[B]Reiji Hagashi[/B] -- After The Funeral With the somber mood still tangible, the funeral came to a close. A gush of wind ruffled Reiji's hair as he dropped back down to the ground quietly. The Genin sighed and thrust his hands into his pockets, he needed to get out of this gloomy mood! He knew one thing that would lighten his mood, or at least distract him from the deaths of that day. Today his father came back from a mission, he had been away for a week. Of course Reiji loved his mother but he had a really strong bond with his father. The Genin hoped that the man would still have energy to train with him, he wanted to be sharp and ready to go the following day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later That Day At the Higashi Training Grounds, two figures clashed, the sound of kunai clanging rang out into the silence of the forest around them. The two figures broke apart. Several beads of sweat slid down Reiji's face and mixed with the cut on his check to create a red streak down his face. He was too focused on dodging his father's ferocious offensive barrage to acknowledge the pain. Daisuke Higashi managed to catch him once in his abdomen and once in the liver. Reiji felt the breath leave his body with a "umph" and he jumped back. The Genin took a few seconds to recover, and to analyze the situation. They were practicing taijutsu that afternoon, and it was obvious that his father had the advantage. Reiji took the few seconds he had to devise a plan, and when his father come for him, he smirked. Reiji dropped low and swept his fathers legs out from under him and in one fluid motion, brought his other foot up for a round house kick. The teenager's foot smashed into the larger man's chest. Daisuke flew through the air at an impressive arc. He managed to flip and land on his feet. The leader of the Higashi clan breathed heavily. "You have grown stronger my son, one day you will be strong enough to lead this clan with honor. That is enough training for today, and keep this in mind. You have made me proud." Reiji grinned and gave him a thumbs up, "I will never give up and become stronger each day! That is my ninja way." -------------------- The Next Day- Morning Reiji got up earlier than he usually did, today was a special day. His mother was already waiting for him with a plate stacked with food. For those who didn't know him, Reiji had quite an appetite. Although maybe it was because of his heightened sense of smell, he could smell his mother's cooking from a mile away. "Have a great day sweetie" Ayame called out to her son as he flew out the door. Reiji wanted to get to the training grounds early before his sensei and teammate got there, showing up early always left a good impression. Sadly, when he got there, he noticed that his teammate was already there. Well, Reiji assumed that he was his teammate, his sensei had instructed them to meet her there. Reiji finally recognized the boy as Hiroto Narumi. This was the perfect opportunity to see what his teammate could do. All he knew was that Hiroto specialized in taijutsu, which was quite popular in Iwagakure's new Genin. Reiji made sure his presence wasn't known and observed Hiroto. Once he felt like had enough information, he made himself known. The Genin made sure his footsteps could be heard as he approached. Reiji stopped in front of Hiroto, and did not say a single word. All he did was lift his chin in greeting. Reiji had heard that Hiroto could be quite obnoxious, but prayed that they were only rumors. Also, where was their sensei? Kyoko Akiyama was the Genjutsu Expert of Iwa. Her legacy was a brutal but admirable one. He heard that she ripped out an Uchiha's eye after a battle and had it implanted to her's. Reiji meant this in the manliest way possible, but her abilities scared the panties off of him. He never liked the Uchihas or genjutsu, they gave him the shivers. Too bad though, he was going to have to get used to it.