[Social] Jokes

[Mendokuse]

It was simply a gorgeous day.

Even the hyperactive Genin couldn't help but tilt his head back and enjoy the sensation of warm sun and fresh air on his skin as he strode down the street from his apartment complex toward the market area. For a few moments that morning, his mind didn't race from thought to thought. It didn't conjure daydream after daydream. It was simply quiet, and allowed the rest of the world outside of itself to exist.

Of course, the calm wouldn't last forever. Not if Arashi had anything to do with it.

The boy came to a halt next to a tree that stretched out slightly over the sidewalk. Upon brief examination, Arashi concluded that the tree was growing from a plot of land behind one of the stores. He knew from previous exploration that there was a back alley behind this store, which would make for a perfect escape route.

A thick branch ran perpendicular to the street. This would give Arashi a place to hide while he played his little joke, and seeing how the branches grew, he knew that it would be a piece of cake to run down the branch to the trunk and then down to the street in the alleyway behind the little market where he now stood.

Arashi could hardly contain himself. His small chuckle soon turned into a full-blown guffaw of excitement. "Oh man, this is gonna be great." Arashi slung the satchel over his shoulder and unzipped it to re-check his supplies.

"Fourteen water balloons, fake money attached to a wire, a voice modifier...This stuff is awesome!" The fact that the gags were juvenile (even for him) didn't seem to discourage Arashi from enjoying himself, and after checking to make sure the coast was clear, the boy molded a light field of chakra in his feet and scampered up the wall of the store, jumping from the sun-bleached roof to one of its thick, leafy branches. Setting his bag down against the junction where the branch met the trunk, and making sure that he was hidden from the street by the thick foliage, Arashi peered down the length of the branch to the street, waiting for the perfect person to walk by.

[Cheese]

Sin was bored.

She hadn't had time to grab any supplies after moving in with Tousha, and her old ones were still hidden at her uncle's house, just waiting to be discovered. She couldn't really pop by and get them; it'd be too suspicious. Her mood darkened slightly as she spotted the same tree she'd used in her last prank against her brothers. It was a perfect day to drop some eggs or water balloons or paint balls on some poor person's head. She really needed something to do before she got too bored and pulled a huge prank that would get her sent to the Hokage's office to be dealt with.

That old threat wouldn't work now. She grinned and paused just out of range of anything a vengeful squirrel could throw at her. Man, what she'd give for some good objects to throw at passers-by. Sin's face lost its grin, replaced by a thoughtful expression. There was a fruit stand just around the corner... dropping melons sure seemed to do the trick sometimes. Or banana peels. Weak, especially for her, but she hadn't planned it out; it was the best she could come up with on a moment's notice.

"Man oh man, the old man would die laughing if he knew what I was up to..." she said thoughtfully, glancing up into the branches of the tree in case that squirrel was there and readying an acorn to fire.

[Mendokuse]

Arashi almost missed it.
He'd been daydreaming about riding a magic dragon to the end of the world, fighting off a giant aquatic bear, rescuing the princess, and bringing a giant chest full of gold home to Konoha...

Finally he realized he'd been zoning out, and shook his head to clear his mind. He glanced down to the street level to see what he could find, and his eyes were met by a young girl who stood there, looking curious.

Arashi examined her for a moment before pondering the situation to himself.

"Oh, man. It's never as fun to throw water balloons at girls...Either they end up really nice so that I feel bad or they try to punch me in the face...Oh well, that's what you get for walking into my line of sight.

Turning to sieze a water balloon from his pack, Arashi scooted forward on the branch and positioned his fist so that when he let go of the water balloon, it would land at the girl's feet. Something made him pause, though. She looked kind of familiar. Where had he seen her before?

His plan was quickly forgotten as his mind began to pick through its memory banks, searching for a glimpse of the girl that stood before him in the present. Where did he know her from?

[Cheese]

She was so focused on locating that squirrel that Sin instantly picked up on the movement on the branch just over her. She refrained from moving just yet, though; it had been too slow to be the squirrel, and the only other thing it could be was another prankster. Or maybe her mind was running away with her again. It did do that on a regular basis...

Only one way to find out. She adopted a confused expression and stepped forward, directly under the branch, and, though she didn't know it, the water balloon. Her gaze moved up until she was staring directly at her would-be pranker and the water balloon in his hand. So... somebody else found fun in the most basic of pranks. But he looked kind of familiar... from the academy, maybe? Perhaps he'd been there when she had to stay behind after class for her latest prank.

"You're not supposed to prank another prankster, you know," she said calmly, crossing her arms and raising a brow. "They usually prank you back as revenge, and it's usually worse than the initial trick." She paused for a minute while trying to figure out how she knew this guy.

[Mendokuse]

Arashi's body froze up high on the branch as the red-haired dgirl below locked eyes with him. His breathing stopped, too, while his mind went into overdrive.

shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit... His mind raced with excuses, explanations, anything he could say in his defense. This girl looked to be of the Ass-kicking variety. Damn, he'd only just woken up, and it looked like he'd be spending the rest of the day in the infirmary.

Then she spoke, saving him from having to go first. Oh, how fortunate, she was a prankster, too. That must mean that she understood where he was coming from, right? Wait, what? Revenge? Now, he was worried again.

But there was something about her that was so familiar that he still couldn't speak. She must be from the Academy, he thought to himself, as he (none too gracefully) threw the balloon over his shoulder, causing it to splat with a loud wet burst upon the hot roof behind him.

"Oh, hey there. Perfect tree weather, huh?"

Gahhh baka that didn't even make sense! You're seriously gonna die!

Arashi clung to the tree as if a hurricane was threatening to blow him away, looking down at the girl, trying to remember her name. Maybe if he acted like they were friends, she'd forgive him for trying to water balloon her? Then again the academy wasn't too long ago, she'd probably remember never hanging out with him...

Cripes, dude, this is bad.

[Cheese]

She chuckled. Perfect tree weather... Nice excuse. He obviously thought he was in danger of being injured... which was hilarious, even without the excuse. She watched as he tossed the balloon behind him and was barely able to suppress a frown. That was a waste of a good water balloon.

"Gonna come down from the tree anytime soon, or do I have to go up there after you?" she wondered aloud. "I don't much like being considered crazy for talking to a tree. It'll ruin my reputation, you know?" She was going to give him 30 seconds before she took action. He seemed very... intimidated. Maybe he was often beaten up by girls he'd pranked. Weak. The point of pranking was to make a fool out of someone else and not get caught. Especially if one's well-being was in danger.

[Mendokuse]

She meant business. Arashi gulped and threw a glance back to his stash, which was comfortably perched on the branch. Sighing with resignation, Arashi rolled off of the branch and landed on his feet in a crouch.

Standing upright, the boy gave her a little shrug. "That might not be a bad idea. Talking to the tree, I mean. It might make people be all like, hey what's in that tree? Let's go check it out. And then I could launch an epic water balloon assault. I'd much rather splash some random scrubs than, uh, you." Arashi chuckled nervously and scratched the scar on his cheek absentmindedly, hoping his friendly nature would save him from revenge.

[Cheese]

Yeah. He was intimidated. And nervous. It was funny. Sin wanted to keep the game going, but she was quickly running out of ways to keep up the angry-victim act. Oh well, she'd try her best. It was getting hard to keep her face blank, though.

"Then again, it might make people be all like, hey why's that girl talking to a tree? We should take her home and warn her family that she's losing her sanity. Then I wouldn't be happy at all, and revenge would be far sweeter. For me." She watched him, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar... but it wasn't working. She'd seen him before, and she couldn't quite recall where. It was bothering her.

[Mendokuse]

For a moment, the silence was heavy in the warm air. Arashi glanced down at his feet, as if the cracks in the pavement were fascinating, trying to think of something to say. He couldn't really plan these things out, though, so he just said the first thing that popped into his head.

"Well, um, why don't we hang out in the tree, then? I'll share my water balloons with you." Even though he was a bit apprehensive of the girl (partially because she looked dangerous and pissed off, and partly because he had the sneaking suspicion that he knew her from somewhere), the thought of having a partner in crime excited him, and in an instant, he forgot all about his hesitation.

"Hey, I'm Arashi! Arashi Raikou. I'm a Genin. And, um, it would be awesome if you wanted to hang out! This tree is awesome. You can see the street level perfectly, but at the same time you're hidden from view by the leaves. Well, for the most part, hehe, since, you know, you saw me and all. But then again you were looking, probably because you heard something. But yeah. If we're quiet, the regular old folk won't hear us, and, and, um, anyway, I have all sorts of crap in my backpack, I'm sure it'll be fun."

Still thinking small. Water balloons and that sort of thing. He felt a bit ashamed in her presence; she seemed like a master of pranks, while he only pulled stunts to be obnoxious. He hoped that he could learn a thing or two from this red haired girl, so he extended his hand and adopted a warm grin.

[Cheese]

Arashi. Arashi Raikou. She knew that name. Hmm. Her mind flew through all the guys she'd hung out with in the academy. No Arashi, or Raikou. He'd probably pulled a small prank that was only noticed for 5 seconds before one of hers rocked the academy teachers' brains. She had made it a goal to know every prankster in the academy, if only to point out that their pranks were not her style.

"Sin Hokkaido," she said after a tense moment of silence. Then she grinned and shook his hand enthusiastically, chuckling. "Glad you're like me, Arashi! This tree helped me in a bunch of pranks, from the beginning water ballons to paint balls, and melons... hey, got any flour in your bag? If not, I'll have to run down to the store and snag some, since my house is like... far away."

The idea of getting some company in her pranks was enough to lift her spirits fully. With Tousha working hard... or pretending to, she was usually left with nothing to do. She hadn't seen Sei-sensei since the beginning of the week, or her friends, so, using basic Sin logic, she had to find new ones to occupy her time. She let go of his hand and glanced around them. "I will warn ya, Arashi. If we get caught, they'll overreact and send us to some authority figure, with my reputation."

[Mendokuse]

"Nice to meet you, Sin! I don't have any flour, but we can run and get some. Let me just grab my bag."

Arashi brought his hands together, and with a swirl of loose leaves, vanished. Moments later, his figure dropped from the branch above, satchel slung over his shoulder. Giving her a thumbs up, he started towards the store.

He had to make a mental effort to pay attention as Sin began to speak, lest he get carried away in daydreams of epic pranks and general tomfoolery with his newfound comrade. Man, only minutes ago he'd thought she was going to beat him up! Then again, it was never too late for that. He'd have to impress her somehow so that she didn't get bored. Well, Arashi was anything but boring, that was for sure.

"Reputation? Oooh...you must be a big prankster, then. Well, I've got your back. We won't get caught, I promise. And if we do, well, we're ninja, after all." Arashi laughed warmly as he slid his hands into the pockets of his white overcoat.

Then he remembered something.

"Uhh...oh, hey...I didn't bring my wallet." He said softly, looking down at his feet, feeling ashamed that he'd come unprepared. If the brief amount of time together had taught him anything, though, it was that this girl loved mischief, so he was sure they'd get their flour one way or another.

[Cheese]

Sin laughed, liking this guy more and more. "Oi, Arashi, getting caught's half the fun! That way people know who did it, and that's how you build up a reputation! Or you could be like my old man and never get caught, but then the legacy would just get old. You know?" She didn't even slow down when he admitted he didn't have his wallet, choosing instead to just grin over at him. His lack of money wouldn't stop her from getting what she needed. If nothing else, she had a little bit of money in her pocket. If it really came to that.

"Don't worry about it. You think a little money issue could stop me? I'm THE Sin Hokkaido! Prankster extraordinare! Even getting in trouble by the Hokage can't keep me down for long!" She put her hands behind her head and strolled along the road, staring up at the sky. She neglected to mention that she'd never really gotten in trouble with the Hokage... well, that couldn't last too long. There was no way she could avoid trouble.

[Mendokuse]

Arashi's face became grim as Sin mentioned the possibility of getting caught. Scratching his cheek again, feeling a bit of anxiety, Arashi thought to himself, That doesn't sound fun at all...This girl is crazy... Still, she was a new friend, so he was hardly about to let her insanity get in his way of a fun day.

"Gahh, Prankster Extraordinaire? Are you that well-known?" Arashi's face sagged into a mopey expression, feeling a mixture of jealousy and shame that he himself wasn't known by any titles. He didn't even assume that the title was self-proclaimed, which could be considered his greatest weakness; gullibility.

As he walked down the sidewalk to the store, Arashi pulled his hands from his pockets and clasped them behind his head, and narrowed his eyebrows in concern as a thought came into his head.

"Say, Sin...you're not suggesting we steal, are you?" He wasn't sure how he felt about that; his pranks had always been (relatively) harmless up until now, and although he didn't want to look like a loser in front of his new friend, he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to break the law.

[Cheese]

She gaped over at him, completely caught off guard. In fact, she just stopped in the middle of the road and stared at him in surprise and shock. He thought she would stoop so low as to steal? Sure, she may have gotten in trouble a few times, and may have totally earned a reputation as someone to avoid, but she wasn't a thief. Tousha would murder her.

"No, no, Arashi, you've got the wrong idea! Prankster doesn't equal thief. Boy, my old man would kill me. No, see, what I meant was, I was gonna tell the grocer to put it on my uncle's tab, since I usually do his shopping anyway. Or, if Ita-ojisan expected me to do something like this, I got some cash in my pocket." She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "I may not be a good kid, but, hell, I'm not all that bad, either. Sorry if I did something to make you think that."

She continued walking, her mood slightly dampened. It didn't last long, however, as she spotted the store and her eyes lit up. He had water balloons in his bag, if the prank he'd almost pulled on her was anything to go by, and flour plus water balloons made for a simple, but amusing enough prank.

"Oi, if we get caught or anything, let me take the blame. The worst they can do is send me to the Hokage, right? Big deal. Trust me on that, aight?"