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 Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:30 pm
There it was! She quickened her pace just a little bit, she was eager for a hot cup of soup, or coffe or really anything warm and good to drink. She didn't know why, but she already felt a bit of a chill from earlier, so she wanted something hot even more now. She went to the door of the restaurant, and was dismayed when she saw the sign in it's window. 'Closed'? Now what was she going to do? It was still too early! There was nothing else to do, so she took a walk around town for a while, sticking to the places she'd already explored.
(Stalking Wave: 1/8 )
Well, it was official, she was starting to get a little bored. Even though it hadn't really been her choice, she regretted waking up so early. Nobody else was up at this time of the day, aside from a few early birds who were already busy going about their own business. This left her feeling bored and a little lonely. Maybe she could just head back to the Inn and relax for a bit? Not necessarily go to sleep, but to wait out the slow morning hours in comfort? Sure, that sounded good. But first, just a little more walking.
(Stalking Wave: 2/8 )
That had been fairly uneventful! She had wandered the roads a bit longer, but nothing interesting had caught her eye. Sighing in disappointment, she turned around and headed back the way she'd came, back towards the Inn. It was just a little ways down the block, she could already see it. She'd been expecting a fairly empty scene when she did walk back into the Inn's lobby, but couldn't have ben more wrong. She'd known there were a few occupied rooms besides her own, and it looked like every single resident of the Inn were all in the lobby. What was going on?
(Stalking Wave: 3/8 )
Nemu looked around, all of the Inn's other patrons looked like they'd just woken up. Some were still in their jammies, a few still had bedhead or blurry eyes. She approached one of the others who looked a bit more awake than most, and asked what was going on. Stifling a yawn, the young man replied to her, guessing that she must be new to the Inn. She nodded, it was true. He guessed it was also true she must not have been to very many Inns in her life; this too was true. He pointed out the reason, it was so obvious now that she knew it. That was why the rooms were so expensive. This Inn served breakfast!
(Stalking Wave: 4/8 )
Nemu smiled, maybe things would work out okay for her after all. She thanked the youth for his answers, and wondered what sort of food the Nano village considered breakfast. She hoped it was something hot! The Innkeeper came out of a side room a moment later, to tell everyone breakfast was ready. She followed the crowd into a dining room she didn't even know was there, and found an empty seat. Sitting down, er tastebuds were tantalized with a really yummy smell.
(Stalking Wave: 5/8 )
Breakfast started shortly after everyone had been seated, and Nemu enjoyed it throughly. A typical meal, even for Konoha, the charmingly simple menu sounded perfect for a breakfast in Nano. She enjoyed her meal at a leisurely pace, but even so it was done quickly. She sighed, the coffee had been really good, and very hot! She felt all warm and toasty now, that problem was taken care of. Getting up, she left the Inn once more, to see if something interesting would follow breakfast. Now that she wasn't hungry or cold, she felt like her usual self again.
(Stalking Wave: 6/8 )
Nemu had ben walking along, when an idea suddenly came to her. She was all set at the moment, she could spend the next few hours doing whatever she wanted. Maybe now would be a good time to explore more of the city? As long as she ignored the residential district, anyways. She still remembered the incident from before, it hadn't been a very good feeling, no way. So she took out a scrap of paper and a pen, and started on her newest project. Making a map of the village. Hopefully noone would notice and get mad, thinking she was a spy from Konoha.
(Stalking Wave: 7/8 )
Sure, she was from Konoha. And sure she was making a map that wouldn't be very useful to her once she left. But her, a spy? Ridiculous! Would a spy entire town so openly, still wearing the hitai-ate of their home village? Of course not! Unless, of course, the spy was about as unimpressive as Nemu was... Wait, that made it sound like she was a spy! She wasn't! Well, noone had accused her of anything, maybe it was just her nerves, after thinking about that incident. She put it out of her mind, and thought about happier moments.
(Stalking Wave: 8/8 )
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:32 pm
Nemu finished adding the last detail to her map, and there! It was done! At least the part that showed the places she'd already been to, along with a very vague area for the residential district. she had marked a few places with symbols that seemed obvious to her; a pillow for the Inn, a bar of soap for the Onsen, and a piece of bread for the Restaurant. Of course she didn't notice that all three of those symbols looked precisely the same, like plain rectangles. It made sense to her, and that was all she was worried about. Now, she could work on the following areas.
(Avalanche Tomb: 1/6)
Nemu was going pretty slow, even for her. She had to, she was updating her map as she went. An alteration there, an addition here, a tweak on that side. Slowly but surely, the map was beginnign to take shape. A beginner's attempt, sure, Nemu had never really made a map before, except in class at the academy. And even that had been much easier than this. This, she had to make absolutely sure of where each building was in regards to it's neighbors. Even a minor mistake would make the entire thing useless. And she really didn't want to have to remake it.
(Avalanche tomb: 2/6)
Well, she was getting there! She had already managed to do another large portion of the village, her map was over a third down now, at least as far as she knew, anyways. Before going any further, she decided to go back and double-check what she'd already done, just to be on the safe side. If she had messed up, better to catch it before she finsihed so she wouldn't have to possibly redo the entire thing from scratch to finish. And what better way to test her map then to use it? Instead of looking around and using landmarks and such, she used her map as if it were really an authentic and accurate one.
(Avalanche Tomb: 3/6)
So close! She had been feeling confident as she went from one location to the enxt without mishap, but eventually she found where she had made on small error. One building in particular, she had drawn it in as if it extended further back than it really did. If it actually went that far back, it would have blocked off the road behind it, as well as taken a big bite out of a nearby flower shop. She tried toe dit it as best she could, but now that part of her map looked really messy. She added a note to the side to explain it, maybe if she did redraw the map to tidy it up she'd be able to amend it?
(Avalanche Tomb: 4/6)
Okay, back to work! Nemu retraced her steps back to the point at which she stopped, and resumed her work. A few buildings here, another there, remember to cut the corner off for that small booth... It was rather complex, and Nemu had to concentrate rather hard just to try to make sure she didn't mess up again. Of course, now that she had messed up once, she hoped that meant she'd be more careful and it wouldn't happen again. Just fixing the one mistake was bad enough, having to fix two or even three would be chaos! So she tried her best to not make any mistakes, to check, double-check, and even triple-check some buildings to make sure she had their dimensions right.
(Avalanche Tomb: 5/6)
She had been working for another few hours, and had totally lost track of time. It was already past noone, and she was getting hungry again. But she didn't want to stop in mid-project, it might be hard resuming if she took a break. So she tried to ignore her tummy rumblings, and continued to sketch more details into her map. It was really coming along now, there was only a narrow sliver left unfilled. She didn't realize, of course, that this was the hardest stage of all, getting the two cuts of the wedge to line up as they should, as she approached the buildings she'd started from, from the opposite side.
(Avalanche Tomb: 6/6)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:34 pm
Oh no! Nemu must have miscalculated something, the buildings didn't fit! There was just a narrow stripe left unfinished, but there were at least three rows of buildings she had to cram in. What was she going to do now?! She stopped moving her pen as she thought, there had to ebs omething she could do about it. She couldn't stand it if she'd made it this far and had to redo the entire thing just because she'd not elft enough room for a dozen buildings! That would really be annoying! She decided to take a break, even if it did mess up her rhythm. She couldn't mess up too much more even if she tried. But she wouldn't, just in case she was wrong.
(Mugen Inseki: 1/7)
Nemu used her map to get back to the restaurant, and was relieved to notice that at least she'd gotten that part right. Stepping inside, she found a seat at the counter and ordered a quick lunch. Just a few sandwiches and a drink, something she could eat while she tried to fix her map. With as quick of a lunch as that, it didn't take very long to make, so she had her food and was already eating in just a few minutes. The sandwiches were pretty good, and the drink, just water, was nice and cold.
(Mugen Inseki: 2/7)
Nemu pored over her map, trying to use what she'd already drawn and could still remember to make sure of what her mistake had been. She absentmindedly gnawed on a sandwich as she did so, it was the perfect food to have while doing any sort of paperwork activity. She thought she had managed to find the area in question, how the one column of buldings stuck out just a little too much, and how she hadn't quite left enough room for the remaining buildings. It would take some time, but she probably could fix it.
(Mugen Inseki: 3/7)
She pulled out a second sheet of paper, and began the laborious process of transcribing her map onto a clean sheet of paper. Making sure to keep in mind the errors she had made before, she began the long process of replicating it. She made sure to draw each building in only after she had seen it's exact position and checked to see if it was near any area she had already messed up. Even so, she nearly messed up a few more times, but managed to catch herself at the last second. Undoubtedly a few errors would still slip through, but hopefully not enough to ruin her second try.
(Mugen Inseki: 4/7)
There, the second draft was finished! Nemu sighed and leaned back, stretching her arms up high as she worked the kinks out. She had gotten a little tensed, hunching over the table to keep drawing. But now that she was done, she could take her time to make sure it was right this time. She finished off her sandwiches and water, even though both had gotten warm. They still tasted decent, so she couldn't complain. She put both maps in her pocket and got up, paying for her meal. A late lunch usually made her sleepy, so she was hard-pressed to decide if she wanted to take another nap, or just go and check her map.
(Mugen Inseki: 5/7)
In the end, she decided to push herself a little harder and go for checking her map. She left the restaurant, and looked around, double-checking her map in relation the the various buildings she saw. Everything looked right, but she wasn't really surprised. She already knew this part of the village and had been pretty confident that she had gotten it right. But just to be on the safe side, she checked yet again. Sure enough, everything was in the same place she had put it, this part was correct. Of course, this wasn't the part she had been worried about, that remained to be seen later.
(Mugen Inseki: 6/7)
Nemu had moved on, to try and see just how accurate her map actually was. Of course, map-making was a worthwhile reconnaisance skill, but she didn't care about that at the moment. She just felt like doing it so she didn't feel so lost while she was here in Nano on her vacation. Sure, she'd be gone after a couple more days or so, but what if she came back? The map would sure come in handy then! Of course, some of the features of the city could very well change while she was gone, that happened to a lot of cities. But even so, as long as she knew where the majority of the buildings were, she'd be alright.
(Mugen Inseki: 7/7)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:37 pm
Well, she had good news and bad news. Nemu's map had managed to stay pretty accurate, overall, except for a few little problem areas that she just couldn't get right. She wandered around those areas for a time, trying to figure out just what it was about them that made them so difficult to map. It wasn't because they were an odd shape, and it wasn't because the roads were crooked. But yet there was something that she just hadn't gotten right on the map, something that had managed to be emssed up on both versions. It irked her, she wanted to fix it.
(Denji Genmu: 1/10)
She'd been looking for a good half hour,a nd still, Nemu hadn't been able to spot what was wrong. Maybe it wasn't the buildings that were wrong, but her map? She didn't want to admit it, but that was the most likely solution to her problem. She dug it out once more, looking at the lines leading to and from the problem area. She checked how they looked, if the lines were straight or if they bent or curved. Sure enough, there was a small flaw in her lines at that part of the map. Her hand had tended towards the right a little, dragging the lines off center by just enough to apparantly cause a problem like this.
(Denji Genmu: 2/10)
Now that she had solved the problem, she moved on to check the rest of her map. She added a note to it as she walked, so that she'd remember the map itself wasn't wrong, just the lines she'd used to make it. With a little alteration, it should be just fine. She slipped the map back into her pocket and stifled a yawn, she was getting a little sleepy. It had been a little while since she'd slept last, no wonder. She decided to check the rest of the map later, instead she'd head back to the Inn once more and take a nap.
(Denji Genmu: 3/10)
A short while later, she arrived at the Inn. She was surprised, she thought it would have taken longer to get to the Inn than what it had. She hadn't even used her map! She hadn't realized it, but all her moving about the village had been helpful, she knew a bit more about where everything was, she felt a little more familiar with the village as a whole. But she didn't realize that, she just thought it was simple luck. Not one to waste such a chance, she immediately headed to her room to get some sleep.
(Denji Genmu: 4/10)
She didn't even bother changing into her jammies, just for a quick nap she could stay in her clothes. Plus, she still needed to find a washing machine. She'd forgotten all about that! She managed to write a note before she fell asleep, hopefully she'd see it when she woke up! She closed her eyes and rolled on her side, slipping into the warm and familiar embrace of slumber. Before long, her breathing had slowed to the steady cadence that signified deep sleeping, and she began to dream.
(Denji Genmu: 5/10)
Within her dream, Nemu was confused. It seemed several of her dreams had gathered together to go out of their way to confuse her, and it was definitely working. She was sitting in a chair in school, trying to stay awake during yet another lecture on the political history of the Great Ninja War. She had heard it all before, but for some reason she couldn't hear Iruka-sensei's words at all. She looked around, all of the other students seemed to be able to, they were all nodding their heads in agreement at certain points. She tried raising her hand to ask a question, but her arm wouldn't move!
(Denji Genmu: 6/10)
What was going on?! Nemu tried harder to move, but still nothing! It was like she was paralyzed or something, but why? Normally when she remembered her dreams, they were never like this. This one was just weird! She tried to move once more, but it was still no use. Ah, well. Dreams can't really be fought, might as well just wait it out, see what happens. She stopped struggling, and sat there, watching as her teacher continued to talk on and on, although she still couldn't hear a word. She didn't even know how she knew it was a lecture about the Great Ninja War, but she did.
(Denji Genmu: 7/10)
The lecture seemed to go on forever, it felt like several months must have passed. But Iruka-sensei never stopped talking, and the sun shining in through the window never wavered or went dark. She looked around out of the corners of her eyes, and noticed that all of the other students had vanished. Where had they gone?! She hadn't even noticed them getting up, let alone leaving. And when she looked back to the head of the class, Iruka-sensei was gone too! Now she was all alone, in a rapidly-shrinking room. Wait, rapidly shrinking?! That couldn't be good! She watched as the walls continued to advance on her, it looked like the front wall was leaning in slightly, like it wanted to crush her. She closed her eyes instinctively, but she felt no walls pressing against her. Opening her eyes once again, she realized she wasn't in the classroom any more. Where was she now?
(Denji Genmu: 8/10)
Nemu sat up, and realized she could move. She got to her feet, and realized she was in an open grassy field. There were no flowers, or at least not very many, so it probably wasn't Nano. Did that mean she was in Konoha? It certainly could have been, it looked just like any other field at Konoha. Well, she hadn't really been anywhere else, so it had to be. There didn't seem to be anything unusual about the scenery, so she walked off in a random direction. If anything was going to happen, it certainly wouldn't if she stood still.
As she walked, she realized something. She wasn't getting anywhere. It was just more field, and even more field. There were a few trees off into the distance, but they never seemed to get any closer. She tried moving faster, but it didn't make a difference. She broke out into a run, but again, she didn't move any further forward. In fact, she started moving backwards!
(Denji Genmu: 9/10)
Nemu tried running faster, but it only seemed to make her move backward faster, like some great force was grabbing her and pulling her back. She started to get worn out from all the running and had to slow down.She felt the force at her back lessen, but she was too tired to try to take advantage of it. Instead, she came to a complete stop. The force pulling her back vanished instantly, ane she nearly sprawled forward on her face. She caught herself barely, holding her arms out to regain her balance.
Straightening up, she wondered what she was supposed to do now. She couldn't really move, and she didn't really want to just stay where she was, nothing was happening. But there had to be something, otherwise the force wouldn't have held her here, right? Since there was nothing else to do, she sat down and closed her eyes. She'd wait for something to happen, maybe then she'd realize what was going on?
(Denji Genmu: 10/10)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:39 pm
Nemu had had her eyes closed for quite some time, but nothing seemed to have happened. She began to grow bored, and began wondering if she should open her eyes. A little more time later, and she finally gave in, and opened her eyes. She was surprised by what she saw, to say the least. She was back in class, although now she could hear the lesson. Just as she had thought, it was about the Great Ninja War, and the untold destruction and chaos it had caused.
Was this just a repeat of earlier, just this time she could hear? Well, one way to find out! She tried to raise her hand, and it actually went in the air. She marvelled at that for an instant, and then pulled it back down quickly as Iruka-sensei thought she had a question. She apologized and the rest of the class laughed. Well, at least things seemed normal.
(Kunai Control: 1/6)
But as soon as things seemed normal, everything changed. Without warning, the door burst open, and a row of ninja-garbed teddy bears marched in, holding kunai aggressively. They all looked like Percival! Nemu had no idea what was going on, but had a sinking feeling she'd found out much sooner than she'd otherwise prefer. And she was right, as the Percival Ninja army began marching throughout the class, swinging brutally with their kunai. Each time someone got hit, they were instantly transformed into another Percival Ninja. Even Iruka-sensei was struck, and soon Nemu was the only one left. She was surrounded, how in the world was she going to get out of this?!
(Kunai Control: 2/6)
Nemu knew that she had no choice. If she didn't want to be a Percival Ninja, she had to fight! She didn't have any of her tools, but she still had her skill! She jumped high in the air, raising a foot high before filling it with chakra to perform the Bruising Sky Leg. She aimed for the Percival directly in front of her, and brought her foot flashing down as quickly as she could. She released the chakra as precisely as she could, and she heard a muffled explosion as dust rose from the shattered floorboards. Had she hit? In all this smoke, she couldn't see if she had or not.
(Kunai Control: 3/6)
The dust slowly began to clear, and Nemu saw that no, she hadn't hit. The Percival Ninja stood unharmed, it almost looked like it was grinning at her. She frowned, and tried again. Running forward, she leapt once more, feeling kunai slash at her clothes but somehow missing her. She charged chakra into her foot once more and brought her foot crashing down again. Once again she heard a muffled explosion and a cloud of dust arose. She was blinded for a moment once more as she tried to see her result. Surely she had managed to hit Percival Ninja this time?!
(Kunai Control: 4/6)
But no, it had been a miss once again! How in the world had it kept dodging?! She felt enemies rushing from all sides and tried to dodge their strikes, but it was no good. She felt all the different kunai slash at her, but somehow they didn't cut her, or transform her into a Percival Ninja. She didn't stop to question her luck, instead she decided to give it one last try. Leaping towards the same Percival Ninja she'd already tried attacking twice, she used still more of her chakra, and brought her foot crashing down in a third Bruising Sky Leg. And for a third time, there was a muffled crashing sound and a cloud of dust.
(Kunai Control: 5/6)
Bu that wasn't the only reaction of her attack. A loud cracking sound filled the room, and the floor itself broke. The boards themselves didn't snap like wood normally would, instead the entire floor shattered like it was a pane of glass. As the pieces fell apart, all the Percival Ninjas vanished into puffs of smoke, leaving Nemu to fall by herself. She tried flailing her hands out to catch at something to slow her fall, but there was nothing close enough for her to grab onto. Beneath the floor an endless pitch-black expanse stretched, it looked like it probably went on forever.
(Kunai Control: 6/6)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:41 pm
"Kyah!"
Nemu detected a falling sensation, but she didn't know enough about her surroundings to do anything about it. She landed painfully on her side, yelping slightly. Rubbing her side, she moved to a sitting up position. What had happened? One minute she was laying down for a nap, now she was hurt? Oh, she had fallen out of bed. It had been a while since she had done that, she had almost forgotten about it. But it certainly hurt enough to get her attention. She began to untangle herself from her sheets and clambered back onto her bed, moving kind of slow due to her sore side.
(Impossible Leap: 1/7)
Nemu flopped onto her bed, breathing hard. She forgot just how exhausting it could be to move so soon immediately after waking up. Usually she could afford to take her time waking up and moving, so that was just what she did. But falling out of bed like that was an occasional exception to the rules. She eventually caught her breath, and sat up in bed. What time was it, anyways? She had no idea, she couldn't even remember what time it had been when she first went to sleep. Her windows were closed, so her room was pretty dark. It must be somewhere around early dusk, if it looks like that.
(Impossible Leap: 2/7)
Nemu got up, and straightened up her clothes, they had gotten alltwisted and such during her sleep and fall. She opened her window, and was surprised to see that it was still light out, although only somewhat. It must not be that close to dusk, just late afternoon. She remembered she had written herself a note, where had she left it? It took a little bit of rummaging around, but she tracked it down. The bedside table had fallen over as well, and it had been pinned under it. She read the note, ane remembered there had been something important that she had forgotten completely about. A washing machine!
(Impossible Leap: 3/7)
Nemu straightened up her room as best she could, and finally gave it up, she could do the rest later, if she remembered. For now, she had some clothes that needed cleaning! She stepped out of her room and locked up, then headed back towards the lobby. She walked fairly slowly, after her chaotic dream she didn't really feel up to being too energetic. Once she got down to the lobby, she decided she'd just ask the Innkeeper, instead of trying to find the answer on her own. She had to wait a little bit, the Innkeeper was busy checking in a few other new arrivals to the Inn. She didn't plan on it, but ended up overhearing a little bit of their conversation. What they said stopped her cold.
(Impossible Leap: 4/7)
She couldn't help herself. What they said couldn't be true, it couldn't! They said the Leaf Village had been attacked and overthrown, that a rogue ninja had shown up and caused a lot of destruction, injured a lot of people. Nemu didn't want to believe them, but she recognized them as two residents of Konoha. If they had lived there and were now moving here, it had to be true! She had thought that all of her bad dreams and feelings had been just that, dreams and feelings. But if it was true, was that why she kept feeling so on edge lately?
(Impossible Leap: 5/7)
Nemu shook her head, trying to clear it. Even if it was true, and she didn't want to believe it was, there was nothing she could do about it now. If there was a ninja attacking the entire village, she was no match for them. All she could do was wait, see if things calmed down. She hoped so, she wanted to go back home and see if all her friends had managed to stay safe. She would never forgive herself if she hadn't been there to help her friends when they needed her the most, and for what? She had gone on vacation? Some friend she was! She tried to memorize the faces of the people in front of her, so she could ask them for more details later.
(Impossible Leap: 6/7)
It seemed utterly meaningless after hearing that, but she still had to find a washing machine. What good were clean clothes when an entire village was being destroyed?! But she had to put things in perspective, no matter how bad things sounded now, the village might bounce back. There were a lot of strong ninja there, surely they wouldn't let anything too drstic happen. If she sat around and worried all the time, it'd just make her sick or something. No, no matter how much it upset her, she had to forget about Konoha, at least for a while.
(Impossible Leap: 7/7)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:43 pm
Nemu waited in line for a few other people to finish their business, her mind reeling. Even with trying to put it out of her mind, the knowledge that Konoha was in trouble tormented her. Even though she knew she was one of the weakest ninja around, she still entertained hopes that she could have done something, something to help her village make it through the incident. She knew it was just wishful thinking, but she still blamed herself for not being there. She was so wrapped up in guilt and depression that she didn't even notice it was her turn, the line had been moving the entire time.
(Three Pillars: 1/7)
At a particularly loud harrumph from the Innkeeper, she came back to the real world, and looked around confusedly for an instant. She remembered where she was, and apologized for spacing out like that. She asked if there was a washing machine in the Inn to wash her clothes, and was relieved to find out that yes, there was. That was one problem, albeit minor, that she didn't have to worry about. She asked how to get there, and after repeating the directions thrice to make sure, she thanked the Innkeeper and went back to her room to get her other clothes.
(Three Pillars: 2/7)
It didn't take long, she was trying to keep herself busy so she didn't have to think any more about what she heard. So she walked at a rather brisk pace, for her anyways, and retrieved her laundry. From there she headed down throughout the Inn to get to the washing machine, eager to wash her clothes so she didn't have to keep wearing dirty stuff. She knew there was only one option she had after that, only one thing she could do to try to get the bad feelings out of her head. Yes, after she was done with her laundry, she had to take another trip to the Onsen.
(Three Pillars: 3/7)
Nemu arrived at the laundry room, the strong smell of cleaning supplies pungent in her nose, and the bright white of a very clean room almost hurting her eyes. She looked the washing machine over, it looked a lot like the ones she'd used in Konoha, she shouldn't have any sort of problem getting it to work. She set about tossing her laundry in, falling into the same schedule she had used back when she did her own laundry at home. She shook her head, she kept thinking about Konoha, it was no use. Of course she couldn't put such knowledge out of her head so easily!
(Three Pillars: 4/7)
Nemu walked back and forth, pacing. She knew it would be awhile before her clothes were clean, but she didn't know what else to do. She debated taking a nap, but she didn't want to risk what her dreams might be like now. So instead she just moved, finding a spot to sit. She tried to keep her mind busy, running through all manner of stuff she'd learned, both here and at Konoha. The map she'd made, allt he different techniques she'd learned, even the little things that didn't seem useful most of the time. Types of trees and flowers, even species of birds and animals.
(Three Pillars: 5/7)
She managed to keep this up for a good while, but her natural tendencies were stronger than her will. She ended up dozing off once more, her head falling against her chest as she slumped in her chair. Luckily she didn't dream this time, her mind was blissfully quiet, she could just sleep. She slept right through her clothes finishing their wash cycle, although she almost woke up when the washing machine dinged at her. She actually did wake up a short while later, looked around sleepily, and nearly went back to sleep.
(Three Pillars: 6/7)
But her surroundings were different enough, and the smell was strong enough, that she had trouble falling asleep once more. This was good, if she would have fallen asleep again her clothes would have sat in water longer and longer, and that would have just become a nuisance. She got to her feet, and checked her laundry. She seemed surprised that it had already finished washing them, now all she had to do was dry them. There were some lines set up so she could air dry them, but for other things like her undergarments she would use the dryer.
(Three Pillars: 7/7)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:46 pm
Nemu had tossed some of her clothes in the dryer, but it wasn't a very big load, the dryer could handle much more. She had originally planned on hanging some of her things up to dry the old-fashioned way, but since she was already using the dryer, she changed her mind. Tossing her entire load into the dryer, she turned it on, an dsettled down to wait for a while. She didn't want to fall asleep again, and while she didn't really have control over it, if she kept busy there was a chance she would stay awake. She pulled out her map, and tried to occupy her mind with checking all the different revisions she had made to the second draft.
(Ice Defense: 1/8 )
Overall, it looked good, she couldn't find any single instance of an error so extreme that she'd have to make a third draft. She realized something else, though. If what she had heard had happened in Konoha had really happened, then she couldn't really expect to go back. Could she stay here? She didn't have too much money left, but if she filed a full relocation request, then she could possibly be granted full residence, maybe work something out? She didn't know, but it would take a lot of work to find out. Instead of worrying about it now, she checked how her laundry was doing.
(Ice Defense: 2/8 )
It was almost dry, at least she thought so. There was no way to check save opening the dryer and looking, and that would let all the heat escape. If they weren't done, it'd just make it take longer. So she forced herself to not open the dryer and check, instead she tried to focus on something simple. Breathing. She'd been neglecting her deep-breathing exercises while on vacation, now was a perfect time to get back into them. She started breathing, inhaling deeply, holding it for a long moment, then exhaling. She did this over and over, and she felt her lungs start to acclimate themselves to the task.
(Ice Defense: 3/8 )
She continued her breathing exercises for as long as it took for the dryer to finally finish it's job. Letting loose the last held breath, she opened her eyes and stood up. She was a little surprised, she hadn't dozed off during that particular exercise. Then again, she had took in a lot more oxygen with deep breathing, which had spread to her blood stream and from there to the rest of her system. With more oxygen, her system was running closer to peak efficiency. That still wouldn't stop her from falling asleep without warning, but it at least made sense.
(Ice Defense: 4/8 )
Nemu pulled her clothes out of the dryer, folding them carefully as she slipped them into her bag. It was getting late, the sun had finally begun to set, so there were only three things on her mind. The first, get something for supper. Maybe head over to the restaurant. The second, take another bath, going to the Onsen. And the last thing she had to do for the night, go to sleep. Not a terribly interesting schedule, but she liked it. And that was all that mattered, at least for the moment.
(Ice Defense: 5/8 )
She didn't bother going back up to her room, she already had everything she could reasonably expect to need for the night. She just stepped out of the Inn and went over to the Restaurant. It looked kind of busy, all the seats were already taken. That was alright, she wasn't in any hurry to eat. She just settled in to wait for a time. It seemed other people had the same idea, as there was already a line forming. She slipped into place, and prepared to wait for her turn. She realized she'd already done a lot of waiting today, maybe she'd try a different order for her schedule tomorrow?
(Ice Defense: 6/8 )
Unluckily for Nemu, there were no seats provided for those waiting in line; she had to stay on her feet. It wasn't that bad, it made sure she stayed at least somewhat alert. Obviously not as alert as she probably should have been, as the two refugees from Konoha stood right behind her in line and she never even noticed them. She had even glanced at them when they got in line, and never caught on. Then again, she was feeling kind of sleepy, it probably shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. The line continued to shrink, as more people finished eating, to be replaced by the people at the front of the line, and so on.
(Ice Defense: 7/8 )
Eventually Nemu became the first one in line, and then she found herself allowed into the restaurant, where she was seated at a single-person table by the window. It was a good seat, she had a decent view of the street outside of the restaurant. She had had plenty of time waiting in line to decide what she wanted, so she placed her order right away. Nothing terribly complex, just a bowl of soup, and a savory chicken dish she hadn't tried in quite some time. The last time she'd had it, had been when she had had her friends over for a party.
(Ice Defense: 8/8 )
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:49 pm
Her food didn't take very long at all to arrive, and she began. Everything was really good! She enjoyed her meal, taking her time to savor it as she ate. She finished quickly nonetheless, it had tasted too good to go too slow. Dabbing at her mouth with a napkin, she finished her drink and called for her bill. It wasn't quite as pricey as she would have thought, if things went that way, her budget would go even better than she had imagined. Getting up, she left the restaurant, not wanting to linger since there were so many people still waiting to be served.
(Smiling Ice: 1/8 )
Well, that was one thing off her list that was taken care of! Nemu felt better now that she had had a good meal. Next stop was the Onsen! She'd been looking forward to this all day! She nearly skipped as she followed the same path she'd taken yesterday, eager to get started. Maybe the soothing effect the bath would have on her would help her forget what she had heard earlier? She certainly hoped so, otherwise sleeping tonight would likely be just as bad as her nap, but falling out of bed would be the least of her worries!
(Smiling Ice: 2/8 )
Nemu arrived at the Onsen and went in, greeting the hostess warmly. They actually recognized her, either business was slow or they had a knack with names and faces. Either way, it didn't matter. Just being recognized made Nemu feel a little more at ease. She payed her way in and entered, moving into the changing room, where she shed her clothes and wrapped a towel around herself. She rejoiced in the feeling of humid steam wafting int rhoguh the open doorway to the actual hot spring, and when she moved into that room, actually sighed with pleasure.
(Smiling Ice: 3/8 )
Nemu washed up and rinsed off before slipping into the hot water, her body already loosening up and relaxing in a conditioned reflex. She didn't even let herself think about anything, maybe it was the aprticular smell of hot springs that helped her lose her focus and space out like this? She didn't care, as long as it worked, that was all that mattered. As long as she could enjoy herself doing nothing in a hot spring, she was content. Maybe it was actually a weakness, that she could disassociate from the real world so thoroughly, but she didn't care.
(Smiling Ice: 4/8 )
Even if it was a weakness, she wouldn't stop. Hot springs and Onsens were her one real weakness, her one addiction. Some people had a special food, or drink, or even a person or animal; she had a bath. Much easier to work with, and it was always there. Nemu couldn't think of anything in the whole world she liked more than a dip in the hot water. Even as a young child, she had always loved bathtime, something her parents had been pleasantly surprised about. Most kids at that age hated baths, she couldn't be more different.
(Smiling Ice: 5/8 )
Nemu leaned back, resting her head against the warm stone behind her. The hot water, the warm steam and the gentle breeze, it was all perfect, she didn't ever want to move. She knew she had to, and eventually she would, but right now she was just living in the 'now'. What would happen later or what happened in the past, none of that mattered during bathtime, only that she stay in the water and enjoy herself. And that was precisely what she was doing, very eagerly. She sank a little deeper in the water, exhaling and making little bubbles bob to the surface.
(Smiling Ice: 6/8 )
Nemu lazed about in the water for at least an hour, and finally had to admit it was time to get out. She was getting pretty heated up, absorbing more and more heat from the water and air. She clambered out of the water and began toweling herself off, wrapping a second towel around her hair. She slipped into her fluffy robe and a pair of sandals, and walked back out into the lobby. She grabbed a drink, fruit juice this time, and enjoyed it's ice-cold goodness which seemed even more cold since she was so heated up. She drank down a large portion right away, breathing out violently afterwards.
(Smiling Ice: 7/8 )
Boy, that was really good! She waved goodbye to the hostess and went on her way. Her last stop of the night was the Inn, all she had left to do was go to sleep. She was already feeling kind of floaty from the bath, so she took her time walking back to the Inn. It was starting to get dark, but there was still plenty of lights from different houses lighting up the area, making it just as easy to see as if it was daytime. She yawned hugely, she was so relaxed from her bath that she was getting even more sleepy than usual. That was fine, she was going to be asleep before very long at all anyways.
(Smiling Ice: 8/8 )
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:51 pm
Nemu arrived at the Inn and wasted no time heading up to her room. She nodded a quick greeting to the concierge on the way up, and to a few people she'd seen a few times before, but didn't stop to chat. They must have been able to tell how sleepy she was, because none of them stopped her to chat. That was fine with her, sleep was foremost in her mind. She finally reached her door, yawned hugely again, and slipped inside. She went over to the window and closed it most of the way, it seemed to get kind of chilly at night. She tossed her robe on the floor and changed into her jammies, and without further ado crawled back into bed once more and promptly fell asleep.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 1/10)
She slept much better this time around, her bath had helped to unclutter her mind from all the bad news she had received during the day. She slept soundly, she didn't twist and turn or wake up in the middle of the night or anything. So when morning rolled around, she woke up feeling fantastic! She sat up in bed and stretched, raising her arms up high and smiling. Why couldn't every morning go like this? She opened her eyes and rolled out of bed, changing into her last set of clean clothes, looked like she'd have to amke another trip to the laundry room.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 2/10)
Nemu freshened up, combing her hair and brushing her teeth, washing her face and all manner of primping. Finally, she looked in the mirror and smiled. She looked good, she felt good, she had slept good; life was good! She remembered the Inn offered breakfast so she headed down to see if it was ready yet. It was, she followed the last few other latecomers as they all filed into the Inn's dining room. It seemed seats were a little more scarce this time around, she ended up having to share a table with a pair of people who looked kind of familiar.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 3/10)
She didn't know why they looked so familiar, and didn't want to be rude so she didn't say anything. They didn't either, so either they were thinking the same thing as her or they didn't even recognize her. Breakfast was served, and any small talk that would have occurred was postponed until after everyone had finished eating. Nemu introduced herself, and the other two did the same thing. She was a little surprised when they had mentioned where they came from, the Village Hidden in the Leaves!
(Ice Lens Explosion: 4/10)
That was it! Those were the two people who had checked in last night, the two who had spoken of the destruction that had befallen Konoha. Her mood instantly took a turn for the worse, as she remembered all that had happened yesterday. But she set it aside, there was no reason for her to be rude to her tablemates. Instead, she mentioned that she, too, was from Konoha, but she hadn't heard what had happened yet. The other two exchanged a glance, and told her the whole story. As she listened, she felt worse and worse, that she hadn't been there to actually bear witness to the event.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 5/10)
Even as she thought that, she had a sinking feeling that she was wrong, that she could have actually seen it. She didn't know how, she had been here at Nano the whole time, hadn't she? Of course, but still... Something seemed odd, she didn't want to think about it, though. Instead she asked the others a litte more about what had happened. They didn't know much more, though, so she wasn't able to learn much she hadn't heard the night before. If she wanted to know the whole story, she would have to go back to Konoha.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 6/10)
That had been her plan from the beginning, but now that she knew what she'd be going into, she felt a strong reluctance. She didn't want to see Konoha like that, it would tear her up inside! But what choice did she have, she was just about out of money, and it was still her home. Her family, friends, even her training, it was all bound within Konoha. She couldn't leave for good, not like this. At the very least, she had to go back. Go back, and see for herself, even if she didn't want to.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 7/10)
She chatted with her tablemates a little longer, as they reminisced about Konoha in it's prime. She hadn't seen how it'd been changed, but she could imagine. She didn't know why, but she could almost picture what it looked like, even without them describing it. They talked a little longer, then she decided it was time to go. She bid them farewell, and hoped to meet them again later. They gave her their names, and she did the same. As she walked away, they waited until she was out of earshot. After she had, they spoke hurriedly to each other, how she looked so much like the young ninja who had helped the both of them during the actual destruction. But it couldn;t be the same ninja, could it?
(Ice Lens Explosion: 8/10)
Nemu decided to spend a little time wandering the village, enjoy the scenery a little more before she headed back to Konoha. A few last memories of what a village should look like before exposing herself to what Konoha would look like. She took her time, not rushing herself, just going up and down roads at random. She stopped at an outdoor food vendor and bought a snack, she chatted with the hostess at the Onsen, she balanced her bill at the Inn and gathered the remainder of her belongings.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 9/10)
She was just about to lock up her former room and return the key, when she spontaneously decided to clean it up. She'd left it quite a mess! Of course the Inn had maids, she had no doubt about that, but she wanted to clean. Of course, to her subconscious this was merely a sublimation of her desires to amke Konoha beautiful again. Even without seeing it, the knowledge it was all messed up didn't sit well with her. She started simply, making sure she had all her belongings packed away in her bag. She made the bed and put all the dirty sheets in the hamper. She opened the window to let in some fresh air, and straightened up the furniture.
(Ice Lens Explosion: 10/10)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:53 pm
It didn't take much longer, Nemu had cleaned the room up reasonably well. Not perfect, that would be left to the maids, but she had at least done something. It had helped to take the edge off her feelings of bitterness and regret, she felt like she could stand to face Konoha now. Maybe she was wrong, maybe seeing it in the flesh as it were would be too much for her, but she felt like she might be able to handle it. It was her home, she owed it that much at least. No matter what, she at least had to return home once more.
(Frost Eyes: 1/5)
Nemu grabbed her bag and left her room, locking it up tight. She went back to the lobby and gave them her key, thanking them for giving her a lovely stay. She had already balanced her bill, there was nothing left for her here at the moment. She nodded a farewell, not necessary affirming the Innkeeper's request to come again, and departed. She took another walk, this time heading for the edge of the village, and the near-endless fields of bright flowers. Surely that would help cheer her up? Of course it would, flowers were so pretty!
(Frost Eyes: 2/5)
She arrived at the same field she had first seen, and stopped to soak up the beauty. At leasts he thought it was the same field, with so many flowers crowding all along the ground, it was much too colorful and chaotic to be able to say for certain. For all she knew, it could actually be on the completely opposite side of town! The only real clue she had was where it was connected to the village, and that seemed the same as the first field, so it probably was. In the end, it really didn't matter, all flowers were beautiful, it didn;t matter if she looked at one field or the other.
(Frost Eyes: 3/5)
Nemu stayed like that for almost a half hour, just enjoyign the simple things. Much like she had when she first arrived, she enjoyed the sounds of birds chirping, the warm breeze, the intoxicating scent of wildflowers and the sea, and the visual magnificence. She sighed contentedly, she'd always remember the funt imes she'd had here in Nano. She still felt she belonged in Konoha, but this would always be something of a second home to her. Even if she never came here again, heaven forbid, she would always carry something of this land with her.
(Frost Eyes: 4/5)
Well, that was all, she couldn't think of anything left to do here. She turned and returned to the city, using her map from time to time, but mostly working by memory. She made her way closer to the docks, where she could board passage back to Konoha. She searched her pack and found her ticket, she'd already payed once so she could just give them the ticket and board. That was good, she didn't feel like being bothered by any small difficulties right now.
She entered the docks, and found the quartermaster. There was a boat leaving for Konoha shortly, one of the few with what had just happened. If she didn't board this one, she'd have to wait until tomorrow! That wasn't an option, she gave the boatmaster her ticket and boarded the boat, ready to return home.
(Frost Eyes: 5/5)
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 7:59 pm
Drago walks into Hidden Nano slowly. He looks and he has on his Ghost Elite Outfit. Drago looked slwoly as his eyes were inthe Magic form. Drago looked around and he sighed slowly.
"This is Property of Ghost Elites. We will protect you from the Alliance if you comply with us...is this understood?"
Drago said slowly as he sighed.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:31 pm
Gana landed down in hidden nbano, letting Sara go from his grasp as he could tell it was her first time flying. "Yeah, it does take a little getting used to, but after you get used to it, it is really enjoyable." he said with a smirk on his face as he began looking around the village, trying to find the man he had heard about some time ago. "Hmmm, I need to add a few techniques from this village and I will be set for a while." he said with a smirk as he looked back at Sara. "Do me a favor. you got Ichiro from me right? let me see him one more time if you would." he said with a large smirk on his face, clearly planning something in his head
[1/8]
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:34 pm
"If he doesn't start to rear his ugly head like when he's alive, alright then." Said Sara as she put her arm up, having all 5 fingers point at the sky. A scroll started to pull itself out of her forearm and smiled. She then unlatched the scroll's binding and then opened it up. Quickly, she pulled out the puppet in a puff of smoke and then wound up the scroll, letting it sink back into her forearm. "Alright. Here he is." Said Sara as she then started to control him with some puppet strings.
4/10 *I'm carrying over the post count*
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:41 pm
"Just as I thought." he said with a smirk on his face as he remembered some of his techniques from when he was a yamanaka. "That previous life as stuck with me slightly and I can still tell when there is brain activity inside of someone or something. and those techniques he knows are from brain activity. which means I can scan him." Gana said with a large smirk on his face as he held his hands out, knowing how useful a yamanaka would be on his team. "Now, if you dont mind, I will be adding him to my arsenal as well." he smirked as he held his hands out. "Scan."
[2/8]
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