Technically, this wasn't what the training grounds were for, but Kiku had been exerting himself a lot lately. Normally he would just be doing this at home, but now that his apartment was occasionally being invaded by busty kunoichi, he needed a quiet spot where he could relax without the risk of a nosebleed. He found himself at the field where he had spent much of the week training the Rasengan. There was still a tree left standing, so he climbed up it and found a nice secluded spot. He was up among the leaves, pretty well out of sight. Kiku breathed a sigh of relief, pulling a book out of his jacket. Finally he could have some quiet time, with absolutely no interruptions. This was long overdue.

Today would be a day that Hideyoshi chose to walk around his village and see the progression of his villagers and ninja. Dressed in his black button up shirt, overlapped with his white Kage jacket and black pants. The kage hat itself was sitting over the collar of the jacket which was standing up," Now let us go and see what the young ninja are doing today," he said with a smile as he continued on his stroll. Inside of his mind, the ever angry bijuu cackled for a while," Finally getting off of your ass to go and see your villagers, what a good kage you are," the sarcasm being apparent, but paid it no mind as he arrived to the entrance of the training fields. He could see some genin hard at work training and sparring, which was good for them to do at this age. He walked past them smiling to all of them as they simply stopped and gazed at him. It was until he came to a tree that housed a boy that he would sit just under it," So of all the genin why aren't you training to become stronger...maybe your strength lies elsewhere," noticing the book in his hand he would await a response.

Kiku's reading was interrupted by a voice. He let out a sharp cry, partly out of surprise at being interrupted and partly out of surprise that he was falling out of the tree. He landed in a heap next to the man. Kiku picked himself off, checking his glasses for cracks and dusting himself off. Turning around, Kiku saw who had spoken and his face went pale. It was the Sokage! How had he managed to not notice him? Then again, he supposed that someone skilled enough to be a kage would be able to mask his presence very well. Kiku bowed, starting to blurt things out.

"Sorry sir! Just I've been training a great deal recently and I was tired and thought I would rest a bit, I didn't mean to take up your training ground I'll just be on my way." He started to back away, still bowing.

Hideyoshi could not help but laugh as he looked at the boy panic at the sight of him, although a common response from the villagers he had hoped he wouldn't do that. None the less he walked over to the young boy and placed his hand on top of his head," no no it is fine young one, this was made for you to not only train but to hone yourself however you feel is right. Knowledge is also something that needs to be trained and i can tell you hold a great deal of it. Now young one what is your name," smiling as he stood by the boy and looked around.

Kiku froze when the Kage put a hand on his head. Was he about to be punished? He stayed perfectly still, awaiting his sentence, only to be surprised that the Kage was completely fine with it. In fact, he seemed to be encouraging it. "Th-thank you sir." He didn't know what to think of the compliment. The Sokage was being really nice to him for some reason.

"Umm, Uzumaki Kikuchiyo, sir." He straightened up, still not meeting the kage's gaze. He'd never spoken with anyone important like this before, and he had enough trouble making eye contact with his fellow genin. There were some varying reasons for that, but here it was just sheer nerves. Kiku stared at the ground, unsure what to say next.

"No need to call me sir, although i am the Kage i am still just a man so you can call me Hide if you want or even big brother," his smile stretched from ear to ear as he looked down to the boy. He was wondering why the boy would not look him in the eyes, was it because of something mental or maybe because of his position. Shrugging it off he would smile as he looked up into the sky," Ahh the young genius genin, i have heard much about you and your progress as a genin. Some would say your like the second me, although without the rebel phase," he chuckled admittedly but that was something that most higher ninja knew about him.

He would rest his hand onto Kiku's shoulder to relax him a bit," you don't have to be afraid to look me in the eyes, its not like im going to eat you or anything. I want all of you to be comfortable around me because who knows, i might be the next one to promote you," giving him a thumbs up as he waited for a response

"Yes si-I mean Hide-sama." He couldn't really bring himself to be informal, let alone call the kage big brother. This was confusing. Why was the kage being so nice to a nobody like him? "I-I wouldn't say genius..." Normally Kiku's nerdiness was something that he was given a hard time for, and now the kage himself was complimenting him for it. It was almost too much for him to handle. "I'm not that good, really."

The genin froze when he felt the hand on his shoulder. It wasn't relaxing him, quite the opposite really. He tensed up, unsure of how to handle the contact. He forced himself to look the kage in the face, forcing a nervous smile. This was a lot for him to take in at once. Kiku was starting to feel a little faint.

Moving his hand from the boys shoulder, he would perform two seals to create two seats of earth for the both of them to sit in," Don't doubt your skills and there really is no reason to be scared or nervous around me young Kiku. I am real easy to get along with and i think that having an active kage in the lives of his villagers builds a strong confidence in them," his smile would show his honesty as he looked into the clear sky. In the back of his head he would hear Uzu laughing," Your so corny " oh a good kage is one that is active in the lives of his villagers" you are just a little kid yourself," Shaking his head for a moment he would sigh. Chuckling softly he would look back to Kiku," If you ever get another entity inside of you make sure they are not total losers with a crazy mind," referring to the bijuu that he housed. Thinking about it he would look at the boy," that reminds me..you do not have a squad yet do you...well how about i take you under my tutelage and train you and two others," he would wait for the response of the boy.

Kiku sat down, not sure what to think. The kage was being very nice, that was for sure. He probably liked to keep morale up among the villagers, that was usually what good leaders did. That's probably why he was acting like Kiku was some kind of genius. Yeah, that had to be the reason. The kage was sharp, he wouldn't just imagine things like that. Still, it was nice that the Sokage was trying to cheer him up. The genin smiled nervously.

He was a bit taken aback when the kage seemed to talk to himself. He'd heard of the jinchuriki thing, he just hadn't seen it in action like this before. It was a little strange, seeing such a respected man arguing with a voice, but he didn't comment on it. It was probably normal for the kage. He nodded at the man's advice. "Yes, sir." Then the color drained from his face as the kage suggested that he train Kiku. Was this really happening? Kiku stammered wordlessly for a moment, his brain overloading. Then he tipped over, falling out of the chair in a faint.

Hideyoshi had sighed as he picked up the boy for a moment,"Come on...why does this have to happen, is he that surprised that i wanted him to...nevermind that question answered itself," chuckling as he performed a quick hand seal and splashed a little water onto his face. Once the boy woke up, he would sit him against the tree. Sitting down he would sigh," so was that a yes or... was that you being surprised by my proposal," he chuckled lightly as he waited for Kiku to speak.

When Kiku came to, he was sitting against a tree and the Sokage was standing over him. Had he passed out again? That was a bad habit of his, he reminded himself to do something about it. "I um, I would be honored, sir." He tried to bow, which wasn't easy while sitting down. It ended up just looking kind of stupid. He straightened up, hoping he hadn't embarrassed himself too much. "Um, are you sure sir?" He really hoped the answer would be yes, but he wasn't expecting too much. Kiku didn't really think he was kage student material, but if Hide-sama did then he was in no position to argue. It would be a great opportunity for him, maybe he could become an actual decent ninja this way.

Hideyoshi chuckled as he looked at the boy with a small smile," Good to hear you agree to this Kiki, you will be the first team i have ever proctored in my entire life. I am hoping i can instill into you the heart and soul of Soragakure, and one day you shall do the same," he would rub the boys head and ruffle his hair. The boy was quizzical on if the Kage was serious on taking him under his wing and training him," Yes i am sure Kiku, so now we need two more teammates for you so do you have anyone in mind," looking around to the young kids of the training field.

Kiku tried very hard not to hyperventilate. He was going to be on the Sokage's team. The Sokage's first team. Ever. If he hadn't already lost consciousness once, he would be convinced that he was dreaming. None of this seemed really possible. Not that he was complaining, but why would he be recruited to a kage's team? He just nodded at first before realizing he'd been asked a question. Now the Sokage was asking for his input? This was a lot to handle. He stammered for a moment, trying to think. "W-well..." He tried to remember the names. There had been two genin recently who had been all right to him, even if things had been awkward with one. One had even mentioned teaming up with him. "There are two I've t-talked to, Aimi and Demetri. Maybe them?"

Hideyoshi liked this boy and reminded him a bit of himself. He looked up in the sky and smiled for a moment. In his mind he would listen to Uzu talk, although it was the usual teasing and scolding him about taking the three under his wing and training them. Standing up he would motion for the boy to follow him as he spoke," Aimi and Demetri you say..okay well how about this, tomorrow invite them to the kage office and we will make this official. For now we will go out to eat and get to know each other, sensei to student," giving him a thumbs up.

Kiku stood, following his new sensei. He walked almost mechanically, still a bit unsure of what was going on. He was going to have to make some social calls. Not one, but two. He couldn't remember if he'd gotten the other genin's phone numbers, or if he'd just have to find them. Either way, the meeting with Aimi was probably going to be pretty uncomfortable. After seeing what they'd seen of each other, people were either completely at ease or completely awkward around each other. With them, it hadn't been intentional enough to be anything but awkward. "I'll um get in touch with them." He trotted along after his new sensei. "Um, where should we go sir?"