Kin was an unlikely candidate to travel to Kumo to study different medical techniques, but because he has seen so little action as a genin Kin ultimately made the decision to travel weighing the pros and cons.

"I can't believe that boar chased me," the skinny boy huffed as he rested his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath. He had just entered the village, after being scared out of his wits by a wild boar somewhere near the coast of the sound village. Yup, the boy sure could run fast when he thought he was going to be eaten by a boar! He didn't even know if they ate meat, but with those tusks.. who wouldn't!

"..and now I am lost," he grumbled low under his breath and pulled the cowl neck of his tunic up just barely passed his nose out of nervous habit. Kin kept his gaze low, obviously the passive type, and would only glance up to see if he could spot some crazy hairdo. "They all have weird hair," he said in a light gasp while his lavender eyes leaving the ground for a split second. Then his eyes locked with a pretty lady who had weird, dark hair. "That must be the escort shinobi," Said Kin while his glum expression seemed to soften to a more pleasant one when he realized that the shinobi was female and not male! "E-excuse me miss-" Kin stumbled with his words and just as usual, he stumbled with his feet and saw the ground come quickly into view.

But this time he wasn't nervously looking to the ground, in fact he had actually bumped into a girl and like the shy and passive person he was, he just fell to the ground and seemed to be playing dead face down. An instinctive trait..

"Ah! Sorry," Kin hesitated at first but managed to lift his head to see who he bumped into. The marketplace was bustling with stalls and customers of all shapes and sizes (but all with weird hair), however he couldn't quite see the girl he bumped and then felt a bit silly when people stared at him for falling, so he pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off. "I-I am not from here, so.." he mumbled and trailed off, "I have to meet s-someone, I'm sorry." He apologized again to the girl and bowed deeply before stumbling off to the side to meet the pretty lady with weird, dark hair.

Being asked to escort a foreign exchange student was a relief to Rin. She finally got to do something interesting, useful for the village, and normal! Sure, she loves exciting and strange, but when everything you did was that, it kind of got old. It was confusing, too! Political machinations with nukenin and Konoha were a bit too much for her... at least for now, anyway. At least a job like this would be simple and wouldn't get her into trouble. All she had to do was be his guide, escort and guardian for while he stayed here. She'd also have to make sure he didn't do anything he shouldn't - it wasn't likely, as he was from a village aligned with Kumo, but allies kept an eye on each other as well.

However, the foreigner - Iwasaki Kin - was late. What was it about guys and not being able to stay on schedule?! Did he lose track of time looking at the clouds, or is he lost and too proud to ask for directions? She wondered as she glanced up in annoyance. It was only for a second, but it was enough time for someone to bump into her. Rin stepped back a bit to adjust her balance, but the kid who hit her fell flat on his face. When he looked up and apologise, any resentment she had faded away. He seemed kind of pathetic, actually, and she couldn't stay mad at him. Besides, he'd clearly suffered more, and he apologised.

"Don't worry about it." She said as he got to his feet. However, when he said that he wasn't from here, Rin took a closer look at him. Past the dirt and scratches... it looked like this was the person she was supposed to meet! Before she could call out to him, however, he clumsily rushed off after someone else. A largish man walked in front of her before she could pursue, and then Kin was gone. She looked around, and saw that he had just reached a pretty lady with a spiked hairstyle. The young kunoichi shook her head and ran after him. "Iwasaki-saaaan!" She called out to him, hoping that he hadn't done something stupid. "Are you Iwasaki-san from Iwagakure?"

Kin didn't wait around long enough to hear any response from the kunoichi he ran into, nor did he really take a good look at her either. It just did not click in his brain that maybe the spiky haired girl he bumped into was the real deal! Kin knew he was late, real late, and that did not look good for a shinobi. "Excuse me-" he reached out and lightly tapped the woman's shoulder to get her attention, and she turned around holding a bunch of exotic flowers. "Yes? What is it?" She stared down her nose at Kin, who was shorter than her by what seemed miles.

"Oh.. she's super tall up close.." Kin gulped audibly and began fidgeting with his hands. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to buy some flowers?" She had a sharpness to her voice and it nearly made his ears ring, but then he heard his name from somewhere and he began to look both ways.

"If you aren't going to buy something, then get lost, I'm trying to make a living here!" Suddenly the woman wasn't so pretty anymore. "I-I'm sorry, h-here." He fumbled with some small coins and held them out to her. She seemed to stick her nose up at him, inspecting the money, "Good enough," she huffed and gave Kin a flower that looked equally as pathetic as he did, but still managed to look decent.

Kin took the flower with the bent stem and then spotted another girl with a weird hairdo that was calling him. He quickly stepped away from the stall of flowers and towards Rin, obviously embarrassed. "..Hi, I mean, I'm Iwasaki Kin. Hi." He stumbled over his words and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "You are.." Kin creased his eyebrows trying to remember her name, but he seemed to be a bit distracted and disappointed in how tall the girl was. It only made him look shorter!

The kid turned around, and in his hand was a wilted looking flower. Rin looked at the woman who he'd been talking to and sighed. Oh dear... well, that could have gone worse. She quickly decided that she'd have nothing to fear about him trying to steal secrets. On the other hand, she would most definitely have to protect him from himself. It was lucky he wasn't attacked by wild animals on the way here - even if he was supposed to be a ninja, she doubted he had what it took to even handle a boar.

"I'm Asukai Rin. I've been assigned to be your escort while you are in Kumo. First things first - don't talk to Hana." She gestured to the tall woman with flowers. "She's a flower nazi. If you don't order promptly and pay promptly... well, let's just say that you got off lightly." She smiled to try and make things seem less serious than they were. Kumo was full of scary women. "Anyway, I was told that you are here to take part in an exchange program, right?" Rin pulled out a scroll and opened it.

"Medical ninjutsu?" Maybe this kid wasn't as weak as she thought he was if he was learning medical techniques from here. "Impressive... anyway, while you are here, I'm to stay with you at all times, and take you wherever you need to go. So long as you don't cause any trouble, Iwasaki-san, I'm at your service." She bowed politely. "Is there anything you need first, or shall we go straight to the academy?"

Kin adjusted his headband since it slipped a bit when he fell on his face, and then he let out a small laugh, "Uhn.. nice to meet you," Kin managed a smile then glanced to Hana who was glaring daggers at him. He coughed and covered his mouth with his oversized sleeve. Some say his soul tries to flee when he coughs.. that is how scared he generally is. "A-anyways, I'm here to study now. Sorry I am so late." Kin bowed slightly and then watched as Rin looked at the scroll. He thought someone older would be taking care of him while he stayed in Kumo, but maybe this girl had more to her than she was leading on.

He shook his head slowly and smiled warmly, but also nervously. "If you don't mind, c-can you take me to where I am staying? I want.. to put the flower in some water." He felt a bit silly asking for such a request, and he bit down on his lower lips, nervously chewing at the skin. Kin seemed to retreat into his large tunic as he side stepped some rushing citizens, and was getting more uncomfortable with the crowd.

"Oh, I won't cause trouble," Kin was quick to defend his good nature, "I promise I won't get in the way.." Boy was he nervous! He wanted to make a good impression and he totally screwed it up with Hana and Rin mixup! Kin wants to be the very best at medical ninjutsu, but since he is weaker in taijutsu it makes him super vulnerable to enemies. His goal was to perfect medical ninjutsu and then build up taijutsu! "I hear.. that Kumogakure has an exceptional training course." Kin tried to make conversation with Rin while waiting for her to show him around. "..you should know that I plan on toughening up." He murmured and seemed to blush with even more embarrassment.

"Nice to meet you too. And thank you for apologising. I forgive you." Still, he wasn't trying to win her over - as it was, he was going to be late for his class. It definitely wouldn't look good for him to turn up late. It was lucky that the place he - they were staying at was on the way, or else he'd have to make a choice... and he didn't seem up to making tough decisions. "Certainly - we're staying at a pretty nice place, if I do say so myself. Ryuujin Tavern. The owner doesn't talk much... at all, really, but he knows how to cook. It's in between here and the academy, and they've got an onsen, too..." She swallowed whatever she was about to say and her face turned pink for a second. Rin didn't go to the onsen there for a reason. "Well, we don't have all day, so let's get going!" The young girl said as she broke into a swift walk.

Kin promised not to cause any trouble, which would have been good to hear if she wasn't doubtful on his ability to stay out of it. His promise not to get in the way came out of nowhere, giving Rin the feeling that it was something people told him a lot. She simply smiled in acknowledgement, as the boy went on to make conversation - again revealing more about himself than was probably best for a ninja.

"Yes, Kumo does indeed have a great course for toughening people up. We have one of the toughest, actually, without setting foot into dangerous practices like the schools of Kirigakure used to have. Speaking of which, word of advice." Rin's voice became one of warning. "Since you arrived late, you are going to be late for class as well. Make sure you apologise from the depths of your heart in a kowtow. Diligence and responsibility are virtues." While yes, it was fun to scare Kin, she was serious in what she was saying. He was supposed to be an honoured student of the academy, after all - turning up late for your first class was not going to look good.

Kin let out a sigh of relief, a breath that seemed to be held in the depths of his lungs for far too long, and smiled wearily at the sound of "I forgive you." coming from the girl. But that same breath hitched and his smile turned crooked and nervous when she mentioned the plural word. "W-w-we?" Kin stammered and actually dropped his bag, but was quick to pick it back up before Rin could even see it had fallen! "Onsen?" his voice now a mutter and he knew he was probably going to be asking far too many questions with simple answers. "Is it gender separated?" Kin's favourite part of the day was cleaning up after falling on his face a hard day at work, but not with the opposite gender there! Or anyone really, even animals made him nervous. Obviously.

When Rin started off towards the academy, Kin was quick to keep pace with the Kumo kunoichi. Even though Kin seemed to be a bad shinobi, it could all be part of his super-secret shinobi mission! Give off the appearance of a weak, low self-esteem ninja, then blow them out of the water with super-awesome strength and abilities! That was a far stretch though.

Kin's eyes blinked and widened when Rin became serious. "Oh dear.. am I really that late?" He asked with concern. Rin seemed to be organized and on schedule, where Kin was quite the opposite, but not due to laziness! In fact, it seems that if Kin didn't have bad luck he would have no luck at all. Maybe Rin would bring some good luck his way. "Kowtow.. okay, I got it." He bit his lower lip once more, showing his nervous energy once again. (Did it ever really leave?) "Asukai-san, h-how many people are in the course?" The thought of walking into a crowded room terrified him, since back in his own country they loved to pick on him for being so.. Kin-ish. "It's not a big problem, or anything.. I just, uh.." Kin paused as he dodged a few oncoming pedestrians, "I am not a people person." Kin stated the obvious, or maybe he was just so used to putting himself down it seemed like he talked a lot about himself so others wouldn't point out his flaws first.

"Yes, as I mentioned before, I have to be with you at all times until either I'm reassigned or you leave. We aren't sharing the same room, if that's what you're concerned about." She took a breath as she answered the next question. "And... no... the onsen there isn't gender separated. But there's another onsen in the village that is if you are willing to walk a bit!" If it were anyone else, Rin would probably think that they were asking out of perverse pleasure, but this guy didn't strike her as the type. Kin was a very nervous kid who probably wouldn't survive in a co-ed onsen.

She shook her head slightly at when he commented on how late he was. "Yeah, sorry. Well, it isn't that you are very late, but lateness of any sort is bad, really. The teachers here are very strict." If you weren't in the room when the bell went, you'd better hope that you had a good reason. "As to class size... hmm... I don't know, to be honest. The basic rooms can hold about 50 people, if that helps. I doubt it'd be full, though. Medical ninjutsu's pretty advanced stuff, after all. Oh, here's the tavern." She pointed out an old, stylish building with a large golden dragon emblazoned on a board that read 'Ryuujin Tavern'. "You can drop your flower off here, as well as anything else you don't need."

The thought of sharing a room with Rin was almost petrifying, but when she mentioned separate rooms, he seemed to stop fidgeting so much. "W-well, I'm just used to being by myself." He tried not to sound like he thought Rin had cooties or anything. Replacing the nervous line of his mouth with a wider than usual smile, he gave Rin a nod and closed his eyes happily. "You'll have to show me that other onsen later Asukai-san!" Boy, was he easy to please!

"I.. um, I never was good with time," He glanced behind him out of habit, in case he was being followed. Not that anyone would want to follow him. "After today I will be on time." Kin reassured Rin as best he could, then stepped inside the Ryuujin Tavern cautiously.

Kin signed in and was given a key with a large wooden tag on it, "Room 4," the clerk told him and waved his hand to the hallway and a case of stairs. The man explained some rules and then waved to the boy goodbye. Kin thanked the clerk and then turned to Rin for a moment, "I'll be right back,"

The Iwagakure shinobi returned after a few minutes, free of any bags and the flower. "To the academy?" Kin glanced around trying to find any building that looked similar to the ones back home, hoping at least there was a universal academy set up... but because Kumogakure was located on large rock spires and shrouded in clouds.. it was hard to really tell where anything was. "How do you live with so many clouds around?" Kin asked, genuinely curious about it and trying to make conversation.

Kin was such a child - even moreso than herself. It made her more confident. "Our rooms are connected, but don't worry about it. I won't invade your privacy or anything like that" Unless I have to. There was a lock on the connecting doors, so in theory both of them would have to consent, but locked doors were rarely a problem for ninja... and Rin had an extra key as well, anyway. She'd also fixed his room up to let her know if someone entered or left. The kunoichi may have been young, but she knew what she was doing. These measure likely wouldn't be needed, though. After meeting the boy, she doubted any hostile intent from him.

She waited patiently for him to return, glad to see that he only took a few minutes. "To the Academy." Rin nodded in agreement as she resumed her fast pace towards the centre of education for ninja in the village. She was taken off guard by his question about the amount of clouds - more with the way he phrased it, though. How do you 'live' with so many clouds. "Well... it's no different from living without clouds? Only difference is that there's more rain and less sun." How could you answer something like that? It felt like she was stating the obvious. "I like the clouds, to be honest. I don't like hot days, and watching the clouds and listening to the rain is fun. Training in the rain can be tough, but if you can fight in bad conditions, you've got an advantage over everyone else."

Rin then thought to ask a few questions of her own. "How about Iwagakure? What's it like there? And what's their Academy like? Why come all the way here to learn medical ninjutsu, if you don't mind my asking?" Sure, she had Sayuri to ask about these things, but when they were together, they didn't talk about things like that. It might be better to ask someone her age, too. Wait... that doesn't sound right... I think his papers said he was older... I'll have to look that up.

Kin glanced around once more, starting through the fog of clouds that floated passed just above their heads. He felt like he could swat at the clouds and manipulate their shapes since they were so high up in the village. "Maybe because my home is so dry that having clouds so near is, well.." he paused and waved his hand through some thin fog. "Just seems weird." Kin continued to follow Rin and took this opportunity to map out some key spots in his mind while on the road to the academy.

He gave a half smile, but kept his face turned away from Rin so she wouldn't see. He was that uncomfortable with himself, so it seemed! "I like listening to the rain too, especially when it's storming." No matter how shy he may be, Kin still enjoyed conversations about things he had in common with other people. But he was no chatty Cathy.

Kin turned his head back to look at Rin when she began asking the questions. He nearly stumbled while walking, but managed to stay on his feet this time. "Uh~.. Iwagakure is nice.." he sounded like he didn't believe his own words. "The village is high up in mountains and spires of rocks.. it is rather well defended." Kin was obviously fidgeting with his hands inside the long sleeves of his shirt, but not so much out of shyness or nervousness.. he just like to twiddle sometimes.

"The academy is o-okay. A lot of focus on taijutsu. Well, at least I think so." Hopefully one day Kin will really hit puberty and gain more muscle weight.. because he really looks like a kid still. "I want to help people with medical jutsu. I.. I am told I have superior chakra control and stuff.. I don't want to sound.. um, like I'm boasting." his voice lowered a bit. "If there is a war, I want to save as many people as I can." Despite being shy, weak and practically a cleaning pipe with googly eyes glued onto it, Kin pretty much had steel nerves when it came to dead things.

Rin smiled and nodded as she thought of some of the storms they'd had. Some of them could be really big. "You'll like it here, then. You should have come during monsoon season - sometimes the lightning strikes the Raikage Building, and it looks really cool! The really big ones sometimes blow people away, too! Some people even strap wings and parachutes on in order to ride the monsoon!" She grinned at the last bit. Her father had done this last year in an attempt to discourage her from doing it herself. Even though it didn't work in its intended purpose, her parents still said she couldn't do it until she turned 20.

"Kumo's Academy focuses on taijutsu as well." She said, flexing her arms. They weren't exactly musclebound or anything, but they looked strong compared to other girls her age. "And don't worry - it's good to be confident about what you're good at." He certainly needed to be confident about something. "Hey, don't let anyone get you down about what you're doing, OK? You seem like the type who tougher people like to pick on... no offence. But fighting isn't everything - when those tough guys get hurt, they're gonna have to go to you for help. Make sure you learn lots - if our villages maintain their close relation, I might be relying on you!" She grinned at him. Rin thought it might be good to give him a confidence boost before class. It didn't look like he got a lot of encouragement, and he certainly wouldn't be getting it here. Besides, she'd used to think that fighting was everything herself. It took failing the Genin exam and foreign ninja to help drive that lesson home.

Kin's eyes lit up at the thought of a monsoon, he'd only ever been in wind storms and had dreamed of watching a monsoon from inside a cozy house. "I'll definitely come back for that season," He managed a weak grin after seeing how excited Rin was over the monsoon season. "Or maybe I just won't leave Kumo until I've seen one!" His family always joked that if Kin was outside in a wind storm that he would blow away, so they always put him with his younger sisters to keep them calm and entertained inside the family compound.

He watched with some awe when Rin flexed, he definitely didn't think she would be the type to have strong and lean muscles. Maybe he was in awe because she had bigger muscles than him. "Asukai-san, you are so strong," he complimented her on her strong physique. His nervous laughter signaled to Rin that she was spot on about the tougher people picking on him. "None taken," Of course he couldn't be offended, it was true! "Don't worry, I'll make sure to save as many people as I can." Kin gave a quirky lopsided smile at Rin then lowered his gaze to the ground yet again, a comfortable spot for his eyes to be fixated on.

"My clan specializes in botany and herbalism.. I'm the oldest, so it was drilled into my brain. When other kids were training, I-I was studying plants.." Kin chuckled innocently and his cheeks turned pink with a blush. So much talking made his cheeks burn! "My younger brother is tougher than me, but we make for a good team.." Kin paused and glanced to Rin before his lavender eyes trailed to the ground again. "Do you have siblings?" For the first time in a long time, Kin seemed to be interested in a conversation. It might just be because their names rhymed that it made him comfortable with her, or that she was a girl and not some strict male jounin.

The girl was actually kind of surprised to hear him express an interest in monsoons. She would have thought he'd be scared, since they can be dangerous. She knew first hand how bad they could be if you were caught out in the open. "How long are you staying, anyway? I think it said on your papers, but I don't recall..." It'd probably be a reasonable amount of time if he wanted to take something away from all this, which made her think of something else. "Won't your stay here affect your team's ability to do missions?"

Rin wasn't surprised that she was right about the bullying. Kids could be so cruel sometimes. Still, with this goal, Kin might be able to do something important. She assumed that learning from his family meant that he had little to gain from learning medicine in Iwagakure. After all, clan knowledge could be very comprehensive. "That sounds nice." Rin said in regards to making a good team with his brother. "No, I'm an only child. Although..." She giggled. "Well, Sayu-nee isn't really my sister, but we're really close. If I were to have an older sister, I'd like it to be her. Kono Sayuri - do you know her? She's from Iwagakure." She doubted it, since there were so many ninja in each village, but who knows?

Kin looked to the ground as he tried to remember exactly how long he was staying in Kumogakure, "I think I am only allowed to be here a month, before I need an evaluation to determine if I should stay longer." Kin's voice was distant while he tried to recall the information. He hoped Rin could tolerate him that long. "O-oh no.." Kin suddenly became embarrassed, his cheeks glowing a hot red. "My team mates.. they are jounin now.." He really didn't want to explain why he was still a genin at seventeen, but one look at him and no one really needed to guess. "What is your team like?" Kin deflected the question with one of his own.

He was on edge now (when isn't he on edge..) and tried to appear composed, but his body language read that he was still uncomfortable. "Ah, Kono Sayuri," He tried out the name on his tongue, but then he just shook his head, "I'm sorry, I-I don't know them." Why was he sorry? Everything had a bad outcome, so maybe apologizing would soften the blow.. but he wasn't used to nice people like Rin. Unless she was secretly really mean. "What is she like?" Kin tried to continue the conversation flow with genuine interest.

Rin nodded as the boy answered her question. It sounded like a reasonable amount of time, though she was unsure if she'd be assigned to him that long. Regardless of whether it affected him, it did affect her a bit... well, in addition to everything else. Though, at least she was able to do a mission, even if it wasn't with Hayaki and Semoki. She would have asked Kin about his team if she hadn't been asked first... he must be older than he looks, unless his team-mates were absolute geniuses. "It's... well... complicated. One of our team-mates was let go because of injuries suffered, and we've gone through so many Jounin it's getting ridiculous." She didn't sound happy about that at all. "Still, I really like Hayaki-kun, and our current Jounin is better than our last one." Semoki seemed like an interesting person, but she'd have to wait to see her teaching style first hand. There was no way she could be worse than Misamai, though.

She couldn't help but smile when he apologised for not knowing someone. I bet I could push him over and he'd apologise for not landing on his face. Rin thought mischievously, resisting the urge to try just that. "Sayu-nee? Well, she's funny, strong, pretty and smart. I love when she comes around to visit. If you see a red haired woman with spiky hair, that's probably her. Unless Iwa has lots of women like that, in which case forget what I said." Rin laughed. It was quite a distinct hairstyle, so she didn't think too many people would have it.

Kin's eyes widened when Rin had mentioned her team-mate being injured. He placed his covered hand under his chin as he concentrated, "How is your team-mate doing? The one with the injuries.. will they be replaced or recover to full health?" Anything to do with his specialty got him talking confidently, even though he didn't think so when someone mentions it to him after. "You have had more than one jounin?" Kin seemed surprised. He never heard of a team that goes through jounins, but then again in Kumogakure... Kin heard the Raikage wasn't the most, uh.. stable leader.

His mind couldn't help but drift from the complicated team Rin had to wondering who this Kono Sayuri is. He smiled warmly at Rin as he thought Sayuri must be a good person for Rin to talk so high of her. "She must be very special." Kin kept smiling, "I don't think there are many red haired women in Iwa," He glanced up and placed his sleeve covered hand against his cheek in thought. His lips puckered when he gathered together some strange images. "But then again I only see the elderly citizens.. I hope she doesn't look like them." Kin trailed off then let out a light laugh that was muffled by his tunic. "Although, now that I think of it, I have never seen a red haired elder.." Kin murmured and now stared at the ground to concentrate.

"I don't know if Ari-chan will recover, to be honest." Rin said with a hint of sadness in her voice. She may not have always gotten along with him, but she wouldn't wish a crippling injury like that on anyone. "And yeah, we have. Hotaru-sensei was first. I liked her, although she was removed from her position as our teacher. She was the one who nearly killed Ari-chan in a spar. Then there was Misamai." The distaste for her was clear if she'd given her an honourific. "She treated us more like slaves than students, forcing us to do her laundry, fetch her groceries, that sort of thing. Semoki-sensei up next. Third time's a charm, right?" She tried to laugh, but she expected something to happen to the new teacher, too.

Still, the thought of an old person with red hair was an amusing one. She giggled as she tried to picture it. She couldn't picture Sayuri as an old woman, but she did transpose her hair onto a passing pensioner. It was surprisingly funny. "No, old people don't have red hair because it just... doesn't work." Rin tried to keep a straight face as she said this. "It'd be like if you or me had white hair. Oh, there's the Academy over there." As they turned a corner, there it was, all the way at the end of the road. It was still a fair distance, but they were now in sight of it. "Hopefully it compares favourably to your own." The girl said formally with a smile.

Kin chewed on the inside of his cheek when he could hear the sadness in Rin's voice, but he snapped out of his pity-daze and offered a kind smile to the Kunoichi. "If you give up on your teammate, then he may give up too.." Kin patted Rin's shoulder lightly, but then quickly removed his hand and it disappeared under the oversized sleeves he has. "So keep your chin up. Nothing is worse than someone giving up on you." Kin smiled meekly then turned his lavender eyes towards the school as they rounded the corner. He was definitely nervous about meeting new people in a completely different village, but he knew he had to overcome this fear of.. everything. "Hey, maybe you will get a really neat sensei now." He couldn't help but give a lighthearted laugh and covered his mouth with his sleeve.

Kin laughed once more, his sleeve still covering his mouth to muffle it. "There was this one old woman, she would use a genjutsu to look younger.. I think she eats boys hearts though, she seems violent." Kin reminisced. "You are lucky she isn't your sensei, I'm sure she has an acquired taste for girl hearts too." It was clear that Kin was becoming more comfortable around Rin, since his stuttering stopped. He seemed to be more interested in the actual village than the academy, finally being able to walk around and not be recognized as the weakling of his clan. Still though, he wanted to make a good impression and hopefully make some new friends while on the exchange program to Kumo. "What do you specialize in?" His voice was laced with curiosity and his eyes wandered from the academy down the road back to Rin by his side. "I bet you can summon hedgehogs, or something cool right?" The boy questioned Rin while he examined her spiky hair.

Rin looked at Kin when he touched her on the shoulder reassuringly, and smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I won't give up on him." It made sense - how could you have hope if no-one else did? She liked to think that she'd be able to do so, but the fact of the matter was it was hard to remain positive in a negative environment. Next time I see him, I'm going to bring him something nice. Something to encourage him to get well soon.

The girl laughed when he mentioned a cranky old woman in his own village. It seemed like there really was a lot of overlap between them. Kin was being a lot more social now that he'd gotten to know his escort a little bit more. She could definitely say that she thought she'd have a positive first mission experience as his escort. He certainly had no shortage of questions... and was definitely capable of surprises.

"What? Hedgehogs?!" Rin's head fell for a moment. "What is it with everyone comparing me to a hedgehog?" She said really quietly under her breath before looking up. "No, I can't summon hedgehogs. I don't have any special bloodline or anything that makes me special." The girl sounded a little sad for a moment, before lightening up. "Still, I'm a really good ninja. I'm stronger than most girls my age, and a lot of boys, too! I train lots and always do my best." This was true. She'd picked up her game ever since narrowly losing to a member of the Hyuuga clan and learning from Akira and Sayuri. When you are fighting from a disadvantage, you can't slip up for even a second.

Kin smiled at Rin and gave a reassuring nod. He suddenly felt a lot better about being in the new country. Even though he had a rough start to the day, it was turning out better than he thought it would. "I think you are a good person." Kin complimented Rin in a friendly way. "Your friend will be very glad you remember him!" Maybe he was being a little bit enthusiastic, but he couldn't help but praise the strength of the friendship she has. Kin laughed into his hand and then made gestures with his hands that mimicked Rin's hair. "Silly, your hair is wild! Wouldn't it be cool if you had a bloodline trait that made your hair prickly?" He had hope written all over him, the thought was just so cool to him. "And then you can grow your hair at super speed and use it as arm--" Kin was cut off, because suddenly Kin and Rin were scooped up in a net trap. "Detention for both of you. Take them to my office!" Yelled a ferociously loud voice that really did not need to go an octave higher. A handful of jounins lugged both of them up to the Raikage office in a hurry.

The doors slammed open and the two of them were spilled out of the nets and in front of the Raikage's desk. "Hah~ watch it! Those doors are handcrafted! Idiots!" The Raikage said in a shrill voice. The jounins mumbled amongst themselves and began to check for damage.

"Seriously, this job will give me premature wrinkles." Watanabe Akari tossed her hair over her shoulder and stared down at Rin and Kin. "Detention.. what do you want your punishment to be?" Akari crossed her arms now and had one foot tap the floor impatiently. "Onsen duty? Massage?" Kin went bright red in the face and threw his hands up in embarrassment. "What kind of academy is this?!" Akari obviously did not know Kin was male.

The young kunoichi couldn't help but give an embarrassed smile as Kin explained his reasoning behind hedgehog powers. Does my hair really make me look that much like a hedgehog? She did think that it sounded like it could be useful, though. Maybe not as awe-inspiring and solid as the Kaguya clan's ability with bones, but it wouldn't be as... disturbing. It looked painful, too.

Before the boy could even finish his line of thought, however, Rin felt a prickle of danger. Unfortunately, before she could react, the trap had already been sprung. She and Kin were bound together in a net trap, helpless to defend themselves against whoever their captor was. Oh no... Konoha? Rogues? Rin thought, but it turned out that the answer was worse than she thought. It was the Raikage. Several thoughts went through her mind, ranging from Oh no, what's she going to make us do this time? to Hey, I'm not a student anymore! I'm on a mission - to take HIM to school! to even Don't you have better things to do than round up kids skipping class, like, I don't know, RUNNING THE VILLAGE?! She tried to say something, but they were suddenly being hauled away, and she was forced face first into Kin's back, which turned her eloquent protests into "Mmmrphuufuumph!" It was somehow still enough to convey her frustration.

In no time at all, they were tossed unceremoniously into the Raikage's office. Rin watched the Jounin leave before righting herself, again wondering just how much free time everyone seemed to have. She brushed herself off and stood up to face the most powerful, most impulsive ninja in Kumogakure. It was a long shot, but she was going to have to try and inform her of the situation. Once she decided on something, it was almost impossible to change her mind. She might even just declare that it was the case so that she wasn't wrong... or at least that's how it seemed to Rin at times. "Excuse me, Raikage-sama," she started with a bow, hoping that by showing respect she'd be easier to persuade, "but I was just escorting Iwasaki-san to the Academy, and we are already behind schedule." Much more behind now that you took us in the opposite direction... As much as she wanted to talk back, it probably wasn't a good idea, especially since she had the 'honour' of being the Raikage's personal handmaiden. It just created more trouble that it was worth.