Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Boreas
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Unknown location, 3/3

Tch. I can’t believe we’re already working with those bastards.”

“Trust me we don’t want to be here with you either.”

Venom was met with venom, the tension between the two shinobi was palpable, their teammates shared looks of worry and frustration on their faces. Nothing less could be expected from a group that had been fighting and killing each other only a year ago. Time heals all wounds but for some it’d take more than a year to even scab over these open wounds let alone mend them.

“Enough. We all knew the details of the mission before we accepted. Regardless of the past, what we’re protecting now is the future, for everyone.” The truth was enough to satiate their disdain pulling away from each other like snakes recoiling from a strike. The matter of death and facing it in the future or releasing the past, was something they all agreed on. Grudges of the past needed to be let go, this joint mission would be a success, it had to be.

With the morale returned and the attention of the small force refocused the plan was laid out. The facility was easy enough to sneak in to, for one shinobi it felt almost too easy but that feeling was dismissed for being nervous. The deeper they descended the more sinister the air became, the smells and sounds were horrid. When a vent gave way to the sights even the leader had to look away to prevent from dry heaving.

“What the hell is this?” The anger was clear in the whispered masculine voice of the fighter from before. They were a passionate soul that burned with fury from every scream and plead that filled the room below them. The marking of the hidden grass village was etched into their headband, as was the one that wrapped around the bicep of the leader of the small band of shinobi. The other two wore the symbol of Konoha, in the face of a mutual powerful foe even enemies can become allies.

“We’ve seen enough, let’s go.” They backtracked slowly, and silently just like how they came. Though that wasn’t the appropriate answer to the voiced question, and the man held back eyes glued to the scene unfolding before his eyes.

“We can’t just leave that kid! How many more are there here? Th-they’re killing him, we-“

“Don’t be stupid, it’s a miracle we got in here without any trouble.”

A miracle? Or a missed omen? A near-empty entrance does not guarantee the same conditions on the exit, as the team of five found out, back to back and surrounded by unmarked shinobi. They all wore similar amused expressions, taking a breath in the moment of stillness before they fought against the enemy.

The sun rose unchallenged, as it did every day since the beginning of time. The quiet of the morning was only broken by the cry of a bird as it set across the sky, in its shadow were the trails of blood leading to the facility that echoed the pain of the bird.


Kusagakure, 29/4 Morning

The day is perfect for the Chuunin exams, Kameyo thinks to herself. The sky is pink and orange with the sunset, but a peeking blue promises a bright and sunny day. No clouds have stirred from their resting and no heaviness is settling in the air. It is an average day, as average a day in a shinobi village can be. A bird even flies ahead, cawing a melody as it steers across the village. Kameyo smiles, nothing amiss.

She ambles through town, towards the meeting spot at Training Ground #11, where she is awaiting her eager genin to finally make themselves chuunin. It is almost a formality for them, as they were too young for the last Chuunin exam and Kusagakure had been unable to afford the time or energy to promote more genin when they were battling war from all sides. The group shows promise, if they would only get their heads on straight and stop bickering amongst themselves.

Kameyo sighs when she reaches Training Ground #11. It is a small training ground, usually held for team building exercises and genjutsu practice. Their meeting is more of a formality, a check-in so Kameyo could ensure they have their goals straight, the required items, and know what they are doing.

She glances at the now-blue sky and deduces that it is only ten more minutes until their meeting time. It would be most unwise to be late, she’s rather ruthless on the tardy.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Boreas
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Boreas stay / chilly™

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷| ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷


The early part of the morning, when the dew glistened in the light of a descending moon and the playful breeze whispered goosebumps along your skin, was Mirai’s favorite time of the day. This had been the only consistency awarded to her in this life, and in the beginning years she resented that fact. The mornings used to feel so lonely, she’d start her training as early as possible and it was always by herself… back then everything she did was saved for the company of one.

Ever since she seized fate in her hands and twisted it to suit her own will to live, things had gotten noisier. The people that used to see past her were staring at her now, and all this attention should have made her feel less lonely, but it didn’t. They weren’t looking at her to acknowledge her, they stared in fear, or awe, or some weird combination of the two, and saw their expressions reflected in her dark red eyes. They fussed and threw celebrations, demanded she come and share her story to the young kids, the ones without siblings and sat front row to the Ascension of the ones with siblings. The World at war did not affect the Nagaichi, battlefields, and death were in the essence of their genes and the latter controlled by their whims. They boasted of their missions, drank to the enemies they had slain and prayed for the peace of their lost comrades.

The early part of the morning, before the birds sang their songs and the streets were crowded with shinobi and civilians alike, was the time of day Mirai felt the most at peace. What had once been considered lonely, was now a haven for her mind.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌


“Do your best today, your mother and I will be cheering you on from here, and I’m sure your brother-“

“Is wishing I’m struck by lightning? Hmmm... but I guess that’s the fate he met. Save your words, I’ve no use for them. If that’s all-“

“Mirai!” The sharp snap of the Kōkina drew her leveled gaze to the woman’s face. The clan heads sat across from her, they had summoned her for tea as a farewell, and as they ate up her time she could feel more and more people lining up outside of this room, waiting for something… for her?

“I apologize Kōkina.” The tone of her voice gave away nothing, to some it’d seem like a mask for inner turmoil, but it to her it was the truth.

“Do not call me that, I am-“

“The Kōkina of the Nagaichi. The guardian of the Jubokko, and the one that oversees the ascension of all the chosen ones. Everyone knows who you-“ Mirai was unable to finish her sentence, the stinging of her cheek silenced her voice.

“Kagura! Please calm yo-“

“You may leave now Mirai, best to not be late. The chuunin exams measure more than your abilities, best to not let a repeat of what happened on the field occur to today. Unless you want to remain a measly genin for even longer.”

Mirai stood up, a quirk at the corner of her lips as her clan head simmered with abhorrence. With a formal bow she made her exit into the cheering crowd. They made it sound like some kind of hero’s send-off, and the sounds of their cheers echoed in her head even as she stepped foot onto the training ground.

“First one. Of course.” Her voice was followed with a sigh and found the comfort of a tree near her Sensei to wait for the rest of the baggage to show up.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Kafka Komedy
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Kafka Komedy Bearer of The Curse

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Shunbin Surudo

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷| ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷

It was not a peaceful sleep Shunbin was graced with the night before this one. Very occasionally, he would have a nightmare, reliving the day his father took his life, except this time he was their with him, powerless to stop it. No matter how much Shunbin pleaded, and begged, and demanded, his father simply looked past him, through him, didn't hear him... it was lucky, then, that his mother woke him up before the final act occurred.

She stood over him, gently shaking him awake as a few errant droplets of sweat crawled down his face. He blinked a few times, his tired, stinging eyes focusing in on her face. For once since her return it was a genuinely happy expression. He went to touch her face to make sure he wasn't dreaming, but that was the arm she was holding on too. She wobbled a bit on her bum leg, expression faltering. Shunbin leapt up to a sitting position and grabbed her arm, steadying her, and the happiness kind of returned, though it was more relief now.

"Ooch, sorry about that Shunbin. Didn't mean to startle you awake. You must be anxious about your big day today!"

Nothing he could say that would actual respond to that statement would leave his mother Akane happy, so he deflected.

"You shouldn't be up and walking so early mother... it's," Shunbin took a quick peek out of his window. "barely even sunrise."

Great, now he knew why he was so tired. He wouldn't have much time to jog himself awake either, considering how early Kameyo-san wanted them to hit Training Ground #11. He threw off his sheets and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. No time for a good breakfast either.

"I wanted to make sure you were ready to make the Surudo proud today. Good thing I checked! You might have missed it!"

If only. Shunbin finally got to his feet and did some easy stretches to ease him into the day. He shooed his mother out of his room with a simple 'well I'll be there the sooner I get my shinobi gear on so get off of your feet mom' and got to work preparing. A shinobi was able to ready themselves to kill from sleep in under a minute, a teacher of his said once. Naturally, Shunbin took about two. Who wanted to practice boring crap like that anyways? He was fast enough, and he wanted to get his blood flowing a little bit with a jog anyways. Once he was finished with all that, he walked downstairs and gave his mother a hug. She wished him luck, and with that he began his little jog to Training Ground #11.

The morning air was cool and crisp, which made the whole thing quite pleasant, even if he wasn't very excited for what happened once he reached his destination. He passed a few shops, saw a few people milling about their day, shops setting thing out and all that. But it was over far too soon; Within a few minutes he had reached his destination. If he still lived in the compound, he'd have had a longer trip here... but that came with it's own issues.

Somehow, he was quite early. The only people here were Kameyo-sensei and Nagaichi-san. He gave them both a curt wave, and began doing some sword kata with his Oodachi. He kept his distance from the two fairly intense women, not really wanting to talk to them. He'd have to soon, of course, but until the rest of the team arrived, he'd allow himself the pleasure of working out in his own little world.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Matsuri
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Matsuri procrastination station

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S U Z U K I

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷| ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷
HOME OF THE SHISHIDO MATRIARCHS — KUSAGAKURE

The light of Suzuki's paper lamp flickered in the darkness of the early morning, its flame silent and calm. She was quick to dress and refresh herself from morning fatigue, and even quicker to start scanning her eyes over the neat layout of scrolls on her study desk. Even with the chuunin exams looming over her head, exemption from her daily hour-long readings was not acceptable. Another hour of meditation followed that, as was the norm.

The cawing of the birds was Suzuki's signal to finish, and a soft yawn escaped her. Last night's celebrations with the Council and the Shishido matriarchs had kept her up a while longer than she normally allowed herself. Having to leave earlier than usual today meant she wouldn't be seeing her family at this time, but that was more of a relief than Suzuki would ever admit. Not only had they given her more than enough of their wisdom yesterday, it just wasn't the sort of atmosphere she wanted on a day like this.

Before leaving she slid into a different room and sat by the family altar, lighting a stick of incense. Suzuki glanced at the names carved into the numerous wooden memorial tablets, standing tall and proud above her. Her eyes met the one with Shishido Kotoko etched onto it, its wood yet to have been discoloured by the passage of time. Suzuki's gaze lingered on the tablet, her head lowering and her expression softening. For just a minute, she let herself forget the existence of her surroundings, focusing only on Kotoko's name.

The sky was starting to brighten as Suzuki walked away from the house and towards Kusagakure Shrine, which was just metres beyond the trees and shrubbery that separated the two areas. Suzuki stood in front of the shrine's oratory, ringing one of the waniguchi bells and humming more quiet prayers under her breath. She called upon Himoto-no-kami to keep her safe and well on this important day, and her teammates too for that matter. Though there were some she openly admitted she disliked, Suzuki knew her success at the chuunin exams was reliant on not only herself, but her teammates as well. But seeing how they had been getting along these past few months, it was probably best she prayed for a while longer.

The orange sunrise spilled over the horizon, shining bright and strong over the shrine. Suzuki walked towards the stone steps and gazed up, face hardened with determination. Failure was not an option. Not now, not ever.

"Suzuki."

She stopped for a few seconds, and then turned. The stare Suzuki's mother, Sen, gave was sharp and intense, pricking her daughter to attention. Suzuki straightened herself, then bowed.

"Good morning, mother."

Another silence. Sen slowly approached her daughter, and Suzuki kept her head lowered. She didn't lift herself until Sen was directly in front of her, and even then Suzuki kept her eyes low.

"I pray that you don't disappoint me today, child."

Sen went to pat Suzuki's shoulder, but her fingers curled back for a moment, hesitant. She took in a slow, quiet breath, then gently placed her hand on her daughter. Suzuki finally met her mother's eyes, weary with stress but shining a deep blue in the sunrise. Sen exhaled, the look in her eyes softening.

"Take care."
TRAINING GROUND #11 — KUSAGAKURE

The walk to the training grounds gave Suzuki the boost of energy and enthusiasm she needed, and upon seeing her instructor she greeted her as she usually did; with a polite bow and a deadpan expression.

"Good morning, Kameyo-sensei! I hope the day finds you in good spirits."

She then turned to the teammates who had arrived before her, and gave them an uncertain look. Both isolated in their own corners, unsurprisingly. "Likewise for the both of you, Mirai-san, Shunbin-san."

The apathy was apparent in her tone.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Relin
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Relin

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Tanzou Ryouzan


Ryouzan was the first of the Tanzou household to arise. As soon as he sat up in bed, Tsumemaru's eyes shot open and he stretched his wings on his perch. Ryouzan smiled at his partner and began to dress for his exam. Tsumemaru fluttered over to a basin in the corner of the room, dipping into the water for a morning drink and bath. Meanwhile, Ryouzan checked and double-checked all his supplies. He pulled on his falconer glove, and then took a moment to gently tuck each of the four feathers into one of his inner pockets. He wished his mother and older siblings were here to see him off. He had always looked forward to the day his eldest brother would shower him with praise. He wanted his mother to jostle him from his sleep, hurrying him along way earlier than necessary. He wanted to hear his sister say how her cute little brother looked so grown up.

The house was quiet save the tranquil splashes and fluttering of Tsumemaru in the basin.

With a gesture, Ryouzan called Tsumemaru onto his shoulder, and the two headed outside for some early morning exercises. The air in the courtyard was cool and moist. The last of the morning stars still glistened, foreshadowing a beautiful, clear sky. Ryouzan took a breath, then thrust out his right arm. Tsumemaru took flight, stretching his wings and soaring above Kusagakure. Ryouzan stretched his own limbs, and then focused his chakra. "Kazeho!" He took off in a blur, dashing across the compound. When he came to the wall, he focused his chakra to his feet and did an entire lap around around the compound. He flipped off the wall, landing in a crouch, whistle in hand. After one shrill note, Tsumemaru soared back to his partner, a rat tail hanging from his beak. "Looks like you win today. Caught your breakfast before I could finish my lap." He smiled and stroked Tsumemaru's feathers.

His commotion, as usual, woke up the rest of his house. He could hear the shuffling of some distant relatives through the compound halls. Even the grumbling of the elderly, whose pleasant retirement slumbers had been disrupted by his whistle. The first person to greet Ryouzan, though, was his little brother, Yutaro. "Mornin' bro," he said, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. "Figured you'd want some breakfast, so..." The academy student held out an onigiri, which Ryouzan took gratefully.

"Thank you, Yutaro," he said in a gentle voice. "I'll eat it on the way to Kameyo sensei."

"Look at you, waking everyone up like you're already head of the clan," came a booming voice, followed by a rough pat on the back.

"Good morning, father," Ryouzan said, unperturbed by the gruff greeting. "I apologize for waking everyone up."

"Nonsense! If the Tanzou can't live up to the name early birds, then what's the point of us?" He gave a hearty laugh and his son another pat on the back. "I'd tell you to make me proud, but you've already done that, so just go pass that damn exam."

This finally elicited a small chuckle out of Ryouzan. "Alright, I'll do my best. Yutaro, don't use the chuunin exams as an excuse to slack off today. You'll be taking them too before you know it so practice diligently and study hard." Yutaro nodded, and Ryouzan bid his family farewell to meet with his companions at Training Ground 11.

Ryouzan had a habit of being exactly on time wherever he went. Rarely was he more than a minute early, but he was never late. He saw that a few of his teammates had already arrived, but at least he wasn't the last one. "Good morning Kameyo-sensei. Suzuki, Shunbin, good to see you." His voice was soft and pleasant, and Tsumemaru echoed his greeting with a friendly screech. For the most part, he liked his teammates. He felt like it was okay to drop honorifics with them since they'd be working closely together for the foreseeable future, however, his expression subtly shifted when he looked at Mirai.

He'd heard the stories of the fateful mission that had cost his brother his life. The mission that she had been on, and how she, conveniently, was the only one to come out unscathed. He kept telling himself that he hadn't been there and he didn't know the circumstances, but she was the one person on his team he found it hard to trust. "Nagaichi-san," he said with a polite nod. Tsumemaru remained silent.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by fledermaus
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fledermaus “𝓼𝓱𝓮'𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝓭𝓭𝔂.”

Member Seen 11 days ago

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𝗥𝗬𝗨𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗘
𝗥𝗬𝗨𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗘

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷| ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷

There was a death procession, an elder of the Ōsuikashiro clan was on their deathbed. Throughout the day, and throughout the night, the clan lined up to enter his death room and have one last moment with him. When it was Ryuunosuke’s turn, the sun had hit the horizon like a strike of metal against flint. The old man had already passed, and it smelled like death when Ryuunosuke entered. It was unpleasant, but it wasn’t his first death procession and certainly not his last. In just an hour, though, he is meant to meet with his team; the procession calls for him to stay in the room for an hour and no exceptions, not even shinobi duties, would interrupt that.

Ryuunosuke pouted by his bedside, arms crossed and eyes gazing down on the still body. “Just ‘cause you croaked, old geezer, doesn’t mean I should miss the chuunin exams.”

Even on the inside, Ryuunosuke knew it was a bit disrespectful, especially to the kind man that gave him candied lemon slices and treated him to the fruit of Jubokko after practice. Ryuunosuke sighed, pressing his palm against his knees and standing up. His family would find out later, when another entered the room for the procession and found it empty of a living soul, but Ryuunosuke was determined to make a lasting impression on the shinobi world. It was important to not only him, but the village, as this is the first since reconstruction began after the war.

The window was closed tight, above the bed of the deceased, and he had to place a foot on each side of the corpse’s head in order to pry it open with blunt and bitten fingers. Ryuunosuke easily pushed down the feeling of disgust over his insolent actions, eased with practice in self-denial. It was for the good of the Ōsuikashiro clan, and for the good of Kusagakure.

He finally crawled through the window and hit the ground running, exhaustion from an all-nighter dulling his steps only the slightest. A shinobi was built to last several days, and Ryuunosuke is not only a shinobi – but a god among his peers.

“A god among my peers.” He huffed to himself, encouraging himself to push faster and harder.

A little bit away from the training grounds, Ryuunosuke stopped and caught his breath. He didn’t want to appear desperate in front of his teammates; cool, collected, calm. That was him, Ryuunosuke.

“Oi, losers!” Ryuunosuke called as he entered the training ground, hands tucked into his pockets and face unimpressed. “And Kameyo-sensei.” Last time he lumped Kameyo-sensei with the other dumbasses, he couldn’t get dirt out of his ears for weeks.

“Well, what are you all laying about for?” Ryuunosuke said, annoyed, “I wanna kick some ass already.”
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Boreas
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🅢🅐🅘🅣🅞̄ 🅚🅐🅜🅔🅨🅞

━━━━━━━━━━━

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷 | ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷

One by one the unnamed team assembled, as they were instructed to. Kameyo spared only a glance to acknowledge Mirai who silently lept into a tree as a pretentious cat that hated its owners would. Then was Shunbin, who earned a nod in return to his greeting but before Kameyo could call out to him Suzuki was appearing and bowing as usual.

“Good morning Suzuki, I hope you are ready to show off your hard work today.” The smile on Kameyo’s face was small but fierce and it carried on to meet the gentle greeting from Ryouzan, who was preoccupied with greeting one of two problem children on the squad. Kameyo couldn’t help but sigh softly and hope that this gathering before the exam would help them focus and not brew more tension to entangle the already sorry state of their teamwork. Individually they were each in a class of their own. The Tanikage had big plans when this team was formed, and grew more impatient with every report on the progress… or lack of progress, on their teamwork. If only the two—

Ryuunosuke crashed into the training ground, brash and insolent to his teammates' quiet and contemplative. Kameyo flicked her hair aside, giving Ryuunosuke the evil eye and he cowered.

"I've brought you here to give you some...perspective." Kameyo said, her tone gentle with the edge of an assassin's blade. "When I was on the battlefields, fighting for my life, a kunai had struck me in the chest. I almost died that day."

Kameyo made sure to look all of them in the eye, a scrutinizing gaze to make them uncomfortable, "When I was bleeding out, I realized I hadn't achieved anything of note. That I hadn't any plans to achieve anything of note." She steepled her fingers across her stomach, "I don't want that for you. I want you to feel a drive, to succeed, to accomplish. Today, right now, I want you to all tell me your goals and dreams."

She leaned back onto one of the training dummies, arms folded and face suddenly pinched."I'll know if one of you lies. Starting with Mirai.” Her voice was hard near the end, brooking no argument.

Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Boreas
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━━━━━━━━━━━

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷 | ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷

Mirai watched with a keeled expression as each of her teammates arrived in ways unique to them. The observations were interesting to her, how expressive they all were even without speaking or doing much. Shunbin’s greeting was short and Mirai responded with little more than a lingering glance, she hadn’t formed an opinion on him yet and treated him like she did everyone else around her.

Next was Suzuki, who Mirai responded to with a nod. While their personalities didn’t quite click, Suzuki had proven herself to be quite reliable and was much more forthright than any of the Nagaichi clan members, and Mirai could appreciate that quality in a person. Though the same couldn’t be said for the next two people to enter the field, both of which Mirai could promptly do without seeing again. Ryouzan’s faults in Mirai’s eyes was his disposition, kindness wasn’t something a shinobi needed. Kindness made you hesitate in the heat of battle, and encouraged you to throw away a mission to protect cornered teammates, it was useless for the life they chose. Nothing had occurred yet and Ryouzan seemed adequate enough during training, but Mirai wasn’t too inclined on waiting for the day when his kindness would be used against him. Especially if she’s around to witness it.

Rude as it was, she looked away from him when he decided to greet her, why he went so far to include her in that noise despite the obvious dislike he carried was beyond her. Mirai stood up from her spot, assuming the last, and the least of their dysfunctional party was a moment away from gracing them all with his presence.

“Oi, losers!”

Ah, right on cue. Mirai ignored the urge to kick the late-arriving nuisance onto his ass, and responded to his lovely greeting with a sharp shoulder as he passed by. The hard look from Kameyo had the teen girl crossing her arms in front of her sensei, sporting her trademark look of disinterest as she ceased the little bit of “normalcy” Ryuunosuke seemed to pull out of her from time to time.

Kameyo’s short story offered little inspiration to Mirai, being faced with death was something she had not only experienced but already conquered. Though goals and dreams? Did she even have dreams?-

“Power.” Mirai spoke clearly and let a soft sigh precursor the coming explanation as Kameyo signaled for her to continue, “I don’t want to be the next head of my clan nor the leader of this village, but I want to be strong enough for myself and to protect the things that might become important to me later on.”

Kameyo nodded as Mirai finished, expecting the answer she offered, but it was good enough. Next up was the straggler, her eyes landed on his face, eyebrow slightly raised in a way to quell any foolishness he’d think to spew from his mouth. She wanted honesty, and she wasn’t asking much of them so they could appease her.

"Ryuunosuke.”

Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by fledermaus
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fledermaus “𝓼𝓱𝓮'𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝓭𝓭𝔂.”

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𝗥𝗬𝗨𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗘
𝗥𝗬𝗨𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗘

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷| ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷

Ryuunosuke has never been stabbed before in his life, unless you count the time a senbon went roughly three centimeters into the skin of his calf. Still, Ryuunosuke can do some guesswork – it probably felt sharp, sudden, and exactly like Mirai’s boney shoulder digging into him. Ryuunosuke sharply inhaled at the sensation before letting out a tired huff that he hopes expressed his utter exasperation over Mirai’s uncharacteristic behavior.

“Nice.” He said sarcastically in Mirai’s direction before flopping onto the ground with the force of an elephant ready for a daytime nap. “Kameyo-sensei, Mirai is being mean.” He tattled, not putting in enough effort to sound like he cared. Not that it mattered, Kameyo-sensei would ignore him anyways.

Ryuunosuke wasn’t much of a listener when it came to Kameyo’s little tidbits. He tended to tune them out, but he understood the gist of this one – any day you could die, don’t waste it. Ryuunosuke scoffed at the idea. Whether someone wasted it or not is up to their discretion; sometimes just existing isn’t wasteful, it just is. Not every one can be a hero, there has to be innocent nobodies that the hero can say.

“Well, sensei, I can’t say I’m surprised I’m going first, after all –“ Kameyo cleared her throat pointedly. “Sensei, don’t worry so much. Life is, whether you accomplish shit or not.”

“Answer the question, Ryuu.” Kameyo rebutted.

Truth is, Ryuunosuke didn’t feel comfortable admitting he had goals beyond being an absolute nuisance to his teammates. It would humanize him too much and his teammates would start to think he’s fallible, like every other person. Lazy perfection is the type of image Ryuunosuke would like to project, not the weak cruddy human that he is. His dream is to be recognized, seen by all of the clan, and it would be too pathetic to say it aloud.

“To be the next Tanikage, or something.” Ryuunosuke says, offhandedly. Kameyo gives his a stern look, a look that makes his face crack into a frown, a glance that told him that Kameyo knew he was lying. “Er, I guess my clan appreciating how fuckin’ cool I am would be a good steppingstone to becoming Tanikage.”

Ryuunosuke doesn’t care about becoming Tanikage at all, but big aspirations fit a perfect person.

“Now, Suzuki.”
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Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Matsuri
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Matsuri procrastination station

Member Seen 3 mos ago

S U Z U K I

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷| ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷
LOCATION — KUSAGAKURE

Ryouzan was next to arrive, much to Suzuki's relief. His presence was a breath of much needed fresh air these past few months, considering the eccentric company she had been lumped into a team with. In the first weeks of the team's formation, Suzuki was startled at how fast Ryouzan had dropped most of the team's honourifics. Such a bold move for a boy so soft spoken, she had thought. But seeing as he was the only one she genuinely got along with, Suzuki didn't really mind. She could see the effort he was making to be friendly, so it was only polite that she returned his amity.

"Ryouzan," she replied with a nod. Even her lips curled up at Tsumemaru's shrill greeting, though it was barely noticeable from afar.

Then Ryuunosuke came. Just the sight of his bright pink hair almost sent her eyes rolling around her head like marbles. Thankfully, Kameyo-sensei interjected before Suzuki could say anything. Instead, Suzuki was momentarily stunned by the woman's words.

A goal, a dream, a drive. Suzuki was familiar with these words. Since the day Kusagakure Shrine lit up with the embers of her sister's remains, Suzuki had made her vows. She knew her purpose, and she would do anything in her power to prevent the same fate her sister had met on anyone that took shelter behind the village gates. Suzuki's curled fingertips grew warm, as if the very same embers burned from within her.

"It is the greatest honour to fight for my village and protect my people; the fates of our fallen inspires more than enough courage within me to do so. My goal is to simply have the strength to do what is right to the best of my ability, and as long as we have enemies, I won't stop."
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Relin
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Relin

Member Seen 4 yrs ago

Tanzou Ryouzan


The last member of their squad to arrive was Ryuunosuke, a boy who seemed to do his utmost to make as many enemies as possible. Ryouzan's brow furrowed slightly at his coarse greeting, but he didn't acknowledge it. He knew the surly shinobi pretty much just wanted a reaction out of them. But, with his arrival the whole team was here and Kameyo began her pep talk. Ryouzan pursed his lips when she mentioned herself bleeding out and desperate in the middle of the war. Ryouzan knew that was a reality he was walking into, but it still didn't make the thought of his sensei on the brink of death any more pleasant. She was harsh on them, but she was a caring woman, and he wouldn't want anything like that to happen again.

One by one, Ryouzan's teammates revealed their dreams and aspirations. Ryouzan folded his arms and listened respectfully, even as Mirai spoke. Though he had his disagreements with his teammates, he wouldn't ever disrespect their heartfelt ambitions. Something like that was not just unbecoming of a shinobi, but unbecoming of a human. Even Ryuunosuke begrudgingly came up with something that satisfied the sensei. Eventually, everyone's eyes fell on him. Ryouzan wasn't one to wear his heart on his sleeve or pour out his emotions like this, but he supposed it was long overdue for the team to open up to each other.

Ryouzan closed his eyes, mulling over the words in his head before he let them out. He reached up and stroked Tsumemaru's feathers, a habit of his that helped him focus on these things. "I want a different Kusagakure," he said at last. "The people here are scared. People wake up in the morning and the first thought their first thoughts are, 'is everyone still here?' I want to make everyone feel safe. I want them to sleep soundly at night knowing they are protected. And, I'd like more shinobi to die of old age." He paused, observing everyone's reaction. Yeah, he knew it was vague, and he wasn't even sure how he'd achieve something like that. But, Kameyo asked for honesty, and that was the best way he could express his goals.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Kafka Komedy
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Kafka Komedy Bearer of The Curse

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Shunbin Surudo

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷| ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟷

The rest of the team filed in soon after Shunbin had-- Suzuki, Ryouzan, and finally Ryuunosuke. Him meeting the rest of them last wasn't rare, and neither was his joking insult to the rest of them. Shunbin was fine with it-- it helped lighten the mood and he didn't mind trading barbs with a fellow shinobi. It was a fun kind of game. Sadly, Kameyo-sensei was focused today. It made sense she was, her reputation as a teacher and a ninja would be riding on her teams success like everyone else, but that didn't stop Shunbin from feeling... frustrated? Off put? It didn't matter. He sheathed his blade and faced her, biting back the urge to get in a playful fight with Ryuunosuke. Now was not the time.

She addressed all of them, her voice gentle but eyes piercing. She was trying to throw them off balance, probably. Through recounting a near-death experience of hers, she revealed she used to be in the same situation as Shunbin, or at least a similar one. The young Kameyo-sensei had no drives or goals, she was just a ninja to be a ninja. But she found one, and she wanted to hear all of the teams. How hypocritical. If she didn't have one until she had almost died, why did ninja who didn't even hit the field yet have to make one up on the spot for her satisfaction? He fully expected someone to speak up about this... But no one did.

Everyone had their reasons. The ever intense Mirai wanted power, all of the strength she could muster. Ryuunosuke wanted his clan's recognition, since his insults were cutting it. Suzuki wanted to protect others with her strength. And the silent Ryouzan wanted the people of Kusagakure to feel safe again. With everyone's motives all laid on the table, all eyes came to Shunbin. There wasn't anyone else to speak now but him. For a moment he was paralyzed in some kind of fear or apprehension. Kameyo didn't need Shunbin to be a shinboi like his mother did. She would see right through any lies, and it would be back to square one. Part of him hated the idea, but all he could do really was be honest. To reject Kameyo's question outright.

"Don't have one. Guess I'm just here because I need to be. Or I ought to be. I like Kusagakure and I don't want it to get wrapped in as a puppet of Konoha or some other village. Us Surudo were born to be foot soldiers, so I'm playing my part in that. Least until mom kicks the bucket." Shunbin explained. Once he was done, he sighed deeply, and hung his head. "It doesn't matter. You didn't have one either Kameyo-sensei. Lets just get to work."
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