Empress- 8
RogueDruid
"You are in my way, And simply unecessary"
- Location
- Salt lake city
Sorry for the wait. the mindset for writing this chapter... is hard to stay in without getting upset.
Anyway, enjoy. Oh, and I'll post a response compilation to the comments soon.
I dressed up a nicer than my usual casual clothes. A long sleeved green shirt with a black jacket, and black slacks a bit higher quality than my normal gear. I rounded it out with my cleaned off boots, gave my hair a bit of a comb to clean it up a bit more than usual, tying off the neck length hair in a short ponytail. I pulled on a simple black jacket and began preparing myself for a light load of distractions and weapons. Three decks of charged up cards, a pack of senbon, a coil of wire. A few other things. Most of them were stashed in my jacket pockets or held by small clasps and hooks sewn up my sleeves.
Comfortable with my gear, I headed out, saying goodbye to dad as I passed the stall.
I took the streets this time, enjoying the early morning air and the sounds of the market coming to life for the midday rush around me. I Paused a moment here and there, chatting with family friends. Daichi the baker handed me a pack of sweet rolls, and Madam Homura from the Tea garden handed me a small bouquet of wildflowers that meant Greetings, Peace, and Good luck.
By the time I had reached the Nara gates, I had another pound of stuff up my sleeves and in my jacket pockets. A new deck of cards fresh from the box in my hands, this one a misprint passed off from the Print shops owner, Shinso. While the faces of the cards were lopsided to the cut, the backs, a technicolor spiral of birds, were beautiful and crisp. It made the flow of cards change from lines of solid color like usual to an intricate wave of bright and flowing colors. I was practicing with making the designs change what color was visible during tricks based on card orientation and angles.As I approached the gate, I flipped three cards up and adjusted the deck as they came back down into my hand. I adjusted the cards so they were back in new deck order, and let the three cards that came down, the two jokers and the ace of spades, slide into their respective spots.
A quick thumb through of the deck to check the trick worked, and I stashed it in a plain black case, sliding it into my pocket. I bowed to the guards who both looked amused by my show of cardistry. "Good morning, Nara-san, I am Toru Shusho. I was invited by Nara Yumi to join her today." I slipped into a formal tone for a moment, barely catching their stances shifting with what I expected was slight surprise and a touch of respect, before they bowed back.
"Greetings Toru-san, You are welcome and expected. Yumi should be at her house, fourth to the left, along with the side path." the guard greeted me and pointed the way, stepping aside so I could get past.
"Thank you kindly." I nodded and passed them, hands in my pockets. I felt their gaze linger for a moment before I made it to the first intersection.
I headed towards the house, gaze wandering through the Nara clan Compound. The houses were spaced apart, plenty of open ground surrounding them. The road was cobbled and had a short retaining wall where the small hills of the compound intersected it. Beyond that, there were also trees and lanterns spaced about, to the east and west of the compound. It took a few seconds for me to notice the crisscrossing shadows that the branches threw across the yards. Even around noon as it was, the shadows were bountiful and present. Beyond that the houses all had small gazebos or porches that wrapped them, providing even more shadows.
Soon I walked up the path towards the house I was directed to. It was set further back from the main path, and slightly smaller than the ones close to the main gate of the compound.
I pondered that as I walked closer. I know that Yumi isn't a clan heir, and she doesn't bring up her family much. Maybe a branch family of the clan? that could make sense. Or I could ask instead of making guesses.
I knocked on the frame of the door and forced myself to relax, sending a flicker of chakra to loosen my muscles up and help dispel the tension. A minute later, a tall man, the sharp face and long black hair hinting at him being a blooded Nara, and he eyed me with a look that set me on edge.
I blinked, trying to clear away the shiver of emotion that seemed to touch the edge of my chakra. I-... I could almost feel some of the emotion he was radiating, despite his closed-off stance. It was like hearing an echo in a nearby room, muffled and faint. I sensed... God, it felt like disdain and annoyance. Not... at me? Not really. But it felt like I was caught up in that. I tried to reach out with my chakra but I lost the feeling.
"I take it you're the Boy on my daughter's team?" he said, making me blink at the skipping of pleasantries.
"I am. Toru Shusho at your service, Nara-san." I bowed slightly. Trying not to tense up as my mind focused and my training broke him down. He was… not chubby. But definitely close to it, with an obvious beer gut. His rusty physique was more pronounced than any ninja I have ever seen, and his arms looked soft and untrained. And I bet if I had Tsuru here, he'd say the man's chakra network was clogged and old looking. And when I focused, I could feel it staggering and sludge like when I reached out with my senses, the blue hue that I was coming to tune out when not focusing on it was weak and seemed mottled.
Ignoring that, and pushing my observations to be processed later, I watched as he nodded brusquely, and stepped back, leaving me to watch from the doorway as he called down Yumi.
Apparently, Yumi didn't want to be in there either. Coming up and to the door in a split second from somewhere on the upper floor. She was dressed in a black and blue skirt and light blue kimono with a deer pattern along the sleeves in black threads. Her hair was up in a bun, and her face with only slight amounts of makeup, aside from a fairly dark blue eyeshadow.
"Hey, Shusho. How are you!" her expression was… forced. A sort of fake cheer that made something in me twitches with a flash of violent intent. This was my teammate, she was, as of graduation, part of my family. Who was the soon the be dead fuckwit giving her a hard time? My eyes flicked up to see a flash of a tall and elegant brown haired woman looking down the stairwell towards us, face impassive and stance ridged.
I nodded at her, a pen appearing from my sleeve and spinning around my fingers rapidly as I forced my face to form a natural looking grin. "I'm doing good, Yumi. I like the way the Nara compound looks. I haven't been here before, either, had to get directions to find you, or i'd get lost." Her eyes flickered as if she wanted to look behind her, but she relaxed slightly as she saw the opening I gave.
"I could give you a tour, if you'd like." she looked focused at me, and I gave a silent twitch of my shoulder back behind me, as small a confirmation as I could.
"I would be much appreciated Yumi. We can even go wait for Kohaku, she should be here soon, right?" and there it was, the tension loosening, but still there, the same body language i was use to seeing when I took out someone she had pinned in a spar.
I should not be seeing that reaction right now. My suspicions were growing heavy, as was the grip I had to maintain to keep my emotion off my face. .
"Mom, Dad, I'm going to show Toru around. Back in a bit!" She called, and I was already stepping clear and letting her pass, closing the door to block out any chance of a reply. While Yumi headed down the path i followed, glancing abck just in time to see her father's face looking out a window with a frown.
I tighten my grip on the pen, ignoring the way the wooden casing cracked in my grip as i followed Yumi away from the house.
Kohaku walked down the street, tugging at the hem of the cute red and black kimono she had picked up all time she dragged Toru-san shopping. While she liked how it looked, the fit was slightly too loose around her chest, and as such it sat strangely. It still looked cute, however. And paired with the long black skirt she wore under it, and her shinobi sandals, she was comfortable. She soon passed by the Nara guards, who pointed her towards a small grove that was nestled between the northern wall of the compound and the houses. Apparently, her teammates were relaxing at a small gazebo up a hill in that direction.
She sped up to a fast walk, lips quirked into a grin as she looked forwards to hanging out with her tea- Friends. They were friends. Which, wow, that realization had been fairly abrupt and she was still sorting out how she felt about actually having friends in konoha, and not just people she had to associate with.
It helped take the edge off-
And there they were- but the moment she saw them, she snapped from content to focused, because Toru, Friendly kind and fairly relaxed if awkward guy Toru, was frowning with a senbon out and twirling very slowly around his hand, and Yumi, her best friend, was hugging herself and looked uncomfortable.
"Alright. What's going on." She called out, making them both jump slightly as they looked at her.
And from the way Toru glanced in Yumi's direction with an expression that seemed torn between wanting to comfort his teammate and wanting to go kill someone Kohaku suddenly knew today was going to be an event.
Anyway, enjoy. Oh, and I'll post a response compilation to the comments soon.
I dressed up a nicer than my usual casual clothes. A long sleeved green shirt with a black jacket, and black slacks a bit higher quality than my normal gear. I rounded it out with my cleaned off boots, gave my hair a bit of a comb to clean it up a bit more than usual, tying off the neck length hair in a short ponytail. I pulled on a simple black jacket and began preparing myself for a light load of distractions and weapons. Three decks of charged up cards, a pack of senbon, a coil of wire. A few other things. Most of them were stashed in my jacket pockets or held by small clasps and hooks sewn up my sleeves.
Comfortable with my gear, I headed out, saying goodbye to dad as I passed the stall.
I took the streets this time, enjoying the early morning air and the sounds of the market coming to life for the midday rush around me. I Paused a moment here and there, chatting with family friends. Daichi the baker handed me a pack of sweet rolls, and Madam Homura from the Tea garden handed me a small bouquet of wildflowers that meant Greetings, Peace, and Good luck.
By the time I had reached the Nara gates, I had another pound of stuff up my sleeves and in my jacket pockets. A new deck of cards fresh from the box in my hands, this one a misprint passed off from the Print shops owner, Shinso. While the faces of the cards were lopsided to the cut, the backs, a technicolor spiral of birds, were beautiful and crisp. It made the flow of cards change from lines of solid color like usual to an intricate wave of bright and flowing colors. I was practicing with making the designs change what color was visible during tricks based on card orientation and angles.As I approached the gate, I flipped three cards up and adjusted the deck as they came back down into my hand. I adjusted the cards so they were back in new deck order, and let the three cards that came down, the two jokers and the ace of spades, slide into their respective spots.
A quick thumb through of the deck to check the trick worked, and I stashed it in a plain black case, sliding it into my pocket. I bowed to the guards who both looked amused by my show of cardistry. "Good morning, Nara-san, I am Toru Shusho. I was invited by Nara Yumi to join her today." I slipped into a formal tone for a moment, barely catching their stances shifting with what I expected was slight surprise and a touch of respect, before they bowed back.
"Greetings Toru-san, You are welcome and expected. Yumi should be at her house, fourth to the left, along with the side path." the guard greeted me and pointed the way, stepping aside so I could get past.
"Thank you kindly." I nodded and passed them, hands in my pockets. I felt their gaze linger for a moment before I made it to the first intersection.
I headed towards the house, gaze wandering through the Nara clan Compound. The houses were spaced apart, plenty of open ground surrounding them. The road was cobbled and had a short retaining wall where the small hills of the compound intersected it. Beyond that, there were also trees and lanterns spaced about, to the east and west of the compound. It took a few seconds for me to notice the crisscrossing shadows that the branches threw across the yards. Even around noon as it was, the shadows were bountiful and present. Beyond that the houses all had small gazebos or porches that wrapped them, providing even more shadows.
Soon I walked up the path towards the house I was directed to. It was set further back from the main path, and slightly smaller than the ones close to the main gate of the compound.
I pondered that as I walked closer. I know that Yumi isn't a clan heir, and she doesn't bring up her family much. Maybe a branch family of the clan? that could make sense. Or I could ask instead of making guesses.
I knocked on the frame of the door and forced myself to relax, sending a flicker of chakra to loosen my muscles up and help dispel the tension. A minute later, a tall man, the sharp face and long black hair hinting at him being a blooded Nara, and he eyed me with a look that set me on edge.
I blinked, trying to clear away the shiver of emotion that seemed to touch the edge of my chakra. I-... I could almost feel some of the emotion he was radiating, despite his closed-off stance. It was like hearing an echo in a nearby room, muffled and faint. I sensed... God, it felt like disdain and annoyance. Not... at me? Not really. But it felt like I was caught up in that. I tried to reach out with my chakra but I lost the feeling.
"I take it you're the Boy on my daughter's team?" he said, making me blink at the skipping of pleasantries.
"I am. Toru Shusho at your service, Nara-san." I bowed slightly. Trying not to tense up as my mind focused and my training broke him down. He was… not chubby. But definitely close to it, with an obvious beer gut. His rusty physique was more pronounced than any ninja I have ever seen, and his arms looked soft and untrained. And I bet if I had Tsuru here, he'd say the man's chakra network was clogged and old looking. And when I focused, I could feel it staggering and sludge like when I reached out with my senses, the blue hue that I was coming to tune out when not focusing on it was weak and seemed mottled.
Ignoring that, and pushing my observations to be processed later, I watched as he nodded brusquely, and stepped back, leaving me to watch from the doorway as he called down Yumi.
Apparently, Yumi didn't want to be in there either. Coming up and to the door in a split second from somewhere on the upper floor. She was dressed in a black and blue skirt and light blue kimono with a deer pattern along the sleeves in black threads. Her hair was up in a bun, and her face with only slight amounts of makeup, aside from a fairly dark blue eyeshadow.
"Hey, Shusho. How are you!" her expression was… forced. A sort of fake cheer that made something in me twitches with a flash of violent intent. This was my teammate, she was, as of graduation, part of my family. Who was the soon the be dead fuckwit giving her a hard time? My eyes flicked up to see a flash of a tall and elegant brown haired woman looking down the stairwell towards us, face impassive and stance ridged.
I nodded at her, a pen appearing from my sleeve and spinning around my fingers rapidly as I forced my face to form a natural looking grin. "I'm doing good, Yumi. I like the way the Nara compound looks. I haven't been here before, either, had to get directions to find you, or i'd get lost." Her eyes flickered as if she wanted to look behind her, but she relaxed slightly as she saw the opening I gave.
"I could give you a tour, if you'd like." she looked focused at me, and I gave a silent twitch of my shoulder back behind me, as small a confirmation as I could.
"I would be much appreciated Yumi. We can even go wait for Kohaku, she should be here soon, right?" and there it was, the tension loosening, but still there, the same body language i was use to seeing when I took out someone she had pinned in a spar.
I should not be seeing that reaction right now. My suspicions were growing heavy, as was the grip I had to maintain to keep my emotion off my face. .
"Mom, Dad, I'm going to show Toru around. Back in a bit!" She called, and I was already stepping clear and letting her pass, closing the door to block out any chance of a reply. While Yumi headed down the path i followed, glancing abck just in time to see her father's face looking out a window with a frown.
I tighten my grip on the pen, ignoring the way the wooden casing cracked in my grip as i followed Yumi away from the house.
Kohaku walked down the street, tugging at the hem of the cute red and black kimono she had picked up all time she dragged Toru-san shopping. While she liked how it looked, the fit was slightly too loose around her chest, and as such it sat strangely. It still looked cute, however. And paired with the long black skirt she wore under it, and her shinobi sandals, she was comfortable. She soon passed by the Nara guards, who pointed her towards a small grove that was nestled between the northern wall of the compound and the houses. Apparently, her teammates were relaxing at a small gazebo up a hill in that direction.
She sped up to a fast walk, lips quirked into a grin as she looked forwards to hanging out with her tea- Friends. They were friends. Which, wow, that realization had been fairly abrupt and she was still sorting out how she felt about actually having friends in konoha, and not just people she had to associate with.
It helped take the edge off-
And there they were- but the moment she saw them, she snapped from content to focused, because Toru, Friendly kind and fairly relaxed if awkward guy Toru, was frowning with a senbon out and twirling very slowly around his hand, and Yumi, her best friend, was hugging herself and looked uncomfortable.
"Alright. What's going on." She called out, making them both jump slightly as they looked at her.
And from the way Toru glanced in Yumi's direction with an expression that seemed torn between wanting to comfort his teammate and wanting to go kill someone Kohaku suddenly knew today was going to be an event.
