Graduation.... Hookey? [Open]

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A boy, twelve by the looks of it, carefully made his way along a wooden fence separating two homes. He was trying to be quiet but his foot falls on the wood were giving him away. His shaky chakra control forcing him to slow down to keep balance.

Tap! Tap!

He paused, debating on whether he should instead move to another target since even a one-eyed deaf old man could probably hear him coming. Ironically, that was the exact owner of the house he had planned on pranking. Choices... choices...

"Neo? Shouldn't you be at the ceremony?"

The voice, like a series of creaky floor boards, broke into Neo's thoughts. The boy nearly lost his precarious balance on the fence. Only by windmilling his arms like some ridiculous pinwheel was he able to keep his footing. "Oh um... is that today?" Not letting the old man reply Neo hopped onto the main street, the opposite side the old coot was on.

Neo had no intention of going to some stuffy old ceremony. Who wanted to deal with all that boring tradition? He had his head band anyway, he could just get his squad or sensei rooster later. Besides, pranking was much more... interesting. Infinitely better then listening to some stupid speech on the importance of potatoes or whatever. Standing in the middle of the street, Neo wasn't quite sure what his next move should be. There had to be something more interesting going on then an empty street. Besides he didn't need that old man to come looking for him!

With a cheerful smirk on his face, the boy started walking, angling his steps toward an ally way short-cut he knew about. All the while he was careful to keep his eyes pealed for any potential victu-errm, people.

Today was the day of the Academy ninja graduation. Those who were still learning the basics of chakra, and being a ninja were promoted upon passing one final test. That test of which had already took place. Those who had passed the test were being given their headbands, and given information regarding their new status as Genin. Many Jounin, teachers, and students were scattered across the Academy yard, all celebrating the graduation. Although a few seemed to be missing. The Mizukage, as well as a student that was marked as passed, but his presence at that ceremony was missing.

Walking down the damp road of Kirigakures main housing district was a figure no taller then 5'5". Adorned in a recognizable outfit, the figure walked slowly, with a slight sluggish mood. Many nearby residents and those passing by turned a quick eye the moment the figure came within their view, and either waved, or gave a polite greeting, which the figure would return. They recognized this figure as none other than Revy Izumi, the current, and somewhat new Mizukage. She was adorned in her usual outfit, one that had become widely recognized during her stay in the village.

Spoiler:

Across her chest was a white bandage that held her sword tight on her back. The blade of the sword was wrapped in this same white bandaging in a similar style to the bandaging that wrapped most of her visible upper body. Above that bandaging she wore a small short-sleeved coat that was rather short in length, leaving her lower back, and the majority of her middle torso exposed, although still wrapped in white. The coat was buttoned in the front, but because of it's smaller size, and Revy''s chest, it hung loosely just as it reached the bottom of her chest, covering only a portion of her upper stomach. The coat had a similar fashion and color to the battle-torn, open collared skirt she wore around her waist, as well as the glove she wore on her left hand.

Her hair was fashioned in it's usual style, many loose strands out around the sides of her head, loose bangs, and a ponytail in the back. As Revy made her way down the street in a slow manor, she came upon a young boy who looked no older then 12 or 13, making his way into an ally way of the housing district. For the safety of the kid, and out of her own interest, she too had turned into the same ally, short behind him. Revy's movements were silent like that of an incredibly skilled ninja, though occasionally she would drop her 'stealth' and make a noise such as taking a step a little louder than usual, just to see if he would eventually notice her.

Intent on what he was doing, the boy didn't notice his tag along. He casually strolled down the alleyway, hands behind his head, looking at the cloudy sky. The smile plastered on the boys face reached into his pale blue eyes, sparkling with humor. Now that he was out and about, he could feel his grumpiness evaporating.

Now what to do? What to do?

Just as he reached the wooden fence that barred the end of the alleyway, a single too-loud foot fall caught his attention. Freezing, Neo narrowed his eyes, his cheerful humor turning toward smugness. Figuring his tail was just his brother trying to prank him. Spinning around, Neo exclaimed, "Not this.....time?" And he found himself face-to-face with someone he wasn't exactly expecting.

"OH! Er..." Behind him was a woman that he vaguely recognized. Maybe around the clan's prized garden? No... that's not right, he remembered it being an image.... but why? Hiding his confusion and mistaken identity, Neo cheerfully joked "You aren't wanted or anything are ya?"

Revy had followed the boy for quite some time, unnoticed. It wasn't until they came to the end of the ally, which was marked with a wooden fence that stretched across the opening. This is where the young boy had come to a stop, and by the looks of it, had finally noticed Revy who was only a few feet behind him.

"Not this.....time?" He sounded quite surprised, as if he wasn't expecting Revy, out of all people, to be behind him. This followed up with an "OH! Er..."

"You aren't wanted or anything are ya?"

Not even bothering with his question, Revy had simply crossed her arms. Looking down at him slightly, she remained quiet for a moment. It had seemed as if she didn't quite recognize who she was, but that was no surprise seeing as she didn't quite enjoy wearing the Mizukage hat, and especially not the robe. The robes simply weren't her style, though the hat she didn't mind too much.

Just as she was about to speak, the sudden presence of a ninja who had used the Shunshin technique was felt. And only moments later, the immediate appearance of a ninja, around the rank of Jounin had made it's presence right beside Revy. He was much taller than Revy, a little over 6 inches. With the Mizukage hat in hand, he immediately took a slight bow before speaking, and holding the hat out to her.

"Lady Mizukage, your presence is still requested at the ceremony. Many are expecting you to arrive, so please, make the young ones happy. They are very eager to meet their kage"

As he had finished speaking, Revy nodded her head slightly, only looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She took the hat from his hands, and with a single hand, flipped it in that hand, and placed it atop her head with her hand on it's tip. The long cloth that hung around the sides, and the back of the hat fell in place, covering her hair, and her ponytail from all angles, save for the few strands that hung around her face, as well as the length of her hair which was visible extending down from beneath the back of the hat.

The hat was at a slight angle, keeping just the lower portion of her face visible to those who meet her face to face. Crossing her arms once more just beneath her chest, she brought her attention back to the young one standing before her. Surely, now he would recognize who she was.

"Don't you have a ceremony to attend...?"

She spoke in her rather soft, young womanly voice.

Geeze, I'm certainly popular today! The thought initially flickered across Neo's mind as the jounin appeared in the alley. Then the boy noticed the hat the shinobi was holding and it all finally sunk in. Neo's seen the image of the woman in a class at the academy, while the teacher was droning on about the Mizukage. Neo didn't remember it at first because he had more important things in mind that day. It was the day he was planning on rigging up a simple but great prank on his younger brother. After all was said and done, the prank turned out great and it was one of his few successes, if he could say so himself.

"Mizukage? You're the head honcho? Boss-Tsunami? The big Banan- uhm..." From the way the woman put the hat of the office on, it was pretty obvious that she had done it a million times before. Clearly she was used to that hat, and from the way the shinobi was acting... well clearly he expected her to take the thing. The woman who seemingly kept her full attention on him all the while finally spoke.

"Don't you have a ceremony to attend...?"

Neo blinked, he expected some shinobi to eventually come looking but the Mizukage herself? He wasn't sure he could talk his way out of this one, but ehh... you never know unless you try!

"Oh! That's today? I had no idea!" Neo tried to look sincere. He looked up into the sky and spotted a bird soaring across the sky. Smirking he returned his attention back to the Kage. "I guess time flies when you're being tailed!" Realizing he had his hands up the whole time, Neo dropped his left hand to his side but did a two fingered salute with his right. ((Avatar Image))

"Welp, nice seein' ya. Hate to keep you waiting. You have places to see, people to talk at. You know." Neo dropped his salute and shrugged when he came to 'you know'.

With her arms crossed, eyes in the young boys direction, "Oh! That's today? I had no idea!" had made her raise an eyebrow. Surely he was a jokester.

"I guess time flies when you're being tailed!"

Revy recognized the excuses. He wasn't too good at talking his way out of things it seemed, and he was fooling nobody. Revy then took a few steps forward, and curved around the boy, now back to back with him at an angle. Although a Jounin had recently stopped by asking her to rush, Revy was in no rush to get anywhere. The wind had picked up slightly, carrying a cooling, moist breeze over the village. The leaves of nearby tree's and plants begun to rustle, and a small group of birds passed far above.

"Trust me, i have no interest in going either. The reason I do attend this stuff is because others rely on me. Imagine if someones life was in your hands, would you joke around and let them die? Or would you rush there immediately to aid them?"

With that, Revy found herself looking into the sky. She debated leaving the Genin behind, and leaving the choice up to him, but she decided to stick around just to see what he had to say next. If he continued with his jokes, surely she would simply leave him. A ninja is meant to choose their own path, and if the kid wished to grow up a clown, then so be it. Whether her words got to him or not, she didn't care. It was out of pure curiosity that she hung around for a little longer.

Confused Neo watched the Mizukage walk around him as she stopped behind him. The young Genin-to-be stiffened his back, watching her over his shoulder. He wasn't sure what she was up too. Did he push her too far? Maybe this was her way of coming up with some sort of punishment? It wasn't until the woman spoke did he figure out what it was. Or... he hoped he was right...

Neo laughed and replied, keeping his back to the Mizukage, but still looking up at her over his shoulder. "I've never been the type for tests!" He sighed, resigned. Despite all his joking he figured he understood what she was getting at. Neo himself did have vague memories from the land he was born in. flashes of his parents helping those wounded in an attack on a Lotus House back in the land he was born in. The Aravinda where after all, medics both by nature and trade, he just wished his parents wouldn’t lecture him every chance they got!

"...Alright, alright! You win." He added grumpily, his smirk finally coming off his face. "But I dunno what saving people has to do with some stuffy old ceremony. Being lectured and talked at..." He huffed, making sure the Mizukage knew he wasn't too happy, despite going along with it. "...still sounds boring to me!"

After his comment something else occurred to him, something his mother told him about medics. He turned and looked at the Mizukage’s back, smile having returned to his face. “Buuuuuut…. I’d have to say why not do both? After all… ‘A medic’s job is to heal, not just the body but the spirit as well!”

“Buuuuuut…. I’d have to say why not do both? After all… ‘A medic’s job is to heal, not just the body but the spirit as well!”

The reply put a smirk on Revy's face. A reply she didn't quite expect from someone of his nature. Making her way to the fence, she paused only long enough to say one last thing to the boy.

"Well then. If you plan on attending the ceremony, you should hurry there.....Don't let peoples trust in you got to waste.."

And with that, Revy had simply vanished, leaving nothing but a small gust of wind. She wasn't really a strict type of Kage, and allowed people to make choices for themselves. She believed in guiding the young, but not in a forceful manor. If her words truley made him think things over, he would show up at the ceremony. If not, well, we'll just have to see where his jokester attitude leads him in the future. Revy knew behind that attitude was a smart boy, it would just take some serious effort to crack him out of his shell.

Now leaping from building to building at blinding speeds, Revy made her way towards the graduation ceremony, leaving the choice of attendance up to the boy.

[Exit]

Was a short topic, but a decent one nonetheless. Seeing as Revy isn't exactly a punishing kind of person, the topic would probably lose it's flow eventually. Not to mention her quiet personality. It was a decent introduction for the two though.

The young Genin-To-Be watched as the Mizukage bounded off. She had seemed to like something he said, probably the quote. Too bad no one around seemed to share quite the same sense of humor as he had around here! Neo stretched his back by placing his hands on the back of his head.

"Guess Mrs. Kage has your wrapped up huh?" Grinning he turned around... to an empty alleyway. The Jounin that had brought the Hat of the Mizukage Office had already made his getaway. "Great... I'm talking to myself!" He added quieter, "Tch! And that one was good too!"

Neo proceeded to stretch out his shoulders, debating on whether or not he should actually go. Like it or not, a promise was a promise, he said he'd go. Plus he didn't want an entire squad of jounin on his case. That'd certainly be exciting, but...

"Meh! Might as well see what those goons over at the academy are doing!" Neo turned and started dashing for the academy grounds and the ceremony. He may be late but at least he'd put in an appearance!

[Exit]