Starring:
Date: December 6, 2012
Summary:
Goh meets Sumire for the first time, and is intrigued by what he learns about her.
"Meeting new characters"
Kirigakure cold springs
The cold springs are one of the unique things that Kirigakure has going for it. Well, one of many unique things really. Most places will house springs of some variety, but few could match the sheer chill that the Kirigakure baths could provide. Thus, it drew plenty of people. This week in particular, where many of the tourists are keen on sampling everything Kiri-related they can.
So to get a spot, you have to usually hit up the baths during irregular hours. Very early morning being one such timeslot. No-one really wants to get cold after just waking up in a warm bed, after all!
Yet despite this, Goh can be seen in the springs, his poncho and cloak cast off and sitting on the side. He seems to rub his neck a little, keen for the cool water to perhaps soften the muscles that he has strained. He mutters something under his breath, though it's large inaudible.
The very early morning sun has yet to come up over the horizon. Though it's not far away, giving the Village enough light for people to move about easily.
Is there anything better than sneaking out before the genin you're chaperoning wake up? Right now, Sumire is thinking that the answer is no, there's not. Oh, sure, she checked them before she left - but now, she was going to get some reading done. All the way to the springs, she'd read her book as she walked, holding it in one hand and a light in the other. When she gets to the springs, though, her shoulders slump. Really? There's somebody else here? Even now? Oh well, reading can wait, she guesses. She closes the book, puts it into one of the large pockets on her hip, and walks down the stairs into the Cold Springs, followed by her little black dog with a white spot on its back. Time to put on a diplomat's face!
Fortunately the blonde pickler was still wearing pants. Well, some sort of board shorts it looked like, so nothing … lude was being shown by the bathing Goh. Just his upper-body really. As he yawns loudly, splashing some water onto his face, his ear perks up a little bit. Sound of someone else! Raising an eyebrow, he turns to face Sumire with a careful look. The dog is spotted not long after.
Lifting a hand to wave, Goh smiles. "Good morning." He calls over. Just by looking at her, he can tell it's not a Kirigakure resident. The skin tone was way off. The forehead protector also gave it away! "Inuzuka, huh? Nice one. Are you here to take part in the Exams too?" He then pauses. "Oh wait… They already started."
Sumire gives a bow to Goh once she's close enough that it's polite to do so. "Um, hello." she begins, and then hesitates a little bit about her response. Should she introduce herself first? Answer his question? Well, he did mostly answer it himself. "Uh, I'm Inuzuka Sumire." is what she finally goes with, "And, erm, I'm here to observe the exams, but, uh, yeah, I'm not taking part in them." A little relieved look crosses her face - she's pretty glad to not be out in the blood marsh.
"Is everything alright?" Goh asks calmly, noting that her speech was filled with 'ums' and 'uhs'. "It's alright. I'm not a Kirigakure ninja. I'm actually a good friend of Konoha and your Hokage, Hashi. Know all about the Inuzuka! Yep." Crouching a bit in the water, he submerges his body up to his shoulders.
"My name is Goh. I'm a legendary pickler, able to pickle the best vegetables in all the land." You would think he gets tired of the same introduction all the time. He doesn't.
"Part time ninja, I guess you could also say. I'm not here to take part in the exams either. Just watch them and see who's on top in the world right now. Exciting, huh? So. What brings you down to the springs so early, Sumire?"
Sumire's cheeks redden - well, they already had the facial markings, but this time she's blushing. Waving her hands in front of her, she mostly squeaks, "I'm okay!" Flashing a nervous smile, that doesn't really sell her well being, she goes on, "And, wow. Um, I didn't know anybody, uh, knew the Hokage well enough to, um, give her a nickname. Oh! And, uh, I was just coming down to read. I mean, I wasn't expecting to find, erm, anybody. But it's okay that you're here! Um, I don't mind that I found you. Just, uh, I'm a little surprised. Isn't it, um, really cold?"
Out for her usual morning dip, Amiko strolls into the Cold Springs area with a towel over one shoulder. As she comes in she spots Sumire and Goh nearby, and flashes them both a warm smile. "Goh-san! Sumire-san!" she calls out to them, then as she gets closer, "Have you two met?" Amiko turns to Goh and says, "I met Sumire-san here yesterday when I came down for my morning swim." Then she looks over to Sumire and says, "And Goh-san is a good friend of mine. Good man all around." With a few swift movements she discards her clothes on a nearby bench, showing off her swimsuit, and jumps straight in the water. "Much better than swimming in my underwear, hey Goh-san?" she asks as she surfaces again.
Goh just looks at Sumire with a quizzical expression. The blushing and the trouble speaking confidently was something he had not really expected, given that this appeared to be a senior-type shinobi. Laughing a little, he leans back against the bath wall.
"You're an odd one, Sumire. But I like that. Gives you some character, I think! And yeah — it's really cold. Freezing, infact. But that's the point — to help loosen muscles. I've been through some pretty crazy stuff lately. Some of the muscles have locked up, so here I am. Trying to cool them down and relax." He exhales slowly, trying to breathe slowly in order to help his body relax.
"Me and Hashi go back a fair way. I was one of the founding Jounin in Konoha. Helped her set the place up. Then afterwards, played travelling diplomat on her behalf. Since retired, but we still keep in contact. In fact, I'm due to meet her pretty soon. Konoha's my next stop on the road." His gaze shifts from the female to the little dog.
"What's the name of your pup?"
With Amiko appearing and then entering the cold bath, the pickler can only grin. "Whatever works for you, Ami. You're pretty smokin' in either of them, to be honest." He smirks, before moving to sit up on the edge of the cold springs. Just so his legs dangle in on them. "And na, just met this morning. Good to see an Inuzuka around though. I have a lot of time for ninja with animal companions."
"Oh, wow!" Sumire says as Goh explains who he is, and she just assumes that at some point he must have worked with her father. "Um, this is Hakuro…" she starts, and right about then, Amiko makes her entrace. She gives a bow to the girl, "Good morning!" she says cheerily, and then whatever else she might have been about to say comes to a dead stop. She may have been blushing a little bit before, but she goes bright red when Amiko suggests that Goh caught her swimming in her underwear. While she seems to be tongue tied, the little dog gives her an exasperated look, and then turns to Goh. He gives a cheery bark. At least one of them appreciates that he said it was good to have an Inuzuka around.
Amiko lies back relaxedly in the water, floating on her back and soaking in the cold water. At Goh's compliment though she sloshes upright and turns bright pink. "Oh, uhh, thanks," she stammers, looking rather embarassed. She still hasn't adjusted to the idea of boys (and occasionally girls) looking at her body like adults. Looking over to Sumire, she sees that the other girl has turned bright red too, and stutters, "No no… I mean… I didn't have any swimmers… so I, uhh, just jumped in in my underwear… There were only girl around! Then Goh walked in." She sighs, and dunks her head under the water, hiding from the embarassment of it all. Finally she resurfaces, looking recovered from the ordeal.
"Hakuro, huh?" Goh replies, looking at the pup carefully. "Good to meet you too, Hakuro! I'm Goh." He beams to the dog, before turning his attention back to the humans around. "How long are you staying around for, Sumire? Just out of curiosity I ask. I mean Kirigakure in general. I don't think I know of any foreign ninja who are here and not taking part in the exams." A hand lifts to rub his chin a bit. "I'm sure your friends are thankful you're supporting them from the sidelines though!"
When Ami surfaces, the blonde just waves a hand. "I'm just teasing you, Ami. Relax. I don't want to come across as the creeper." He pauses then. "Maybe I should bite my toungue on the comments, huh? Heh." Shrugging, he stretches out his arms a bit.
"So what have you gusy got planned for today?"
Sumire kind of envies Amiko the cold water - that probably would be a good way to recover. Instead, she settles for taking a couple of long breaths. And then, she speaks of it no more. Luckily, there was another queston out there, so she's happy to turn her attention to it. "Um, I don't really have anything, uh, big planned. I mean, mostly, er, keep genin out of trouble?" she says, not sounding entirely sure. As an afterthough, she adds, "Oh! I'm here until, uh, well, everything is over, and we're all, um, heading home. I mean, isn't everybody?"
"You know I'm not going in the exams either, right Goh?" Amiko asks, raising her eyebrows questioningly, then adds, "Actually, I'm not sure what I'm doing today. I had some jutsu practice I wanted to get in this afternoon though. I've been working on a new technique that I've just about mastered. I'm just not sure where to train where I won't be giving away valuable knowledge to foreign ninja." She gives the pair a little shrug. "What about you, Goh-san? Got anything exciting to do today?" she asks the blonde ninja.
"Yeah, I know." Goh replies to Amiko, seeming amused. "To be honest, I'm not sure why you're here at all, Ami. But hey, doesn't matter." He grins. "I was thinking of trying out my new ultimate sage mode thing, actually." He reveals, as if it's not that big of a deal. Too cool! "I just gained access to it, and I need to practice it more. Especially in a place that's as noisy as Kirigakure is at the moment. So similar to you I guess. Always training. What are you working on? A seal of some sort?"
Adjusting himself on the seat, he looks over to Sumire. "I dunno. I think some people have already headed home, to be honest. Not too content with how their candidates went in the Exams, and already booking back to the homeland." He rubs his hair a little, before shrugging. "What book were you reading?" He suddenly asks the Konoha ninja. "I was thinking of writing a book myself! Just dunno how to get into it."
Sumire looks back and forth between both of them. "I, uh, was kind of thinking about, um, training too. But, erm, I think I have sort of a different problem. I mean, I don't really mind, uh, too much if people see that I'm, um, training." She cringes a little bit. "It's just that, well, I, uh, think that what Hakuro and I are, um, working on, uh, might be taken wrong. I mean, uh, do either of you know what, um, dynamic marking is?"
Amiko seems to mostly ignore Goh's comment about Sage Mode. Maybe she doesn't know what that is? But she looks at Sumire with a little concern, and says, "Last time I heard those words, a nin-dog tried to pee on me. Is that the same technique?" She looks back and forth between Sumire and Goh, trying to gauge their reactions and hoping neither of them laughs. "I mean, I realise you guys have an extraordinary sense of smell, but seriously, that's just gross," Amiko says, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "But, I guess if its something you have to practice, its something you have to practice. No way around that."
Goh smiles to Sumire, before looking back to Amiko briefly. Sumire was certainly a shy character! It was too cute. He then throws his head back to laugh loudly. "Wahahaha!" He cries. "I sure do know what that move is. The ultimate Inuzuka tracking technique. Carried out by having your nin-dog piss all over the target. Then using the scent to be able to follow him or her anywhere. I can tell you right now missy, I ain't gonna help you with that training! I'd prefer to not be covered in dog piss, myself." He looks to the nin-dog. "No offence, Hakuro. It's just… well, sorta gross." He still chuckles a little bit, though he at least doesn't seem to be as grossed out as Amiko is.
"How do you train for that anyway, Sumire? Just use training dummies?"
Sumire, unsurprisingly enough, looks a little flustered. And, you could swear that Hakuro is actually waggling his brow as he's giving a doggy smile at the two swimmers. "Um, well, yeah. You're both right, uh, of course. And, erm, there's kind of two steps. Tracking, and, uh, accuracy. So, yeah, we haven't been, um, training that much. I mean, I think that, uh, Kirigakure ninja would be a little, uh, miffed if they caught me teaching Hakuro to, um, pee, well, kind of all over the place." Hakuro gives a happy bark, sounding like this is his most favorite jutsu in the world. He looks around, and you can just see that he's thinking how much better he'd like this place if he got to practice here.
Amiko starts laughing, both at Sumire's flusteredness and at the nin-dog's excitement. It takes her several long seconds to recover, and when she does she gives the dog a great big grin. "Hakuro, I don't need to speak dog to know what you're thinking," she says, still laughing a little, "But you aren't turning my favourite spot in Kirigakure into a public bathroom. Sorry pups!" Then she wades over to the edge of the pool and hoists herself out, stretching while standing near the edge."
"Yeah, they can sure get a little sensitive about those little things in life." Goh smirks a little. Moving to stand up from his own seated position on the edge of the pool, he moves to grasp a towel and dry the rest of himself up. The board shorts drip with cool water — which itself now begins to dry on the ground. The sun had just come up over the horizon, after all. The blonde walks over to his poncho and vest, throwing them over his upper-body. "It's been a while since I've met a cool Konoha ninja like you, Sumire. To be honest, I was starting to lose faith in the Village a bit. But if they still got little gems like you, it's all good."
He turns to Amiko. "You never did say what your ultimate new technique is! Is it a secret?"
Sumire relaxes, just a little bit. "Yeah. That's kind of, uh, my thoughts, too." she says, agreeing with Amiko. Then, she smiles as she gets that compliment from Goh - and for a moment she looks more happy than nervous. "Thanks!" she says, "I'm glad I met you, too. I mean, you're kind of, uh, more easy going than most of the, um, older nin I know." And ooh, as Goh asks a question to Amiko, Sumire turns her eyes on the girl as well. She does love a good secret!
Amiko pauses for a moment, scratching her head before saying, "Its not really a secret as such, but the more people who know about it the harder it becomes to use it properly in combat. But I suppose it can't hurt telling you two." She grins a little, feeling proud of how far she's come, "Its a chakra and movement inhibiting seal. I've had some issues with getting caught in the seal's area of effect, so I've had to come up with some creative ways of delivering it, but I think I'm just about there." She takes a small piece of paper from the pouch she left on the bench, and unravels it to display an elongated, inked seal, and she shows it off to the two other ninja. "My latest trick is to inscribe it straight on to kunai and shuriken, making to difficult to see, and throwing the weapon into the ground near my target. The theory is that people won't bother to dodge the attack, since the weapon won't look like its going to hit anyway."
"Thanks." The pickler replies to Sumire, seeming at least flattered by the comment. "It's probably because I don't have the same stresses as older nin, to be honest." Goh muses with a chuckle. "Keeps my face from aging too badly, as well."
Goh then turns his attention to Amiko, looking at the idea. He seems confused, looking at the giant seal with a little bit of awe. Seals he was always terrible at. "That's seriously awesome." Goh gets out, not sure what to say. "So the seal works almost like genjutsu. That's pretty wild. I definitely wouldn't bother trying to avoid a kunai if I think it's going to miss. Wasted movement, y'know? Fantastic idea."
The blonde smiles. "The Uzumaki, huh… Living up to your strong seal heritage there, Ami."
Sumire looks at the seal, and blinks a couple of times. "Wow. That, um, sounds kind of cool." she says. And then, Hakuro gives an insistant bark, and tugs on the hem of Sumire's pants with his teeth. "Oh man!" she exclaims, "My genin are going to be, uh, getting up soon, and I kind of, um, need to be there!" She gives a rapid bow to Goh, then one to Amiko. There is a brief pause where she waits for any response from the two, but then she's off - dashing away at a full run back towards the inn that she and her charges are staying at.
Amiko nods slowly, showing that she's impressed with her own work, and smiles to Goh. "Yeah, that's the idea. Come up with a seriously clever seal and make the clan proud. I think this one'll leave a bit of a legacy within the clan too, once I've finished the technique. I'm hoping if I enter the Jounin Exams some day, this seal'll come in handy. Should be a real doozy if I can catch someone in it. Then, once they're paralysed and useless, just gotta decide whether I want to try and leave them high-and-dry by draining all their chakra and stamina, or blow them to smithereens with my Southern Heavens Seal." She rolls the piece of paper bearing the seal back up and places it with her pouch again. She didn't bother to mention that the seal was missing a couple of crucial pieces, so that if it was ever stolen it would be useless to the new possessors.
Goh lifts a hand to wave at Sumire as she leaves so suddenly, opening his mouth to yawn. Truth be told, Goh was exhausted. He had been up all night, sending out messages to the people of Jump and getting things organized. Though he joked he didn't have the same stresses as enlisted ninja, it wasn't all true.
He still listens to Amiko intently, no doubt keen on her skills in seals. Despite some close quarter action, he didn't actually know how good she was on the field. Well, aside from that one instance a fair while ago. Which does remind him… He slowly exhales a bit and rubs his forehead when Sumire goes, before yawning again. "Man, starting to really feel dead on my feet these days. Hey, Ami. Did you ever manage to catch the criminal you were after?"
Amiko turns to Sumire and waves as well. "Take care of those Genin!" she calls out to the retreating girl's back before returning her attention to Goh. "No, no sign of him yet. After that encounter I followed him into the Land of Wind, where I got that heat stroke and horrendous sunburn, and he hasn't popped up again since then. I'm just waiting for him to rear his ugly head so I can go after him again," she answers, combing out the tangled mess of her wet hair, "And when I do, he's going down. Hard." She nods to herself for emphasis and chuckles. It'd been a hard few months, knowing that he was out there and she wasn't able to do anything about it.
"Maybe he got heat stroke too?" Goh grins, though that isn't a likely scenario. "Maybe you could use your new seal on him?" Adjusting the poncho and clothes, he sucks in a breath before nodding a bit. "I'm gonna head back myself, Ami. I hope you enjoy your day." He lifts a hand to wave. "You gonna head straight to training? I think I might head straight back to the inn and hit the sack."
Amiko raises her hand and waves to Goh. "No, I'm going to hang around here a little longer, then maybe go do some shopping. I'll hit the training grounds later on, as long as I have time," she says, "Hopefully I'll see you later though!"
