Starring:
Date: August 12, 2012
Summary:
Soujiro and Yatsuhane try to brush up on a bit of ninjutsu, but then new friends are found!
"Ninjutsu for Dummies"
Ninja Academy Library in Konohagakure
For the most part Soujiro did his best to stay away from shinobi matters. However, the best place he felt that he could find proper literature on techniques was the library in the shinobi academy. After convincing the personel at the front that he was not some terrorist, he finally made his way back towards the library. Entering the room he was a little intimidated after seeing the section of books on techniques, chakra, and hand seals alone. It also didn't help that books weren't his favorite thing to begin with. He slowly made his way over to a book case in the corner labeled "Ninjutsu" and studies the various books and their titles on the shelf.
After finding out that her guardian had up and disappeared, Yatsuhane was left to hwer own devices and ended up wandering her merry little self out of Kumogakure and into the Land of Fire where she found the hidden village there and decided to pay a little visit. Some people, especially the academy instructors, found it strange that a young girl like Yatsuhane was by herself when she enrolled to take some classes. She was still on her quest to be an all powerful kunoichi!
Of course, she wasn't the best scholar ever and didn't take to learning from boring books and listening to boring teachers. Which is why she was in the library… because her grades sucked. She had to do out of class studying otherwise she'd get stuck being left behind even if her practical skills are way better than her book smarts.
Her particular weakness that she had to somehow bolster in time for the next test was sadly ninjutsu. She didn't really use ninjutsu, relying on her power and her imagination to get the job done. This would explain why she's squatting in front of the bookshelf that contained books on ninjutsu, peering up at all the imposing texts with a pair of slowly blinking red eyes. "Bleh.. I hate studying… I wonder if they have cookbooks…" she wondered to herself, oblivious to all other beings in or around her. The faux tail positioned at her backside was swaying slowly, radiating a feeling of boredom
"Yea…cooking would sound a lot better than having to study and research." Soujiro says thinking out loud after hearing Yatsu's words. It then hit him what he just did. "Oh sorry. I didn't mean to intrude on your thoughts. I hate it when people do that to me when i dont realize i think out loud." Feeling a little awkward about the situation, Soujiro just grabs a book then heads over to a table. As he turns to walk away the girl's tail is almost stepped on which he manages to dodge at the last second. "Oh! I didnt see your…uh tail?" He says not quite sure what he was looking at.
At first the voice of the other person doesn't register in the young kunoichi's mind. When it does, it startles Yatsu as if she just saw a ghost. "Aieee!" as the girl leaps from her feet to the top of the bookshelf, her paw gloves latched to the edge of the shelf as her back is arched and her tail is rigid. A pair of red eyes peers down at the person who spoke back to her… It was just a regular person, not a ghost trying to steal her soul. Again. "Oh.. it's just a person." she says with relief before easing up and hopping back down to the floor without so much as a sound. "Don't worry about it mister! It's what I get for talking to myself." she says with a laugh, bapping herself on the head. "I do it all the time." saying this as she seems to scare off the fellow as he just grabs a book and excuses himself, narrowly missing her tail with his foot. It was waggling slowly along the floor. "Yep, it's muh tail. Though it's not a real one.. I control it with my chakra, pretty cool huh?" the tail picking up speed with building excitement. She too reaches up for a book, Ninjutsu for Bakas and figures that's a good as place as any to start!
Ataru was surprised to not find Soujiro at his normal spot.. bed. Eyeing the bed for a moment, as if Soujiro might be henged as a pillow or something, he'd shake his head and head out.. that'd take too much work for Soujiro to do. Checking normal locations, the training area, the resturant, even the gardens didn't reveal Soujiro to be anywhere. Rubbing the back of his head with a frown, he'd look around. "Great.. now where's my student run off ta? I ain't even threatenin ta throw rocks at him.." Of course, 'rock' for Ataru is a boulder, but so what! Shrugging, Ataru would ask around of the guards, picking up a trail of the kid heading off for that academy. That was.. different. So it would be a bit after the initial interaction between Soujiro and Yatsuhane, that Ataru stepped into the library to look about. Arms would fold in front of his chest as he'd eye Soujiro for a long moment.. wait.. he had a book? "Who are ya, and watcha do with my bud, mate?" This was called out to Soujiro with a bit of a smirk, of course he's going to rub it in…
Soujiro's eyes widen in his own fright when his eyes lock onto Yatsu's red demon eyes. Though he shakes it off and just takes his seat at the nearest table. Not long afterwards he hears a familar voice from the doorway. Looking up he spots his friend and teacher. "Who me? Oh, i was just looking for a bathroom and the pictures got my attention." He says with a laugh in his voice over at Ataru. "But no seriously, i figured I could use some advice from these things called books on my ninjutsu and why its so weak. Hey grab a seat, i want to talk to you about something anyways." He says kicking out the chair across the table from him with his foot. He looks around the room to see that the only occupants were them two and the demon cat girl who seemed innocent enough. The boy pushes the ninjutsu book off to the side and pulls out a rolled piece of parchment from inside his vest. Ataru would notice its the map that they found in the wagon on their last counter operation.
Seems like the academy library would have more than just a few visitors this day! Since what young kid would willingly put themself in such a place. Unless you were a book worm, or a loser.. And Yatsuhane was neither of those! Not long after the pair picked their books and found a seat at one of the empty tables, another person showed up. She was new to the village and wasn't aware of any of the clans. She never bothered to study up on them… she probably should.
Hearing the new voice, her red eyes shift position to stare unblinkingly at the new arrival. Her keen food smelling nose twitched from within the darkness that concealed her face. She smelled dog, a strong smell even.. like he was one. She wondered why as her eyes narrowed in a mean looking look and baring her pearly white fanged mouth. Her faux tail was not swaying so carefree anymore, standing still as she tried to figure out what was going on with this new person and why he smelled like a dog.
When the idea of pictures and books is mentioned, her eyes widened as she thrust a paw into the air. "You like picture books!? So do I!" grinning before she remembered dog, "Oh right." she murmurered, returning to her angry face!
Ataru stares back at Yatsuhane. At her harden stare, he'd harden his own. Something was definitely.. odd.. about the girl. Although the whole get up like a cat was probably actually fairly normal to the shinobi world, there was still something different. A small shift of stance, one last look at the child, before he turned away to walk over to Soujiro's table and settle in the chair across from him with a wooden creak of protest by the chair. "Ya sure that's a good idea? Best ta not have stuff like that out.." Shaking his head slightly, he'd shrug and lean in to look at the map. "They gotta fairly decent network 'round here.." Glancing over at the kid again, he'd ponder for a second before looking to Soujiro with a small bob of his head Yatsuhane's way. "We could always get that 'other' ta help us out.. Like ya had mentioned before?"
Soujiro looks over at Yatsu as she blurts out about pictures. He gives a forced smile then turns back at Ataru with a worried expression. "I'm sure we'll be alright. Its just us here and im sure she is harmless." He unrolls the map on the table while still listening to Ataru. "Yea, i was going to ask you about him. Is he interested? What i have planned for the next stage we could us the extra help."
Feeling as if he is being stared at or at least in the direction of being stared at, he looks back over at Yatsu with a worried look.
Seems something was going on with that piece of paper that Soujiro had put out on the table.. She leaned in a little to get a bit of a look, and all she could tell was that it was a map of some sort. This didn't mean anything to her since she wasn't skilled at reading maps, let alone knowing geography. She was only a kid afterall!
Hearing the other person speak of other people and not being a good idea to have that map out only makes her curiouser and curiouser… Yatsuhane strains her ears as if that will tell her more! After a while, her tense and angry look about the other guy reeking like dog seems to wear off for the time being. He didn't seem to want to bite her, so she figured it was ok for now. Instead she was listening intently, those red eyes not blinking as she looked between the two people.
Then she's called harmless and her expression grows hurt, "Hey.. I'm not useless. I'm tougher than I look!" protesting as she hears talk of some sort of plan.. a mission perhaps? "Ooh, pick me! Pick me! I'll help!" she had no idea what she was trying to butt into.
Ataru gave a nod in response to Soujiro. "hai. He's in.. although his long term plan is ta make a school fer those who ain't parta a school.. we may wanna get in on that.. it's a good idea, ifn he can pull it off.." Musing for a second, he'd blink as Yatsu called out, staring at her for a moment. "Mm. I'm kinda believin ya are more tougher than ya look too.. Just.. somethin.." Shaking his head to dismiss it, Ataru would motion for Soujiro to put the map away as he'd kick out another chair at their table. "Come're. We gotta talk ta ya 'fore we go pickin ya fer anythin, hai?" Ataru wouldn't turn away any help they could get and while the map is good, live intel is better, to his mind.
Soujiro looks over to Yatsu after blurting out not being useless. "I didn't mean it like that." He says with a smile.
"That does sound like a good idea actually." Soujiro says looking back at Ataru. "It goes right along with what i have in mind too if we happen to become a name for ourselves. But does he have his head on straight? I mean, i know you and i joke and kid around but we're serious when it matters. Also i need to know that he's the unselfish kind and once we do end up making moves and taking this idea and turning it into reality that one day he isn't going to turn greedy and becomes consumed with power. That's not who we are. That's not why we're doing this." Soujiro's words may have been stern but his tone was more out of conern. He knew his friend understood the situation just as well as him. It was really Soujiro who just wanted the reassurance that who they let into their tight group wasnt going to cause troubles for them later down the road.
When Ataru invites Yatsu to the table he does indeed roll the map after seeing the nod Ataru gives. But also, Soujiro gives Ataru a look that would say "What are you doing?" The teenager watches to see if Yatsu decides to take their invite. "I don't know about this, Ataru." Soujiro says under his breath towards Ataru.
Poor Yatsu had no idea what those two were talking about during most of their conversation. It was all completely out of context and only left her with more questions, but she didn't want to pry to much. Otherwise they might just shoo her away or just leave her to her own misery with a book. But it seemed like the new person didn't want to shoo her off just yet, even believing she was tougher than she looked. "Yeah! I can beat up wild animals and stuff no problem! People are pretty much the same." she says with a confident nod and a smug look of self satisfaction. "Hmhm~" >:3
Usually when she throws her aid at someone they turn her away, but this time was different and she was being considered! When offered a chair at the table, she latches onto her study book and hops up onto the table she was at before springing into the offered chair with a silent plop.
Seems like she had to get an interview first before being picked, hopefully they weren't going to be to nosy about it. She ignored Soujiro's negative attitude towards adding her to the group, her tail swaying back and forth excitedly. She didn't know to much about what was going on! But she was pretty sure she'd get to beat something up!
Ataru glanced over at Soujiro, a small shift of his shoulders given. "Dunno til ya try.. afterall, I saw somethin in you ta work with.. there's somethin in her.." A nod was given to Yatsuhane as she finally joined them, studying her for a moment more. "K.. so whatcha classified as in the village? How many can ya fight at once, and how good are ya at sneakin around? We'll need all three ifn yer gonna be helpin us out.." Ataru leaned back in his chair, arms folding loosely over his chest as he'd watch her for those responses. Sure, she might be young, but innocent is perfect bait for the people they're after, isn't it?
"I was talking more about if she gets hurt or if anything were to happen to her." Soujiro stops as Yatsu joins them, but then decides to continue speaking anyways. "If anything were to happen to her its going to be on our conscience." The boy pauses for a moment to listen to the questions Ataru rattles off towards Yatsu. Once he's done, Soujiro puts up his hands towards Yatsu. "Wait. Don't answer any of that." He then looks over at Ataru. "I thought we were going to keep this outside of villages. We dont want to be in their business and we dont want them in ours."
Yatsu waited somewhat impatiently for the interview to get underway! Eager to get the boring part out of the way. It only compoundered her eagerness when he kept saying she was awesome. Of course it's true, but it's always good to hear other people agreeing with her openly. When the questions finally do start, she's told not to answer them while the other guy started protesting. She holds up a paw to respond, "I'm not part of this village, I'm just here to study and learn." she points out, waiting for him to quiet down so she could get to answering the questions.
She takes in a deep breath, her teeth showing for a moment before she answers the questions all at once in one giant sentence! "I'msupposedtobeastudentherebutI'mprettysureIcanbeatupalltheotherkidsnoproblemandIcanfightoffatleastthreeorfouranimalsallbymyselfandIcanbeprettysneakysinceI'msosmallandquiet!" her voice getting strained as she was running out of air towards the end, but she manages to finish answering them all!
Blink.. Blink.. Chuckling, Ataru would shrug slightly, nodding towards Soujiro. "So? Not parta the village.. means we ain't dealin with them, they ain't dealin with us still.." Looking back at Yatsu, he'd ponder her words. "Ya'll need ta grow some more in yer abilities 'fore ya can do any of the heavy stuff with us.. however, the big part ya could help us out with, is eyes and ears.. We're lookin ta try and capture bad people.. We're kinda obvious.. but some kid hangin around playin ain't that big a deal.. yer tough enough that if they started ta mess with ya, ya could hold em off til someone took notice, I'm sure.. They ain't gonna mess that much with a kid.." Looking back to Soujiro, Ataru would lean in, one hand placed flat on the table top. "I dun want anyone hurt, Soujiro. You got hurt last time 'cause I wasn't fast enough. If we have more info, better and easier, then we can do it better, hai? This girl can be our hook.. and 'long as we're careful.. she won't be caught."
Soujiro also blinks.. blinks.. after Yatsu's response. "She does have enthusiasm and spunk." He says as he begins opening up to the idea of bringing Yatsu into the fold for the first time. The boy leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest. Ataru was right about offering Yatsu that position at least. She would be purrfect for that role and then once she's able to come into her own she would already know things work to where she can just fill in a spot during the operations. "That would actually work." Soujiro says after being quiet for long period of time. "She could easily be that inside person we were talking about before." The boy takes a moment while scratching his chin and becoming lost in his thoughts. Then after another period of silence he leans forward in his chair and with a sigh he says, "Alright. I'm fine with her joining us, but if you are going to join us you need to know that the situations we are dealing are very serious. We do our fair share of being goofy on the side, but these are innocent lives we are helping who don't have a hope in the world of having a better life. We are the people that the weak and injured turn to when the villages shut their doors to them because they dont have enough money for contracts or what have you. I know you're young and this maybe a lot to process, but also know that if you do decide that you want to be apart of this, you have to be completely devoted to our overall mission. That also means you'll be considered one of us. Everything we do, you will have just as much knowledge about our operations and information as us. Probably even more so considering you're going to start out as intel. Think you're capable of the responsibility?" Soujiro asks Yatsu as he tries to ignore the creepy feeling he gets from the red eyes under the hood.
It seems her energy paid off as a good thing this time! Yatsu listening intently, almost leaning in as if that'd let her hear better. From what she could gather she'd be like a spy, tricking people and stuff. It wasn't exactly her forte as she wasn't classified as a Trickster in her village… She was more prone to just hurting people and things. "You better be pretty fast if you want to get there before I can beat them up." a toothy grin showing on her face as she raises both paw gloved hands. A faint click is heard as claws extend from several black slots on the gloves.. fairly long and very sharp looking claws that glow with an eerie looking chakra before sliding back into their homes just as quick as they came. "Heheee~"
When Soujiro finishes his thinking and lays down the speech, she becomes slightly worried at the mention of being serious… She wasn't known for being really serious even when it was appropriate, but only because she didn't know any better most of the time. She'd probably pick it up in time! Probably. The cause that he painted out seemed good enough, helping those who couldn't help themselves. Good deeds indeed! And she simply nodded fervently when she was asked if she could handle it! Whether or not she could was beside the point. "Yes!"
Ataru would give a slow nod as it was his turn to lean back in his chair slightly. "I'm thinkin yer gonna be good fer us in the village fer now.. they ain't gonna have anyone hard core in the village.. ya can handle anyone else.. the important part though, is ta not be noticed.. dun try ta hide.. just dun be noticed and listen in, hai?" He'd chuckle slightly then, leaning forward to offer a hand. "By the way.. I'm Ataru. This is Soujiro, nice ta meetcha."
Soujiro raises an eyebrow as she reveals her claws. Inwardly, he was kicking himself. If he ends up still being the weakest one out of the bunch even with their newest addition he was going to give up on life. The boy nods in agreement with what Ataru tells Yatsu. And when he introduces them he gives a small wave. Once it was his turn to talk again, Soujiro looks over to Ataru to get his attention. "Seeing how we have more friends in on this, what i was going to tell you can wait until we are all together. Do me a favor? When you see Soren again tell him to meet us at our apartment this time tomorrow and we'll go over my thoughts on our next operation there." He then looks over towards Yatsu. "That goes for you too. If you're going to be out in the streets listening for intel you've gotta know what you're listening for. We'll feel you in more at the meeting. Sound good?"
And with that, Yatsu had made herself a new group of friends! Being so young and adorable just made things happen for the young Uekigakure kunoichi. "Can do, boss!" she declares loudly before everyone gets introductions. So that's what their names were! And here she was thinking of them as Stranger 1 and 2. "My name is Yatsuhane, but you can call me Yatsu if you want." she fails to mention her other 'nickname', since they don't need to know that one. And hopefully it isn't given to them anytime soon either.
When Soujiro waits his turn to speak again, Yatsu listens once again. She didn't want to mess up something important after just making some new friends! When asked if it sounded good, she just nods her head really fast, her red eyes leaving blurry red trails up and down from nodding so fast. "It sounds fun-tastic!" already she was daydreaming about being all sneaky sneaky.
Ataru studied Yatsu for a moment, before chuckling softly. A nod was given in agreement. "Then I guess we're settled. Alright ya two, both of ya need ta work on ninjutsu, hai? I'm thinkin ya should get ta readin those books then.. mebbe compare notes 'tween ya, try ta work out a good method.. I'd be glad ta not have ta throw rocks at ya ta make ya do walls, afterall, Soujiro." He'd snicker slightly, a grin tossed his friends way as the chair was tilted up with a further wooden protest to be back on two feet while he'd balance himself. "Mebbe we could take whatcha find in the books and convert em inta live exercises.."
"Or mebbe I could go and get some ramen seeing how all this talk has made me hungre." Soujiro says mocking his friend with a smile. "Think i'll just check this book out and take it home with me." He says grabbing the book and sticking it in his back pocket. Whether or not this library has a checking out policy, it was obvious after a few moments Soujiro didn't care. "Yatsu, nice meeting you. I'm sure ill see you around. Ataru, i'll see ya when you get home bud." Then with a two finger salute, Soujiro makes his exit.
