Another Fated Encounter (Tappaja)

Shizen entered the dead center of the village, the tree of serenity. He was in his usual garb with his gold colored sword and its solid gold sheath strapped horizontally on his lower back. He looked up at the splendor that was the tree of serenity, he really enjoyed this village thus far from what he's seen, it really helped him keep his mind off the constant threat to his life that he lived in. He approached the tree and placed his right hand on the bark, it felt as though the tree was breathing, supplying life to everything in this forest, it felt good. He then leaned against it and sat down, removing his sheath and sword from his back and laying it across his lap just relaxing again in this village, letting it drown out the stress he was going through.

A man garbed in a red jacket and simple travel clothes walked towards the central tree as though he were unaware of what this place was, in truth he knew this was a sacred place in Morigakure and his demeanor was from him really not caring. A kid with a golden blade across his back caught his attention, he couldnt care less about the blade's value but this was the first apparent swordsman he had encountered since he got here so he walked over to him and stared at the tree as he spoke. "Nice blade you got there, any good at using it?"

Shizen was surprised by a large man who had approached him and asked if he could use his sword. He smiled up at him and slowly moved his hand across the sheath and said "I've been told I'm decent with it, but I prefer to not use it." He then began to wonder who the man was, he was dressed in simple travelling clothes with a sword of his own, so he assumed he was just a swordsman interested in the blade he had and nothing more, so he wasn't as on edge as he usually was when confronted by a stranger.

Tapp adjusted himself and Shizen could, for a second, see the full view of Soul Edge on his back. The giant blood stained blade with an ever lurking eye going from one side to the other. After this he continued on and faced the green haired midget. "Thats good, a true swordsman should never having to use his weapon. Rather we look to make it so we never have to." Though only in his mid-twenties he seemed wise for a moment, he hadnt meant to sound like a geezer but it came out that way.

Shizens eyes met the blade on the mysterious mans back and his soul shivered making him pulse a little, but after he gripped the sheath of his own blade he felt safety in it and calmed down, he then continued speaking to him and said, giving him his false name, "You're very insightful, It's a pleasure to meet you i'm Shizen Giso." He reached up his hand, keeping the other on his sheath, and gestured for him to shake his hand. He got a good vibe from this man and he felt like he wanted to learn more about him.

It seemed that like every other time someone saw the giant red sword this kid was frightened due to how he held his own blade even as he held out his hand in greeting. Tapp chuckled and shook Shizen's hand while giving his own name. "Tappaja Saru, the pleasure is mine." His name was famous through this and several other countries so Shizen was sure to have heard it somewhere, whether he knew why he was famous was another thing though since many people wouldnt talk much of it. After the shake was over he reached to his chest and pulled on a string which made the knot loosen and the sword on his back fell straight down to pierce the earth below a good six or seven inches. It would still be taller than the green haired one but now that it wasnt weighing him down Tapp popped his back and continued the conversation. "So then, you from around here?"

Shizen felt like the name he was given by the man was familiar, he thought that during his training with his aunt she mentioned him at some point but wasn't quite sure so he decided to disregard the feeling. He jumped a little as he dropped his blade to the ground and stood up himself, still being much shorter than the man, and leaned against the tree while holding his sword and sheath in his right hand and responded to him "No, I was born and raised in Harikengakure." He again told another lie to cover up his true history, still not being sure whether or not he could trust this individual or not.

Tapp nodded his head at the kid's answer, due to his green hair resembling the Edricks of the islands to the east though he didnt share their name so the story seemed legit enough and he had no reason to doubt it. He himself leaned against his blade stuck in the ground, his massive body dwarfing everyone around as they quickly passed by to avoid the evil gaze of his blade's eye. "Hurricane eh? How are things out there? I havent stopped by in a couple years so maybe you can catch me up."

Shizen got a little nervous when he was asked to sum up what had been happening in the Hurricane Village, he had no idea, he had just recently joined so didn't know much about the current events. He tried to concoct a lie but nothing came to mind. He usually hated revealing true facts about himself but at this point it seemed pointless to try and lie, he said to the man "I wasn't entirely truthful, I actually was born in Huoshangakure..." He felt a nervous feeling well in him, like maybe this man was a spy for his family that was waiting to get proof it was him out of himself. He lightly grasped the hilt of his sword in case he was right and the man tried something and watched patiently for a response.

Tapp wondered what prompted Shizen to not tell the truth about where he was born, didnt make much difference to the giant since he might have been born in the land of snakes but he never associated himself with it or an other village for that matter. HE shrugged as the kid seemed to get nervous, "Hariken, Huoshan, they sound so similar its easy to mix them up. An honest mistake." While it was apparent that he had intended to say hurricane and not volcano Tappaja couldnt care less, he was just wandering around, not collecting a bounty.

Shizen was a bit surprised by the mans seemingly non-existant care of him lying to him. There was something about that fact that made Shizen trust him, the fact that he didn't care had to be a sign of something. He took a deep breath and decided to actually tell them man who he actually was. He coughed and said "Well you seem like a trustworthy individual so I'm gonna tell you something most people don't know, I'm actually an Uchiha, I just prefer not to vocalize it for certain reasons..." He trailed off and waited patiently, gripping the sheath of his sword out of stress, for the giant man to respond. He could tell that he probably wouldn't care like every other time he told him something about himself.

Interesting, this was the thought that passed through his mind as the kid revealed some truth about himself. However, he had already lied twice so although this version would so far be the most interesting he would wait to full accept it as fact. "Ah so an Uchiha, Ive heard something about that clan. Apparently you guys can turn you eyes red and are pretty good at using katon. Other than that Im not sure, spent most of my time in the southern countries after all and they only ever talk about taking over their neighbors."

Shizen was right, he obviously didn't care much for him being an uchiha. He was a bit ashamed when he mentioned the Sharingan as he couldn't even access his yet so he had no real way to prove that he was an Uchiha. He said to the giant "Well that's right, most high ranking uchiha can access their Sharingan, which is the name of the red eye, but I'm not that strong and can't access mine yet, but I am proficient in fire jutsu." He continued leaning against the tree but pulled out his golden blade and rested it over his shoulder, it gleamed brightly in the sun as he waited for the giant to respond.

Tapp nodded his head as he returned his gaze to the giant tree before them, almost mesmerized by it and continued speaking while not breaking his gentle glare at the falling leaf he caught sight of. "Sharingan, well thats something nice to put down in the old noggin though I dont know when or if that will be useful to me. As far as fire techniques go though thats very good. I myself have mastered a handful of them but my nature is rather weak when compared to the strength of my raiton affinity."

Shizen was a bit excited when he heard that this man was a master of Raiton chakra, that was his second elemental affinity and maybe he could give him some pointers on how to access it because as of now Katon was all he could access. He said to him "So you're a master of raiton? I have that release too, any pointers you'd be willing to pass down to a lowly genin because I don't know how to access mine at all." he began bouncing the sword on his shoulder while waiting for a response.

Tapp chuckled and shrugged and he stood up straight from his leaning position on his behemoth blade, as he spoke he rolled his shoulder slightly as if preparing for something. "Well raiton is rather simple once you get a handle for how it works, after all you have electricity in your nervous system all the time anyway so it comes natural. When you focus on your body try to picture the electrical pulses coursing beneath your veins and then..." He punched off to the side and a few sparks flew off his fist to pop and sizzle there for a few seconds rather loudly. "...release it."

Shizen listened to the example and watched in awe as sparks flew off his hand. What he told him sounded easy enough to do so he stabbed his sword into the ground and closed his eyes and felt the Raiton chakra as if it were pulses of electricty emitting from inside him. He kept building it up inside him and then exhaled and punched to his right and a few one foot long lightning bolts extended from his fists before instantly dissipating, he was even surprised in himself, he didnt think he'd get it down this fast.

Tapp nodded, seems the kid was indeed naturally talented at this element as predicted but he was always on the move so taking on students wasn't really his thing especially when factoring in the people he traveled with. "Very good, make no mistake though as this is not an attack in itself but just a training exercise to master control over the element. Keep up your practice and soon you will be able to form the chakra and eventually use it in an offensive way."

Shizen continued doing the same strategy for a minute or two, having fun with the ability to launch small lightning bolts from his hand. This man could obviously teach him something, and by the looks of it he would be able to protect him from his family, he asked him while still launching lightning "So, I know this is odd to ask, but are you willing to train me? I feel like your prowess in lightning could help me out in the future." he kept punching and even through in some kicks launching tiny foot long bolts of lightning from both his hands and feet while waiting for a response.

He wasn't sure, the kid had some talent but he didn't know if he would be making a smart decision by having him tag along since many of the missions he embarked on were always near fatal even for him. He would let Shizen know this now and see how he responded now to the request. "I am often in situations that will put you in severe danger and there is a good chance you would die in a few months, I can however help you train your raiton to maximum potential which from the looks of it is rather high." He looked him over for a moment, his chin resting between his thumb and finger as it moved up and down while he did so. "The choice is yours though, I will not force your hand but I also can not stay here very long."

Shizen understood what he meant by the constant danger every day, he lives it himself. He felt it was time to tell his new friend about his past. He stopped playing around with his Raiton and said to him "I'm used to the living in danger everyday, in fact one of the reasons I'd want to go is because I feel like you'd be able to protect me from my family..." He waited quietly staring at the ground while holding onto the sheath of his sword that's sticking out of the ground and waited for the large mans response.

He rubbed his chin as he considered this new information, so his family was after him for one reason or another and although most people would be concerned that he may be some kind of criminal he didn't really care. "Family issues eh? Well between me and my companions there is no real threat we cant compete against so its a fair bet. Is there anything you were wanting from this village before you leave? I need to make a quick trip and will return so go around and find something to do until I return or a man with a furry ass asks you to go with him."

Shizen's smile grew when the man accepted the offer to protect him, he felt really safe near this man for some reason like even though he had never seen him felt, the mans appearance alone just radiated power. He heard half what the man said about him collecting what he needed and to wait for him to come back from a small trip but he was too excited by the idea of protection to listen to the full thing, he thought he heard something about an ass. He nodded to the man and said "I don't have much to offer at the moment, but I will try my hardest to contribute to the team." He pulled his sword from the ground and threw it into the air before catching it and resheathing it while waiting for Tappaja to respond.

Tapp nodded as he turned and drew his soul edge from the earth and retied the rope holding it on his back. "Im sure that in time your strength will grow and you will become a valuable member of our team so long as you choose to stay, I need to be off so unless the furry ass hat decides to bring you early meet me back at this spot in three days." Adjusting his sword with one hand the other held u three fingers to make sure the kid heard him, for some reason he felt he wasnt hearing everything he said.

Shizen laughed as Tappaja mentioned something about a furry hat that belonged on someones ass, he didn't know what he meant by it but it was still funny. He then payed closer attention as he mentioned that he had to leave and that he would be back for him in 3 days to take him out on the road with him. 3 more days, that's all he had to survive by himself before he would finally have a master that could protect him until he was ready to defend himself against his family. He nodded and said "Alright, 3 days, I think I can survive that long." Normally someone would be joking when saying something like this but Shizen kept a stern look of seriousness on his face the entire time.