Matsu Yamiko
Academy Graduate
"In life, nothing good comes out of hurrying."
Posts: 162
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Post by Matsu Yamiko on Aug 27, 2005 21:51:55 GMT -5
((OoC: This is for anyone who wants to just join in. There's really no set goal for this. It takes place between "Teamwork" and "24 Hours"))
The young man crouched low in the shadows of the bushes, peering through the brilliant green leaves at the gathered academy students. His silver eyes glinted mildly in curiousity. They were a smiling, laughing, oblivious bunch. They would all change soon enough. He had changed. He remembered laughing once, but it was no longer important.
A few strands of red hair fell into his eyes as the wind shifted. It tugged at the end of his long black braid which he grabbed with a gloved hand and tucked into the neck of the black net shirt to keep it from moving.
The children's laughter began to die down as they moved inside, their sensei calling out names. Soon it was quiet once more outside. He sighed.
Yamiko stood, his braid falling behind him once more with the movement. He stretched and dusted off the red and black plaid coat wrapped around his waist and then absent-mindedly slipped his hands into the pockets of his navy pants. He began to walk slowly away.
Outside the village he crouched near a river, pulling a small thermose from his belt. As he stretched his arm out to dip it in the water, the tiny coin-sized skulls that were wrapped around his wrists began to clatter quietly. He froze, a slender eyebrow raised in surprise.
He sensed chakra suddenly. His eyes drifted slowly to gaze in front of him. Shadows moved in the trees. He smirked. Just ghosts. No real danger. Not yet.
He gathered his water and tucked it away, standing once more. The bone bracelettes fell still again and he raised his hand scratch the back of his neck, his fingers felt the scars there, but he immediately turned their touch to the hilt of his sword. It was almost a nervous habit: touching the hilt. It rarely left his back anymore.
Yamiko turned his silver gaze to his reflection. It was a blur...except for the red marks. Two dots under his right eye, a line through the left. He frowned. He had to find something to do; he was getting bored enough to remember.
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Post by Kiri on Aug 28, 2005 0:34:09 GMT -5
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
The sharp female voice cut through the air and reverberated through the surrounding trees. Nadameru quickly put her palm flat to the ground and the familiar black markings extended from her hand across its surface. There was a loud "bamf!" and smoke filled the area. When it dissipated, a huge golden eagle--about nine feet tall--was standing in the clearing with the jounin.
Nada looked up at it and furrowed her brows, sighing.
"Don't look so disappointed to see me, Na-chan," the bird spoke, its voice a pleasant female tone.
Smiling apologetically, Nadameru reached to pat the silky feathers. "Gomen, Konjiki-sama. I've been bringing you out unecessarily more often than not, lately."
Konjiki craned her head to focus an amber eye on the Homura girl. "...you're still trying to summon him... aren't you?"
Nada made a frustrated sound and rested her forehead against the massive bird. "I haven't increased my chakra enough yet, I guess... I need to train some more...." Her eyes grew slightly distant. "Maybe I won't be able to do it, anyway... my great grandpa was the last one who could...."
"It's true that it hasn't been done for some time," Konjiki cooed, "but that does not mean it's impossible."
Nadameru blinked, then smiled. "Arigato, Konjiki-sama. You can go now if you want... sorry for bothering you."
There seemed to be a smile in the bird's eyes as she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Nadameru stretched and sighed. She always felt tired after summoning Konjiki. Maybe that truly was her limit. Springing into the trees, she headed back for the village.
Without stopping, she turned her fiery yellow-orange gaze to the left slightly. She could sense someone. Their chakra didn't feel too overbearing--probably a genin... maybe.
Dropping out of the trees, the jounin sat down next to the river. Pulling off her shoes, she plunged her feet into the cold water. She didn't really need to hurry home.
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Post by UchihaJyounochi on Aug 28, 2005 0:53:25 GMT -5
Iro was out for his normal endurance training. It was getting significantly harder every day... ever since... It didn't matter. All that mattered was here... now... Concentrate. Imagine your inner mind. Imaine yourself deepwithin yourself. Concentrate on a singular point in your mind. That is where you were safe... Concentrate everything you have on that one point... Now! Iro let out a burst of chakra. The world around him came into shockingly clear image. The trees surrounding the small clearing. The small waterfall, constantly dumping water into the small steam where Iro stodd. Even the birds in the trees were begining to become visible. Hold it... Hold onto it!
Iro's body began to weaken as he pushed the limits of his chakra expenditure.
Concentrate. One, single point in your mind. Nothing else exists outside of this. Pain is nothing. Death is nothing. All that matters is this point.
Iro fell to his knees. He was getting dangerously close to burning himself out.
I'm almost there. Just... a bit... longer...
Iro fell into the stream... panting... gasping for breath. "Damnit!" Iro slammed his hand into the stream. Is that really the entent of my abilities?
Suddenly Iro's train of thought was cut off as he caught the smell of a familiar chakra. It was enormous. Much more than Iro could even dream of producing at the moment.
Iro picked himself up out of the stream and began to head off towards the source of this outburst. It took him far longer than it should have. He was incredibly exhausted. After a few minutes he arrived at the source. His sense was rarely wrong, and it seemed this time was no exception.
"Konnichiwa, Nadameru-sensei!!" Iro called out, trying to hide the sheer exhaustion in his voice.
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Post by Kiri on Aug 28, 2005 0:59:41 GMT -5
"Konnichiwa, Nadameru-sensei!" a familiar voice called out.
Nada lifted her head and blinked, then smiled upon seeing Iro. "Konnichiwa," she replied. She had sensed a slight burst of chakra not too long ago. Perhaps that had been him. "Training?" she asked, kicking her feet in the water a bit.
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Post by UchihaJyounochi on Aug 28, 2005 1:04:37 GMT -5
"Konnichiwa," Nada said, "Training?"
"Soft of... I guess..." Iro said, trying to cover for himself. "Mind if I join you?"
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Matsu Yamiko
Academy Graduate
"In life, nothing good comes out of hurrying."
Posts: 162
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Post by Matsu Yamiko on Aug 28, 2005 1:08:25 GMT -5
He closed his eyes, listening to soft chatter of the water. The wind shifted. He caught the distant murmer of voices and tilted his head to peer upstream, silver eyes opening to mere slits.
His first reaction was to head back towards the village. He didn't do well with people, but he recognized one of the voices. Straightening, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began to walk towards them. Just to see who was there.
No need to interupt or anything, of course.
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Post by Kiri on Aug 28, 2005 1:08:44 GMT -5
"Soft of... I guess..."
Nada raised a slender eyebrow. Well, "sort of, I guess" training was better than nothing. "I see," was all she said.
"...mind if I join you?"
She shrugged, indicating he was free to join her if he wanted to.
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Post by UchihaJyounochi on Aug 28, 2005 1:16:39 GMT -5
Iro was obviously... well... obvious... At this point he didn't care. He was exhausted. He felt as though his muscles we on fire.
As soon as Nada nodded in assent, Iro was quick to take off his shoes and soak his feet in the stream as well. He took off his forehead protector, and tried futiley to keep a steady amount of water in his hands long enough to really "cool" off his face. It was only after he had sat down on the bank a few feet away from his sensei did he realize the awkward silence that had arisen. It had only been a short while ago that HIS actions had sparked the surge of anger from his teammate. He still knew it was his fault, and hi sensei most likely did too...
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Matsu Yamiko
Academy Graduate
"In life, nothing good comes out of hurrying."
Posts: 162
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Post by Matsu Yamiko on Aug 28, 2005 1:31:41 GMT -5
He sighed softly, almost inaudibly and shifted his shoulders so that the heavy braid fell down his back. It waved slightly as he walked. He found his gaze directed downward at his feet, measuring the length of his steps subconciously as he amused himself by wandering exactly on the edge of the bank.
As the voices had stopped, he looked up and spotted two from the village. Nada, he remembered. He'd met her a few times. The man he had never seen before.
Then there was a crack as he put his weight down on a stick. For a moment, his heart was in his throat and the next thing he knew he was on his back in the middle of water, the sky shining brightly above him.
Wow, was the water cold. He silently cursed mother nature and leapt up, splashing and scrambling back onto the bank as he fought to keep from blushing in the presence of senior ninja.
Standing, he pushed his wet hair from his face and kept his gaze on the forest, sloshing towards it once he had regained his composure.
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Post by Kiri on Aug 28, 2005 1:42:25 GMT -5
Nada fell silent as Iro joined her. Seeing him automatically sent her mind to the recent fiasco involving Team 1. She wondered how Iro was feeling about it. Blaming himself, probably, whether he should or not. She couldn't condone his actions, but she wasn't about to blame him, either. She was probably more to blame than anyone.
She had just opened her mouth to say something when there was a loud cracking sound, followed by a splash. Subconciously she snatched a kunai out of her pouch and in an instant was crouching next to the river, prepared to fight if need be. She blinked in confusion then at what she saw.
Nadameru recognized the boy that was scrambling out of the water. Slowly, she put away the kunai and straightened. He looked about to leave, but she adressed him.
"Ah... Matsu-kun... right?"
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Matsu Yamiko
Academy Graduate
"In life, nothing good comes out of hurrying."
Posts: 162
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Post by Matsu Yamiko on Aug 28, 2005 1:52:04 GMT -5
"Ah...Matsu-kun...right?"
He froze and shoved his hands into his pockets again, slowly turning to peer through dripping hair at her. He set his jaw slightly in an attempt to keep his courage and nodded once.
Something moved in his boot. Shifting, it made a sickening squish and he cleared his throat, resisting the urge to shiver.
Yamiko quickly directed his silver gaze back to the ground.
"Uhm....sorry...for interupting..." he murmered.
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Post by Kiri on Aug 28, 2005 2:05:39 GMT -5
Smiling slightly, Nada sat back down. "Well, you weren't interrupting much," she told him. Glancing to Iro, she looked back at Yami.
"Unless you have somewhere important to be... you're free to join us," she offered. She wasn't entirely sure why, except he looked a little lonely.
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Post by UchihaJyounochi on Aug 28, 2005 2:09:56 GMT -5
Before Nadameru could say anything, there was a large crack, followed by a splash. By the time Iro was reaching for his kunai, his sensei alrady had one out and looked as though she was ready for anything.
A boy scrambled out of the water, one Nada seemed to know.
She addressed him. Matsu? Iro had never heard of him.
"Uhm....sorry...for interupting..." he said as he looked back at the ground.
"Well, you weren't interrupting much," Nadameru said. Something in Iro's stomach plummeted. He grabeed his forehead protector and re-tied it in place. No need to let a complete stranger see your face.
"Unless you have somewhere important to be... you're free to join us" she continued, inviting the new boy to join them. There was something strange about this kid. Iro wasn't quite sure what it was.
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Matsu Yamiko
Academy Graduate
"In life, nothing good comes out of hurrying."
Posts: 162
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Post by Matsu Yamiko on Aug 28, 2005 2:17:16 GMT -5
He winced a little and closed one eye, raising his head to study the two. He just wasn't used to people...not live ones anyway...
Taking a deep breath, he removed his hands from his pockets and shook his wrists, the bone bracelets rattling loudly as he rid them of water. He then unslung his katana and sat down where he was, laying the silver gilded weapon on the grass next to him.
Raising a hand, he flicked his fingers and wiped his face, taking a deep breath.
What on earth was he getting himself into?
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Post by Kiri on Aug 28, 2005 12:55:44 GMT -5
Nada watched quietly as Yamiko sat down. Her eyes strayed to the strange bracelent he was wearing. He had been wearing that the last time she had met him, too. Curiousity toward its significance was a passing thought, and instead she made the necessary introductions.
"Iro-kun, this is Matsu Yamiko. Matsu, Kokoro Iro. He's on my three man genin team," she said, her tone at first prideful, then dropping to a slight tenor of pain. It was only slightly noticable, however, and she smoothed it over with a smile.
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