komorebi [ team thread | private ]

[DJ Loki]

The numbers of her clone were slow dwindled down, by the pink one, and the one she rocked like a hurricane. However, they would completely disappear as the Mute one slammed his fist into the ground. The shock wave was enough to blow all of the Selah's in the area. Save for one, the original. She stood there, with her waving the dust and debris out of her face as her red eyes kept a firm gaze on the trio. They were starting to get it, but they weren't there yet, and it also seemed a leader was starting to bud her head, although at the moment she was still unsure of what she wanted to do, still too passive with her commands. Selah avoided being hit by the blast of force by erecting a barrier of force herself. The boys blow would have counted if it connected, and she told herself that she wasn't going to use Shape Transformation for this exercise.

However, she wasn't going to let them pass with an AOE attack like that, no, she wanted them to actually put some effort, some thought into this. Plus... she wasn't aware that mute SOB had something like that up his sleeves. She knew in terms of strength, as the group was currently composed, he would be the powerhouse, but that... was unexpected. It did seem to take a lot out of her though, "Impressive... but I wonder... You got another one in you?" Just then 10 more clones began to form, all of them repeating what she said after they were sprang into life in the surrounding area.

"You got another one in you?"

[neko bo beko]

It was strange carrying someone else beside her on the beast's back, but she eased into it quickly. Working together, they took out a few of the clones and she couldn't help but feel giddy. Continuing to feel this rush, her heart skips a beat when Tomomi disappears only to reappear on Ōmo's other flank. The beast blinks, startled, at the boy as Harue and Shida watch him display a massive power. Beaming, Harue clapped her hands together once, her claws seemingly cast away. "Amazing!"

As the dust settled, Shida was left standing among the rubble. She looks only slightly scuffed up, but that was a slight bit more than the pinkette had hoped to achieve at the start of this whole silly exercise. The kunoichi's face fell slightly, her fingers falling back to lace into Ōmo's mane as they all watch as their sensei brings up another set of confusing clones. Harue crinkles up her nose; still, they do not feel as particularly dark as her own aura. They were something different. But still, they disappeared at contact and that was something to work off of. Harue weighs their team's options; although Tomomi did have the means to take out this new set of clones, she knew it would probably wipe him out, or at least drag him further down. She blinks, looking over her shoulder at Shida briefly before deciding that, since he's been throwing nothing but shuriken, he wouldn't have anything to the same effect as Tomo. Harue sighs; she didn't, either. Throwing together a quick string of handseals, Harue sent out another set of illusory bolts. Repeating the process once, she'd send out two sets of the bolts over Tomo's head in total.

As the last set leaves her fingers, Harue fetches a handful of senbon between her fingers, four or five between each gap, and sends them sailing behind her barrage of weak inky projectiles. "Sheesh," Harue utters. "Tomo, I hate to ask this, but.. you got another one in you?" As the words fell from her lips, she'd throw together one last set of handseals, projecting the entirety of her aura on Tomomi from her place on Ōmo's back. Significantly, although it could not make up for his fatigue, Tomomi'd feel as though his feet did not touch the ground and his head did not hit the skies; he was invincible.

---

»Shadow Claws dispelled

»Illusory Bolts (x2)

»Bless | on Tomomi, Shida is in close enough proximity to be affected as well

[anon56]

Shida felt a small sense of reprieve as the clones began to disappear with the combined efforts of Harue and himself. He looked around as the noted that there had still been quite a few, it was at that moment his other comrade had displayed a very unexpected display of power. Shida covered his eyes as the force of Tomo's blow eradicated the rest of the clones. It had also left their Sensei in a situation where she had to defend herself. Shida looked over to their mentor, she seemed to be exerting herself. This notion was dashed away as another set of clones began to form around them. It seemed she had more up her sleeve.

Shida began to feel a twinge of disappointment in himself. Both Harue and Tomo had made rather valuable contributions, and what had he done? Not enough was the only answer he could come to. Shida took the last of his shuriken and did his best to help Harue dispel the clones. He looked to both his teammates and wondered what they were thinking. Shida struggled to find words of encouragement but he lacked to social skills. Shida chanced another glance over at Tomo. As impressive as his skill was it seemed to have left him winded. It soon felt as though they were running out of options.

This bleak feeling was soon dispelled by something Shida could not explain. He felt invigorated, motivated. They could do this! They would do this! Shida refused to sit on the side lines, he knew his strength would lie in upfront confrontation. Of course, such a thing would only be possible if he had his teammates to work along side him. He looked to Harue, Omo, and Tomo. For some reason he felt close to these people(and beast). He hadn't known them a day in his life but in this situation right now, he felt united. Was this something that all shinobi felt? No it was something else, a feeling that perhaps had been missing from the young mans childhood. 

Shida took in a deep breath and exhaled lightly. It was a very controlled, meditative breath. "I feel as though we're running out of options..." he said lowly. It was likely that Selah would be unable to hear, but who knew what else she was capable of. "...so let's give it our all!" Shida looked over to Tomo, his fist held out reciprocating the action he had offered when they first arrived. It was at that moment Shida would unsheathe the twin short swords that he had at his back. An aura of chakra began to flow around the young boys body then finally concentrate over the blades. Shida gave one last look to his teammates and nodded, signaling he was ready to move in.

Shida would break in to a run towards Selah. If Tomo would follow along, he would make sure to try to keep equal pace with the boy. He would also be sure to keep a safe distance of at least ten feet to his left. Had Harue decide to come along as well he would try to keep himself in the center of the trio, moving a little farther ahead. He didn't want either of them to get caught up in his attack. In the back of his mind he held a twinge of insecurity. It was very possible that neither of them would follow, both had seemed to put in a great deal of effort in the moments leading up to this. He wouldn't blame them or hold any ill will for giving their best. Thats all a person could ever ask for. 

Once Shida was within range he would begin to swing his blades swiftly towards Selah. Although he was just a genin he was quite quick due to the taijutsu training he had gone through from an early age. Of course, he had no intention of trying to land a blow, but in fact use his speed coupled with his jutsu to keep Selah at bay as best he could. He would try to create an opening, most likely for Tomo, to strike. The technique Shida was using was the blade rush, a common technique among swordsman that utilized chakra molding to coat their  blades. The effect of this would be the blade sending out the chakra in a cone wherever it is swung. It was a fairly strong attack that usually caught opponents off balance with it's surprising force, of course Selah was a very skilled kunoichi...but it was the best Shida could offer. Even so, Shida put his faith in his allies.

SPOILER: Click to show

Yaibasattou (Blade Rush)
Rank: C
Skill: Taijutsu
Special: ---
Effect: In Description
Drawback: Leaves back exposed, if the enemy can get to it that is. Heavy on chakra usage. Can only be used 5 times a day
Description: The user gathers chakra into their bladed weapon of choice and then dashes forward for about 5-10 meters with the blade pointed outward. The chakra is released in a burst that flies outward from the blade in a cone shape. Aside from the impact of the blade, the chakra involved causes the enemy to be knocked backward, breaking through most defenses. Even if the strike is blocked, the force of the chakra will usually push an opponent back, leaving them open.
Limit: Must have a bladed weapon equipped

[j]

Tomo was exhausted. He'd used perhaps his most taxing technique to no avail. There were no apparent results, and Selah remained where she stood, apparently unhindered by his extreme efforts. His posture slouched forward, hands hanging limply towards the earth in front of him. His back heaved up and down as his breath labored under stinging duress. His chakra was severely limited in a situation that had become more of a learning experience for Tomomi. His weariness was a direct result of his inadequate understanding of the art of pacing. For now he'd have to settle on a mediocre effort.

"Tch..."

Tomo's tongue clicked upon the summoning of several more clones. Harue seemed unenthusiastically ready to force another attempt at completing their task, and attacked a few of the clones momentarily. Upon her question as to whether or not Tomo could replicate his actions, he adamantly shook his head. After completing her jutsu, she cast something different. This time Tomo felt energized. His shoulders lifted, and his grim expression along with it. He felt as though he could repeat his draining technique, although he knew otherwise. Tomomi would have to carefully expend his energy in order to complete their task.

Although quite awkward, Shida then attempted to motivate the team. The boy finally reciprocated his fist bump. Tomo was ready to go. As he followed after Shida off to his left, he rapidly disposed of the left-most clones with pin-point chakra infused strikes. His fingers moved precisely, and the clones dispersed as quickly as they'd arrived. Through his teammate's efforts, he's been made aware of the fragility of the special clones. He moved carefully, avoiding Shida's strikes, coordinating so as to end up nearly three meters away from Selah to her right (Shida's left) upon finishing his last clone.

While Tomo was taking care of clones, Shida began assaulting Selah brutally, with what seemed to be somewhat skilled and powerful swordsmanship. It was plainly obvious to Tomo that he was intending to draw her attention, to lead Tomomi to an opening. Upon a lull in Shida's strikes, Tomomi disappeared again, reappearing just behind their teacher, and hopefully surprising her terribly. Another, marginally weaker palm thrust was aimed at Selah, with the intent of knocking her towards Harue. If this worked, Harue would be left with a wonderful opportunity to lay her hands upon their teacher's face.

SPOILER: Click to show

Byakugan still active
Harichakra on clones
Soul Shunt
Hakke Kusho

tags

[DJ Loki]

As they seemed to be stargazing, the Selah's would began to move around each other. A they passed over, the real Selah made a series of one handed seals positioned away from the sight of the group. She smiled at them as it seemed like they were finally starting to get it, and a leader was starting form as well. She smiled as the lot of them went on the attack once again, but this time there seemed to be more unity in their actions. The Mute Hyuuga went through her clones and would attack her unknowingly, begin as she was impossible to distinguish from these clones. As the blow seemed to hit, she let out a yelp like the other clones would have and seemed to fade away. In truth this was a genjutsu, casted to fool the young Genin.

As her Faking Death genjutsu took hold, she casually took a sit and watched what they would do next. After all of the "Clones" where gone their attacks were focused on the last remaining her. The clones could be dispelled with one blow, but they still shared her taijutsu skill. The clone dodged the illusionary bolts, and then proceeded the gracefully dance around Shida's strikes. Once she found herself an opening, the clone cocked back it's hand and was about to strike down at the boy with a powerful punch to the face. However, before she would get the chance, it received a surprise blow from the Hyuuga. The real Selah would have picked up on this, the clone was not so lucky. However, the clone too would fade away after receiving the blow and there would be no Selah in sight.

She had walked over to her Ride Back during all of the commotion, and the three of them would hear a slow clap echoing through the area. "Not bad..." Is all she said as her visage would return to reality and she would be leaning on her vehicle. "It was a graze, that I allowed for the sake of theater... but I'll count it... this time." Selah said as she would count the strike delivered to her via Tomo, when she vanished from the field pretending to a clone. "But don't let that go to your head. In a real fight you'd all be dead right now. Groups are only effective if you work cohesively. Remember that." Selah said as she began to walk towards the group.

She stopped in front of Harue and poked her in the forehead, "A group is only as good at it's leader. Do not hesitant do not doubt yourself. Even you are unsure of your actions that doubt will seep into your squad, and that could prove lethal. Understood?" After she got an answer from Harue she moved over to Tomo, "Pace yourself... Your strongest attack is rarely the best opinion for ending a battle quickly. Survey the situation properly, think, 'what happens if this doesn't work?' If the answer is anything but, 'no biggie, I can follow up with *blank*.' then that is the incorrect choice. Understood?" After she got what she assumed would be a nod she moved on to Shida, "Do not over extend yourself, because you feel the need to contribute. Cultivate your strength and stay within your limitations. Lean on your teammates when need be, because there will come a time they may need to lean on you... Understood?"

After she got her answer from Shido, she let out a sigh, "Now as I said before communication is key, but one of your members is a Mute, how doesn't know Sign Language. That will be your first task as a team... learn sign language. Any objections?"

[neko bo beko]

Although Tomomi shook his head in despair when Harue asked him if he could pull something else out of his sleeve, he seemed adamantly confident in his procedure of taking down the clones face to face. Coupled with Shida, the two took expert actions in taking them all down to the apparently real Selah. Harue beamed, tangling her fists in her beast's mane and ushering him to follow suit. Behind them by a few seconds, she was just in time to come up with her shield before her, ready to accompany Tomomi's forward push of their sensei with her own forward bash. But before she can complete the triad, their sensei plumes into nothingness. Ōmo skids to a halt, Harue blinking as she slowly relatches her shield over her shoulder blades.

Looking towards the abused rideback, the small team finds their sensei clapping. Harue wants to grimace; it feels more condescending than anything, but perhaps she was overwhelmed in any case. Unable to find it in herself to do anything but smile and beam anyways, Harue slides off of Ōmo's back. Dead or not, they were getting to know each other well enough so far it seemed. Harue was, above all else, elated to be apart of all this. Despite how apparently lame that was of her.

Sensei crosses the gap between them all, approaching Harue first. Resisting the urge to back into her beast, she stands herself tall and tilts her chin up. The poke to her forehead only draws a bubbly giggle from her lips, nodding feverishly. She was exasperated and relieved. Intently, she draws in the advice that Selah produces, wrapping her hands tightly around it and clutching it to her heart. She exhales. "Of course. Thank you, Sensei.." Apparently satisfied with her underling's response, their sensei continues to make a pit stop at each of her students' space and give them her own bit of advice.

When their sensei is not focused on Harue, the pinkette glows. She smiles dumbly, thinking too many things at once. Mostly, she was dwelling over the fact she was appointed leader. Somehow. She turns to Ōmo and hugs his face. However, when Selah has turned back to regard the whole three of them, Harue has her back to Ōmo once more and her pink eyes on Selah as if she hadn't missed a beat.

"That will be your first task as a team... learn sign language. Any objections?"

Looking around to her other teammates, the pink haired kunoichi takes a moment to process that again. She looks to Tomomi. Hadn't he spoken to her once before? Although she supposed he had seemed a bit hesitant about conversation. It made sense after a moment of pondering about it. After her quick internal thought process, Harue nods affirmatively. "Gotcha," she chimed. Would they need to go find some books on sign language? Was Selah going to teach them here, or where they to disperse and go learn it somewhere else? Maybe Chizu's mom knew sign language, she was an entrepreneur of all sorts of trades... Harue twisted up her mouth contemplatively as she waited for both her teammates and Selah to poke more at the matter.

[anon56]

And just like that it was over. Selah had been defeated! Or so it had seemed...Shida let out an audible sigh, clearly winded from his assault. The physical activity itself didn't bother him so much as the use of his chakra. It was quite a large amount in such a short amount of time. Shida wouldn't complain, especially not after the damage that Tomo was able to dish out. His cold blue eyes scanned the area, the woman had disappeared completely. Shida's attention was then drawn to the sound of a slow clapping. Like a ghost, their sensei appeared.

No matter, it had seemed as though the exercise was over. Shida sheathed his blades as his teacher began to inform them that they would all be dead had this been a real battle. A grim reminder of what they all had at stake. Shida scolded himself, had he let his emotions of camaraderie distract him? This wasn't a game, he wouldn't get stronger by paling around with these two. He crossed his arms, watching as their sensei parted advice to the each of them.

When she finally got to him he reflected on her words. He looked to both of his teammates. They were both obviously reliable in battle, although they did have their quirks. When the time came, he wouldn't let them down. He would be just as reliable. "Understood" the  young man said confidently. "Cultivate your strength..." the words echoed in his mind.

When all was said in done they had received their first assignment, learning sign language. It wasn't a bad idea considering one of them couldn't speak. Being able to communicate without speaking may actually come in handy in the field. Shida had no objections.

[j]

And then the rest of the clones were defeated. All that remained was to confront and defeat the original Selah. Except, she was nowhere to be seen. There was a moment there where Tomo was sure he'd seen something odd out of the corner of his eye, but surely it didn't matter so much now that their fight was over. With an abrupt series of claps, they were made aware of their blunder; or rather Tomomi's blunder. If any of the three of them were especially capable of detecting genjutsu, it was himself; and he'd utterly forgotten to even consider that possibility during their makeshift plan. It was his fault, and surely he needed to strengthen himself in order to prevent recurrence.

Tomo spent the very last of his energy on their final surge towards their false victory. Tomomi couldn't help but fall straight down on his posterior, letting out a mighty sigh as he went. Selah spent the next few moments praising their efforts in a sort of roundabout manner. They'd completed her test, but not nearly in a satisfactory fashion. Tomomi was thoroughly disappointed in his decision making skills, and his failure to take advantage of his strengths. These worries seemed to be written all over his face as Selah fed them a spoonfull of humble pie. Tomomi averted eye contact as Selah approached the three of them to speak of their shortcomings.

Harue was spoken to first, as the apparent leader of their trio. After Harue affirmed her lesson, Selah walked to Tomo. His averted eyes reflexively fell upon her face as she spoke her piece about pacing himself, and intelligently planning your efforts so that you don't muddle your own chances of surviving. Tomo nodded, and then Selah moved on to Shida. Shida's instructions meant little to Tomomi, whose shortcomings were purely due to rational miscalculations.

Then, to wrap things up, Selah spoke to the three of them collectively. Their first task was for each of them to learn sign language. This seemed utterly awful to Tomo, and his expression showed such an opinion. His face probably looked something like this. Why should all three of them need to learn an entire language because of one of their shortcomings? Tomomi shook his head upon the instruction, conveying his opposition.

tags

[DJ Loki]

Selah's head cocked to the side when she saw the look on Tomo's face. "Oh I'm sorry did you not want to learn Sign Language? Oh I see... well yes it does seem like a rather boring and odd thing to do right? Since you're the only person on the team that doesn't talk. I can see why you wouldn't want to do that... haha" Selah closed her eyes and shook her head affirmatively, almost shyly. It would seemingly become obvious that the tough lady act from before was all an act... right? Wrong!!!! So Wrong!!!, this shy unsure woman bit was the act. Seemingly genuine nervous smile on her face quickly faded and an almost evil frown went across her face, "Like I give a shit, what you want!!"

Selah said as she pointed at Tomo. "How the hell are you going to rely information to your teams in a crisis. How are you going to give locations for a target that only you know the location to? Hmmm? I'm already thinking of purchasing Sending gems to make up for your inability or refusal to talk, just so we can see what you sign. I heard about your... situation and I learned Sign Language... took a whole weekend out of my life, just so I would have some way to properly talk to you, and here I see you don't even know how to use it." Selah began to sign out curse words at Tomo as she talked to him. "So I'll tell you what. Tell me a story? A good one. Make me believe it, I wanna feel like I was there. If you can do that then you don't have to learn sign language. Because charades are fun... but not on the battlefield.... ooooh... that'll be your code name. Charade... nice."

Selah sat down where she was standing and then motioned for Harue and Shida to sit next to her, "Come on guys... Tomo's going to tell us a story. Sit Sit..."

[neko bo beko]

Although Shida had seemed intent on also learning sign language for Tomomi's benefit, the mute himself seemed adamant in a refusal of the suggestion. Harue tilts her head, curious as to why the boy wouldn't want to learn something so very crucial to the collective understanding among them. Harue's pink eyes slide over to Selah as she begins to coo at Tomomi, and immediately Harue can tell the woman is going to snap. The young kunoichi grimaces as, like verbal vomit, Selah berates Tomomi. While harsh, Harue understood where their sensei was coming from; communication was key, and Harue knew this. Not only would sign language aide in understanding not only Tomomi, but a silent speech they could use tactically. All around, it was a good idea. On the other hand, Harue understood Tomomi's sentiment. Feeling like the burden, like you're being pandered to for a shortcoming, it'd be embarrassing.

Selah gestures widely to Tomomi, signing an array of things that Harue doesn't quite understand. At first, she'd honestly thought the woman was stringing together a set of handseals, but none of the seals were recognizable. She wondered briefly if those things she was saying silently were perhaps particularly vulgar. The pinkette sighs, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. Sheesh, she thinks to herself. What am I supposed to do?

At the proposition of forgoing learning the silent language in favor of listening to the boy, through gestures or not, Harue looks over to their sensei quickly. A flutter in her heart, against her chest, draws a cracked syllable from her throat. Following her own guttural small noise, Selah sits in the dirt across from Tomomi and beckons the other two to follow suit. Harue swallows thickly, looking between the faces of her new team. Might as well say something.

"W-well," Harue says, nervously at first. She gains her voice once she's bent into the dirt, taking a seat adjacent to her sensei and across from Tomomi as well. Assuming Shida sits on the opposite side of their sensei, they'd be in a relative circle as her own beast rests his heavy body in the dirt beside Harue. "Regardless whether or not Tomomi-kun can speak or tell us a story through whatever other means..." She blinks, daring to glance at Selah openly. "We should still learn it together. Not just for Tomo's sake, but 'cause it'll help us understand each other. And it could be an advantage in the future." Harue looks back between her teammates' eyes as she leans against her beast, preening the king's mane. "Y'never know..."

[anon56]

Shida raised an eyebrow at the rather random rejection of their assignment. Sign language would be a fairly useful skill to have on the field, and a necessity if Tomo couldn't speak. This was for him after all. Shida shot him a look of confusion. "Whats with this guy?" he wondered. It had seemed that their new partners defiance had costed him a rather harsh scolding from their new sensei, who was now beckoning for the other members to join her for story time. Shida reluctantly walked over and took a seat next to his teacher. He watched Tomo carefully, if he could in fact speak anyone would notice Shida's irritation. Unless there was some physical limitation or religious reason , Tomo's refusal to speak would be seen as carelessness. A carelessness that could put himself and the others in danger. Something Shida would silently detest. 

[j]

Tomomi nearly fell entirely for the kind facade Selah presented to feign concern for his preferences. Her act was quickly followed by a more genuine expression of distaste, accompanied by an eruption of apparent frustration.

"Pfft."

The boy could only titter slightly as her expression contrasted so rapidly. An extremely amused expression faded rapidly as he listened intently to her lecture upon how flawed his intentions actually were. And while what she spoke of was true, it didn't particularly matter to the lad, who was thoroughly confident in his ability to communicate without speaking.

It was then, that Selah suggested the telling a story, in the manner that Tomo's most comfortable, without speaking. If Tomomi could indeed convey a story to her, in a way that she's able to thoroughly understand; the three of them would be exempt from the learning of sign language and allowed to move forward without the waste of time. Her condescending demeanor was accompanied movements of her hands and fingers, probably more sign language.

As his two new teammates sat before him, along with his leader, Tomomi began his story. He cleared his throat ironically, considering he wouldn't be using his voice for the tale. But then it began. A series of mimicking gestures, began by showing the scene of his birth. First, he sat in the position of a woman pushing a baby into the world for the first time. Then, the woman who held her baby lovingly, gently placed the baby into the hands of another, and then waved goodbye before Tomo disappeared and reappeared next to where he just stood. Tomo, who now held the baby as another character, waved goodbye to the figure he played previously. This was his birth, his mother gave the infant Tomomi to his father, and then left in order to return to her clan. Tomomi hasn't seen her since.

Then Tomo began the telling of his upbringing. The fellow from before, that caringly held the baby, placed the baby gently down on the grass, and while looking down at the grass, he took a jyuuken stance. His hands hung limply in an extremely experienced manner. Then he disappeared and reappeared about two meters from where he stood just now, in a different stance. The now apparently young Tomo looked up at the now gone figure from before, and ran forwards before being knocked down by an invisible force. This animation was meant to convey the training of Tomomi from an age unfit for any sort of training whatsoever. Tomo was training before he could even remember anything whatsoever.

Tomomi, who'd since stood up now reached down and grabbed a handful of grass. He ripped the grass from its roots, and threw the grass into the air and let it rain down on him. He then looked forward to the group, bowing slightly, hoping his intent was communicated properly. Honestly it probably wouldn't be, but we'll see.

tags

[DJ Loki]

"Soooooooooo some broad  had a baby, and that baby learned to fight?" Selah said looked on at Tomo as she titled her head to the side. Truth was she actually got much more from the story then she was letting on, but she didn't to prove a point to the mute lad. She folded her legs and placed her hands into her lap with a smile on her face. "The gest of your story is clear, but I have several questions. What's the name of the woman? What's the name of the hospital, country, city, town... hell, street, that any of this took place on? How are you going to mime that? How are you going to give a detailed account of the locations and people you have seen?" Selah, rubbed the back of her head and then stood up where she was. "This isn't just for the benefit of your team, you do understand that right? We are ninja, the bulk of our job is directly dependent on the gathering, and relaying of information. If you can't do that efficiently, then you have no business being a ninja."

Selah began to walk away from the group as she headed over to her Ride Back. "I won't force you to learn Sign Language... but I won't be involved with someone too selfish to fix his own ineptitude for the sake of those around them." She crouched down to the bike wheel, and gave it a quick patch up, it would be just enough to get her back to town. "I'll give you a day to decide among yourselves what you want to do. based on your decision, I will judge whether this team is to  remain as currently constructed... or if you lot should be ninja at all... dismissed." Selah. Started up the engine to her Ride Back and then took off down the hill side. She would leave the group to decide among themselves, what they were going to do.

[neko bo beko]

It seems her voice went unheard or simply nobody cared, and it draws an irritated sigh from her lips. She leans back against Ōmo and watches from under her eyelashes as Tomomi proceeds to make a fool of himself. Although the pinkette followed along closely, deciphering each gesture and maneuver as what it was meant to be, she knew that to an outsider looking in he was simply throwing himself around. Her pink eyes follow her pupil-less teammate's face as he conveys the story of his own birth, his own upbringing. All that Harue really took from the story was the urge to understand more, the short game of charade only telling her so much.

When Tomomi was done, Harue drags her eyes over to Selah before she's even begun talking. Like clockwork, Selah pokes holes in Tomomi's story telling, even going as far as mentioning the same thing Harue had tried to get across from her own lips. Which was, simply, this wasn't just for Tomomi. It was for all of them. Maybe Selah had heard her afterall. Regardless, Harue's expression doesn't lift or sour any further even as their sensei moves away from them. They're left with a vague threat, and Harue feels a sinking in her chest. Her throat squeezes involuntarily, and suddenly the fun she'd been having drains from her. As soon as the sound of the motor has faded down the countryside, Harue lets out a heavy and exasperated groan as she throws her weight backwards into Ōmo. "Sheesh," she grumbles, her voice inflected with irritation. Her pink eyes stare up into the clouds, tracing the sky for some kind of collective formation made out of cotton to change her attitude. "I dunno what we should do," she admits to the sky. She wonders if her teammates will hear her. "Selah will get mad if we don't learn it, but.." She scrunches up her expression. Sitting up with a soft noise pulling from her chest, she adjusts in the dirt alongside her team. "We should come up with a decision together."

In truth, Harue was hesitant herself on what to do. It would be silly to go communicationless, but it would be silly to force someone to do something they have no intent on doing. And apparently it was Harue's job to truss the three of them together and rattle some sort of answer out of the collection of them. She had no intention in pandering to Selah, nor did she want to outright upset her. She sighs when she realizes that Selah will return and call them team Shits if they don't do shit, respectively.

[anon56]

Although Shida's eyes were stuck on Tomo, who was doing his best to tell his story, the young genin couldn't care less. Why had their training session devolved into a game of charades? Why couldn't they just get on with the assignment. Such opposition to orders began to ware on Shida's nerves. Due to losing his father figure early in life all he had was the conviction of being a good shinobi, and that meant following orders to a T.  Shida rested his elbow on his knee and tucked his fist under his chin. "This is ridiculous ..."

Shida didn't say another word until their sensei had left. For the most part, his face had been rather stoic throughout this whole endeavor, but now there was a clear look of agitation on his face. He stood and looked at the two other genin. "We were given orders. Order I have no intention of disobeying..." his voice was firm and clear. His gaze was on the other boy as he said this, but he was speaking to the group as a whole. It didn't seem as though Shida was willing to negotiate on this, but even so he waited to see what the other two had to say on the matter. 

[j]

The lady left just then. Leaving him feeling like a complete fool. Tomo contemplated their reason for even being here for a moment, before determining his resolution. He would do what needed to be done. Surely he'd be more useful if he could properly speak to people with his head held high or whatever, so he needed to go. For now he'd attempt to muster the courage to declare his intentions.

"Harue..."

He spoke gently as he stepped slowly towards his friend. He looked directly into her eyes and placed his hands carefully on her shoulders. He then turned his head to face his other teammate.

"Shida."

He continued slightly. Although the words were spoken by a young man intent on vocalizing his understanding. He wasn't quite so stubborn that he'd ignore his superior and fellow genin in order to maintain his willful muteness.

"I'll get better, just wait."

And then he sped off in some direction, probably not towards the village.

[EXIT]

tags

[neko bo beko]

The following events happened too quickly for Harue to keep up with; she clambers to her feet as Shida does, and suddenly they're all standing together. Shida says he intends to learn sign language, but apparently Tomomi has different plans. Harue jostles to a straight-backed position when Tomo places his hands on her shoulders, speaking her name as if it's foreign to his tongue. The same for Shida, and then he's promising to get better - he's gone before Harue can tell him he doesn't need to get better. He's great how he is. But he's determined to fit in with them, and Harue would never deny someone that chance. She smiles and waves to him as he fades away. "We'll wait for you, Tomomi-kun!" The pinkette cheers in his direction before turning to Shida. She smiles, beaming. "So much for learning sign language, huh?" She grimaces, remembering that this one wasn't as inclined to make jokes. She smiles softly. "Wanna ride into town with me?"

Regardless of Shida's answer, Harue was on Ōmo's back and the two were heading back towards the livliness of the village, with or without her white haired teammate on the beast's back behind her.

[ exit ]

[anon56]

And for the first time ever, Shida had heard the voice of his comrade. In an instant Shida's mind filled with frustration and confusion. Had they been in a real life or death situation they might have been dead. This scenario was proof of how foolish people could be, even when there was so much to be lost. Shida opened his mouth ready to scold Tomo but then stopped. Shida was at a lost for words. The sincerity in his voice had subdued the annoyance and frustration that had swelled within the young white haired genin. It had dawned on him that perhaps that his unwillingness to speak was not a physical impediment, but a perhaps a mental one. A consequence of some unknown anxiety perhaps. It was far beyond Shida's understanding. All he could do was offer an understanding nod. An unspoken agreement.

"I'll get better too..."

Without a moments hesitation the young man climbed upon the lion, riding off with his other teammate. There was a lot Shida learned today, both about his new team, himself and the field of battle. There would be much to think about.


[exit]