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 Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:08 pm
Hedoro
Tamao stopped only a short distance away, easily within arm's length, yet she still seemed utterly focused on finding whatever it was she was trying to find. Hedoro was growing a trifle annoyed at Tamao's silence. Just what was she so focused on, and why was it such a big deal? She had almost reached her limit of patience and asked, when Tamao finally spoke up, with a question.
Hedoro couldn't answer right away. Both because the question was kind of personal, and also because she wasn't very sure of the answer. Due to her own unique form, she didn't really get dirty, so she never had to worry much about bathing. As for laundry, she'd never bothered with it, just because she didn't have enough spare rags and tatters to wear while washing her first outfit. And she certainly couldn't just borrow a bathrobe or something, that wouldn't hide her form at all! She finally relented and gave an answer, the only one she really could. She didn't know.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:26 pm
Tamao
Tamao was taken aback by Hedoro's answer. How in the world could someone not remember how long ago they bathed! She usually took one every night, or if she was really busy, every other night. Assuming Hedoro's memory was at least somewhat on par with the average person's, that meant she hadn't bathed in... Eeew! Well, she certainly couldn't let something like that go untended, could she? Of course not! Sure, the smell wasn't too bad now, but if she let it go unchecked, it'd only get worse.
Well that settled it. She had been thinking of taking a bath herself, and that large hot spring always seemed so daunting when she went in alone. She'd take Hedoro with her, then she'd have someone to talk to, and they could also wash her 'clothes'. That sounded good, two birds with one stone!
She went ahead and told Hedoro her plan, while she began grabbing some of the things they'd need. The changing room connected to the hot springs supplied most of what they'd need, but she grabbed a few things anyways and pushed Hedoro out of the room in front of her.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:49 pm
Hedoro
Hedoro was surprised at just how surprised Tamao seemed when she said she couldn't remember the last time she bathed. Was it really such a big deal that she hadn't? Sure, her clothes certainly weren't clean, but she hadn't ever been concerned with that. It was sort of a beneift to wear clothes that were that dirty. The less well-groomed she looked, the more likely people would ignore her. And in the end, other people's ignorance was one of the things she relied on the most for her continued survival. But before she had a chance to plead her case, she felt Tamao's hands against her back, pushing her right out the door.
She tried to resist, dragging her feet against the floor, but it was no use. Sure, she could probably use force and make Tamao stop, but she didn't want to hurt her. Tamao was the closest thing she had to a friend, something she'd never had before. If she hurt her, maybe they wouldn't be friends anymore. Now that she finally had a friend, she didn't want to lose them so fast. But she still didn't want to take a bath, especially with someone else. She may consider Tamao her friend, but she didn't trust her enough to let her know what she really was. At least not yet.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:13 am
`Hoshigaki Kisame `Hoshigaki Kisame Manda turned back around and stared at Iruka. "You still could've shared that information a long time ago." He turned back to the tree and slowly started walking after applying chakra to his feet. He kept applying it continously. He also kept it balanced, applying the exact same amount throughout the whole thing. "I'm doing perfect!" Manda reached the top and sat down. "He he he! I finally did it! What's next, sensai?" Right when he finished that sentence, he fell alseep causing him to fall back down to the ground yet again. 6/6 Tree Climbing Manda awoke to find himself near a river in the forest. He blinked his eyes a few times to stay up. "Uh...where am I? How did I end up here? I've never noticed a river here before." He stood up and walked to the edge of the ground before the river. The stream was flowing to his right and then started flowing downwards. "Not a river. A waterfall. What the heck am I supposed to do here?" He heard a sound in the bushes behind him. He got his kunai ready to protect himself. Noticing a large, dark figure, Manda laid low in case the guy didn't see him yet and to gain a surprise attack. "My first real ninja fight. I hope I don't die..." 1/6 Water Walking The dark figure took a few steps forward into the sun. Doing so, the figure's true identity was revealed to Manda. "Iruka. Don't scare me like that!" Manda jumped forward towards Iruka, glad that he was going to live. "Oh, Manda. Sorry, I brought you here after you fell off the tree. You ran out of chakra, learning all those techniques in one day so I let you rest here. Your chakra should be back by now." Manda nodded in agreement. "This is the last technique. So, what am I learning now?" Iruka walked towards the waterfall and stepped onto the water. "This. The art of water walking." Iruka then walked off the water and back on the ground. "Ready?" 2/6 Water Walking
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:20 am
Manda's jaw dropped in astonishment. "Well, I shouldn't be so surprised. I did just learn how to walk up a tree. So yes, I'm ready!" Manda ran forward to run on the water. By now, it was common sense to apply chakra to his feet, so he did so. Just as he was about to step on the stream, Iruka caught him by his collar with his index finger. He easily pulled him back. "Manda, you have to calm down. I didn't bring you to any source of water. This is a waterfall. The current of the stream is very strong. If you screw up on your first try, you're a dead man." Manda simply grinned at the thought. "What's so funny? i'm very serious right now! You will die if you mess up just once!"
3/6 Water Walking
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:26 am
"Iruka. By now, I know how to take care of myself. After this technique, I'll be going back to my village to train. You won't be able to hold my hand when I go there so you might as well let me go now. I can tell by the way your feet was filled with chakra that this skill will be identical to the tree walking exercise. If I die now, then it's porrf that the ninja llife wasn't for me. If not...." Iruka kept quiet as Manda slowly walked to the edge of the stream. He started biting his teeth, praying for Manda's safety. Let's hope, for your sake, that you survive. Manda stood before the stream and put his hands together in the tiger seal. He concentrated until his chakra was slowing nice and easily to his feet. He let his hands drop to his side and made the first step to walk on the water.
4/6 Water Walking
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:33 am
Manda's right foot came down slowly until it stuck to the water. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued with his other foot. It also stuck to the water. Manda grinned as he started jumping up and down. "Yeah! Whoo! I told you I could do it, Iruka!" Manda started running towards the edge of the waterfall and back. Iruka stood there smiling. "All right, Manda. Stop now before you hurt yourself." Manda groaned and came back to stand in front of Iruka. "You were right, Manda. There's nothing more I can teach you. From here on out, you will be placed in a squad with other teammates so then hold them back." He gave Manda a thumbs-up. Manda smiled like always and gave a thumbs-up. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way." Manda turned and started walking away.
5/6 Water Walking
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:41 am
"Wait." Manda turned back around wondering what else Iruka had to say. Iruka began fishing around in his pockets until he pulled out a long, black piece of cloth. It had a metal plate in the center. Iruka tossed it to Manda which he easily caught. He turned it around trying to figure out what it was. He soon found out once he saw the Mist symbol engraved on the metal plate. "Congratulations. You pass." Manda looked up to face Iruka but all he saw was white smoke and then just the green patches of land and trees. Manda smiled again as he placed the headband on his head. He didn't like it the normal way so he tried many different ways. Manda then placed it over his left eye and knew that was the way he liked it. "Heh. Guess I'm a genin now." He turned and headed back to Kirigakure.
6/6 Water Walking
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 2:36 pm
"Did you see that!" Sakuran yelled in delight. "I almost got it!" she said with a smile and turning to Iruka Sensei.
"Good job!" he said with a smile. "Try giving it another shot! I'll do it with you this time." he said turning to her. "Okay, go!"
They both did the hand signs that were needed to do the jutsu. After a puff of smoke cleared the room, there were now three Iruka's and three Sakuran's. Sakuran and her two clones all jumped with joy to see that it work, that she finally got it right.
"Good job Sakuran!" the three Iruka's said in unisine. "Take a breck for a while and when you get back we will start working on the Henge no Jutsu." he said with a smile.
(Bushin no Jutsu 3/3)
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:47 pm
Tamao
Almost there! Tamao had been putting her all into it, pushing against Hedoro to keep her moving. It had been slow going, but they'd almost reached the hot springs. She didn't see why Hedoro seemed so against taking a bath. Was she embarassed about her body? No, this seemed a bit too strong of a reaction for just being shy about how she looked. Was it something more? And if so, then what? She couldn't really think of any possible reason to act the way Hedoro was. She supposed she'd just have to find out once they actually got there.
And speaking of, they almost were. They had made it out of the dorms and down the walkway, she could actually see the front of the hot springs only a short distance away. It may have only been a short distance, but with how reluctant Hedoro was, it would still take a little bit before they actually got there. But they'd made it this far already, Tamao wasn't about to give up now!
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:58 pm
Hedoro
This was frustrating! Hedoro was still trying to resist being propelled towards the bath house, but it was no use. She could feel herself moved closer bit by bit. She couldn't stop Tamao, at least not without hurting her, and that wasn't an option either. But she didn't want her to see what she really looked like. What option did that leave her? None that she could think of, so she found herself moving inexorably closer to the springs.
She put on a last burst of effort, and actually stalled their progress for a moment, but then it passed. Using more strength than she gave her credit for, Tamao overpowered her resistance and continued the pushing.
This was crazy! Hedoro had had enough! She consigned herself to her fate, already believing that Tamao wouldn't want anything else to do with her once she saw what she really was. But even so, this pitifully weak resistance was ridiculous! So what if she couldn't stop it, she didn't have to make it so obvious! She had some pride, after all! So she stopped fighting it, straightened up, and walked forward under her own power. Her head hung low in defeat, leading the way to her execution, as it were.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:18 pm
Tamao
Tamao nearly stumbled when Hedoro abrubtly stopped trying to fight her, and only barely managed to stop herself from falling. She watched as Hedoro straightened up and then slouched, as if she were being forced to enter a place of certain doom. Oh come one! A bath wasn't that bad, was it? How had she grown up, to think something like that? Tamao couldn't even imagine the sort of background that would make someone act the way Hedoro was, so put it out of her mind.
Anyways, they were there. Even with Hedoro not walking anywhere close to a normal speed, they had still closed the distance rather quickly. Tamao continued to follow Hedoro, just in case she had thoughts of trying to dash away at the last moment. But she didn't, and they soon stood inside of the bath house. From the lobby where they stood, there were two doors open to them. One for men, one for women. Tamao steered Hedoro towards the right door, as she had stopped, probably trying to stall for time. Passing through the doorway, they reached the changing room, where they could slip out of their clothes before going to actually bathe.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:28 pm
Hedoro
Hedoro looked around, at a bit of a loss. She'd never been to a public bath house, actually, she'd never been to a bath at all! The closest she'd ever gotten was rinsing out one or two pieces of her outfit in either a rain puddle or river. She saw the labels for the two paths, one for guys, one for girls. Simple enough to figure out that guys went in one, girls went in the other. But even so, she didn't move, hoping that if she showed a little more resistance, Tamao would let her go. But it was useless, Tamao was already urging her on towards the door.
She walked through, and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone else there, it was just the two of them. That was a relief, at least. It was bad enough knowing that even one more person would know what she was, she didn't think she could handle it if anyone else were to find out as well. she stood helplessly, she couldn't bring herself to disrobe while another person was there. This was no modesty, though. It was just months and months, even years and years, of secrecy and paranoia.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 5:50 pm
Tamao
Tamao stepped into the room and looked around. Finding an empty basket, she began to slip out of her clothes, undoing the buttons one by one. She glanced over at Hedoro, and sighed. As she had expected, she wasn't doing anything. What, would she have to undress Hedoro for her? She folded her clothes and set them in the small basket. Wrapping a towel around her frame, she went over to Hedoro, tapping her on the shoulder and telling her this was the part where she changed out of her clothes and into the towel.
But she really didn't expect that to be enough. She watched, waiting to see if Hedoro would actually begin to undress. If not, then she had a little something to help spur her along. It was an odd little technique she'd read about. It was technically a taijutsu, but so utterly pointless and complicated to use that it had never been recognized as a real jutsu. She watched Hedoro stand there listlessly and finally decided to use the technique. It used a quick burst of energy to allow her to move very, very fast. Just before she unleashed it, she shouted it's name. Shrimp Peeler!
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 6:10 pm
Hedoro
Hedoro stood, trying one moment to force herself to start undressing, and alternatively to convince herself to just make a break for it. But soon her decision was made for her, though. As she stood there debating which way to go, Tamao came up and tapped her on the shoulder, telling her what she had to do. She knew it, but knowing it wasn't the same as doing it! She couldn't bring herself to do it, not just like that. She'd spent too much time hiding herself to just up and expose herself like that!
The next thing she knew, she heard Tamao say something in a rather louder voice than usual. A gust of wind, and she looked around in a panic. Where had her clothes gone! In that instant, Tamao had somehow stripped her? What had she said, 'Shrimp Peeler'? What a horrible attack! She looked down in mute horror as she saw herself as she truly was, unhidden by even a stitch of clothing or rags. Sorrowfully, she looked over at Tamao, waiting to see what her reaction would be. Would it be horror, pity, revulsion? She'd seen them all, and frankly, that would be for the best. If Tamao reacted like those other people in the past, like those who'd 'kept' her, that wouldn't be a good sign.
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