Open Going for a walk

[Kureji]

Kana has grown a little bit. She's fourteen now and she has never really set foot outside the Village. This, is admittedly the farthest that she has been from home. Now standing at the Valley end, she can't help but marvel at the sight of these two huge statues with a massive waterfall in between. She had always an interest in historic battles, like what happened to start a fight? Especially these two statues. There's got to be some story behind them.

She herself hasn't been in any notable fights, other than when she first awoken to her Byakugan, tried and failed to fight a woman named Hikaru, and also tried and failed to aid in fighting a girl that was backed by the ANBU branch. That last thought sent shivers down her spine. She was barely strong enough other than provide back up with her eyes, and she's only slightly better now. The thought frustrated her to the point of her getting a little bit pissed off at herself. Well... She hasn't heard of any rules regarding this place, so it could be good to use as her own personal training grounds since the Forest of Death is limited to Chunin and higher ranks.

She activated her Byakugan, taking in all of her surroundings. If she can further unlock her Byakugan, she won't be a helpless little girl, she definitely can't be now that she's a Genin and older now. She started with stretching, making sure that she is limber so that she doesn't pull a muscle while exercising.

(MFT)
(WC:260)

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun was wandering calmly around the outskirts of town, contemplating where he wanted to venture today. He saw a familiar face wandering out towards one of the historical marks of the village, and Shun decided to follow along. He kept his distance in case she didn't want to be disturbed, watching as she stopped to look up at the statues and the water falling between them. Shun sauntered up calmly next to her, taking in the sight as well.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Kana?" he spoke kindly, looking over to his friend to see her bloodline activated. "I see you're working on the Hyuuga stuff. Want to train some together? I haven't had a sparring partner in a while."

[Topic entered]

 

[Kureji]

Kana got a few stretches in, when her eyes caught sight of someone. Wait a minute... He looks kind of familiar... It wasn't until he said her name and mentioned her Hyuuga powers that a name rang a bell.

She met him twice before. Once, on top Hokage Rock. The other, Genin exam, though admittedly she forgot who he was. And then she remembered the nickname she gave him.

"Wait a minute... Lover boy?"Kana had joked about him being a lover boy when the other girl in their group was holding his hand and even said that him and her were boyfriend and girlfriend, though Kana knew she was only joking around.

"I- um, yeah. Just been trying to get better at the whole using Byakugan thing. And sure! Though I don't think I would be ready for a real fight. More like support sensor Kana."

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun couldn't help but laugh as he heard the familiar nickname. "Yeah...that's me," he replied. He was easily flustered in the past, but with his heart set on one person, little jokes like this really didn't bother him as much anymore. "Ashikawa Shun. Lover boy is fine though, guess I'm a bit of a ladies man."

He thought for a moment about how they could train her Byakugan, not too familiar with the bloodline. "How about...a game of hide and seek? I summon a five clones, we all do our best to hide, and you practice using your bloodline abilities to find the real me."

It sounded like a fair idea. To make it even better, he added a prize. "And if you find me within 3 tries, I'll treat you to dinner wherever you want." A 50/50 chance, and Shun would hide as best he could.

 

[Sugihara Aki]

Hikaru hopped from branch to tree branch in the dappled shade, twice the usual number of bags nudging against her back with each jump. She had been sent by the group she called her Medical Advisors, a handful of experienced doctors in charge of teaching her how to run a Division, to do some research on the Valley of the End… it was one of her less conventional tasks, no doubt. Her usual bag, filled with library books and writing materials, rode on her back above a brand-new case for medical supplies, colored the same distinct red as the clip on her headband. It was on the bulkier side, but she loved the feeling of preparedness that came with it (and the color, too).

The Valley itself wasn’t far from the village proper. She could hear the crash of the iconic waterfall before the clearing came into view, and she slowed down a bit, wondering how much she should be taking notes on. The assignment, as she remembered it, was to, ‘Research the Valley of the End and be prepared to explain its significance in relation to the Medical Branch of the Leaf.’ Hikaru had a feeling it was one of those open-ended questions with multiple correct answers, which she was usually fine with… in this case, though, she had read so little about the Valley that trying to establish any sort of connection to the Byoin would be a stretch.

The forest opened up, revealing the gradual viridescent slope of the landscape around the pillar-like statues. The distant hiss of the falling water became a more conversational ambience, and Hikaru gazed up at the wide blue sky, thankful at the very least for clear weather. Voices drifted along the canyon from nearby, and she spotted a pair of faces in the midst of the resolute line of trees. She recognized one of them, and decided to see what they were up to. Mostly because she still didn’t know how to start the project.

“Hello!” She gave Kana a smile, although she hadn’t met the other before. Facing him, she introduced herself, “My name’s Miyazaki Hikaru, Medical Chief. I’m here to do some research about the Valley, though… I have no idea where to start.” She paused, glancing into the forest beside them. “So. What brings you here?”

[Topic entered]

 

[Kureji]

Kana giggled a little bit at the thought of Shun saying that he's now more of a ladies man. She playfully punched him and said, "Oh, I bet that you are such a heart breaker now. Tell me, how many girls have you wooed so far?" He then told her of a little training scenario to help her with her Byakugan. Basically hide and seek but he goes to throw out five clones. Kana liked the idea, especially since he said if she does find him, that he'll take her out to dinner. "Oh, is this your way to reel me in? Well, you do know a girl can't resist a free meal." She giggled.

Huh? Her Byakugan caught something, or rather someone. She looked in the direction of a familiar woman who had caught her in the Forest of Death. Hikaru introduced herself to Shun, and Kana took this opportunity to keep the running joke running, "Careful Med Chief, this one here's a heart breaker." She asked them what they were doing here, and Kana replied, "Just training my Byakugan some more. So what'cha exactly studying for here in the Valley?"

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun couldn't help but laugh, enjoying the running joke with Kana. He tapped his chin in thought, thinking over all the people he had become decent friends with in the little time he had known them. "I think...maybe four girls...and two guys," he commented, adding the last part with a playful wink.

He turned to look at the newcomer when Kana caught sight of her, smiling at the introduction. "Ah, it's wonderful to meet you, miss." He reached into his bag, pulling out a bag of berries and grinning at Kana. A classic move. "Would you like some fresh berries from my garden?"

Whether they were accepted or denied, he continued on. "I ventured out here to join an old friend. We were just discussing a possible game of hide and seek to help her train the Byakugan. Unless you might have a better idea?"

He thought for a moment in regards to the reason Hikaru came out here. "As for the research, have you hit up the library for the basics? I haven't been there much myself, but they might have a few books about it that could give you a bit of a point in the right direction."

 

[Sugihara Aki]

She nodded to Shun, replying, “Nice to meet you too.” As she spoke, Kana gave a playful warning that sent a twinge of apprehension through her. Her last vaguely romantic interaction and the angry paroxysm that followed had weakened the seal of her forehead, actually, as her aunt had determined later that night. She had been instructed to distance herself from powerful negative emotions… it felt volatile and dangerous, in probably the worst way possible. When the boy grinned at his friend and offered her the berries, Hikaru panicked a little bit, responding quickly, “Um, no. Thank you.” She tested the knot of her headband instinctively, making sure the seal was still covered from view.

Recovering after a moment, she gave a small smile again, “Training for your Byakugan, huh? That’s not a bad idea, especially since you’ve picked an area you’re allowed to be in.” She felt kind of bad for what happened when she and the Hyuuga first met… but she had a good reason for interrupting her training back then. Now, Hikaru didn’t want to interfere as much. As she thought back to their encounter in the forest, she remembered something else, “Oh, and congratulations- I heard a large portion of this year’s Academy Class passed the Genin Exam!” She gestured towards their headbands.

“Anyway, I’d be glad to help, if you’d like some more clones to help out. I have this one technique with Dust release…” she formed a handseal, and another Hikaru appeared, noticeably off-color and fuzzy-looking. She put her arm around the duplicate’s shoulder, and continued, “They make your skin tingle a bit when you touch them, but the molecular disruption is nowhere near potent enough to do any serious damage, so don’t worry. Their main benefit for this kind of thing is:” grabbing the clone’s other shoulder, she gave it a small shove, and it fell over expressionlessly. It burst into a pool of tiny, yellow-gray spheres of chakra- gradually, however, they began to collect themselves into a pair of legs, then a body, and suddenly the clone stood again, once again nearly identical to its original. “They can re-form themselves if they get dispersed! Which makes them great for repeated training, and gives them some unexpected dodges they can do as well.”

The clone dispersed for real at another seal from Hikaru’s right hand. “So let me know if you’d like to use them while I poke around the Valley for my project.” She scratched the back of her head as she thought about how best to explain her assignment to the two Genin. The Mednin laughed, “The library was my first stop, yep- I practically lived there when I was younger.” She still did, but she didn’t want to sound uncool. “Since I was promoted to Medical Chief, I’ve been taking lessons from a small group of people who are experienced in the area I’m in charge of, since, well… I’m not yet. Sort of like the Academy. This time, they’ve asked me to research the battle that happened here and figure out how it relates to the Medical Branch.” She gave a small shrug. “I’ll probably have my hands full with that, so if you need something from me, just ask a clone.”

 

[Kureji]

Kana really was starting to think of Shun as some player when he mentioned that he wooed four girls, and... two boys? She raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head. Who is she to judge the dating life of people? When Shun offered her some berries, Kana happily grabbed some, though she noticed an odd reaction from Hikaru. She talked a little bit too fast for declining the offer. "Are you allergic to berries? If so, that kinda sucks. My Mom once made a berry salad with different types of berries, it was so good." Kana's mouth was watering at the thought of the berry salad. But she'll just have to do with the berries that Shun has now. She popped some berries in her mouth tasting the sweetness from the little food.

Then the topic came to kind of surround Kana as the topic of discussion, one that she really isn't quite used to. Mainly training her Byakugan, for that part, she was down to do. Hikaru pointed out that Kana is now okay with training for the sake that it was in an area where she is actually allowed in. Kana's face turned a little red at the thought, her wanting to be better, and that weird hillbilly kid that was getting on her nerves. It was a miracle that Hikaru had managed to keep them from tearing at each other's throats. She then congratulated both of them on becoming Genin, and soon afterwards shown them that she was also willing to help by making a clone that can remake itself after being destroyed.

Kana had to admit, that was pretty cool. Then the older woman talked of how she was being trained by people who had more experience than her. Kana cocked her head sideways, the way a dog would do if it heard something that piqued its interest. "There wasn't a previous Med chief to teach you?" Kana doesn't really know much about the other branches, just mainly assumed that the head jounin, or equivalent foranbu or medical branch was a pass down type of thing, from one ninja who was promoted to Sennin or just simply retired and needed their old role to be filled.

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun let Kana grab as many berries as she wanted, not at all deterred by Hikaru declining the offer. He smiled at her congratulations of them passing the exam, and Shun was proud to wear his headband on his head to show his place in the village. He worked hard to earn this rank, and he was going to continue pushing himself to get stronger and learn more.

He loved the idea of the clones Hikaru had; his would just disperse and remain gone, so having some reusable clones would be good. "Thank you for helping us out. If you could use any help with your research, I would love to help with that as well. I'm hoping to join the Medical Branch someday," he spoke kindly, slipping the rest of the berries into the bag on his side.

Shun looked to Kana, smiling excitedly. "Want to get this going?" he asked, more than ready for a challenging game of hide and seek.

 

[Sugihara Aki]

“No, not allergic. Just… not hungry, I guess.” Hikaru gave a small shrug- the moment had passed. They both seemed like nice kids, she was sure they hadn’t meant anything by it, she had just overreacted and panicked because she was worried. On that thought, she decided that it was about time she spoke with her aunt again. It hadn’t been more than a week, but if the seal was going to be this much of a source of daily concern for her, she would go crazy. And she never even received a specific answer for why she needed the seal in the first place…

She thought for a moment before responding to Kana’s other question, looking up at the sky as she did. “According to the Medical Sennin, Sazuki Nao, he hadn’t been around much back then. I suppose he just… needed a break from the work.” She hadn’t thought much about her predecessor, aside from occasional mentions by the Byoin staff that had lessened over time. Her office had been practically empty before she moved in. “Nao-sensei has taught me where he can, and otherwise I’ve been learning as much as I can from the staff and from research of my own.”

Hikaru grinned. “I’d appreciate the assistance, actually, but you should probably focus on helping Kana out if you want to do that. I’ll be here for a while, don’t worry!” She did a bit of a mental fist-pump: Students and Genin with an interest in the Medical Branch were always welcome. She’d have to remember to ask him about that after she finished her project.

“Yep, whenever you’re ready!” she affirmed to Kana, “I can call you if I find something interesting, Shun- actually, I’ll probably just call both of you. Even if it isn’t traditional combat training, your Hyuuga eyes might be useful.”

 

[Kureji]

Kana listened as Hikaru told them that she wasn't allergic but just not hungry, which she guessed makes sense. Kana grabbed a handful of berries and popped them in her mouth. She listened as the two spoke of Shun having an interest joining the Medical branch and she could tell Hikaru liked that.

As for Kana herself? She doesn't really know. She guessed probably just staying in Main Branch. The older woman agreed to help them along with if she thinks that she has found something interesting she'll fetch for them both. But in the mean time... Kana turned to Shun as he was rearing to go and do this. "Hell yeah, I'm ready! Be ready to lose Lover Boy!" She would deactivate her Byakugan and close her eyes as she silently counted to ten slowly. One...two... She would hear movement, but her hearing isn't as good as her sight, Eight...Nine...Ten. On ten, Kana would open her eyes and activate her Byakugan in search for where Hikaru's clone and shun and his clones are hiding.

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun grinned as they were starting the game. He watched as Kana deactivated her bloodline ability, creating five clones and letting them scatter. Shun himself went to hide behind the rock, deciding to rush up to Hikaru as he pulled out a kunai. "Slip me into your pocket," he spoke with a grin, placing the kunai in her hand before shifting his chakra to combine himself with the weapon.

Two of his clones combined with trees nearby, one with a rock, and two slipped into the water to hide. With everyone in place, Shun could only wait to see how Kana would prove herself with those abilities.

Shun and some of the clones used Combination Transformation

 

[Sugihara Aki]

It sounded like Kana was ready- Hikaru gave a nod. As she closed her eyes and began counting, her dojutsu faded, probably to let them hide. She didn’t know if the Byakugan could still perceive chakra if the user couldn’t see, but even so, it would make for better training to have to activate it first.

Several clones of Shun appeared, each running off into the brush to conceal themselves; she performed the same pattern of handseals to create a trio of the grayish Dust clones beside her. Hikaru looked off into the forest to determine where they should hide, but she was caught off-guard when Shun suddenly rushed up to her, pushing a kunai into her hand. In another moment of panic, she tossed it to her nearest clone- it caught the kunai deftly by the handle, giving her the slightest raise of an eyebrow before reassuming the expressionless look from earlier.

Hikaru sighed, motioning the boy with a thumbs-up. Two of her duplicates jumped into the forest behind him and selected hiding spots for themselves as well, one in a patch of low-growing vegetation and the other in the branches of a tree. They each dispersed into a thin coating of dust over their surroundings, waiting to be found. Meanwhile, she started towards the enormous statues with the other clone, Shun’s kunai tied to the back of its bag.

[Dust Clone used]

 

[Kureji]

The Byakugan surely is an amazing thing. It can help her see what's going on around her along with seeing chakra signatures. She picked up the first one. It was a tree, or so a normal person would think. Kana would walk up to it and knock on it like a door, "Yo, Lover Boy. I found you." An image of Shun appeared from the tree, only to go poof in her face. Drats! She almost had him! She scanned the area with her Byakugan again and seen what looked like a kunai with a similar chakra signature as Shun. That could be it, but she is having a hard time pinning down where it was.

She knew the longer it would take to find them, the harder it would be for Kana to track them down. So instead, she focused her search elsewhere and found another Shun chakra signature in another tree. Geez, did he just morph with all the trees in the woods? The young Hyuuga ran to the tree and gave it a solid kick, only to hear the unsatisfying poof sound of a clone dispersing. Letting out a sigh, Kana decided to focus her efforts on trying to find Hikaru. She found one Hikaru pretty easily. It was near one of the statues with a kunai on the back of it's bag.

Kana decided to give this Hikaru an easy push so that she would fall over and dust disbursed everywhere. Kana coughed waving her hand around and looked down to see a kunai. She picked it up, remembering how she saw a kunai with Shun's chakra signature. She studied the "weapon" for a minute, saying, "Are you Lover boy, or am I going crazy talking to a kunai?" She flipped it in the air, catching it and swinging it around, to see if she liked the handle. With a shrug she put the "Kunai" in her pouch with her other kunai.

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun had to remain silent; he could hear his clones being found as he dangled from Hikaru's clone. It was interesting how well Kana's Byakugan could pick up the signatures. When she pushed over the clone he was being held by, Kana picked him up. He remained inside his weapon for the moment, wanting to see what else she would do. He was placed in a pouch a moment later, and he continued to wait for the rest of his clones to be found.

Kana was definitely on the right track, having picked up his chakra inside the weapon. He wanted to see what her plan was with the rest of the clones before revealing himself; she had clearly already passed his little game and earned herself a meal for later.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Daisuke watched on from a reasonable distance as the three shinobi interacted, two of which he had previously met while the other was a mystery. It wasn’t often that he saw people out in the valley of the end during the hours that he came to visit and relax – but if others were present then he would not be able to fully unwind. A deep breath escaped him while he watched their flurry of obscuring jutsu, it seemed as though they may be training or playing some sort of ninjutsu enhanced game. A single blonde eyebrow raised as he analysed their interactions. Of course, he couldn’t quite hear the details of their conversation as he looked on from afar, he would need to get closer to have a thorough grasp of exactly what they were doing.

With the lightest of movements, Daisuke leapt from his hiding place to land with an extremely subtle patter on a thick tree branch closer to the now much larger group, the participants were still the same, but the numbers had increased. It was hard to tell if the branch he landed on swayed in the wind or with the sudden arrival of the Minamoto boy. For a few moments he watched on at their interesting use of clones for sure, but Daisuke could always admire creative training sessions. After all, his regime almost always kept him busy with his own work.

As usual Daisuke didn’t say anything upon his arrival and instead he simply observed the activity, he wasn’t hiding but still maintained a reasonable distance as to not interrupt or cause a distraction. The blonde boy took a few steps towards the end of the branch and stood with his arms at his sides and hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket. With the distance between himself and the group closed he would be able to observe their goings on without much in the way of obstacles – at least for now.


[WC: 329]
[MFT]
[Topic entered]

 

[Sugihara Aki]

Hikaru parted ways with her Shun-kunai-bearing clone beside the first statue, leaving it to hang around should Shun need anything. She continued up the side of the steep cliff face with her bags jostling behind her- perhaps carrying two of them wasn’t the best idea. As the tops of the great stone figures came into view, the Mednin slung one off of her shoulder, withdrawing a lightly marked-up book titled ‘Historical Places of Konoha’. Though it had been invaluable during her Academy days, there was very little information about the Valley of the End: only that it was the site of an ancient battle between the two depicted by the statues, and that the Land of Fire's Travel Agency doesn’t run tours for it very often.

Meanwhile, her first clone watched Kana as she spotted it before much time had passed. It wasn’t exactly concealed, but it grinned as the girl poked it, cascading into dust on its way down. She took the Shun-kunai, which Hikaru probably should have put more effort into hiding, but oh well. It didn’t want to take the kunai back- that just felt mean. The clone allowed Kana to leave in search of the others, then recollected itself, dusting off its robes. The ground was never as clean as it was in the hospital… the Medical Chief’s duplicate gave a sigh, voiced in a slightly fuzzier voice than its original, and started up the cliff as well to join her.

The others remained as dispersed coatings of dust, waiting around for their turn to be found. They watched Shun-kunai’s location after the first clone’s capture, half-entertaining the notion of a rescue mission. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps nearby alerted them both. Neither did anything, but one kept its senses on the tree branch where the boy stood while the other focused on Kana. Hikaru didn’t recognize him, although vision through the dispersed clones wasn’t excellent.

 

[Kureji]

Kana was moseying along, having her Byakugan active as she looked sensed other chakra signatures. First one, was same area where she first saw one of Hikaru clones. She ran back, thinking it may have been the same clone, but decided it was worth the try. She rounded the corner as she poked the clone again, watching it go poof with dust. The Hyuuga coughed and waved the dust particles away as she took in the next chakra signature. "Sorry if you were the same one from earlier. You clones look exactly alike!" She said that as a joke.

Her Byakugan now caught another chakra signature! She ran in that direction and jumped up the tree where she saw it, and turns out it was another Hikaru clone. At least, she thinks it is, a small push and the clone dissipated into dust. Darn! And here she thought that she would find real Lover Boy or real Hikaru by now!

She focused her byakugan again, this time, she was picking up a chakra signature on top of one of the statues. run climbing up, using chakra so she doesn't fall off the side of the statue, she reached the top to see Hikaru. At least, she thinks it is her. Focusing her Byakugan a bit more and she now knows for sure that this is the real woman. "Heya, I found you instead of your clones. pretty sure I refound one of them a little while ago too, haha."