New friends? Maybe. Maybe not. [IO]

It was a busy day at the training grounds. Kaito was finally going to start working on some exercises, you know, to get him ready for the Genin exam. But before getting to that he'd finish constructing one of his gunpla. It really needed some touch-ups. The paint was chipped and the joints needed a bit of lubrication. He sat there in his training attire, quietly working to himself. Some of the students and other young ninja couldn't help but stare at the child. Dressed in training gear as if he were here to sweat his butt off, yet he sat there repairing a toy! "And this goes into that socket! I'm almost done. You're coming good X-1." Kaito raised the small toy and smiled at his creation. Another work of art to add to the collection.

Early afternoon and Kou had already been out and about doing what he usually did in the afternoon, which was pretty much walk about the village and occasionally look for something to get for home. With his folks...or rather super lazy and plain dad not doing much it was up to him to actually become something a little better than what he was standard to be so the uzumaki trouble child would head to the one place where any genin would go- the training grounds. Walking with a small pep in his step, Koumatsu slid his hands slowly into his training pants and looked around towards most of the villagers who had simply given him a smile or a wave. Ten minutes later and a couple of stops he had finally made it to the training grounds where he had saw a couple of people there, but one stood out the most since he was...repairing a toy? Walking over to the young male he would loom over him for a bit and tilt his head," So...what are you doing with that thing?," he didn't know if the boy was playing with his toys or fixing it.

Ah! So it appeared someone was interested in what Kaito was doing. How could Kaito tell? Well, it happens all the time! There are always curious souls that linger about trying to see what exactly he was doing. This time he attracted just one. The boy turned his head slightly towards the one who questioned him and displayed his same old fox smile, "Well hello there! This here is a gunpla that I'm fixing up! It needed some touch ups so I got straight to work!" Kaito lowered the toy and grabbed a small shield to attach to the mechanism. "How rude of me! I didn't even introduce myself! My name's Kaito!" With his free hand he reached out for handshake. Hopefully he'd receive one back.

A...Gunpla? With quite the quizzical expression the blond haired male looked over the contraption for a moment, taking in what it had looked like along with what the boy was doing with ti and shrugged for a moment...he did not understand machines and fixing them, but whatever had floated someone's boat eh? Giving one of those short handed waves, he would slip his hands into his pockets and smile," So..what exactly is a "Gunpla and why would you be fixing it amongst the training grounds?," feeling as if those two were the most important questions, he failed to understand why here of all places. Seeing as he now had a name to match the feminine face, Kou responded in kind," My name is Koumatsu, Kou for short....Pleasant to meet you Kaito," he wasn't going to go the whole nine yards and do all the handshakes...that was for stiffs and adults.

Judging by the look on the Kou's face, he didn't understand the concept of gunpla at all. It was alien to him and Kaito understood that very well. In fact, no one would know about these toys at all. They were Kaito's creation. "You must be familiar with action figures yes? If so, a Gunpla is a small mechanoid figure used for collection OR playing with! I personally wouldn't want to use it as a toy, but some of the children I hand these out to do. Oh! Why here? Hehe!" Kaito couldn't help but giggle in embarrassment. What a good question. It deserved a good answer. "I come to the training grounds to work because I find peace here. Being here helps me concentrate more for a reason I do not yet know myself. I also enjoy watching others train and work hard themselves. I understand it's the wrong place to work but it happens." Kaito hoped that there wouldn't be a problem doing this here. If anything, he'd be willing to begin physical training now.

Action figures huh...Well there was something the young male held no interest in and didn't have in his childhood. Considering he was out in the wild with his parents and doing all sorts of weird things kids shouldn't have been doing, but he was a kid of many strange tastes back then so it was to be expected. Shrugging for a moment he would begin to shake his head in a slight disagreement," Never had the chance to play with any sort of toys as a child, was always outside doing stuff and things...i was that one kid that spent his time outside rather than inside, but i know what you are talking about so i guess it makes sense," shrugging it as a small act of childhood left behind he would continue to listen to the boys explanation of the toy and why he made them, seeing the boy as more of an inventor than a ninja it had struck him as odd.

Now he didn't understand how the training ground was a good place to fix or make things, considering the slightest slip up could result in the young male....woman? Anyways it could result in this person losing their life, either by accidental jutsu or weapon. Kou guessed it was more of a personal preference than anything which had only meant that he wouldn't be the only one with a weird sense of peace. Now hearing that the boy liked to watch others train sounded both disturbing and a bit of a normal response, the disturbing part being the looming eyes staring upon someone before just full on creeping. Small was the chuckle that left his lips as he rolled his shoulders and looked around," I actually came here to get a bit of training under my belt so that i could tackle a mission or two for the future events. I need to work my way up the food chain so i can pass up my old man and possibly leave the village for some....less suitable reasons," his only reason being that he wanted to be in another village to see how life was there....or that was the lie he was telling himself.

Kou's body langauge said it all, this wasn't something he was familiar with. Nor did the boy have any interest in the subject. Understandable, it may have been possible that he was beyond the age. Or maybe he just simply had no interest in the kind of figure that Kaito specialized in making. The more he listened the more information was being fed to the boy. How unfortunate for Kou to grow up without any kind of toy in his life. Maybe his early childhood was going out to play with the other children, or maybe he was simply the product of early labor outdoors. As much as Kaito wanted to question him on the matter, it wasn't too respectful. That was none of his business. "I see. Don't get me wrong Kou, I was always outside too. I just don't want you to think I was in my house all the time. It's just that my father would teach me how to build in the house. Hehe." Hopefully Kou would understand that the boy wasn't one of those kids that never had a life. One of those kids that feared the unknown and found peace and safety within their own walls. That's not the type of boy he was. 

The chuckle from Kou may have been a sign that what Kaito was saying was either coming off as weird, or that his decisions were actually funny. Yeah, the more he thought about it it did seem uncommon. But that's just the way he was. Everyone's different you know? Kaito continued listening, learning about the boy's motives. That he wanted to become stronger than his father and work his way to the top. Then he'd leave the village. Now Kaito wasn't really familiar with the village's system and their M.O, but he was pretty sure that leaving the village came with some consequence. Maybe there was a way to get around that? The more he thought about it he could see that they were somewhat similar. "You know Kou, you're pretty tough. I can tell you're also very ambitious. I'm pretty sure that you'll get to the top one day and beat your old man. If my papa was a shinobi, and alive, I'd probably want to surpass him as well. I could probably say that I want to be a better shinobi than my sister, but her time came short as well. I mean, I never know when my time could come. But as long as I'm alive I will try to be strong." The boy held the fox smile. At this point Kaito was a master at masking how he truly felt. So emotional he was. "I wouldn't want to bore you with that stuff though. How about I join you in your training. I really need to train myself so why not train with someone who knows what they're doing? Hehe."

He knew of a few kids that had stuck in the house and did nothing and he knew kids almost like himself that stayed outside amongst the nature and trees, which wasn't too bad because there was always something new to do outside opposed to inside yet the outside held so much more for Kou than others realized. It was here amongst nature that his family back when it was him, his father and mother, had been whole and happy through anything. After his mom went however things began to get stale for both him and his father, but the two continued to move on no matter what. Kicking himself out of his own trip down memory lane cesspool, Kou would smile and wave a hand before speaking to the boy," Think nothing of it you know? If you were some shut in child you wouldn't be out here amongst the trees and dirt fixing some toys of your, although its good you learned something from your old man," While he didn't know about the boys own background there was a feeling of similiarity between the two.

Tough..He had not heard those words since his mother had last called him that...those many years ago, the words stuck to his skull like the most painful adhesive, but he had only allowed them too because in a sense she was right. He had never cried when she died instead he gave her one last smile...how he regretted that sometimes, but being who was...no being who he is he wouldn't beat himself up over it. Smiling for a moment he would scratch the back of his head and look around,"Its good to have something to live for i guess....Although i've already beaten my dad in a sense so i guess i'm part way there. So i guess its just you and your mom? Or are you living alone?," knowing that it was probably a bit out of line to ask, but what were lines if you couldn't cross them eh? Now there were the words he was looking for, the boy agreeing to train with him, the very thing he had came here for before lets admit it...Kou was slacking and needed to pick up his pace a bit if he was going to become something more than "that troublesome" Genin. So with a spry in his step he would move out a bit and motion to Kaito," Well lets quit the chattin and get to battin, so you can get the first move Kaito," waving to him he would wait to see what the boy would do.

"You're absolutely right Kou. I'm happy that my father gave me these skills that I have. This way I can remember him. To be honest Kou, I do my best to help children like that. Building these figurines..." Kaito held up a small prototype gunpla. It wasn't exactly completed but it still looked like a fine work of art none-the-less. "...Building them and handing them out to the children is my way of encouraging them to come out. To socialize with others in the village. Hehe." The boy's smile grew wider. Such a benevolent soul. How exactly he would pursue the shinobi path is a mystery. A boy with such values and morals, it's difficult to think about a ninja holding those traits and this type of personality. Hopefully Kou wouldn't think he was too weak. Well, actually, even if he did it wouldn't really bother the boy. Everyone is after all entitled to their own opinion. 

Kaito stood there thinking about it. He'd hate to say it but at one point he was too lost in thought to even pay attention to what was going on. Luckily, he'd return just in time to actively listen to Kou. About how he somewhat beat his father already. Good for him. Guess the boy was growing closer to his goal. But then a question was asked. If he lived alone or with his mother. Again, why did Kaito have to get so emotional when talking about this subject? Even with his fox smile and his barely opened eyes, to anyone who was actually able to magnify on his eyes, both eyes were beginning to tear up. It was only him and his mother. But things weren't like they were before. She had succumbed to an alcoholic lifestyle. With the loss of both her spouse and her daughter she was never the same. As much as Kaito wanted to help, he couldn't. Nothing he could do could return her happiness. He wouldn't give up. No way. Kaito would fight to save his mother. "I-I live with my mother...Hehe." 

Enough with the chattering was correct. If Kaito was going to train...he was going to train. And so, their day would begin with a friendly spar. Even though the boy had never fought a day in his life he was going to try and give Kou a challenge. Trial and error. "Sounds good to me Kou. Here I come!" The boy placed the miniature gunpla in his pocket and ran at Kou with a speed of 10. Once he was close enough, he'd send a jab with his left hand. (Speed of 9) Kaito's right hand was kept at his side to counter or defend if need be.

Children...Well wasn't that nice of him to help children barely younger than himself, but if someone was doing something for them it would make them happy than being depressed with the constant throes of life. With that being said, he didn't mind the whole act of kindness but it wasn't something he would do unless the child was his or something like that, but first he would need some woman to do that with. Anyways with his mind going in a direction it should not have been going to, he refocused on the male in front of him and smiled," Well at least you are doing something for them and that is what matters right? Well in any case as long as those little......things are well and fine things should go smoothly in the long run," Now Kou did not mind children but some of the ones in the village kind of pissed him off in a sense...not to be that guy, but he did not want someone's kid looking up to him for any such thing, especially as a hero or something.

With that being said he looked at the boy quizzically in a sense wondering what was going through the boys head, but while he admired the boy for sticking up for what little of a family he had, he couldn't help but wonder if it was his old man instead of his mom, but life was life and he was about so close to not caring, but the ever charismatic boy wouldn't let it get to him. At any rate as he moved back and away from the boy, he would stretch for a bit before rolling his shoulders and looking towards the boy. While Kou was no enthusiast to taijutsu combatative techniques or anything like that, he knew enough to actually give someone a good thrashing for a bit before running off into his other tactics. Watching the boys movements carefully he would slide his right foot back an inch giving him a proper defensive stance, his left hand sliding onto his side while his right would slowly outstretch.

While his speed was a bit slow, Kou could react to his movements and waited for a moment before moving his right hand forward, extended it a mere meter to block Kaito's hand and smiled, gripping onto the boys wrist and pulling him closer before throwing the boy onto the ground with a classic hip toss. While this movement was only a basic taijutsu counter maneuver, it was only effective on those with lesser strength than him. Given that if the boy had more strength than him, then he would of course be able to break out of the grapple, but then again since this boy looked a little scrawny it was impossible. For now though he would toss the boy onto the ground and jump backwards, waiting for the boy to make another move on him.