she must be da money [open]

[j]

It was an oddly cool morning that Tomomi'd decided to adjust the typical route of his daily calisthenics routine. Tomo'd unfortunately become bored of his typical course. Considering the fact that he'd only been a member of this hidden village briefly, this revelation was only somewhat concerning. Tomomi's urges to go out and interact with people was a feeling he'd never felt before, and therefore had attempted to suppress his outgoing impulses.

The cool humidity rested heavily upon the grassy Kusagakure. Tomomi jogged silently through the thoroughfare. Tomo wore his usual attire. A grey hoodie and sweats with a beannie and flats. It was early, so most of the shops weren't open yet. A few of them were just setting up their kiosks, or opening the doors to their shops. All of the individuals Tomo laid his eyes upon seemed to be busy though. At least at first this was the case.

It only took a few moments for an average looking middle-aged fellow to call out to Tomo.
"OI GIRLY!, COME OVER HERE FOR A SEC!" The man yelped with a sizable smile on his maw.
Tomomi stopped momentarily, and peered around briefly; coming to the conclusion that surely the man wasn't speaking to him and continuing his run.

"WHERE YA 'GOIN, KID?" the man yelled some more. This time Tomo stopped and turned towards the voice. Upon his cheerful beckoning, Tomo trotted over to the chap and jogged in place in front of his stall. "Have a fruit bun on the house, lassie." He said, reaching out and placing a delicious looking pastry of some sort in Tomo's palm.

"Um... Thanks." Tomo replied. Cringing when the color seemed to drain from the friendly character's face. It was always like this lately. Perhaps it wasn't quite so obvious that Tomomi was a boy? Well, whatever. Tomo took a bite of the bun and continued his run.

neko bo beko

[neko bo beko]

[ enter Harue & Ōmo ]

Ever since she met Ōmo, she can't sleep in late like she'd usually do - he was an early bird at heart apparently, always wanting to be out and about. He paces half the night, and snores the rest. So perhaps Harue is a bit sleepy.

The tired resolve melts away under the morning sun. It's such a nice day out, she can't help but thank Ōmo for waking her so early. "I guess you know best," she says to him, a hand on his massive neck as they stroll alongside each other through the streets of Kusa. She'd never seen it like this; calm and nor bustling, the shops still dim and the passersby all bleary-eyed or cheery; there was no in between with morning people. Per usual, Harue dons her usual attire; her dark hoodie zipped up, the hood laid flat under her Grass hitai-ate. Her skirt hangs around one of her katanas, but she is without her shield and otherwise mundane items. She has no spectacular plans for today, and hardly anything bad happens within the gates it seemed like. No need for weapons on a stroll through the town. She wears black tights and boots to fight the oncoming chill of the day.

"Let's go for a run!" She decides, but when Ōmo looks to her she smiles and snorts, patting his flank. "Well, not me." The large cat huffs hot air from his nose, but bows to meet her mount. Once she is safely on his back, behind the dip of his shoulder blades, she tangles her fingers in his mane and ushers him to take off. His large paws kick up small clouds of dirt as he picks up into a sprint, weaving around the few people or carts that blockade them.

All is well until the smell of something sweet catches the cat's nose. What it is with his affliction for food of all kinds, Harue will never know; but it's enough to make him slow down to a jog and lift his nose. As if instinctively, he snaps his gaze down a forked street and takes off down that direction. "H-hey!" Harue exclaims, leaning her weight down into Omo's back to steady herself on top of him. Her teeth chatter as his feet thud loudly against the earth, carrying them through the wind. "Where are we going?" She squeaks. And then he's at a near halt, sniffing the air again as he walks slowly. Dazed and wind-swept, Harue jerks idly backwards and catches herself with her hands in Ōmo's mane. She flattens her hair and grumbles. "Sheesh, Ōmo, what's the hub-bub?" She trails, blinking when her pink eyes fall on who they're following. It's a young girl with long orange hair, and a beanie and a... a pastry? Harue seethes, lowering herself to hide behind Ōmo's block head. "Ōmo! No!" She hisses, tugging on his mane a bit. He blows hot air from his nose and shakes his head slightly, but not enough to throw off Harue. Gently, he large heart nose nudges the girl in her sweater and beanie at the small of her back.

j

[j]

Truthfully, Tomomi'd noticed the lion and girl several moments before they'd arrived to pester him. Even without his Byakugan active, he became aware of the large creature as it'd made no attempt at disguising its approach. Tomo was at the moment,
quite enjoying the bun he'd just been given. It was composed of a light fluffy floury substance, and filled with some kind of citrus jelly. Ignoring the large lumbering quadruped barreling in his direction, Tomo noshed another bite. But just then-

NUDGE

"OI!" Tomo cried out in his.. definitely not feminine intonation. Abruptly, Tomomi spun around to reveal a lion. He wasn't totally scared, but more shocked to see that it was in fact quite pink and staring longingly at the snack in his hand. Tomo stood silently for a moment, before moving the bun back and forth, perhaps hoping for an amusing reaction from the lion. After a bit of this, Tomo lost interest and tossed the bun upwards for the lion to catch and enjoy for himself.

"Hello?" Tomomi finally spoke to the girl perched on the lion's back. He'd been blatantly ignoring her until now, but if she happened to be a comrade, he should at least feign courtesy, right?

neko bo beko

[neko bo beko]

"OI!"

Harue's eyes widen, her head moving further down behind Ōmo's head as she hears the not girl exclaim and spin on his heel. Ōmo sniffs deeply, can smell the lingering evil that sits curiously under the boy's core, but ignores it in favor of the treat. When the strangely-eyed boy moves the sweet back and forth, Ōmo's massive head turns side to side as his large, chocolaty eyes follow the motion. The movement even brings Harue's pink head up and over her equally as pink companion to catch a glimpse of the young boy teasing her lion. It draws a small smile to her lips, but when the treat is tossed into the air, Ōmo's front paws lift heavily off the ground as he rises to catch it. "Ah!" Harue pipes, her throat rasping nervously as she's bucked off of Ōmo. She slides off his rear and plops on the ground, a small noise from her throat accompanying the thud of her rump on the ground. While Ōmo's jaws move with wet smacks, he regards the boy kindly and lowers his head, eyelashes fluttering as if to say thank you, before turning heftily around to look Harue over.

"Hello?" The boy eases, and Harue is quick to jump to her feet and brush herself off. Eyes cast down on the scuffed dirt, then to Ōmo with a smile on her lips as she pats him. "Hi!" Harue's lips are tugged into an outgoing smile, her pink eyes glittering excitedly. Not only was she excited to meet new people, she was also all too flattered by people being nice to her lion. The offered treat to the pink king was also a offering to her, and as far as she was concerned, it was considerably a gift among friends. Or maybe she's just too social for her own good. "Sorry about that," she finally looks the boy over, finally taking the time to allow her eyes to grace his face. He is impeccably childish, and also quite adorable - but seemingly lost. In one way or another, Harue could sense it; lost or bored, for sure. She tilts her head with a sincere smile still revealing her teeth. "He's got a nose for days." She laughs a little, hand to her stomach for the duration of her airy amusement.

She places a hand on Ōmo's head, and his eyes close against the touch. He hums audibly from his chest, an almost purr, in the boy's direction. "This is Ōmo. And I'm Harue! Are you new to Grass?" She tilts her head, still regarding the ginger with her own kind eyes though her expression has changed from friendly to curious. Ōmo seems to be preoccupied now, taking a moment to pace around the young boy and sniff him, nudging his nose under his arm to perhaps rub his cheek into the ginger's side. All the while, Harue continues talking. "I haven't seen your face around before. But it's good to see new Genin!" Always the talker, Harue wouldn't notice if her questions became a bombardment.

j

SPOILER: Click to show

Ōmo smelled your NEUTRAL, EVIL alignment, but deems you safe. Probably because you bribed him with sweets!

Detect Evil
Rank: "C"
Skill: TaiJutsu
Effect: A technique where an animal companion is able to sense if there is evil in a person by using their animal instincts.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: An animal has a keen sense that no other person has. With this type of keen sense it can read one's body type, feel the intentions emitting from the body, as well as get an understanding of everything. It doesn't matter what a person does, the way they stand, how calm they are, how much they move, how they walk, or even the heartbeat of the person, an animal is able to sense the type of person they are. With this technique the animal is capable of figuring out of the person is perhaps an Evil intentioned character. This will help the animal feel threatened or feel more at eased, or to perhaps not even care or feel if one is perhaps suspicious in some way.
Limit: Must have an Animal Companion.

[j]

The girl fell off the lion as it reached up to catch the bun. Falling a few feet towards the earth and landing roughly on the road in a comical sort of way. She then quickly jumped to her feet and brushed herself off and greet Tomomi excitedly. It was at this moment that Tomo had the sort of inner realization that you quickly suppress after figuring out how utterly stupid you're being. Tomo's eyes widened in a sort of horror and shock, and his mouth fell agape.

This girl's speaking. A lot. Should I have run instead? Can I still run away? These thoughts and more filled his mind in order as Harue introduced herself and her lion. Before Tomo could issue a response, the lion, Ōmo, began to sniff and nudge Tomo some more. He pushed his head under Tomo's arm, which prompted him to gently scratch the lion on the top of his head, just above his brow. Tomo glanced at Harue again and opened his mouth to respond, but was instead interrupted.

Harue's further chatting brought about an assumption that Tomomi was a Genin. This puzzled him at first, but discarded those thoughts quickly and decided to overcome his shyness and introduce himself. "I'm Tomomi." He said somewhat confidently. Somehow he couldn't manage to further explain his presence, but that'd do for now.

neko bo beko

[neko bo beko]

She's said too much - she can see it on the young boy's face. Harue's sure that if it weren't for her pink beast making friends with him, he'd have run. She smiles sweetly and exhales softly, relaxing in her stance a bit as she watches Ōmo get some well-deserved head scratches. He purrs and seems to be enjoying it well enough, only moving away when Harue holds out a hand to him. He lifts his gaze to her sluggishly, huffing as he crosses the short gap between the two new acquaintances, circling Harue and coming to sit next to her. When his large rump hits the ground, a small dust of dirt unsettles around him for a moment. Harue puts a hand on his head, idly playing with her fingers in his mane. "Tomomi," The kunoichi parrots as though she is drawing a conclusion. Her pink eyes lower as she wrings her hands in front of her, realizing how strongly she'd come on. No matter; she was still soaring through the clouds and in a particularly good mood. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a talker."

This wasn't untrue; the pinkette could go hours without drawing a breath if it meant the exhilaration of talking to someone new or telling a story. Her new calm and withdrawn attitude still radiates a glowing vibe. Pink eyes catching empty white ones, Harue finally registers the complexity of this boy. So many things were different about him, but so many things made him mundane. He was both interesting and plain, exciting and drawl. It absolutely captivated Harue, and she wanted to right her flamboyant greeting. "Tomo...? Is it alright if I call you that?" Their height, honestly, is not very different. She can hear in his voice, however clearly nor feminine, that he is young. Perhaps not as young as Chizu, but certainly not as old as Harue herself. What was it with tall children? Or was Harue just short?

j

[j]

It was unfortunate, but Harue wasn't the only one to err in their approach to introducing themself to the other potentially close friend. The ever deadpan young man's thoughts fell upon his face like rain on a windshield. He'd thoughtlessly made his apprehension obvious to the girl before him. He didn't particularly care for her concern, but it was a kind gesture of hers nonetheless, to apologize for inspiring his discomfort.

Harue then observed Tomo for a moment. The awkward moment seemed to draw on forever, before she broke their silence. It was probably also apparent how relieved Tomo felt upon her apology. She then further attempted to close their distance by suggesting a good-natured nickname. The name Tomo brought about a sense of nostalgia, although he'd never been dubbed that as far as he recalled. But then Tomo forgot to respond, and instead use this false opportunity to instead examine his newly found acquaintance.

Tomo blinked several times while examining the teen. Leaning one way and then the other in a surprisingly innocent manner. Surely being friends with a person like this would be more of a hassle than merit, right? Determining that the disadvantages outweighed the benefits, Tomo quickly turned around, decidedly finished with their introduction.

"K I gotta go. Call me Tomo if you want."

And with that, Tomo resumed his jog in the opposite direction.

neko bo beko

[neko bo beko]

When the boy leans from side to side, Harue feels like she's on display. She blinks, turning her pink eyes away quickly with a dumb smile on her face, though it's more of confusion. "Uhh.." But then her expression changes from dumbed to shock, the effeminate boy turning away and tossing something short over his shoulder to her. And then she's alone, left in the dust, and she's deserted to stand their staring at the disappearing boy. She's not sure if she should feel hurt or relieved, but mostly she's just... confused. The weight in her chest squeezes though, blinking as she turns her head to look at Ōmo. The lion turns his maw to her, his eyes full of the same confusion.

"Should we follow him?" Harue asks sincerely, to which Ōmo blows hot air from his nose and stands up, turning his rear on the direction the boy had run off to. Expectantly, he looks to his master. Harue splays out her hands, frowning at Ōmo. She gestures to him. "We can't all be buttheads like you, Ōmo." She says to him, and he grunts and turns his head away, tail flicking back and forth. Harue looks to the receded boy's direction, a puzzled look stuck on her face. "Maybe he needs a friend," Harue murmurs softly to the pink beast beside her, but he doesn't respond save for smacking Harue's shoulder with the tuft on the end of his tail, one of his ears pivoting towards her voice. The pinkette grunts, landing an equally as soft smack to Ōmo's hip. She rests her hand in his soft fur. "Butthead," Harue repeats softly to herself as she glares at her hand, though if she's talking about Ōmo or Tomo or Harue, she's not sure.

"Fine," Harue huffs, turning and running her hand over Ōmo's back as she approaches his face. He looks lamely at her and she sighs, patting his neck. "You're the one who got us into this mess, Ōmo." She teases as he bows to let her climb onto his back. He stands up and Harue wobbles slightly, but then they're moving. Ōmo, going exceptionally slow to spite the pinkette perched on his back, turns around and moves down the same street Tomo disappeared down.

j

[j]

If Tomo were the sort of person who felt shame in the methods through which he chooses to communicate with people, he'd probably be berating himself mightily at this moment. Instead, he felt just a twinge of awkwardness, that he momentarily shook off. Friendly villagers waved and called out greetings to the new Genin as he jogged past. "Welcome to the village!" they seemed to yell most frequently. Did all of these strangers know of his acceptance to the village? Their kindness wasn't exactly lost on Tomo, but he definitely wasn't sure how to respond.

He tried waving back a few times. One time he smiled at a waving young girl, but receded as she winced in response. Tomo, in a fleeting moment of concern, activated his Byakugan to see if the girl was still there. Honestly he hadn't moved too far, as his clumsy farewell forced him to consider stopping several times. Tomo deactivated his ability and halted his trot in order to jog in place.

He turned around and faced the lion and girl pairing, waiting for them to move somewhat closer before speaking. As they slowly came within comfortable speaking range, Tomo contemplated his thoughts. While this awkward moment passed, Tomomi filled the pause with a long disfluency. "Uuuuuuuummm..." He babbled.

"I'm sorry about before. Maybe we can be friends someday?"

neko bo beko

[neko bo beko]

Somehow, Harue hadn't realized how close they were, or that it seemed like they were trying to follow him. In some way, maybe she had been following, had hoped he would rethink and want to maybe make a better impression. Harue wishes to make a better impression on her own part, as well. Though she hated feeling like she was being baited by some red string of fate, she smiled as they approached and gave a single affirmative nod in response to Tomo. She understood better than anyone how toiling the stain of making bad first impressions can be. "It's alright," Harue says, smiling.

Ōmo strides up to Tomo, stopping just next to him. His brown eyes move down Tomomi's torso, down to his still active legs. It seemed to boggle Ōmo's mind that one could pick up his feet but not move forward, and so he attempts a trot in place as well. He picks up his heavy paws, dances back and forth between them, in an attempt to mirror Tomo. Harue snorts with amusement, her own body lurching back and forth. Her hands in Ōmo's mane kept her on balance, though eye contact with the young boy was hard to maintain. Harue gestures towards him. "Do you need a ride somewhere?" When she places her hand back against Ōmo's mane, her pink eyes slide down the street. "Or a running partner?"

Ōmo's ear turns towards Harue when she mentions running.

[j]

Tomomi'd thoroughly muddled things. He'd ruined a perfectly good first impression through his social ineptitude. He wasn't sure what to do at this point. Surely he felt the necessity to express his friendly intentions to the newly found allies. Harue spent a moment acknowledging his efforts at mending their fractured perception of each other. Perhaps upon her acceptance, Harue might've noticed Tomo's face brighten for a moment before returning to its once deadpan regularity.

Continuing his jogging in place, Tomo noticed Ōmo's attempt at replicating his calisthenics. Tomo grew amused briefly, before blushing when he realized how foolish he must look. Harue then offered a couple of options for advancing their plot. Though, neither particularly appealed to Tomo's interests, the lion's ear piqued upon the mention of running. Tomo didn't especially want to run slow enough for Harue to remain attached to the lion's back, but he supposed he could amuse him another time.

"I should probably go home now, but if you'd like I can take Ōmo running with me sometime."

Tomo replied. Surely that'd improve their relationship?

neko bo beko

[neko bo beko]

The fleeting feel-good expression that molds Tomo's face does not go unnoticed, nor unappreciated. Harue smiles knowingly, nodding shortly. She pats Ōmo's head when the boy offers taking the beast on a run some day. The lion himself seems elated; his eyelids flutter and he looks at the boy in the eye, shaking his head and snorting hot air from his nose as if he accepted the challenge. The pinkette mounted on his back can't help but smile, threading her fingers through the soft pink locks at the back of her beast's neck, behind an interested ear. "I think Ōmo would like that."

As if pulling a horse around, Harue gives a slight tug to the lion's mane. He huffs and begins to turn, his large feet picking up dirt. Turning her head over her should in time with Ōmo's pivot in the opposite way, Harue continues. "I live nearby here. I'm sure we'll run into each other again!" In a beat, the beast takes off. Harue crouches on top of him, her knees in his ribs as she lifts one arm over her head to wave back at Tomo. "Until then, Tomomi!" Trailing dustbunnies, the two disappear into the morning.

[ exit ]

j