Katō's wanderings!

Wandering the streets, alone again, Katō decided to take in the sites of the place he had come to know as home. Master-less and team-less for the moment, wandering and training was about all he could do. Sighing, he booted a can aimlessly down the street, head down and hood up. The metallic clunk of his foot connecting to the can and the clatter of it hitting the ground a few feet away took up a hypnotic rhythm, Katō becoming lost in it for a while. The sun hung low in the sky, the cooling amber blanket that had descended upon the town made it look surreal, almost ghost like. People had already gone home, so the streets were empty aside from a few late nighters, those still in the pubs and the Shinobi that guarded Kohona. It was the same every sunday evening, as the week wound down towards it's end, and it would all begin again tomorrow morning when the rooster crowed and the early morning merchants began to blaze about their wares. He liked the familiarity of it, the simplicity of the everyday life that he had come to know, but never experiences, and so he surrounded himself with it as much as possible - but if you asked him, he'd just tell you he was bored and had nothing to do.

Booting the can again, the clunk this time was followed by a clatter, and Katō found himself in front of the large gates of Kohona, the gateway to the outside world. Looking up, craning his neck backwards he took in the greatness of it, the majesty with which this gate protected so many lives. It would become a symbol to him, but he didn't know it yet, for all he felt for it was just awe at how large it was. Placing a hand on it, he hung his head once more and thought of home. For now, all it represented was a cage in which he was doomed to live in remorse, swimming in the heavy loss and sadness that encumbered him. [i]I'm not making any progress![/i] and with that thought he curled his flat hand into a fist and slammed it against the gate, as if in some attempt to break to down and free himself from the limits this place had placed upon him. Tears streaked down his face as he found his knuckes aching and nothing but a faint fist-print on the lage wooden symbol, and defeated, he turned around and started to kick his can down the street once more...

Ken, who had been on top of the roof of a near-by house, saw as the boy hit the large gate door. "What is he trying to do... break his hand?" Ken said to himself as he chuckled a little. Ken then saw a few tears flow from the boy. "Damn... I guess he really did break his hand..." Ken said as he jumped down from the roof. Walking over to the boy, Ken wiped his pants and asked,"What you doing out this late?" As he asked he saw that the boy was a Genin. Ken awaited his answer as he leaned against the thing the boy had just hit, the gate door. "And what's your name?" Ken added as he crossed his arms and his legs. Ken had a slight smile on his face as he looked at the young man. There was something about this guy that Ken liked.

Katō booted his can once more, more forcefully this time and sent it flying down the street, the faint echo of its clatter was dusty, and by the time it reached the boy his foot was back on the ground. He didn't turn to face the man, hiding his hand that wiped the tears from his eyes he let out a small sigh. Still not turning around, Katō said in a rather cheeky, but over-emphasised tone of boredom - "What's it to you?" - before shoving his hands in his pockets and continuing to walk away solemly, rubbing his knuckles.

Seeing the boys reaction, Ken smirked. Pushing off the gate Ken walked toward, and past the unnamed man. "Well I guess you got me there. It's nothing to me... unless your Genin." Ken said as he slowed, and got on even pace as the boy. "And if you are a Genin then you might want to show me a little more respect. I am the best Jounin in the leaf... maybe even the world." Ken added as he smiled and laughed a little. The street lights, and the moon provided much light, but still there was shadows on the road. Ken stood in one a little ways in front of the other. "I'd like to train you." Ken said as his tone changed. "With the right guidance, you'll become a fine shinobi. A shinobi that I would call my opponent." This was Ken's reason for doing this. He wanted to train the young Genin and have an opponent that he thought was worthy... maybe not an opponent, maybe more of an rival, or sparring partner. Either way Ken knew this young man would become a good shinobi, but with his training, the young ninja could become an excellent shinobi. Also Ken had nothing else fun, and interesting to do anyways.

Katō turned his head to look at the man, and glanced him over, weighing the truth of his words. His eyebrows furled into a thoughtful stare, one of a child anyhow, and he pursed his lips together. He didn't like people telling him to show respect, because usually he had nothing to respect them for, although, this guy did look like a shinobi, but at his young age a Jounin? Was he winding Katō up for a joke? After all, he hadn't seen him at the academy, nor had he heard of him...in fact, what was his name? After a moment of thought, Katō stopped and locked gazes with this strange shinobi.

"I'll trade you..." Kato said with a hint of false seriousness in his voice. "You want my name, tell me your's." Katō still held his pensive look, but this time there was a hint of desperation in it.

He said he'd train me! And that I'd become a good ninja, a fine shinobi he said! And that he was the best in Kohona, maybe the world!...Then again, how many others have said that? Think Katō, think...I know, I'll wait til this guy tells me his name, then I'll try to trick him into doing something cool, something only a Jounin would be able to do! Katō held his ground, and waited for the man's reply. No way was he going to be tricked again.

"Trade me? What is this... Anyways I'm Ken Hayato. I'm sure you've heard the name." Ken was always saying this when he introduced himself. The fact of the matter was Ken wasn't that popular. He was an assassin, and thus his name didn't really get known. The only people that knew his name was though who read the Bingo Book, and the more elite of ninja. Also many Konoha ninja knew who he was, but this didn't apply to the new ninja, such as Genin, and freshly promoted Chuunin. "Well what's your name?" Ken asked as he finished pronouncing his own name. Ken was really interested in this kid. Why he thought of him as a kid was kinda strange seeing how he was only a few years younger. It was probably the mind set. Being a ninja for as long as Ken had, you develop a older persona.

"Ken Hayato!" Katō said with a great eagerness in his voice, the excitement hard to overlook. He sucked in his stomach and raised his chest, as if trying to impress Ken, before slouching once more and wiping the look of sheer joy from his face. "Never heard of you..." He said now, sounding just as bored as before. "But I suppose, a deal's a deal. Katō Danzō." Cracking his neck loudly, Katō looked back away from Ken, down the road he was facing that led straight into the heart of Konoha. He hesitated a minute, before looking back over at Ken. "But, I suppose, that could just mean you're too elite for a Genin like me to have heard of ya." Katō stretched whilst saying this, before yawning loudly and shoving his hands back in his pockets.

That oughta rile him up a bit[/i Katō thought to himself. [i]If he doesn't give any hints of being who he says he is, then I'm outta here.

"Never heard of me? Good... it looks like I'm doing my job." Ken thought to himself as the boy talked. "Your Kato eh? Okay then Kato... your my new student." Ken said as he threw a kunai down onto the ground right in front of Kato. There was a note attached. It read,"Meet me at the training grounds when your ready to start your first training session... or to see some real ninja skill." After the kunai was thrown Ken disappeared, returning to his home.

Katō, now slightly bemused that he had a teacher, stood dumbfounded for a while. It was as if his prayers had been answered, but it was all too coincidental for his liking. Picking up the Kunai, he tore the tag off and began to spin the knife around in his hand whilst he read it. Scanning it over, then crumpling it up and tossing it in a nearby bin, he began to wander further down the street he was walking, the city's buzz picking up as he drew nearer its centre. He fell back into his trance, being a part of the city's hubbub yet still being totally isolated from it. He didn't look back at the gate however, the cage was still here, but the door had been opened. All Katō had to do now was have the guts to step out of it.

So, Ken Hayato is the greatest of the Konoha Jounin? Katō thought to himself. Not for long! Grinning menacingly under his hood, Katō slipped into the shadows to wait for darkness, when it came, he'd seize his destiny.