exactly what was going on inside the mind of the person in front of him. Perhaps he found his voice funny, or did he have something on his face? Oh well, not like he cared much about himself right now, he was more interested in the person, to gather information.

He would cough lightly to clear his throat, then that question came, one he heard often from people that had not met him before, each time after introducing himself it was that same question, or much like it. Are you from the village? Uchiha clan this, or uchiha that. He did not care about being from the Uchiha clan, he wanted to be known for something else then his name, he wanted to become known in his own way, but he would still answer the question, as not to be rude. "Yes, I am an Uchiha, I was brought to this village by my mother, I used to live in Shippugakure, my mother left however, so I've been mostly on my own. Now he was waiting for a comment about how he must live alone, or something about his father, who he had not mentioned. He was getting tired of the questions, but he still had to answer them, for the sake of trying to make friends, he could not give them half of who he was.

He looked down lightly at his feet, then back up at the man, shifting weight from one leg to the other. Perhaps he should get a nickname, something nice to be remembered by, that should make people stop calling him Uchiha, but of course, he would have to get more known among the villagers, which brought him back to the question of time, how long would it take? Years, months, perhaps something happens and he would be known tomorrow, or he would never get known at all, die somewhere on one of his missions. No, he could not allow that, he had to survive, and to get known for his own goals, his own village, his own family.

Spoiler:

He could hear the dryness in his voice when he spoke. It was a blasé echo of routine. While there seemed no venom behind the words, it was clear the rehearsed lines of justification were grating to chew and spit out. An Uchiha in Hyougagakure? Of course it would draw that same question over and over again. He could understand the frustration that could accompany such a situation. Though looking from the outside in, he could also understand the scrutiny, surprise, curiosity, or outright suspicion that could come with such circumstances. This Shinobi world is rife with mistrust, old grudges, and naked power grabs. Even a child could be a plant; a spy ready to undo security from within. People were always on edge around other villagers. One minute you could be the best of friends, the next bitter enemies simply by speaking your loyalties. Hyouga’s xenophobic nature does little to help such thoughts; in fact it most likely makes them worse. Hyougagakure is perilous to get to, hard to get into, and even the villagers can treat new traders with brutal disrespect until they earn their familiarity through stubborn determination. At the edge of the world, frozen in ice yet he felt many of these villagers had kind hearts, tempered against the harsh climate of their home. If only they could overcome their isolationistic ways.

He watches as the young man looks down as he speaks and bites his lip. He believes he hit a sore spot, a darkness in his past that he has experience with. “Ahh, I see. You are an academy student then? An up and comer from Hyouga’s renowned school?” He speaks with enthusiasm and a big smile. Not entirely genuine, but not entirely fake. “Zig where they expect you to zag”, he thinks. The over-the-top effort he hopes is enough to draw away from negative thoughts and memories. He himself had practiced forced enthusiasm in order to not fold into hatred just this past year. He made an effort to better himself and it had worked, hopefully it can work to a smaller degree here.

He folds his arms across his chest as a particularly strong gust of wind buffets the wall. He stands statuesque and undaunted as small pieces of ice and clumps of snow blow by. “Another wonderfully windy afternoon. The wind promising to bring yet another storm of snow and ice, probably.. Tomorrow’s mission should be fun.” He thinks to himself to distract him from the growing cold.

Spoiler:

He would close his eyes for a short moment, flashes of the past going through his mind, as he open his eyes again he can see how after asking a question, the person would smile, it was weird. He was not sure what he felt, was it surprise? No, it had to be something else, especially with that smile, many would look at him with that stare after asking the question about his name, only people that knew him were the ones that smiled at him, those that were in his class at the academy, and the old lady of course. He kept his facial expression neutral. "I am currently a Genin, squads should be made soon I believe, until then I am waiting, that is one of the reasons I am here now, finding something to do as I wait. He would then smile lightly, the fact he was a Genin now giving him just that small boost in energy, he knew that he would be doing a lot very soon, that he would meet people he could get to trust, allies that could become the best of friends with time.

"That reminds me, I do not believe you have told me your name. He was right, he had told his own name, but he still had no idea who this person in front of him was, for all he knew, this person was someone important, he had not been here long enough to know them all, too much time was spend on making his own ideas and trying to find things to do, from resting in locations with no other people to training in caves to avoid the cold winds, it did not matter to much to him, if this person were to be important, he could always apologize for not knowing and continue from there, he would straighten his back slightly as he tries to keep his eyes on the man, trying not to drift too far away in things like guessing a name.

He would still be caught looking away every now and then, towards the white of the ice, there was a time that he wanted to test his jutsu against the wall, but he talked himself out of it each time, not out of fear of getting caught, but because he did not want to cause damage to something that caught his attention like the wall did, the structure of the wall and the beauty of the ice, which would melt away and be ruined by his flames.

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His eyebrows raise in understanding and he nods his head as the young Genin speaks. “Ahh, a Genin waiting to be assigned a squad. I see.” He looks off into the wintry distance over the edge of the wall, thinking of what it would have been like to be in that position. Emotions are chaotic at that age, having to wait isn’t an easy thing. While not having that experience himself, he can imagine how much nervous energy would be built up within him at that age. And seeing the look on the boy’s face when he proudly spoke that he was a Genin, he decides that the young man is just working off his own nervous energy and did not have any ulterior motives.

As he is about to respond the young Genin speaks again, this time telling him he never introduced himself. He furrows his brow and looks at the boy for a few seconds. This is of course followed by Ishito laughing. He reaches over his right shoulder with his right arm, and scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, it would seem you are correct. That’s particularly rude of me, isn’t it?” He would then draw together his composure, putting on a serious face and standing properly before speaking again. “Allow me to backtrack now and introduce myself properly and respectfully as one always should. Konnichiwa young Hyouga Genin Kaicho Uchiha, I am Special Jounin Renyōso ichizoku no Izokomyo. At your service and pleased to meet you.” He would then bow slightly with a smile creeping onto his face. He was feeling quite amused by the situation, despite his having been impolite. He had a hard time remembering all his taught ‘manners’ when in such situations and was thinking about the scolding he used to be subjected to in similar situations in the past.  

He remembered one such case when he had been dressed as a normal street urchin when he was around sixteen. He was wandering the streets of a small village in Storm Country while his sensei was on a mission. He had failed to properly show respect for an uppity trio of Boufuugakure shinobi and they took offense to his casual manner of speech. They were the type of loud mouthed scum who talked the good talk, but didn’t spend nearly as much time training to back it up. They were certainly surprised when Ishito beat them nearly senseless with a simple bokken. The ruckus brought unwanted attention and drew more shinobi to check on the situation. Ishito had successfully fled and he later learned the distraction had managed to somehow make his sensei’s job easier. Yet still he was scolded for his rashness and foolish lack of respect. Told yet again that remaining anonymous is their line of work is essential and more often than not, required. Loudmouths and troublemakers are never anonymous.

He realized now that he kept getting drawn back into his memories often just like last year. This time it felt different. This time it wasn’t attached to the negative feelings from before. Perhaps he’s finally getting over it. His achievements having given him something to hope for, something new to work towards. He could now begin to move forward again and it made him happy.

Spoiler:

Whilst listening to the man Kaicho would scratch the back of his head, he looked at the mans face as he looked off into the distance, then as he looks back towards him after asking a question, his face would seem to be a bit neutral, yet one of the corners of his mouth is raised slightly as the man reacts, it was quite the proper introduction, he should try to say it like that himself next time he introduces himself, he would chuckle lightly, lowering his arm. "Pleased to meet you too, Special Jounin Renyōso ichizoku no Izokomyo." It was when he said it that he actually realized that he was a special jounin, straightening his back slightly, more automatically then with actual thought behind in.
He usually stayed away from many of the other shinobi that were not near his own age, only his teacher at the Academy was the one he spoke to, and even then it was more about the lessons.

It was sudden, but he a slight flashback, it was back at the village of Shippugakure, he was looking at some Genin, they were training, from one moment to the other, a man suddenly tapped his shoulder, once he looked around, he could see an young Uchiha man stare at him. "Your parents are looking for you, Kaicho, best to head home." The man would then look towards the Genin, training a bit ahead, he saw the man smile, and in a blink, he was gone again. He would stay a few more moments to look towards the two, the look in their eyes, their stance, before heading home. Once he arrived at home, his parents were waiting for him, his father smiling lightly, while his mother had a look of anger, probably because he was late for dinner. The image skipped ahead to a conversation with his father, one of the last he had with him. "Son, your future waits ahead, many things you will come across, we can keep telling you to be respectful for those above you, to be kind to your friends, to train as hard as you can.. But we can not protect you from the world that is out there, for the things you will face someday, moments one can never be ready for when they happen for the first time, but I believe you can do it, you will show them how great you are, and you will not fall back in the face of danger."

Yes, Kaicho had almost forgotten the things his father told him, especially the one about being respectful to those above him, seeing as how he usually walked around them, avoided them, never did he actually go towards one of them with the intent to talk, it was only two days ago that he decided to try, because one day, it might be important, just like his father told him. If only he had still been there to guide him through these times, he will never forget, never forgive.

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