Eve of Departure

Having finally acquired a tangible piece of evidence pointing Tōri towards this elusive sage he had been seeking had him rushing to the Hokage’s office with urgency behind his swift steps. There was precious time that was slipping through his fingers with the rapidly approaching chūnin exams, adding pressure to the teacher even without the added weight of what Airi had in store for him regarding his duties in this important event.

Making his way through the familiar building he quickly found himself before the Hokage’s office, entering the open door with a courteous knock to alert his presence as if his white-eyed leader hadn’t hadn’t been aware of his presence, with or without the Byakugan’s aid.

“Lord Hokage.” While he knew Airi preferred to do away with most formalities, he had to offer at least this small embellishment to honor her position properly.

“You requested a report before leaving on my mission. I’ve located a small village of shinobi octopus with an elder adept in nature chakra control. I plan to leave within the week after finishing preparations. I'll be informing the accompanying genin that our mission is simply to establish relations with this summoning group while I seek Senjutsu training in secret.”

The member 'Tōri' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

At her permission Tōri entered the room, his clearly blue-eyed kage stared at him behind a heaping pile of papers. Meeting her momentary gaze he appreciated the straightforwardness with which she conducted herself, in all manners though he held those blue eyes even as her gaze lifted. He couldn’t help but react with a surprised face to the nonchalant manner in which Airi recruited him for the larger task at hand, brushed over as plainly as a mission to help a cat out a tree. In and out.

It was no small thing, he was curious who else from the village would be aiding in the risky endeavor. Surely Tengoku. Trusting in Airi’s confidence he would nod in response, waiting until she was finished before offering a full response.

His role in the upcoming exams had been significantly upgraded to being the watcher over the Leaf’s genin participants. This was also no small matter, something he took with great importance as he wondered what sort of people the other kids he didn’t know were. Knowing almost half of the group would make it easier, though he still considered himself lucky with how well-behaved Sera, Nao and Natsuki had been.

“I’ll make sure everyone makes it back in time for the exams. I’ll remain on standby until you call for my assistance with this task.”

Now tasked with something even more daunting than when he first started teaching, Tōri's mind began to whirl with ways to prepare for dealing with such a crowd. He’d need to acquire their detailed files to see who to keep an eye out for once this meeting was over. The prospect of learning the final step of the adamantine seals was certainly exciting, though he pushed the excitement to the back of his mind with it being after the exams.

“I’ve hit it off with three of the seven, how difficult could the other four be?” Having zero recollection about any of the other genin he was in for a rude awakening if his first meeting was anything like that which the Hokage held in preparation for the exams. He posed the question in such a way that he hoped to glean some sort of information from her reaction if nothing else, hoping dearly to have an easy job ahead of him in that regard.

“I’ll keep them in line, Airi-sama. I certainly do owe you as much.”

While his former comment was said with a more playful manner as he had no idea what to expect, he made sure to get across the sincerity of the latter. It might have seemed small but Airi had played a major role in his recent growth, attributing his own foray into teaching a product of his own tutelage under her.

Accepting the envelope containing files on each of the participating genin Tōri paid close attention to this potential problem child, glad that it sounded like just a single member might be a troublemaker. The mention of Nao’s infatuation with this Hibiki girl brought a nostalgic smile to his lips, having forgotten just how young these genin were and made sure to keep this fact at the forefront of his mind in the coming weeks. He was glad that one as competent as Nao would be helping him keep an extra vigilant eye out, particularly with the lad’s kekkei genkai. He’d just need to make sure that’s all those piercing white-eyes would be looking for, not being too terribly confident in the kind of person Nao was after their brief interaction.

The return of Airi’s teasing rose a small chuckle from Tōri’s chest, the playful ribbing becoming somewhat of a welcome constant between the two. His disarmed smile in response was quickly wiped away with the mention of this antagonistic Chen Kimyonakama who sounded to have openly threatened the Leaf. His ruminations about the village’s relatively peaceful recent history was brought to the front of his mind, worrying what this potential conflict could breed.

An order of retreat on sight for someone threatening an entire hidden village seemed prudent, though he found it difficult to hold the same confidence that Airi held in him being to handle this target alone. “I read you loud and clear. Retreat on sight of this Chen character.”

Depressing her posture Airi seemed to unwind any amount, the stresses of leadership were no simple thing indeed. Trying to veer the conversation out of such troubling waters Tōri tried his hand at the art of chit chat he found himself to be a bit rusty with.

“So, this O’uzu Island. Are they known for having nice beaches? I can only hope you’ll find moments to relax from the stresses of the village.”

Busy as she was, Airi was kind enough to indulge his question. Tōri appreciated the sparing moments of idle chit chat they were able to find between the pressing matters of the village. It certainly sounded like Ren Uchiha and Airi were an item, he knew the name of the absent jōnin although he hadn’t met the individual in person. He wondered if they were off on some important mission that he wasn’t privy to, they were surely missed in the calamitous incident that was quelled.

Offering a smirk in response to the picture painted by Airi he wondered just how much of her teasing was born from frustrations of having one's significant other not around. While he certainly wasn’t the most experienced with such relationships he’d dated a bit in his twenties with some konoha residents that never lasted more than a few months. Dating other members of the shinobi force seemed too difficult with both having duties that could keep them apart for so long. Regardless of position, it can’t be any easy thing to maintain.

With his heart going out to the two he nodded as the topic circled back to Tōri's mission for just long enough to disarm him with a final tease before being dismissed. Chuckling lightly in response he nodded, his logical mind telling him the final offer to be in jest while the wild card he’d seen in Airi simply refused to dismiss it for certain.

“I’ll certainly keep an eye out. Though I wonder what unique fashion senses the more rural towns might offer. Maybe I’ll find a real keeper for ya. Until next time.”

As Tōri left the room he ruminated on his own romantic relationships, having shut himself out of the dating pool long before he’d returned to more active service. Promising himself to think more seriously on the matter he was glad to have the topic bubble up from the short meeting. Perhaps he'd go to one of those singles mixers his fellow jōnin had told him so many times about.

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OOC: Attempting Exit