Out of Hibernation [Open, NK]

For the past few months, one could say Nobunaga was in hibernation. He had spent almost every hour of everyday locked up in doors, away in his quarters with his nose deep in books, scrolls and texts. Occasionally he would make an appearance here and there to check up on village related matters and make sure all was well however the majority of the time the silent giant was no where to be seen. And today was no different. The Hiyu was locked up in his quarters sitting at a disk littered with separate sheets of paper and books open at different pages and scrolls sprawled across the floor. He had not told anyone what he was looking for as he was not even sure he would ever find it. Current he was researching on his clan, the Hiyu. Nobunaga had never met his real parents and therefore had only learnt late in his teens that he possessed a very unique kekki genkai, one that allowed him to control the cells in his body at a molecular level.

All the texts and scrolls he had collected were all the information he could find on his clan. He was looking for any bit of information he could find on them. Whether it be their lineage, location, techniques, Nobunaga was looking for answers. But most importantly he was looking for any bit of information he could find about Hiyu located within the wind country for he was primarily searching for his parents. He wanted to know more than anything if they were still alive and where he could find them. But throughout his research he soon came to notice that the Hiyu clan were very secretive, hiding pretty much every trace and possible tail that would lead back to them. That made tracking them almost impossible. 

It was now mid afternoon and Nobunaga had gone all throughout the night researching without any sleep. The muggy room lit with candles and blocked off with shudders from the outside started feeling like a cell more than his living quarters. He was starting to get tired of his surroundings. The same old bed, desk, chair, kitchen. It was all he had seen in months. Closing the book before him, Nobunaga leant back in his chair and let out a sigh. It was time he suspended his research and got back to the real world, go out and meet some people, maybe go on a mission or two. It had been a while since his sword had seen some action.

Pushing himself onto his feet and kicking his chair back a few paces, he made his way towards the door to his room. Grabbing a hold of his massive, weather worn black cloak he would drape it over his shoulders as it now covered his entire body. Opening the door with one hand he would simultaneously grab his great sword that leaned on the adjacent wall and strapped it to his back. Stepping out in the barracks, Nobunaga would make his way into the village. With a black cloak draped over his body from shoulders to ankles and the fabric wrapped handle of his sword sticking out over his right shoulder, the massive blade poking out behind his left calf, Nobunaga began strolling through the village on this sunny, cloudless afternoon. Although he is not the most talkative person, his hopes were to potentially see some familiar faces or maybe some new ones since he had kept to himself for so long.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary today. Sakaiza had woken up like any other morning, slightly sore but quite motivated, and began his day. Rolling out of bed, he completed his morning ritual and started for the door. He had the intentions of training today for he knew one thing: the jounin exams were coming up. He thought about all the spars he had within Sunaga. He remembered the one with Togirama, the one against both Salzem and Ryu, the one against his teammate Nobu and the most recent against Salzem. He knew the amount of improvements he had made since his first spar and all the jutsu he learned. He was quite the genin now, but still there was a possibility of him not being good enough. There was a the possibility of him being outclassed by another shinobi in the exams. And so, Sakaiza sought to continue improving.

As he walked from his house to the training grounds, he stopped in the market. Recently he had some excellent barbeque pork kabobs with Nobu, and they were delicious. And so, Sakaiza craved more. He headed over to the market and to the stand where he got the kabobs from and bought several more. He ate them so fast that it was almost as if he swallowed the skewer too. When he was done, he would wipe his hands on his pants and thank the shopkeeper. 

Thus he continued towards the training grounds when his eyes would fall upon a large man. Someone who seemed powerful based on appearance alone. He was large in stature and quite muscular. But he seemed to be quite tired, evident by the bags underneath his eyes. Sakaiza was slightly shorter than the man and was likely quite lighter than him as well. Upon making that eye contact, Sakaiza was confused on the man's identity. He had never seen this guy before, and so he would want to speak with me.

Walking towards the man's direction, Sakaiza let out a, "Hey...who are you? I'm Sakaiza."

Nobu was walking along, looking for something to eat in the village. Those skewered lizards at home just weren't doing it anymore. One can only eat the same food so much before they need to change it up some. Counting his ryo in his pocket, Nobu knew that he had more than enough to grab some more of that delicious barbeque pork that he had the other day with Sakaiza. "Can't train on an empty stomach, right?" He would say as he handed over the money to the shop keeper, "Thanks". It was almost as good today as it had been the day before, the only difference being that free food always seemed to taste better. Nobu ended up finishing one on the way to the training area when he heard a familiar voice. "Was that Sakaiza? Wonder what he is up to."

Hastily making his way over to the sounds Nobu sees a man in a full black cloak near Sakaiza. Nobu's mind immediately went hostile, dashing over to confront the man. "You stay away from hi-" Nobu stops mid sentence as he sees the face of the large man. It had not been who Nobu thought it might be, and so his body begins to loosen up, a fight no longer necessary. 

Scratching the back of his head, Nobu quickly apologizes. "Sorry about that, from a distance you reminded me of someone." Nobu would give a quick bow of just his head while saying this, clearly hoping for forgiveness for his mistake. Rising, he turns and looks at Sakaiza seeing the barbeque on his pants legs. "I see I've got you hooked on 'em. Would you like another?" Nobu still has a few kabobs and offers one to Sakaiza. 

"So, who might you be, sir?" Nobu asked the giant of a man, clearly towering over the youthful genin. Realizing he had not inntroduced himself, he remedied that, "I am Nobu Sen Katto."

The silent brute slowly made his way through the village, his entire body except his head and feet concealed by the massive black cloak that kept his cool under the blazing sun. With the long handle of his sword sticking out over his shoulder and making sure the blade was also concealed by his cloak, Nobunaga made his way towards the area he felt would be the most populated, the market. His assumption proved to be right. The market was packed with people checking out the daily produce or looking for useless trinkets to decorate their houses or what not. Nobunaga simply made his way through the masses, listening to people talk and argue and watching them as he passed by. Most of them would probably not know who he was as he often kept to himself or was busy or because lately he hadent been out in the public for quite some time. It just occurred to him that the weight of his sword strapped to his back felt unusual. It had been so long since he walked with it. When was the last time he actual wielded it, or trained with him. Nobunaga could not permit himself to be rusty for it was his duty to guard the village. He decided his next destination would be the training grounds. 

The training grounds were on the other side of the village therefore Nobunaga would walk the rest of the market before he made his way out. Stopping at a fruit stand, the Hiyu would pull out some coins for his pockets and bought a bag of the juiciest fruit the owner had. Taking a bite out of one of the yellow, round shaped fruits and sucking on its sweet nectar, Nobunaga slipped the bag with the other fruit into the confinements of his cloak and made his way out of the market.

As he was finishing the fruit in his bandaged hand, Nobunaga came to a sudden halt when he made eye contact with a kid and then noticed the kid coming right at him. Continuing to chew on his food as the kid approached and asked him a question, Nobunaga would momentarily remain silent as he looked the kid up and down. He was garbed like a shinobi, quite young, carried himself in a way that made Nobunaga assume he was skilled. Nobunaga continued to look down at the kid and analyse him with his eyes when he soon noticed in the corner of his eyes someone else running towards him. Turning towards the incoming newcomer, Nobunaga calmly took another bite from his fruit as he watched the new kid run in with some misguided sense of hostility. Knowing he was in no danger the Hiyu remained calm and silent, his facial expression never changing from its solemn look.

Taking one last bite from his fruit and throwing the core away into trash can on the adjacent side of the road, Nobunaga would simply nod to Nobu in acceptance of his apology. Eyeing the new comer up and down, Nobunaga also figured he was a skilled ninja for someone his age. "Greetings." Nobunaga would abruptly say after a few moments of silence. "I am Hiyu Nobunaga, a pleasure to meet the two of you." From the way they spoke with one another it seemed they already knew each other. With his deep, reserved voice Nobunaga would continue "I was just about to head to the training grounds. The two of you are Chuunin?" Nobunaga did not talk much therefore when he did his sentences often had no continuity or flow to it, usually fragmented sentences.

As Sakaiza had approached the man, he began to wonder about him. He was unsure whether or not he was hostile, and there was no way to determine it. The only even remote indication that he could be a threat was the handle of what was likely a blade protruding from behind his shoulder, likely shrouded by the large cloak he had on. A large cloak...in the Sunagakure no Sato weather. Either he was crazy or he was doing some type of body training, getting himself used to working in hot environments. But he seemed normal enough. I mean, normal people eat fruit right? You've got to be normal to eat fruit, right? Well Sakaiza hoped so. But with the recent group of characters that Sakaiza had met, the word normal was nearly thrown out the window. Sakaiza was interested though. The man wouldn't be decked out in large, armored clothing for no reason. There had to be some status to his stature. He was likely a higher rank than Sakaiza, but was he a jounin? Could be.

As Sakaiza let out his question to the man, he immediately heard a familiar voice following it. Turning his body and rotating his head, his eyes fell upon Nobu, his comrade. For some reason, Nobu was rushing over sounding almost protective over Sakaiza like he was in some sort of life or death situation. But he stopped himself. Perhaps he thought the man Sakaiza was talking to was someone else. Maybe he thought it was the same person he claimed he had seen at the village gates the other day. Or maybe Nobu was just losing it. 

"Hey brotha, this guy seems alright. Don't get all worried!" Sakaiza joked with a playful punch to the shoulder of his teammate who was now standing close by. 

Nobu then apologized to the man and offered Sakaiza another kabob, something he could not refuse.

"You know it" he let out while grabbing the kabob Nobu was extending to him and began to munch on it.

Meanwhile, the new shinobi was introducing himself. Nobunaga, pretty similiar to Nobu's name actually. However his personality didn't seem similar. His speech was all chopped up, almost as if he had gone through some time of solitude. Maybe the guy was a criminal that just served some time in the prison? Probably not, he seemed friendly enough though. But what was his deal?

He then mentioned rank, asking Sakaiza and Nobu if they were chunin. It was a blow to Sakaiza's ego, for he was still yet a genin. However, he felt he was on par with the ability and skill level of a chunin.

"Actually genin, I should be a chunin though..." Sakaiza began with his voice slightly trailing off. 


"What about you? I know your name but not who you are, and what do you have planned for the training grounds?"

Nobu happily scarfed down another kabob as he listened to the words of the others. The tall man introduced himself as Hiyu Nobunaga, and Nobu was glad that he had accepted the youth’s sincere apology for his mistake with a nod.
 
Nobu has a complete shift in his demeanor from moments ago. He is much more relaxed now, enjoying the food and listening to the older shinobi ask about their ranks. Genin of Sunagakure. This was the rank that Nobu had earned to be a part of this wonderful village. He wasn’t sure if this man wanted to know our ranks for some training, or if he was just curious. Hearing Sakaiza’s words on his own Genin status, he had seemed to be saddened by it. While yes, it was the lowest shinobi rank available it was also just that. A title of significance, stating that one is a proud shinobi willing to serve the village and place its needs above one’s own. Still, Sakaiza’s words rattled around the mind of Nobu, causing him to begin wondering just where he had been at in relation to others.
 
Was he on the same level as a Chuunin? Nobu wasn’t sure what to put his rank at. He likely wasn’t as skilled as many Chuunin, but there might have been and equal amount of Chuunin that his skills had matched or maybe even surpassed. Well, if Sakaiza had considered himself to be under ranked, Nobu likely wasn’t far behind either.
 

“Yeah, I’m also only a Genin. Did you ask because you need folks to train with at the training grounds? I would understand why a more experienced and higher rank shinobi would not wish to practice with only Genin.” Nobu questioned the man right after Sakaiza had, adding in what he could. He wasn’t sure that this man was a higher rank, as age had little to do with rank, but he felt something odd. It was like a strange feeling while in the presence of stronger shinobi, and Nobu had felt it now. Maybe it was their demeanor, maybe it was how they carried themselves. Maybe it was even the look in their eyes revealing the hardships and battles they have seen. No matter what the reason for it, Nobu felt the odd sensation in Nobunaga's presence.

Nobunaga silently watched the two greet each other and trade some sort of food the newcomer had brought. He remained silent and still throughout their introduction, his eyes shifting from left to right as one of them handed the other one the food. Now looking down at Sakaiza with his jet black eyes, Nobunaga was quite surprised to hear that he was only a Genin. Although not showing that he was surprised, he figured the kid would have at least been a Chunnin. Judging by their build and demeanour, Nobunaga figured they were both Chunnin but it looks like he was wrong about both of them. One thing Nobunaga had gotten good at over the year was reading people. Maybe it was because he did not talk a lot so that gave him the opportunity to watch and analyse other people. So he was wrong about their rank however he knew that despite the fact these kids were Genin, they are definitely more skilled than their rank would suggest. 

What intrigued Nobunaga was that Sakaiza felt he should be a Chunnin. "So why aren't you?" Nobunaga abruptly asked. Being a Chunnin came along with a variety of responsibility and expectations that being a Genin does not have therefore Nobunaga wanted to know if Sakaiza simply though he should be a Chunnin because he was skilled enough to be one or he was ready both physically and mentally to hold the higher rank and the burdens it came with.

Nobunaga stared at Sakaiza when he asked "What about you?". What about me? That wasnt much of a question and Nobunaga was not entirely sure how to answer it so as usual he did not. His other question was fairly simple therefore Nobunaga simply responded "I plan on training on my Kenjutsu." However, Nobunaga did not really care what he trained. He spent so much time cooped up in his quarters that any training would suit him just fine. Turning his stern face over towards Nobu as he spoke, Nobunaga shook his head and grunted, saying no without actually uttering the words. "Rank is meaningless to me." Whether a Genin or the Kazekage, if you could fight you could fight. "You two look more than capable enough. I would be willing to train with you if it pleases the two of you." Training with others was always better than training alone, despite the fact Nobunaga preferred being alone.

"So why aren't you?"

Such a simple, yet difficult question. Sakaiza was matured enough both in combat and mentally to undertake the task of becoming a chunin, however he had not had the opportunity to prove himself yet. As a genin, Sakaiza had completed several, various missions. Although he had not had the opportunity to complete any higher ranked missions, he knew that he was capable of it. He was a strategic thinker, yet also an experienced fighter. He would be able to adapt to situations as they came and could protect others simultaneously. He knew that he had been grinding with his training, allow him to learn plenty of jutsu and develop as a shinobi in the process. But he had just not had an upper level shinobi to vouch for his progress. He was sure that the kage had records on all of Sakaiza's missions and happenings, but perhaps he was not studied too in depth. It bothered him, for his nearly insatiable ambition constantly grew yet was never tamed.

"Because I'm patient," he let out, while tossing the bare kabob skewer into a nearby waste basket. 

It was an ironic response, considering he seemed to be uneasy about still being a genin, but the truth was it didn't bother him as much as it seemed. Sure, he wanted the rank up, but there were more important things to worry about.

"I've got other goals that my focus is on. Like training with my buddy Nobu here, as well as starting a Hyuuga branch here in Sunagakure! I don't want another Hyuuga to have to deal with the same issues that my family has. It'll be a warm, accepting one. A strong one, a wise one..." he continued as his voice began to trail off. 

Just as he wanted to day dream about his ambitions, his thought process was broken. It seemed as if this Nobunaga were not going to reveal his rank, instead stating that it didn't matter to him. What were the odds that he was hiding something? Probably likely considering the fact that he wouldn't even reveal his rank, instead disregarding it before even giving Sakaiza a chance to speculate.

"If we are to train, we should begin making our way to the training grounds. This area seems highly unsuitable for whatever we may all have up our sleeves."

Nobu just stands and listens as the man known as Nobunaga questions Sakaiza, causing what seems like deep contemplation for a moment from the Genin. His words seemed halted, the silence of the two of them for the briefest of times seemingly lasting an eternity. Nobu admits that he hadn’t put that much thought into the idea of ranking up, while on the other hand Sakaiza was constantly training hard and working diligently for the whole time Nobu had known him. Admittedly, that wasn’t a huge amount of time but still. Sakaiza was contantly working to better himself, and Nobu could see why he felt that he deserved a rank up, or at least from his own perspective. There was likely other factors that Nobu wasn’t aware of, something that could only be gauged if one knew what to look for. When, Nobu heard Nobunage ask why Sakaiza wasn’t a Chunnin, Nobu awaited the answer almost with as much curiosity as the man who had asked the question.

The answer wasn’t as straightforward as Nobu had hoped, but he understood some of the depth behind it. They had worked hard, trained vigorously, and completed several missions for the Village, and so on. They hadn’t pressed particularly hard for the advance to Chunnin though, or at least Nobu knew that he hadn’t. The idea of a rank up was appealing in some regards, but despite this he hadn’t asked about a rank up, or taken any real steps beyond entering the Jounin exams. And really, that was more for fun, so that he could see how his skills matched up against others. He hadn’t truly expected to win, though that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t give it his best shot. Still…
 
“You want to start a Hyuuga branch here in Suna? That’s really cool, but how would that work? Would they all be related to you somehow? Which brings me to another point, are members of a clan all related somehow? I mean, you all have the same family name so I would think that it is safe to assume…” Nobu began spinning through several odd ideas in his head, trying to wrap it around what exactly a ‘clan’ was. Shaking the thoughts after a moment, Nobu goes back to speaking more clearly, “But yeah, would they be for folks that were leaving another branch, or for your direct kin?” Nobu has no idea about clans, and so he seems a bit out of his element speaking of them and the dynamics of clanhood.
 
Nobu had sort of agreed with Nobunaga on his feelings of rank. It really didn’t matter all that much. A capable opponent was a capable opponent, no matter their rank was. If this fellow happened to be of a higher rank, Nobu would get the chance to test his mettle against a higher ranking shinobi. If not, he still had a training session with yet another new person of Suna. Either way, it seemed like a winning scenario to him.
 

“If we are to train, how would we go about it? Would we take turns sparring, each man for himself, or us two against you? I honestly don’t mind however you decide you want to do this. You said something about Kenjutsu? That is the art of weaponry, yes? So long as you don’t try to maim us I see no problem with it. Of course, I can only speak for myself on this matter. Sakaiza is correct though, the training grounds are a much more suitable place for sparring.” Nobu is excited at the thought of a new challenge. He eagerly awaited a response from the others.

Because he was patient. Nobunaga took that to mean that Sakaiza had never gone out and inquired about becoming a Chunnin. He took it as the Genin waiting for his achievements and progress to be noted by someone else. Maybe Nobunaga was that person, the one who would take note of Sakaiza and put in a word for his rank up. Only time would tell. He then went on to say that he had other focuses, such as building a Hyuuga branch right here in Suna. Nobunaga did not know how many Hyuugas were actually living in the village, he figured there werent many however it was never a bad idea to have a clan branch in another village for when clan members from else where visit. Also, seeing as how Konoha was allied with Suna it did not appear to be that bad of an idea. However the only problem Nobunaga currently saw led back to Sakaiza's ranking. The Hiyu figured it would be quite difficult for a Genin to set up an entire branch within the village however Nobunaga would keep that bit to himself. 

Nobunaga's attention shifted to Nobu as he started questioning how clans worked and if they were all related somehow since they all had the same name. To tell the truth, Nobunaga had no answers to that. Personally he assumed that there was no way each and every clan member were related but he wasnt sure for he had never met someone else from his own clan. As a child he was separated from his family and thus his clan, so the whole idea of a clan all being related was obscure to him therefore he would let Sakaiza answer that one.

Nobunaga directed his attention back to Sakaiza when he mentioned them having something up their sleeves. Nobunaga took that to be directed right at him. He knew that the two Genin were already acquainted with one another which means they probably already knew what each other could do. That left Nobunaga as the outsider and the only one who could possible have "tricks up their sleeve". Did the Genin not trust Nobunaga? If so, he knew not why. But if Sakaiza did not trust Nobunaga, that was the Genin's problem, not Nobunaga's.

"Aye, its weaponry." Nobunaga confirmed as he turned and started making his way out of the market. This was him indicating to the two Genin that he was heading towards the training ground and they should follow him. In his deep, monotone voice he would continue "It matters not to me. You two against me or a free for all. A light spar is all I ask for, nothing serious." If they were interested they would follow the giant man as he made his way towards the training grounds.