Ren perched in one of the surrounding trees just outside of the packed academy campus, flooded with newly appointed genin and instructors alike, racing against the setting sun. Some of his classmates were caught in the thick of it all, weaving and shoving as best they could. Having been acknowledged as fully-fledged shinobi, they each wore their own headband as if the mark of a mercenary were a badge of honor.
Ren graduated just like everyone else did; even unto the bitter end he was the top of his class, forever isolated from his peers. He couldn't help but scoff at the irony of the situation. Nobody but him treated graduating like such a trivial matter, let alone had the sense to despise shinobi for what they represent—yet the boy still clung to his headband.
He could vaguely make out his scowling expression in the metal piece's reflection and recalled the instructor mentioning something to do with an orientation and being assigned to three-man squads, but he wasn't bothered to stay and listen. He didn't care who he got paired with, as long as they knew not to stick their nose where it didn't belong...
Ren Uchiha
7 posts in this topic.
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A young woman saunters up, microphone in hand, and points it at his face.
"Hey there! I'm Amelia Quinn! I can't help but notice you have a fancy headband. I'm going around doing interviews with my crew, looking to learn more about the academy here and its students. What's your name, and what's the story behind your headband?" -
Ren visibly perked up. Slowly, his eyes turned to the direction the shrill voice penetrated his ear drums. He knew it the second his dark eyes met hers'. A microphone in hand, a camera crew tagging along, questions on a topic that couldn't possibly warrant personal curiosity... and that unmistakable inflection, perfectly crafted, that infuriated any self-respecting Uchiha to no end.
Ren's eyes violently snapped forward. He couldn't let her know that he knew she was there. He despised shinobi more than anyone else in the world, but journalists were a close second.
"You can't be serious" Ren muttered under his breath. He never had the misfortune of meeting a journalist but he'd heard awful rumors eavesdropping on villagers to quench his boredom. Even someone like him was susceptible to that sort of thing . Shinobi or not, he was still just a twelve-year-old boy. -
"Well, if I was joking, we'd have a *laugh* cue board held up behind you," Amelia said. "So, yeah. I'm serious! Are you up for the challenge or not?"
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Ren wanted to just blast off into the sky, get as far away from there possible. For a second, it seemed as if that's what he was trying to do, his entire body shaking as if fireworks would shoot out of him at any moment. Instead of an explosive exit, however, he simply slumped forward, seamlessly sliding off of the tree branch and landing on his feet.
"You're from out of state, right?" Ren glanced over his shoulder, clutching his headband tighter than ever. "Well, I'm particularly up for anything right now, but since you're so interested in this stupid thing--"
With a flick of his arm, he tossed it at Amelia. "You can have it. It's just something the students here are given when they graduate. Nothing special." -
Amelia caught the headband, but offered it back to the boy.
"I'm from out of state, yeah. And your generosity is appreciated, but you should keep it," she said. "Does that make you a graduate?" -
The second Amelia reached over to return the headband, Ren hastily walked the other direction.
"Not that you'd understand, but it'd be pretty strange if I wasn't," he answered finally, still unable to spare a proper glance in her direction.
He could hear the crew's eager footfall beating down the road, but it was little more than a long strip of dirt cutting through the grass. At some point they'd get bored and leave, and he could take another route to head back home.
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