A colorful lake

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Joker
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Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:00 pm

A colorful lake

Post by Joker » Thu Aug 18, 2016 4:40 pm

Hideki found himself well away from his usual stomping grounds of Kumogakure having opted instead to help out his grandfather by delivering a letter to an old friend of his. A genin leaving the village however was usually to be escorted or watched by a jounin. The young man was ignorant of this however and walked on as he usually would have without a single care. The location was a town a few days walk away from the ninja village. Hideki wasn’t one to take things easy however and was spending a good amount of time jogging before having reached the town.

He had made this journey before but he was always taken away by the difference between a ninja village and other settlements as there was a very clear difference in technology that existed between the two. He never openly commented on things as he was usually quickly distracted by something else. ”Now where does Akagi-san live again…” He muttered to himself not wanting to jump on any of these roofs, he couldn’t trust them as much as he trusted those of Kumogakure.

He looked at the mainly stone buildings as was the norm in a lot of Lightning country, the homes didn’t seem to look different to what he was used to. Hideki grinned as he saw a larger than usual building and broke into a run until he reached the closed off front covered by some form of shutters. ”What the hell...That was definitely not there before.” He muttered to himself until he saw a note very clearly put on the front. Hideki clicked his tongue before he looked at it closer. ”So he’s gone for a few days...What can I do till he gets back.” He muttered to himself before he fell on his butt sighing. ”Guess I better settle for an inn.” He said to himself.
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Suzuri
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A colorful lake

Post by Suzuri » Sat Aug 20, 2016 10:18 am

The inn is often the heart of the village.

It pulses with news, booze and gossip. A place of wasteful celebration, often enough, but now its stone walls were tight with tension. Suzuri was aware of being the loudest person in the room as she swept the floor, of the low grumbling coming from the villagers. A few gazes followed her, as her beaded hairstyle was unlike anything they knew. There was a cluster of merchants in a corner silently gnawing at their stews, and a strange man in a tight, purple jacket with tails at the back, grinning to reveal a missing incisive. No one sat at his table. The innkeeper was this large, stocky man, glaring at a translucent bottle on the bar top as if considering drowning in it. When she finished her task, the girl let the broomstick fall against the bar, and climbed on a stool.

“Oi, old man. Been a while since morning. Send some food my way, will ya?” Her lighthearted tone seemed out of place. The innkeeper shook awake, went to throw one more log in the hearth, and huffed:

“As if ya’ve been doin’ ‘nythin’ since the mornin’.” Suzuri looked hurt by the implication, before she slipped her mask back on.

“No, nothing much.” She recoiled, smiling. “Only fed the chickens, pigs, dogs, cleaned the coop and the stable, picked bean pods, did some weeding and swept the main areas of the inn.” She wasn’t afraid of calling him out. She’d met people like this before.

“You’re lazy! Saburo could do this in half of the time.” The man grumbled. Suzuri placed her elbows on the bar top and straightened her back with a snap.

“Hardly my fault that he’s not here.” She replied.

The innkeeper trudged his feet to the kitchen in the back without a word. Suzuri waited, wondering if she should follow, if she’d been offensive. Having opinions was often offensive to elders. But they could hardly expect more from a casual day-worker. She shook from her thoughts when the innkeeper slammed a large, steaming bread loaf in her front. Deep cuts crisscrossed it, resembling a hedgehog, and the valleys were drenched in molten cheese and sprinkled with green onion.

“ ‘ere. Put some fat on those bones so you can grow strong and marry a nice ‘onest farm boy. ‘nstead of wandering around like one of them painted jezebels.”

Suzuri decided not to untangle that particular knot of biases, and dug in instead. When she picked up a piece of bread, it was crunchy on the outside and dripping with cheese at the other end. The steam tickled her cheeks. In-between it was fluffy, an unfamiliar sensation that got her rolling the bite in her mouth. This far north, wheat often fared better than rice, and cheese was often bartered from nomads in exchange for dried fish. It had been a good year – there was no hazelnut taste in the flour.

“A lot of people’ve been leaving recently. Because of the monsters.” An elderly lady sitting at one of the tables commented. She shook her purple drink, then sucked in one of the gelatinous bubbles at the bottom through a wide bamboo straw. Then chewed. Suzuri tried her best to listen while simultaneously stuffing her face.

“Lies!” The innkeeper slapped the bar, as quiet emphasis. “Only monster ‘round here is that half-wild donkey of yours, old hag. You can bet your headscarf that it’ll turn out to be some rogue ninja trying to kick us away from our village so those bigshots can get their fishing rights.” He nodded wistfully.

“No, they’re the monsters in the lake. I saw them with me own eyes. Crawling in the moonlight. Ol’ Mackerel saw ‘em too.” A younger man interfered. He gestured with his chopsticks as he stuttered.

“Well you can bet that either way those Kumo shinobi won’t be seen round here.” The innkeeper sneered. “Us hard-working folk don’t have the money for that, like them nobles or bankers.”

“You shouldn’t say that! Kumo protects us.” The younger man replied, shocked.

“And you ain’t too poor yourself, if I might say so!” Somebody else laughed.

“I ain’t saying anything, but mark my words.” The innkeeper retreated. “I’ll be eating my hat if a ninja walks through that door anytime soon!”
Suzuri Rinrin | Inkstone | The Travelling Painter

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Joker
Posts: 449
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:00 pm

A colorful lake

Post by Joker » Sat Aug 20, 2016 12:48 pm

Hideki merrily walked through the small town, the people beyond curious as they saw a young shinobi prance about as if he was an over excited five year old. The young man looked at his surrounding dew-eyed, a huge grin planted on his face. It was hard to believe that this young man could turn into a killer, though his weapons at his side would tell some differently. ”Better find that inn then.” Hideki thought to himself as he looked around for anyone to possibly assist him in this endeavour. The only person he could see was an old lady pulling a cart.

”Hey old lady! Y’know where the hell the damn inn is?”

Being a good distance away from his mother did wonders to his speech. The old lady was a little taken aback before she looked at his arm to see a shining metal plate with the kumogakure symbol on it. “Why I never, ninja sure don’t have manners no more.”

This made Hideki rub the back of his head with some embarrassment, but the woman coughed into her hand and looked the boy over, from his toes all the way to his tallest hair. “Why boy, push this cart for me and I’ll show ya.”

Hideki just shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the handles of the cart expecting some great weight but was surprised that it was moving along pretty smoothly. It appeared his strength was just a good bit above that of a civilian living outside of Kumo, but he also shouldn’t compare himself to the old. The young man rolled along the cart, however it wasn’t long before he heard the old woman begin speaking.

“Now what’s a young lad like you doing in a small place like this?” Her voice sounded honestly curious, her hands holding each other behind her back. Her posture slightly hunched over.

Hideki thought about what to say for a minute before he decided it’d be way simpler to just answer honestly. ”Delivering something for Genjiro-san, my grandpa’s friends with him or was, can’t remember his old man stories. Though that old man’s gone for the week, so I gotta get comfortable.” Hideki said as his eyes trailed off into the sky in an attempt to remember their relationship.

“I see, well here we are, my house is just a minute away, let me grab that.” She said as she ruffled Hideki’s hair and took over the cart and wheeled it away. Hideki waved goodbye with a smile, and turned toward the inn. It was hopefully a comfortable stay, he usually just headed straight back after eating at Genjiro’s.

Hideki decided it was best to make a big impression and kicked the door open as he walked in. ”The path to heaven has arrived!” The young man said with a huge grin, his arms spread open wide. Though his statement was random even for him, still he walked toward the bar with absolute confidence, he placed his arms onto the bar, only realizing that it was above chest level. ”Hey old man, get me what she’s having, three of ‘em please.” He said pointing to the lady next to him. Ignoring the mouths agape around him, however a few rounds of laughter broke out quickly making Hideki raise his eyebrows. He turned to the young lady next to him. ”Did I say something weird?” He used that moment to take a closer look at the girl next to him. ”Kinda cute, but I’m more a breast man.” He said out loud with a grin, acting as if he had delivered some form of a compliment.


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Characters
NameRankVillagePlotboardsSocalsStat Total
Awai, RaizouGeninKonohagakure[S:0 A:0 B:0 C:1 D:0]3 115

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Suzuri
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Joined: Sun Sep 13, 2015 8:00 pm

A colorful lake

Post by Suzuri » Thu Sep 15, 2016 7:56 pm

This didn’t bode well for the Guild.

“Simple or with salt?” A jokester prodded the befuddled innkeeper, and Suzuri’s lips automatically curled into a smile. The surprise filling the room turned to chuckles. “Let me see if I have enough o’ those, lad.” The innkeeper resignedly gestured. “That’ll be four hundred ryo.” It wasn’t unexpected that the mysterious occurrences would draw one of them here. A ninja was the last thing she needed, though. When she and Zanto had started their guild, they understood that shinobi would be on the hunt for those who dared to use their magic willy-nilly. No matter how much she and Zanto helped people.

They fought against something far greater than themselves simply by existing.

Throwing her head back, she glanced at the newcomer with a curious glint in her eyes, before turning her focus back to food. A voice that hadn’t yet reached the solid lows of adulthood; a small frame; youthful exuberance; a glistening Kumo headband. Something twisted in her chest. Why were children that young initiated in the art of assassination and espionage? Surely this was completely different from kids on farmers helping out with the family business.

It was dangerous to shape entire generations to think that life is just a matter of money.

And why was this particular ninja a pervert?

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Suzuri snorted. She clutched the sides of the bread, trying to stop herself from covering her chest. Her voice was deceivingly soft. “Since you seem to be at that age where you still need your mother’s teat.”

For a traveler that had no support net, humor was one of the few available stabs.

“Do you think being stronger gives you the right to be an ass? Or is your empathetic behavior the same for everyone?” The girl pinned her with her round, hazelnut eyes.

She pointed her index upwards, like a punctuation mark. Grinned.

“And remember, it’s not swearing if you are referring to donkeys.”

In some cultures, even this would have been too much. A woman talking back to a man?

Skillfully balancing the plates on his stocky arms, the innkeeper put three round loaves of bread, fresh out of the oven, brimming with molten cheese and green onion. “Hope you like it, lad! Honest country food, all fresh.” He proudly gestured and wiped his hands on his apron. If he had heard the exchange between the shinobi and the temporary worker, he decided that it wasn’t worth getting involved.

Around, people snuck expectant gazes at the boy and his headband.
Quote:
ooc: My apologies for the unforgivable delays. RL’s been a bit hectic. Looking forward to continuing this story!
Suzuri Rinrin | Inkstone | The Travelling Painter

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