Starring:
Date: November 17, 2011
Summary:
A cool afternoon of training turns into concern as Taiki appears to have been injured.
"Team Ten Chronicles: Pride"
//The Training Grounds in the Toshiba Forest //
The Fall had hit Konoha almost overnight… Leaves on the trees were changing color. The Toshiba Forest was significantly more colorful than it usually was - and with that, too, were the training grounds. The trees were steadily beginning to shed, and so there was plenty of color to go around - even on the ground. It had also become slightly cooler. Enough that even in the light of day, a jacket or at least something with sleeves was required. With this change, not many people were likely to be occupying the training grounds, prefering to stay in until they had to make themselves acclaimate to the weather.
Well, almost everyone was in, anyway.
At this point, a lone Genin could be found out at the training grounds, having donned a pair of heavier, thicker pants and a light jacket. It turns out that Hitoshi simply can't keep himself busy enough. Right now, he seems to just be taking a small break, sitting at the base of one of the shade trees, legs crossed and eyes closed as he rests there. In front of him is a small roll-out of what would appear to be a toolkit… kunai, shuriken, and the like stored in this little roll-out pouch. If one were keen on observing, they'd notice there were quite a few of these missing from various holding pouches - and a few embedded in the ground and into a couple of large target poles nearby.
The young Hyuuga kunoichi sighs lightly to herself as she absently rolls her slender shoulders, testing the heavier fabric of her dark robes, slowly adjusting to the weight after wearing yukatas all summer long. The cool breeze tugs at her long sleeves, caressing against her cheeks with strands of ebony is whisps around her shoulders. Yuzuna calmly blinks her pale opal eyes as she lifts her gaze, the bright sunlight peeking through the treetops of reds, oranges, and yellows the deeper she follows the worn earth path into Toshiba Forest. The woods slowly thin into a clearing, though the kunoichi soon sees what appears to be a single shinobi resting against the base of a tree. Slowing, Yuzuna calmly quirks a brow as she looks from Hitoshi to the array of tools spread out on the rolled out mat.
Taiki walks into the training ground, with Shinobu by his side. Both are quiet today, even for the Dynamic Duo. Shinobu seems to be sniffing the air, as if hunting, his ears high and his tail wagging slightly from side to side. Taiki however is walking with a slight limp, as if he had pulled a muscle. The flesh around his right eye is a pale purple and his upper lip seems to have a crusted over line on the same side. Both seem to have been healing for a day or so, but it looks like the injuries will be there for a while. Taiki himself, though quiet, seems to be in a decent enough mood, if facial expressions mean anything.
As they enter the pair seem to blink, caught by surprise at the Hyuuga not too far ahead of them. Taiki's eyes scan the rest of the area quickly, finally noticing Hitoshi. For a minute it looks like Taiki is trying to decide wether to stay or go, but after a deep breath he shakes his head and decides to continue inward. Though he seems somewhat apprehensive now, though why is anyone's guess.
The wind blows a little and the trees are ruffled by it… leaves fall. One lands on Hitoshi's head and it's only really then that his eyes open, and he seems to realize that he's actually got company now. First, the Hyuuga. Then, Taiki. In order of appearance, though, he regards both, blinking slightly as Taiki seems to.. huh. That's not normal for him.
He'll address that soon, though. Instead, his eyes turn toward the Hyuuga, and he smiles slightly, moving to get on his feet. He raises his hand in greeting lightly as he regards them both. "Good afternoon, Hyuuga-san! Taiki-kun!" he calls out, smiling still. "I was just working on my aim a little," he remarks lightly… "It's almost too cold to do anything otherwise."
Yuzuna blinks her pale opal eyes once with subtle surprise, slowly quirking a thin brow at Hitoshi as he seems to greet her juts a little bit too enthusiasticly. She blinks slowly once more, glancing over her shoulder at the one called Taiki as the boy and his dog try to move on without being noticed. At least, something or someone was making him tense. The kunoichi can see it in his stance. She calmly watches the Inuzuka for a moment longer, though if he stays long enough Taiki and Hitoshi can watch Yuzuna as she reaches into one of her long sleeves, pulling out what appears to be a small brown jar.
Taiki's smile grows wider as Hitoshi greets him, though it doesn't /quite/ meet his eyes. Close, but not there. "Hey there Hitoshi'san," Taiki says cheerfully with a wave. "I don't know… I kind of like this weather. Get going in exercise and you don't even feel the cold." Taiki is wearing a heavier kimono than usual, perhaps a nod to the cold. "I came out here to work on ninjutsu actually, so it won't be long before my blood is pumping." Shinobu barks in agreement, then dashes off to "check out the perimeter," as it were.
Taiki is in fact staying though, but he doesn't comment about the brown jar. Instead he bows his head and says, "Greetings Hyuuga'san." The words are polite, courteous, and what one would expect from a gennin greeting a jounin… if that genin were from the Uchiha or the Hyuuga clans. No, this Inuzuka is entirely too quiet for a genin of his clan, even if he has a reputation of being so normally, at least compared to other Inuzuka. "Genin Inuzka Taiki, Team 10," he gives as an introduction. He's neither more nor less tense toward Yuzuna, its as if she's a neutral party in his mind. Hitoshi, however seems to be watched. There's no fear there, and its evident they know each other well, but there's just something… off.
From afar, Yuzuna (Eight) promises the braincell isn't in the jar.
«OOC» Taiki considers correcting his own last name, but decides to leave it instead. Assume the split lip caused a slight skip there.
"Work on your ninjutsu, mm?" Hitoshi tilts his head a little bit, rubbing his nose slightly as he reaches up to his face… his fingers eventually coming to his chin to tap slightly as he regards Taiki. "I see. I'll be glad to work with you a little, if you want. I could use a good workout, myself." He grins, then… his eyes sort of taking the Inuzuka in as he takes note of the various small injuries that seem to have been inflicted on the boy. Nn. His smile wanes slightly at those, but he says nothing. At least, not immediately. That's a conversation for another time, what he's thinking about.
The jounin, though, gets another glance as she produces the jar. He watches her with a mild curiosity, head tilted to the side slightly… Before his eyes then go up to look to the Jounin properly. "… Oh. I know we've met before, Hyuuga-san… at the Ramen House one evening! Taniguchi Hitoshi, I'm one of Taiki-san's teammates on Team Ten." He smiles, then, his eyes returning to the jar for a moment… Hmm.
"I am Hyuuga Yuzuna-san, main branch and sole heir of Hyuuga Hikaru." she murmurs as the kunoichi introduces herself, though she turns smoothly to toss the small, brown jar to Taiki, allowing him to catch it easily enough. The Hyuuga clan secret ointment, the cream that her clan uses to heal wounds. Yuzuna calmly turns her pale eyes back to Hitoshi to lightly quirk a brow once more, "At the Ramen House? Interesting. Yes, I do believe I saw you there once before. Konnichiwa, Hitoshi-san, Taiki-san."
Taiki seems a bit surprised that she threw the jar to him, with instinct more than anything else allowing him to catch it. He looks at the jar for a moment, then to the woman, his mind whirling with the implications of just who he was talking to. Implications of a dozen actions seem to dance behind those eyes as he continues to switch glances between the Tokubetsu and the jar, but after a moment he seems to sigh in defeat. He cups the jar in both hands, takes a step toward the woman, then bows deeply at the waist and holds the jar toward her. "I am greatly honored that one such as yourself would share this with me. But I am not worthy of this treatment, and ask that you accept this jar back, unopened, with my deepest gratitude. Please do not take this as an insult, for it is by no means meant as such. Rather the wounds I have taken are minor, and therefore unworthy of concern." He silently hopes to himself that he not only did not insult the woman, or her clan, but that she would not press the issue further. His head remains bowed toward the ground until such time as she gives him an answer. For the moment, Hitoshi's offer would not be commented upon, not when Taiki is basically groveling.
This turn of events kind of brings things down a notch or two, Hitoshi growing quiet after the woman introduces herself properly… He then watches as she tosses the jar to his injured comrade, smiling slightly at the offer… "It's a pleasure, Yuzuna-sama." Now knowing the woman's first name… he addresses her with it, but still keeps things a little bit formal, bowing his head slightly toward her, "and thank you for offering to help my fri—"
And then Taiki tries to give her the ointment back. He falls silent again, his face evening out and his lips pursing slightly.
You paged Taiki with 'He's kind of like, 'dude, gift horse, mouths. Ever heard the saying involving those things?''
Yuzuna calmly turns her ebony head, pale opal eyes glancing over her shoulder at Taiki and narrowing just slightly as he offers the ointment back to her. The Hyuuga is silent for a moment or so in consideration, sighing lightly when she turns to face him fully. "If we were still in the midst of wartime, minor injuries such as yours would make the difference between life and death. Whether or not they are 'worthy' of concern is merely a matter of perspective. What you see as minor may not me to another." Yuzuna remains stoic as a hand reaches out to calmly take the ointment back in her slender fingers. "I will take it back, if that is what you truly wish, though I do think you are putting too much thought into this. You are from a strong and honorable clan as well. All of the clans in Konoha each have strengths and weaknesses that balance one another. It is one of the reasons we united to form the village in the first place, we are stronger together."
Taiki remains in the same position as Yuzuna speaks, though it is fairly obvious her words are hitting home. By the time she is done with her speech, his body is actually lightly shaking, though he is doing his best to keep it from doing so. His right leg seems to be shaking more than the rest of his body, as if the position he is in is straining him unduly. Hitoshi, who may be able to see Taiki's face in profile due to the position he is in, may be able to catch a brief glimpse of Taiki's face in a mix of deep regret and longing. But the look is gone within a second, to be replaced with a sincere apologetic look as he looks up toward the woman.
Taiki's eyes do not meet Yuzuna's own. Instead he is looking at her chin, his eyes fixating on that point as he speaks. "Your words show great wisdom, Hyuuga'sama. And indeed, if this were wartime, I would not hesitate to accept your generosity. Nor would I have to." The last sentence is said under his breath, a momentary lapse in control that someone with good hearing could pick up on. That one sentence seems laced with far too many emotions to trace. But he does not give anyone time to question as he continues, "But this happened due to a training accident, when I moved the wrong way and therefore got hurt, and the person instructing me is of the opinion that I need to learn to listen. So my sincerest apologies, Hyuuga'sama, but I find I must turn down your generosity. If there is a way I can make this up to you, please let me know."
Taiki (Tai) pages: If you wanna pick up that there's more to that explanation than what Taiki is saying, feel free.
For a time, as the two seem to go on at one another, Hitoshi just quietly squints at the both of them. He was able to catch that glimpse of Taiki's face… and he frowns slightly as he continues on with his explaination of the situation. He says nothing, just kind of watches him and listens… however, he begins to shake his head after a little bit, seeming to frown slightly still.
"You know, Taiki-san… letting yourself accept help isn't a sign of weakness," he remarks lightly, still frowning a little, "even if you're trying to punish yourself for a faulty action… It's just a sign that you're a human being, accepting that help." He just shakes his head again, though, taking a deep breath and holding up both hands.
"Pardon my rudeness, both of you… I have no gambit in this, but I felt like I needed to say that to you, Taiki-san." He continues to look toward Taiki quietly, an odd look on his face…
Yuzuna calmly watches Taiki, her pale gaze looking between the Inuzuka and Hitoshi calmly in turn as she idly rolls the jar in her slender hand. "I understand your reasoning. You must learn your lesson so that you will not make the same mistake in the future, possibly on the field where lives are at stake." she murmurs lightly. "So long as it is to learn, your instincts will become stronger during missions even more so. However, if this is a way to punish yourself or penance, that is another matter entirely. One I personally do not believe in, but, this is a matter you must deal with yourself. So, it is your choice, ultimately. I will not argue with it." The Hyuuga kunoichi sighs lightly and shakes her ebony head once to herself. "Call me Yuzuna-san, regardless of clan or ranks, I consider us equals. You thinking otherwise is embarassing to you."
He couldn't help it, when Hitoshi referred to Taiki as 'Taiki'san' instead of 'Taiki'kun,' he winced, hard. That one phrase seemed to strike a blow within the young genin that was nearly physical. But when Hitoshi explains what he thought, Taiki shook his head violently, grimacing at the pains his head felt from the action. "I know it is not weakness… Hitoshi'san," he says, giving in to Hitoshi's apparent wish to be addressed as such again. "I have never believed that. I find myself unable to say why I must refuse this offer, and can only plead that it has nothing to do with the Hyuuga Clan, or any other clan or family for that matter. Nor am I punishing myself."
Finally Taiki cannot maintain the position any longer and is forced to drop to a knee, his face contorting to pain as the knee hits the earth. A grunt escapes his lips as one of his arms lands on the other leg to help support his upper body. "I'm okay," he says instantly. "Just a muscle spasm. Give it a little time and it shall pass. Finally he looks up again, first looking toward Hitoshi with a pleading expression before turning toward Yuzuna. There seems to be another conflict there, brought on by Yuzuna's last request. It lasts for a couple of minutes before he finally says, "You outrank me, but if you wish for me to call you Yuzuna'san, then I shall abide by your request." An almost victorious grin briefly crosses his face then, though why is anyone's guess.
… "You're impossible, Taiki." Hitoshi just brings his hand up to his face and holds his hand against his face. The other hand holds his elbow, letting his face just rest against the palm of his hand in a classic Face Palm. He just sighs, shaking his head a little as he keeps his face hidden.
The decision is already made. Yuzuna falls silent as she slips the jar into the hidden pocket in her sleeve, ignoring the current topic of conversation now as Hitoshi sighs at his team mate. It was none of her business, after all. She merely offered. Her pale opal eyes glance to the Inuzuka boy when he seems to stumble, quirking a brow as he kneels on one leg, clearly in pain. "People should know by now not to lie to a Hyuuga." Yuzuna murmurs passively to herself, though doesn't comment further. Whatever look he was giving Hitoshi, it was an odd one. Clearly there was some sort of silent conversation being exchanged, her sharp gaze doesn't miss any details. Lowering her chin, she murmurs, "So long as you do not mind being spoken to as Taiki-san as well, Yuzuna-san will do well enough."
Taiki bows his head and says, "I am sorry Yuzuna'san," in response to the statement about lying. And he is, indeed, very sorry. His expression is regretful, but he has to remain firm in his stance. Shinobu barks a couple of times and returns to Taiki's side, gently licking the non-wounded side of the genin's face in obvious concern. Taiki can't help but to grin and reach over to scratch behind the dog's ears, earning a playful yip from the dog. "I'm okay boy, just bowed a little to long is all. Any luck?" The dog barks once, which earns a nod from Taiki. "Well, that's good." He then starts to stand up again, using his ninken as a brace. The dog, who's back is normally about mid-thigh on Taiki, doesn't seem to mind one bit, and seems to help a bit. "I do not mind being called Taiki'san, not at all," he responds. Finally he glances at Hitoshi, holding up a single hand in front of his face as an apologetic gesture.
"Mmmn."
Reaching out, Hitoshi lightly bumps his own hand against Taiki's, in a faux-high five gesture. "You're in no condition to really do any kind of training right now, Taiki-kun," he remarks lightly, shaking his head a little. "It'd be kind of irresponsible of me as your teammate to let you try and power through it in your condition." With that, his expression changes from that odd, curious sort of look to a rather hard one as he stares at the boy. "I'll help you get to my place and let you relax there for a while, eh?"
He then looks to Yuzuna, smiling a little bit. "Yuzuna-san… thank you for your kindness toward my friend and teammate. It says a lot of you and your attitude." He then looks back toward Taiki. Stern. "C'mon," he remarks softly, gesturing with his hand as he begins to move toward the boy to help him limp along.
