Hanamura Ep1: The Mouse and Chaos

[HotelBravo]

Had it really been two years since Granny disappeared? So much had happened since those first few days when she went missing from the hospital. It had all just been chance, but when she tried to look up information about her Grandmother’s death she had wound up finding that there was no record of her in the hospital or in the funeral home. What had happened to the woman’s body? Did the Raikage take it? Why would he take it? What was so important about this woman that she would have been confiscated after death? Hanako had a suspicion. Afterall, if important bodies held secrets, the state would have a reason to keep them. Was Granny really that important? She had just been an old woman, hadn’t she? There was some kind of dissonance between who the woman had been and the way she had been treated after death. It almost seemed like she hadn’t existed. The leads had all dried up though, at least here in Kumogakure.

Hanako was planning for a trip back to the place she was born, the small town called Hanamura. She had been so young though that she hadn’t actually remembered the way to get there, and for some reason it wasn’t really showing up on any maps. This wasn’t incredibly unusual given the nature of a small town - there were many small towns that hadn’t made it onto the maps after all, but it did put a damper on her plans for the immediate future.

So, here Hanako stood, in the Trade District. It had a strange design for architecture - that being that it was built between the two mountains of Kumogakure and formed a stone courtyard between them. From far enough away it might even look like a bridge, at least that is what Hanako thought. It was a lively place this time of day. Why the traders, craftsmen and more came to this place so high up on the mountain when it would be easier to meet somewhere lower was just some kind of common sense that escaped Hanako. So instead, she was sitting by a water fountain picking up the coins in the water and building a pile of coins. She was attracting some attention from the shoppers and the people who were making their way about the courtyard on their various errands. It was obviously looked down upon to be taking the coins that people had dropped into the fountain for good luck.

Why then did she do it? Hanako was going to put them back, but she wanted to count how many coins there were. Obviously one should pick the coins up out of the water and count them one at a time. It just made perfect sense. Even someone with common sense shouldn’t complain about her logic, this time, at least. She wasn’t taking them - she was just setting them in a pile to separate it from the ones she hadn’t counted yet. That should be fine right?

She had her sandals pulled off and set to the side of the fountain while she waded barefoot through the water. Hanako was on the shorter side being five feet tall. Her occupation as a shinobi was certainly clear if not based on her clothing, then based on her athletic physique. While women were afraid muscle was unseemly and bulky, Hanako had proven that she had proven that she had remained lithe and flexible. The muscle tone demanded of a kunoichi who specialized in the more physically demanding fighting styles was something akin to an acrobatic. No one bothered to stop Hanako from her activities here. Who would? It was obvious she was a shinobi, and was armed to the teeth. The Hip pouch on her belt would be full of weaponry and so would that shuriken holster on her thigh. She also had more weapons hidden in seals on her wrists, but the public wouldn’t see those as her hands and wrists were wrapped in bandages.

674/500 +1 Willpower (Scalled Sheer Determination and Event)

[Texas]

The child's pink hair bobbed around as he left his familial home. He had recently trained a couple of jutsu that his older brother had provided him via scrolls. It proved to be pretty useful jutsu and really expanded the imaginative mind of Aki. The capabilities of the Ishiguro clan had little limits of what they could dispell and utilizing these new jutsu's helped with that full understanding.

With the slight mental distraction, Aki had decided that he would go to the trading district to pick up some supplies. He wanted to go to Akino Peak to train and get his body right. Since the Chuunin exams ended, Akihiko wanted to get stronger before being sent out to the cold and bitter wilderness on his assigned expedition. As the young boy was walking, he had a piece of paper and a pencil. During his walk he started jotting down supplies he would need.

Hmmmm he needed to purchase a warm sweater, a white winter coat, a white pair of winter snow pants, maybe some white boots if possible. If his Sensei taught him anything, it was to not fully rely on his limbo techniques. With white warm clothing, he would be able to naturally camouflage in a cold winter wonderland. As he walked, things would pop into his mind of supplies. Ooo maybe hat and gloves. However, his brain would transition and caused him to write stuff he wanted. Maybe a lighter, canteen, ooo and definitely kettle corn. How could Aki go a full mission without Kettle corn his favorite treat!

His brain was working tirelessly, in fact, he was thinking so hard he didn't realize that he was already in the trading district. As he entered, the Genma within the confides of his subconscious started to speak to him, which caused MORE of a distraction. "Maybe you should get some yarn in case you need to stich up your clothes." An obvious joke but Aki was too distracted to even realize it and nodded while writing down White Clothe and White Yarn. As the boy was writing this down though, he wasn't looking in front of him. Without realizing it, Aki accidentally bumped behind a girl similar height and age to him. When he looked up he saw black hair and a girl with brown eyes.

Akihiko blushed and stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh my god, I am so sorry!"

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Word Count: 404

[HotelBravo]

Hanako had been engrossed with her counting when she was rudely bumped. The pile of coins slipped back into the drink and she looked at the coins now in the water and mixed them up with the coins that she hadn’t counted yet. After considering that she would now have to start over she turned her head and examined the rude fellow who had bumped her, only to find that they were already apologizing. The fact that she hadn’t been paying attention was dangerous, she should have been more aware of her surroundings. It may be that this playful looking young man with his gentle pink hair didn’t seem the type to try and murder someone in broad daylight, but Hanako certainly was the kind of person who would try, at least thats what she thought. He looked to be the same age as her and was only slightly taller. By an inch at most. After examining his expression and determining that he seemed sincere, Hanako decided to speak.

”Apology accepted.” She said with a matter of fact blank expression. One might even be lead to believe that she had no emotions at this point, but the more accurate answer was that she just didn’t know how to express her feelings. Like for this instance - how was she supposed to react to this guy? Nobody had ever taught her what to do if someone bumps you and all your coins fell back into the fountain you obtained them from. Hanako looked back at the fountain. Collecting the coins again would be an easy task for her. A few simple hand signs and she merged two separate elements together to create the magnetic force of Jikiton Chakra. She held her hand over the pond and all the coins were magnetically draw back to the palm of her hand.and formed a ball of coins in her grip. She looked at Aki with an appraising look.

”I’m going to have to start over with my counting now. I was curious how many coins were in this fountain. The counted ones got mixed up with the ones that I hadn’t counted yet. I may have accepted your apologies but I think this warrants a prank war. Are you a civilian or shinobi? What is your address and place of work? I intend to prank those places.” She answered with a rather dry tone of voice that really didn’t seem to match what she was saying at all. Her expression was muted so it would be difficult to tell whether she was upset or not, and the honest truth was that Hanako was a bit upset. She had completely lost count of those coins, and the process had taken sometime.

462/350 (Group Training - Event Discount + Sheer Determination Scaled ) = +1 Willpower

[Texas]

Aki looked at Hanako with a slight smile and couldn't help but give a little awkward laugh. His right arm extended up and then bent his elbow so the back of his hand rested on the back of his head. The biggest thought ran through his mind.... Was this girl crazy? There didn't seem to be a soul through those brown eyes. No emotions and no facial ticks, Aki couldn't tell if she was upset, joking, sizing him up, or anything really. What the boy did know, was that she was solid. When he bumped into her, her dropping the coins seem to be more reactionary than actual moving. In fact, Aki was the one who moved backwards. Not because he reacted, but because it felt like he literally hit a wall. Was she made out of steel? No she looked the same age as Akihiko...

The boy couldn't put his finger on it, but he took a couple steps backwards as he awkwardly laughed. "Start over with your counting?" He looked at the fountain. Wait was she taking the coins out of the fountain and counting them? There is no way she could be doing that... that's.. that's... wild. Aki had never met his match in weird behavior, but I think he might be beat. As she continued, her tone stayed the same but based on what she was saying, she was escalating in scale. Will Aki die here and now? "A prank war! I was going to buy myself some kettle corn. How about I get you a sweet treat as a true apology!" The boy was trying his best to make peace. Something seemed off and if he could disarm her a little bit, maybe he could find out what truly was going on in that noggin of hers.

The child put his arm down and decided to find out if she was interested. "What's your name? Mine is Ishiguro, Akihiko." The boy would wait for her to give her name, if she decided to and he would continue. "The Kettle Corn stand is a little bit further into the Trading District, do you have a dessert that's your favorite? We can stop there and I'll get it for you!" WAIT was this a sign that Akihiko was maturing? A couple of years ago, the boy would have giggled and disappeared from existence. oh man how the turntables..

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401 Words
Total: 805

[HotelBravo]

He seemed confused at what Hanako considered most logical. The answer he gave was not the one that she had been expecting. Expecting, or rather, wanted. Disappointed, she turned back to the fountain and dropped the ball of coins, recognizing that she would have to give up on them for now. The coin ball falls apart in the resulting splash. She looked back to the boy as he introduced himself. He was right, introductions should have come first. She set aside her ire for the moment to fulfill her social duty. ”My name is Hanako from Hanamura.” she explained. ”It is a pleasure to meet you, Ishiguro, Akihiko.”

He proceeded to reiterate his invitation for kettlecorn, to which Hanako gave him a rather bland nod of acquiescence. ”I will go with you to get Kettlecorn, and prank you at the stand.” She nodded more thoughtfully this time as if coming to some profound conclusion. ”What is kettlecorn?” She pulled her mind from the clouds and returned to looking at Akihiko. As far as what was her favorite dessert? It was not an easy decision to make. She had to think for a minute before she finally decided. ”I have never thought about a favorite food or dessert before. I have decided my favorite food or dessert will be coffee flavored ice cream with chocolate chunks. It will taste like coffee enough to give a bold flavor, but it would be sweet as well. Real coffee is not sweet. It taste like dirt water but it smells delicious. I wonder why it smells so delicious if it tastes bad? It also gives me a headache whenever I drink coffee. I always feel bad after drinking coffee, like I am buzzing. I don’t like it. Coffee Ice cream does not make me feel like that. I’m glad coffee ice cream tastes like how coffee smells. It is pleasing to me that there is at least some kind of logic to the world.” Hanako didn’t recognize that she was speaking out loud at somepoint. Her mind was racing a thousand miles per second as she focused on both the confversation and on the imagine of a small paper cup of Coffee Ice cream.She could imagine the confectionery now - a small cup with a plastic spoon. The spoon was going to be red or white most likely. The thoughts paused and Hanako’s eyes regained focus on Akihiko.

”Ishiguro, Akihiko, you may proceed whenever you are ready and I will follow you. Do not worry, I am quite fast and should be able to keep up just fine. I am a part of the Military of Kumogakure, my rank is a genin.that means that I am of the lowest rank applicable to the military. I go on simple missions cleaning things for people, and cooking things, and chasing dogs, and saving cats from trees. I also have gone on a mission to clean an alleyway. When I was living in the land of Stars, I would hunt dinosaurs. It was much more exciting than the missions that Kumogakure gives me. I am quite bored, and lonely here. My experience in the Land of Stars makes me too advanced to be on a regular genin team. But for some reason I can’t be trusted with a higher rank and also nobody seems to like me here in Kumogakure. I really dislike it. Oh. Ishiguro, Akihiko, I have just realized that we have not been traveling. Was there a problem?” Hanako snapped out of her trance of word vomit. Despite the many emotions she had expressed verbally she didn’t express them in her voice, or rather she was not capable of such. She stood and gave him an impassive look, that was both lifeless and yet full of curiosity. It was all so subtle, but there was something there, just barely out of the common social sense.

Hanako, after all, was trapped in the prison of her own mind. She never had the ability to express just what she wanted. It had always been one of the biggest frustrations to her. She also tended to think out loud, and so far any attempts to explain that she shouldn’t have been doing that haven’t worked. She was honestly trying to get better, but things had been difficult.

So standing her looking at Akihiko she tapped her chin in thought.

700/350 = x2 will power

[Texas]

The pink haired boy had recently become a Chuunin. With that, he had a higher up review. His review consisted on his behavior, skills, and future. Although going in Aki thought he was perfect, it turned out that he was actually lacking in several categories. A couple of them was his mental fortitude and chakra output. Due to the child wanting to be more efficient in chakra usage, the boy had to practice his chakra output and capabilities. He also had to work on his mind. He wasn't weak-minded, however his immaturity had manifested in him being weaker when it came to genjutsu. With those being highlighted, Aki had focused on producing chakra output throughout his mind while participating in normal daily activities. It took him a while to get used to it, but over a few months he has been able to converse and interact. So while Aki was listening to Hanako go on a long tangent, the child was not only focusing on channeling chakra throughout his brain, but fully listening to her as well.

Hanako went on a rant before Aki could even start moving. It was incredibly interesting, she seemed complicated and simple at the same time. The expressionless face continued to talk and Akihiko couldn't help be deeply listen. It wasn't until she brought it up to his attention that they haven't moved at all. When she brought it to his attention, Aki couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "Oh hahaha, Hanako you are filled with lots of thoughts huh?" The boy would slowly move from laughing to just smiling happily. She somewhat reminded him of his motely crew from Heart. The child excitedly spoke up before turning around and walking. "Well you were just interesting me, so I wanted to listen to everything you had to say silly! I used to be a Genin too, so no worries. You seem strong enough where you could be a chuunin in no time. Those missions aren't great... I often filled my boredom in other ways." As the child started walking he would motion for Hanako to follow. While they walked across the trading district, Aki continued to talk. "Hmmm I don't know if I want to be in a prank war just yet. Especially since I am going to be going on a mission soon. How about I buy you some sweets! I CAN'T Believe you have never had kettle corn!! That will be our first stop, then we will go get some coffee ice-cream with brownie chunks!" Honestly Aki couldn't help but salivate and before he knew it, they had arrived at the popcorn stand. The smell of freshly popped popcorn, butter, and a sweetness filled the immediate air. When Aki and his compatriot arrived, Aki walked up to the stand.

The pink haired delinquent reached into his ninja bag and grabbed a coin bag. Aki opened it up and took out enough money to buy 2 bags of kettle corn. There was an older lady at the stand and she greeted them with smiles. "OH, already taking money out, you must know what you want!" The older lady claimed as Aki nodded with a smile. "Well, this is my favorite food and my friend here has never tried it! So of course I have to show her hahah" Aki laughed and handed the older lady the money. The exchange happened with her handing over the 2 large bag of kettle corn. When Aki held onto it, he handed one bag over to Nakano. "Give it a try! Let me know what you think!" The older lady smiled and softly said "Enjoy you two!"

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Words: 616
Total Words: 1421

[HotelBravo]

"Well you were just interesting me, so I wanted to listen to everything you had to say silly! I used to be a Genin too, so no worries. You seem strong enough where you could be a chuunin in no time. Those missions aren't great... I often filled my boredom in other ways." Akihiko started to walk forward and he gestured for Hanako to follow him. She wasn’t in the habit of following strange pink hair boys in the market place but she thought she’d make an exception once and took after his lead. Hm. Now that Hanako was looking at him properly she realized how… handsome he was. It was a feeling she had never felt before, a strange attraction to a boy, but it was just kind of… the ways he moved and the way his jaw was and the his body build. It seemed… well she didn’t know. She wanted to hold him and possess him, but that really didn’t make sense to her own sensibilities. So while she continued to wear a blank face a hint of pink was on her cheeks as she reached for his hand so that he could lead her to where-ever he was wanting to go.Hanako had always been a bit slow, and unfortunately lessons about boys - HotelBravo, the writer of this post couldn’t remember if there had ever been such a thing. It would seem that they had never gotten to that point in her lessons and so Hanako didn’t even know that such lessons might be a thing.

"Hmmm I don't know if I want to be in a prank war just yet. Especially since I am going to be going on a mission soon. How about I buy you some sweets! I CAN'T Believe you have never had kettle corn!! That will be our first stop, then we will go get some coffee ice-cream with brownie chunks!" Hanako was somewhat disappointed that he didn’t want to be in a prank war with her. She was having a real problem with finding people to connect with it was making her depressed and lonely. The feelings of the little crush she had were drowned out by her disappointment. It also seemed that he would be leaving the village. Hanako wasn’t sure she wanted advise on how to handle boredom. The solution she wanted was that people would be her friends, and anything of compromise seemed like she wouldn’t be happy with. Thus she just let the comment slide and didn’t respond to it.

They arrived at the stand and Aki had already pulled out money from his pocket like it was a well practiced thing. "OH, already taking money out, you must know what you want!" Hanako looked from the old woman to Aki."Well, this is my favorite food and my friend here has never tried it! So of course I have to show her hahah".

“But how did you find out which one you wanted?” Hanako would ask him as the woman handed the treats over to Aki. "Give it a try! Let me know what you think!" He in turn handed one to Hanako who took the treat and looked at it absently. She nervously looked up to see what Aki was doing with the treat. It had a distinct savory scent to it. "Enjoy you two!" The woman said beaming at the both of them.

”Ishiguro, Akihiko, I didn’t get any chopsticks or even a fork?” Hanako looked at him with her neutral expression. Then she smacked herself on the forehead. ”You were pranking me already? Haha” Her laugh was genuine although a bit uncanny valley how she could make such a genuine laugh while not even changing her expression. ”I shouldn’t have underestimated you. You are trickster! Can you give me tips on how to prank people? I think that pranks are fun and I see people with lots of friends are always pranking each other, so I think if I prank people I can have lots of friends also.”

706/350 +2 Willpower

[Texas]

Akihiko smiled at Hanako as he explained after he handed it to her. "Oh yeah, Kettle Corn is pretty much just one flavor, Sweet." The boy bobbed his hair as he almost jumped up with excitement. However, that excitement slowed down when Hanako requested for Chopsticks. She was an odd one and it really threw off Aki's normal annoying behavior. Maybe with her naïve aura to her, he could teach her a true lesson in setting up a prank!

The delinquent child was listening intently as she started to laugh without expression. All while, the boy was making sure the chakra within his body and mind were flowing naturally. It took a lot for the boy to multi-task, but with enough training, the child would obtain his goal: to be come an absolute force for the Lightning Empire. While his chakra was naturally flowing within him, his head would tilt ever-so-slightly as Hanako misunderstood her misunderstanding... as Aki pranking her. The boy would laugh at the end of her sentence. In no right was Aki laughing at her, in fact he was incredibly humored by the girl.

"Wow Hanako, you are funny! No silly that wasn't a prank. You eat it like regular popcorn. You use your hands! The best part is you get to lick your fingers after, it is like a double treat."

The boy would show her by taking a couple pieces with his hand and popping the popcorn in his mouth. This would be followed by chewing. After, he swallowed the sweet and savory treat, the child would look over to the older shop keeper. Due to them still standing so close she already had a pair of chopsticks ready and handed them to Aki who in turn, handed them to Hanako.

"Here! If you would prefer Chopsticks that's fine. You know Hanako, you seem to be really into pranks. I could teach you a few lessons if you would like?" Although he had matured, in truth, Aki was excited to have a potential Pranking Prodigy. Maybe she could continue his legacy while he left Kumo for a while.

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Words: 353
Total Words Toward Training: 1774/600

[HotelBravo]

"Oh yeah, Kettle Corn is pretty much just one flavor, Sweet." He was certainly an excitable fellow it seemed. It was comical how his pink hair danced around as the lad was practically jumping. "Wow Hanako, you are funny! No silly that wasn't a prank. You eat it like regular popcorn. You use your hands! The best part is you get to lick your fingers after, it is like a double treat." Hanako watched Aki in disgust. She really did not want to touch the confectionary with her fingers. It didn’t show on her face because like most things Hanako didn’t really know how to properly express her incredible dislike for the act but it really gave her shivers.

”No! That is gross! Granny always says always wash your hands and to make sure you don’t touch your food with your hands. Hands are covered in germs. Keep your hands away from her face! Especially your mouth, nose, and eyes - That is what she said! That way you can avoid getting sick! Don’t touch them with your hands! Don’t touch them!” She backed away from Akihiko and crossed her arms, leaning even further away from him. He was a cute pink hair boy, but the reality was that he was really gross! Hanako wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep hanging around with him if he was going to eat things with his hands. He then turned and took the chopsticks offered by the store owner and handed them to Hanako.

"Here! If you would prefer Chopsticks that's fine. You know Hanako, you seem to be really into pranks. I could teach you a few lessons if you would like?" He said, holding the chopsticks with the same hands that he had used to eat with. Hanako felt herself go green.

”N…no thank you.” she responded. Holding her mouth and trying not to puke at the display. She didn’t even really feel like eating any of her own kettlecorn that had been given either. Now that she knew that this child ate with his hands… where had those hands been? The ones that had handed this popcorn to her? ”What if he had been in an alleyway digging through trash in the dark looking for something to eat in the garbage in the dark? Maybe it was raining and there were rats wandering around underneath some cardboard while he was digging and throwing trash everywhere. His eyes would glow in the dark like rats. Gross! Gross! Gross! I don’t like it!” Hanako gently put her kettlecorn on the ground then looked at the disgusting Pink haired boy, and those disgusting chopsticks. ”Clean…I need to clean.” Hanako formed a number of hand seals and began to activated the Iijutsu Sterilzation Technique. She began to use it on the Pink hair boy, sterilizing his hands and then moving onto the rest of him. He seemed clean, but she couldn’t be sure.

”Oh! We can go back to the fountain! The water there can be used to help clean. Yes… Good idea! Come on! Lets go! You need to have a bath!”

+1 will power

[Texas]

Pure shock grew on Aki's face as Hanako began to cleanse his body. However, the biggest crime is that she placed the bag of kettlecorn on the ground! Although he was concerned about the sweet sweet popcorn, he was more concerned about his new friend Hanako. This was one of the first times she showed an emotion, granted it was a gross and concerned emotion, but never-the-less it was something! Maybe they were making great progress in their friendship! Or so he thought. T

The child stood still and awkwardly looked at her. "Hanako, I always wash my hands after I go to the bathroom and I definitely don't dig in trash. I swear I'm not gross!" However, those words fell on deaf ears as Hanako had seemed to go into a different mind space all together. Did he trigger something in her? All he could think about was when he bumped into her. HE was the one that was almost sent back, it was like walking into a wall.

The mood shifted when her inner frank renolds came out. Pure and Clean were muttered multiple times (well maybe just clean) as she gazed upon all of the things that made her grossed out. Akihiko would look at her with a concerned look when she mentioned that she wanted to take him to the fountain to clean him. What?!? The fountain was probably grosser than his hands! The child cocked his head a little bit, but just in case he would begin to channel chakra throughout his body.

He would smirk a little bit, trying to play it cool to settle down Hanako. "Hanako, I don't think the fountain is just clean... Just because it is water doesn't mean it is clean... think of all the change that's in there. If anything, your hands are probably gross from picking them all up and touching all of the coins." Did Aki accidentally start something?

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Hanako kept creeping forward with the look of someone who was determined. Her fearless determination combined with the strength Aki could only could perceive as.. stronger than a building itself, made the child quite nervous. No was it nerves? Maybe he was anxious. NO! IT was fear. The boy with pink hair was incredibly scared of what Hanako was capable of. When he bumped into her, it was evidently clear that she was stronger than any being he had met. The fact that she was so young and a switch flicked in her brain, meant that Akihiko was in an incredible amount of Danger.

It was possible that she didn't even know her own strength and could accidentally hurt Aki. He could not afford that. Well, he couldn't afford that at the moment. The child glared at Hanako and shouted "Oh no what is that?!?" as he looked around her shoulder. If she fell for it, he would wait to weave hand signs, if not, he would weave hand signs regardless. Although he wasn't nearly as fast, he had hoped that the distraction was enough to get it off. In an instant, Aki would disappear almost in thin air. The boy ripped into a couple layers of the Limbo Realm to enter into the 2nd Layer. Because he was in the second layer, the boy couldn't be touched by Hanako.

With that in mind, the child would silently turn around and run away as fast as possible. Like a child in trouble, Akihiko would run away and towards his familial home. Within the 2nd layer, the boy would be running through people and eventually would make it through the gates of the large tower where the Ishiguro clan resided in. When he was safe in the confines of his home, the boy released the jutsu and reappeared into the present world.

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Word counter: 326
Word counter: 311
Total Words Toward Training: 2411/600