Rin gazed up at the morning sky as he sat upon a sturdy branch of a rather large tree that had grown within the temple grounds over several years. His back rested upon the thick trunk and his right leg dangled to the side, whilst his left remained half-bent part-way out on the branch. The sky happened to be gloriously blue due to the lack of clouds and brilliant sunshine that had already begun to grace the Dragon's Peak mountain with its' warmth. Rin thought that he might fall into it at any moment. Which was when a blurred, dark object flashed past his vision. He attempted to track it, but the thing was moving at an incredible rate of speed. He knew what it was instantly; His pet raven, Karasu. Undoubtedly, the bird had spotted some form of prey along the ground and was currently speeding towards it to capture it within his vicious claws, only to rip it apart with his powerful beak moments later. This was a daily occurrence for Rin; Wake up and then accompany his pet as it fed upon the various reptiles and amphibians that inhabited the lands of the temple. As Karasu ate, so did Rin. He brought along with him a few slices of cured cold meat and some mildly salted cashew nuts. It was a meager breakfast compared to most others' but he never ate much in one sitting. He much preferred to graze throughout the day. 

When he'd finished eating, Rin washed it all down with cold, fresh water. Being at the top of a mountain, he had almost exclusive access to the greatest source of mineral rich water. Every night he'd take a stroll towards the rushing currents and fill his gourd which he'd leave on a window sill to capture the night's chill. By the time he rose, the water was ice cool and extremely refreshing. A loud [i]Squawk[/i] from Karasu brought him back from his daydreaming. The raven was done eating and ready to return to his nest. Master Wu had, at first, prohibited Rin from keeping the raven inside the temple grounds, he argued that it would distract the other students from their practice or meditation. But Rin had insisted that he could control it and, proving Master Wu wrong, Karasu responded to each and every one of Rin's commands. The bird even built his nest further up the mountain so that the students weren't tempted by it at all. Rin whistled a goodbye tone to the bird and without pause Karasu flew off back to his nest.

Jumping down from the branch, Rin landed on both feet in a crouched position and paused. He swore he heard the rustle of grass. Scanning side to side with his eyes but not moving his body an inch, Rin waited for the attack to come. The whistle of metal gave away his assailant's position. In a flash of movement, Rin reached for one of his wakizashi blades. He grasped it quickly and ripped it from its sheathe, just in time to block the incoming katana blade from his left flank. Not pausing for thought, he shifted his weight to his left foot and spun towards his attacker, opening the palm of his right hand and slamming it into their side. A grunt of lost air and slight pain was followed by the stumbling back of the katana wielding opponent. Seeing the person's face, Rin stood up straight and sheathed his blade. "Better. But your attack gave you away, Jinzo." It was his friend, Jinzo Iori, an aspiring Samurai Assassin trying another of his sneak attacks to test Rin's reactions. This one would be the first of many throughout the day.

"Did ya have to hit me so hard, Rin?" He replied, still reeling from his failed attempt. The boy was roughly Rin's age, about a year or two younger. He looked up to Rin as if he was an older brother, he too had been born an only child. The two met on the day they'd entered the temple about a year ago. Jinzo had been mesmerized by Rin using two wakizashi blades instead of a katana/wakizashi combination. 

"How else will you learn? This way you won't be in any rush to try that method again." Rin explained. Though, at first he'd have preferred to have been left alone to train, he soon came to enjoy Jinzo's friendship. Plus the constant attacks kept him on his toes.

"Yeah but what did ya think? I nearly tagged you that time." Jinzo said, a smile spreading across his face.

"You need to focus on your footing more, you lost your composure as soon as I landed and I heard your rustle some grass. And then, like I said, your attack was rushed. It was the swing that gave you away. A simple thrust would have worked better, probably would've tagged me too." Jinzo soaked it all in, he was like a sponge. Rin never tried to tell him too much, but just enough so that he'd be better for the next time. It meant that he would have to improve for the next time too.

"That's great and all, but I don't really wanna hit ya, Rin." Jinzo shrugged.

"Well then you should stop trying. The only way you'll do it is if you really want it." Jinzo didn't reply to that, he just furrowed his brow a little as he contemplated actually hurting his friend. Rin then walked over to him and ruffled his hair. "Come on, there's supposed to be something happening in the Tranquil Gardens, I heard some of the other students talking about it last night. Let's see if we can't take a peek." Rin smiled coyly as Jinzo face suddenly brightened, revealing a toothy grin.

"I know the perfect place!" He said before dashing off ahead.