What poor people say (Karai, Kiroku, Shiki, Shin)

[Hazumi Kiroku]

A golden haired youth sat within the frosted glade in the plains outside of the village walls. This young man had only just arrived at the great village a few days prior with his younger sister and new found ally accompanying him. At the time he had been sick and feeble from a lethal mistake he had made in the forest, but was slowly recovering thanks to his younger sibling's amazing skills in botany. Though sickness did not stop him from worrying over subjects such as citizenship, food, housing, and now money. It came as an immense relief when the village gave his sister and he a home to live in and food to eat as long as they became shinobi for the village and waged war on it's enemies. In that time all three had grown stronger, smarter, and prospered under the brutal yet effective teaching styles of the cloud academy. The boy, bordering on young man, found it almost surreal and odd that they had actually managed to survive that long, and even more so that they had thrived in such a hospitable environment.

A heaving sigh escaped the academy student as he hoisted his body into a sitting position, eyes training ever so slightly away from the sun yet tracking it's movements. It was nearing afternoon and he had hoped that the other two would have been able to get up and escape their torpor for morning exercising. 'You can never run enough' was his motto and he stuck to it, training to increase his speed and endurance so he could ensure his continued survival. 'That and never fighting when I don't need to.' he thought in a bored tone. The boy who never stopped grinning was now frowning at the sky as boredom quickly clouded his mind, forcing him to rock back and forth on the ground in agitation at the tardiness of his friends.

 

[Hazumi Karai]

Re: What poor people think (Karai, Kiroku, Shiki)

Having overslept as per the usual; the carefree Karai had woken up rather late. It was almost midday before the young kunoichi in training managed to make it out of the household that her and her brother shared. She was in no rush to get to the training site that Kiroku had picked out beforehand however. Karai was far more interested in browsing around town for plant life. She had extended her reach of medicinal herbs to poisonous as well, though she wasn’t entirely sure how to properly mix the plants, it was enough to have the herbs in stock for now.

“Aw crap! Where did I find those herbs the other day..? I… I have no clue…” Karai hung her head while scratching the back of her neck. Glancing up, she found that the day was going by rather quickly. “Uh-oh, brother’s going to scold me.” Karai frowned, her left eyebrow twitching vehemently. “No more time to waste!” She called out before hopping up to a nearby tree limb. Dashing to another, the toes on Karai’s left foot caught the underside of the next limb, not quite making the leap. She swung forward and darted for the ground, landing face first before her body flopped loosely to the right. “Ow… Maybe I should just walk…” She finally managed to pull herself to her feet before bolting over to the plains inside the village.

It didn’t take much longer after she began racing toward her destination that she made it there, surprisingly in one piece considering how clumsy and uncoordinated she was. Scanning the area, it didn’t take long for her to spot Kiroku who had seemed to be waiting, probably for at least an hour or two. Karai shuddered and smiled nervously. “He won’t be too mad, right..? Ehhh, I’m gonna die today. I just know it!” She exclaimed before dashing over to Kiroku with her arms extended from her sides, mimicking that of a bird without the flapping motion. She dashed over to Kiroku with a smile on her face, feigning ignorance of the situation. Upon closing the gap between the two, Karai called out to her brother. “Nii-san! Did I miss anything?! I found some uncommon plant life on the way and figured I’d stock up! Sorry!” She said while circling the boy sitting on the ground. Eventually Karai hopped directly in front of Kiroku with charisma and plopped down in a sitting position before she pulled out a vial of medicine from her Cloud uniform and sat it in his lap. “I changed the formula a bit, added some things and took out others. It should be much stronger. But hold your nose, it’ll taste really nasty!”

[MFT; WC: 451]

 

[Dokuro Shiki]

Re: What poor people think (Karai, Kiroku, Shiki)

It was a late morning when Shiki had awoken, following a night of restless slumber. He had spent the day prior practicing his speed and accuracy; jogging about town and throwing jagged rocks through pinned up pieces of paper he had found. Though his leg muscles were only a tad sore, the sleep deprivation prevented him from leaving on time. Instead, he would be lying on his back, staring up at the blue sky up above for an amount of time he couldn't determine. Every time he had fallen asleep that night, he soon found himself awoken by reasons unknown. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times upon exiting the alley, combing it and removing the knots Eventually he would rise up to his feet, beginning his walk towards Karai and Kiroku's location, leaving the alleyway from which he dwells upon a stack of old newspapers.

He made his way through the village to the forest. As he ducked under a few branches, entering the forest he would begin to pick up speed. His speed escalating into a jog, he would continue to quicken his pace. Though he hadn't begun to fully run, his jogging carried him fairly swiftly across the ground, careful not to trip over one of the overgrown roots along the way. As he traversed the woodlands until he heard the soft babbling of running water. Shiki stopped and began to slowly shut his eyes, listening for the direction in which the sound was coming from. To him it had sounded as though it was coming from the north west which was out of the way, though not by much. "Screw it," he thought to himself. He was already going to be late. He altered his positioning slightly and began to jog in that direction until he had stumbled upon the creek. He paced himself slowly as he approached it, cautious. Just before he was close enough for his black boots to get wet he had kneeled down and scooped up some of the water between his two palms. The first scoop went into his mouth, down his throat and quenching his thirst. Before he knew it, he was knocking back several palm fulls of water, about six in total before he fully submerged his head into the water and rinsing out all of the grease and filth. As he pulled his head back out, he swiftly shook it back and forth like a dog to clear out the excess water. The rest would dry within time, for now, he had people to meet.

As Shiki continued his steady jog into the jungle he would begin to hear voices in the distance, too distant for him to make out. He slowed his jog into a quick walking pace as he approached the voices. s he continued along, his eyes would dart from side to side, on watch for anything that may happen until he reached a clearing. The sight was rather easy on the eyes, it was closing in on the afternoon with the sun shining down through broken clouds. The sunlight reflected off of the thin layer of ice frosted on the grass below, and some shining through in between the trees behind him. In the distanced he saw two small framed figures, predicting them to be his friends. He walked even more slowly as he shortened the distance between them, throwing an arm up into the air slowly to indicate his arrival provided they look this way. His hair was still wet, and thus weighed down at the moment and framing his face instead of being messy and sticking up. His dull yellow eyes watching the two figures as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his blue jacket.

[MFT; WC: 629]

 

[Hazumi Kiroku]

Re: What poor people think (Karai, Kiroku, Shiki)

Kiroku's face scrunched at the sight of a vial clasped within his sister's hands, the sickly aid once again appearing to ruin his good mood. It still confounded him as to why his sister insisted that he continued to administer the bitter medicine to his system when he felt fine, but when he complained she gave some rudimentary explanation about poison and it's long lasting effects. Her ability to appear innocent even when guilt confounded, and worried him slightly if he was going to be honest, him. His hands scrambled to remove the medicine from his lap as Karai placed it down, holding arms length away with a twisted frown marring his face. "Guh, this sucks..." Two fingers came up to undo the wooden stopper jammed into the top of the vial, removing it and placing it into the grass with the same caution one would have when handling the most dangerous of acids. "Best to get it down with I suppose." His head tilted back and heavy gulps resounded as he drained the medicine in as few sips as he could, yet he still wretched as the aftertaste permeated on his taste buds as if a new disease was taking place.

The academy student unclasped a canteen from the back of his pants and quickly downed half of the water within to be free from the horrid taste. This was when he spotted Shiki making his way towards the two, arm raised to signal them an easy hello, while Kiroku wiped his mouth on his long, white sleeve. His childish melancholy broke as a grin spread from ear to ear and he eagerly waved back to his new friend, although they had not known each other for the longest of times he felt that he could understand the pale haired youth. "Finally getting here, eh?" he pronounced to the two of them, even though he had already known his sister was there. Now that he thought about it, he was actually a bit grateful that his sibling had thought to make him more of her potion so he could accompany them on any adventure they might want to go gallivanting on this night.

[MFT; WC: 364]

 

[Shu]

Deta ~ ???​

"You should not exert yourself too much. I have already stated what the dark charka is doing to you." A shrouded figure said as he walked side by side with Hayata Shin.

"You have said that several times, Deta. I know." Shin responded. His face buried under a thin notebook with black leather binding. He calmly closed the book as he slide it underneath his cloak. The gentle breeze caressed their path flickering strands of fallen leaves. It was a calmly day yet there was many things troubling here and he was hoping that would be relaxing like the emollients applied to coarse skin. Instead, he was bombarded by the austere Deta who would not allow Shin to fall in his own velleity.

"Yet, you still are going to continue this path? Your reliance with those demon hunters is an overestimate. The probability that they will fail or even if pursue your goals is very low and I know you have conjectured several contingency plans but all of this is waste of energy. You are better off seeking ending the contract and efface this foolish quest." He continued.

Shin glanced back at him. He could not see Deta's countenance despite being overwhelmed by the ascension of the rising sun. Nonetheless, Shin would not have gotten anything from a being who could express no emotion. Everything he said was logically but Shin vehemently believed that his plans would succeed and for the betterment of the village. The two remained silent enjoying the scene before introduce by a small gathering -- three children sitting and standing enjoying themselves. There was two boys and one girl perhaps between nine to twelve years old.


"Good morning. What brings you three in the middle of this forest?" Shin asked. Shin stepped closer near the visage of cascading light revealing his robes. The serene weather had influenced Shin's attire instead of the heavy cloak he adorned a light cloak that warped around his body like a large shroud. His body was covered including most of his face which obfuscated by an elevated collar. The designs painted on his cloak were enticing but simple. On the rim of the cloak were balloon shaped clouds colored in dark gray and on the back were two wide slips that showed Shin's clothed legs. His eyes were hidden under tinted blue-greenish glassed that reflected against the rising sun.

The black robbed figure beside Shin stood by remaining silent as it analyzed the situation.

[Thanks for allowing me to join. I will post as frequently as I can]

 

[Hazumi Karai]

Karai's face scrunched up as Kiroku spouted complaints about the medicine's taste "Bah! The best medicines are always the most bitter! You had better stop whining before I really give you something to cry over!" Her voice was a dull roar despite being less than three feet away from him. Though for her brother's sake, she hoped that would be the last vial she'd have to give him. One taste of it had her doubled over for half an hour. The sheer thought of the taste sent a chill up her spine, unable to hold back a body-wide cringe as Kiroku downed the entire concoction. "Eheh... At least it's all been working. ...Right?"

She tilted her head to the side, waiting for a response from Kiroku until she saw Shiki approaching from the forest. "Oh hey, it's lazy bones!" Karai hopped up and offered him a wave. "What took you so long?!" She quickly sprung up to a standing position before leaping over Kiroku, her sandals grazing his hair on the top of his scalp as she did so. An audible crunch could be heard with each step as she landed and jogged over to Shiki due to the grass that had been frosted over. Though she stopped in her tracks at around halfway between the boys, noticing two more figures approaching them.

The presence of two new people caused Karai to stand in one spot, squinting at the two newcomers. "Hey Kiroku, did you invi-..." She began to ask if there were more people coming until her jaw dropped open, taking a step forward to scan them further. Upon doing so, she had finally realized that it was the Raikage, and someone else she hadn't seen before. Though that didn't matter, did it? The Raikage had approached them! It took Karai everything she could to hold back from dashing over to the man and cling to his face. She felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and admiration for the leader of the village that had so willingly taken them in. She had heard the Raikage's question, though Karai struggled with herself to form a coherent sentence. "I.. Uhhh.. You.. Raikahhhh... Uh, training! We were going to train, sir!" Karai had managed to sputter out.

[MFT; WC: 375]

 

[Dokuro Shiki]

Not just in response to Kiroku's question, but also to acknowledge their presence Shiki had lifted his head up into a nod. His dull eyes darted from the left to the right, observing the brother and sister. His left brow furrowed as he witnessed Karai quite literally leap over her brother. As she approached him he would shrug his shoulders, his sealed lips slowly parting to give his usual short and sweet answer. "Overslept," he lied. It was quite the opposite actually, and it led him lie in his 'bed' until he felt like getting up. He slowed his pace into a slow shuffling of feet as he approached Karai, standing no more than five meters in front of her before spotting, spotting the look of awe plastered onto her face. He rotated his heels, spinning his body around into a near one hundred eighty degree turn to see the cause of the young girl's attention.

Shiki closed his eyes half way, squinting them to get a better view of the two figures approaching them. As they shortened the distance between them, his head tilted, dropping to his right ever so slightly. He heard Karai's rambling, but he couldn't understand why she was rambling to begin with. Who were these men, and what were they doing here? Shiki did not recognize the man speaking to them as Raikage, as he had never seen the man and heard very little about him aside from being the one to run the village. In fact, his stay in Kumogakure no Sato may even be illegal. While the others had spoken to others to get a place to stay in the village, Shiki only followed them into the village before going off on his own. He would know even less of the cloaked individual walking beside him. As per usual, he would let Karai talk. As he thought about it, he believed it would have benefits, letting her do her thing. If these two were hostile in any way, they may be more inclined to show mercy to a young girl. It was also less talking for him to do, which was always a plus. He had grown rather withdrawn to the concept of associating to others. It had only been not long passed a week since he had left his old home, so he would be cautious, a very small voice in the back of his head, almost nonexistent, telling him that they were sent by the Kaguya ichizoku to retrieve him once more. He had high doubts for it, though. He firmly believed that if his family were to find and bring him back forcibly, it would be by the hands of his father. Still though, it didn't hurt to expect the unexpected...

[MFT; WC: 462]

 

[Hazumi Kiroku]

A glob of spit would land on the grass next to his leg, his tolerance for the taste waning and forcing him to bite into a cracker while spitting the excess fluid from his mouth. His sister knew how to make potions as if she was an expert botanist, but even her concoctions had side effects, such as the overproduction of saliva. He eyes spied the approaching form of their Raikage and his spine straightened, he knew little about the enigmatic man standing beside him, but he did understand that a kage was so far above him that it would be like comparing the ocean to a droplet of water. His hands braced onto his knees but the groan of pain that came with sitting in the same spot of hours was unavoidable, and he dearly hoped it did not make him look like a fool to his kage, or the stranger next to him.

His hand clasped unto his younger siblings shoulder as she continued to make a fool of herself before the master shinobi, his own face splitting into a sharp grin, psychological defense mechanism or not it was difficult to stay collected with such a surprise. "What she means, sir, is that we were going to spar a bit here, you can share this place with us if you'd like, enough space for us both, eh?" he said with ease that beguiled any nervousness he could have had, if he thought on it hard enough then the Raikage was just another person. A scary person that could unmake him, but a person none the less. Of course the only member of their little group was silent at the moment, the ex-kaguya skulking at his periphery and wisely keeping his mouth shut, there was no telling what would happen if both of his friends made fools of themselves.

[MFT; WC: 310]

 

[Shu]

"Ah. It is nice to see vigilant students ready to improve themselves." Shin said with a clandestine grin hidden underneath his elevated collar. His cheekbones were slightly raised and his countenance with curiosity wondering what exactly they planned on doing. The younger pale boy who grasped the girls shoulder with tenderness and familiarity.

"What she means, sir, is that we were going to spar a bit here, you can share this place with us if you'd like, enough space for us both, eh?" The boy said with a questionable grin.

"No that is alright, son. I was only walking through the forest to collect my thoughts. However, I am curious to know where your skills are at. If you do not mind?" Shin asked. Regardless of the answer, Shin's shrouded companion did not wish for the raikage to indulge himself in analyzing skills from novices. There were more important issues to be concern with. All of this was expressed with empty words accompanied by folding of his arms.

Shin could see that Deta was indifferent about his decision but would prefer if he would detach his sights on other things. Knowing that convincing the raikage at this point would be futile, Deta walked toward a nearby tree and slanted his back against the bark. The shadows of the branches caressed it against his body making him more invisible than he already is. Shin sat in the grass near the students before pulling out the small black leather book from underneath his cloak. The raised his head up with the sunlight clearly revealing the man's dark gray eyes.

"Could you tell me your names, students?" He asked.

 

[Hazumi Karai]

Karai was dumbfounded by the situation, sputtering like a fool up until the moment Kiroku gripped her shoulder. The sudden contact caused her to jump slightly before turning to face him. Karai scanned Kiroku's demeanor before turning to look at the Raikage. It was true that he was the top dog in the village, but she wouldn't let herself be outdone without a fight. Their day of training turned into proving self-worth to Karai. She exhaled calmly, eventually collecting herself before shooting a a cheeky grin at Kiroku. "Right then, I suppose we shouldn't waste any more time!" She called out, taking hold of his hand softly before picking it up off of her shoulder to let it drop back at his side. Hopping a few meters back, Karai flicked her right wrist, and out popped a kunai from her sleeve. Gripping onto the handle, she chucked the kunai high up into the air.

As the kunai soared upwards, Karai exchanged glances between Kiroku and Shiki, studying them closely while taking a stance, keeping her hands close together. One last look toward the kunai would reveal it stabbing into the ground. "Let's go!" She called out, making several hand signs before hopping backward and pointing two fingers at Kiroku mid-jump. "Lightning Style: Storm Bolt!" As she called out, a sudden bolt of electricity shot from her fingertips and raced toward Kiroku's right shoulder. Upon landing, she crossed her arms and slipped her hands into opposite sleeves to withdraw three shuriken per hand before tossing all six at Kiroku. Dropping a kunai out from her left sleeve, Karai grasped it and held the blade close to her wrist in a defensive manner while making a dash at Shiki. As she closed the distance, Karai hopped above Shiki, grabbing the kunai with both hands and dropping down, intent on stabbing the boy with it in a general area between his shoulders.

[MFT; WC: 319]

 

[Dokuro Shiki]

Shiki's cool and detached eyes would look to one side at the Raikage and to the other side to his assistant, a parallel game of paddle-less ping pong. He raised his left arm, using his index, middle and ring fingers of the associated hand to scratch just beneath his earlobe as he watched the two cautiously. He rotated his head to obtain view of his two comrades, observing their reactions to see how he must present himself. The clumsiness that spilled from Karai's mouth and Kiroku's respectful demeanor caused him to quit his slouch and to stand straight. He turned back to two before them to watch them more closely. "Dokuro Shiki," he responded to Shin's question with a nod, though his gaze was somewhat in between that of Shin and Deta. A short pause followed his answer before he parted his lips again, now focusing his eyes on the elderly robed man. "Yours?"

There was a soft thud not far behind him followed by a shout that caused him to turn back around to Kiroku and Karai. It was not ordinary shout, but rather more of a command followed by the sound of swift static. As he watched Karai use her lightning ninjutsu on her brother the light from it reflected from his eyes, giving a soft blue (or yellow) shimmer to them. He took a few quick and long steps to the side to avoid bumping into the strangers and to gain distance from the other two. At this point his golden oculars were fixated on Karai as she was attracting the most movement, and Kiroku would probably be too busy with a defense and counter to his sister's sudden attack to turn on him just yet. He watched carefully as the young girl dashed for him, observing her movement up and fractions of a second after her leap. As she gained air Shiki would firmly plant his feet into the ground, giving himself a push to boost the speed of his roll forward. Just before he stopped moving he landed with his hands to the ground, in a push up like stance, heaving himself to his feet all in one quick motion. If his judgement were correct, Karai wouldn't be very far behind him and recuperating from the landing. With this in mind, he would immediately crouch and rotate his body to a one hundred eighty degree turn with his right leg extended. As he turned he subtly brought his left hand to a pouch where a shuriken would lie in wait to be thrown if needed. In doing his spin, he would hope to sweep kick her legs out from under her or at the very least knock her off balance. He hadn't forgot about the brother either, as his ears would listen for any sign of movement or sound that may come from the boy behind him.

[MFT; WC: 484]

 

[Hazumi Kiroku]

A yelp escaped the recently cured young man as the bolt of electricity raced towards him, and he was forced to roll to the side opposite of Karai and Shiki to dodge it. The six shuriken violently speeding towards him to dive to the ground and lay flat on his stomach so the throwing stars would soar over his prone form. An annoyed scowl overtook his face at his sibling's haste to being training, not even allowing for pleasantries with their leader and quite possibly being rude to him in the process. His hands flashed through seals in quick succession, for an academy student, as Shiki and Karai met for the second time, the white haired boy sweeping at his younger sibling's legs. "Earth Style: Gravel Shift!" he yelled as the jutsu activated, leaving little time for either combatant to escape the entrapping rock that spread out under their feet to knock them off balance.

"Oi, at least act like you can respect someone in a higher position, brat..." he was used to poking fun at his sister and as the older sibling he felt it was his job to chastise the younger when they showed bad manners. His gazed moved back towards the Raikage and a sheepish grin replaced his frown while he bowed to the man, confident that the other two had been momentarily tripped up by his ninjutsu, "Ah, sorry sir, she's a bit energetic..." he rubbed the back of his head before turning his body slightly to the general direction the two had been early, and he could admit he was moderately excited for training after being sick for so long and would rather not have it cut short by angering the kage level ninja.

[MFT; WC: 289]

 

[Shu]

"It is a pleasure to meet you Dokuro Shiki. My name is Hayata Shin, as you know I am the raikage. You can call me sensei if you like." Shin said with a generous grin not visibly seen due to the collar masking most of his countenance. Deta remained silent only observing the battle that was about to ensue. The rest of Shiki's companions were to preoccupied with their training hoping that their skills will reveal their identity.

The young girl was spry at best being the first person to act using her ninjutsu skills to thrust lightning at her comrades. She would quickly followup her ninjutsu will with an array of thrown shuriken which precariously grazed her target. Shin could see a kuani slipped out of her sleeve as she lifted it toward herself horizontally before pursing Shiki. Shiki managed to dodge her attacks by countering with his agility. Unbeknown to the two of them, the third boy shook their balance using a earth jutsu.

"Oi, at least act like you can respect someone in a higher position, brat..." He said rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, sorry sir, she's a bit energetic..."

"It is alright. You should be more free around me, although in battle your ally should be your misdirection." Shin began as he turned his face toward them.