Reporting In -Private, no kill-

The new year had brought with it an early gust of fresh air in the village of Konoah, burying the past temporarily beneath the thick bed of grass. The house was practically empty now...Akira had gone off to the barracks to train the genin, Lyko was out with his buddies. And Vergil was on trip outside the the village... Everyone seemed busy except for him. Looking out from the window violet eyes scanned the landscape. Sparda was surprised at how quickly things evolved. What once was will soon be again. Only a few months ago he was looking out of this very same window at a completely different world. The cycle of the seasons was almost as constant as the cycle of life and death...Sparda inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Shadows stirring beneath him as the hollow home made its typical sounds...the creaking of the floorboards. The ticking of the clock, oh how that clock had deprived the teen hours of sleep...

Allowing his mind to wander for a moment as he walked down the stairway Sparda grabbed his thin silver framed glasses off the dresser before exiting his room and slipped them on. His belly growled, making him frown lightly and sigh..."Time for lunch." He whispered to himself. Grabbing his walking stick and limping through the house he gathered most of his things. here. Walking into the living room he grabbed his black jacket with a fur rimmed collar and headed for the door. The leather brushed gently against his skin, causing the man to purr lightly.

As he reached for the door knob...he paused. Feeling his stomach growl even louder as if to protest him from leaving. A nervous smile crept onto his sensitive feathers as he sighed.

"On second thought..." He whispered. "Maybe some breakfast before i go..." Recoiling and walking into the kitchen quickly the genin began to look through cabinets and drawers for something to snack on for his trip to the market. Humming a little song as he did so Sparda shrugged after realizing everything they had needed to be cooked...deciding not to waste any more time then what he already had he just grabbed a small loaf of bread and grabbed a pair of fingerless gloves off the table. Stuffing the bread into his muzzle and opening the door he walked out and flinched as the bright sun greeted him. Shutting and locking the door Darsha slipped on his gloves and then took a bite of bread. "We meet again...light." He joked, reaching into his fur coat and taking out a pair of goggles. Turning his back to the sun and putting them on he allowed his eyes to adjust to the dark tint and took a breath.

Taking his leave, and heading down to the Kages office, he began to munch on his bread on the way there. After about an hour of limping all the way there, then up the stairs and through the hall ways Sparda approached the door and lifted his knuckles to land three soft knocks on the door.

Goggles :

"Come in."he permitted.

Ryuho was looking at the pile of mission reports at his desk. During the aftermath of the terrorist attack, he could not quite do his task as quickly as before, which somewhat compromised his duty as Hokage, or at least the official part of it. He had assistants, so technically there was nothing to worry, but one's own ability and self-importance is always a persistent thing. He looked glum and expressionless, as if his soul had been snapped from its string. He picked up his pen, whirled it around, and was about to dap it onto the top paper (although he would not have done anything further), there was a knock at the door.

Distractions...distractions.... Ryuho had thought, though he was no longer curious as to who is coming. More than eight years as Hokage and serving under a turbulent makes an old man older. His straw hat was on the edge of his desk, and he was garbed in his pink kimono and white shitagi with a black hakama. His Takashi was by his side, and could be utilized at any moment, although an opponent may not notice it as their brain stops functioning before they would have realized Ryuho had killed them.

There was a long pause after he had knocked. The young man tried to calm the pain that ravaged his body and reached into his pocket to grab his medication. It was strange...he was one of the leafs best and brightest Anbu, only joining at the age of ten and completing multiple missions on his own and yet he was one of the weakest ninja in the leaf. Talk about a paradox. Shaking the thought away when the Kage invited him in he pushed the door open softly and limped into the office. His legs wobbly and a pill bottle in his hand as he dumped about three into his hand and popped them into his mouth. Swallowing them and shaking his head. "Good afternoon sir, Sparda Vi Providence reporting in." He limped up to his desk and pulled out two mission reports. One a S rank mission, the other a A rank he had completed on his own. Placing the papers on his desk and glancing at the ones he was already doing Sparda laughed.

"Sir. Perhaps hiring a secretary or assistant will help pass this along." He advised, looking up at him and smiling. Sparda had lots of respect for this man not because he was Kage. But because he had known him since he was a child...he knew Sparda grew up with a horrible sickness and was unable to be a Ninja but still he kept believing him. He even passed Sparda's Chunin exams after the accident. Sparda took one of the chairs and sat down, trying to relax his muscles.

"Yes, my assistant should be helping me with this... ha... she went to the hospital. Mhm ~ hmm, you look quite awful Sparda. Although you do a goob job of showing me 'mind over matter".

His door had creaked open until it revealed a teenage figure a few seconds later. He looked like a mess. Ryuho glanced sadly at the pills in his hand and the poor leg movement. He recognized him as the Shadow Master, and he was reputed to be something of a prodigy in the elite circles. Course, Ryuho knew him a lot better than most people. Sparda and him were well acquianted. If the guy appeared to him in his casual clothing, then it must mean that he is coming by to add on to his boring pile with ANBU missions or has dropped by to say hello. Unfortunately, it was the former, although Ryuho would have responded lamely to Sparda's "hello".

Something broke inside Ryuho's heart when the pills were popped into his mouth, as if the strength of his village itself was wavering, and that the bad old days would come back, and the village would be rained by lightning clouds and hail, and essentially become Kumogakure - except they were not on the mountains so really the thunder would not be too deafening for the villagers.

Ryuho's mouth slightly twitched upwards, to show some semblance of happiness in response to Sparda's smile and joyful greeting compared to his failing physical stature. It seemed like he was enduring through all of this with sheer willpower, which earned him Ryuho's admiration, which a few years ago, would have been mere pity. He saw Sparda's talent for what it was, even though he was not quite cut out for this life. Although some people are not quite fitting as shinobi, even though they go on to make great lives and legacies of their deeds and triumphs. Sparda's heart is his triumph, and it showed in the mission files he could pass it during the morning of a good day instead of a death report sent by the Chunin who found his rotting corpse in some shameful battlefield.