Starring:
Date: July 5, 2010
Summary:
Ibaraki Renji, Yamayuki Maia, Seishukuni Kureno, and Sasaki Imota Sokai unknowingly converge in Fuuma Alley.
"A Talk in the Fuuma Basin"
Unkown location
With the war between Kumogakure and Kirigakure finally over, Maia is out and about heading towards the lands of her allies to give them thanks. As such, she's out on her own, leaving her team behind to recover from the attacks as she decided to take a shortcut through Fuuma Alley. She wasn't dressed in her usual ninja outfit though, at least not on the outside. She would merely be a traveler through the lands as to not draw attention to herself. A simple tattered kimono was over her kunoichi body suit, as she walked through the area, scrunching her nose. For those who knew her, her face was no longer unblemished and untouched. A scar ran underneath her lefteye and down her cheek that was still healing.
The war is over…Oh joy. This is exactly Ibaraki Renji's thoughts, dearly wanting the war to continue if only for his own excitement and enjoyment. Oh well. "I wonder what will be found in this area…" This could be heard if anyone was close enough, the Jounin laying against the wall of the alley; Chakra being used to keep himself against it of course. A single yawn and his stunning sea-blue eyes cast out over the land, searching for anything interesting until…. With a minor thought, his chakra cuts off and he falls to the ground, landing on his feet before moving toward the kunoichi in a tattered kimono. "I heard ya swayed someone important recently." His voice is laid-back and seems somewhat bored. "I think his name was Kaguya Mitsuo," he adds.
"50 PUSHUPS NOW!" Yells a cloaked form somewhere in the Fuuma alley. This boy is probably the once-much-talked-about Chuunin from the Seishukuni clan. And somehow today, he finds himself in the company of Imota. "Forget the push-ups. Let's just keep running." And than the man runs in the general direction of Renji and Maia, perhaps not realizing they are there. And he chants, "Fumo Fumo Fumo FU!"
What had Imota gotten himslef into this time. He would look to the man, saying, "Training… is this form, and area, while respectable, is highly unrecommended..", as he would run behind the chuunin, wondering why in the world he had started to excercise now. Had the mission even led them here? Imota was truly recommended to accompany, this young man out to where they were ordered to go, but never got a briefing, or for tha matter, even as hello. Imota mind as well had been a stranger to him. "Chuunin-sama… Why are we enroute to such an indesireable ar-…", words being cut off as he would see a couple, seeming to start in conversation. Imota would run up beside the man, and look to his chants, wondering whether or not deserting him even now would be wise. A report of this situation would probably excuse things.
There's a little meep as she tenses up a bit. She purposely was covered in the tattered kimono for a reason afterall. Still, she turned around and raised her brows, letting out a soft chuckle escape from her lips. "I may have done that." Maia replied softly as she turned towards him with a coy grin. "So kill many of my comrades?" she asked curiously. But before she could continue, her train of thought was derailed by the sudden yelling.
"Some people aren't discreet here." she continued, motioning towards the approaching chuunin. "But you heard rather quickly, it could have been someone else? Did the Mizukage mention me by name?" she whispered softly, wanting to keep track of those that now knew of her existence. Sometimes being just a piddly little chuunin was better.
Still, as the two approached, she chuckled softly and gave a friendly wave towards the two. "Hello! Don't worry, we're harmless."
"He mentioned a Yamayuki and what she wore." Renji smirks. "How did ya sway him?" The question about her comrades goes unanswered… most likely because he did not manage to kill many… or at least in his eyes this is the case. An idle and lazy look goes toward the yelling man approaching and the person with him, causing an eyebrow to rise for a moment before he shrugs. His attention returns to the Kumo-nin when she speaks on behalf of him, causing a small smirk to raise on his lips. "That's right. This Kirigakure shinobi is harmless…Do ya really believe that," he adds.
"You are probably wondering by now, what the hell are you doing here." Says Kureno, looking at the two, but his statement was meant for Imota. "I was told to train young Genin as yourself, because I.. haven't been long in the village. I don't know what _you_ did to be assigned to me, but.. time to train." His voice is low enough for the two to not hear him, unless they have some kind of super hearing. "As for why we are here… uhh, we'll figure that out soon enough."
Than he waves a hand to the other two. "Oh, a harmless Kirigakure shinobi? I wish I brought my photographer, this is a valuable moment. Greetings to you two; We come from the Land of Wind, and seek no trouble with the two of you."
Looking up to the woman as she would then seem to have noticed Kureno, and himself, Imota would whisper to Kureno, "I think we should seek an area less… contained by the awkwardness of intrusion upon these two." But then something else would prone him to want to stay quite quickly.. Talk of the Mizukage.. Wow… His eyes would widened momentarily, noticiable to nothing but a flicker or blink, as he would hear the question of the Kage's mention. A great way to get info? Yep. But the wrong timing? Not sure. Had this been the mission? This would be wondered deeply by Imota, as he would say nothing.. The woman's identity, thanks to her robe were unknown. But there was one clue to the other that had been around. A lone pendant, with a symbol of the Mist. The other, had been of Kiri. Fortunate circumstance? Lets hope so.
"This one appologizes for the intrusion, ma'am." Hearing something about a Yamayuki, would have been quite disturbing for Imota, enough for him to seem to furrow his brow briefly. Had Kiri, been conspiring with another clan? He had heard of a Yamayuki clan, but only from books back at the archives back in Suna.. Had this been a clan from the Land of Lightning? And if so then this meant something rather in over his head. Kureno's statement would be heard, but it would still prompt even more questions, which right now, made no sense in asking.. Not to mention that this chuunin, apparently, seemed to have to try and call a Kiri nin harmless… These guys are in /no/ way harmless.
"It could have been one of my sisters, we do have similar tastes in fashion." she replied with another amused giggle before she shrugs her shoulders at the question. "But if I was the one who did sway the Mizukage, I did it with eloquence and simple logic." Maia replied with a sage nod. There were no shinobi techniques used at all as she looked towards the pair from Suna with a bright and cheery smile.
"A pleasure to meet the both of you. I'm just a singer from Lightning. I am harmless." she said with a sage nod. "But I do know of a Fukuzawa Koudo from there. If you see him, please tell him that Maia sends her regards."
"I know it was you, Maia." Renji states. "So stop messin' with me… please." A look goes toward the pair, idly staring at them with half-lidded eyes. "Ya both are from Sunagakure no Sato? That's kind of interestin'…" His attention remains on them for a moment, though he looks back to the girl soon after. A smirkish grin raises on his lips at her statement, finding it somewhat amusing and… cute. "You'll tell me what ya said to him another time, eh?" A shrug of his shoulders and he looks up to the sky, staring at the fog created by the industrial town that he was heading toward.
"Yeah, Sunagakure, that's right." Replies the Chuunin. "I suppose you are from Kirigakure no Sato. Never seen someone from that village. I heard you are bloodthirsty beasts. You must've done something right to gain such a reputation." The Chuunin chuckles. Is he out of his mind? Possible. You know, there's lots of sun in Suna;
"I don't suppose you come here just looking for a chat? Not that I care anyway, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with me and my recently appointed 'protege'."
Looking to the woman and her claims of being a singer, Imota would look to the women with a sideways glance. But then the moment would come, that Imota would have soon heard a name. A familiar one. Of course he knew who councilman Fukuzawa Koudo had been. "Maia", would be whispered with a mental chinrub to himself, as he would think for a moment. Koudo, had mentioned the name once in training, quite a while back, during a teaching of wind focusing to the genin. Imota would ask himself a couple of questions before a lightbulb would go off in Imota's head… The Diplomat! From Kumogakure! Imota would blink twice, and nod, saying, "This will be done indeed, Miss." The woman, had come to the village, asking for aid for Kumo, during a time of war. Kumo's inquiry had been denied, due to Suna's neutrality. However, Kiri's interest in trade, and money, had not.
A look would go to Renji, just as he would stare into the fog of the city, looking at his shape and figure, before he would then look to Kureno, and whisper, "I assume that you will be heading out and away from this place soon, Kureno-sama?" before he would then eye the two, once, then twice. It was a chance that the two had strong enough, if they wanted to, to do away with the nosiness that was being implied by their presence. Then, Kureno, would start talking… again. He would look to the Chuunin, and sweatdrop. They are doomed…
"I'm just on my way to one of the casinos in the area. I have a billing and they said I can sing there every now and then." she said matter of factly. In her mind, her cover was still there as a singer could simply have performed for the Mizukage afterall. Maia raises her brows as she looks back towards Renji and shook her head a little before she reached out and tried to play punch him in the arm.
"Be nice now, I think they are just training, and you have no quarrel with them. I feel like I should apologize for his behavior, perhaps there is still some aggression that needs to be let loose. Hopefully there will be a hog somewhere in the forest that he can skewer instead and we can all have a wonderful feast afterwards, yes?" she offered cheerily.
Continuing to stare into the sky, Renji listens to each one of them speak, however the mention of being blood-thirsty beasts brings his eyes off the fog and down onto the chuunin. "That's what some say, eh? We're all blood-thirsty beasts and it's true, but there's more to me than that…" He continues to stare with half-lidded eyes at the younger shinobi, thinking to himself for a moment before adding, "…Ya know she was just kiddin'. I'm not harmless. In fact, I love battle. Everythin' about it…" For a moment, a sparkle appears in his sea-blue eyes, and he continues to says, "I love the feelin' of my enemy's blood splashing against my bare skin, the sound of it splattering on the ground, the feel of my blood leaving my wounds… All of it is like a nirvana for me…" Why is he telling them this? Who knows. As he is playfully punched, he half-looks toward the woman and yawns… "I'm bein' nice," he simply replies.
The chuunin strokes his chin at Renji's words. "I know what you mean." Says the Chuunin, his hand scratching the corner of his eye; "I sometimes feel the same way; and not many people can understand this. Though, I always thought that this was the most logical universal truth…" He pauses for a long moment and than says. "In conflict lies progress. Don't you agree?" The chuunin tilts his head, smirking slightly.
"It seems my 'protege' here is nervous!" The chuunin chuckles, "He must be itching for combat!!" (Uh oh) The chuunin laughs out loud heartily, "But I don't suppose you would like to show my protege here how real men do combat!"
Hearing Maia's encouragement of this whole entire thing, not toward negative action, would seem to not really provoke any physical reaction toward anything. Imota, was normally pretty blank when it came to emotion to began with. It was something to behold, however, with the woman actually taking responsibility for the Kiri nin's behavior. It was as if they had some deeper relationship. Imota would not have been bothering to speak at this moment, obviously trying to think his way out of this predicament, even though Maia's joking of a hog being skewered instead, would not help.
And nor would Renji, and his bloody turn on's would either. The man seemed to be well fascinated with blood, more than the woman he had been accompanying, begging Imota to wonder if this guy had psychological issues… This talk certainly did not lead to anything safe. He would listen, only to then be rathered puzzle at the idea of Renji, entirely.
But then Kureno, would succeed in causing every single thought in his mind, to just leave, being substituted for one of just plain, and utter confusion, the likes of which Imota had never ever, experience in his 11 short years. Everything would seem to break down, in his mind, before mysteriously gluing itself together. "Your reference to me, as a 'protege' is logically unfounded." He would look to the man, as he would ask Renji of taking Imota in a fight, and say, "You sir…. are lacking in mental capacities for which your promotion entails."
The talk of blood.. or rather what he was really talking about… battle… is let loose and Renji's attention turns toward the singer. "You're throwin' that genin into a fight with me?" His attention turns toward the Suna-chuunin, staring at him with half-lidded eyes until they snap a little open, a hearty manly laugh echoing throughout the area after it escapes from his entire being. "You're too scared to face me or somethin'? I find it amusin' that ya agree with my out-look on battle and then hide behind one of your students…" A shrug of his shoulders and he looks toward the young genin, adding, "I'll fight both of ya… if ya want. I'll kill both of ya too. Slice each of your limbs from your body and finish with your heads, but… there's a female present…" A half-look goes back to the woman, a charming yet dangerous smirkish smile on his lips.
The chuunin chuckles and than shakes his head, laughing out heartily, "Of course I wouldn't let my protege fight, I just wanted to see what he is made of." He glances at Imota, "And I am not satisfied." Than he looks at Renji, knuckles cracking. "I suppose I could try my hand against you in a spar if you'd like. I have duties to perform later, and it's not that easy when you are limping.. or missing limbs." He smiles.
So… Imota wasn't the only person who thought this idea wouldn't sail. He would look to Maia, and Renji, and make a quick nod, before he would then look to Kureno, obviously trying to figure out what this guy had been really about. Either he had been truly nuts, or he had been amazingly strong. Imota was not tuned in.
Her brows furrowed as she let out a soft sigh and stretched her arms into the air. She started to step to the side to clear an area for the two bloodthirsty men. "Come! We should give them as much room as possible if they are going to spar." Maia told Imota as she ushered him to follow her off to a safe distance.
"Alright Suna-nin." Renji takes his hands out from the hakama pants pockets and begins to stretch a bit, however still looks laid-back and bored. For a moment, a light blue glow can be seen coming from him, most likely converting chakra within his body. "I'll let ya go first. It wouldn't be any fun if I slaughtered ya right off the bat." And with that, the Kiri-Jounin remains stationary, staring at the other shinobi with a half-lidded expression.
Kureno tilts his head. Again, Renji threatens to slaughter them. He didn't like the direction this harmless spar was taking. But hey, he said it himself. "Okay. Instead of going until first blood is drawn, let's go until. Well, either of us loses too much of it." Than he smirks, and jumps back, his hands clapping together;
The air shimmers for a moment and than it's as if crystals start appearing in the air; shaped like flower petals, "Ok, I guess, let's see how well this goes!"
As the air begins to shape and change, Renji narrows his eyes and looks over toward the Suna-chuunin… a rather annoyed expression on his lips. "Are you kiddin' me right now?" The feeling of chakra gathering within him simply vanishes and he shoves his hands into his pockets, stating, "Ya talk of agreeing with my out-look on battle, but attempt to use genjutsu on me?" He turns his back on the shinobi and begins to lazily walk toward the industrial town. "I'm not goin' to be spillin' ya blood today…even though I should for tryin' such a cheap trick." With that, he flickers from sight, and is gone from the area.
The Chuunin blinks in surprise, and than tilts his head curiously. He looks towards Imota. "So much for assessing the strength of Kirigakure Shinobi." Was that their mission? Probably not. But who can really tell. The Chuunin than shrugs his shoulders and sits down on the ground, grabbing one of the floating crystalline petals.
"You do get to see blood when your opponent is caught in a genjutsu…" Kureno mutters to himself.
Looking to the chuunin, and jounin, and what seems to be a really short altercation, Imota would look on, rather stoicly, as the man would seem to leave from view… "He made his leave it seemed. Something else probably." He would look to the used technique of the other nin, noting that only one other person seemed to have the same ability, and say, "The Crystal style.. Tsubasa's clansmen then." He would then say, "Perhaps assessment of strength, though unattainable at this point, was not completely lost." He would remeber Maia, and then say, "We should report back to Sunagakure immediately, Chuunin-sama…"
The Chuunin would glance back to the Genin and smirk, walking over and patting his head. "I hope I didn't scare you, there." He chuckles, suddenly taking on a different demeanor. A couple of hand-seals later and the crystalline petals would fall apart into tiny droplets of water. "Yeah, I am Tsubasa's clanmate. Now, let's go back to the village. But before that.." The Chuunin smiles.
His finger suddenly points to the ground. "50 PUSHUPS NOW!"
"That was…. interesting."
Maia shrugged her shoulders and scrunched up her nose as she noticed that one was a genjutsu user. That was definitely interesting as she let out a soft chuckle of amusement. She shrugged her shoulders and merely went her way…
