Talon awoke that morning and breathed in a long breath before exhaling upward, blowing his hair out of his eyes. He grinned happily as he got up, made his bed, ate his breakfast and got dressed. Black slacks, a brown button up shit and a black  trench coat. He walked out to his apartments balcony and breathed in the crisp morning air. "It's a great day for some training" He said softly as he pondered about where he would train

He opted for the botanical gardens as they had a ton of overgrown weeds in a certain part of it that would make perfect training with his scythe. . He hopped off the balcony toward the city below him and ran toward the Botanical gardens. He loved the plants and it always relaxed him to be among the different varieties. As he walked through the village he said hello to a few unknown villagers who greeted him in passing and soon he arrived at his destination.  

As he stepped into the gardens he smiled softly, all of the plants seemed to really come to life in here. They were all so vibrant and so.....everywhere. He walked through the gardens, admiring the beauty and serenity of the place and soon found his destination. In front of him sat a field of chest high weeds that no one had come to take care of. He decided they would make good training with his scythe as he stepped into the middle of the field and drew out his Blood Scythe, the crimson blades glinting in the light.

He then began swinging his scythe blades in a flurry of motion, moving through the katas of his style. With each swing another cluster of weeds would find itself cut down and Talon moved through the field with a surprising amount of agility considering how heavy the weapon was. A testament of his strength through his training of the years. He continued his training for a time, losing track of it quite easily.

Talon wasn't the only one in his own little world there. In a tree nearby, Kiku sat among the branches, reading. He was pretty absorbed in his book. This Ten-Tails stuff was pretty riveting, even if his ancestor weren't at the center of it all. It gave Kiku something to aspire to. Or, more frequently, something to mope about never being able to match.

Eventually, that repeated slicing sound brought him back to reality. Kiku looked down, and saw an older boy wrecking the shit outta some weeds with a scythe. It was clear that he was skilled with his weapon, sweeping through them like it was nothing. Kiku let out a startled squeak, looking on with eyes wide. It was an impressive display, to say the least. He wondered how powerful this guy was if this was what he did for training. Kiku knew he would probably never be the other shinobi's physical match.

Talon had just spun his scythe and sliced another group of weeds with the second blade of the scythe when he heard the sound. It was a small squeak, barely noticeable over the sound of weeds being murdered. That did not however mean it wasn't there. He turned toward the direction and saw a young boy with a book. He could read the title as "The Ten-Tails" and knew immediately the story that the boy was reading. He nodded his head in appreciation of such a book and put away his weapon. He then looked up at the boy and gave a small smile "You can come down, I promise, I don't bite" He said as the last of the most recently shredded weeds blew away in the wind behind him.

"My name is Talon, Talon Karrde." He introduced as he waited patiently for the seemingly shy boy to come down. He didn't know many people and he was friends with very few, so any he could make would be a great thing for him. He smiled a little wider as another light breeze blew through the field, creating small waves through the weeds and blowing his hair back. He enjoyed the wind, it felt so good on a day like this, and also made it harder for enemies to hear the swinging of his scythe as he spun it to move in for the kill. He blinked a moment at his thoughts and shook such things out of his head as he looked back up at the boy.

The moment Kiku squeaked, the other ninja was looking right at him. Just how good were his senses? Kiku supposed that a close-quarters fighter like him would need to have finely-tuned senses. He would have to be ready for attacks from all sides. Kiku reminded himself to train for that too. He wasn't much of a hand to hand fighter, but his range needed some sensory stuff too. He could always just torch everything, but that wasn't really his style.

Kiku hopped down, approaching Talon. He seemed pretty friendly for such a deadly scythe-wielder. Kiku smiled nervously, wondering what he was shaking his head about. "I'm Kikuchiyo, Uzumaki Kikuchiyo. Kiku if you prefer." The genin stopped a few paces away, giving a polite bow. Sure, this guy was friendly, but that was no reason not to show good manners. After all, this guy probably outranked him. He had to show the proper respect.

Talon waved off the bow "I don't go for such formalities Kiku." He replied, making sure the use the nickname to prove the point. He looked at him carefully, he had a headband so he knew he was a shinobi but he was much too frail to be a taijutsu or weapon user. He was reading on such a wonderful day so that would insinuate a very active mind which would be good for genjutsu or ninjutsu. Talon had half a mind to figure out which and had subconsciously reached for his scythe once more before he stopped himself half way.."No fighting.." He thought to himself. He couldn't afford to do such things with potential friends and besides. Fighting in the botanical garden just wouldn't do. What if he was a fire ninjutsu user? Their kage would murder Talon alive.

"What are you up to on such a nice day Kiku?" He said as he took in the boys expression. He could see doubt in his eyes, a sign of a lack of confidence. Maybe Talon could do something about that sometime. Shinobi did after all have to confident in their abilities didn't they? He smiled as the wind blew once more and stretched his shoulders back half consciously, wielding the heavy scythe always took it's toll, it was still rather new after all. He would need to continue training with it. He reasoned. He looked to the boy once more "Let's go get some food, my treat, an apology for interrupting your reading with my nonsense" he said as he walked toward the town. He didn't like interrupting people, and Kiku had obviously been there first.

"Okay." Kiku relaxed for a moment. It seemed this guy really was the casual type after all. He seemed nic- oh Karmi he's reaching for his weapon. Kiku instinctively went into a stance. It didn't look like a fighting stance, it was more like a meditative one. His legs were together, with his hands in front of him. His right palm pointed at the ground while his left was held in a half Ram sign. For a fraction of a second a gold chakra started to form behind him, but it dissipated when Talon stopped himself. Kiku broke the stance, relaxing again.

"Oh, just reading." Kiku held up the book awkwardly. There was really no cool way to tell the badass weapon user you were slacking off. At least he was understanding. In fact, he seemed to be talking like the reading was more important than the training. "It's not nonsense, training is good. I should probably do more of it." Kiku frowned. He'd been slacking off on the training of late, he really needed to do something about that. "And food sounds good, thanks!" Kiku forced a smile back to his face.

Talon waved off the comment about his training and laughed "Yes training is good, but that was hardly training..swinging my weapon against something that can't fight back does me absolutely no good at all, I was just bored" He said as they began to walk through the gardens toward the door. The sun filtered in through a special glass ceiling and it allowed the light coming through the seem like columns of light in the gardens. He stopped a moment at a water fountain and grabbed a drink before turning to Kiku "What kind of training do you do?" He asked as he thought about his own. His needed a sparring partner, but none were around. This made it annoying to try and practice his style.


Talon smiled for a moment and motioned for Kiku to lead "You pick, I don't really care what I eat." He said as he moved to follow the boy. He honestly didn't care in the slightest as food was food to him. The body needed it to function and that was all that mattered to the battle loving guy. They moved through the gardens and into the streets of Soragakure No Sato and he waved at the people that he recognized. After a while though he put his hands behind his head and started to think. "I really want to find out what kind of shinobi he is...I'll bring up the idea of a training spar while we eat." He thought as he continued to follow the small shinobi

"Well, I guess. But katas are important too, right? Practicing the motions and everything." This guy just could not take a compliment. It was something they had in common, at least. Kiku didn't know too much about the physical aspect of ninja stuff except what was taught in the academy, but he had been under the impression that practicing the movements like that was an important aspect. "I do mostly ninjutsu, and a couple genjutsu here and there. Can't really train here though. I'm a fire type, and most of the non-elemental stuff I know either would tear stuff up or needs a partner."

Kiku thought for a moment before deciding on a place. "Okay, there's a good ramen place a few blocks from here. Come on, I'll show you." Reading his ancestor had gotten him in a mood for the famous Uzumaki's favorite food. Sure, this place was no Ichiraku, but it was still damn good. "So, what rank are you?"

Talon smiled at the boys insight "Yes the katas are important, but I lack a partner to train the more..thrilling aspects of the style." He replied as he followed the boy "I had you pegged as a ninjutsu and genjutsu user from the start. No offense, but if you told me you were a taijutsu user I'd be a little concerned." He replied as they walked. The boy would make a fine ninjutsu master one day if he trained as much as he seemed to read books. "Ramen it is then" He responded as he heard the word spoken. They walked on in silence for a little while before Kiku asked his rank.

"Chunin, I assume you're a genin?" He replied as they walked toward the destination. "He spoke of needing a partner for training his ninjutsu, maybe this will work out." He thought as they made their way through the busy streets until they reached what Talon assumed was the ramen stand. They walked in and sat down at the booth. "A miso, and a pork ramen please." He said as he took his scythe off of his back and leaned it against the wall, huge thing tended to get in the way. "I really need a seal for that.." He thought as he waited for their order and Kiku's next question.

Kiku smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm not really all that tough." That might have been a bit of an understatement. Kiku was downright scrawny. Short, thin, and not nearly as muscular as the average ninja. He'd been in a few taijutsu spars, and had ended up on the worse end of every single one. Talon, on the other hand, looked more athletic. He could probably handle himself in a fight.

"Yeah, haven't gone for the exams yet." He was pretty nervous about the idea. Kiku wasn't exactly confident in his abilities, he didn't like the idea of going against the best genin the world had to offer. It would probably end badly for him, he was sure of it. "Same for me, please." Kiku took his seat at the stand, eying the scythe nervously. He wasn't sure how stable it was there.

Talon noticed Kiku keeping a nervous eye on his scythe as it perched precariously on the wall. Without a word or a glance Talon reached over and moved the scythe to lean against the counter next to Talon, and away from Kiku. He ate his ramen quietly, but quickly and soon he was done and he waited patiently for Kiku to finish. "The exams are a tough ordeal, I won't lie. But it's a necessary step for all shinobi at some point and it may show you what you really need to work if you don't already know. However right now, we can work on some of that if you want. How about a training spar? Nothing serious, I'll dull my scythe with chakra so it won't cut. You'll be free to use any jutsu you desire." He said as he leaned on his elbow on the counter and took in a deep breath as the wind blew past. He loved the wind so much, and he didn't know why. But it calmed him considerably. He fiddled with the blade of his scythe for a few minutes as he waited for Kiku to finish his meal.

A few people came in and sat around them and ordered meals as well and Talon decided it was time to go. He didn't like crowded places much and his scythe gave him a lot of unwanted attention. He stood up slowly, picking up his scythe and placing it over his back. "I'll head to the training grounds later today if you're interested." He said as he placed the money for their bill on the table and left. Disappearing into the crowd.

Talon was awfully quiet during the meal. Kiku wanted to break the silence, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he just ate in awkward silence. He didn't like those pauses too much, but breaking them required more social skills than Kiku was packing. He was relieved when the meal ended and Talon spoke up again. "Yeah, I've heard it's pretty tough. Training sounds good, though! I could do with some polishing up." As always, Kiku wasn't too confident in his abilities.

"Sure! I'll meet you there." Before Kiku could say any more, the chuunin was gone. Kiku stood, heading for home. He had to get ready if he was going to train later. Not that too much needed doing, but it was good to be prepared.