A Day in the Life [Sen/Zieg]

At the western edge of Konohagakure, on the site of the Third Training Ground, it was a day as tranquil as any other. Birds flying free, leaves falling and tickling the freshly wet grass as the season became colder, and various small animals shuffling through shrubbery in search of food. Among this place in nature only touched by society just enough to still maintain comfort for humanity, a lone boy slept in silence and harmony near the Naka River, occasionally stirring and shifting positions.

He faded in and out of consciousness, taking in the feeling of natural peace he so cherished and letting the cold air of the nearby river and the numbing noise of moving water lull him into a sense of oneness with the world itself if even for this single moment. As dramatic as it might sound to an outsider looking in, it was a regular occurrence for the boy, who possessed a keen understanding of the importance of such simple moments; if not intellectually, then at least emotionally.

Those in the village knew him as Sen of the Senju. Considered a black sheep of the clan by some, he has so far remained blissfully ignorant of the things said behind his back. It's only through his own unintentional social ignorance that he's been able to maintain the feeling he has now. Untouched by the harshness of reality, he let the natural wonders of the Land of Fire guide him on his way - and above all, those wonders told him that he was meant to be right here, right now.

Eyes still closed but gradually waking more and more, he merely listened to the sounds of the world to send chills through him, and clear his mind.

Zieg's mom had been bugging him as usual about getting of his lazy ass and finding a part time job so she wouldn't havs to keep giving him spensing money, so finally he had enough of her lectures and decided to do just that, look for a part time job.

Atleast that was the general plan, but as usual, his innate, completely incorigible laziness had taken a hold of him just as he was passing the training grounds, so he never did make it to the part time job area that was supposed to be his destination. Instead, here he was now snoozing away to high heaven, laying spread eagled on the big branch of one of the trees by Naka River. It had been going well too, but again, as usual, his bad luck streak decided to rear its ugly head... this time in the form of some person's stray kunai throw somehow hitting him in the shoulder, though thankfully not piercing his favorite blue jacket.

Instead, it made him wake up with a jolt from the pain and then he fell out of the tree he was in, landing hard on the ground of the training ground with an audible thud. As a result, he lay there, groaning

"Ugh... whose bright...ow...idea... was it? Geez...throwing a kunai like that...yowch that hurts!!"

Little did he know that he was not alone there, and that his next encounter would happen very soon.

And thus, Sen's date with nature was cut short when he heard the sounds of somebody in pain in the distance. Opening his eyes, Sen moved towards the voice, finding the source nearby where he was resting. He seemed hurt, though miraculously not bleeding out from the kunai that lay near him, presumably the source of it all.

"Hey, who did that to you? We aren't under attack, right?"

Sen began to scan the general area; though with only his eyes and no sensory capabilities, there was very little he could see that was exclusive to him. He didn't get into a combat stance, feeling pretty faithful in the diligence of Konoha's security. As time went on, he started on the train of thought that maybe it was all an accident instead.

"Ohhh! I get it now. You stabbed yourself for some reason, didn't you, mister? It happens to the best of us, you don't need to be ashamed! C'mon, we can get you to a clinic and make sure you're fine."

Offering a hand, Sen had a beaming smile, completely convinced he had figured out the situation.

Zieg's pain had gone by now and he looled up to see a boy/young man offering his hand in assistance to him, so he took it and stood up, dusting himself off quickly with his free one. He then let go of the stra ger's hand and smiled in return, saying

"Oh we aren't under attack...atleast I would hope not...and no I didn't just stab myself either, I assure you, I am not completely nuts...these ARE the training grounds, so that was probly just some academy student...or maybe newly minted genin who maybe was practicing kunai throwing skills...dang, wow they...suck...big time...unless they meant to hit this tree in particular, of course. "

He said while briefly absently examining the kunai which was now in his hand with a mildly interested expression on his face. Then he turned back to the stranger and introduced himself, thanking him with another smile on his thin lips

"Well the clinic aside, thanks for helping me out, pal...much appreciated. I am Zieg, nice to meet'cha."

He extended his right hand for the guy to shake if he so wished and waited to see if he would introduce himself in turn.

"Oh, well, that's a relief."

Sen exhaled and lowered his guard. He knew deep down there was no way Konoha could be invaded. They were the strongest, after all, and no one could ever dethrone them. Looking around one last time for whoever might have thrown the kunai, and finding no one, he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Zieg.

Smiling at the hand shake offer, Sen nodded his head and instead slapped Zieg's palm as something of an enthusiastic low-five.

"In any case, glad you aren't hurt! I'm Sen, and this is where I sit down to relax when I'm bored. How about you?"

Looking at Zieg's clothes, he noticed that the jacket was unharmed by the kunai that hit him - which interested Sen.

"That jacket's pretty tough, huh? It took a kunai and didn't get pierced? Is that armor or something?" Sen continued, eyeing the jacket curiously.