Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Jan 23, 2005 20:57:54 GMT -5
(OoC: This thread is open to anyone who wants to join in in any way they choose. Have fun! ^^)
A soft breeze caressed Hidden Leaf Village, sighing through the trees and sending dust and leaves skidding across the clean swept streets. All over the village the sounds of construction could be heard; the banging and scraping and shouts of the workers, the busy chatter of the villagers as they rebuilt their shaken lives, the laughing of children for whom life was already back to normal. It was a warm day, and promised to get even warmer by later this afternoon. Around lunchtime things began to wind down as people made their way to restaurants and homes and picnic sites to gather with one another for food, fellowship, and a chance to simply live with no cares or worries. Well, most people were, at least.
"Kaori-sama, I'm going to lunch now," chirped the ever cheerful Akina on her way out. Even though it was warm, not a bead of perspiration was visible on her youthful face.
"Hai, hai..." muttered the Hokage herself, at the moment completely immersed in reading a report on the state of the relationships other hidden villages had with each other - and most importantly, with Konoha. The war had affected things immensely, that was for sure. She also showed no signs of the warm day having any effect on her whatsoever.
"Kaori-sama?
"Hai...lunch....enjoy it..."
"Kaori-sama!"[/b]
"Huh? Nani?" Kaori blinked, looking up from the report. Akina had finally gotten her attention.
"I'm going to lunch now. I'll be back soon."
"Okay. Enjoy it." She went back to her report, but before she could resume reading it Akina swiped it out of her hands and held it above her head.
"Hey!"
"Not so fast, Kaori-sama!" Akina quipped, nearly giggling. "I wasn't finished."
"All right," Kaori sighed, brushing her hair out of her eyes and not noticing that it immediately fell right back into its usual place. She also thought she felt her stomach rumble, but she ignored that as well. "What is it?"
"I'm going to lunch, BUT-" she added before Kaori could butt in and say that yes, she knew that already "- But, if you haven't gone out and eaten anything by the time I get back, there's going to be trouble. Understand?"
Kaori gave Akina an odd look. "Yes, mother," she replied wryly, standing up and snatching the report back. "I'm not very hungry right now, and I really need to finish this." Her stomach rumbled again. Akina smiled and turned to leave.
"Well, then, I'm off. Itekimasu!"*
"Itterashai..."* She waved to Akina, and was clearly waiting for her assistant to stop badgering her and leave already if she wanted lunch that badly. Finally, when the sharp clicks of Akina's high-heeled shoes had faded away completely, Kaori glanced out one of the open windows. She couldn't see her assistant anywhere, but she could see something else, and it looked very inviting. A sudden pickup in the soft breeze carried all kinds of delicious smells into her office. Like she planned it or something... Kaori thought wryly as she closed the leather-bound folder holding the report and glanced out the window again. Akina still couldn't be seen, which was good. If the woman knew she could be made to jump this easily, life would certainly be different between them.
Kaori picked up the report to take with her, but at the last minute set it back down again. Later, she would be glad she did.
In a few moments she was out in the warm day of Konoha, taking in the sights, sounds, smells, even the feel of it. Somehow it seemed so much richer, so much more precious, than it had before the war. Maybe because it was her village, and she was its caretaker. Maybe the war had just taught her how precious her home really was. Or maybe it was that delicious smell coming from the ramen stand.
"Konnichiwa, Hokage-sama!" a construction worker called out as she passed. "Konnichiwa!" she called back with a smile and a wave. "Working hard?" "Yes, ma'am!" he replied cheerfully. "Good, good! Keep up the good work!" "Yes, ma'am!"
It was like that all the way to the ramen stand, and she cherished every minute of it. A young Academy student even presented her with a small wildflower the girl claimed to have picked herself. Kaori picked her one in return that had been growing off the side of the road, and tucked her own behind her ear. With a grin from ear to ear the little girl did the same with hers before giggling and running off to show her friends what the Hokage had given her. Kaori chuckled to herself as she passed by the group of girls who had to be no older than five or six years old. They reminded her so much of herself when she was that age. The wind kicked up again, sending her hair all over her face. Again. She tucked it behind her ear, and this time it stayed put. At last she reached her destination: Ichiraku Ramen, the best ramen stand in all of Konoha.
"Welcome!" the kind old man who now owned the stand called out. "Ah, Hokage-sama! Please, sit down! What can I get for you?"
"Well, let's see...."
*Itekimasu = phrase said when leaving *Itterashai = phrase said to someone leaving
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on Jan 24, 2005 9:51:44 GMT -5
Home again.
On the hills not far from Konoha, two figures stared over the village they recognized as their home. It had been so long since they'd seen Konoha, it almost seemed unfamiliar. Mazrakiel and Kagemaru had finished one of the most grueling training regimes ever. And now, after two weeks of full-on training, they had finally finished. It was time for them to return home.
"Hey son, you hungry?" Kagemaru asked his son.
"Just a bit."
"Ooh, starving are you then? Let's go get something to eat!" Kagemaru said enthusiastically.
"But, but..."
But before Mazrakiel could finish his sentence, Kagemaru had transformed and was already making his way towards Konoha. Mazrakiel laughed; if there was anything to match his father's skill, it would have to be his appetite. He placed his hand in the shadow of a tree, and before you could say "Ichiraku", Mazrakiel too had disappeared, following closely behind his father.
* * * * * * *
"Ah, you don't get meals like this anywhere else, that's for sure!" Kagemaru laughed cheerfully.
Mazrakiel and Kagemaru stood in front of Ichiraku. "C'mon boy, let's get some food."
"Yeah, sure."
The second Maz said that, Kagemaru sprung into action, almost as if THIS was the reason he wanted to come back, and made a start for the ramen stand. "Irashaimase!" He heard a man's voice as Kagemaru entered the stand. Maz wasn't far behind, until...
"Oh! Hokage-sama! I... uh... Konnichiwa!" Kagemaru greeted her cheerfully.
What?! Kaori was here?!
Maz made his way forward into the ramen stand, and it was true; Hokage-sama really was eating here!
Kagemaru smiled, turned towards the owner, Udon, and began slating out his order. "I'll have two beef ramen, plus two miso... uhh, I'll also have two tempura... and a chef's special too please. Maz! What do you want?" The man at the counter stared funnily at Kagemaru. All that food was for you?
"You never fail to impress me Kagemaru." The man said. Kagemaru was a regular at Ichiraku, and Udon recognised him right away.
"Nor do I fail to give you good business, do I now?"
The man smiled. He looked to Maz, expecting him to place his order, but Maz wasn't paying the slightest attention; he was looking at Kaori-sama; the woman who turned him down as her assistant. He gave a sort of, disappointed, saddened look... when he realised he should be ordering his meal, and not staring.
"I'll have, uhh..."
He couldn't help it though. His mind wavered between Kaori and his meal. He looked at the empty seat next to Kaori. Like she planned it or something. Maz smiled, and looked over to her.
"Konnichiwa, Hokage-sama."
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Jan 24, 2005 19:03:47 GMT -5
"Konnichiwa, Hokage-sama," A familiar voice said to her just as she had finished taking another bite of ramen. Perfect. She gave the young man a hand signal meaning "just a moment," and then turned to face him with a smile. "Hello there," she said warmly. How on earth did these men wear such dark clothes on such a warm day? She herself didn't even feel warm, let alone hot, but that was a different story. "Did training go well?" She chuckled at the look on his face. "I'm not blind to things going on in the village," she explained. "When you two were spotted leaving the village, father and son together - especially after our meeting - it didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on." She glanced at the man behind the counter, who was looking at the young Adarakis expectantly. "Well, are you going to order?"
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Post by Kiri on Jan 24, 2005 23:14:36 GMT -5
Nadameru wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and turned to glance up at the sky. The sun was shining down brightly, warming the earth. She squinted a bit before turning away again. It was uncomfortably hot for someone whose body temperature was already far above normal.
"Na-chan, come help me with this," she heard her father call out from the other side of the building. The two of them were helping in the reconstruction effort. They were accomplishing a lot, but it seemed like there was always much more to be done.
"Coming," she responded, abandoning her current project and walking over to see what her father needed.
He was also trying to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He looked just as hot as she was. "It's too much for me to manage myself. I'll hold it steady and you meld it together, alright?"
Nada looked over the metal beams her father was referring to. They were fairly thick. She sighed and nodded, not mentioning her exhaustion. They had been working all morning doing similar tasks, and their chakra was running a bit low. Without argument, however, she formed several seals and her hands turned red-hot with flame. After Nada quickly traced a seam where the beams were being held together, they were properly fused.
"Excellent!" Homura Taro said, apparently glad that was over with. Patting his daughter on the shoulder, he grinned. "How about some lunch? I don't know about you, but my stomach is really growling."
Though she rolled her eyes, Nada couldn't resist a grin. "Sure." She took a quick glance at the sky. "It's about noon anyway, isn't it? I want to get out of the sun for a while." She pulled her hair off of her neck and fanned herself with a hand, vainly attempting to cool herself.
Her father laughed his agreement and the two headed off for their favorite lunch spot: Ichiraku Ramen.
As the pair approached, they saw they were not the first to have gotten the idea. Several familiar faces were gathered there, including the Hokage herself. The two ducked into the ramen stand, which was suddenly becoming very crowded.
((OOC: I was going to go a bit farther than that, but I'm unsure about how to greet the Hokage until Kiel actually replies to that thread. -___-;;; Sooo... yeah... but, at least I posted .^^; ))
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on Jan 25, 2005 6:13:03 GMT -5
Mazrakiel tried to smile at Kaori, but spoke nervously.
"I'm... sorry, I didn't tell you where I was going. It was... irresponsible of me to leave like that." He looked to her for some sign of comfort... looking for some flicker of an expression that might say "It's okay."... but he couldn't tell. Mind you, with a bowl of ramen from Ichiraku in their hands, who'd bother?
"But... I'm ready, now. I feel... both mentally and physically ready to take on any mission you're willing to give, Hokage-sama."
Kagemaru looked to him, smiled and said "Maz, I think at this point in time, Hokage-sama would rather focus on the bowl in front of her than something like that. Give it a rest, eh? Time for missions later, time for work later. Now, we eat!"
Maz quickly wiped the surprised expression off his face. "Oh, yes, right, sorry Father... Hokage-sama."
The man at the counter was looking slightly peeved at Mazrakiel. Would the boy hurry up and order? Kagemaru noticed the somewhat annoyed look Mazrakiel was getting, and broke in. "Tell you what. I think my son's earned himself a helping of tempura. He'll have, uhh... a large bowl."
Udon took down the order for a large bowl of tempura, to which Kagemaru replied "Champion, mate." He smiled at Kagemaru, before shifting aside to greet the Homura family, who'd just entered. What a busy time to be at Ichiraku. First Hokage, then the Adarakis Family (half of which could easily have devoured the whole contents out the back), and now the Homura Family.
Kagemaru looked at the father of the Homura Family, and gave a cheery hello to him, followed by a smile at his daughter. Mazrakiel gave a wary smile towards Nadameru; his intentions were friendly, but he didn't really know Nadameru all too well, even though they were roughly the same age. In fact, she was younger than him, but was higher in rank than him.
Mazrakiel finally pulled up the courage to talk to her. "Konnichiwa, Chuunin no Homura-sama." Showing respect to your superiors by greeting them in a proper manner was the right thing to do, and the Adarakis Clan felt this especially. He bowed his head slightly to her, and then looked back to Hokage-sama. The sudden stop of clanging chopsticks indicated he'd just said something out of place.
(OoC: Keep in mind, Maz just got back from training. He hasn't actually heard of Nadameru's recent promotion to Jounin. XD)
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Post by Kiri on Jan 25, 2005 19:34:48 GMT -5
Taro returned Kagemaru's greeting jovially as the pair found a place at the counter. Nada bowed her head slightly in return to Kagemaru's welcoming grin. Turning to Maz, she had to resist raising an eyebrow at the uncertainty in his smile. She was beginning to sit down when he spoke up to address her.
"Konnichiwa, Chuunin no Homura-sama."
At first it didn't seem odd, having been addressed that way for so long, but everyone else's reactions served as a reminder. She looked away, under the pretense of perusing the menu. Her response was light and nonchalant.
"Actually, it's Jounin now."
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on Jan 26, 2005 22:32:06 GMT -5
Jounin? JOUNIN?!
Nadameru... Homura... a Jounin now?
'I've been away from this village far too long, it seems' thought Mazrakiel to himself.
Kagemaru looked at her, impressed. "Really? Wow. Congratulations... you deserve it, Nada-san. Way to go!"
'Great. How the heck did that happen? I'll prove myself, soon enough.' Mazrakiel thought. He gently bit his lip, and noticed the man behind the counter. He turned back to Hokage, and looked at her slightly, before waiting for his meal.
Then again, the man behind the counter hadn't taken the order away yet; he was still waiting for the Homura Family to order.
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Post by UchihaJyounochi on Jan 27, 2005 0:52:40 GMT -5
I'm going out to train mom!!!" Iro shouted as he opened the door to their new home. It still didn't feel like a home. Just an empty shell.Even for early morning the heat was enough to cause a thin sheen of sweat to appear on Iro's face as he ran through the busy city streets. The sun was just begining to creep over the horizon, and already the streets were filled to the brim with villagers going about their business. Everyone was pitching in to try and rebuild the village, from villagers to shinobi.
"This is going to take forever if I stay down here, plus this many people is starting to give me a headache." Iro muttered to himself as he thought about how much time he would waste trying to go by street. He quickly abandoned the streets, taking to the rooftops. "Much better." Iro loved the feel of the air as the leapt through it, it was one of the few times he felt truly free. It didn't take long to reach the outskirts of the town. It was amazing, what had just been the shattered remains of a war, was already begining to look back to normal. "I guess what they say is true, 'the true strngth of konoha lies not only in its Shinobi, but in the hearts of its citizens'" He said this with a smile of satisfaction. This had been one of his favorite quotes as a child.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It didn't take Iro long to reach his favorite training grounds, he could still feel the remnants of his own chakra emenating from the place. It was a simple breaking int the forest. A small waterfall that fed a shallow pond. The bark of many of the tree's around the grove was gone.
"Well, time to get to work." Iro pulled several kunai from his pouch, poured some of his chakra into several of them. He threw them all up as hard as he could. He inhaled deeply as he released a steady sphere of chakra. The waves bounced of the surrounding area, showing him an all too familiar image. Soon the image was disturbed by the entry of several foreign objects. Iro leaped into the air, grabbing each kunai as they flew towards the ground. After returning the kunai to their home, he strode out onto the pond. He sat down underneath the soft rush of the waterfall, releasing the same steady chakra. He stayed like this for hours, the water always seemed to soothe the burning in his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Around noon Iro could sense he had nearly reached the limit of his chakra. He was bearthing heavily as the water continued to coarse over him. He slowly stood and strode back to the shore where he proceeded to dry off.
"I guess that'll have to do for today." He could hear his stomache grumble. I would've gotten breakfast if I didn't know mother would've surely tried to stop me from training... He took off back towards Konoha.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AS he reached the outskirts of the village, Iro could sense the same 'busyness' about the city. Everyone was still working as hard as ever. "I guess its the rooftops again. I should probobly head home for lunch." Iro began making his way home when his stomach began to grumble again. "I know, I know! I guess it wouldn't hurt to eat out." The scent of ramen called to him as his stomach let out a loud roar. "Okay, I'm going already!" He leaped down just outside the stand. He was very suprised by the mixed jumble of chakra eminating from the ramen stand. It took him a few moments to tell them all apart, which is when he got the real shock. Hokage-sama is eating at the ramen stand? He chuckled to himself. I guess I always just kinda thought Hokages never really ate. He laughed again.
He was surprised again by the other chakra's coming from the stand. Two other Shinobi. He did not really know either of them well, mostly just that they were both his superiors in rank. He had no real friends in the academy, most of the kids had made fun of him because of his disability.
He ducked as he entered.
"Konnichiwa Hokage-sama!" Iro said in a cheerful tone with a slight bow. "Homura-sama, Adarakis-sama, konnichiwa!"
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Post by SeraphMazrakiel on Jan 30, 2005 17:29:08 GMT -5
(OoC: Keep up with the times. You're a rank ahead of me now. LOL... although, not officially ordained as Chuunin)
He looked at the young one who had just entered, his eyes covered by his forehead protector. Man, that must be tough.
Kagemaru looked at the boy, and frowned; not because he felt sorry for Iro, but because this would be another order to take before he finally got his. His stomach growled for all in the building to hear.
"Hurry up with that order mate, I'm STARVING!"
Udon looked sharply at Kagemaru. He commented "Kagemaru, do I tell you how to do your job?"
"No, but... I'm HUNGRY."
"Well I'm sorry, but we're a little understaffed at the moment."
That instantly attracted Kagemaru's attention. "Do, uhh, workers get a discount?"
The man behind the counter smiled.
"Geez... hey, Maz, you should get a job at Ichiraku. Sounds like they could do with more hands."
Silence from Mazrakiel. Of course, Maz had to get a job, and it would be cool to work at Ichiraku, the greatest ramen stand ever, and his father's favourite eat-out pl... hey, wait a minute... "You just want me to get a job here so you can get a discount at Ichiraku!"
Kagemaru said with a low, deep voice, "...baka da!" and pulled on his ear. Mazrakiel squinted in pain as he was being attacked by his father in the most bizarre fashion.
Mazrakiel managed to push Kagemaru off, to which Kagemaru whined and apologized. "I'm just... HUNGRY," he said, looking at the man behind the counter.
Mazrakiel sighed, and placed his finger under the rim of the bench, where there was a shadow. He quickly transformed, and before you knew it, the seat where he sat was empty. Within half a second, a black hand, like that of a ghost, reached out from the man behind the counter's sleeve; Mazrakiel's hand, and snatched the Adarakis order. The piece of paper firmly in hand, the black hand retreated into the sleeve and disappeared; he gave a slight yelp and couldn't understand what had just happened. As he looked around, confused, he heard a voice come from out the back; Mazrakiel's voice. "Here. You might wanna get started on this order. It's quite a lot to handle, and my father's hungry." The man heard a second voice, a familiar voice; another chef out the back exclaimed a cheerful "Yosh!" as he got to work. Before he could look out back to see what was going on, a shadow began to form in the seat where Mazrakiel was sitting before. The figure took humanoid shape, and the details slowly began to form; eyes, lips, wrinkles, muscles, clothing. Finally, when the black shadow looked like Mazrakiel, all manner of colour swirled into him, and it was as if he'd never moved.
Impressed, Udon looked at Maz, and asked "Is there something wrong with that? You, might actually be good at the job. I have the perfect job for someone like you..."
Maz didn't like the sound of that. Sounded like he was going to be cleaning up after the mess everybody made. I mean, really! What about that blind boy?! He can hardly see where he's eating! He'd make such a huge mess...!
"I'll, think about it," said Maz politely. He didn't mind a side-job at Ichiraku, but he sure as heck didn't want to be cleaner.
(OoC: I have nothing against Iro. Just thought it'd characterise Maz a bit more, ne? XD)
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Jan 30, 2005 20:07:11 GMT -5
Kaori grinned as she watched the jovial scene. Everyone was chatting so busily that she hadn't even had time to greet the newcomers. She looked over to Nadameru. It seemed like just yesterday that she had first introduced herself to that Genin team of three.... and now here was another one of her students, one of Konoha's elite. "So, Nadameru!" she said brightly. "How are you liking life as a Jounin so far?"
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Post by Kiri on Jan 30, 2005 20:19:24 GMT -5
After thanking everyone for their congradulatory comments, Nadameru had faded out of the conversation for the most part. She always felt a little out of place in social settings such as this. It wasn't as if she was trying to be rude, she just felt uncomfortable.
"So, Nadameru! How are you liking life as a Jounin so far?"
Nada turned as Kaori-sensei addressed her. "Um... well...." She smiled. "It's a lot harder, but... I like it, too." Her face shone with pride. "Now I can do even more for the village, right?"
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on Jan 30, 2005 20:26:57 GMT -5
Kaori nodded. "Exactly. It's hard, but I know it's nothing you can't do. Of course, it's even harder now because of what's happened...."
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Post by UchihaJyounochi on Jan 30, 2005 23:35:42 GMT -5
(OOC: No hard feelings. It makes sense. And besides, thats what Iro grew up with at the academy XP And I agree that we need to give the man behind the counter a name.)
Iro took in the events occuring around him in the small restaurant. He peered over to where Maz had just returned. A fairly strong genin, coming from a respected line. It was that kind of shinobi that Iro had grew to dislike. That kind that gave the Kokoro clan its bad name, and that kind that bullied him because of his dissability.
He looked over to where Nadameru was, "Hokage-sama is right, its a very important time for the village. Especially for the Jounin of leaf. Its you who the Chuunin and Genin of leaf look up to."
He crossed to an empty seat and sat down. "One Beef Ramen!" he called out to the man behind the counter.
He turned back towards Nadameru, "it's important for you to do everything to can to help the village, and protect you family of Konoha."
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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 Feb 1, 2005 14:17:02 GMT -5
Yamiko wandered down the street slowly, his thoughts on food. He was hungry. His fingers slipped to the small pouch on his belt. He didn't have much.
The smell of ramen wafted over him like a blanket and he halted staring at the stand. It was extremely crowded today. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. Top shinobi spot for this afternoon, apparently.
The boy stood there a moment, studying the group curiously with his silver eyes, wondering if he dared join them. His stomach growled in demand.
Maybe...he could spare a little bit of his meager savings for some ramen...
He took a deep breath and headed for the far end of the stand, deciding to give his superiors some space...what little could be given, anyway.
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Post by UchihaJyounochi on Feb 1, 2005 15:24:52 GMT -5
Iro tilted his head as the newcomer entered the stand, and sat down only two seats away from him.
"Ohayo Yamiko-san!" Iro said with a smile. He had seen the boy around Konoha lately. "Glad to see a graduate out and bout today."
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