Confessions of Akiyama Yoshie

[Akiyama Yoshie]

It was sunny out today, finally. Yoshie had been so annoyed with the gloomy weather lately. The gray skies, and the cold temperatures reminded her of disease and death and most depressing things, which in turn put her is a depressing mood. In contrast, the sunny skies and the slightly warmer temperature perked her up and reminded her of her home and her family.

Back home Yoshie would go out when it was nice, and she wasn’t with her mother, and just walk around the city watching people. She would see elderly couples sitting on benches enjoying the nice weather as well, mothers running errands with their kids, and just people going about their normal day. Sometimes she would hear an interesting conversation between two people and she would just wander around close by and listen. She learned a lot about the people in her village that way, she was always one to know about things before even the grown-ups heard.

She always liked knowing things, she felt special. Sometimes one of the adults her mother worked with would ask her to find something out for her, she liked going out on these little missions because when she came back with an answer she would be praised and felt so accomplished. Though, many times on her trips she would get distracted by the sight of other kids around her age playing games. Yoshie would just stand and watch them, contemplating asking if she could join them. She never decided to actually ask, she was too nervous to talk to the other children. She would rather be with her mother at work or be at home than be out with other kids.​

Word Count:281​

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru wandered into the streets, she was waiting for the Raikage to start some special training. She was so nervous, the last time Kaoru had seen the Raikage was at a chance encounter inthe library.

The shining sun above helped lift her spirits. As long I don't mess up I'll be fine she thought optimistically. As she continued to walk, one girl cought her eye, she looked like she couldn't have been older than an academy student. Kaoru decided to restt on a bench in the plaza, she had been walking the entire day. She sat there with only her thoughts I wonder what the trianing will be? she thought as she continued to scan the crowd for Hayate sama.

[OOC: Sorry the post is so short DX]

 

[Shu]

Shin stepped back from his desk with his head rested against the chair. It was very long day shuffling through mission reports and following up with several appointments. His desk was dressed with several rolls of parchments and several empty teacups. He turned his head to the feel the rays of the sun bleed through the cascading clouds. He got out of his seat and moved toward the open windows. He gazed outside and examined the area. Kumogakure looked peaceful from where he stood. He could see several unmasked ANBU talking to each in a jocular manner ravishing each other's company. At the far back near the entrance toward of Torre Celeste he could see the busy market like swarms of ants scurrying through their hide. In turn, there was nothing out of the ordinary in Kumogakure.

Shin turned and walked back toward his desk and glanced at the wooden analog clock it was nearly noon. He reached toward his earlobe as he activated the hidden headset.

"Hitomi, please hold any appointments until three. I have to meet a student today and I wish not to be disturbed until then." Shin said removed a black notebook from his desk.

"Hai, Raikage-sama." Hitomi said calmly. "I would like to remind you that you have an appointment with a mission inquirer at five."

"Understood." Shin said as he left his office.

[I guess I will wait another round before Shin makes his entrance]

 

[Akiyama Yoshie]

Yoshie continued to walk around reminiscing about her family back home. She noticed a different family hurriedly walking into a store, and a couple of older kids walking around conversing with each other. What were they talking about? She thought to herself, they were probably talking about a class at the academy or about training.

Yoshie noticed a girl had looked her way earlier but she didn’t want to make it obvious she had noticed by looking back so she waited till she looked in the opposite way before she turned towards her. Yoshie noticed that she looked only two or three years older than she, and she noticed that she looked a little nervous. Why would she be nervous? What about? Yoshie soon realized she had been staring at her and quickly turned away and blushed.

She decided to stay nearby, she had a feeling today was a good day for people watching.

 

[Kaoru]

"I wonder whats taking him so long?" Kaoru said as she spaced out on the bench. "I should do something while I wait." the young girl scanned the area and saw a candy shop across the street. "I should get something for Hayata sama since he's training me and all."Kaoru got up from her seat and walked to the tiny store. It was quaint, cute even, with its pastel curtains and childlike decoration. Jars of candy lined the walls. There was every kind imaginable from gumball, to licorice, to the legendary everlasting gobstoppers. Kaoru quickly picked an assortment and paid for the sweet treats.

Kaoru returned to her seat and started chewing on a few gummies. I wonder if the Raikage likes sweets? she continued to think as she chewed.

[OOC: I am so sorry I didn't realize it was my turn >.<]

 

[Shu]

Shin entered the market passing by the flocks of people managing their stands. He brushed by a chicken coup as a saw an old lady attending to a client transaction. A small chicken could be seen fluttering inside a cage. The client nodded his hand as he delivered a bag of yen and went on his way. Shin walked by waving at the old lady. "Good afternoon, Akio." Shin said. The lady waved back as she walked toward the back of her shop. Shin continued his stride through the market walking closer to a small girl nervously sitting at a bench near the center water fountain. The water sprouted out of the circular foundation like growing branches reaching high toward the sky and quickly falling down.

"Karou-chan. I hope I did not keep you long." Shin said as he sat by the young girl. "How has your day been?" He looked at the small treat bag that snuggled itself on her lap. "Hmm I never really too much sweets when I was a boy. I am still am fond of peppermint. Would you not happen to have any?"

 

[Akiyama Yoshie]

Yoshie noticed the girl get up and leave for a while. She wondered where she had went and after a while decided she would go home. As she started walking back, she saw her come back with a bag of sweets. Yoshie loved sweets, they were always a special treat when she was good back home. I wonder where she went to get those.

A man came up to the girl on the bench and starting talking to her, he seemed to be wanting one of her treats. Yoshie was curious as to what was going to happen, since the girl had looked so nervous, she was sure that the girl had been expecting the man. Was he family? Was he training her perhaps? Yoshie was much too curious for her own good.

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru snapped out of her thought when she sensed a presence near her. She turned to see Hayata sama as he sat next her.
"O - Oh good afternoon" she gave a slight bow from her seat. He then asked for a peppermint. Kaoru rummaged through the small sack and found a handful of the red and white candies. "You could have as much as you want." she said with a smile putting the bag in front of the man. "I got all kinds of sweets" Kaoru said with a bit more confidence.

She popped another gummie into her mouth. "They're really good."

For a couple of minutes the duo were quietly eating candy. Kaoru interrupted the silence "S - So Hayata sama what are we gonna do for training? I - If you don't mind me asking" she stammered with her head down.

 

[Shu]

Shin waited a moment until the peppermint melted into his mouth. "I would like for you to settle your mind. Your face is still rather tense and it such a nice day today." Shin left the bench as he began to pull out a small white handkerchief from underneath his cloak. "Your first few lesson will focus on one of the five senses. You must always keep in mind that there is always a direct correlation to physical and spiritual. Chakra is an extension of the body so you must strength the body in order to improve your chakra abilities. Does that make sense?"

"I want you to blind fold yourself and follow me through the village. While we are walking I want you to use your other senses to map the area around you. Eventually, I will ask you to lead up back to the very spot that we stand. Simple enough." He handed her the white handkerchief as he waited for her response.

 

[Akiyama Yoshie]

Yoshie had gotten distracted and was watching a couple of boys play around with a ball. She had longed to be able to go and play with them but she doubt she would have even been able to keep up with them as they were running around. She realized she had gotten distracted and quickly turned back to make sure the girl and the man hadn't left.

The man was holding a white handkerchief out to the girl. Why was he holding that out to her?





[OOC- Sorry for the short post, end of the year projects and such consuming up most of my time]

 

[Kaoru]

"Y - Yes sir" the girl eased up as the Raikage pointed out her nervousness. He then explained the training and its purpose. Sounds simple enough she thought as she tied the sack of to her belt and took the handkerchief.

Kaoru moved her chocolate hair as she tied the cloth around her head. She was now in a world full of darkness. "Alright I'm ready Hayata sama" she determined. A new blaze had lit in the small girl's heart, she was determined to get through this training and became many times stronger. "Where we be heading to first?" the innocent girl asked as she stood from her spot on the bench waiting for the leader's order.

 

[Shu]

"Marvelous." Shin said. He examined the young girl discovering that she slowly effacing the fear from her body. It was natural if she did not trust him especially being an older man with tremendous power. In a sense, it wa incredibly to see how much she trust Shin.

"Unfortunately, Karou-chan. If I were to tell you if would defeat the point of this exercise. You will be using your other senses to map your surroundings." Shin said.

"Please lift your hand so we may depart. Remember use your senses." Shin continued as he lifted his hand toward the young girl. Once he had her hand they started their journey.

They began to walk in the north direction passing by the local park. They walked around the calm lake. The sound of birds could be heard brushing against the body of water. The sunlight glimmered against the blue waters reflecting toward the open atmosphere. Shin and Karou could feel the heat beating against their bodies as they passed by. Their feet passed over a small bridge as the sounds of nature began to dissipate. The air began to feel thinner like a bunch of people crowded in one area, except the sonorous noise of people were absent. They were currently walking through the residential zone which was mostly vacant. People were either at the market or attending school.

"Karou-chan. You said you wanted to be a mednin. Why is that?" Shin asked. trying to hinder her focus. Hopefully, she would be able to maintain her focus and still communicate with him.

 

[Akiyama Yoshie]

Yoshie watched as the girl took the white cloth and blindfolded herself, and she took the hand of the man and they started walking. I wonder where they are going. Is he leading her somewhere? Or is she leading him? If I follow them will I be able to stay unnoticed? Yoshie decided to follow them from behind for a short distance until they got to a bridge that led to a bunch of houses.

If she followed it would be easier for the man or the girl to sense her. She wasn’t so sure that would be a good thing, especially since she doesn’t know these people or the area. There wouldn’t be many places she would know to hide if she thought they would find out she was following. Yoshie watched as they crossed over the bridge, and decided it would be best to stay at the park. Maybe there will be other interesting things to see.

[topic left]​

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[Kaoru]

"O - Oh Yeah" Kaoru lowered her head embarrassed, her face was red as a tomato. Kaoru then obeyed the Raikage's order and lifted her hand, from there they began to walk. Kaoru focused keenly on her sense of hearing and scent.

The rustle and bustle soon dissipated and gave way to a peaceful quiet. She could hear small birds in the distance and the smell of sweet spring flowers tickled her nose. Are we in the park? the young girl thought to herself.

They continued to walk. Next she felt a cool breeze, and heard ducks flying away skimming the water with their webbed feet. Kaoru could feel round objects hitting her ankles. Are these plants?

Creek Kaoru heard the sound coming from beneath her feet. The noise frightened her at first, but Hayata sama's hand continued to lead her. The heat that beat down on the small girl was beginning to make her concentration break. How much farther are we walking?

She continued to trek with her leader. Kaoru felt more solid ground under her feet. We must be back in the city she deducted. The place they were in now seemed to be crowded, but Kaoru didn't hear a single person like she would expect in a market. Where are we now?

She stuck her free hand to the side and felt the familiar poles of a fence. She continued to follow the fence with her fingers. They didn't feel like a metal fence, like a government building or shop, instead it was wood. Kaoru then realized it was a family's home. We're in the residential district!, the young shinobi smiled as she relished in her accomplishment.

Kaoru placed her hand back to her side as Hayata sama addressed her. "I - I used to, Hayata sama" Kaoru cleared her throat, " B - Because I was raised in an apothecary by my guardians, so I already knew a little bit about medicine, even if its only cold medicine and other day to day things. Plus when they died I wanted to know more about the disease that killed them. But..." Kaoru trailed off. She was fighting back a few tears as she remembered her past guardians that loved her as if she was their real daughter. She truly missed them, but there was nothing she could do for them back then.

 

[Shu]

Shin could sense the tension in her voice as it crackled with each passing word. "Believe it or not Karou-chan I know how you feel. You may have hear about my family's history in your history classes. My mother, a respectful ANBU foreigner, was diagnosed with an unknown terminal illness. No one wanted to save her except my father. Perhaps the only reason why the village did not aid my mother was because they despised my father. To the village, my father was a lunatic holding on to his odious ideals and experiments." Shin's voice dropped to a somber tone showing a sense of anger in his voice. It was always hard for Shin to swallow what the village did to his family. The Hayata clan was never understood and it would seem like fate was always going to pit his family against the world.

"If it were not for my mother's forgiving spirit and my comrades I would probably not be your raikage today." Shin's voice returned to back to his cheerful effacing the subtle anger. "Let me ask you, if given the power, would you bring your guardians back."

As the two continued to talk they began to pass through the residential area close to the towering mountains. The air began to lift up like the ascending sun. The atmosphere was calm and the subtle cries of a hawk soothed them.

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru remained silent as the Raikage told of his family history. What could she say in the situation? The young girl thought silence was the answer to awkward or uncomfortable topics.

Soon after Hayata sama seemed to perk up and asked Kaoru a question. The young girl thought deeply before she answered. "O -Of course I would want them back. They treated me as their own, knowing I may not even be of this country. I loved them dearly and was devastated when they passed, but..." Kaoru trailed off for a minute, "I believe that some things in life are not meant to be changed. Call it Fate if you want, but things happen for a reason." Kaoru felt a tear roll down from beneath her blindfold. She used her free hand to wipe it away, hopefully before her leader could see it.

"W - What about you, Hayata sama?" she sniffed.

All of a sudden the young girl felt a change in her surroundings. The air was becoming colder and thinner, and she could hear multiple hawks in the distance. The road gradually became steeper as they walked.

Are we on a mountain? she thought as she listened to the bird's lullaby. It calmed her down as the thought of her past guardians slowly drifted from her mind.

 

[Shu]

"You are quite wise for your age." Shin said. The raikage glanced at the young girl noticing a slight change in her body language. It was difficult to tell if she responding to Shin's question in a negative way or not but it was logically to deduce that she really did want to see her guardians to return despite her response. There was no doubt in Shin's mind that she would become strong.

"W - What about you, Hayata sama?" she sniffed.

"Hmmm." Shin said as he began to thinking out loud. "There are days when I tempted to do such things, but as you said things happen for a reason. I have no authority to circumvent that. Unfortunately, there are shinobi who don't believe in such things as fate and destiny. They would rather play as gods instead of the being human. Regardless, when a man becomes a shinobi he must relinquish his free will for a path greater than himself. "

They finally stopped near a watery creek at the far south of the villages. Shin removed the blindfold from Karou's face revealing the sharp beams of light from the illuminating sun. Her vision was blurry for a moment before refocusing on Shin's cheerful face. "Perhaps in time you will see more then just your leader but as your guardian." Shin said.

"We are at the near end of this lesson. I hope you ascertained your surroundings. The next step is for you to return back to the our starting destination following the exact path we took to get here. Good luck. If you need I will be in the shadows." Shin said as he lifted his hand in the air. His body slowly started to dissipate like withering steam. In a few moments, Karou was alone.

[All you need to do is retrace your steps using the imagery that you used to get here.]

 

[Kaoru]

Rage filled the young shinobi as the Raikage told her about the individuals who acted as God. Kaoru clenched her free fist as she thought of the those power hungry bastards. She could never figure why people acted like that.

Just when Kaoru's emotions met a boiling point, the duo stopped in their tracks. The brief stop allowed the teen to take a breath and cool down. All of a sudden she felt the cloth around her head loosen then streams of light blinded her. Kaoru had to blink numerous times to be able to see her leader's smiling face. He gave her her last instructions then disappeared in a bout of steam. Kaoru swiveled her head around to inspect her new surroundings, a beautiful creek in a part of the village she didn't know.

Oh Shoot Kaoru thought frantically as she searched for her missing leader, What did I get myself into?

She took a deep breath, "Panicking is not going to help" she told her self. With another breath she turned around to face the village. She closed her eyes as she remembered all of the sensations she felt while coming here.

Down the road Kaoru could see a hill, others might have called it a mountain but in this country the surrounding scenery made the gigantic mound of earth seem like a small bump. The chilling wind whipped through Kaoru's hair like a tornado causing it to fly in all directions. A big contrast to the calm atmosphere the girl had experienced earlier. But the soothing calls of birds could still be heard in the distance.

Kaoru quickly sprinted through the towering peaks before the storm could become any worse. She met a fork in the road at the base of the mountain. One led to the residential district the other led to the shopping district. Kaoru closed her as she concentrated on her memories. She glanced over to a small home on the edge of the district. A short wooden fence shaped its borders. "That's it!" Kaoru enthusiastically as she remembered the feeling of the fence from earlier that day.

Kaoru calmly strolled the empty neighborhood as she searched for the first place she had passed with Hayata sama. She played the memory in her head over and over again until she can almost picture her surroundings from that time. Her concentration was broken by the sound of children's laughter. She opened her eyes to see two kids, a boy and a girl, playing in the nearby park. They were attempting to catch minnows in the small pond. Kaoru smiled at the sight. She had always enjoyed children, they were so innocent and happy. That's when she heard the water fowl calling out to each other across the body of water. Kaoru remembered hearing water fowl earlier. "We were here" she mumbled as her feet carried her to the small bridge in the center of the park.

Kaoru could see the shops where she met Hayata sama not too far away. She ran to the nearest walkway, where it was crowded with people exiting the district to return home from a long day of work. Kaoru managed to push herself through the mayhem and reach a clearing. To her right she saw the sweets shop where she had stopped in earlier, to her left the bench where this whole journey began. She promptly took her seat on the wooden bench and awaited for her leader's appearance.

 

[Shu]

"Well done, Karou-chan" A voice spoke from the swirling wind. Shin's physical form began to resurface as quietly as the flowing breeze. He stood with his back against the ledge of the bench. His arms were folded against his chest showing his subtle satisfaction as his pupils performance. He was surprise to see how well she was able to use her sense to navigate her surroundings with such efficiency. However, there was a chance that the familiarity of the village only made the task easier. Regardless, it was learning experience for both the veteran shinobi and the young genin. For Shin, he began to see the passion of a strong woman in her. She did pity herself obscure ideals but accepted the realities of this world: good and bad. Hopefully for Karou, she could see a person to confide with as a mentor in her growing path as a shinobi.

"That is all for today's lesson. We can start again tomorrow around the same time. Is that adequate for you." Shin said moving his tinted glasses toward her.


[[Leaving Topic after Karou]]

[Thanks for your patience. I hope you enjoyed the rp]

 

[Kaoru]

A strong wind blew through Kaoru's hair. She turned to the direction of the breeze wondering where her leader could have gone. All of a sudden she heard Hayata sama's voice next to her. He was leaning against the bench with a satisfied look on his face. The young girl sighed with relief as he complimented her on her success.

"T - Thank you, Hayata sama" she replied immediately standing up and giving a slight bow. "O - Of course! That sounds great. I can't wait." the young shinobi responded. Kaoru wanted to thank him somehow. She then remembered the bag of candy hanging from her belt.

"If you don't mind I'd like to thank you Hayata sama." she unclipped the goodie bag from her dress. "It's not much but I hope you like it" she placed the sweets in the man's hands. "Thank you very much and I hope to see you soon" she said with an innocent smile.
Kaoru then left the square and hurried to her small apartment thinking about the training she had just finished. She couldn't wait for the next session