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 Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:38 pm
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:40 pm
(( bump ))
(yes it is fixed no more bumping necessary )
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:44 pm
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:45 pm
( the following posts are the ones that went missing ) MiniMidget 
LV. 5 | Experience: 94/130 | Hp: 40/40 | Cp: 35/35 | MHp: 70/70
((I'm going offline now. Will respond tomorrow.))
And so one of the last ties she had to civilian world came undone. There was only the path of the shinobi now, branching and stretching out endlessly. This was happening for real. She was going to become a shinobi for real. The girl would no longer be one of the people, but one of the people's watchers. A weak, little and cowardly thing like her. Kaede held out one of her bandaged hands in front of her, pale, and delicate. Taiju-san claimed he once had hands like hers. The child wondered how her hands would look when she had roughness, callouses, or experiences like his. Five years? Six? Seven? That seemed so far away. A frown. Perhaps she could ask M-miharo-sensei... if there was some sort of work study for shinobi available.
When would be a good time to go see her sensei? Today? Tomorrow? Dark brown eyes scanned the skies. If she goes now, the girl might take the full brunt of Miharo-sensei's anger. But if she prolongs it and goes to apologize tomorrow, then she will be stuck with an angry sensei from morning to afternoon. Hrm...
Tomorrow. She will go see Miharo-sensei tomorrow. The genin exams are probably ending soon. She should hurry and go buy Hyuuga-san's kunai pouch and hand it to him before its over. And if the girl lost this opportunity, the next time she might see him again would be far away. There is no way someone like her could step on the noble's estates that he lived in. And the chances he'd be at the academy after graduating would be slim. Her slow paced walking evolved into a full blown run. Unfortunately, her fixed sandal had that funny habit of unfixing itself at the worst times. And... flew off her feet at the head of some shinobi.
!
"WATCH OUT!" The girl screeched, hands immediately flying to cover her head. She wanted to cower and run away in case the sandal missile made contact.
Oh kaaaaamiii, she's already angered a lot of people. Please don't hit that person! Please don't let it be a homicidal person this time! She's already had plenty of miserable mishaps today. Oh life, if you are listening, this insignificant one has already learned plenty of lessons. Please let her take a break just this ooooonce!
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:47 pm
carlthefuzzy1  Kîýøshî Uchiha
"The Crimson Wolf of Konoha"
CP: 920
HP: 920
MHp: 1000
Rank: Jounin Sensei
Profile: Here
Kiyoshi continued to walk, pulling out the letter Zephyr's secretary handed him. There were a list of candidates for his team. Team Crimson Wolf. Kiyoshi's whistle stopped as he looked at the various names. An Uchiha... interesting. Takeshi Uchiha. He'd never seen this name before. He was requested at all times to know most Uchiha~
Generally he didn't care about knowing them all, he was far too busy, but he did his best to get to know all the young Uchiha.
'Hm', He also thought, looking at the various grades and comments left by Yarotai.. He'd need to go and speak with the chuunin about them. Kiyoshi wanted a diverse and versatile team....
Suddenly he heard a shriek, moving his letter to the side. "Hmm?", he managed. His eyes widened as he narrowly dodged the potential face full of the slipper. 'It--it smells bad.', was his first thought. He could feel the pressure of the high-velocity projectile....
He glanced down to the attacker who ran toward him, suddenly kneeling and opening his palms to catch the girl in-case she didn't realize she headed straight into him. He didn't know kids ran with their eyes covered...
__________Theme: (A song to match the mood!) - Kishiyo's Lovely Village
""We have pride.. for what? Our eyes? This clan cannot even see their own folley!!"
|The Heir to the Sharingan|
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:48 pm
MiniMidget
LV. 6 | Experience: 94/150 | Hp: 48/48 | Cp: 42/42 | MHp: 84/84
To her relief, it sounded like her broken sandal didn't make contact with the shinobi. As expected of Konoha's shinobi, if it was someone like her, it probably would have hit her dead on. Perhaps the girl would have begun to admire the man more if he had not invaded her personal bubble and touched her. The contact with his hands caused Kaede to wince and push herself immediately away. Three steps back to maintain her distance. Oh deeeear, did he grab her because was he mad at her? She should really rectify this before she loses a jaw.
"I... I-I'm so s-s-sorry!" she bowed her head profusely. "I d-didn't mean... uhm, uhm, you s-see, genin e-exams... Hy-hyuuga-san, er, I mean m-my sandal... tie br-broken."
'Oh, wonderful syntax right there Shirayuki. He's totally going to understand what you're trying to say.'
A frustrated sigh.
Of all the traits she could have inherited from her father, why didn't she have at least inherit his ability to talk normally? Kaede wondered if she picked it up from... her, or if it was just some flaw that developed over time. And now that she thinking about it, when was the last time she could speak a sentence without stammering? Oh yeah, when she's panicking. Being around this shinobi she accidentally provoked was a potential panic button. A dangerous situation she really didn't want to test. The girl was really tempted to just run over to her sandal, pick it up, and run the hell away. The chances she would see that shinobi again were probably very unlikely. But that would be rude, and the last thing she wanted was to be a rude person. A good citizen of Konoha would not do such a thing. So all she could settle on was a meek.
"Uhm, s-sorry, s-s-sir... please d-don't kill me."
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:49 pm
carlthefuzzy1 Kîýøshî Uchiha
"The Crimson Wolf of Konoha"
CP: 920
HP: 920
MHp: 1000
Rank: Jounin Sensei
Profile: Here
Kiyoshi listened intently. Watching the girl basically fight a heart attack in front of him. His calm demeanor remained unchanged, his handsome face simply managing a weak smiled as he closed his eyes (^-^). This girl had a very low self-esteem. There were things Kiyoshi hated, detested, and that was arrogance, liars and idiots.
But such kids generally had a soft spot for the Heir. He watched he girl as she bowed rather quickly. She didn't seem very high in Konoha's social ladder...
She sighed, how cute. She realized she made no sense-- 'Kill her?', he repeated in his head. Wait-- what?
"Well little lady, If you must sprint with your eyes closed, just make sure you don't wear such dangerous shoes.", Kiyoshi said in his usual soft and melodic voice, reaching into his pockets, pulling out about 50 ryo. "Now~", he continued, moving his palm to his ear, lightly patting his visage,"It would seem I can't hear too well, so I didn't exactly catch what you said. But are you going to the exams to see a Hyuuga?", Kiyoshi finished with a smile. He naturally assumed she wasn't going to participate since the exams were well on their way.
"Treat yourself to some clothing that you can work with easy..", he continued, moving his hand forward. "So you don't hurt people..", Kiyoshi added, making sure not to offend the girl.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kiyoshi Uchiha."
__________Theme: (A song to match the mood!) - Kishiyo's Lovely Village
""We have pride.. for what? Our eyes? This clan cannot even see their own folley!!"
|The Heir to the Sharingan|
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:50 pm
MiniMidget
LV. 6 | Experience: 94/150 | Hp: 48/48 | Cp: 42/42 | MHp: 84/84
A glance at the bag of apples in her hand. They were still in tact. Good. It would be very rude of her to give Miharo-sensei bruised apples. And it seemed that the shinobi she ran into was very easy-going and calm. He reminded her of Miharo-sensei, in his own way.
"Uhm... I-I was going to b-buy a kunai pouch for..."
A classmate?
No, he was graduating today.
"Uhm."
A friend?
... they had only met this morning. Not quite.
"Uhm."
A...
"... a sempai. H-he will graduate t-today. It's f-for congratulations and a th-thank you for helping o-out a kohai."
Except she forgot to ask Taiju-san where Hyuuga-san would be. Her eyes meekly looked up the shinobi. He was a shinobi, so he might know. Shinobi were very informed about their fellow shinobi, right?
"D-do you know where th-the exams are held at, s-sir?"
And it seemed they were very kind too. Kaede looked at the offer with a grimace.
"N-no... I couldn't t-take... Uhm, I have a-another pair of sh-shoes at home. L-less hazardous sandals." A lie. They were the only pair she owned.
"These br-broke today. S-so..."
Which is the truth, they had broken this morning when she fled from Miharo-sensei. The partial lie left her mouth feeling dirty, though not as taboo as saying Sempai's first name. But the girl would rather become a liar, to walk around with patched clothing, than to take money from someone when she did absolutely no work to earn it. Her fingers curled into little fists, a way of refusing the shinobi's offer so that he could not push the ryo into her hands. Especially if the money came from a shinobi, one of the villages protectors. Especially if he was an Uchiha.
Uchiha... the girl wondered if he knew Sasaki-san. And now she wondered how Sasaki-san was doing. When their time comes for the genin exams, the girl is sure he will pass flawlessly too. He is very talented. Just like Hyuuga-san. Perhaps she will go see him later today. Just to see if he is okay. If she is here, and Hyuuga-san is going through the exams right now, that would mean Sasaki-san is alone with Miharo-sensei... that can't be good.
"N-nice to meet you t-too sir."
Her name was purposefully omitted. There was no need for a someone from a powerful clan to know her name, especially when she was rather insignificant. There was no need to need to deal with the usual reactions to "useless Shirayuki" unless she absolutely had to. Not when they will probably never meet again anyhow.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 4:08 pm
Kîýøshî Uchiha
"The Crimson Wolf of Konoha"
CP: 920
HP: 920
MHp: 1000
Rank: Jounin Sensei
Profile: Here
The Uchiha looked down at the money, smiling. Did she seriously lie to him? Did the child truly think she could lie to an experienced shinobi when she, herself had no knowledge of such a skill? Well-- she had no idea this was a trait acquired through experience. But for her not to accept such a gift....
"I don't need my crimson eyes to see that you have a golden heart. You don't have to lie to me, I'm not doing this because I'm kind, but because I'm not trying to waste someone else's time. If you hurt yourself with cheap garments, some medic-ninja will need to waste time helping you. Please don't be selfish. His attention could go towards those that need it.", the beautiful eyes glimmered under the beautiful sunny day, his visage still calm and collected. Kiyoshi doubted such a scenario would ever play out, but it was wrong to simply offer money. People didn't like charity, good people felt bad and useless....
"The exams? Oh~ I believe the children are at the Senjuu-estate...", he repeated the words of his Hatake friend. "Almost over~ They should be going to little Taijuu in a bit.", finished the heir. His voice was as soothing and brilliant as always. The Uchiha finally stood up, still holding the money out.
"It's also common courtesy to give your name~", he smiled, his dark eyes closing. (^-^)
__________Theme: (A song to match the mood!) - Kishiyo's Lovely Village
""We have pride.. for what? Our eyes? This clan cannot even see their own folley!!"
|The Heir to the Sharingan|
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 5:12 pm
LV. 6 | Experience: 94/150 | Hp: 48/48 | Cp: 42/42 | MHp: 84/84
"I... I-I have another pair of sh-shoes that I can change i-into. Pl-please do not worry a-anymore... Uchiha-san," the girl firmly insisted this time. Her fists remained clenched.
And from his initial reaction, it would seem her father was right, she was a poor liar. Kaede didn't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing. But if she wasn't wasting someone's time, then she was wasting someone's money. One of the few things the entire world ran on, and both were more valuable than she ever will be. There would always be someone who could use both, someone who needed both more than she did.
"And if I-I'm hurt... and it is a b-burden..."
Honestly, she never really considered things like that. But he was right, she was burdening those nurses. Even though she had made that heartfelt promised at the mountains that she would never become a burden again. Another lie. Horrible liar. Horrible girl.
"Then I w-will not go see a m-m-medic-nin."
Then she didn't deserve either if she was hurting people. And if the sandal slipped off once more today, then she will walk barefooted until she arrived at home and borrow some of her father's ducktape. Or go barefooted until she could buy another pair. Simple as that. Besides, after all the mishaps the girl has had today, she was done with the hospital. Until her next physical... but that won't be until another year.
"S-sorry... for not h-having common courtesy. Sorry to w-waste your time s-sir," Kaede bowed her head once more. She was a horrible, horrible person. For wasting his time too after all.
"My n-name... is Shiray-y-yuki... Kaede. I'll b-be going now. Excuse m-m-me."
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 7:17 pm
Kîýøshî Uchiha
"The Crimson Wolf of Konoha"
CP: 920
HP: 920
MHp: 1000
Rank: Jounin Sensei
Profile: Here
Kiyoshi looked down, there were few things that bothered him. Only a few. Kiyoshi was calm, collected, and decisive. One thing he felt he'd possibly earned was the bit of respect to simply get honesty from kids. This girl also had the self-esteem of a fat child who continued to eat just because he was in a depression~ Like a downward spiral. She was the type of people he enjoyed 'fixing'. No, not to everyone. He wouldn't have cared, even the slightest had she not been on his list of potential genin.
But Kaede had been. She was cute and righteous. However, she was endangering any team she placed in just by having this type of personality. Shinobi couldn't use someone like this. The black, joyful pupils slowly began to bleed as the tomoe screamed...
"Little girl....", he said in his still calm tone, the Sharingan spinning slowly. One could never tell how Kiyoshi felt, but if the Sharingan surfaced~ He was rather disappointed. "You shouldn't lie twice, and you'd better pray to whichever god you believe in that you aren't placed in my cell.", he noted in his still serene tone.
Kiyoshi stood up, sighing, dropping the money to the ground. "There is a paradox~", he finished, placing his hands in his pockets. Finally he started whistling and slowly began to walk off. "Tell the class congratulations for me little lady~", he chuckled.
__________Theme: (A song to match the mood!) - Kishiyo's Lovely Village
""We have pride.. for what? Our eyes? This clan cannot even see their own folley!!"
|The Heir to the Sharingan|
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 11:03 pm
LV. 6 | Experience: 94/150 | Hp: 48/48 | Cp: 42/42 | MHp: 84/84
'Red irises with comma shaped markings that spun 360 degrees, with the pupil as an axis. Hence the name copy wheel eye,' the book definition of the bloodline did not justice to the real thing glaring at her right now. They looked like they could pierce through her skin and peer into her soul.
Kaede lowered her head to avoid his gaze, not out of fear, but pain. She had disappointed yet another person. Though the number of people on that list were very numerous, and though the girl should be very, very used to it by now... each time had hurt. This case was no exception. It hurt very much - a weed constantly stepped and trampled on would know her pain - because Uchiha-san seemed to be a very good person too, as expected of a relative of Sasaki-san. But she deserved it very so. She had given him her name, and she had lied twice. These things she was not proud of, but the girl does not feel regret. Kaede knows she would feel much worse if she took money that was not rightfully earned by her, much uglier. Yes, it would be best if they never met again... because now, every time she looks at those eyes, she will be reminded how terrible a disappointment she is.
"I-I will pass on the w-word..."
The girl turned around, dark eyes gazing deadpanned at the ground.
"..."
And bent down to pick up an object.
Her broken sandal.
Then, with one shoeless foot, and without a second glance at the ryo, she began to walk at a quick pace home. Before she could go obtain materials for the gifts she would be crafting today, the girl needed to make sure that these shoes won't be a potential hazard ever again.
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MiniMidget rolled 1 20-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-20)
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Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:07 pm
LV. 6 | Experience: 94/150 | Hp: 48/48 | Cp: 42/42 | MHp: 84/84
"I'm home."
Of course, there was no one to answer her since her father was away at work. He will not come back until nighttime. And considering how tiring the day has been, the chances that she will be awake when he gets home will be very unlikely. Kaede leaves her sandals on the door mat, a makeshift mat of old newspapers. The apartment was very dark, a windowless one-bedroom apartment with a small living room and even smaller kitchen. Kaede dislikes the darkness, especially after watching a really scary movie. It heightens her paranoia. She prefers being able to walk without bumping into any objects, or tripping against something in the dark, or knowing where she is.
The living room switch flips on.
Aaaaah, much better.
The apples are in their icebox, where they will be cold and preserved until tomorrow morning. The kunai pouch she bought from the armory is sitting on their coffee table/dining table where colorful spools of thread and a roll of duck tape will soon join them. Kaede sat on her usual spot at the coffee table, on a pink rabbit cushion on the ground. Now... what kind of border should she make? What colors? Maybe stick some Hyuuga Clan symbols on the kunai pouch? But wouldn't that give away Hyuuga-san's clan to his opponents? Well... the eyes would too, so that wouldn't be a problem. But where to put them and how would she make such stitches?
"..."
The only stitching the girl knew how to do was the kind that fixed rips in clothing. What to do? What to do? Kaede did not even need to look at her small bookshelf to know that there was nothing in there on embroidery. Not that her five book collection was impressive, and that was including the dictionary and the thesaurus. She could go back to the library... assuming they would let her back in with all the ruckus she's caused from her pseudo panic. But the girl would feel awkward if she saw that student again and she turned out to be healthy after all. Oh that would be embarrassing. But was there any other option?
A sigh of resignation.
The girl picked herself off the ground and began to get ready for another trip outside the apartment. Such a pity... she was getting very comfortable on her rabbit cushion too! Kaede left with two sandals shimmering in their ducktape glory. Her left sandal was perfectly fine, but the girl couldn't stand wearing socks that didn't match. So the shoes needed uniformity too. One hand balanced her sewing kit and the other hand was in the middle of locking the door.
"Ah, Kaede-chan, is that you?"
"G-good afternoon, Mikage-san."
It was Mikage Keiko, an old fashioned elderly woman. Full of pride, and stubborn in her ways. Even when her children offered to take care of her after she resorted to a walking cane, old lady Mikage refused. She also had a tendency to scold and nag other people's children. Even her father wasn't safe from her legendary Mikage chop or her two hour lectures on proper behavior.
"That's quite a load of stuff you're carrying, young girl. I didn't know they started teaching you girls how to sew at the academy so late."
"Actually... th-they don't offer those special k-kunoichi classes anymore. Re-restricted budget, I think. I'm heading t-to the library to learn some stitching t-techniques."
"You don't know any stitches?"
A shake of the head.
"Not even satin stitching?"
Another shake of the head.
"You're a girl born and raised in the fire country and you don't know how to do satin stitching!? Well then... we'll need to rectify that, young girl. Living with a single father like him, its a wonder you never turned out boyish or unruly."
"Uhm... I-"
"Come over to my home."
And without waiting for the girl's permission, a gnarled and cold hand grabbed one of Kaede's pale and smooth ones and began to drag the girl along. There was no point in fighting back once Mikage-san made her resolve.
So instead, Kaede murmured a simple, "Thank y-you... Mikage-san."
Embroidery
With Mikage-san's knowledge and experience, practice different forms of stitching before you decorate the real thing. But be quick about it, you want to finish making the embroidery on the kunai pouch before the genin exams end!
DC: 20
Formula: 1d20 + dex mod.
Successes: 0/5
Rewards: + 1 dexterity
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Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:07 pm
 There would be no peace in Konoha today: such was the fated destiny since Zephyr set foot into the very threshold of Konoha early in the morning. There was a somersaulting blur of red in the air, and the blur landed on the fire escape of a tenement building (conveniently Kaede's). A shock of short, dark raven hair - tinted slightly midnight blue - flared with the wind, framing a pale, porcelain face. The child then decidedly chose to pose at the moment - pale white eyes of the Hyuuga clan pale lavender in the bright light - as she, with the throwing of a few firecrackers into the air, announced to the staring crowd below:
"The grace..."
"The unmatched intellect..."
"Observe, the Morning Lily of Konoha, the Star Rose of-..."
"Little Princess..." Someone in the crowd hollered back. "You forget you haven't graduated yet..."
A vein appeared on her cheek.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HAVEN'T GRADUATED, ANZU-NII, YOU b*****d! LOOK HERE, I HAVE A HIA'ATE (uhh, minor point that it isn't Konoha's...), ANYWAYS!!!!" Without warning, she pulled something out from her pocket. "I was going to give this to Zephyr-jiji, but here, you can have it instead!" The object was sent flying down - most of the crowd wisely scrambling to avoid - but Anzu, perhaps to lessen the extent of damages, caught the thing...
The next thing the crowd knew, there was a splendid BOOM! and a cloud of pink dust surrounded where the Senju stood.
An onion bomb.
Moments later, a very pissed Senju (with tears still stinging his eyes from that stupid thing) had swiftly scoured the building walls and had gone after the child. For a few moments, the chase endured, across fire escapes of neighboring buildings and lower floors, over rooftops: a chase in a circle.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Roared Anzu, as he saw the girl inch closer toward the decorations the third time around - delicate foliage suspended by thin wires to recreate the likeness of floating kites in the sky - and the girl grinned her trademark elfish grin at him. He paled instantly. The Council will KILL him!
"ELRUDA! We spent WEEKS preparing for that inauguration ceremony!!!"
The girl stopped on her flight across the wires, only to take her finger to her lower eyelid and pull at it downwards, her tongue insultingly stuck at the ANBU captain. With an elfish grin, the girl tossed several more bombs - and one rolled onto Kaede's fire escape thrown from the opposite building.
One immediately caught his attention.
"Ummm...Elruda..."
The girl cocked her head.
"Eh?"
Too late. Without a warning, the bomb exploded - and no onion toy it was now - but a quite real thing that she, after begging and begging Shikamori-jiji (and the Nara refusing), Marcus had gotten for her as an apology Christmas present...
Needless to say, Kaede's windows were reduced into fragments of dust, and the whole side of the apartment was now gloriously exposed to the open air, and Kaede will have met daylight sooner than expected. The girl, a bead of sweat on her cheek now, stared for a long moment, utterly silent.
"Uh-oh."
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MiniMidget rolled 1 20-sided dice:
15
Total: 15 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:20 pm
LV. 6 | Experience: 94/150 | Hp: 48/48 | Cp: 42/42 | MHp: 84/84
Embroidery
With Mikage-san's knowledge and experience, practice different forms of stitching before you decorate the real thing. But be quick about it, you want to finish making the embroidery on the kunai pouch before the genin exams end!
DC: 20
Formula: 6 (1d20) + 8 (dex mod) = 14 (fail).
Successes: 0/5
Rewards: + 1 dexterity
"Here's a glass of water."
"Th-thank you, Mikage-san."
"And I might have heard wrong, I don't seem to hear as well as I used to... but you said you are going to put embroidery on a kunai pouch, right?"
She nodded her head.
"Huh, a kunai pouch... a little unorthodox, but I guess its possible. And Kami, I still can't believe that father of yours let you be a shinobi! But it's really no place for such a delicate little girl to be doing. Or any little girls, for the matter. He should've at least waited until you were twenty years old before letting you enroll. That's what I would have done, if it were my girls. You and your father should've informed me about such a rash decision, I could've prevented this. A sigh. But what's done is done... young girl, if you feel that the training and the work is too taxing on yourself, take a break every once in a while okay? Pace yourself so you don't get too hurt. And if it becomes too much, and you ever feel like quitting, no one will blame you."
A nod. Mikage-san was a very nice lady, but Kaede had no intention of backing out now. No one would ever blame her, because there are no real expectations of her. But she had to prove them wrong, if only for a little bit. She was going to become a shinobi. She was going to become stronger, someone who isn't worthless or a burden. She was going to bring her father honor. She was going to protect her village.
"Well... now, what sorts of decorations do you want on this? Pink flowers? You seem to really like the color pink."
"N-no... it's not f-for me. It's for s-someone else."
"Someone else? It wouldn't happen to be a boy, would it?" Mikage-san pressed. It was alarming how the woman's face was so close to hers, as if she was interrogating with that squinting face. Kaede scooted back, and fidgeted. Did she do something wrong? But she hasn't even started finished getting the thread through the needle!
"Uhm, y-yes...?"
"A boyfriend?"
... what? What!? Her and Hyuuga-san? D-d-dat...
"N-n-n-no! NO! Hy-hyuuga-san is just a cl-classmate!"
"Oh, a Hyuuga for a classmate, eh?" Did Mikage-san have to sound so accusatory and suspicious? She wasn't lying this time. Honest!
"Hmm... You know, most girls at your age already start noticing boys."
"... r-really?" What did this have to do with stitching? What was Mikage-san getting at?
"Of course. I raised three girls and three boys." Mikage-san flaunted proudly. "Though my girls would never admit it, they fell for the pretty boys time after time. And each time it broke their hearts. Eventually, they found their special person and married happily, but if they had listen to me, they would've suffered less heartbreaks. And as for my boys, at your age, they were very attractive. They inherited my good looks after all! A whole gaggle of females chasing after them but those boys had their father's density. Never even noticed it until late high school! Can you believe that!? Oh, I'm rambling again... what I'm trying to tell you Kaede-chan, is that you should wait until you're twenty before you should even consider boys. The popular ones will be taken away quickly. You might think that's your key to happiness, but if you wait and watch carefully enough, you might discover a different key of your own."
Well, that really wasn't a concern of hers at all. The girl sincerely doubted she would ever fall for someone so hard that she would risk letting herself get hurt. Emotional pain wasn't fun. And the girl has seen enough of her father's luck with relationships to know that it was not a world she wanted to dabble in. Kaede picked up her glass of water...
"And should you ever meet that one special person, you should wait until marriage for your first kiss."
... and choked and sputtered. The girl coughed to get the water out of her lungs.
"I-is it bad if you l-lose your first k-k-ki... before then...?"
"Well what do you think? Your rowdy father hit on half the village, dated one hundred and twenty-two girls, and had an illegitimate child before he married Kanegawa-san. And you of all people should know how successful his marriages have been."
Kaede's face paled. So she's going to die lonely in old age because of- of... No, what was she thinking!? She's not going to go down that route. Nope. Yet her stomach felt very heavy and strange, like there were butterflies trying to tear their way out, and oh... never mind that was just her stomach grumbling.
"Ah, you're hungry?"
"N-no, it's oka-"
"Just sit right there, young girl. I'll make you some egg drop soup."
And the woman hobbled off to the kitchen before Kaede could protest any further. A frown. Lunch... she didn't have any today, except for strawberries. A strawberry-colored flush tinted her cheeks in memory that embarrassing blunder. The girl picked up the remote from the coffee table. So many buttons. Why do remotes have so many buttons? Isn't an on/off button enough? It was hard for a person like her to figure it out, especially with such a limited experience with technology. Mikage-san's place was the only place where the girl could sit down and watch television. They didn't own one, but her father has been considering dragging a broken television from the dumpster to tinker with it until it was fixed. Oh, this was the power button. But the frown on her face deepened when she saw that the soap opera she wanted to see wasn't on. No... last time she was here was six months ago, when Kaede was sick and Mikage-san forced the girl to stay in her apartment until she was nursed back to health. That drama has probably stopped running a long time ago.
There's a trio of heroes trapped in some sort of dungeon room. And though it was hard to see their faces in the darkness, it was clear from their voices that the situation was dire.
"Hurry! If we don't disarm the trap in two minutes we're going to-"
KABOOM!
An explosion? But weren't they trying to avoid being crush by the slowly descending ceiling!? It wasn't a time bomb trap, which meant that it was a real explosion. Something just blew up, and it sounded like it was coming from their floor. A feeling of dread began to churn in her stomach. It couldn't be... could it? With her luck today- oh, nonononoooooooo...
"H-hold up, young girl!" Mikage-san hobbled after the dashing girl's form. "Ugh, a pox on this walking cane! If only I was twenty years younger..."
When the woman caught up with the girl, whose hands were busy clutching and hair and yanking it from her skull, only two words came to mind.
"... oh my."
"..."
'This... this was just a dream. Right, silly Shirayuki. You're probably actually sitting on Mikage-san's couch sleeping away because its been a long tiring day of training. All you need to do is pinch your cheeks and wake up. You'll walk over here and the door will be hinged to the doorway, and there will be walls in tact, Shin-san will be in one piece and...'
Pinch.
It wasn't a dream.
"..."
The burnt, bent, and black door - formerly WHITE door - was still lying flat on the ground, and there is no bedroom anymore, and Shin-san's head just flew off his body and...
And it wasn't a dream.
thedoorwasstilllyingflatonthegroundandthewallsaren'tthereanymoreandshin'sanjustgotdecapitatedand-
AND IT WASN'T A DREAM!
Theme: Nuoo! Watashi ga Yaru Aruu!
A horrified screech bordering on hysterics pierced throughout the village.
Oh, their home. THEIR HOME! OF ALL THE APARTMENTS THAT COULD'VE BLOWN UP, IT WAS ONLY THEIRS THAT WAS AFFECTED! Kami... what did she dooooo to deserve this? Why? Why!? Was it for being ugly? Was it because she ditched her sensei in the middle of her lesson? Was it for thinking inappropriate thoughts? Was it because she didn't marry her first kiss? Someone tell her right now so she could... but how... How can she repent for her since when the damage has already been done? Today is the day of rent! The landlord is not only going to evict them but they are going to be in debt for life. They'll be living on the streets eating nothing but rats and trash and insects and possibly die from horrible diseases. Not even selling all her organs could clean up this massive, massive, MASSIVE mess! Even selling her organs and workin... That's impossible now because she lost her job. She lost her job and they don't have insurance NO JOB AND NO INSURANCE!
Her mind snapped, as though Taiju-san had charged at the girl and punched her in the face and the screws and gears in her head popped out.
"Heh."
There was no way out of this.
"Heh. Heh. Heh. Ha... HAH. AHAHAHAHAAAA!"
The girl doubled over laughing, hands clutched to her stomach and the tears were falling out. And oooooooh, there were A LOT of tears. But she couldn't help it, this was all so.... so funny! Kami, you really played a good joke. Today has been a funny day. The bestestestestest day of her life!
"Kaede-chan...?" If she was herself right now, the girl would've flinched and shrugged the woman's hand off her shoulder. "You don't look okay, let's go back to my place and have you lie down on a couch until you calm down okay? We'll figure something out."
Kaede picked herself off the ground, body teetering with each step as though in a daze. She walked into the wreckage to pick up Shin-san's head from the rubble. The girl abruptly paused in the middle of her hysterical giggling, to stare long and hard at her beloved stuffed animal's face.
"Wh-what did you Hiccup. saaaaay...?"
"I said..." but Mikage-san faltered, when the girl tilted the stuffed animal's head and brought its mouth closer to her ear.
"W-we- we can fix this s-so-somehoooooow? Oh, that's w-w-wonderful news Shin-san. Heeheeeeee~!" Kaede nervously giggled. "How-how... should we? Oooooh, I s-s-s-seeeee~!"
Shin-san's head dropped to the floor. With trembling hands, the girl picked up two random pieces of wall debris and slapped them together.
"Y-you're right Shin-saaaaaaan!" a crooked and out of it smile. "They f-fit p-p-p-p-perfectly Sniffle. together like a-a-a... jigsaaaaaaaaw puzzle!"
"Actually... no, they don't Kaede-chan. Instead, why don't we just put that down before you hurt yourself on the splint-"
"It'll be like a r-r-really, really, reeeeeeeally hard jigsaw p-p-puzzle, and it will take days, but we can do this!"
An exasperated sigh. The girl has clearly lost her mind, and if she didn't seem so delicate right now, she would march over there, yank on the girl's earlobe, and drag the poor child out of the room and sit her down on a couch at home. Give her some tea and wait for the girl to get her back to her senses. Instead, the elderly woman opted to try to arguing with simple logic to get the girl to realize the folly in the cat's... the girl's absurd reasoning.
"And just how is this jigsaw puzzle," Mikage-san emphasized with disdain. "Going to stay together?"
"Wh-what did you say Shin-saaaaan?" The girl tugged on the cat's cheeks. "Hold it all t-t-together with d-duck tape? Yeaaaaaah... great i-idea! You're s-s-such a genius, Shin-s-s-saaaaaan. Heehee. Wh-what would I e-ever do without you?"
"Duck tape... are you serious? Duck tape!?"
"Duck tape fixed my br-br-broooooken sandal."
"But we are talking about an entire apartment."
"It can f-fix eeeeeeeverything!" the girl desperately insisted. It had to! Shin-san said it would... what else could they possible do if they couldn't!? No, no, no... don't even think about it!
Another thought occurred to her.
"AAAAAH!"
Mikage-san, sighed in relief. The girl finally came to her senses and realized that this illogical "plan" wasn't going to work out.
"Not enough d-d-duck tape to fix the whole h-h-house!"
Or not...
Kaede frantically pulled out her maple patterned purse. Five ryo glimmered in the sunlight.
"Let's see... one roll of duck Hiccup. tape is one r-r-r-ryo... so that makes five duck tape rolls... the walls were about x.xx meters by x.xx meters.... and the bookshelf is about... carry the one..." she mumbled.
"Heeeee~! <3 We-we might have enough Sniffle. duck tape to pull this off Mikage-saaaaaaan. C-could you help Shin-saaaan and I?"
"..."
It was really unfair to make an old woman say no to teary eyes, a runny nose, and a puffy face. She wasn't THAT heartless to kick what is clearly a dying puppy. For the first time in her 87 years of living, stubborn old lady Mikage Keiko would be acquiescing to someone else's demands. She gave out a long exasperated sigh and if she was younger, she'd throw up her hands, and her walking cane, as a sign of defeat.
"Okay, Kaede-chan."
World's Hardest Jig-Saw Puzzle
With the power of five and a half duck tape rolls, Shin-san and Mikage-san's assistance, Kaede plans on repairing her apartment before the genin exams end. Repair: Advanced (cutting-edge, broken great sword or other advanced things)/25/10 hr.
DC: 25
Formula: 1d20 + repair (int mod).
Successes: Doesn't matter. She won't fix it. It's a really dumb plan.
Rewards: A fixed apartment, lowered blood pressure, and a semi-peaceful mind.
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