Team Cybele: The Hare and the Snake

[zeone3000]

Houshi couldn't help but find his sensei's conundrum cute, even though she was threatening to kill them just moments ago, She must have been in ANBU for a very long time to not be able to function without her mask. Still, he has to shake his head at Yousuke, "You have to be sensitive when you talk to girls. Didn't your parents teach you that?" He turns to Eurayle, "Though, what does T.I. stand for?"

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding in. Euryale would not be anywhere near them for future missions, small mercies he supposed. The sister unnerved him greatly, far more than their dangerous masked sensei could. She was at least upfront during their exchange, while Euryale seemed dangerous in a more roundabout manner. Of course, with his sensei being her sister, he would likely be seeing more of her before the year would end.

Yousuked frowned, not quite comprehending Houshi's words. What did sensitivity have to do with anything, much less girls. He had been respectful and clipped, making himself very clear to his superior. Was this not the appropriate tone? Deciding that Houshi was being particularly annoying with his lecturing he decided to tease the large genin some.

"Says the genin who destroyed her mask.." he says in a teasing monotone.

Looking at his sensei, Yousuke could not help but feel that she had long since exited the 'girl' stage of her life and wondered if he and Houshi were looking at the same thing. She was acting very cute, no doubt about that, but somehow he could not quite separate her from the dangerous ANBU that had only previously attacked his team. However, he would give her the benefit of the doubt in spite of his bias. "Of course, Cybele-sensei. I will endeavor to be more respectful in our future exchanges," he said officiously.

Wondering why Eisen was being so quiet, Yousuked turned to observe how their third teammate was doing. He had never able to get along with the smaller genin during their academy days but their pseudo-mission had been quite the eye-opener in regards to his former classmates.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

The young girl looks toward Cybele, who shakes her head, then back to Houshi. "Sorry, not my place to tell, ze." Sune just smiles, then Eisen finally starts to wake up.

He's sitting up now, but his eyes aren't completely focused at first. He'd heard most of what had just happened, but asks about the woman. When he's told that she's their new teacher, Eisen loses it.

"What?! She attacked me!" He angrily jabs a finger at Cybele, and the jounin jumps as a response. She's clearly not used to being yelled without her mask, and shrinks back as a result. "She's crazy! She could have broken my neck with that stunt back there!" Sune gets visibly angry, but Cybele just gets more upset. "Hey now! My big sister chose not to kill you. It wasn't an accident that you aren't dead, and I--"

"Shut up", Eisen yells to cut her off, "I don't care about that!" He motions toward Houshi and Yousuke. "We're adults in the village now. You can't just treat us like that! Why I--"

Sune opens her eyes completely, and Eisen seizes up immediately. Both Houshi and Yousuke can see he was injured, but they don't see what or how. Sune maintains eye contact with Eisen, and does so for far longer than she had done to Yousuke. She's angry, and whatever her eyes do she's using them to vent her frustrations on Eisen. After several seconds Eisen's nose starts to bleed, and Sune finally half-closes her eyes. A scant few seconds later, Eisen finally takes his first breath since Sune had opened her eyes. He's completely red in the face and utterly furious.

Eisen gets up, then starts stomping his way through the forest as he heads back toward Soragakure. Sune holds her anger close, but lets it go with a sigh after a few seconds.

"He'll probably request a transfer. I'll go make sure he makes it back to the village. I'll see you all later, ze." She waves goodbye, then disappears from view just like Cybele had done before.

Cybele

The two of you are left with your jounin. She seems a bit dejected after the episode with Eisen, and without Sune here there's not much conversation to be had. In fact, it seems she's doing her best to keep her back to you. A hand idly goes through her long purple hair as she waits for any questions, thoughts, or any kind of prompt from her team. Her body language shifts repeatedly. Arms crossed, uncrossed, hands on her elbows, hands at her sides, legs tensed, legs relaxed... The tall jounin goes through a variety of stances before finally settling on one: She stands with her back to you, standing at attention, with her arms crossed in front of her. You get the feeling that she simply doesn't know where to start, and freezes up as a result.

[Bad Situation]

Okay, maybe he had been right about Eisen after all. Though, loathe as he was to admit it, Eisen's actions seemed quite hurtful to their new instructor. Here they were, all ready to be a team and their third just walked away on them. Yousuke wondered how Cybele would be feeling about it. Was she feeling guilty about pushing Eisen away from the team? He could not tell with her back turned to him.

The silence, having become palpably unpleasant, was beginning to get to him. As he awkwardly shifted from foot to foot he remembered that they had not been given a time or place to meet. With this in mind he asked, "At what time will we be meeting at tomorrow and where?"

Now realizing that his sword was still in the ground he approached the now, slightly dusty katana, and sat down to wipe it clean. As he cleaned his blade he added, "Are you perhaps, new to teaching?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

Yousuke shattering the uncomfortable silence made Cybele tense up. Whether she had gotten used to the silence or not was up in the air, but she clearly hadn't expected to her anything from her team.

"I, uh, yes. Tomorrow at noon. At Sora's training grounds." She's quiet, but a bit louder than before. Not being able to see you seems to have bolstered her flagging confidence. She relaxes after Yousuke's question, then tenses up again when the genin speaks the second time.

"Yes. I didn't actually want to teach, but Kaede-sama signed me up." She visibly relaxes when she speaks of this 'Kaede' character, but whether that was because of Kaede or getting used to speaking is up in the air.

"If I can endure this, then..." She shakes her head. "Yes, it's the first time I've ever taught, and I'm not sure I can be of help to you." She grows a bit bolder as she speaks more and more, possibly because she's growing comfortable, or because talking helps her mask her own insecurities.

"Well, I suppose we should introduce ourselves. What're your names, likes, dislikes, dreams, and goals?" She doesn't turn around as she speaks. Probably because turning around would simply shut her up again.

[Bad Situation]

Finished with his cleaning, Yousuke stands to sheathe his katana and to answer Cybele's question. "I am Konpaku Yousuke, disciple of the Konpaku style." Clearing his throat, he continues, "I like sweets, training, and 'incorporating' sword techniques into my family's own style."

He pauses momentarily to consider his dislikes and adds, "I dislike people who duck out of responsibility and I hate people who turn their back on family." Becoming more and more comfortable talking about himself, he hardly has to think about his last statement.

"My dream is to restore my clan's fleeting prestige, and to transcend the Konpaku style into it's next stage of evolution." Satisfied with his answer he turns and looks at Houshi for his response.

[zeone3000]

Be teased was nothing new to the big guy, but the friendly kind was. Finding it hard to get a word in edge wise, Houshi finally tilts his head down at Yousuke, one brow cocked, "You rather be in Eisen's shoes right now then?"

He straightens back up before clearing his throat, "I'm Takeada Houshi. I like swords, training and railways." He looks down, already having time to think about it, he immediately continues, "I don't like bullies and disappointing others."

He looks back up and up to the sky, "My dream is to become a great ninja in everyone eyes even though I can only use taijutsu. I'm the first in my family to become one so I want to inspire future generations to greatness." He continues starring out to the horizon until some addresses him.

[ZeroNumerous]

Cybele

Cybele waits for her genin to finish. She doesn't move much, and doesn't turn around, but you still get the sense of her listening and paying attention. Once Houshi finishes she responds quietly. "Remember to keep those dreams close, because the road of the ninja is hard and you might lose things that are precious to you. But no matter what, no one can ever take your dreams."


A deep breath gathers the jounin's courage, and she begins speaking once more. "You did good to stand up to me today. That courage, when backed up by strength, will take you far in this world. I'm proud of you both for not abandoning your comrades to die."

"I am", she says a little nervously, "Cybele of the Eurayle clan. I like lots of things, but especially cute things. I don't have a lot of dislikes." The woman finally turns around to face you. Her purple eyes and strange square pupils focus on Yousuke first, then up to Houshi, before finally her head turns toward Soragakure.

"We should probably get going. Do you have any other questions?"

[zeone3000]

After removing her mask, Houshi knew Cybele was going to be different. He wouldn't have guessed this. Though, from personal experience, knows how different people can be in training. He rubs the back of his neck, "Errr... which way is the village?"

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Your jounin guides you back to Soragakure, but stops at the village gate. If questioned, she simply responds that she doesn't live in Soragakure, but felt obligated to walk you home anyway. Cybele reminds the both of you to show up at noon, on the dot, at the Soragakure training grounds. She also reminds you both to go to the hospital. They'd happily treat the injuries you took during the fight with the mercenaries.

The day passes without further incident, unless either of you make nuisances out of yourselves. The night's training is uninterrupted, and tomorrow comes as slowly as always it does for children.

Spoiler

Show

Both of you can benefit from the effects of a Mystical Palm Technique if you chose to visit the hospital. Otherwise, you only heal naturally.

Yousuke

The young ninja wakes up to the sound and smell of his grandfather making breakfast. Yousuke finds his nose and ears to be working perfectly when he gets out of bed and heads to the kitchen. Youki stands in front of the stove, knife and spatula in hand, with a smoking pan in front of him. The old man could use his knife and spatula in the kitchen like a samurai wielding his daisho in battle. A flash of light denotes a moving utensil, the heat kept all the pans glowing slightly, and every bit of food quickly became bundled in a blanket of spices. Ultimately, everything the old man produced could be compared favorably to pig slop, but it was an interesting experience to watch.

Yousuke's grandfather shoves a plate in front of him. Some yellow goop coated in oil dominates the plate, and Yousuke could swear it was still alive by the way it jiggled. Youki pokes his grandson with the plate to entice him to hold it. As soon as Youki's hands are free he produces a fork for the younger man.

"Good morning", Youki says as he ladles what would generously be called eggs onto a plate for himself, "Did you sleep well? Oh, before I forget! This beautiful young lady came by today with something for you."

The old man drops his plate down on the table, then heads into the living room for a few moments. He turns with a gray box with a light grey bow tied around it.

"Think fast!" The box hurtles through the air after Youki chucks it at the boy's face--overhanded, of course, because nothing was ever easy with Youki.

Whether Yousuke is hit or catches it he discovers the box contains a small white-colored cat doll. It looks at its new owner with closed eyes and a wide smile. One paw rises up above its head, and the other holds fake ryo over its stomach.

Spoiler

Show

DC 10 Reflex Save to catch it or take (1d4)[2] points of damage from it hitting your face.

Houshi

Houshi wakes to the sound of his parents going about their morning routine. Mom made breakfast, Dad watched and helped, all the while both tried their best to be as quiet as possible so as to not wake their son. Ms. Takeada worked quickly, but efficiently, as long as Mr. Takeada kept himself busy. Of course, things settled down as soon as Houshi opens his door.

"Good morning", the both shout at the same time. Mr. Takeada sits down at the table and motions for Houshi to join him. "I hope you're not too much of an important ninja now to join your family for breakfast." He gives his son a goofy grin, and hands the boy the paper he'd just finished reading. "Oh stop Hiroshi, you know our boy would make time even when he's a big shot."

"Oh! Yes, I almost forgot", Houshi's father says while digging around in his pocket, "a pretty girl dropped this off for you. Now, I won't judge, but she was a bit small for you son." Hiroshi gives his son a knowing look. He trusted Houshi to do what was right, and it showed. After a few more seconds of searching he produces a small scroll. A giant circle and a tangled web of seals are inscribed on the inside of the scroll.

"I didn't look, and I promised your mother I wouldn't pry. But--", Hiroshi's caught off by Ms. Takeada. "Hiroshi! Let the boy have his youthful romance." She turns to look at Houshi while providing him with an ample plate of food. "I think it's wonderful. When do we get to formally meet her? What's her family like? Is she one of those little ninja girls--", Hiroshi interrupts for just a moment, "kunoichi, dear,", and Ms. Takeada continues on without a hitch, "--thank you hun. Is she one of those? She was quite pretty. Definitely a keeper."

Ms. Takeada nods sagely to herself, while Mr. Takeada just gives Houshi a look that said: Just don't get burned.

Spoiler

Show

A ninja lore check can determine what the scroll is.

[zeone3000]

Upon returning to the village, he took his sensei's advice. Bidding his team a good morrow, he stopped at the hosiptal. He didn't feel like being sore on the first official day of training as a shinobi. It was still hard to believe that he was one now.

Right after that, it was time for training with his shisho. Even after all of today's event, Houshi could always focus on his kenjutsu. After building one last sweat, he took a shower, got dinner while talking about his day. Ironically, he made a point to leave out the adult content, like his sensei threatening to kill them all. Even if they weren't in any danger, it's best his parents didn't know about that. Though, he gave elaborate details about beating the bad guys and splitting one in half. That was his second favorite part, the other being able to rip off an ANBU's mask with his bare hand. Who can say they've done that when they were a genin?

The next day, the half awake genin is fully awaken by his parent's greeting, "Ah, morning." He rubs his eyes then takes his seat, "Are you kidding? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You taught me that dad."

In an embarrassed tone, Houshi exclaims, "Dad! It was probably just a messanger." He snatches the scroll before giving it a once over. He watches his mom fill up plate, then sighs, "Oh, not you too mom. I don't have a girlfriend." He plays with his food for a moment, "Not that I don't want one..." He glances over to his dad, "Stop looking at me like that. You two would be the first to know if I did have one."

[ZeroNumerous]

Houshi

"Haha. There's no need to be embarrassed son. I'm sure she's a nice girl." Hiroshi laughs again, but he's cut short when Ms. Takeada drops his place in front of him.

"He's embarrassed Hiroshi." She turns to Houshi and smiles."We'll talk about it whenever you're ready."

The rest of the breakfast goes smoothly. Houshi's father complains about a few of his coworkers not showing up, and Houshi's mother complains about a few broken lines. Breakfast ends quickly, and both parents are out the door for work. Houshi's left on his own. He could train, but if he started now he'd have to stop half-way in order to meet his teacher.

[Bad Situation]

Completely unamused by his grandfather's antics, Yousuke snatched the package in a practiced motion. Everyday was an opportunity to train and any place was a suitable training environment, the breakfast table being no exception to the rule. He quietly ate the rest of his meal, having developed an immunity to his caretaker's terrible cooking over the years.

The food was bad but at least it was be contained within their home. He honestly hoped Youki never got it in his head to prepare lunch for him. Eating was easy, but explaining the contents of his meal to Cybele and Houshi would probably be a chore.

After sliding his plate away he picked up the cat doll and examined it all over, searching for some kind of clue left behind by his sensei. Thoroughly confused by the strange gift, he decided to probe his grandfather for answers. "Did the woman say anything when she gave you this?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Upon closer examination you see that the cat doll is a grotesque caricature of a cat. It's head is as big as its rotund belly, and the coin it carries is as long as its body. The cat seems to be sitting on its haunches, with the coin at its belly, and its front paws supporting the coin and beckoning you closer respectively. It doesn't have any writing on it, nor any kind of identifying marks on it. However, it does have a strange weight to it. Almost as if the cat was hollow.

Youki stops to think about the encounter, and after a few moments he begins to sport a visible nosebleed. He shakes his head to clear his mind, then answers his grandson.

"No, she was far too pretty to question", the old man closes his eyes and blushes lightly as he talks, "and what kind of cretin would I be if I refused a heartfelt gift from such a lady? I thought I raised you better than that Yousuke."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke rolled his eyes, wanting to say that he had not been raised so much as he had been trained but held his tongue, lest his grandfather decide on an impromptu 'training' session. Training with the old swordsman always left him in terrible shape and he was still sore from yesterday's make-shift briefing.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed grandfather. And I ask because that 'pretty' lady was probably my sensei who I am supposed with today," he responded.

And as an afterthought he added, "And no, I will not introduce you to her."

He took another look at the cat doll, deciding it was cute enough and placed it back into its box. He would find a place for it in his room when he got back from training. Guessing that the gift would have something to do with today's training he stowed the cat into his bag and prepared to leave. He returned to his room to dress and prepare his tools, taking care to settle the doll comfortably in his bag.

If he left now he would be able to purchase something to snack on at the sweets shop and return in time to meet his team for training. Hopefully his grandfather would not hold him up at the door.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The old man frowns deeply. He raises one hand up to his face in a gesture of faux prayer. "Oh ancestors, please forgive my terrible grandson for his terrible abuses upon his humble grandfather. Please continue to smile upon his horrible little head and give him your blessings."

Youki smiled as he spoke, clearly just teasing the younger Konpaku. When the boy starts to leave his grandfather gives him one passing word of advice. "You'll have to take up -that- sword soon, you know. I hope to see it in your hands before I go meet your grandmother."

On that somber note, he waves goodbye to his grandson and goes to do whatever it is Youki does when Yousuke isn't around. The old man never seems to work, or leave the house, but bills get paid anyway so he has to have some kind of job. Whatever it is, it's probably boring and mundane, but that isn't important.

---

Yousuke arrives at the sweet shop with only the familiar ringing of its bell to announce his arrival. Tsumaki Yuri, the second daughter of the family-owned Tsumaki Treats, sits behind the counter. She doesn't greet him, because she's absorbed in staring at someone sitting in one of the small booths eating a bright pink parfait. The customer is a small girl, not much bigger than Sune or Yuri herself, but Yousuke doesn't recognize her from the academy. He can infer that she's been mentored, or isn't local, since Yousuke was part of the first graduating class.

Once Yousuke makes any movement at all Yuri snaps out of her stupor, jerks her head toward Yousuke, and gives him the look of a cat caught cleaning itself inappropriately. She looks quite angry that someone interrupted her, but all that vanishes when she notices it's Yousuke. Her mischievous grin wakes up, and she beckons the young swordsman closer. The girl's red twin-tails seem to twitch, and you'd almost mistake them for cat ears rather than hair. In fact, if she had a coin in her hand and about fifty pounds on her body, you could even mistake her for that cat doll.

"Hehe. Coming to see Sacchin, aren't 'cha?" The girl's clearly referring to her older sister, Tsumaki Satsuki, who frequently ran the shop when her parents weren't in. "Well she's not in today, but I'll tell her you came by to leer at her."

[Bad Situation]

He closed the door quietly behind him, resisting the urge to slam it, somewhat bothered by his grandfather's parting words. He knew he would have to take up the sword eventually but now just wasn't the time for it. Exorcising the anxiety from his mind he made his way to the sweets shop.

---

Yousuke frowned as he entered the familiar sweets shop, noting the presence of Yuri at the counter. The very presence of Yuri in the sweets shop promised a bad day. That she was even related to Satsuki was mind-boggling. The bad day was officially confirmed when she opened her big mouth.

"I do no such thing," he intoned, punctuating his sentence with a glare, despite knowing that it had no effect on the girl. Glancing at the other customer he added, "though I doubt that you are any better in that regard Tsumaki-san."

He wanted to leave but he had already come so far and was unwilling to depart empty-handed. The small girl's parfait did look rather enticing though. "I will have whatever she is having," he says, pointing at the shop's other patron.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Yuri blushes ferociously when Yousuke brings up her own leering history. But she just looks away, crosses her arms, and huffs. "At least I have the common courtesy to do it when they aren't paying attention." With that last spiteful shot Yuri heads into the back to make a fresh parfait. Due to being a mom-and-pop run shop Tsumaki Treats didn't have a huge freezer to store premade ice cream or other treats in. Instead they had to make every ice cream based treat right in front of the customer, but that gave their treats a unique niche and generated more foot track than any large scale ice cream shop in a big city could hope to match. And fortunately, lots of ninja had sweet teeth.

The girl in the back continues to eat her parfait, either she didn't hear your conversation, deliberately ignored it, or was too entranced in something else to respond was still up in the air. She's wearing a genin uniform, but the gray-green style isn't one Yousuke immediately recognizes. Her headband isn't visible, and is probably tied around her leg or incorporated into her belt or something. She idly runs a hand through her dirty blond shoulder-length hair as another spoon full of ice cream goes into her mouth.

Yuri harshly slams a solid ceramic cup onto the counter in front of Yousuke. The shopkeep gives the young genin a powerful death glare, and it's not hard to guess why. She confirms any potential suspicions when she leans in close to the counter and growls quietly. "She isn't your type. That'll be 350 yen."

Yuri gives Yousuke the cold shoulder as she takes his money, rings him up, and gives him a receipt.

[zeone3000]

Houshi bid his parents a fawn farewell and a hug. He then decided to train but just the usual daily drills. What ever his sensei had planned, he wanted to be thoroughly warmed up and not drained of his stamina. Also, while he couldn't read the scroll hopefully Yousuke could. With plently time to spare, he headed out to the training grounds. He was extremely excited and it showed.

[Bad Situation]

Yuri definitely had a way with words. Words that made him angry. Words that sometimes made him do stupid things to prove a point. "Oh I would never think to steal her away from you, Tsumaki-san. Perish the thought." He was obviously not thinking straight as he continued, "But it is my duty as a Soragakure shinobi to extend a measure of hospitality to any visitors who would so grace our fair village. I will of course be sure to give you a stunning recommendation."

As he walked toward the booth he began to regret his decision and wracked his mind desperately to think of an out to save face. He unfortunately could not come up with any excuse to leave and found himself sitting across from the girl with an identical parfait on the table.

Not having any sort of back up plan he fell back onto one of his usual strategy for dealing with girls. He glared into his parfait and ate it mechanically.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Yuri grits her teeth. She mentally calculated the odds of how a fight would go in her favor, and ultimately decided that jumping the counter and punching Yousuke would not end well. Instead Yuri settled for turning her death-glare on high and hoping she could kill Yousuke with her mind. Fortunately for the young genin it proves to be quite ineffective.

The girl in question looked quite stunning when observed up close. Her soft features spoke of a girl who had few hardships, and the warm smile she gave as Yousuke sat down was one reserved for an angel. She accepted Yousuke's glare with a bright and sincere smile completely without reservation or judgment. The girl eats her parfait calmly while maintaining eye contact with Yousuke. She certainly couldn't be pushed around by an angry glare, and backing down was clearly something foreign to her entirely.

Finally, after finishing her parfait, the girl slides her glass away and attempts conversation.

"Good morning, Sora-nin-sama." She reaches for one of the chest pockets on her ninja jacket. "Do you need to see my pass?" Clearly she's referring to the passes that every ninja not of the village needed to enter Sora's gates. But she doesn't display her village affiliation anywhere visible to Yousuke, so the young sora-nin doesn't know where she's from quite yet.

Houshi

Houshi heads through the winding streets of Soragakure. Normally, heading to the training grounds took just a few minutes, but one of the more direct rails had been damaged somehow during the night. So Houshi's forced to reroute through the commercial district. The hustle and bustle of the commercial district contrasted strongly with how ninjas were supposed to act. Instead of being secretive, the ninjas of Soragakure invited ground-side merchants up to open their own open-air stalls in Sora's commercial district. And many people of all ages gathered in the open air market to purview those goods. It was certainly a lucrative business opportunity, and a powerful source of tax income for Soragakure.

As Houshi wandered through the open air market he spotted an interesting sight. A short young girl with distinctive purple hair held up a wonderfully made choker. The necklace in question mimicked a set of woven reeds. Silvery-white metal woven together in strands, which were in turn interwoven in ropes, and studded with sparkling gemstones of an unknown type to create a beautiful silvery-white choker. Sune wore a set of thin-rimmed glasses as she admired the intricate design of the choker with wide open eyes.

Amon

Amon wakes like she does most every morning. The family butler quietly informs the young mistress that breakfast has been served, then vanished back downstairs like the ghost he frequently mimicked. Breakfast is served atop a table that cost more than the average family made in a year, crafted from the finest imported ingredients possible, cooked by a professional chef hired exclusively for her nutritional needs, and ultimately eaten alone because her parents were already busy no matter how early Amon woke up. Even the family butler didn't show up during breakfast this morning, so likely one of her parents was home and capitalizing Satosei's time.

However, today was different than most days. Amon had received her paperwork last night, and she had to go meet her new team at the training grounds promptly at noon. She was finally getting back on a ninja team, even if both her parents strongly discouraged her "playing ninja" anymore. Even if they distasted it, neither Yamana would ever forbid her from continuing her studies. Amon had always gotten her way since coming to the Yamana household, and even now that was no different. No one arrived during breakfast, and likely they wouldn't arrive until after Amon had left. Her parents were quite upset about her continuing to "play ninja", and likely forbid the help from interacting with Amon as a form of punishment.

[Bad Situation]

Well, she was visibly polite, which was more than he could say about the younger Tsumaki sister. He had no real interest in a conversation but would gladly commit to it if it meant angering Yuri. Besides, eating a parfait alone while somebody you hated was watching was not exactly conducive to a good meal.

Willing a small smile to his face, he waved away the pass. "There will be no need for that. I am a mere genin of Soragakure, it would unbehooving of me to so rudely ask for your identification." Mentally, he snorted at his grandfather's morning rebuke. It was not as if he had slept through to Youki's various lectures concerning the opposite sex. He just never saw it prudent to treat the girls in his class any differently from the rest of his classmates. That is to say, somewhat rudely.

"My name is Konpaku Yousuke." He extends his hand over the table. "I apologize for my forwardness but I have chosen to sit here out of a desire for your company. However, if you would have me leave I will gladly respect your wishes."

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The girl continues to smile that same vibrant smile she'd worn since Yousuke sat down. Over her shoulder Yousuke can see Yuri's stare attempting to bore into his skull. She stared with a dagger-like gaze that would contain actual daggers if not for her inability to hit combined with the beautiful young girl sitting opposite Yousuke. Her stare somehow escalates as the kunoichi takes Yousuke's hand and shakes it softly. Her hands are supple, tender, and lack the callouses of truly harsh work. The kunoichi's smile grows a little as she speaks.

"Well aren't you just the perfect gentleman," she says in a slightly teasing tone, "after the shop owner wouldn't talk to me I was worried people in Soragakure didn't like outsiders." She releases Yousuke's hand, then rests her own against the table in an open manner.

"Ah, where are my manners. Hisakawa, Hinami Hisakawa. I don't mind if you sit here, Konpaku-san." Her smile died down a bit, but didn't leave her face. She maintained eye contact, but doesn't volunteer conversation. Yousuke was clearly going to have to work to make this spiteful little exercise truly sting Yuri.

[Princess Tracy]

Excitement floods Amon as she chokes down the last of breakfast, and with it some unmistakable stress. Yay, I get to go in the field again, but what if I mess up? about sums up her thoughts. As she pulls her her gear together, her old foot showing a bit of stiffness as she yanks her unmentionables on, she tries going over everything in her head, her sense of protocol quite rusted by nearly two years of inactivity. Do I have to do something when I meet the squad captain, I forget... Ah, careful, Amon, you almost smashed that vial of poison just now, stupid! Oh man am I on for a day... maybe we'll get to fight something! I should at least get to spar or train in some way right? Nah, I guess there wasn't that much of that. Mostly back then it was odd jobs that shouldn't pass for any sort of ninja-necessity. It's only by some luck the Old Jounin taught me some moves before...

That old memory of before bugs her again. The day she was trounced, and her squad lost, and with it her career. No, she puts it form her mind. Her avdentures are back on track, finally, she can't dwell on the past. She crosses off the equipment in her head - too stressed out to travel light. Shelving most of her oddball inventions on the basis of field-testing them some other time, she stuffs her poisons and ammo in her specially-crafter bag along with her tools and scrolls, snatching up her 'perfectly normal' cane, and ties the blowgun around her neck for safe keeping. "Chemistry kit, wrench, gas mask... what am I forgetting? I feel like I'm forgetting something. Ah, this is gonna bug me. Forget it, how important could it be? I have everything down to my passport, so..." She thinks better of bringing her parents financial support; she'd scraped together some emergency dough, and she intended to us eit to prove she could. Not wasting any more time, she doesn't even bother with the stairs as she simply leaps form her third floor window, scaling the house downwards easily enough as she makes a dash straight for the grounds.

She gets two blocks away before it dawns on her what she forgot as she sees a fellow ninja passing by her in the street. "Oh crap, my HEADBAND of course!" She heads straight back to the house to retrieve it. As she clears the porch, having to use a jagged rock to pick the front door, having also forgotten her key (resolving to fix the lock on her way out before anyone notices her shenanigans), she instinctively calls out "I'm home," the futility of the cry and her loneliness instantly dawning on her. Of course they weren't around. The one time they should be here, their smotheringly supportive selves to wish her good luck, and nowhere to be seen. She wasn't too good with figuring people out, but she knew them well enough to hazard a guess why. They didn't want her being a ninja - though that was more knowledge than a deduction. Her replacement fingers no longer itched and that was all the reason she needed to dive headfirst into the field again, but... They'd been a little cold all day yesterday. They certainly weren't happy with her joining a team again, even if it was just as a medic. Which despite their information, if she had her way it wasn't. Well, if they're mad anyway i might as well do what I want, right? she lies to herself. With a breath to calm herself, she digs out the old headband. She hadn't worn it much since the incident, and it was pretty tarrnished form back then, the main fabric largely damaged to only being a third of its normal effective width. With a sigh, she rips it a bit, going all teh way as she thins into one, long strip. Finally, she ties it around herself like a necklace, making a note to sew it into her headband at some point.

They'll come around, I'm sure, Amon thinks to herself as she heads to the training grounds. One day they'll be proud of me for doing the thing I WANT to do. I hope.

---

At the training grounds.

Amon Yamana walks into the training grounds, looking a little fidgety as she goes over what to say in her head. At the sound of anything so evocative as a stray cat, she shouts out the words currently mulled over in her head "HELLO I AM AMON, NICE TO MEET YOU SENSEI, PLEASE ACCEPT ME IN YOUR TEAM!" before clamping her hands over her mouth. With a nervous cough she adds "Um, hi, I'm the new Medic, yeah that's it..."

She's a decently built girl - stout yet lithe, with some visible muscle. She's blonde, with big, sparkling blue eyes. her long hair is tied up in a worker's bandana. A Sogajure headband, quite tarnished but with its badge still shining radiantly, lies tied like a necklace over her chest. She has donned an odd sort of pink and green poncho lying over her dungaries and a sleaveless top. One foot wears an oddly-healed boot, while another is clearly not a foot but some sort of animated wood, a prosphetic. In mimicry of it, the ring and pinky fingers of her left hand are also replaced, a few scars dotting the surrounding skin in both cases. She hauls a decent sized bag and has a cane at her side that seems to support her odd-foot. She wear medical supplies like a bandolier. She's 14, 5'2, and has a clearly analytical gaze brimming with brilliance and excitement. After settling in, she has a well-honed smile clear on her face at all times. Her right hand constantly twitches as she thinks, as if pulling at her very thoughts or tinkering with her ideas, but is kept reserved and utterly steady when she has no 'need' of it.

Spot DC 18

Spoiler

Show

The cane is actually a sword cane

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke smiled, having been given an opportunity to speak of Yuri. "If you are referring to Yuri, then you need not worry. She is the shopkeeper's daughter and for as long as I have known her she has been quite rude." This was not a lie, so to speak. He had never gotten along with Yuri and the years following their first meeting always left them off worse than when they began. He was, admittedly, quite fond of provoking her but it was not as if she was not responsible for some of their more heated exchanges.

"You will find that Sora-nin are very courteous to outsiders, or at least, I like to think so." He made to touch her hand but decided against it and jerked back in an awkward fashion. Talking was fine, touching was not. Even their brief handshake had unsettled him some. It would be best to continue their conversation.

"If you do not mind me asking, what is your business in Soragakure? I have seen many foreign ninja in in the village before but I have yet to meet one so young." This was also somewhat true. Most of the foreign ninja he saw tended to be older or accompanied by a mentor or some such. In his experience, it was an oddity to see a young ninja by him or herself. Of course, his 'experience' was very much limited by the few days he bothered to leave the house. He was genuinely curious of this, despite himself.

Now realizing that his parfait was still only half-eaten he swallowed his anxiety and pride and added, "Would you care to help me finish my parfait Hinami-san? I will be leaving for training shortly and I would hate for it to go to waste."

Even if she refused, it would be well worth it to see the look on Yuri's face.

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

The training grounds aren't really a grounds so much as a sector of well-made buildings. Each one is stout--a mere three stories high at the tallest--and double or triple reinforced. These marvels of engineers were designed with the intention of allowing ninja battles to take place between each one, and many of them lacked walls. They did have several support columns that kept the roof from collapsing, but otherwise mimicked a variety of territory. You could train everywhere from man-made lakes to deserts within those structures, and could even fight across several buildings at once due to their proximity to one another. One could even think he or she had vanished into another land if not for the fact that the rest of Soragakure was visible in the distance. The address that Amon had been told to report to was a squat one-story building with a very high roof and no windows. The door's open, but a little sign sitting on a tripod in front stops anyone from entering. The sign reads "Reserved for Team 5" written in flowery script. The inside of the building is completely dark, and seems to be empty at first blush.

"Hi, do--" The unknown voice from behind Amon is cut off when she shouts out what she's thinking. "Uh, right."

The voice behind Amon belongs to a young man, probably only a year or so older than Amon, whose dirty blond bangs dominate his face and head. The hair hangs down and obscures his eyes, but the feeling of being watched tells Amon he's looking up at her. From his height of five foot even the poor boy has to look up to make eye contact with lots of people his age. No headband could be visible under his hair, so the Soragakure symbol is wrapped around his upper forearm. He wears a strange black-colored full body suit, and a huge scroll rests against his back like a sword. The boy sticks out his hand for a handshake, and the first thing Amon notices is that it lacks the callouses that develop from hardwork. He doesn't wait for the handshake before continuing to speak.

"Misaka Saicho. Are you looking for something, miss...?" The boy peters off at the end, raising his voice a little as he expects Amon to fill in the silence with her name.

Yousuke

The girl nodded sagely at Yousuke's comment about Yuri, as if she had known the girl her entire life and Yousuke was merely reaffirming what she had already deduced. Yuri interrupted the pair for a moment to Hinami's glass and spoon away. The Tsumaki sister gives Yousuke her strongest glare, and Hinami her brightest smile, before leaving. She immediately placed both items in the sink, then went right back to eavesdropping. Hinami continued to smile through the exchange, and maintained eye contact so long as Yousuke did. She nods when Yousuke asks his question, and responds warmly.

"I am in town to escort a prisoner with my team. Soragakure captured her, and we're taking her back home." She doesn't seem to understand or care that Yousuke cannot see her village affiliation, and thus wouldn't know where 'home' was. She continues on without a hitch. "Since it's allied territory, we were allowed to wander while the prisoner was gathered up, so I'm enjoying the hospitality of the Sky Village."

Yuri becomes absolutely furious when she hears Yousuke offer his parfait. Sharing spoons would be an indirect kiss, and she immediately regretted taking the girl's glass and spoon away. Yuri looks around quickly, snatches up a spare spoon, then starts to head toward the table when Hinami responds. The ninja blushes a little, then politely refuses Yousuke's offer. But Hinami does take the chance to tease the young man. "An indirect kiss from sharing spoons? Scandalous. What would your girlfriend think?" Hinami motions with her eyes over her shoulder toward Yuri. She seems to think that the two are an item. Yuri beams when she hears the ninja refuse. Yousuke couldn't take this girl from her, and that meant she'd won!

[Bad Situation]

Hisakawa had somehow come to the conclusion that he and Yuri were dating. How any one could mistake their arguing and passive aggressiveness for attraction was beyond him. In fact, he was not entirely sure as to where Yuri's interests lay but he was fairly certain that he was as far removed from that list as remotely possible. It would be wise to nip this in the bud as quickly as possible.

"Oh! I would never date someone as crude as her," he explained with a smirk. It was time to drive the final nail into the coffin. But did he dare to go through with it?

Upon seeing Yuri's triumphant face however, he found the resolve to do what needed to be done. "In fact, if anybody were my type it would be a sweet girl like you." He reached over to gently place his hand over her own. It did not feel right but no matter, sometimes sacrifices had to be made to get the better of your arch-nemesis.

[Princess Tracy]

Misaka Saicho... she thinks for a moment, trying to think if she'd heard the name before.

Spoiler

Show

Ninja Lore check? (1d20+5)[9]

Amon takes his hand and shakes it as she has been trained to, in those ways of manners, making sure to lead with her less-disfigured hand, though can't deny herself her countryfolk-like wit. "Amon Yamana, damn pleased to meet ya," she says, cheerfully, a calm yet exciteable smile playing at her face. "Are you with the team I've been assigned to by any chance? I guess I'm looking for whoever my new boss is. I'm pretty excited to begin working again!" she says, holding up her other, damaged hand with a joking laugh. "If there's one thing you learn from taking a bad hit, it's the importance of being able to patch people up, so I specialise as a medic. I'm in team 5. So what's your deal?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The girl waves Yousuke's attempted compliment off, withdrawing her hand to do so. "Sorry young man, but you're not my type. I prefer more... gentler, softer, people. Not that you aren't a dashing young man, and I'm sure you'll make some girl quite happy someday." Her smile doesn't fade as she blows Yousuke off in the gentlest manner possible. Yuri at first reacts angrily toward Yousuke's advance, but as the kunoichi blows him off Yuri spouts a sudden and powerful nosebleed. She stumbles away loudly to find a napkin, and Hinami either doesn't notice or pretends not to.

The kunoichi checks the time, then theatrically sighs. "I need to go. It's almost noon, and I have to meet my team then. Sorry young man, but we're not meant to be." She shrugs dramatically, then gives Yousuke a pat on the head. "I'm sure you'll grow up to be a real lady killer someday." With that, she gets up and goes to the counter. Yuri, nose covered by a pink-tinged napkin, gives Hinami a dreamy stare as she waves goodbye.

Then Yuri snaps out of it, looks toward Yousuke, and grins under her napkin. "Eye ween", she says through her held nose, "End you wose."

Amon

Amon doesn't recognize the boy, nor does she remember anything about him. He's probably from the new genin class that graduated. The boy's grip is firm, and belies a fire hidden behind his obfuscating bangs. Saicho shakes his head at Amon's question, and responds promptly to her description of herself.

"I'm from Team 1, and I'm meeting my teacher to train. Team 5 is headed by Eurayle Cybele, and she's not here right now. Now where did I remember seeing her..." The boy puts his hand to his jaw as he thinks, then slams his hand into his palm as if to say 'Eureka' with his body.

"Ah! Yes, she was at Central. Probably getting mission orders or something." The boy points toward the center skyscraper of Soragakure. Central was just another name for the governmental core of Soragakure, and existed as both a shop selling ninja services and as a home for the Council.

"You can't miss Cybele-sensei. She's tall, has really long purple hair, and weird eyes."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon mulls it over a minute. "Well the sign here says things are reserved for the team I'm on, so I wonder if I should go look for her or stay here for a bit... yeah, I'll wait it out for a bit, I guess. I'm pretty sure I made it here a little early anyway, it would be rude to not give it ten minutes," she thinks aloud.

"Well, if you have to go train I won't keep you. It was a pleasure meeting you, Saicho-kun." She gives a smile and a short boy as she perches on the ground, leanng against the entry to her team's training grounds.

If left alone, Amon waits for a couple of minutes before having a look around the training grounds. If no one is there yet, she goes back to waiting. If no one turns up within ten minutes, she takes the most direct route to Central, hoping to at least bump into her captain coming the other way, and begins looking and asking around for her.