|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 6:51 pm
 Y A M A N A K AI don't care what the village wants. All I want is not to die without leaving a trace. The look that flared in those emerald eyes was dangerous, even if she couldn't see. Pity? That was quite the wrong, wrong word to use with Inori... Why would he need pity from anyone? What the hell was he going to do with somebody else's pity? For Leviathan's sake, he was perfectly fit and able... He could even easily meet the damned geezers' demands if he had wanted to! Why would he need pity from a blind girl, of all things? The more she spoke, the angrier he found himself growing... Oh, it definitely wasn't a great idea for him to be around this girl for long. He wasn't renowned for his patience anyways, and this girl was testing its very limits.
He may have had some sense of good chivalry to not strike a woman: at least, not if he could help it, but his hand curled up into a fist and it took a lot of willpower to keep it down. Actually, the only thought that probably forced him to keep his hand in place was his mother's voice mentally lecturing him about manners... He was brought up in an environment that harped on and on about manners, and hate listening to those talks as he might, he could at least resist hitting a disabled girl.
But her last statement melted the anger away.
Inori blinked.
Did his ears just hear wrong...?
He took a deep breath.
"You..." He deadpanned. "You're a strange one."
His eyes was surveying the grove, yet, they also seemed to search beyond the forest.
"Don't you know the history of this place at all...? Camaraderie isn't exactly something highly valued..."
He did take a seat however, as she had asked.
Running Laps
Inori is lost, and attempting to find his way out of the grove before it gets dark.
Hp: 9/18
DC: 11 (-1 Hp for every failure)
Formula: 1d20 (20) + Constitution (-1)
Failures: 8
Successes: 10/10
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rin Kairiu rolled 1 20-sided dice:
18
Total: 18 (1-20)
|
Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 8:49 pm
Again, she felt him tense up. She had made him agry again... but that didn't stop her from saying what she had to say. By the end of it, she felt his calm again. "Is there something wrong with being strange?" She tilted her head... his monotonous voice was amusing in a way. His question made her laugh a little, though. "Why should I care about the history? I didn't live back then, and perhaps it's because comerades don't support eachother that this village goes through unfortunate take overs... and other crap." She shrugged again, making sure he was eating now. Hell, she'd let him have all of it if it would help... though she'd like to get another piece of jerky.
Then she sat down, giving her feet a rest. "Besides... my family isn't really from here. I'm actually one of the few in my clan born in this village. My family doesn't have the same values the village does, and I like it that way..." She gave him a quick glance before turning away. "Oh, and thanks for not punching me..." Feeling another's emotions, especially the volitile ones, was very handy. Not that she would have been able to dodge it... yet.
Pausing to "look" around a bit, it seemed like the area was a bit... clearer... like the trees were thinning... or was that a trick of the light?
Where's the Exit?
Tebiki, too, is lost in the grove after losing a bet to a clan mate. She must find her way out before getting into more trouble.
DC: 13
Roll: 18 + awareness(3)= 21
Successes: 8/10
Fauilures: 7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 11:01 pm
Hp: 10/18
Is there something wrong with being strange?
Her question reverberated in his mind louder than how the quiet words were formed. His lips thinned, clearly displeased with her inquiry, but not because she had chosen to ask such a question but rather he - for once - for all his intellect was not able to formulate a response. Instead, he turned his gaze aside and down upon the ground, clearly irate with his own impotency, but she continued on.
So he sees... It makes a little more sense now, this strange girl. From a shinobi family, but not one whom resided in this village in overwhelming numbers. Of course... She would be different, carrying fragments of ideals...ideals that were very different from this village's own. And so, when she thanked him, the only words that could find their way to his mouth was...
"Not at all..."
His tone was clearly embarrassed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rin Kairiu rolled 1 20-sided dice:
14
Total: 14 (1-20)
|
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:35 am
Now that she was sitting down, she had atime to relax and regain some energy. After all, you could go running around trying to find a way out of a green, damp hell without energy... She smiled a little at his response. He didn't even bother tryng to deny that he'd wanted to smack her. In a sense, that was good. He was honest. He wanted, at a few intervals, to hit her, but he was honest. She could respect that. She wouldn't tolerate being hit, but still.
"So, now you know a bit about me... what about you? Family in the village? Crazy ideals? I'm still curious about the academy. You said it was just a place with crazy old people... you're holding out on me..." Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't... It didn't matter, she could still get information if she pressed hard enough. She wanted to check it out once they got out of there... and if he could help her... well, that just made things better.
Where's the Exit?
Tebiki, too, is lost in the grove after losing a bet to a clan mate. She must find her way out before getting into more trouble.
DC: 13
Roll: 14 + awareness(3)= 17
Successes: 9/10
Fauilures: 7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:41 am
Hp: 11/18
As she took a seat on the forest floor, he took a place beside her, but with a good distance between the two of them. After all, he rather valued his personal space, and that much of a concession he was not yet ready to make. It probably won't matter anyways, as long as he was within distance to hear her. But when she spoke again, he found himself regretting sitting within hearing range, because then he could've pretended he wasn't able to catch what she was saying.
He paused at her question, unsure about how to respond. What was there really to say?
He chose his words carefully.
"I'm not from any shinobi lineage. My parents were civilians."
Were... What a strange word to choose, but it was accurate. His parents are considered criminals, criminals by the law, by Kirigakure now.
He shrugged.
"Perhaps a grandparent of mine was a shinobi. I wouldn't know. All I know..."
His voice became quiet.
"...was that I could use it. What you shinobi called chakra. For that reason, this village wanted me to attend the Academy... But I don't want to. Or perhaps more accurately..."
"...I don't know if this life is for me. How would I? If my family aren't shinobi anymore... There must be a reason - shouldn't there be a reason why this wasn't what they wanted for their children anymore? But at the same time..."
There was a thirst for knowledge burning in those green eyes, even as he kept them lowered to the ground.
"...but at the same time, becoming a shinobi also means becoming closer to the secrets of this village. All of these questions...of how do these people think, why they can live as they do..."
What makes shinobi tick?
"It's like a Pandora's box." He smiled faintly. "And because of that, I find the word "shinobi" both intriguing and repulsive."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rin Kairiu rolled 1 20-sided dice:
10
Total: 10 (1-20)
|
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:11 am
The strange word didn't go over her head... though she got a different meaning from it. Were civillians? Are they dead now? That's a shame... He could use chakra, though... which was agood thing, was it not? "So, because you can manipulate chakra, the village wants to use you. I'm not surprised. Kirigakura has been known to treat their shinobi like tools, rather than people. Though, from what I understant... there seem to be only two real viewpoints on becoming a ninja. The first is the whole 'Oh, it's so cool, I can use jutsu and go on missions, and do good for the village' and the other is the whole 'Shinobi are just over-glorified murderers...'" She shrugged and stretched her legs out in front of her.
"Well, sometimes the academy is used for just that purpose... to dip into a new world and figure out if it's the right path or not. Being a shinobi is supposed to be something to take pride in... at least for those of the clans and such. If you're really that curious... why not go with me? We can try it together. I'll probably stay in it... family thing and all, but... it'd be nice to have someone I know there, too." She stood up, but still waited for an answer. It would be really nice to have someone I know going with me. I don't like doing thinsg alone...
Not that she'd actually be alone, but it would feel like it.
Taking a step towards him, she held out a hand to his blurry figure, a gesture of helping him up. "Shall we take the rest of the foot print trail a bit more slowly?" She was probably concerned for no reason, but still. They needed to go... it was getting later and later... and they still had a trail to follow. Good thing she still remembered what direction it was in. Not that she wasn't just following Inori anyway.
Where's the Exit?
Tebiki, too, is lost in the grove after losing a bet to a clan mate. She must find her way out before getting into more trouble.
DC: 13
Roll: 10 + awareness(3)= 13
Successes: 10/10
Fauilures: 7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 1:18 pm
Hp: 12/18
"Just Kirigakure?" Mumbled Inori. "How do you know... All those other villages aren't the same? No, I don't think it is just Kiri..."
The gaze that burned the ground was more irate now.
"Because we are born able to use something normal people can't... Apparently only one path is carved out for us. They don't know, do they? That among all the ones whom have their lives already decided for them... Many of us could've been better as musicians, as painters, or whatever. But here, there is only one path, and if we do not excel, we will become just trash."
The next words were more fiercely whispered.
"I don't. I don't want the village to think I am trash."
He drew his legs in, resting his chin in the small rift between his knees.
"Yet...I don't think I'll be able to do it. Take a life, I mean. Have you ever watched a bird crushed by a trap? The movement of its limbs, in the last lap of life, is truly...sick a thing to watch..."
His eyes lowered.
"But they tell me I don't have a choice. I have to graduate the Academy... Kirigakure is holding my parents hostage. Even though, my father was certainly not the only civilian to work for that Water Woman."
Her offering made him hesitate, but he couldn't help but smile as she placed a hand in front of his face. It was uncharacteristic gentleness, but lifting up one of his hands, he guided hers in the right direction. With his other hand, he pressed hard on the ground to give him the force needed to stand back up so too much weight won't be placed on her.
"...I suppose it is also useless to think too much of it."
His eyes fell upon the trial, which as he concentrated harder on the trees framing the path, it was vaguely familiar. Green eyes looked aside, scanning intently on the ground, and then he saw it. Prints, most having either vanished or had not been completely formed, but the broken fragments of roots that made out the shape of a shoe was even better proof than the nearly always moderately moist soil of Kiri.
"There it is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 1:43 pm
She shrugged. "Nah, it probably isn't just here... but still., you get my point." When he spoke of the path of a shinobi, what he said was pretty much true. "On the bright side... shinobi are allowed to practice and excell at things like pottery, music, and such... mostly just to use as a cover for when travelling and all that, but it's something, I guess." She paused.
I don't want the village to think I am trash.
"Ya know... what the village thinks shouldn't matter. It has heavy weight... but..." He doesn't have a choice? His parents are- that's sick. For once, Tabiki found herself getting irritable. How could they do something like that to a kid? Iy was unfair... and it only further proved that he was just being used.
"I'll do it then." She started walking on ahead in the direction they had been going for so long. "If you can't take a life, I'll do it for you." Another pause. "They are pushing you in a direction you don't want to go... the same path I willingly chose for myself, though family has a lot to do with it, too." She stopped for a moment, thinking... just thinking. "But just because you may have to be a shinobi doesn't mean you have to kill. There are plenty that don't... spec ializing in genjutsu, or being diplomats or whatever... but if we ever run into a situation where we don't have a choice... I can do that for you"
"I can be that person..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:53 pm
Hp: 13/18
Inori frowned.
"Allowed to? Where's the fun in that!"
He paused, before more proudly announcing:
"It's only meaningful if you want to!"
After all, wasn't it true, that if done for reconnaissance purposes... Such skills in a way were...fake...? To create false identities. Alternate faces. It was only making a mockery out of what should - could have been.
Her next words drained the color from his cheeks.
"..."
He couldn't do that. There was no way he could do that.
"I can't."
The words came thickly, too heavily.
"I can't let a frail-shouldered girl bear all that weight."
They came to the end of the clearing, and the shoreline came into sight.
((exit))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:10 am
Tebiki smirked a little. He was correct. Just because you practiced a craft didn't mean you'd be good at it. The best work has "soul" put into it... or something like that. That can't be done unless there is passion involved, which mean, as he said, the person needed to want it. I wonder what he'll try to go for then. While still being a shinobi, he can work a second job of his choosing. Sure, it could be claimed to be a cover up, but it doesn;t have to be. He could have something in his life that would be under his control...
She would admit... her words had probably dampened the mood... but was made it sink further was his response. He can't? Why can't he, I'm perfectly capa- What? He just called her frail. Her fists clenched, and for that moment she gritted her teeth. While what he said offended her... his tone of voice was all that kept her from knocking him head over arse.
'Alright, it's none of my business... I get it. I'll leave it alone. Was only trying to do a favor..." Her teeth gritted again, keeping herself steady... as much as she could be. She'd been hurt by that statement. If she was a rank higher, he wouldn't be saying such things. Did he think of all female shinobi as weak? Sure, they didn't have the same natural muscle mass... but that could be altered or amplified with the proper training and chakra manipulation. Was this another man-pride thing? He'd just told her that he couldn't kill, or at least didn't think he could, and she simply gave him a way out of that. It was the path she willingly walked, and she was getting shrugged off by a kid that didn't even want to go to the academy... She didn't even notice they were finally out of the thick green nothingness.
"Don't ever call me frail again."
(exit)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:44 pm
 TABTABZ E R OTAB TAB Hunter of the MistIn the midst of the leafy shade of the grove, a singular masked figure gradually walked into sight, carrying in his arms a bunch of scrolls. He had placed the ink and quill into his traveling waist bag, so there was no issue or danger about spilling that. He was headed towards his favorite place in the grove: a spacey clearing that was formed just right that the bordering trees blocked out the ever-lingering mist of Kiri, but allowed in just enough of the sunlight. There was just enough shade too to work: this was why he packed a singular notebook to write on after all.
The report was due in a good number of hours too. More than aplenty for him to write it up.
One might ask why he didn't choose a more comfortable place to work, such as back in his estate grounds, or in the village library. Well, the reason was simple. The village library was filled with prying eyes, and his work called for quite the opposite. As for the familial estate... There would be questions for him, someone who had just returned on a three month mission, and he was not certain if he quite had the energy to deal with all their inquiries yet.
Finding a good spot, he cleared away the sharp twigs on the ground, before settling lightly in a comfortable meditative position. He felt the items of his waist bag weigh down by his right side, and reaching into it, he pulled out the notebook and placed it on his lap. Carefully, he opened the ink bottle, removed the quill, and dipped it lightly inside, before balancing the quill. Finally, he took the first scroll, and slowly opened it until the furthest right edge of the scroll was placed gently above the notebook. He took up the quill, thought hard, and begun to write.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:07 pm
Coeus was sitting on a branch far above Zero, completely silent, he had waited all day for Zero to arrive. He'd heard through the grapevine that he was back, and that he liked to spend his time in this area. Taking a kunai from his holster he tied a letter to it, and dropped it down to Zero. He didn't bother to watch it fall, he was skilled enough with ranged weapons to put a weapon on target everytime. Besides, Zero likely knew he was thre already, and wouldn't have to do much to dodge it anyway. "You were good friends with Cronus right? He wanted you t have that, said you'd know what to do with it." He said, with a sight bite in his voice. His own teammate dies, and he's not the one trusted to put his things in order? He could barely stand it. As he waited for Zero's response Coeus leaned back against the tree and just looked out into the grove. From his vantage point he could see large parts of Grove, and if he wanted could hit many of those parts with ease. Soon however his thoughts retured to that ill-fated mission, along with the screams of Pheobe and Cronus as they died.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:33 pm
TABTABZ E R OTAB TAB Hunter of the MistHe had only proceeded to jot down a few lines on the parchment when the delicate disturbance of another's chakra - left openly unveiled - alerted him to the presence of another. He did not look up, however, merely continued to write on his scroll even as he quietly surveyed. Given by this person's bold audacity in approaching him in such a manner, this person had very clear and open intentions then. The chakra was also steady, like a rhythmic heartbeat -- not belligerent certainly.
There was a steady shift in the chakra's presence -- distress? Not quite, but something along the lines, and his ears caught the rushing sound of something falling. Even without looking, easily, his left hand reached out, and gracefully caught the item, before shifting his hand to before this face. Behind the mask, violet eyes surveyed the item: it was a kunai, familiar somehow.
He took the parchment attached to the kunai's ring, and disconnecting it from the wire, opened the letter. He sucked in a sharp breath as the voice above spoke. He knew that voice, even if he hadn't talked to this particular ANBU member before. After all, he was fairly new to the order, and besides that, he was part of a different division. But even before the new arrival spoke of that name, as soon as he saw that handwriting, he felt a tightening feeling clench in his chest.
In that instant, he knew what had happened.
Slowly, he reached up a hand, and pushed his ANBU mask to sit at the side of its head, the bright blue ribbons standing out even more sharply against his snowy white hair. The face behind the mask would be a familiar sight to Coeus: it was Koyuki of the Fubuki, their senior by a year back in the Academy.
"I see." Came the quiet reply.
There was a long moment as Koyuki folded the letter and placed it within his bag. He closed the ink bottle next, placed the quill's cap on, and set his writing materials down on the forested ground. He stood up then, shuffling to his feet, and then lifted his head. Steady violet eyes met the ANBU member perched upon the branch.
"Thank you." He said quietly.
A time long ago, he had given the kunai to a smaller Student upon his own graduation, to wish the ill-at-ease young one good luck.
A time that now seemed long ago, he had eaten together with that other boy, studied together with that other boy, talked about dreams with that other boy. And now...
It was difficult to imagine how such a bright spirit was lost. How truly fragile...frail...were the lives of those serving the village...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 6:24 pm
"By the way, there's a mission coming up. High Priority apparently, they'll probaly want you to take part." Ceous said once again in his emotionless tone. 'High Priority', they'd called Titan Team's last mission high priority, more important then thier lives even. They'd all joked about that, they hadn't failed a mission yet as a team, they were sure there wasn't much more the ANBU could possibly throw at them, they were wrong. The ANBU Organization tried to tell them it would be difficult, and they were right. But it wasn't so difficult that the team couldn't handle it. Then it got worse much worse... Coeus shook his head quickly, as if to banish the thoughts from his mind. Standing up he dropped down beside Zero, not saying a word and facing away from him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 6:38 pm
TABTABZ E R OTAB TAB Hunter of the Mist"More chaos hn..." Echoed Koyuki tonelessly. He cocked his head lightly aside, observing the younger ANBU member with an impassively violet gaze. He was completely certain now of the identity behind the other mask. But Koyuki did not further inquire of the mission, even though he did wonder what this one would be about... Probably suppressing another uprising of some kind. Kirigakure no Sato had seen a lot of changes the past six months, and whether that was for the better or worse was still up in the air. So far, the new Mizukage was difficult to read, he couldn't tell of the man's intentions towards his family yet...
But at the very least, as far as the reestablished order went, he didn't have to deal with problems certain other Kirigakurians dealt with: accusations of treachery by the reestablished Council. Though he wouldn't want to call their problems worse, he also lost over the years the desire to say the treacherous villagers' torments were well-deserved. Still yet, he wouldn't call their problems terrible yet: that would be slighting his own clan's ordeals for the past two years.
"Another rebellion rearing up somewhere?" Murmured Koyuki. "It seems the world enjoys chaos these days."
His questioning gaze returned to Coeus.
"When do they leave?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
