Starring:
Date: October 16, 2010
Summary:
Kara examines her newest Puppet in secret! Or that was the original plan. But apparently her secret Puppet examination area is not-so-secret to Takumi.
"Meeting Anubis! Kara Gets A Date!"
Sunadome Arena Ring - Sunagakure
It is evening, and the Sunadome Arena is quiet and empty. During the day it is used to perform advanced training for Genin and Academy Students to bring them up to par. Many died during the siege and need to be 'replaced' somehow, after all. But that also makes this the perfect place for solo training, when the arena should be locked up for the night, and no one should be here. And so, the night finds Kara sneaking onto the arena floor, with a harness of straps with scrolls on her back and shoulders. Two large scrolls are slotted into the harness on her back, but a third is held close to her chest as though she were afraid it might be stolen from her at any moment.
The dark-skinned young woman looks around suspiciously, and then begins unrolling the scroll on the sand-and-dirt floor. She grins. This is going to be >so cool<!
Takumi has chosen today as the day to sneak off and zone out somewhere alone. Since the siege he has had a lot of work to do as a medic, and was starting to get a bit burnt out. Currently he is somewhere off in the stands, napping lightly in one of the abandoned seats where no one would bother him normally.
Unaware of Takumi's presence, Kara places a hand on the unrolled scroll, focuses her Chakra, and… *POOOF* An explosive force, somewhat muted, echoes in the arena as a cloud of smoke expands from the scroll, concealing both the Ancient Egyptian-style kunoichi, and whatever she just released from storage. When the smoke clears, there is a man standing on the scroll. Skin that appears to be pure black, and impossibly smooth, is garbed in Ancient Egyptian clothing. In one hand is a flail, and in the other is a long hook on a pole. The head of this man is… A jackal's!? That's right! This is no mere man! This is the God of Embalming… Anubis!
Kara stares up at the Ancient Puppet for a moment, and then stands up… And begins hopping up and down, squealing!
The explosion plus the squealing rouse Takumi from his nap with a "mlargh!" He absently kicks a chair when he starts, making an audible THOK through the empty arena. He then looks down at the arena and yawns broadly before rubbing the tears out of his eyes. "Some people are trying to sleep in here for some reason!" he calls out while still not really paying attention to anything.
Kara blinks and pauses in squealing, winding down slowly, and slowing her heel-bouncing as well. Her hands remains clasped in front of her chest, but the steady slow-down of movement and the dying-off of noise sounds a bit like this. "EEEEEEEEeeeeeee..ee..e…" Kind of like a kettle whistling and then being taken off the stove.
Looking around, she tries to identify where that yell came from. If someone is spying on her… If someone realizes where this Ancient Puppet came from… Well, she'll just have to make use of all those ranks in Bluff that she has been skill-point dumping for the past several campaigns. Raising a hand, invisible strands of Chakra reach out to attach to Anubis. Unfamiliar Puppet, unfamiliar materials, but same basic joint structure. So she decides to see what this thing can do!
"Show yourself, or I will have my new friend here use this… Hook thing to pull off your ears!" Oh, wait. Maybe she put those points into 'Bust' instead of 'Bluff'… It's not Kara's fault! They were right next to each other on the character sheet!
Takumi grumbles a bit as he makes an awkward beeline toward the stage by crawling over the backs of seats. As he makes his way down, making lots of noise along the way, he calls out, "You pull my ears off and I'll totally…not heal you next time you get hurt…or something. Or maybe call the guards, I dunno, I'm tired." As he gets closer to the ring he pauses a moment and looks around a little. "Wait, did I wake up in the middle of a show rehearsal? I didn't look at the community board for this week."
Kara pauses as Takumi comes stumbling down from the stands, leaps over the retainer wall and lands in the fighting ring. It's basically a large area of dirt, sand, and some grass. A small pond is nearby, but that's about it. It doesn't even look like a theater! "…Huh? A show rehearsal? This is the Sunadome! You know?" She looks at Takumi incredulously. "An arena? For fighting?" she shakes her head. "What are you even doing in here anyway? This place is supposed to be closed for the night!"
Something occurs to her suddenly. "…Have you been sleeping in here for >hours< or something?" She allows the Chakra Strings connecting her fingers to the Anubis Puppet to dissolve without sign they were ever there.
Takumi huffs a bit and responds with, "You can have fighting shows! I just assumed from how you are dressed, and this big thingy here." He gestures vaguely in the direction of the puppety statue thingy. Takumi then scratches one of his shoulders as he says, "Well seeing as how I have no idea what time it is, I don't think I can answer that question. Anyway, if this place is supposed to be closed, why are YOU here." With this he points and wiggles a finger at Kara.
Blinking her aqua eyes, Kara looks at Anubis. "Big thingy? This is >Anubis<! He is one of the >Ancient Puppets< that--" she breaks off that line of explanation because if she says that her father found the Puppet, that not only identifies her as Professor Uudo's daughter, but also word might get back to the researchers in the Admin Dome. And if they found out she had snuck into one of the restricted warehouses and stolen a Puppet…
"--Uhh, well it's almost bed time, actually. Somewhere around midnight, I guess? And I'm here because none of your business that's why!" She slaps ineffectually at the waggling finger from a few feet away, arms not quite long enough to reach the extended digit. "So… Nice to meet you, sleepy guy. My name is Kara. Have I seen you around before? You look sort of familiar, but I was gone for like three years, so I may have missed you."
Takumi eyes Kara up and down a bit with a squint. "Well if it's midnight I should probably go home or something." He drops his hand down before replying to her question. "Im Takumi, and I don't think you have. Im pretty sure I would remember you. Unless youre some kind of sneaky invisible person and can see me when I can't see you." He looks over Anubis and comments, "So, puppeteer eh? I've never really seen any of those in action."
Kara shakes her head in confusion. "No, I'm not invisible. I do have a technique for hiding, but I don't use it to just run around spying on people." She shrugs. "Anyway, yes, I am a Puppeteer… I am starting to think I may be the Village's >best< Puppeteer -- but shhhh, don't tell anyone I said that! I just don't see many other Puppeteers around, and the ones that >are< around are just kids! None of them have modified their Puppets as much as I have, not do they even >have< multiple Puppets! It's kind of depressing."
She sighs and slumps forward, arms dangling. "I really wish more people would take an interest in Kugutsu no Jutsu." Then she straightens up suddenly and taps a finger on her chin as she looks towards the ceiling high above. "But I suppose one needs an agile mind for this line of work, and to be mechanically inclined to a degree. I suppose I'm just… Too much of a genius for my own good." She shrugs sadly as she apparently accepts the fact she is smarter than everyone else.
Takumi nods along, staring blankly. He simply watches as she goes through her thing, waiting until she stops. He mainly notices her outfit, and wonders to himself if this person is dangerously insane. Whenever it seems she is looking at him during her speech, he smiles and nods, and when she finishes he states, "Yeah, I know how that is." Takumi then slowly nods in an understanding fashion and hope he made all the correct choices during the conversation.
Misinterpreting the looks at her clothes, Kara smirks slightly and glances slyly at Takumi, flicking her eyes up and down for a moment. Then she walks a bit closer, with her hands behind her back, though not necessarily walking straight at him or anything. "So… Takumi-san… You wouldn't happen to be…" She pauses right next to him and barely brushes his upper arm with the left-side of her spandex-covered chest. "…>Seeing< someone, would you?"
She then continues past a few more inches, so that she is standing alongside Takumi but is no longer contacting him. Still standing pretty close though.
Takumi tries to keep his eyes on Kara as he still hasn't figured out what is going on. "No, I'm not. I don't really have a lot of contact with people who aren't patients. I tend to keep to myself and my training when I can." His eyes flicker between Kara and the puppet. Takumi is used to people only approaching when they want something from him, and his mind is currently churning, trying to figure out what the goal here could be.
Kara hmmmms and lilts, "Oh, really~…" Then she walks past him, taking a few slow steps, until she is about four or five feet away. She is obviously thinking about something. Her hands behind her back are simply folded together. No sign of any hand seals or secret Puppet-manipulating positions or anything. She then pivots on one foot to face Takumi. Good thing she started wearing 'support' under that top. Otherwise she might pull a muscle with a maneuver like that! Top-heavy woman is top-heavy, after all. Smiling and squinting her aqua eyes Kara tilts her head to the side and asks, "In that case… Would you like to go out with me?"
She then just stands there, smiling.
Takumi stands confused for a moment, as this woman seems pretty odd. She also seems pretty pretty though and doesn't appear, at least at first look, to be some sort of evil succubus or anything. It would be nice to make more friends in the village, and this girl seems interesting to say the least. Realizing that has spent this much time in his head, Takumi finally speaks up. "Oh, well…sure, that sounds like fun." He then smiles, his eyes the only things visible over his facewrap.
Kara continues squinting and smiling as Takumi answers her and smiles back. A few seconds pass. Then her eyes open all the way and her mouth settles into a neutral position. Her eyebrows arch, and she looks confused. "Wait… Really? You mean it? You'll go out with me? For serious!?" She waits for an answer for like half a second and then gasps and clasps her hands together in front of her chest. Then she smiles broadly and leaps forward, as though to embrace Takumi!
Only to pause, balanced on the forward part of her left foot, with her arms held wide, and her other leg out behind her. She quickly settles back into a normal standing position and coughs into one hand. "Ahem. Forgot that we haven't even >had< our date yet. I should probably keep the displays of affection to a minimum until we know each other better."
Then she whirls around again and says, "But still, that's great! I'm so glad you agreed!" Her eyes become all watery and shimmery and her lips pouty as she says, "No other guy will ask me out and when I ask >them< out, they make up excuses why not. It's not >fair<!" She sniffles and wipes at her eyes with the backs of her hands. Then she slaps a hand onto Takumi's shoulder companionably and says, "But you're not like those other guys! You don't find my Puppets creepy, and you're not worried about tha--" she catches herself and says, "--aaaat other thing that isn't important! So we'll get along just fine! I know it!"
Takumi chuckles lightly and wonders what he has just started. Whatever it is, it will be more interesting than hospital work. He finally relaxes his stance and breathes out with a huff. He then motions to the puppet in the ring and says, "Well I don't really see how that thing is creepy. Its kinda just standing there. I guess if you're scared of dogs, maybe. I dunno." Takumi shrugs and then adds, "I don't know many of the other guys, so I highly doubt I'll be influenced by them." The last thing she said catches him for a moment, but he pushes it out of his mind, because hey, new friend! Although he isn't sure where to go from here with things. "So…I'm not quite sure what to do at this point. I'm used to dealing with people who are laying in a hospital bed."
Kara fidgets a bit. "Well, you know… I have three Puppets. The Ancient Puppets are cool but not too scary. But… My first Puppet sort of… Uhh… Well, some people don't like him. Let's just go with that. I'll show him to you later if you want. Right now, let's talk for a bit! You said you're used to people in a hospital bed. Does that mean you're a Medic-Nin? Or at least a doctor? I don't think I've met many of them…"
Takumi replies with "Sure, another time. And yes I am a Medic-Nin." He nods his head knowingly and crosses his arms. "Though I'm more of a combat medic, patching up people during battle and providing support. Lately with all the trouble in the village, I'm being made to spend time in the hospital, doing doctory medical stuff which I'm not that good at. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get back out and do the kind of things I'm used to." With this, Takumi sighs and slumps a bit, uncrossing his arms. He then perks back and asks, "How about you? What's goin on there?"
Kara nods eagerly, eyes wide as she listens with rapt attention. "Well, once things settle down in terms of wounded, I'm sure you can get back to helping out in the field, instead of having to hang around hospitals. We're just… Short on qualified healers at the moment." She quiets down as she admits that. It feels a bit disrespectful of those who gave their lives to complain about the workload. "…Well, anyway, nothing much is going on with me. I was just going to practice using my new Puppet. Anubis is my third, but I haven't had a chance to find out what he can do yet." She peers at the onyx-skinned statue with the head of a jackal.
Takumi looks over to the puppet again. "Three puppets eh? Do they shoot fire and fly and explode, only to come back and stab people? I wanted a puppet once, but I figured they would be expensive and I'm bad at woodcrafts." He then walks closer to the puppet and looks it over.
Kara scratches her cheek with one finger. "Err… Well… Pharaoh can shoot fire, yes. And I do have a tool he can use that lets us fly around, but he can't fly on his own. And… I don't think the Puppets themselves can explode, but there's some oil I can add into the fire attack that can explode when they're mixed together." She shrugs. "None of mine are made of wood. Pharaoh version 1 was made of wood, but… Version 2 isn't, and Sekhmet and Anubis appear to be made out of some sort of flexible metal and stone, respectively."
Takumi nods along as he looks over the statue. "Well I guess it wouldn't make sense to be made of wood and filled with fire. That just seems like a dangerous combination to me." At this point Takumi moves back and stands beside Kara, looking over the ring. Then he nudges her shoulder with his and says, "You should show me how they work sometime! Maybe I can get some ideas from it for some new jutsu."
Kara nods. "Sounds good! I'll be glad to demonstrate!" It doesn't occur to her right then how Takumi can learn anything to use on his own from Puppets. Since he's not a Puppeteer. Maybe he can use fire to cauterize wounds or some such? Who knows!
