Oita stepped into the village from the training field, his puppets walking along beside him as he made his way towards the ramen shop. He looked up at Casket, the large cumbersome body waddling down the street with a soft creak; no way he'd fit behind a table. With a small sigh Casket disappeared, Candle turned to Oita and gave him a small "not your fault" shrug. The two walked into the ramen shop, Oita hovering there now for the others. Candle however walked off, rubbing it's red chin with a fingerless hand as it appeared to examine the menu.
Ishiaki appeared shortly, walking up to Oita and Candle. "You don't return your puppets to their scrolls after a battle?" He asked him curiously. All the puppeteers he had encountered would always return them afterward so as to not further damage them.
Akane followed behind in a jog. Going back onto her tippy toes, Akane sat down at the bar-like table the others were at. She waved over the tender and ordered a few rice cakes with veggies.
Oita glanced up at his sensei, then seemed to look down at the floor in embarrassment. "I-I'm used to their company... I don't always send them back after I'm done" he sounded nervous, apologetic about his strange ways; Candle on the other hand turned around to Ishiaki and crossed his arms, staring at him with blank eyes that still managed to get across the word "What?" to the blind man. Only the occasional twitches of Oita's fingers gave him away as the one controlling Candle.
Kaminari came up last and took the stool near Akane. "I'm not familiar with these foods, what's good?"
"No clue..but everyone knows what rice and veggies are, right? I'm more partial to fruit though."
Akane said, handing her friend a menu. "Stay away from this- this...and....
all these here." Her pointed to all of the meals that included cooked duck, chicken or pheasant.
Ishiaki held up his hands in a surrender-like pose. "I was simply asking before I have never seen anyone do that before. It is very unique." He smiled softly, not wanting his new student to feel bad about his habits. "Because you control their movements, keeping them out is also a very good way to train your chakra control Oita." He smiled again, looking at Candle and it's obvious expression. "I must say though, I've never encountered a puppeteer who brings such character to their puppets."
Oita's face lit up for a moment in an excitement the could only be followed by the words "You should see the-!", but instead of the garbled fanboy talk of a love sick child he just caught himself, his expression slipping back to normal, and a small nod the only return "I train regularly."
"You are quite partial to birds aren't you?" Kaminari said pointing the things she wanted out on the menu for the person taking her order. She wasn't sure what the pictures where but she chose a meat dish that Akane hadn't singled out.
"You could say that." Akane shrugged, rolling her eyes lazily. "In my village, we are sent out to live in the jungle for a year to find our 'spirit' animal of sorts."
"Oh we sort of do that to!" Kaminari said excited that she'd found something in common between them "I haven't reached the level in which I'm allowed to find my animal guide, but the first task of a Smoke Ninja is to seek out our chakra type. It only took me three weeks!" Her head sort of lowered and there was a hint of disdain in her voice "Took my sister two." It was apparent that Kaminari might not exactly be very fond of her sister.
"Perhaps yours is more rare? What is hers?" Akane asked, nibbling on her rice.
"Try to be yourself Oita." Ishiaki told him calmly. "You don't have to disguise yourself in front of your teammates, or me. Now what were you really about to say?" A lifetime of being blind had heightened his other senses and he could tell that the boy had wanted to say something else simply from the tone of his voice.
"Nothing, people think it's weird." Oita mumbled slightly as he turned away from Ishiaki to gaze at the menu. The puppet gave another shrug, a shake of the head as if despairing over his master and disappeared into a puff of smoke.
"She's like my father, smoke type." Kaminari said picking up a set of chopsticks to eat with. "The most honorable ninja of our house are smoke type. I'm the odd one out having lightening." By Kaminari's doleful tone it wasn't hard to imagine that she'd been picked on because of it.
"Well- smoke seems a bit boring, don't you think? Lightning is so much more deadly and exciting." Akane said, hoping to cheer her up. She was never the best 'people person'.
"That's not what the rest of my family thinks." Kaminari said "My mother was a lightening type too but..." Her voice trailed off as her mother might not be in this realm any more.
Oita dropped his pack carefully on the floor beside their seats and shuffled in carefully beside Akane, his own food having been ordered at the counter. He didn't smile in recognition of the two or engage in their conversation, he just sat there and stared at the table.
Ishiaki moved over to his team and sat down in the last available seat at the table. "So, how do you guys like the village so far?"
"Too hectic and constructed, not enough wildlife." Akane said as the conversation shifted off of Kaminari. "Bird population and diversity is a bit low too." She looked at her master, "But other then that-" she gave a sarcastic thumbs up.
"The woods are quite close, there is more diversity so I can study different techniques. I have not had much chance to look around otherwise" Oita replied slowly "We are all from quite small villages surrounded by woods... I suppose it would be difficult for us to fully appreciate this life straight away."
"It's quite loud," Kaminari observed "And it looks like no one really knows each other, even though there seem to be hundreds of people."
"I don't much care for woods either." Akane said to Oita. "Too pointy- jungles are much more magnificent."
"Everyone here knows everyone else, or at least those who live here in the village. But keep in mind that this is a new village and so there are hundreds of people coming to see it. Lots of new faces around." Ishiaki pointed out, hoping to quell Kaminari's concerns. "It really is a magnificent place to study and learn new things. I believe that it's a wonderful idea and as long as the people stay true to the beliefs, then it has my full support."
"You must have come a great distance then" Oita said calmly, massive misty glass lenses gazing down at the table hard as if examining a pattern in order to find an answer to a personal question.
"I'm not used to seeing so many people." Kaminari said "I've seen the entire population of my village three times over already."
Akane took a few more bites of her meal. Becoming bored with the current topic, she asked, "So will we be going against the other team sometime?"
"Eventually, yes. There's sparring matches that will become scheduled and probably rather frequently seeing as at the moment you six are the only students here." Ishiaki told them. "You'll see them more and more as time goes by, but there will also be times when you don't see them for a while. Each team will be assigned different missions that'll take us all around the Islands, both as diplomats and as enforcers."
"Enforcers?" Kaminari asked "Enforcing what?"
"The laws. Because the Coalition is so new and young, it doesn't have it's own police agency yet, until the time in which a proper Police Agency can be set up, the ninja of this academy will be acting as officers of the law to ensure the safety of everyone on the islands." Ishiaki explained with a shrug. "It's nothing major really, ninja have been doing it for centuries."
"Sounds like fun." Akane said to no one inperticular as she sipped her water.
"Laws?" Kaminari asked, there where no laws in the Smoke village, everyone worked together like a giant family to make sure everyone was happy and prosperous. "What are laws?"
"You know... rules that everyone follows to keep up the standard of well being and sanctity of the land and all who reside in it. Or a set of rules that perverse human rights and belittle individuals, depending on which side you look at it" Oita said, picking a pebble out of his sandle under the desk.
"Everyone in my village works together to keep up the ...standard of well being." Kaminari said "Am I right when I ask that Laws are for the people who don't contribute, for the ones who are dishonorable?"
Finished with her meal, Akane paid the man and spun in her seat. This topic had grown old to her and her eyes were wandering around for something to do.
"You could say that, Kaminari. The Laws are for everyone, the police agency is for the dishonorable. Until they are set up, it will be our job to seek our those who have broken the laws and bring them to justice." Ishiaki clarified for her. "We'll be receiving our orders via bird messenger usually." He looked over at Akane, hoping that would peek her interest in the conversation a little. "Most villages use the same method, generally they're hawks or owls for night missions. Some of the smaller villages use pigeons or some other common bird. I've even seen bat messengers before."
It did in fact grab Akane's attention. She leaned in on her elbow and scoffed at the mention of bats. "Bats? Pfft... posers." she chuckled, rather proud of herself.
"We just had summon puppets... except the scrolls sent them to wherever you wanted them to go. You'd both have a scroll, one person would put a message in the puppet, cut their finger and send the message off with the puppet to the recipient. Unfortunately they were very expensive, took a long time to make and quite rare; most people wound up selling them off when the money started drying up" Oita said, stirring his own food around the bowl slowly as he talked.
"That's really quite an interesting mode of messaging, Oita. I have not had much experience in the area of puppets and puppeteers." Ishiaki told him with a gentle smile. In truth, the methods had always intrigued him greatly. He looked over to Akane, "Do not mock the bat users, it is difficult to find birds who adapt to live in caves. And never underestimate bats either...tricky little buggers..."
Akane rolled her eyes a bit, "Yea...sorry- I just don't see it." she admitted. "The only creatures who deserve the sky are birds."
"Bats have always been a sacred animal among my people." Kaminari said in observance "Then again all animals are sacred to those of the Smoke Village. Our bats and birds have always existed peacefully with one another."
"I'm trying to make a puppet that can fly without me having to suspend it with chakara... it's not going very well" Oita said as he took small mouthfulls of food.
"Bats are just so-" Akane faded, making a disgusted face, "repulsive. They are a bunch of mindless, screeching rats with little monster faces." she said, being a bit dramatic.
"The same could be said about birds you know. Despite their beautiful facades." Ishiaki reminded Akane coldly. "There are plenty of repulsive traits that birds have."
"Pfe-" Akane scoffed. She wasn't too fond of her teacher making fun of her spirit animals. Although she completely disagreed, she thought it best not to piss off her master. Instead, she angrily turned her head and started mumbling under her breath.
"Puppets are best... no grisly features unless you want them" Oita mumbled, pushing away his empty bowl "All you have is what you want, you make them perfect, you can keep on making them. There can be badly made puppets true... but they can always be improved on, or used for pieces."
"Well 'cept of course- they are just toys." Akane said, defending herself and letting out a bit of anger from earlier.
"In certain people's hands... yes" Oita admitted "But I... I can make them d-." He colored slightly and stopped himself, shaking his head and looking down "Yeah... just toys."
"Does your family craft them?" Kaminari asked
"My village used to be famed for their excellent puppet making, the best in the trade. Unfortunately these days you can get mass made puppets that aren't as good but are cheap. The customers buy them, they break them, they buy the cheap ones again. Our village has suffered because of this" Oita said in the same calm, slow way he always spoke in.
"You're quite big about belittling others aren't you Akane?" Ishiaki asked her coldly in response to her retort to Oita. "I will tell you this once. I will have none of that on my squad. Oita is your teammate, and you will treat him with the respect that he deserves. Understood?"
"Belittling? He is the one that said 'puppets are the best' and I was merely pointing something out." Akane said, slipping off of her chair and onto her feet. She felt like everyone was putting down her specialty so it was only natural for her to defend it. "But fine- yea sure." she said quickly.
"No, she's right, they're just toys" Oita mumbled slightly to himself as he slid off his own chair and made his way out into the streets.
Not wanting to get bitched at again, Akane rolled her eyes and followed quickly behind Oita. A good ditance from the others, Akane rested a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Oita-kun." She removed her hand and took a breath, "I'm sorry about that comment."
"It's fine" Oita said softly, not looking back at Akane as he spoke "I'm not expecting you to understand why I like puppets so much... And they are just toys to you. Please, just excuse me, I'd like to go to my house." He closed his eyes and just walked out into the street.
Akane dropped the hand that was on his shoulder slowly. She didn't want to be rude, so she didn't chase after him. Heading back to the group, she thought about her day today. Getting picked last for teams, being last to complete the training lesson, pissing off her master and scaring a team member away. Yea- this was one horrible first day.
"Where is Oita going?" Kaminari asked "Training isn't over is it?"
Akane shrugged her shoulders, "Don't know. I went to apologize but he was being all 'pouty' at me."
"Training for the most part is finished for today. I figured we could sit back and try to get to know one another a little bit, to see how better we can work together as a team." Ishiaki offered with a shrug, leaning back in his seat.
"That seems like a good idea." Kaminari said but didn't offer to be the first one to share.
"What village did you say you were from, sensei?" Akane asked, taking a seat once more.
"The Village of the Crashing Waves, Akane. It's not a very large village, but we're pretty well known." Ishiaki explained with a shrug
Tsu hummed slightly to herself as she kept walking along, heading towards a clothing area of the village. She trailed Kano after her, trying to think about what hat to get him.
Akane wanted to use that for him to spring into a conversation but it totally failed. "Um.. how long have you been here?" she asked.
"Do you miss the water?" Kaminari asked since they where getting to know him better. "What sort of animals are native to your village?"
"I was one of the select few who helped to build this village, so I've been here for a rather long time I guess you could say." Ishiaki explained with a shrug. "Miss the water? We live on islands, Kaminari. There's water all around us." He chuckled softly at that, but shook his head nevertheless. "I do miss the sounds of the waves though." He sighed softly, imagining them a little bit. "A beauty that I believe this world will never truly comprehend. Oh, the animals? The same as most islands I suppose. Plenty of birds and some little critters here and there I guess. We were pretty proud of the fish in our village though. Apparently, their colors were like none anyone had ever seen before." To that comment, the blind ninja simply shrugged yet again. "I for one never got a chance to see that."
Kano quickly caught up with his sensei, wondering just where she was leading him. They hadn't really gotten a chance to explore the island much when they got here. So he hadn't a clue on where any of the shops were yet.
"So-" Akane stepped in, rubbing the strap on her one patched eye, "You were born with it?" To be honest, she didn't even think her sensei knew about her own eye disability. I mean- he can't see himself after all.
Tsu grinned at Kano as she spun around on the spot and stopped him "Alright, this" she pointed to blank wall with the words "Hidden Store" scrawled in graffiti over it "Is a chain of ninja clothing shops called 'Hidden Store', one of the things the manager insists ninjas do is find the entrance. Inside will be a bunch of clothes, all designed to be used in battle." Tsu scratched her chin slightly as she gazed at the wall "Do you have any suggestions on how to get in?"
Kaminari had also been rather curious about how their sensei lost his sight. "It doesn't seem to hinder you, how is that?"
Kano thought for a moment. "Well, there's clearly no door here, that would be too easy and the same goes for windows and things like that. SO I'd have to go with we'd have to summon the door somehow?"
Ishiaki couldn't help but chuckle as his students inquired about his eyesight. "You cannot lose what you never had." He told them both with a smirk. "I have been blind since birth, but it's actually much more bizarre than that. Perhaps I will show you some time, but for now let us say that I see things differently than most people." He sat back and scratched his chin in thought. "Just how much do the two of you know about elemental chakra?"
Akane rested her head on the table, not liking the conversation switch. She thought maybe her and Ishiaki would have a sort of...'bond' given that she too was blind in one eye. Instead, he dropped it all together. She closed her eye and plainly said, "Root, Sacrum, Solar plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, Crown."
"No summon scrolls, what kind of shop would want a person to cut themselves just to get in?" Tsu giggled cutely as she examined the wall minutely "Don't always ignore the idea of windows or other exits, the man who runs this simply wants to test how a ninja may see any entrance. Many competant ninjas have missed using a window because they thought it too 'easy'." The wall with the graffiti on it was completely smooth, pushing out slightly at the base where a small clutter of disused food boxes and drink containers.
Oita sighed slightly as he twitched his fingers slightly, not that he was actually controlling anything, he was practising. It wasn't a fight either, he could you practise for that? He was keeping his skills top notch so he could enjoy his private shows himself, even when his models stuttered and fell due to his own lack of practise. He sat there on the roof lip of a building a few doors down from the ramen shop, swaying his feet slowly and twiddling his fingers experimentally.
Kaminari didn't exactly know what Akaine meant by the third eye crown but she said "I'm afraid I don't know much more than what I've been trying on my own. The ninja of my village don't teach by example as it appears they do here." She felt quite foolish not being as repaired as the others where.
Ishiaki pouted slightly, a little upset that his students didn't understand such basic things. Well maybe it wasn't basic to everyone, but it was to him. He grabbed a napkin and quickly drew out a simple little map of elements. He pushed it to the center of the table. "It's pretty simple really. Wind defeats Lightning, while Lightning would do the same to Earth. Then Earth to Water, Water to Fire, and then coming back around with Fire to Wind. I know that sounds complicated, but there's also more to it. Water defeats Fire, and Lightning defeats Earth, but Lightning also defeats Water in most cases." He paused to let all that information sink in, then he ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright. Now you both know that I have both Lightning and Water elemental chakra, despite the fact that they are conflicting natures. In most cases, people born with conflicting natures end in one of two ways. A rather sudden death, or the natures fizzle each other out and the person simply does not have access to their chakra network anymore."
"Ooohh..." Akane moved some hair out of her face so she could see. "Would mine be lightning or fire? Or are one of these other ones polar opposite?" she asked, curious. "Though I definitely can't see myself using anything like that. Totally not my style." she addded. "Air is so light and whimsical yet powerful." Akane couldn't help but feel a little flattered from herself.
"So if Akane and I where to fight she would win because she has Air Chakra and I have Lightening?" Kaminari asked, it didn't exactly seem right to her that Akane could beat her simply based on Chakra type. It should be based on the stronger of two opponents.
"Well yes and no. If you were to attack her with a purely lightning based ninjutsu, and she in turn countered with a purely wind based ninjutsu. Akane would be the victor." Ishiaki explained further. "But in single hand to hand combat, the stronger of the two fighters would win. The chakra natures will only effect the outcome of a ninjutsu attack. The true power, is in combining elemental natures though."
Kano took that moment to stand up for himself. "I wasn't overlooking the windows. I just figured that they'd be far too easy an entrance for a ninja to take, well besides a door. A summoning jutsu that brought forth a door would be sure to impress the shopkeeper. Wouldn't you say?"
"What about puppet-guy? That isn't elemental." Akane asked, rolling her fingers on the table-bored.
"Not every type of jutsu is elemental natured. There are many different styles out there that have nothing at all to do with the elements. Puppetry is one of them. Whether or not he can do elemental attacks himself if entirely up to him, the same goes for finding out what type of elemental nature he is. It's a simple test to find out." Ishiaki told them with a shrug as he sipped his soda. "His puppets however, can use any element that he builds into him. That in and of itself is one of the things that makes a puppet master so dangerous."
"Weren't they wood?" Akane asked, resting her chin on the table now, yawning, "Can't we just battle him with matches?"
Kaminari was listening intently, wondering in the back of her mind whether or not she would have a secondary elemental nature with which to combine her lightening abilities.
Tsu nodded slightly at the idea "Yes... but writing something like that would take a long while..." Tsu leant down slowly and began to examine the bottom of the wall, the protruding part most of all "Hmmmm..."
"Do you think that you could burn his fire elemental puppet that he calls Candle?" Ishiaki asked her curiously. "Even though something is made of wood, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is flammable."
Kano shrugged, "I guess it could, but why bother making a summons door, when the real one is already there?" He smiled softly as he looked over her shoulder at the protruding 'wall'. "The discarded containers would make one think this is the back door, where the trash would be picked up, even though there is clearly not a door here. It's like saying there's no window here, but let's close the shudders just in case."
"But this is a NEW place" Tsu muttered to herself "And the guys in charge would surely want the door facing the main street to be clean wouldn't they? Unless..." She reached out slowly and took hold of a tin can resting against the wall. She tugged. The floor moved beneath their feet, but only slightly. It was a trap door, and a solid metal can fused to it.
"So, you've not been here before, Sensei?" Kano asked her curiously. She sure was acting as if she hadn't, but at the same time she knew a lot about the place.
"Well... no... but I saw a hole in the floor. Every had a little visit before the place was fully done, I noticed a big hole in the floor here and steps when they were building it up. I had no idea how to activate it, hoped you'd find a way without me saying where the entrance was but there we go." Tsu shrugged slightly and stepped off the trap door "No one makes the first Store."
"Ah- right. So I guess elemental chakras don't really effect him normally." Akane mumbled as she kept her chin on the table, looking bored. She itched under the strap of her eye patch with a finger.
"Since it's made of wood wouldn't lightening defeat it?" Kaminari asked trying to get her head around all this.
"I'm hungry, are you hungry?" El asked Hinji as they came around the corner, traveling from the training woods.
"Or maybe just apologizing? He seemed to run away pretty quickly from that-" Akane joked, but clearly but she wasn't too proud of it. She started playing with a napkin on the table.
"Oita and his puppets will be a great asset to this team, and I think that he should be treated as such. You are underestimating him, but you believe that the puppets are merely toys." Ishiaki explained to Akane. "He more than likely built them himself, as most puppet masters do. And like most puppeteers, there are probably numerous options hidden within the puppet that we do not see. So to call them a toy was a very rude thing to say to him." He shrugged his shoulders, "But I believe that it'll work out alright. Anyway, lightning would be rather effective against the wood, about as much as fire would be. But like I said, just because it's made of wood, doesn't necessarily mean that it'll burn."
"What do you mean by no one makes the first store?" Kano asked her curiously as he bent down to lift up the trap door so that they could enter the shop.
I apologized! Akane thought angrily, crunching up the napkin she was playing with. "Excuse me, sensei." she hopped off of her seat and walked away from them. She needed to meditate before she got a split end.
"No one makes it in, they always get told the way or have to wait for someone else to come out or just give up. The next one you'll get in a moment" Tsu giggled, looking down into the surprisingly well lit and sturdy steps heaing towards a door in the building's foundations "Well, after you."
Just then, outside the restaurant that Ishiaki and his team were sitting in, someone dropped out of the sky and landed on the floor hard, limbs twisting unnaturally. There was a small cry of "dammit!" from above and the person got up, arms sliding back into place and pushing themelves up to their feet to reveal... a puppet. A very well made puppet, with long many jointed arms that looked like they'd been made from pieces of bamboo. Infact there were many many jointed arms, three pairs opening up flexible fingers so Oita's puppet could climb up the wall again.
"IIEEE!" Akane raised her arms, forming an 'X' in front of her defensively. The puppet landed only a few feet in front of her. She was frozen in this stance before it started climbing again.
Kaminari was off her stool and by Akane's side in a split second "Are you ok!" She asked.
Akane looked above and shook her fist towards where the voice came, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DROPPING THAT THING!!"
"It fell!" came a faint but indignant voice from above as the puppet crawled up the wall towards Oita. He didn't fancy being yelled at right now, specially since his puppet took a tumble and she thought of them as nothing but toys.
"Jeez...idiot." Akane whispered under her breath. She looked to Kaminari, "Why would someone pick a populated area like THE MARKET to practice?" Akane grumbled, crossing her arms.
"He didn't mean it." Kaminari told Akane. She sort of looked at her and tried to convey a sort of 'Maybe we should all try and get along' face without saying anything.
"Still. Not a very smart idea." Akane said, rubbing her temple and adjusting her eyepatch.
Ishiaki drummed his fingers on the table, leaning back with a sigh. "Well, that went well..." He got up slowly and made his way over to the register where he promptly paid for their meal. "Hopefully, they won't be as roudy next time. Sorry if we caused any inconvenience." He said apologetically tot he shopkeeper.
Kano shrugged and made his way down the steps, finding it a little bit spooky that they were going down some dimly lit steps in the middle of the market
Tsu hummed happily to herself as they walked down into the shop, opening the door and skipping through into a surprisingly well lit room. There were clothes here, clothes that looked normal, fishnets, armored, shorts, headbands... it was amazing really, the amount of clothing Ninjas could have. "Welcome!" a shop assistant said from behind a counter with an assortment of kunai and shuriken across it, standard stuff really "Your first visit?"
Almost glad that they hadn't followed the puppet up... almost... Oita looked at Cane as he hurried over the edge of the roof and onto the courtyard above. He'd have to remember that, check the actual size of the place you're practicing in before trying anything too grand. I mean if Casket had fallen the pavement would have broken...
"Yeah man! Awesome set up by the way!" Kano said with a huge smirk across his face. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them quickly. "So what've you got?"
In a poof! Ishiaki was up on the rooftop where Oita was practicing. "So what are you working on Oita?"
The shop assistant looked around the store "Well we have clothes for sneaking missions, you'll find them in the well lit area of the back. We have to keep it well lit in order to keep track of stock properly. We've got clothes for all out war, very fear inspiring, come with a variety of masks to terrify your opponants. We've got clothes for ninjas with many tools, with hundreds of special pockets and hidden compartments; we've got a deal on with the village of the Hidden Entrance thanks to this merge of islands, actually quite good for business. They send us blue prints of their latest hidden weapons and we send them a sack of money on how good it is. That's just there on your left" the woman behind the counter pointed to a set of clothes hanging on racks beside them "and on your right we have a variety of headbands, uniforms, dyes, bandages, glasses both tinted and not and a wide range of shoes, all for disguises or just style. Now what are you interested in?"
Oita almost jumped a foot in the air and Cane almost tumbled over the edge again as Ishiaki appeared. "N-nothing" he said at once, a book closing with a snap and being pushed behind him underneath his pack. He'd been caught with his cast out. How humiliating. The puppets lined the roof, the tall red headed Candle was stuck in place, pointing at a scene in front of him that wasn't complete. There was another puppet there, one not seen before; it's head was bell shaped and metallic, it even swayed slightly in the wind blowing up here, it's body was rectangular and opened up either side to allow two thin, flexible pieces of metal with heavy brass orbs at the end to emerge like arms. It also had four rather short legs at each corner of the base, barely looking able to hold up the tall puppet than move it. And of course there was Cane, standing next to Ishiaki and crossing all three pairs of arms as if annoyed with the man.
"Hats! I need a hat so I won't be the only person on our squad without one!" Kano said excitedly, a huge smile across his face.
Ishiaki tilted his head to the side. "Doesn't look like nothing." He looked at the cast and smiled, nodding in approval. "These all the puppets you have or did you just bring out a couple? I must say, they look impressive."
"Certainly" the shop assistant said, giving a hidden button a press so the ceiling rolled across to reveal a dangling latice of hooks. It descended slowly into the middle of the room, along with a slight indignant squawk as a bird that had been sleeping in a large woven hat flapped about the room before dissapearing back into the hidden compartment. There were a lot of hats here, including Tsu's own lucky cat hat, but no sombreros. There were black hats that would roll down and disguise the wearer's face when needed, there were hats with compartments hidden in the brim or the top, there were hats for style and hats for function. Whoever designed all these must have had a strange imagination, specially for the large entirely leather face mask that dangled somewhere near the back.
Oita scratched at the floor with a foot "I have more than this, you got attacked by a different one remember?" He twiddled his fingers carefully, the puppets starting to walk back towards him, but Candle seemed to be moving a bit shakily, stopping adn starting every now and then.
"Oh I remember." Ishiaki told him with a smile. "It's hard to forget when you get attacked by puppets. It really is an amazing work of jutsu." He looked at Oita, "Would you mind if I observed your practice?"
Akane noticed some of the other ninja walking around in the market. Mainly it was El's jumbo sized hat that stuck out like a sore thumb, "Looks like the others are out of session too." she told Kaminari, "Any of them suit your fancy?" she asked, nudging her arm a bit.
"I..." Oita shifted slightly as he felt the book protruding from underneath his pack slightly "I'm finished for today really... shouldn't make them do too much after a drop like that. Should take Cane back and look at him, make sure he's ok."
"Suit my what?" Kaminari asked not having any idea what a suit or a fancy was.
"Like- you know, find attractive?" Akane clarified.
"Oh. Alright." Ishiaki tapped his fingers on his sword. "Well, I'm just trying to get to know my students a little. It's easier to teach when you know something about them. You follow me?"
"Y-yes... I just don't know about revealing everything up from you know? I'm a bit... shy." Oita admitted, staring at the floor even as the puppets settled in line beside him "I'm trying to learn how to use three at once.."
Kaminari looked at Akane as if she wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about. It was quite easy to see the recollection in her eyes as she said "Attract-- Oohhhh." It seemed she was quite flabbergasted at the thought and stammered a bit not exactly sure to what lengths young women discussed these matters. "You mean which one I would choose as a husband if I where to pick from the ninja on both teams, excluding the Sensei'?... I haven't thought about that exactly... I suppose I would have to see more of their fighting before I chose. It is after all a very deciding factor in who I could pick as a life mate... Which one do you fancy most?"
"A life mate? What the hell are you, a wolf?" Akane scoffed, "You don't even find any of them cute?" she encouraged, elbowing her a bit. When the question was aimed to her, she scratched at her eyepatch strap. "Me? Hmm... I'm not too sure. I'de like to see more of the other team. Heh- that guy with the guitar seems interesting. A little weird- but none the less. Again, I would like to see more of their personalities."
"So you've already mastered handling two at once? That's incredible...For one so young I mean." Ishiaki told him with a smile. "It takes years of practice to be able to use multiple puppets. Am I correct?"
"I was kind of looking for something big and flashy. YOu know to fit my personality? Plus the others on my squad have got big hats too. The one guy's got this sombrero and the other one has one of those big straw hats that you like see people wear in rice patties." Kano rambled as he looked at the hat selection. He hadn't seen any that really stuck out to him yet, but it was a very large selection
"Yes... two at once so far" Oita admitted, nodding slowly and bowing slightly in respect to his sensei "I have had years of practise sensei. I am sure I will have many years more."
"Big... and flashy" the shop assistant said, looking at the rows of hats doubtfully "Depends what you really mean as 'flashy'. I mean we have several literal flashing hats, in both senses of the word..."
"If I had to choose one I would say the one with the volcano on his protector." Kaminari confessed "But I do not think our personalities would be very compatible. He is fetching to the eye in some ways however."
"Ohh....the redhead without a hat, right?" Akane wrapped her arm around Kami's. "Let's go ask his classmates where he is...just to say 'hi'." she smirked. "Come on-" she headed through the crowd, towards the big sombrero.
"You won't say that I said anything will you?" Kaminari asked as she was dragged along next to Akane.
El had found a nice shaded spot to practice his guitar. Chickens clucked in crates next to him and he was practicing threw the blisters he'd gotten while they'd been training.
Akane followed the big hat to El with Kaminari. "Pff...you don't trust me?" she asked with a chuckle.
Her attention went to the dark skinned boy, "Hey- El right? So I take it your class is dismissed?" she didn't wait for him to answer, "Any clue where the hat-less, volcano one is?"
El looked up but was sure to keep his eyes hidden. When he realized he was about to address the girls on the other team he shot up and stood like a gentlemen "Our sensei mentioned buying him a hat." El told them "But I don;t know which shop they've attended to do so."
"I see...well afterwards-" Akane let go of Kaminari. She gave her a look and shrugged her shoulders. They would have to try again later.
"They may be close by, if I see them I will tell Kano that your looking for him." El told Akane, the sight of her made him a bit nervous, there weren't many girls in his village around the same age.
"I have heard of a few puppet masters from the Hidden Sand Village. Apparently, the one could use a hundred puppets and her grandson could use over a thousand at once." Ishiaki sighed and shrugged, "I would have liked to see something like that. Puppetry is a chakra technique that truly fascinates me." He smiled to Oita and bowed his head slightly. "But I kind of get the feeling that I should really keep that to myself. I wouldn't want it to look like you're my favorite or anything like that. A teacher mustn't be biased, you know."
Kano shrugged, "No, nothing like that. I just want something that fits. You know? But it's gotta make me stand out in a crowd, like my comrades do with their spiffy hats."
"Puppet control is based on the user's methods over number of puppets; if this man can really use a thousand puppets at once they are most likely quite slow and easily defeated. You've got to weigh up between lots that flood them but get destroyed and a few that are difficult to battle." Oita explained, running an eye over Cane to check for damage before his puppets disappeared with a puff of smoke "I hope I didn't cause a commotion by leaving earlier."
"Hmmmmmm...." the shops assistant said, eye roaming over the volcano badge on his headband... "We do have a black bandanna with bright red tails of fabric, avert light, every movement tosses them into the air so it looks like fire's always moving around your head... And treated of course, slick so they don't catch on branches.
"From what I heard of this guy, they weren't simply crushing numbers. Each puppet had it's own ability. Rumor had it, he destroyed an entire country with them all." Ishiaki said with a shiver, "It's scary what people are capable of when you think about it." He shrugged to Oita's last comment. "I think Akane was looking for you to apologize. Has she ran into you yet?"
"That would be cool, but honestly, I kinda want something that's doesn't cover up my hair at the same time." Kano said with a nervous smile. "I bet that throws a wrench into the works for a hat, eh?"
The shop assistant huffed heavily "Well I suppose there are head bands and the such as well..." He was being a difficult customer... "Maybe you should just browse and look for something you'd like?"t
"I heard her yelling at me... other than that no" Oita said, carefully reaching for his book and pushing it into the bag before his sensei could see the title.
"I'm sorry if I am being difficult. I understand that your time is valuable. I just really want the perfect hat." Kano replied, bowing his head low in a clear sign of respect
"Well, I'm sure she'll genuinely apologize eventually. She'll warm up to you too. Trust me. We're all in a new place with new people, it's going to take time to warm up to everyone." Ishiaki told him confidently. "Just give her some time and try your best to keep a level head too. Alright?"
Oita nodded slowly and picked up his pack very carefully, flexing his legs to know he wouldn't topple backwards "Yes Sensei."
Just then Tsu appeared from the middle of the hats, holding one happily above her head "Found one!" she said as she handed it over. It was a beachcomber straw hat but cut out in the middle so it would allow Kano's hair to be free.
"Thank you." Akane said to El. She was about to turn around with her friend, but stopped, "By the way, I'm curious...how did the first day of training go for your group?"
Kano looked at the hat with a wide smile. It looked perfect, true it wasn't going to keep his head very dry with the big hole in the top, but now his trademark hair would stand out perfectly fine. He turned to the shopkeeper quickly, "How much for it?"
"That thing? It's not even rigged up with any tricks, the hole in the middle means it's barely a hat... why wasn't it tossed out?" she said, scratchin her head and not noticing Tsu screwing the carved out top into a ball and stuffing it into her jumper "I'd say... 1000 yen?"
"It was quite good." El said "Very informative, however Tsu Sensei didn't seemed very impressed with our technique." He was rubbing his fingers together, the salve he'd used was already beginning to turn the blisters into clauses. "How is it going with your blind Sensei?"
Akane noticed he enphasised on 'blind.' So she clarified, "Well he doesn't seem to let blindess stunt him. He is just as strong as any other sensei." she was half blind herself and defended her teacher accordingly. "Though today sort of.... was terrible for me so my training wasn't as good as it could've been."
"I find that hard to believe." El said with a small sideways smirk.
"I thought she did very well." Kaminari said finally speaking up "Ishiaki Sensei used a complex puzzle as our first exercise. I had to summon Ninja squirrels just to grab a kunai."
"Yea- well you weren't last to complete it." Akane argued. She pouted a bit, "Not to mention that the cat teacher completely eyed me up before moving on to someone else when they were picking students. I don't know what HER problem is. What- I'm not GOOD enough?" she grumbled.
"That's certainly not the case." El told her "Perhaps she's jealous?"
Akane raised a brow and was quite unconvinced. "Right. Jealous...that's it." she mocked.
"In your beauty, your youth, your unique chakra." El told her "What woman wouldn't be jealous?"
"Alright, I give." Akane waved her hand at him, "What's your angle, Sombrero-boy?" She leaned on her hip and crossed her arms.
"I am on a life long journey to one day prove myself honorable to attain the family instrument and one day become a great Mariachi." El told her seriously but with a touch of theatrical bravado. He was quite proud of his life's mission.
"Uhh..." Akane looked to Kaminari as if to say 'Help!' She didn't really know how to reply to something like this.
Hinji stepped out of the woods and had to shield his already covered eyes from the sudden change of light. He walked down the main street, peering into the shops he passed and wondered where his teammates were at.
"Me too." Kaminari chimed in "I'm not striving to become a Mariachi but I am hoping to earn the right to be considered to succeed my father as Chief. My main competition is my older sister."
Akane moved hair out of her face. "My Dad just wants me to become the best...at everything."
"Seriously?" Kano asked, fishing his salamander wallet out of his pocket. "Awesome." He searched through the wallet and then handed the clerk the money
Ishiaki patted the young puppeteer on the shoulder. "Well, if you need anything just let me know, alright?"
Oita nodded slightly and tried not to flush in embarrassment "Thank you sensei. Where are we training tomorrow?"
The shop keeper shrugged and smiled at Kano, taking the money and nodding to the two customers "Thank you for choosing us as your purchase today, we hope you will come back the next time you need the best in ninja clothing."
"So we're all here because of our families?" Kaminari asked "We all have more in common than I had thought."
"I will have to discuss with Tsu, but we may be in the same location. If we end up switching I'll be sure to let you guys know." Ishiaki told him with a smile. "Just keep practicing and maybe tomorrow you can wow your fellow teammates, alright Oita?"
There was a loud and shrill shriek from high above, where a large hawk was circling overhead. Ishiaki looked up when he heard the sound. He nodded and looked back at Oita, "I've gotta go. They've called a Jonin meeting, it's probably to discuss the new students. Guess they didn't want to wait for the report..." He shrugged and in a puff of ninjasmoke, was gone.
Kano stepped out of the shop, adjusting his new hat. He basically had to pull it all the way down his face and then back up to get his hair how he wanted it to look.
"I guess so?" Akane said, resting the back of her head on her hands as she stood there. "Anyway- I hope training gets better. Today's was sort of stupid."
Oita nodded in agreement, then after Ishiaki disappeared he carefully approached the edge of the roof top, peering around until he spied Akane, Kaminari and El. He approached them carefully from the roof tops, trying to avoid contact.
Tsu cocked her head to one side as if hearing something far away, causing her to bite her lip in a cute way and pat Kano on the back "I have to go. I might see you later, if not tomorrow. Remember about your homework!" And with that, she disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Kano saw his teammate, El, standing with the women from the other squad. He straightened his hat as best he could and waltzed over to the group. "So check it out, El. What do you think? Is it cool or what?"
"Si, very nice." El said taking in the sight of Kano's new hat "It suits you quite well."
"I agree!" Kaminari pipped up. If Akane was going to pressure her into talking to him she'd might as well slip in before the pressure started.
Akane smirked. "Very vacation-esque." she said, moving hair from in front of her eye. She noticed Oita but chose to ignore him for the time being. Akane was still a bit angry from earlier.
"Thank you! It was the only one from my village in the entire shop." Kano explained with a broad smile, "And we got it rather cheap too."
Oita watched from the level above, staring at them with his feet dangling over the edge and his pack keeping him from tipping forward. It was always a good counter balance...
"I concur." Hinji said as he walked up to his fellow teammates. "Now we all have a common link."
"Hey! Where'd you come from?!" Kano asked Hinji as he came up on them. He hadn't seen the guy since he went out with Tsu
Akane itched the patch that covered her eye. "Jeez...now that the gang's all here."
Oita blinked and lay on his side, watching the group below as he rested his head against his palm. He was used to watching people, it was how he got the inspiration for his puppets.
"I came from the training woods. I had spent a considerable amount time in the sun and I needed time to rest in the shade." Hinji said in response to Kano's question
"We make a proper band now." El said brightly "Too bad we don't all match exactly."
Kaminari felt sort of left our of the conversation, not having a hat herself so she jumped onto the nearest light poll and asked Oita "having fun your first day?"
"I dont think you two would like my style of attire. So it is better that we dont match perfectly." Hinji stated. "We should start working on our homework while we have a chance."
Akane rolled her eye, "Yea yea- hats are fine and dandy. But now eyepatches..that's where it's at." she mocked. This conversation was stupid.
Hinji looked at Akane, his eyes barely visible behind the thin black fabric that ran across them. "Do you require the eyepatch or is it just for cosmetic purposes?"
Akane gave him an 'are you serious?' look. "Why the hell would I get rid of my depth perception just for the look of it?" She placed her hands on her hips and waited his reply.
Hinji just shrugged, "You wear your patch for the same reason I wear what I wear. Because it is required. Correct?"
Akane, not having really talked to this guy, wasn't really sure what he meat. "Are you blind?" she asked, looking up at his clothed eyes.
A small answer of "Meh" and a shrug was what Kaminari received in return for her inquiry, Oita at least turning to watch her as she approached. "What about you? You enjoying?"
"No. My vision is not impaired." Hinji said as Akane stared at his white eyes through the cloth. "However, if I remove this cloth I will be almost immediatEly blinded by the sun."
"Oh crap! Our homework!" Kano said, slapping his forehead. He couldn't believe that he had already forgotten about it. "Say El...do you remember what she assigned?"
"Hm...I guess I didn't realize you were an albino." Akane shrugged.
"Albino, no." Hinji said, "Adapted to life in a lightless environment, yes."
"Care to elaborate? Heh....shed some light on the subject?" Akane smirked, pleased with her wit.
"I come from the Village of Sunless Days. It is miles inside a dark cave so no sunlight gets in." Hinji explained in a tone that showed his dislike of the situation. "Therefore my people have adapted to the darkness to where we need no lights."
"Really? So...you are like mole people?" Akane tilted her head. "So how come you can't just slowly adjust to it?" She wasn't trying to be an ass...that's just how blunt she was.
Mole people?! Hinji could barely keep his anger under control as she compares his people to mole people. With a very controled voice he answered her question. "No...we are not like Mole people. And we cant just adjust, you cant just undo years and years of adaptation in the matter of days."
"This village is strange from my own but I think I'm beginning to like it." Kaminari told Oita "And our first day of training went well I think also."
"So- you can see crystal clear in the dark?" Akane asked, not noticing that Hinji was annoyed. That or she didn't care.
"I do not think" Oita said slowly, as if trying to judge what he said "Akane is very good at dealing with people... I am pretty sure in the time I have been up here she has insulted the other team..."
"I can see as clearly in the dark as you can see in the light." Hinji explained, wondering if she was going to continue with these questions and keep him from his assignment.
"Weird." Akane moves hair out of her face, "Cool....but weird." She turned and noticed Kaminari and thought it best not in interrupt.
"Oh?" Kaminari said "I wasn't listening."
"Yes..." Oita said slowly "I think it is from the training today and being picked earlier... She is not feeling as friendly towards others as she might usually be."
Akane shrugged and looked away from the hat group. What was up with that anyway? All the hats looked ridiculous! Oh well...at least it would make her own team of misfits look more professional.
"Ohhh I see." Kaminari said and figured he was probably right. She had been really short with almost everyone since training had ended. "I like her quite a bit, I think she will make a great Ninja."
"Most probably..." Oita said airily, as if it were a well known fact "She is capable and a fighter, she does not give in when faced with adversity. Though... this might gain her enemies... quite a few."
"The same could be said of all of us." Kaminari said wisely
"No... no I am unused to human contact, I find it difficult to have any sort of contact, let alone confrontation with others. I believe that sensei and Akane think I folded much too early in the arguement earlier..." Oita said, his voice sounding detatched and analytical.
"It would be difficult to engage in combact without human contact." Kaminari said not exactly getting what he meant.
"Outside of combat, even then my puppets do it for me... I just don't TALK to people" Oita explained, wishing there was a better way to say it.
"Should I stop talking to you then?" Kaminari asked "Am I bothering you?"
Oita opened his mouth, and for a moment seemed lost for words. His gaze slipped to the middle distance as his mind seemed to whir wildly, finally it snapped shut. "I should... get used to people" he said simply, nodding as if this was to say she could stay.
"Want help?" Kaminari asked him "I'm eager to learn about these strange lands."
Akane glanced and saw a little cage with another pheasant in it. She nonchalantly walked over. When the owner wasn't looking, she sliced open the lock with a sharpened feather. Akane then turned and quickly walked away.
"The nerve." was all Hinji could say as she walked away. He turned back to the other two of his team. "Can you believe that girl. Mole people! She's lucky I didn't summon a beast and teach her the error of her words."
Kano couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I meant to ask about that too, man. But I kind of just figured you'd tell on your own."
"Yes, but i doubt you have have compared me to mole people." Hinji said with continued irritation. After he was one he forced himself to calm down before speaking again. "I apologize for losing my composure infront you you two." He then turned to address Kano specifically, "Since my people have aclimated to the darkness we are more susceptible to the sun. When we leave our villiage, which we rarely do, we must cover ourselves fully in order to survive in the sun's rays."
Akane, quite bored again, turned around to see various groups of students grouping together. Not finding herself in one, she headed to Kaminari, completely ignoring her other teammate. She was...not on good terms with him, "Are we supposed to leave whenever we want?"
Kaminiri stepped away from the boys since Oita wasn't so interested in talking right now, she'd have to ask him later. "I'm not sure?" She told her honestly "I was expecting that we might have dwellings at the school, but I am suspecting that we may need to find our own places."
El was sort of distracted, staring at something in Kaminari's direction. His fingers where strumming out a very soft melody.
There was a short silence, where it felt something should have been in there... then "I have a house" Oita said, slightly quietly as he still sat above them.
Akane's expression dropped when he heard Oita. She crossed her arms and looked away, letting out a low grumble in her throat.
Kaminari noticed Akane's expression "I think it may be inappropriate for two girls to room with a boy."
"A... house, not just a room. It's bigger than I need really" Oita said slowly, trying not to expose that his family had used the bit of money and influence they'd had left over to by him somewhere to live.
"So did you guys get rooms here in the village?" Kano asked his comrades curiously. "My Kage had commissioned a place for me to stay while here. I mean that surprised me, that's for sure. They never did do anything so nice for me before. Then again, I haven't been there yet...maybe it's a dump."
"If they did, then my original Sensei did not feel it important to tell me." Hinji said plainly.
Kaminari looked at Akane for a responce. "I was almost certin they'd had lodgings for us, we'd hate to be a burdon."
"Where the heck did they run off to?" Akane asked, looking around where she stood. "I assumed that too."
"Well, if the place is big enough, you guys are welcome to crash there." Kano suggested with a grin. It would certainly be a great way to get to know your teammates.
"I'm sure you'd like that, huh Kami?" Akane nudged her with an elbow. "Maybe you two can share a bunk?" she whispered teasingly.
Seeing that his own offer of sharing a house was shot out of the water almost at once, Oita simply shrugged and closed his eyes as he listened.
Kaminari jabbed her elbow into Akane's side and gave her a stern look.
"Urk-" Akane grunted, not expecting the blow. She held her side and chuckled.
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