Reminiscing of the Uchuukage

[Isamu]

location: A Clear Pond

Yamashita walks through the pond, whistling to himself. As he passes, he jots down a few things on his notepad.

Having just completed some rigorous training, trying to run up the sides of the pond, Isamu rests in the pond. Just when his dream starts getting good, something rather big steps on his stomach.

Yamashita jumps away as he feels something not quite water, not quite earth under his foot. He pulls out a shuriken, ready to defend himself against this clever foe...

Isamu slowly gets up, as he's pretty sure his armor was just dented. Seeing Yamashita standing there, shuriken in hand, Isamu wildly scans the area looking for enemies, before realizing Yamashita is looking at him.

Recognizing his opponent's Time Village forehead protector, Yamashita puts away his weapon. "I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?" he asks.

"You're Ichi-nii-sama's friend, right? We met at that ramen place, I'm Takahashi Isamu." Isamu replies as he adjusts his armor.

"Ah, Isamu, right. I've always been bad with faces," Yamashita replies, "What were you doing down there, anyway?"

"Resting. I've been speed training by trying to run up the side of the pond without using chakra, but it's incredibly slick and muddy. I've almost gotten to the top though..." Isamu trails off as he punches the dent out of his armor. "What brings you down to the pond?"

"I'm on my way to the Isamashii village," replies Yamashita thoughtfully, "So you're speed training, hm? Have you tried using leg weights?"

"I asked the Uchuukage to get me some special order, but he said this would be more effective right now, until they come in..." Isamu remembers. "He said this would be a good test for the 'Raging Fires of Youth' inside me..."

"'Fires of Youth.' Sounds like he was just trying to get rid of you." Yamashita retorts with a grin.

"Hrm...you know, come to think of it, he really did shove me out pretty quickly...I'm going to go back later and pester him about it..." Isamu says with an annoyed look on his face.

"That might not be such a good idea; you don't want to get him angry at you," warns Yamashita. "He can be pretty scary when he's angry. There's a reason he's the kage."

Isamu remembers back to the good old days, 5 years ago, when he 'decorated' the missions office. He shudders as he remembers the punishment he was given, cleaning out the guys restroom in the academy... "Maybe I won't pester him after all..." Isamu says weakly.

Yamashita sees the look in Isamu's eyes and remembers his earlier encounter with the Uchuukage. "Yeah, it wasn't too fun, was it?" he asks, knowingly. "Well, I'd better get going. Those Isamashii won't wait forever."

"No... It wasn't..." Isamu replies. "I'm gonna get back to training. It was good seeing you again, Yama-?"

"-shita. Yamashita. Don't forget it. I'm the guy you have to catch up to," Yamashita adds with a wink. "It was good to see you too, Isamu-kun. Keep up the hard work." Yamashita continues on his way, watching for more sleeping ninja...

[Nakamura]

Rpp awarded