Sake time (open)

[RYOUCHI SATO]

Ryouchi sat at the bar, drink in hand as he people watched. He took a sip of sake and put the glass back down. It was a nice day today to sit around and relax. He thought about his team of genin. He was surprised that two of the members had kekkai genkai. Well... not exactly, Dashe had the gift and Ren had the potential. Weren't kekkai genkai supposed to rare? Nowadays everywhere he looked there seemed to be some hidden bloodline powers. He was exaggerating of course, but he had to admit that this trend was growing. Back when he was a kid, it bloodlines like his were still few and far between.

He chugged down the rest of his shot. The bar tender had a shocked look on his face. "Twelve drinks and you're still standing! Look pal, I know you ain't drunk but I only have so much sake left. It's been a busy day so I'm gonna have to cut you off." he said apologetically but sternly.

"Come on, just one more for old times?" he asked. As a chunin years back, he did a solid for the bar tender. Well, actually rescuing his wife from being kidnapped was a little more than a small favor. The bartender sighed and smiled.

"Oh all right. Just one more though." He said as he poured a cup of sake and slid the cup across the counter and over to Ryouchi. Ryouchi took his time finishing his last cup. He stayed in his seat despite being finished.

His students were interesting to say the least. He saw a bit of himself and his squad when they were their age. He wondered if every jounin with a genin squad felt like that. Probably, he thought to himself. Charming characters they were, Ren seemed to be the most friendly and ready to learn. However, he couldn't help but feel that her skills were behind that of her other teammates. He couldn't be sure of that though and it would be unfair to generalize. But, if this was true, he'd get her up to speed. Afterall, he only made this assumption because she didn't know how walk up trees yet.

Dashe reminded him of himself at that age. Although, Dashe acted more brainy and more modest, he still had a hidden cockiness and flirting behavior that he had. Not to mention, that according to his research, his jutsus and kekkai genkai were remarkably similar. Excluding the difference in elemental affinities of course. Both stored their elemental chakra directly in their bodies, Dashe stored electricity throughout his body, while Ryouchi held lava. Dashe was a living battery while Ryouchi was a living volcano. Both clans jutsu were similar as well. To top it all off, Dashe looked just like Ryouchi at that age, except Ryouchi never wore glasses and his hair much longer at that age.

Despite Ryouchi and Ryoichi having similar sounding names, they weren't all that similar. He had a lot of respect for the boy though. Most genin don't have the genjutsu skills that he managed to have. Ryouchi was never great at illusions himself, so felt it would be good to have one around to balance out the team and to add to different potential strategies. He wasn't much for close range combat but he would be great support for Dashe who was more attuned to that role.Also, his speed was said to be pretty impressive back at the academy.

Overall, he was satisfied with the team he chose. They weren't perfect but most aren't as genin. Also, it was more fun to train those to improve than to watch perfect people stay the same. That would be too boring. He knew that his team would be quite impressive by the time he was through with them.

[RAIDEN YAJUU]

Raiden was walking along downtown looking for a bar to go to. He wasn't much of a drinker but every now and then he just wanted to unwind. He finally spotted one and headed inside. He spotted another Jounin at the bar and sat down three stools away from. The bartender then approached him to take his order and he ordered some sake with a side order of crab ragoon. He then glanced at the Jounin again. He seemed to be in deep throught right now so it was best not to disturb him at the moment. Raiden looked up when he felt his drink be set down and grinned sheepishly at the bartender now.

"Long day eh," the Bartender spoke up now. Raiden simply smiled and took a sip of his sake. The bartender then walked off to get his food ready. He sippsed his sake some more and leanded back a little glancing around. They seemed to be the only two present at the moment. He returned a few seconds later and handed Raiden's food to him. "Thanks man sure smells good. It's been a slow day I guess but an okay one!" The bartender chuckled a little before walking down a few feet to wash some glasses. Raiden then popped one of the crab ragoon into his mouth and began chewing while staring down at his bottle of Sake.

Today was one of his days off while he was staying at his brother's place spending time with him and his family. It felt great to see his nephews and neices again after a year. Ren and Daitaro had both grown up so much now. Ren was part of a team now and Daitaro was a Jounin already. He was only twenty-eight years old but it sure made him feel old. His brother kept saying he should settle down now and have children of his own. He often wondered if he should.

[RYOUCHI SATO]

Ryouchi turned to see Raiden. He recognized the man by him. He had seen him now and then during mission briefings. He was a Yajuu, Ren's uncle. "Uh, Raiden right? Hey, I'm Ryouchi. I have your niece Ren under my supervision. Sweet girl." He said being polite and making small talk. Raiden was a pretty big guy, like a bear. It made Ryouchi feel a little small in comparison. Then again, Raiden was a bit older than he was.

"Not a bad day to sit around and waste time eh? Good drinks, people watching, chatting with strangers, pretty sweet huh?" He asked as he ordered some beer due to him being blocked from getting more sake. He was curious about Raiden, he's seen him around but never really had the chance to get acquainted. At times some of the jounin felt intimidated by Ryouchi seeing as he was placed as jounin younger than most. He didn't think that Raiden would be that way though. Plus, it would be good to get to learn how her close relatives thought of ARen. It would give him some insight.

[RAIDEN YAJUU]

"Yep that's me nice to meet you Ryouchi," Raiden replied. He adjusted his stool a little and then glanced at Ryouchi sipping more sake now. He grinned sheepishly at the mention of Ren being on his team. So this was her sensei then was it. Now that he thought about he did remember seeing the guy a few times in mission briefings. The other Jounin talked about him a lot mostly surprised he had become a Jounin so young though Daitaro was the youngest so far in his books. "Yeah she is isn't she? She's always been like that a little bit underconfident sometimes but she just needs proper guidance!" He chuckled lightly at Ryouchi's next comment popping another crab ragoon into his mouth now.

"Yeah sure is. I'm taking time off to visit Ren and the rest of my brother's family. Been like a year since I last saw them!" He smiled finsihng off his little snack and sipping more Sake finishing off his bottle now. The bartender came to take and walked off to get him some more. "Ren's a real good kid. She's got spunk and real ambition. She's likes a good challenge though she can be underconfident sometimes. She has a lot of potential and I'm sure you'll bring that out. It's just she's dying to get her Yajuu so that gets her down sometimes!"

[RYOUCHI SATO]

"Honestly,I feel like young people shouldn't sweat so much about their kekkai genkai. In my experience, those whose abilities arrive later often do better than those who come sooner. They have the maturity to handle the new power better and they tend to be more proficient at their non kekkai genkai related jutsu. Those who get the gift early tend to use it like a crutch and as an excuse to not push themselves harder. I can see Ren heading in that direction. At least when I'm through with training her that is." He said with a grin and sipped his drink. The drink was quite refreshing. The crab ragoon that Raiden was eating looked particularly good today so he decided to order those.

He put down his cup. " And congrats are in order for Daitaro as well. I was one of his proctors for his jounin exams. He's one of the best we've had in a while and so young. Not as young as I was, but that was a different time. Smart lad, definitely by all means. I forget, exactly how are you and Ren related to him? Is he Ren's brother?" he asked curiously. It would explain the pressure that Ren was feeling. She may have not wanted to fall behind.

[RAIDEN YAJUU]

"Yeah I have to agree with that Ryouchi. I didn't get my Yajuu until my early twenties though the circumstances weren't what I wanted. Took me a full year to control it fully. Even know I was a late bloomer I saw it as an oppurtunity to master earth style jutsus and work hard to become a Jounin.Glad to hear you have such high hopes for Ren. I'll do my part to encourage her as well and hopefully her team does too. If a team can't work together to help each other then they don't deserve to be ninjas at least that's my opinion!" Raiden then grabbed his new bottle of Sake and poured himself some before popping a fresh crab ragoon into his mouth. He smiled at Ryouchi's thanks for Daitaro.

"Yeah that kid is sorta a prodigy. He got his Yajuu early and still worked hard to become a Jounin. Ren's his younger sister and I'm her uncle. I am her father's younger brother believe or not. People always think I'm the older one cause of how big I am. It's rare for a Yajuu clan member to get as big as I am!" He chuckled lightly at the last comment. Shido had been a little jealous of that as had some of the other Yajuu clansmen his age.

[RYOUCHI SATO]

"With a couple of pros like us, Ren's in good hands." He said smiling and jokingly flexing his muscles to show his awesomeness. He let out some smoke at his nose to regulate his body heat.He yawned and stretched. "Boy, it does get tiring sitting around and doing nothing. I can see why that Shikamaru kid keeps falling asleep. Anyways, hows the relationship between Ren and Daitaro? Strained I'm guessing? Just that she seems a bit like how I was with my sister. Sibling rivalry and all. Before she died that is."He asked.

"No family of your own then? I had you pegged as a family man." He asked politely as he finished his glass of beer and ate some more crab ragoon. He didn't usually get much free time so chatting about was a nice change. Normally he would pull extra shifts as a jounin but that wasn't going to be a normal schedule to him anymore. He wanted his main attention to be focused to his students. Sure, he go on missions without them at times but he wouldn't do to much. He didn't want his students to be taught by a tired preoccupied sensei.

[RAIDEN YAJUU]

"Yeah she is," Raiden replied smiling sheepishly. He let out a hearty laugh at Ryouchi showing off now. "Yeah that genius kid is right does get pretty boring sometime. Well the sibling rivalry is pretty strong between them like it was with me and Shido. Hopefully you can help her work that out with the team's help through training. Sorry to hear that what happened to her if I might ask?" He paused briefly to drink some more Sake now before eating another Crab Ragoon. "Me a family man? Haven't had much luck lately usually my height scares them away or intimidates them plus my flirting skills leave a little to be desired. I've tried but what can you do?" He sighed now drinking some more sake again. He had almost given up hope that he'd find the one for him but he still tried he wouldn't give up yet.

[RYOUCHI SATO]

"Sis went out in the line of duty. Our rivalry actually got pretty intense when she was declared future clan head. Looking back that was a pretty silly reason for me to be jealous. Now that I am head, it's not exactly my favorite position, but I gotta do what I gotta do. Yep, my old man tried to get me married off young. You know, to keep the family line going. I dated quite a few girls to try to make him happy. Didn't find anything concrete or substantial so I just kinda quit. Broke dad's heart for a while but he got over it. He wishes the best for me wife or no wife. The dating scene just isn't fun for me. If I find the right girl, yay, if not then oh well, who cares?"Ryouchi explained. He used to have a small crush on Anko, but that passed after awhile. The Makoto girl was pretty cute, but he didn't have any real feelings for her at the moment. He didn't really know her. His dad once tried to set up a blind date with her once, but by this time, Ryouchi wanted nothing to do with the dating scene.

He leaned back and relaxed. His new friend was entertaining. He was quite the conversationalist and both seemed to think alike. He should have met up with him sooner. "Yeah, I also got the Storm clan boy Dashe and Ryoichi. Both seem like pretty cool kids. I swear I was just like Dashe at that age. I even looked more or less the same at that age." he said moving the conversation along.

[RAIDEN YAJUU]

"Oh sorry to hear that. Guess it comes with the job description right? I thought about being clan head once but then I got out into the world and after becoming a ninja changed my mind. I'm too much of a free spirit to be tied down by duties such as those. Better you than someone else who might not know what they're doing. Shido's been trying to get me to date as have our parents. They want more grandchildren mainly from me to help continue their bloodline. Haven't had much luck like I said but I'll find the right now eventually I guess. That's good he cares like that!" He shrugged sipping some Sake from his bottle now finishing off his last crab ragoon as well. When the bartender asked if he wanted more he refused simply shaking his head.

He and Ryouchi seemed to share a lot in common. They were similar in a lot of ways and he could be a potential sparring partner. "I hear they're both prodigys of sorts and you got my niece too. Sounds like a good team you ended up with. He grinned sheepishly finishing off his Sake now pushing the bottle aside. He smiled at the comment about one of his students being like himself. When he got his own team he wanted a student like that. Someone that reminded him of himself at that age. One day that'd be his own son and that was what he wanted the most.