”Four hundred ninety five…four hundred ninety six…four…hun…dred…ninety…seeeeee—AGH!“ It was too much. Kazu’s whole torso felt on fire; his arms felt torn to shreds. Sweat beaded along his forehead and neck, slid down along the edge of his nose, and dripped off onto the hard-packed sandstone floor beneath him to join the small pool forming. His breath came in labored fits as he struggled to push his body further than it desired, yet in this battle of mind over matter the latter seemed to win over. From his upright pushup position, arms buckling underneath the steady strain of gravity and his own body weight, Kazu crashed to the floor.
For a moment he simply laid there with his head buried into the ground, catching his breath. His head swam with exhaustion and the ecstasy of exertion, until—for but a moment—he could no longer tell that he still inhabited a physical form. He simply…was. There were no thoughts, no attachements, and no feelings. He was floating. He was…
Suddenly, something poked the crown of his head.
’Huh?’ Just like he’d crashed into the floor, the young boy suddenly crashed back to
Earth Ninpocho, and pulled his face up from the floor. Greeted by the peculiar sight of some sort of weird hairy snake creature, Kazu simply stared at it for a moment as it stared at him.
”Uhm…hello?” The creature cocked its head to one side, regarding the strange boy laying on the floor.
’Does…does it want food?’ ”I don’t have anything for you, okay? So…go on then…” Blinking, the creature brought its face a little closer to Kazu’s…and dropped a small piece of paper that the boy hadn’t noticed a moment ago. It seemed rather amused with Kazu’s behavior, and curled up to wait for this “strange human” to read the message.
’What a weird creature!’
Pulling himself into a seated position, Kazu unfurled the tiny scroll to read its contents.
’Who’s Lord Nobu?’ Kazu was pleased to hear from his adopted Aunt Kasen, who he didn’t get much of a chance to spend time with due to her many responsibilities as a Med-Nin. However, reading the message once more to make sure he didn’t miss anything, he realized there were a couple little snags here and there…
”Formal attire? 1:30? Today?” Glancing up above him, he realized the sun was nearly at its peak — it was almost noon!
”Oh Legatus, I don’t have anything to wear!” Jumping to his feet so fast he startled the hairy snake creature, Kazu found himself reunited with the racing thoughts he had just let go of moments before.
”Come on, little guy, we’ve got to get going!” Kazu didn’t even pause to see if the odd creature was following him or not — he had some shopping and changing to do!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
’Oh no, I’m late! Auntie Kasen is going to kill me!’ Kazu always did his best to be on time, for any sort of event, but this time he had had little control over the matter.
’I’m lucky that tailor even had anything that would fit me!’ Worrying aside, Kazu had actually managed to luck out quite a bit — he was actually quite pleased with what he’d been able to put together, and on such short notice!
The main piece to his outfit was a bright red blazer, with golden-worked bands around the wrists and matching golden buttons, which made his crimson red eyes pop, magnificently. Underneath was a white collared shirt, with a matching red tie, and a pair of light grey pants to compliment the color scheme. He had even managed to accessorize properly to suit the outfit: a white flat cap, with gold worked around the bottom edge and a slight brim, sat atop his short charcoal black hair, which stood out quite nicely in contrast, and a pair of white formal shoes completed the look. The boy’s toothy grin, which exuded confidence and pleasure, was the final cherry on top.
Kazu bounded down the streets with the furry snake creature close on his heels, trying not to run so much as to ruin his outfit with sweat, anxious to locate where this ‘Lord Nobu’ kept his estate. Kazu had never been to a fancy party before, even though he’d wanted to go whenever his father, Ryuzaki Ryohei, had mentioned one was to be occurring. Enishi and Raizo had always been able to go, but never Kazu.
’This time, I’ll finally get to see what it’s like! If I can ever find where it is!’
Eventually, Kazu noticed a long stream of people heading in one, particular, direction. They all seemed to be wearing fancy clothes to rival — and in many cases, completely outclass — his own ensemble.
’What are the odds of there being two soirees on the same day, at the same time?’ Taking a chance, he followed the crowd towards a nearby house that was just as grand as to be expected. As he looked around, he was greeted by the sight of a small group of four mingling outside the door; of which, he recognized two of them, immediately.
”HEEEY! AUNTIE KASEN!” Kazu shouted out towards the group, waving his hands excitedly (and rather inappropriately for such an occasion) in order to get the group’s attention. As he approached the group, the furry snake bounded up from behind him towards its summoner, Kasen, having finally completed its task of getting the young Ryuzaki boy to the event. Kazu was right behind it, a smile on his face and a hop in his step.
”I am so excited! I’ve always wanted to go to one of these sorts of parties!” Turning to the other person he recognized — the red haired man standing next to Kasen — Kazu gave him a smile and a quizzical look.
”Kaen! Or…should it be Kaen-sensei? Thank you for those kunai — I meant to send you a thank you message back for them, but…I kind of got caught up with my training, and the village, and…yeah.” Realizing a little late that he probably shouldn’t be bringing up The Swarm at a social event meant to be relaxing and distracting, Kazu just kind of coughs and try to play it cool.
”So, how do you know Auntie Kasen? Did she invite you too?”
In between catching up, the young boy turns to the other two people he doesn’t really know — the golden haired girl, and the man with the eyepatch — and says simply:
”Hi, I’m Kazu! Nice to meet you!”
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ooc: Let's have some fun! Long post is long, but I'm here and ready mingle~]