A page or two[Private]

[Kagetsu Yuii]

With it's stone pillars and strong walls, the library was one of Kumogakure's buildings that remained untouched by time and progress. Spirits thrived in in the enduring and familiar.Those gifted with the sight could often see a ghost trailing after the living, their ethereal visages excited to share in the devouring of knowledge. The dead cared little for the repetitive tasks the living undertook but those that had been drawn to literature in life were happy to hover at the shoulder of their living counterparts. There were favourite readers in the library too; those who read whole continuous series or visited often enough to gain a following of the earnest dead.

The well travelled woman was not one of the favourites, though the dead regarded her pensively as one of the strange humans that could still see them. They knew Yuii did not plan to join the steady steam of scholars in study, as she never had. Books bored her to tears and the people who read them got unreasonably annoyed when disturbed by her chatter. As a youth she had often claimed to be allergic to books in an attempt to avoid her studies. She just could not sit still; an issue that she yet yet to grow out of. Besides, there would always be someone willing to read to her if she cared to know something. The aforementioned spirits could always be counted on in those rare circumstances.

No, she would not read but she could enjoy the place. It was cool and quiet in the stone edifice. The sanctuary from the summer heat was exactly the type of place Yuii could take a well deserved, undisturbed nap.

The jounin stretched the length of the library bench and sighed. Fatigue had tightened her muscles uncomfortably and reminded her that she was not so young any more. Taijutsu training still drained the strength from her muscles at a quick pace and it would be a long time before she could comfortably call herself adept.

She had found a quiet reading nook for herself and she felt she might get an hour or two of rest before a librarian chased her out. If she was lucky, Yuii could have three hours of sleep and wake just as the sun went down. There would be open bars then with plenty of conversation then. Maybe she would meet someone interesting or find something delicious to eat.

Hopeful, Yuii drifted into the sweet arms of slumber. She had just begun to dream of trees and clouds when a little voice whispered in her ear.

"Read for me?"

The jounin cracked open one eye to the tiny face of a transparent boy of maybe five or six. The little ghost had large, sad eyes and the perfect features of a little doll. The bed clothes it was dressed in alluded to the poor thing's death, though what the spirits felt comfortable in was not always what they had died in.

"Please?" the little one pleaded, it's dead gaze piercing through her, "Please read for me?"

"Sorry, I'm just here for a nap," she tried to explain, uncomfortable under those sad eyes. The children always got to her better than the rest. The tiny boy's face scrunched in displeasure and Yuii found herself softening to the idea. A children's book or two would do no harm if she found a quiet corner for it. No doubt the kid actually hoped she would read aloud.

"Fine, show me which one and I'll read it. Then I need a sleep," she caved, swinging back to her feet. It would probably take as long to read for him as it would to find a new place to sleep.

Conceding would be damning. It was not children's books the ghost lead her to but the heftier fiction novels that were at smallest the width of her hand. Yuii stopped and paled visibly. There was no way!

"Oh.. oh no... I couldn't possibly. I know I said one but that is a big book. Wouldn't you rather one with pictures?"

 

[Sugawara Hikari]

She awoke with a jolt. The young girl had dozed when going through some particularly tedious treatises regarding the development of modern conception of border…

She awoke again with a jolt. What was she doing again? Hikari yawned as she closed the book. The shy girl generally enjoyed reading from a wide myriad of topics. She frequently devoured ancient tomes as well as light hearted romantic comedies but this particular tome had painstakingly listed the political undercurrents of lightning country as they existed when . . . Hikari’s face almost slammed against the table. Hikari rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she let out a loud yawn. Her bright blue eyes looked to her surroundings with a newfound alertness. Oh right! she thought to herself as she remembered where she had come to visit her mom inside the strangely cyclopean but otherwise hauntingly beautiful archives.

Hikari stood up. She scrambled to straighten her white blouse and tighten the striped tie she had somehow convinced her father to allow her to work but found the struggle to be Sisyphean. She quickly brushed the non-existed dust from her short plaid skirt, and made sure that she didn’t have any runs in her stockings. She picked up the tome and began lazily walking towards where she found it. Hikari wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to read next. She had spent the entire previous week reading romantic novels from becoming lost in the Yoshimitsu the Dragon Samurai’s doomed love to Aya’s new trashy pulp love book. Her mother hadn’t approved so she had promised to balance it out with something productive . . . but productivity is the worst.

The tiny girl made it far before she found the political theory section of the library. She was pushing the small brick in the vacancy she had created when something caught her eye. Slowly, she pushed her glasses up as far as they went as turned sheet white. Off in the distance, her bespectacled eye caught of glimpse of the rarest of rare, Ai no Iro by Idani Soshi. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried hard to not betray her emotions. The now forgotten Soshi had written about the taboo love between two women (although it was possibly the least controversial issue covered in the book) but had managed to integrate so many radical notions of self, others, politics, philosophy, and knowledge that it had positively shocked the status quo at the time. The shogun at the time was so thoroughly horrified by the heavily layered implications of Ai no Iro that he ordered that all copies she be put to the torch lest it radicalize the people of Lightning Country into radically free humans.

Hikari shuddered. She couldn’t tell if she was attracted or repulsed at the notion of forbidden fruit. It was so tantalizing. It was so there. With great trepidation, she took the first step in that direction. Ai no Iro was one step closer than it had been a few seconds ago. Hikari was close. Her face turned bright red and her breathing became rapid. She wasn’t even sure how she could sneak it past her mother. Hikari took another step and was closer still. She was growing flustered; she didn’t know if she could take any more of this. The shy girl bit her lip before she began running as fast as she could. She was close now and she wouldn’t- no, couldn’t stop. She ran until-Until she collided with a heavier, human sized object. She opened her eyes and found that she had accidentally ran into an older girl. She tried to reach out for anything but only managed to hold on to the older girl's legs. Hikari let out a small yelp as they both went down and found her face slamming into the older girls chest.

Hikari tried to catch her breath from the unexpected surprise. Luckily, something squishy kept her from breaking her nose. She lifted herself up so that her bright red face could see who she collided with.

"I'm so sorry," she said as it dawned upon who she had unintentionally groped.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

At the spirits insistence, Yuii eased the novel from it's nook. The dust on it's pages ticked at her nose and made her sleepy. She just couldn't get into these things, they just drained the life from her. The spirit seemed happy though, and Yuii was a sucker for making people, alive or otherwise, happy.

"Is this the o-" she started to ask, when she found herself suddenly assaulted. There was no time to dodge as a small figure stuck in what seemed like a trance barrelled into her without warning. Yuii twisted and tried to catch the uncoordinated girl but found herself groped for the effort. The Jounin squeaked involuntarily but managed to control their fall enough to avoid a cracked skull. Her thighs, it seemed, made an excellent crash pad.

Around her tiny assailant was a group of equally entranced spirits and they broke in an iridescent wave around them. Yuii inhaled slowly as she sat a little stunned at what had occurred, her eyes fixed on the head pillowed on her legs. She was so tiny, a child maybe, and it seemed impossible that such a small girl had managed to knock Yuii over. What a curious thing to have found in a library.

"A long as you're all right," Yuii laughed, pushing the girl's shoulders to help her sit up. Shockingly she weighed barely anything; baby lambs weighed more; pillows weighed more. The blue haired woman couldn't help herself. Gallantly she scooped the small youth up and raised them both to their feet. She was just so light!

"Look at you! Are you made of feathers and clouds?" the jounin exclaimed with another laugh. She set the girl on her feet then retrieved her lost book. It was an curiously dull looking little novel but Yuii dreaded the coming read. The ghost was still there and it seemed annoyed that Yuii was now so distracted. All the better for her.

"You really should be careful. They don't like a commotion here." she admonished playfully, all too aware of the wraith of the librarians. By the posse of spirits the girl had attracted, she knew that well too. Funny to see one of the readers acting so strange, "You don't need to run. The books can't get away, you know?"

 

[Sugawara Hikari]

She didn’t say a single word as she was scooped up. Hikari was in a daze, utterly transfixed by the siren call of a tome forbidden to her by her own age. It was right there on the shelf right behind the lecturing lady’s knees just tantalizing, urging her to reach out and grab it. She could hear her heart beating in her chest as the combination of anxiety and exhilaration mixed into mad recklessness.

The apparently extremely tiny girl did her best to feign a semblance of interest in the lecture about running books before she had a sudden realization. The older lady hadn’t yet realized where exactly in the library they were in. Hikari herself had been too absorbed in her own imagination to notice that the book had been located within the mature romance section of the library. Although Hikari’s mother encouraged her to read (albeit not to the degree typically associated with monastic study [a fine distinction lost on the nerdy 12-year-old]), she had never allowed Hikari to tread in this section of library due to all the material unsuitable for a “young lady such as herself.” Gauging from the motherly and kind tone she was getting, Hikari didn’t think it was likely that she would be allowed to freely meander here.

Her mind raced as she worked through the various possible ways she could acquire that most decadently delectable novel. Hikari pondered whether there was some possibility that if she nicely asked the older lady to step aside, whether it would work. Oh sure, and I’m sure she’ll also check it out for you as well. Hikari had to give it to her inner self, even though her inner self was extremely sarcastic and a huge jerk about it. Alternatively, the girl thought about whether she could construct a distraction. Yet after making a brief inventory of items on her person, she came to the conclusion that she wasn’t wearing nearly enough socks for it to work. She continued nodding at Yuii, irrespective of whether she was talking or not, and continued thinking until she was struck with genius. In seconds, Hikari concocted one of the most deviously genius ideas extraction plans ever to be devised. But the question remained whether it would work.

She bit her lip and went into action. Slowly, but methodically, she got on both of her knees. Her bright blue eyes looked into the older lady’s eyes as she stretched out her hand, seemingly reaching. The hand slipped in between the older lady’s legs. Hikari’s arm bumped into Yuii’s thigh before it suddenly pulled back. After a few tense seconds, Hikari cradled the forbidden tome in her arms. Like a deer in headlights, she watched Yuii closely as if waiting for the first move before she suddenly darted away in a full sprint.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

The youngster really wasn't listening to her, and Yuii couldn't blame her. Ancestors, she actually did think the girl needed to be careful but she was lecturing. Lecturing! Week one and the Kunoichi was already starting to sound like a teacher. Next she would be yelling at playing kids to be quiet or complaining to the council about loitering youths. The prospect of it horrified the Jounin. Had she outgrown the happy, carefree person she prided herself on being so quickly? Was it all tea drinking and politics from here?

Internal struggle aside, the little youth seemed unusually disconnected. She wasn't just ignoring Yuii, it was like she was completely gone. Maybe she had bumped her head? The Jounin was certain she hadn't hurt herself in he fall but she had been acting oddly before too. There was still the strange way the ghosts were acting too. The four that remained were jostling about in the small space, anxiously watching the perplexing child but saying nothing to Yuii. They seemed wary of the elder woman, but too eager to leave, which was just odd. Normally the dead loved her!

Maybe someone had tried to attack her? She didn't seem distressed, just disconnected. So, could she was just be simple minded? That would explain the running in the library if not the spirits.

"Hey, are you alr-" she began to ask, stooping down to catch the odd girl's eye. It was then that Hikari enacted her plan and Yuii found herself suddenly in the type of situation adults had nightmares over. Yuii watched her kneel, a wave of confusion and panic slowing the moment to a painful crawl. The Jounin couldn't look away, like if she'd stumbled on a horrific murder except in place of a victim was just an incredibly strange child.

"M-miss?"

And then, it was over, and the girl was speeding away like she'd stolen a treasure from the dragon's lair. Yuii watched her go, stunned. "Something is wrong with that girl," Yuii exhaled out with conviction. The little book thief needed a medic, that much was certain. Yuii should probably see to that.

She couldn't tell which way her little mark had gone and remembering how much of a labyrinth the shelves could be, Yuii chose instead to leap to the tops of the maze. From there she could make out the waif and the Kunoichi dashed after her in pursuit.

"Waaaaitt. You, stooop!"

 

[Sugawara Hikari]

Hikari had committed the second of the gravest cardinal sins: she was making a racket in the library. The adrenaline rushed to her head and caused her to run faster. It was hers, finally! The forbidden Ai no Iro was in her hands. Soon she would learn all the racy and utterly scandalous themes that tantalized, thrilled, and revolted an entire generation of crusty old curmudgeons. She would be in paradise soon.

Or so she thought. She was young and not particularly well trained, but even her non-astute ears heard the older lady shouting at her to wait. Even more worrisome, she heard the telltale sounds of patting feet . . . except they came from above. The young girl turned to look behind her only to see the adult female gracefully moving towards her. She was like Boudicca of old, charging relentlessly, beautifully, and with the full intent to kill. Hikari led out a short loud girly scream before she started running faster and made a sudden right.

Hikari stopped to catch her breath. She couldn’t outrun the stranger, that much was clear. However, she wondered if it was possible to outsmart her. Hikari had been coming to the archive for as long as she could remember. She remembered when the towers of books had looked so intimidating. She remembered how she wandered off when she wasn’t supposed to, go lost, and cried because she was scared by how ancient everything look. She remembered that her mother had found her in the history section, scooped her up, and assuaged her fears by explaining to the her where everything went so she would never get lost again. Ever since then, as confusing and labyrinth-like the library might have appeared, Hikari always knew where she was at.

Hikari took a deep breath as she removed her tie to wrap it around her head like a mock headband she hadn’t yet earned, and her boots and stockings to reduce the noise she would make and increase her traction. She knelt down and waited until she heard the patting of the feet approach closely. Hikari snuck through the gaps created by checkout books and waited until the fierce pursuer passed by before she snuck through the other side. It would only buy her a couple of seconds but she would use them widely. Hikari determined that she was in the northeastern section of library, or more specifically in the biography section. She smiled with childlike glee, biographies were near the foreign history section, a sure dead zone that was rarely visited and rarely attended to because of its almost dizzying turns. She quickly paced up the aisle before reaching a clearing with desks and people far too busy reading to pay attention to her.

She could almost feel the Boudicca-figure’s breath on her neck. Propelled forward by urgency, Hikari and the book made their way with their backs against the shelves until she got to the entrance to the deviously designed entrance to the foreign history section. She remembered the rumors about children getting lost in the depths of those archives only to appear every 23 years to ask for more pens. Hikari shuddered as the chilling touch of revulsion traveled down her spine. Hikari went in.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

With light, muted steps Yuii skirted along the shelf tops in pursuit of her prey, her feet leaving marks in the fine dust coating her lofty path. The child and her bound-paper accomplice flashed in and out of sight as she took the protracted route through the labyrinth of manuscript and timber. She was catching up quickly to her quarry quickly and she didn't predict much trouble in stopping her. She wouldn't need jutsu at least, a relief for the librarians if they could have known the events unfolding in their domain.

The head start the other girl had seized for herself was not working in Yuii's favour, and the blue haired woman was vexed to see the little figure dart into the public space.

'Clever,' the Jounin thought, simultaneously impressed and irked as she watched passively from above as the girl walked the border of the common reading area. Yuii could barrel down after her but the commotion she'd make would overshadow Yuii's claims of concern for the girl. The addled youth was probably in survival mode and trying to find somewhere quiet to attend her mental anguish. She was like a hurt kitten, or maybe a duckling seeking out solitude to nurse its wounds. As expected, the girl didn't flee the library but moved deeper into it in what looked to be a very unpopular area.

Yuii wrinkled her nose and backtracked, picking a round about route to the child's solitude. It would seem for a time that she had lost the elder Kunoichi as Yuii took her time. The little den they her prey had picked was clever, but she was miscalculating. With no eyes to pry, Yuii could follow as she pleased.

Silent as the spirits she knew so well, Yuii slipped down from the shelves into the ominous foreign history section, blithely unaware that she should fear it. The maze was no problem for her, as was apparent as she slipped into an incorporeal form and passed through the first set of shelves, then another in fast pursuit. By the fifth she emerged to see Hikari and she made a dive for the youth.

"Hey, cotton puff, stop," she ordered, pinning the girl back against a wall of books by her wrists. She searched the little teens face for an signs of her assumed ailment then, with a blank, calm face leaned forward and touched her forehead to the petite girl's. She didn't SEEM feverish.

 

[Sugawara Hikari]

”AH!” she squeaked upon suddenly being pinned. Hikari might have fainted right then and there if her burning desire to read the taboo book wasn’t propelling her forward. They were close now and she could feel Yuii’s breath on her face. She could feel probing eyes taking in every detail, every contour, and every color of her face. Hikari steadied her breathing as she thought of a plan.

The foreign history section’s location was not a coincidence. During the reigns of several previous Kages, Cloud nationalism had surged. As a result, references to other countries and villages had become unpopular. Yet, none of the Kages had been nationalistic to the point of anti-intellectualism (or at least that she could remember). The diminutive girl remembered her mother telling her that a couple decades ago, the librarians had moved the books to the older sections of the library so they could simultaneously keep the veritable collection of foreign history without risking offending the status quo. Why am I remembering that right now? she pondered as she looked back into the aging woman’s face.’

Hikari wiggled her wrists. She felt the decrepit lady’s hands pinning her firmly. She couldn’t brute force her way out of the situation, she wasn’t large enough (or by simple deduction strong enough) to win an outright wrestling match. Her ponderous mind kicked into overdrive in order to analyze the perfect plan to getting away until she struck gold. Hikari fluttered those beautiful eyelashes of hers and worked up a tear to make her eyes shine more brightly than they ever could have normally before she spoke, ”M-miss, I wan-WHAT’S THAT BEHIND YOU!?”

Hikari took advantage of the presumed distraction to bend her legs upwards and push the ethereal figure away from her firmly (although she hoped she didn’t hurt her). She then landed on her feet, picked up the tome and ran to her right. She was remembering why she had been thinking about the placement of the library before. The foreign history section was still the only section that retained the ancient book return system: a massive slide towards the underbelly of the library where once a team of dedicated librarians would sort, repair, and return any books that made it there. She ran as fast she could towards the furthest edges of the library where she saw the ancient book return slot. Hikari stopped in front it apprehensively as a result of its tiny door, but deep down she knew it was do or die. The fairy-like girl opened the door and stuck her legs in as she twist backwards. She held on to the edge of the door with her left hand as she slid the book in with her. She turned to look at the presumably pursuing woman. and cracked a coy smile before she let go.

On the way down the giant slide, the entire library would wonder if a particularly amusing poltergeist was girlishly yelling from top to bottom. Only a lone librarian in the back winced in pain as she put a hand to her face before saying “Oh dear Raiden.”

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

Yuii jumped, if only because she had not expected such a loud shout in a place that commanded silence. Even the once young Kunoichi, in the very midst of her belligerent youth, had never dared to purposefully shout in the library. Was the child hallucinating now? It was all the opening the other female needed and Yuii found herself again, begrudgingly, admitting the girl was clever. Maybe too clever.

And off like a sprite, Hikari was gone again. The Jounin sighed, annoyed now that the little creature was being so elusive. She was a Jounin, a well trained shinobi of Kumogakure, and she had sharpened her skills chasing the errant pets of the wealthy. Compared to a cat in the night, the tiny book laden girl should not have been so difficult to capture.

Book... laden.

Her eyes zero'd in on the book and mind scanned the last minutes of interaction with the petite child. Everything revolved around that book, how had she missed that? The girl had been running for the book, she had acted strangely to get the book and she ran now because of the book. Was it a Genjutsu? A cursed item? Had she fallen under the will of some witch or was the book itself the reason for their chase? Whatever the fantastical explanation, there was something important in there and it needed to be separated for the girl. Yuii was certain she was strong enough to withstand any effect the book had. Her awareness of it's power was likely all she needed.

Also, It could be the source of the little one's skill at evading her. It wasn't Yuii's lack of skill, but the girls increased aptitude. Unless she was a genius? But a genius wouldn't let themselves become enslaved by a book.

Yuii dove after the girl with a new standing sense of purpose, hardly a moment behind. Whatever had happened, she had to save her. The jounin would exclude being tricked twice by the mite when she later regalled the Sennin of her heroic efforts. They should give her a medal though, it would take as much to heal her ego.

In a flash of blue hair and ill sized clothing, the jounin slid down the shoot behind Hikari. She had the advantage of weight and a greater sense of chakra to propel her smashed into the girl and book before they even reached the bottom. It was an exciting ride, one she should have been enjoying, but the entire matter had dragged out too long. Yuii would make a grab for both this time, as they landed in a heap on the floor. Funnily enough, there weren't too many books returned to the old system to break their fall.

"Give me that!" she snapped, too annoyed now to be cast as the concerned teacher or loving neighbour, "Just hold still for three minutes and talk to me!"

 

[Sugawara Hikari]

Oof!

Hikari felt the full pressure of the blue haired woman press against her underdeveloped body. Her blue eyes could do naught but watch as she looked at her intense Boudicca staring her down. The air was heavy with a palpable sense of life and death over. For all of her book smarts, Hikari neglected her observations. In her haste, she ignored the most important lesson her instructors had tried to drill into her: preparation is key. Perhaps she had tried to develop a plan, and perhaps the plan would have been successful with someone else. Still, nothing wiped away the fact that rather than calculate the inordinate strength of the strange woman, Hikari had played it recklessly when she tried to outrun the unknown entity. Now she awaited the consequences. Instead, rather than exiting through the emergency door located about twenty feet away from her, she found herself pinned, bookless, and utterly captivated by the serene grace of her pursuer.

So Hikari was without options. She had to give in. Maybe if she could keep the conservation going she would have enough time to develop an alternative plan. Her lips nearly trembled with anxiety, her eyes struggled to fight back the glimmer of terror, and her tongue felt dry and uncoordinated.

”You have my attention,” she said with a slight trepidation.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

"About time, too." she muttered, crawling over the girl to retrieve the wayward book. She looked afraid, but it didn't occur to Yuii that she and not the strange circumstances of their chase could be the reason for her quarries' anxiety. "You've severely cut into my nap time and my patience is running out. You stay right there and no more funny business until I get to the bottom of this. "

She had to exclude the paper bound menace before she addressed the many other unlikely factors that could lead a small child to run from a grown stranger trying to 'help' them. The dust down here was choking and the woman wondered what sort of hidden corner of the old library the young girl had been fleeing to. What kind of peril would they both have been in if Yuii had not stopper her? Did whatever creature that manipulated make it's den down here? Again, it did not occur to Yuii that she was ultimately the monster here. She picked the tomb from where it had fallen and gave it a shake.

"Oh." she said, a little disappointed when the book did nothing. Yui had sort of hoped it would maybe belch fire or grow teeth just to confirm her fears. It seemed like it was an ordinary book beyond the craning spirits who swarmed to gain a peek. She felt crushed as she cracked open the pages and casually flipped through them. There was nothing, no chakra, no diagrams of diabolical rituals, not even many pictures. The ones that were there were-

Yuii started, dropping the leafed menace to the ground. The picture it fell open on was, my any accounts, rather erotic. She didn't think she had ever seen anything like it, but then, she'd never gone looking "Oh." She muttered again, now deeply embarrassed. She could feel her cheeks glowing a deep, deep red. There was no grand battle, no dark threat, no eminent danger; just soft core illustrated pornography and a retrospectively embarrassing chase through the library. What if she'd been stopped and rambled about her wild assumptions only to have THIS revealed. Thank all the gods that hadn't happened.

All the strange actions of the girl that was by all accounts far too young for such a book made perfect sense now. For all that Yuii was shocked, she could only imagine what the curious child must be feeling "That's- uh, that's why you ran isn't it Dandelion?" she asked, laughing to try and dispel the tension. Weird, she was the adult here, was she meant to do something about this? "So, uhm... that just happened. You know, acting like a normal human being would have saved us a lot of trouble!"

 

[Sugawara Hikari]

Hikari's eyes disappeared under her hair. Yuii found out what was in the book. Oh darn. Something tells me I might have liked her. A cold dread suddenly emerged from the caverns of the inner library. A seemingly demonic presence soon accompanied them in those cyclopean halls. Hikari's body was outlined by the gentle caress of protoplasmic tendrils summoned to do her bidding. The silence was palpable and Hikari remained motionless for a good while. The tension was thick, Their noses could also smell the coming blood and sweat. There was no other way. Secrets had to be guarded. Yuii had made the mistake of finding out Hikari's secret and now had to do. Suddenly, as if an unspoken climax had finally crescendo’d, she spoke. ”I can’t let you leave here.

The Dandy Lion threw a stray book into an unseen corner she knew held a primordial gate. The clanging of a locking mechanism reverberated in the complex. Whatever occurred, only one woman would be able to leave. When her face finally turned up, an unspeakable evil contorted her features into a grotesque mockery of an otherwise cute young girl. Hikari sprung into action. As gracefully as a gazelle, she struck!

Or tickled!

And then gently gnawed!

Perhaps reality is the greatest villain of all. Hikari was more imaginative than the situation ever could have realistically appeared. She really didn’t get much further than childishly running at the woman followed with a frustrated and physically pathetic attempt to pound on her with an impotent rage. When the sun had set and the moon had shone brilliant in the heavens, Hikari became aware that she had been as threatening as a rabbit. With no choice left in her repertoire, she took the mature route and bit Yuii’s thighs. But even her tiny gnaws did little against the thick fabric worn by the trained warrior. Eventually she gave in, collapsing on the ground with heavy breathing. She looked to the side, refusing to look at the champion’s gloating.

”You win. Just remember to send my widow a corsage.”

She shut her eyes tightly. Hikari awaited the bitter end to her young life. She had gambled and had lost it all. She had no regrets except perhaps getting into the situation.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

To Yuii, Hikari merely lowered her gaze and still like a corpse. The jounin, untroubled and not one to stand around, took to looking for their door to freedom. The room was a strange place, with it's conveyor for old books and it's spooky stonework. It was a wonder at all some sad electrician had been tasked with running lights through the spooky place. The door seemed to be placed in the most awkward of positions too, as if someone wanted to hinder her leaving just long enough for Hikari to make her move.

"Oh, here is the door. I'll just go a-"

The door made the resounding clank of several locks sliding into their deadbolts, making the handle she had otherwise been poised to turn reverberate ominously. Yuii started and pulled her hand back, half assuming that it was her touch that had set off the sensitive locks. Why would a door to an unknown and hardly used part of the library have a lock anywhere else in it's room? It wasn't like this was the secret jutsu scroll locker. Hikari's grim words echoed off the walls, banishing any thought of illogical room construction.

"Can't leave? Don't be silly Kitten Whiskers," Yuii retorted, turning in time to cop the full force of Hikari's 'attack'. Surprising as it was, Yuii could manage no more than a startled squeak to appease the small child's blood lust. The blue haired woman was not especially ticklish or prone to being downed by a few light punched that could be easily deflected. The bites hurt, really hurt, but Yuii did no more then lightly smack at the girls nose for that. Training to become a Jounin hadn't included smacking around children just because they were annoying, but the purple bruises on her thighs would NOT be enjoyed.

'Weird Kid,' she thought, watching as Hikari made a poor attempt at playing possum when her attacks had no effect. Possession was suddenly seeming likely again- the idea that the petite blond was always like this was a bit daunting. 'Please don't let her be one of my students.'

"Are you done?" She asked, kneeling down to poke absently at her girl's face, "because I have a mission in about an hour and you're getting the flak from HQ if I'm late." It was a lie, she had a date with a pillow and maybe a good beer later, but Hikari didn't need to know that. She also wasn't going to admit to getting locked into the library by some kid- rank pending. "Come on, Dust Mite, how do I unlock this door? I don't want to play anymore."

 

[Sugawara Hikari]

Hikari got up from the dusty ground and quickly brushed herself off. It didn’t seem that her particular foe was interested in acquiring another notch on her presumably prolific belt. Hikari rubbed her reddish nose as she meekly began walking over to Yuii. The older woman was currently intrigued by the elaborate, almost seemingly web-inspired adamantium locking mechanisms constructed to both keep thieves out but intruders trapped. ”I wouldn’t touch that again if I were you. My mother told me that the locking mechanism is designed to collapse in segments and hold onto intruders by jamming their limbs.”

The Dandy Lioness decided to show Yuii first-hand. She was adorable as she was determined as she struggled to lift a nearby ancient chair before walking it over to the ornate door. She went to the door’s intricate locking mechanism and gently tapped a bar with the leg of the chair. Immediately, the bars in the tapped area collapsed and snapped the leg with a sickening crunch. ”We’re going to need to find another way out of here unless you feel like waiting for scheduled maintenance. Although that could take a month. . .” she said recalling that this section of the library was seldom visited in order to avoid interfering with the atmospheric conditions.

Hikari sat on the floor as her doeful blue eyes looks straight at Yuii. She shivered as she felt the world’s natural chill seeping through the cavernous underground. The upper levels usually were kept in a warmer condition for the patron’s sake, but Kumogakure’s subterranean systems were kept cool to prevent the growth of mold. Hikari’s outfit was doing her no favors as the breeze started cutting through her like a hot knife through warm butter.