"Go Rin No Sho", And Other Famous Works (Open)

[Kawakami Hotaru]

THUD!... A large tome hit the ground before her feet to the surprise of almost everyone else within the immediate area of the library, Chiyoko had extended her reach grabbing the novel leading it to crash to the ground and remove her contemporaries from their studies, a bit of a faux pas. Ultimately she didn't particularly care that her blunder had caused a bit of a stir in the area, if anything the library and it's inhabitants needed a bit of a stir to remove them from their uptight focus over the trivial dribble they found themselves reading into. The book she latched back onto was a piece on the psychological effects of soldiers returning from war, titled: Invisible Wounds of War, she was unaware of the author having been referred by the librarian. She had recently found herself interested in the psychology of the Shinobi lifestyle having just recently attended a class that covered just that, so it seemed natural to her that she did a little research on the matter on her own.

She quietly returned to her seat reading over the back of the book as she sat back, her eyes darted to a stack of four other books she had collected beforehand, all of which she intended to finish within the next two weeks or so. The other works consisted of: A Book of Five Rings, Homeopathic Medicine at home, Self-Reliance, & one finally titled Nature. They all consisted of fairly different subject, one regarded various strategies to use in battle and in life, one instilled the virtues of trusting oneself, and so forth. Chiyoko couldn't help but briefly sigh as her eyes rested upon the books, as with most other days she was struggling with the choice she found before her, either she could sit here read a few hundred pages from a book and do something constructive with her life, or she could follow the far more appealing option of leaving the library and finding some poor sod she could roll for a coin purse before having a few laughs with her family...But she was supposed to be putting these malcontent thoughts to rest, she would soon be a Shinobi and Shinobi didn't 'Roll' people for a few yen. Well they didn't do it in an unofficial sense, anyway.

Life had been hard of late, being the sole child from her family that would be thrust into a career as a Shinobi, it was disconcerting as ever. Though she couldn't help but wonder of the possibilities she would find in her new career, the new challenges she craved to endure and barrel through, perhaps this life would be the one for her? Perhaps. The young Kunoichi found herself looking at the tattoo upon her wrist, the Chrysanthemum that marked her as a Wakahisa and a Yakuza, the following days would prove to challenge her identity, and that was as frightening as anything she had ever dealt with before.

[MFT - 505]

 

[Kazu]

Ko loved the library. It was quiet, serene, and above a— *THUD* —well there goes that. The young boy had been really enjoying himself for the past hour or two that he'd been there, quietly browsing the books on the different selves and reading different books as he pleased. He read from all different kinds of books, and he relished every single one of them. But now, with that loud thudding, he'd been rattled out of that calm state of mind that the library gave him. He couldn't focus on the books anymore. He grabbed the one he'd been most recently studying, titled "The Dialects of Kumogakure", and went to see where the source of that noise has come from. He carefully stalked through the halls, his eyes searching down each aisle for the perpetrator who ruined Ko's fine day. He would find them. As he neared the location, he caught a glimpse of someone fleeing the scene with the book in question. There was a flash of long hair that somehow seemed familiar. Ko decided to follow them. He moved up the aisle, peering around the side where the culprit had disappeared behind. He poked his head out, spying with his light gray eyes a girl sitting down at a table with stacks of books already on it. Why did Ko recognize her? The boy moved closer; however, he didn't want to alarm her or make her aware of his mission. He walked casually, moving past her as he glimpsed her face and the book she was reading.

Now it made sense, she was in his class a few days ago. That's why he knew her. With this in mind, Ko didn't feel so bad approaching her and starting up a conversation. As he did, he gave her a friendly smile and a curious glance. "Hey." Smooth. Ko was really good at starting conversations. He definitely didn't look different from how he looked during the class—white hair, gray eyes, and civilian clothes that covered his thin frame—so it's not as if she'd have trouble remembering him if she'd paid attention to who was in the class with her. His eyes slid down to the cover of the book she was reading—extended learning from after the class, perhaps? "We were in the same class together a few days ago, right?" The young boy pulled up a chair at her table, sitting himself down so that he could talk more easily with her. His eyes wandered over to the stack of books that were resting on the table. "'Invisible Wounds of War', huh? Did you think that class was interesting?" As he finished the question, he realized something very dumb. He never introduced himself.

"Oh, I'm Kotsuko by the way. Nice to meet you." He wouldn't pressure her for her name. If she gave it to him, cool. However, the young boy wouldn't be bothered if she abstained from sharing the information. While he waited for her answer, he played with the spine of the book he'd picked up earlier. He hadn't gotten to read much of it, but he'd found the first few pages to be pretty interesting. He wondered what the rest of it was like.

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

Chiyoko's hands traced the face of her most recently seized book, flipping toward the back to read the printed synopsis which was more or less what she had expected it to be; studies on post traumatic stress disorders, major depression, cognitive dissonance, and so on and so forth. It was a particularly light subject, but it was one that needed to be engaged by all Shinobi the long-standing effects of what their job entailed. None of which were particularly pretty, seemed no one married the girl and rode off into the sunset at the end, a sad truth that they didn't tell most of the younger kids before they signed them off to be child-soldiers. But that was the way of life, and it wasn't going to change anytime soon, so at the very least she could study the matter. Without much further thought Chiyoko snapped back toward reality as a pale-haired youth walked past her table, it didn't take much thought to retrace the boy to the class she had taken a few days before, not many people short of their sixties had an off-white hair color like he did. She couldn't help but think of her 'bad-girl' reputation and what would happen to it if one of her potential confidants found her in a library reading some high-intellectual literature, it was simply mortifying! Well, not really, but it was out of the normal spectrum for other people to see her purposely engaging in a topic, she liked to keep them thinking that she was too aloof for any such thing, or at the very least that her knowledge of any such subject came from an obscure genius angle, rather than the less-than-flattering fact that she studied just like everyone else.


Welp, any hope that he hadn't noticed her sitting at the table were quickly dashed as the boy shot her a hello, which she felt a compulsive need to reply to, "Hey.</COLOR><i></i> her reply was fairly curt as she gazed toward him confirming her suspicions that he was in fact one of her previous classmates. He was of fairly average build and height, what made him easily distinguishable from others were a few of his facial features, the scar, the cinereal eye-color, and the pure white hair. Out of the features she found his eye-color the most interesting, they were unique, she had never seen anyone with such a color. They rivaled her own separate colored eyes in terms of their uniqueness. She was once again brought away from thought as he asked if they had taken a class together, they had, he had sat with the two girls (One with a heterochromia, and which she had another class with, something of which Sensei --- Wait I mean Ko, totally Ko, totally wouldn't know about.), and the bookish guy. "Yeah, you sat with those girls, Emiko and Niko or something, and that other guy. I was in the back.<i></i>" she recounted the situation with a fair amount of clarity. She soon noticed the book he was carrying, The Dialects of Kumogakure, which she could only assume was an old linguistics book, not exactly compelling reading in her mind. As far as the class went she did find it interesting, it was a subject that she didn't know a terrible lot about which was as compelling a reason as any to learn more about it, if anything she could spout some jargon back at Bii-Ryu-Sensei when she saw him next. "More interesting than those classes on how to fashion a splint from grass and how to survive on bugs in the wild, the teachers for the survival classes are always weird." she joked lightly, though it was true that survival teachers were always the weirdest out of the bunch.

Kotsuko, huh? All in all it wasn't a bad name, but she immediately thought that a nickname would be far more endearing. Snow White seemed apt, or Snowy. "<COLOR color="purple">Kotsuko is a good name and all, but I think I'd rather call you Snow White, on account of the hair, eyes, and all. Right, I'm Chiyoko by the way.<i></i>" She seemed to be jovial in her statement, though it didn't seem likely that she would be changing her nickname for Ko if he potentially protested, that wasn't how she rolled.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Though it was, from an architectural standpoint, one of the best lit buildings in Kumogakure for the necessity to promote and indeed nurture academically minded scholars in their pursuit of knowledge found throughout in many dusty tomes and books which contained knowledge that was worth protecting which, while quite valuable, Sukejuro could not help but wonder what manner of dark secrets were hidden away in more secretive caches, waiting long for enterprising young seekers of knowledge to plunder such sources rife with powerful knowledge. Though amidst these thoughts, he was posed with an unusual question as he sweeped through the dark nooks and crannies which he took great care in hiding within, sheathed under a cloak that was black as night.

Why am I here?

He hmmed to himself mentally as his eyes peered and watched over the many who frequented the library, unsure what precisely he sought. Was it traitors in the guise of allies, or merely did he look for lackards who were attempting to look at much less reputable magazines whilst under the false flag of enlightenment. He had been at this for three hours, at the least he could imagine this was atleast good practice as a proper agent of skullduggery and subversive tactics as he studied many unknowing targets, continuing to compile a list of individuals which he promised to properly watch and survey on a consistent basis. It was when his mind finally pushed through the buzzing of loud, raucious, mental noise that the glimmering beacon – reason, it started to form as he was reminded of the relevance of his time here.

”Potential marks may be here…” he would think to himself, the words pushing through the mire of disharmonious static within the mind like a man who had managed to stave off drowning and breached the surface of a pool of water…before being drawn back in. Creeping forth, silent as a whisper he crept on the opposite side of the library, while he was observing a man…possibly by the name of Genjiro who he gathered was a miso merchant, so strange for a man to be reading books on philosophy…but such ponderings were disrupted with a clamor.

*BAM*

Quickly withdrawing around a corner, suspicion roused on his target, Sukejuro cursed his luck just before he reached up and started to climb over a bookcase to get a better look. On the second thought, he felt blessed by this luck since he had a fondness for disruptive individuals like himself. After discerning the exact source of the noise through approximation he would hop down and race with careful steps, navigating the library with erratic yet tactful precision as he painstakingly avoided eyes and ears before finding a proper place to watch and raised his brows behind his skullish visor.

”Kotsuko? Hrm, did not suspect he would be the source of this…disturbance.” he muttered to himself as he watched and listened to the tail end of their conversation while he remained in stealth.

"Kotsuko is a good name and all, but I think I'd rather call you Snow White, on account of the hair, eyes, and all. Right, I'm Chiyoko by the way."

Now the thoughts were starting to roll, the white haired boy who played with wood in the park now was speaking to a woman, though he felt as if some deeper aspect of the wooden pieces from the chess board might do better without being reduced to such simple concepts, may cause miscommunication? Sukejuro shrugged as he cared little of what others thought, yet deep down inside it was quite the opposite. But whatever help him cope with whatever stress or problems he dealt with consistently was alright, but in the meantime Sukejuro simply watched and listened without compromising himself.

Until the time was right, of course.

[Topic Entered Stealthy-like][MFT]

 

[Kazu]

Well, seemed as if things were going along rather smoothly. The girl did recognize him, and she even seemed to be holding a conversation with him. How unexpected! Ko chuckled a bit at her assessment of the lesson, wondering what kind of teachers she'd had so far at the academy. They must have all been nut jobs, or something. "I suppose. Though that teacher did go on...and on...and on...and..." Ko pretended to be falling asleep, his voice cutting out and his head bobbing down to rest on his chest. As it dipped down, he acted like he'd just been startled awake, looking surprised and everything. "Oh, sorry about that. The lecture was so boring, it put me to sleep now!" He gave her a smile, clearly indicating that it was a joke, before he settled back down to continue the conversation. "I suppose you're more of the studious type, then? I didn't expect you to be here reading, the way you seemed to sit at the back of the class." It wasn't really a question, just more of a remark, really. He didn't expect her to comment, or follow that train of dialogue. Still, he was truthfully honest in the matter—she didn't seem to be the type to spend her time in the library. 'You learn something new everyday,' the young boy mused.

As she continued to talk though, it seemed that things were to take an interesting turn. "Snow White? You've got to be joking me..." Ko looked exasperated. He couldn't believe this. Did she just nickname him?! "No way. Uh-uh. That's not happening. You can't nickname me, because I don't know enough about you to give you a proper nickname. What would I call you? Two-Eyes? That's ludicrous..." Two-Eyes was an obviously playful jab at her, quite beautiful actually, heterochromia. One eye was blue and one was green. Ko didn't think it was something to make fun of, which was why he wrote it off as a bad nickname. "You're not allowed to give me a nickname until I can think of one for you. That's the end of it." Ko was trying to hide a playful smile, but he was really quite bad at it. His joking manner was obvious, and would hopefully come across as the joke that he'd intended it to be.

As he sat there, talking to this girl, Ko got a weird sensation. It was like...was he being watched? He couldn't rightly check at the moment, since that would be weird, but something felt a little weird. He'd have to check later, when he got the chance.

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

A small grin spread upon her lips as the two talked about their former class, Sensei had rambled quite a bit throughout the lecture, but that seemed to be a common trait among academicians. Ko seemed to have a sense of humor that boded well with her, his impression of dozing offa was good for another slight smile. She wagged her finger and dawned a solemn expression in an attempt to mimic their Sensei, dawning a deeper voice as she gibed, "And now I'm going to tell you this guy's life story for the next hour!<i></i>" all told her impression was less than stellar, coming off as goofy at best. The conversation soon continued on as Ko noted that he hadn't taken her for the ' studious type', which didn't particularly catch her off guard, no one thought she was the studious type. "Got to do something to balance out my criminal delinquency, funny when you're expected to graduate as the salutatorian the guards seem to be a bit more lenient on what you do outside the classroom.<i></i>" The reply was rather off handed, it wasn't a joke per se more of a chipper observation that she had gathered over the past few years. She had found herself in an odd position in the academy, excelling through her classes all the while struggling with various demerits and attendance issues. Needless to say various teachers and counselors had tried to reach the Kunoichi throughout her time in the academy, all to no avail. Squandered potential and blah, blah, blah.


A glint found it's way into her eyes as the two joked about Ko's new nickname, she having a reply almost immediately after all of his remarks. She was joking and she wasn't joking, while her nickname was obviously meant to be off putting and get through the awkward hey-we're-probably-going-to-be-friends stage she was certainly serious about calling him by his new nickname, "Not joking.<i></i>" her grin betrayed her. " Yes way. It's happening.<i></i>" Ko's nickname for her played on her eye colors, a pang of insecurity shot through the back of her neck, though it was obvious he was as joking as she was. Chiyoko's earlier grin stayed plastered upon her face bound and determined to make sure she didn't seem touchy with their banter. "Allowed or not I did, Snowy. And that's the end of it.<i></i>" Being difficult was always a good bit of fun, all in good fun after all.

While the two seemed to be having fun an odd feeling permeated throughout her limbs, goose-bumps as if someone had been observing the conversation without their knowing, but then again they were having a slightly boisterous conversation in the middle of a library to several others grumbling displeasure. It was a miracle that the librarian hadn't come and shushed them by that point.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, what's your family name? Belong to a clan?<i></i>", Her tone was noticeably quieter as to not further disturb the others in the library. "My family is the Wakahisa, we're Yakuza and all that.<i></i>" She was candid as ever about her family, with her family ordeals it didn't seem like the best idea to withhold who her people were, it would only lead to later issues.

 

[Kazu]

His jokes and comments seemed to have been well met, as the girl played along with the humor. She imitated their teacher in a silly and goofy fashion, which was perfectly fine with Ko. He laughed all the same, and he could tell very quickly that the two of them were getting along rather well. She mentioned something about criminal delinquency, which almost served to illicit a reaction out of the young boy—the keyword, though, is almost. It's not as if Ko didn't know that she would get into trouble from time to time. He'd heard about these sorts of antics before, as the Academy wasn't really that big of a place. Rumors spread, and children talk no matter where you go. It didn't really bother Ko, and he merely shrugged it off as her having a gruffer personality. In some ways, that might even serve her better than blind obedience. "Heh, at least you have a bit more fun than the other students. It's a little boring just doing work all day, don't you think?"

The playful banter continued, as she derided the young boy on his dislike of the new nickname. She teased him some more about it, and even managed to give him a secondary nickname. "Now it's Snowy? For crying out loud, pick one! I can't have two nicknames, that's just confusing!" His grin kept growing bigger and bigger. He was having fun with this girl, so much so that he'd almost forgotten they were in a library. He noticed a few of the dirty looks people around them were giving them, and realized quite quickly that he'd been a tad bit loud just now. He hushed his voice down a bit, feeling more and more like a delinquent himself. Ko really needed to get out more. "Get a load of all of these stiffs, huh?"

It was then that the subject of families came around. She had asked if he belonged to any sort of clan, perhaps wondering if he came from a line of shinobi. The answer, though, wasn't quite glamorous. "No, I'm not part of any clan. My mom takes care of the house, and my dad is a merchant. He sells all sort of odd knickknacks and curiosities. I think his dad's dad wasn't from around here though, so who knows?" That was it. He was just a simple kid, who wanted to one day be a shinobi. The first in his family. She went on to introduce herself as a member of the Wakahisa, a local Yakuza clan. They weren't unheard of, though it's not like they owned the town. It seemed to be the general rule that if you don't mess with them, then they wouldn't mess with you. All in all, nothing too serious happened, though with every norm there's bound to be a few outliers. Every now and again you'd hear about some guy who didn't make his payments early enough, or that they'd just said the wrong thing at the wrong time. Tragic. That's life for you though. "Yazuka, huh? That's pretty cool. What's it like? Or is it one of those things where if you tell me you'll have to...you know..." At this, he brought his thumb up to his neck, and slid it across his throat. At the same time, he gave this over-exaggerated act of his tongue sticking out, his eyes lulling back, and his movement growing still. He quickly went back to normal, that joking grin still on his face. "Come on, you can tell me. It can't be that bad."

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Sukejuro continued watching from that strange, strange, mask of his – secrets of questionable worth crawling through his sockets, moaning, as they fell into peerless depths to feed the ravenous beast known as curiosity that resided in the dank pit of his mind. It was so very grand, so pure as two young people tittered about with one another, forming bonds, it was so very sacred that he could not ever find it in his heart to…disrupt such an event. Oh how it reminded him of his youth and a little bit about his current motives that he hadn’t quite shared with anyone yet. As he listened his attention waxed and waned as he was not particularly well known for his consistence or ability to pay attention so well.

"I suppose. Though that teacher did go on...and on...and on...and... Oh, sorry about that. The lecture was so boring, it put me to sleep now! I suppose you're more of the studious type, then? I didn't expect you to be here reading, the way you seemed to sit at the back of the class.”

Oh, that was quite amusing, this was amusing.
Oh but isn’t it? Hiding behind bookshelves like a shy boy, what have you to gain from stalking children? Do you intend on eating them?
How preposterous, how could you suggest a thing Sukejuro? As a part of me you should realize that anti-social acts of violence and cannibalism are frowned in this society, as a shinobi you should be ashamed of such a thought.
I…Sukejuro-Kun, you are right, I was just joking. Please forgive me, later we shall bake cookies.
Suddenly Sukejuro was jostled back to reality once he was done arguing with…himself? Oh there was just this nagging part of him that craved attention, there was no lying about it. Cocking his head to the side as he returned his attention to the two.

"I suppose. Though that teacher did go on...and on...and on...and... Oh, sorry about that. The lecture was so boring, it put me to sleep now! I suppose you're more of the studious type, then? I didn't expect you to be here reading, the way you seemed to sit at the back of the class.”

And now I'm going to tell you this guy's life story for the next hour! "Got to do something to balance out my criminal delinquency, funny when you're expected to graduate as the salutatorian the guards seem to be a bit more lenient on what you do outside the classroom. <i></i>

Kukuku, Snow White, this girl has a point, has an eye for exploiting the perceptions of others but to what end? Warrants further observation. Sukejuro would note to himself, excitement rife through his body as his fingers wiggled, it was so hard to interrupt such a natural scene, it was like art to be able to bare witness to such plebian and mundane activities without disturbing the aura of the situation.

“Snow White? You've got to be joking me... No way. Uh-uh. That's not happening. You can't nickname me, because I don't know enough about you to give you a proper nickname. What would I call you? Two-Eyes? That's ludicrous... You're not allowed to give me a nickname until I can think of one for you. That's the end of it.”

Two-Eyes, yes? Noted.

“Not joking. Yes way. It's happening. Allowed or not I did, Snowy. And that's the end of it. So, if you don't mind my asking, what's your family name? Belong to a clan? My family is the Wakahisa, we're Yakuza and all that.” <i></i>

Now it was dragging on, their arguments, all started to fall to the buzzing of bees in his head, it was so much easier when dealing with those outdoors. He could watch from rooftops, observe a multitude of individuals, in many ways he still acted very much like his inner ANBU self before resigning himself to the main branch due to perceived personal flaws that made it difficult to abide by a standard that Akira Saito himself set for him as a boy.
Shame.
But something else seemed to attract his attention, Yakuza and a proposed relation to this ‘Two-Eyes’ clan, Wakahisa. Oh now this was probably valuable knowledge, not for himself but…well for himself. Knowledge was an invaluable weapon, though Sukejuro had pesky ethics keeping him from ever using such as beneficial, plus they were a mere student…what could get benefit from such knowledge? Instead Sukejuro dwelled on it for a bit until the conversation progressed.

“ Heh, at least you have a bit more fun than the other students. It's a little boring just doing work all day, don't you think?"

Fun? Boredom? Should they not be synonymous with training to become Shinobi? Conflict of interest, yes? He would muse to himself, itching underneath his mask.
By Raiden’s wooly chest hair is my face itchy!

“ Now it's Snowy? For crying out loud, pick one! I can't have two nicknames, that's just confusing! Get a load of all of these stiffs, huh?”

Stiffs?
Inflexible?
Stronge, Forceful?
Corpse?

Oh yes, Sukejuro liked that definition the best and now such talk had attracted the Ghoul of Kumogakure, the Ominous Cloud himself. Fluidly he sank down low to the floor and without a sound he shuffled along the floor behind Kotsuko and before anyone would be wise, soon the tall and erratically dressed Chuunin would raise up perfectly behind the Snowy One, glass lenses reflecting the face of Chiyoko as he would lean in by Kotsuko’s face and mutter “Are we talking about stiff corpses? I am no med-nin, but I have a special soft spot for the husks that we humans abandon after death.” Sukejuro would croon with a good deal of amusement in his voice.

“You two have much to learn, speaking so plaintively in public, just think of whom might be listening~?” he would chime in a rather lyrical voice as he stood up and looked at the two "Two-Eyes and Snowy, eh? I think Two-Eyes is the better of the two, sorry Kotsuko my boy." he would inanely retort as he reached up and picked at his ear.

[1016 WC] [617 WC w/o Quotes] [MFT]

 

[Kawakami Hotaru]

More fun than most of the other academy students? Definitely. Though it was certainly easier to be more entertaining than a group than consisted of people who were constantly being drilled about the merits of honor, duty, and patriotism. The atmosphere didn't inspire the life of the party, but she didn't particularly care for those lessons, none of them mattered in any real sense. What did matter was having a good time while you still drew breath, Shinobi' lives weren't exactly known for their longevity after all. "You know what they say, all work and no play makes for a dull boy.</COLOR><i></i>" A quieter less vivacious grin settled upon her thin lips, almost as if a hint of sadness was tucked away beneath it reviling the prospect of having to work with others who didn't share her sentimentality about life. She could only take so many speeches about the great duty and honor that was thrust upon them, that if they were lucky their would be a glorious death in the line of duty to be remembered as a martyr or hero of some sort, it was all bullshit. "I mean, If you're not having fun then what's the point?<i></i>" she was unsure if the question was about their profession or life itself, most likely both. "Me, well I strive to have a good time. At the end of the day that's really what mattered, when they put you in the ground I mean. Otherwise life is pretty bland and forgettable, right?<i></i>" Of course there were other things that mattered family, prosperity, health, and so on, but having fun, well that was quintessential.


Her smile returned to it's former glory as the two discussed the boy's nickname, he was a good conversationalist, a trait she found lacking in most of the Shinobi she had met before. They were all weirdly pedantic about everything, as if someone had shoved a stick up their bum and was controlling them through puppetry to be so perfectly businesslike, bunch of weirdos. But this kid, Snowy, he was alright. "You're right, you can't have just the two nicknames, give me a second while I figure out a third.<i></i>" she joked lightly, still fairly unaware that they seemed to be catching the ire of their peers around the library. Ko quickly made her more aware of it as he remarked commenting on the stiffs around them. Chiyoko briefly gazed around, a half-smirk sitting upon her face as she asked, "Want to pull the fire-alarm?<i></i>" only half joking. She mused about the outcome of the little prank, worst come to worse was another 'stern talking to' from a guard and some angry looks from a bunch of library goers, but it would certainly be funny in a juvenile ass-hole sort of way.

Of course her thoughts were immediately moved from her potential shenanigans as an extremely strange and masked fellow made his way into their conversation, slightly jolting her as he entered the conversation casually as if he hadn't just appeared from seemingly no where and cuddled right up to Snowy. Not only was his appearance strange his immediate topic of conversation was also incredibly weird as he asked if they were talking about the Dearly Departed, the Hell was this guy on? He had a soft spot for corpses, isn't that one of the disorders in the DSM? If it wasn't it probably should be. She was fairly unsure of how to reply to the strange man and his strange question though she did manage to get something out, "Uh, no. We weren't talking about stiff corpses.<i></i>" she thought of adding something about wishing the weird man would leave, but he seemed to be unhinged and she didn't wish to provoke any outburst from him. Her wit swiftly returned as the odd man commented on the openness of their conversation, "<COLOR color="purple">Suppose it's a good thing we weren't talking about matters of international security then. she attempted to match the lyricism of his comment in her sarcasm. She would speak as plaintively as she wanted, and she didn't particularly cared who listened.

[MFT - 700]

((OOC: Apologies on the delay, I've been ultra busy since the beginning of January.))

 

[Kazu]

This girl was almost too much. Ko liked to strike a middle ground with his work and his play—she, on the other hand, seemed to naturally gravitate towards the latter. It was true, she did get a considerable amount of work done. Ko had seen it when he caught her studying. However, that wasn't her natural state. She struck the young boy as a girl who would much rather be out doing something fun and interesting, instead of having to worry about all of this stuff. He could understand that, to a degree. The difference with Kotsuko was that he actually really enjoyed learning things, as well as goofing off. Not to say that she didn't enjoy learning, she just didn't seem to give off that sort of vibe. She did have a point—in the thick of her argument, there was a glimmer of truth. At the end of the day, everyone remembers the fun more than the work. Right? Either way, it was hard to really take her seriously when she offered to do things like pull the fire alarm. The young boy didn't even know how to respond to that, aside from chuckling and letting it end on its own. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—for Ko, the conversation took a...weirder turn.

At first, it didn't click with him. What was with her expression? When the man spoke, though, the cogs in his head began to spin. This was the guy he'd met a while back, when he was playing the chess game. Ko didn't often forget people's faces, but this man's in particular would have been almost impossible. Names, though, he wasn't as good with. As Ko recalled, his name was Sukejuro; however, who knows if that was right. He remembered that the man had seemed off last time he saw him, but what was with him this time? This man was truly interesting, in a morbidly weird kind of way. Ko would have to, later, figure out what his story was. For now, though, he would merely watch Chiyoko try to deal with this man in her own way. Ko silently chuckled to himself as he observed, seeing the hidden look in her eyes saying that she was tired of dealing with this man. Her sarcasm was biting, and her tone was simply improper—that's how Ko knew that she was interesting to be around. He thought he'd chime into the conversation a little bit, see if he couldn't add a little something to the subject. "Sukejuro, right? Who do you think would be creepy enough to listen in on the conversation of two Academy Students. Honestly, isn't that a little creepy?" His smile was hard to fight back, but he gave it all of his might to keep a somewhat straight face.

"Besides the 'who', the more important question is the 'why'. Tell us, why would someone be snooping around a library, listening to conversations in such a creepy way?" Ko was getting bolder. Maybe this girl was having a negative effect on him? Who cares at this point, though? Ko was having fun, which had already been established as the most important thing.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Oh, this will be interesting, yes?
Yes, my, yes, this will be fun.

A cock of the head would trigger as the finished rattling off some random mischief, so very typical, it took but a half second for him to get into that very mindset as he leaned down until the mirror-like lenses of his mask beamed back both of their own images stretched along the circular glass as it were. He couldn’t figure what troubled him more, was it disappointment that Kotsuko was acting like such a sheep without guidance? Amusement at the young girls confidence? No it was the arrogance, he wondered if they were truly at all compared for the trials that await them.

“Heheheh, so full of wit are we~?” He would sweetly chime out, warmth of amusement weaving through his words which possibly defied his previous eccentric remarks…a calm before the storm perhaps? No, he realized what he found most troubling with the two – their lack of perception. Standing erect once more as he reached up an rubbed his chin “You make a good point, It would be difficult to hear such secrets over the wailing of future victims, no?” He would pose a question, was it merely inane prattle or was there a strong undercurrent of some moral dilemma?

He didn’t care either way.

“Pity, the dead leave much evidence of the life they lived, and the cause which put them to eternal rest.” He at long last voiced his disappointment, sharp hiss of a sigh running through a pair of tubes that ran down from underneath the mask.

“That depends on who thinks it is creepy? What does it mean?” He would completely deadpan Kotsuko’s teasing, no doubt blinking blankly at the implications as they flew over his head completely, no, he wasn’t like other Shinobi his age by a long shot.

“Well my boy, you could peg it down on good old obsessive observation. I’ve been penning reports, in my own blood of course, compiling dossiers and have compiled information on some 300 or so individuals in the village. Mostly typical villagers, but, I realized that keeping up to date records on you students would be a more worthy endeavor. I burned the previous work I did, and started anew.”

Sukejuro explained with a surprising amount of concise and eloquently put words even if he added just a touch more information than they could have cared to know. Reaching down, he planted a hand on both of their heads “You fragile minded boys and girls are the future flesh and blood of this village, eh? Was spying here for other reasons, but I couldn’t help myself.

 

[Kazu]

The antithesis of fun is fear. The masked man, Sukejuro, wasted no time in answering their sarcastic questions. However, his manner of speaking quickly went from sweet to sadistic in a quick time. Ko's smirk was quickly wiped off, as he realized that this man was being serious. "The wailing of future victims" and "the cause which put them to eternal rest" were not pleasant phrases to hear directed towards you. Ko had thought this guy was a tad bit off his rocker before, but he was quickly realizing that it was more than that. There was something, at a very fundamental level, wrong with this man. Something seemed to not click in his mind, like the way he seemed to circumvent Ko's words about him being creepy. He simply didn't understand it. This was a man who thought it was completely normal and ordinary to write dossiers of village members with his own blood, as if some sort of masochistic surveillance of the people around him was in any way acceptable behavior to the other members of the village. Ko knew then that Sukejuro was a man he didn't want to cross, nor get on his bad side. This man was creepy, whether he understood what that meant or not.

Ko needed to steer this situation around. As the masked man placed his clawed hands on his and Chiyoko's heads, Ko felt a shiver run down his neck. This man, plain and simple, made Ko uncomfortable. Choosing his words with care, Ko attempted to fix the situation. "I'm glad that you're so concerned with us growing up correctly, Sukejuro. That's very nice of you." He was done calling the man creepy. Even if it was true, it would just go completely over the man's head. It might be better to play the whole thing off as if this whole exchange was no big deal. Ko flashed the girl a looked that basically screamed "let's get the heck out of here." Ko needed to think of a diplomatic way of getting himself out of this, though. Moving away from under Sukejuro's hand, Ko stood himself up. "Well then, this was fun. Sukejuro, thanks for the...erm...pep talk. Chiyoko, we should hang out again. You know where to find me. I'm going to go now..." Ko was bummed at how things had gone, but he was sure he'd see Chiyoko again sometime. She seemed like she would be a really great friend, and Ko was glad to have met her. Hopefully next time they wouldn't get stalked or spied on.

[ooc: Topic Left.]