An Assassin's Dreams [/Rina]

[Asagao]

Drawing back on the string, his elbow would remain sturdy and elevated, locked into place. His body was completely still and firm, unflinching, almost statuelike, he was completely motionless in his stance. Taking in small subtle breaths through his nostrils, he would hold this position, his eyes zeroed in on the target across the field. Letting go, the arrow would sail towards its mark with deadly speed and accuracy. Lodging into the tree, it would hit dead center driving its steel point deep into the bark of the ancient oak. Living underground typically bothered Asagao, he hated that there was no sky above him; he longed for the warmth of the sun on his skin; the pale light of the moon guiding his path as he took a midnight stroll; he wanted to stare up at the twinkling stars and count them until he ran out of numbers. But for target practice, living underground definitely had its advantages - most notably the lack of wind. He never had to adjust his shots....ever. Everything he fired or threw flew through the air with precision accuracy, never missing their intended location. Truth be told, it was actually becoming quite the bore. He needed something new. A challenge. Something that would push him and make him feel something again. One can only practice and train so much, before the act of doing so becomes utterly monotonous. This was the feeling he was now left with every time he worked out or conditioned himself.

Collecting his arrows and kunai, he would slip them back into their respective holsters and go take a seat in the grass next to his feline companion, Tayori. The large white tiger lay soundly asleep, her mind lost in a dream. Resting his head on her large, soft body, the motion of her breathing would cause his head to rise and fall with every breath she breathed. Staring up at the ceiling, he would grind his teeth out of frustration. "There has to be something more than this...doesn't there, Tayori?" The dormant cat snarled a half yawn gurgle in response, before slipping back into the dreamworld. "Thanks for the help.." He smiled, unable to stop himself. After all, he knew the truth. One of these days he was going to get out from under this rock and do some traveling. He wanted to see the world, experience different cultures, meet new people, and learn their unique customs. He wanted to paint what he saw and capture the fleeting moments on the canvas, forever preserving them. He wanted to learn strange songs and play them until the sun disappeared behind the mountain tops. He had yet to feel the gentle caress of raindrops slide across his skin as the clouds poured down upon him. Living underground was not living at all...and it was high time he did some living.

 

[Shiri]

Yamauchi Rina entered the topic
Visible Clothing: Desert Pattern Jacket and Pants, Black Combat Boots.
Visible Equipment: Commando Knife (Holstered on Left Hip), Pistol (Holstered on Left Hip, in front of knife), Belt Pouch (Right Hip)

This is kinda meh for an opening post, but I can't just let this go unanswered forever. >_<

Rina had spent most of the day in the woods, the change in scenery (she had spent the last few weeks cramped into a small library cubicle) was refreshing for her, and she was able to get in some much needed athletics exercise by climbing a few trees. She had been out for a while and was almost ready to go home, but something caught her attention. A person caught her attention. A person with a ranged weapon who was accompanied by a white tiger, which pretty much made him the most interesting thing Rina had seen all day.

Rina started to walk towards him, but stopped for a second; she didn't want to be rude to the man, but she really wanted to talk to him. It was her weak point, she was really no good at starting conversations (*cough* author imprint *cough*) but she always wanted to meet new people. It took a good ten seconds before the young teenager finally worked up enough courage to walk closer and speak up (or at least try to speak up, as the case may be).

"I- Is she fri- friendly?" Rina said shyly as she pointed to Asagao's animal companion, all the while her her gaze was pointed directly at her own feet, as if any form of direct eye contact would result in some form of certain doom for her.

 

[Asagao]

Tayori's head would jolt up at the unexpected arrival of the newcomer. Baring her savage teeth, the white tigress would let out a mighty roar; her tail whipping wildly back and forth in an unfriendly hostile manner, warning the young girl not to get too close, to stay away from her human companion. With a low growl, she would make her dominant presence felt and try to ward off this potential threat. "Oh shut up." Asagao would say, elbowing the large cat in her side, playfully. Continuing to use the wild animal as a pillow, Asagao would stare at the young girl intently, gauging her intentions for himself. Her question seemed innocent enough and by the way she had stammered while asking it, she was obviously nervous. Was it all a ruse, though? A simple act to get him to lower his guard? It was not uncommon for a girl of her youthful age to be an assassin: children and the elderly are always the last to be expected or accused.

"She doesn't bite..I promise. She can just be a bit cranky, especially when she just wakes up." Smiling, he would sit up and cross his legs. He had come to the conclusion that the girl was no danger to him. If she had indeed been sent to kill him, the last thing she would have done is approach him in the wide open and announce herself. She would have attacked without warning, most likely from an advantage point in the trees and from long distance keeping herself hidden and protected from return fire. Tilting his head, he would give his new company a kind, welcoming smile. "Please, join me. You can pet her if you like?" Tayori would glance over at him puzzled, unnerved by the fact he had just volunteered her services without even asking. "Are you lost? What brings you so far out into the forest?" Cocking his head, his left eyebrow would raise out of curiosity. It wasn't every day you stumbled across people so far out into the Elderwoods, let alone someone so young. "I am Byakko Asagao, by the way, and this here is Tayori." He would motion towards the cat with slight nod of his head, while awaiting to hear her response.




ooc: So sorry for the long wait. I have been swamped with real life. Your first post was perfect, don't be silly! It is mine which are crap. :3

 

[Shiri]

Rina recoiled from the tiger as it roared, as she tried to take a hurried step back she tripped and fell backwards. After a few awkward seconds she picked herself up and dusted herself off. "O-okay..." she mumbled out, somewhat embarrassed by her ungraceful reaction.

Rina took Asagao's offer and sat down (although she made a point to be a full paws length away from the tiger, and she definitely wasn't quite ready to try petting her, even if it was safe). She listened attentively until Asagao was done talking before giving her reply; "I'm Yamauchi Rina... nice to meet you, Byakko-san." she said, her voice was still somewhat unsure, but it was at least loud enough to be clearly heard. Rina tilted her head up to look up at the treetops "These trees feel so out of place... but I've never seen a 'normal' forest so maybe I don't know that much..." she mused idly, forgetting about her next line in the conversation. After a few seconds of idle observation Rina snapped back into reality; "Oh, I came here to practice climbing; I'm a pretty good shot with a bow or a repeater, and my chakra control is okay, but I'm not a very good climber. Sis says ninjas should be good at climbing, and she's a lot smarter than she lets people think she is- especially with this kinda stuff- so I listen to her a lot. So that brought me here, climbing, stuff." she explained, her voice seemed to open up as she went on, eventually becoming more open and fluid in it's execution. Rina wasn't actually that bad at conversation, if she got herself started.

"So, do you come here to train, too? I actually don't come here that often, I spend most of my time in the library... or on one of the old target ranges at the academy..." Rina prodded, hoping that she would keep the conversation going for at least a little while longer. She wanted to know more, her natural curiosity demanded that much.


WC: 340

[mft]

 

[Asagao]

The hesitance in the young girl's voice when she spoke warmed Asagao's heart. It was obvious she was still extremely wary of the tiger's presence, which was completely understandable. After all, the girl was half the beast's size and centuries younger. It was only natural for her to be afraid of Tayori..and a wise decision too! "It is nice to meet you as well, Yamauchi-chan." He smiled curtly back at the girl, her good manners not going unnoticed or unappreciated. "You have a very keen eye, for these trees certainly are unusual indeed. In fact, the Elderwoods are like no other woods you will ever come across." He chuckled, as he stared at the girl's wide eyes watching her curiously, as she peered up towards the treetops with a look upon her face that only an innocent child can poses.

Her excuse for being so far out into the woods did not come as a surprise to him at all. A lot of people trained here, he himself did quite regularly. What did surprise him though was the girl's particular skill set. She had similar talents in long ranged weaponry, this piqued Asagao's interest greatly. Rubbing at his chin, he would take a moment before responding. "Your sister seems like she is very wise. Ninja's do need to be skilled in the art of climbing...but there are many things ninjas need to be proficient in." He smiled again, though this time he had a much different look in his eye. This girl had just become much more interesting beyond simple conversation. Grabbing his bow - the one he had been using moments earlier - he would hold it out in front of him. "Would you be, by any chance, willing to demonstrate your ability with the bow?" Cocking his head, it would twist to the side as he attempted to read her reaction towards his offer. "This bow maybe much too big for you, so don't worry if you cannot use it. It is very old and has seen many battles...it is precious to me, so if you do decide to try it, please be careful with it, okay?"

Standing up, he would brush himself clean of the forest debris. Answering her questions from earlier (why he waited for her to decide), he would happily keep the conversation alive. "I do come here often..in fact I spend most of my time here. These woods are near and dear to my heart...but so is the Library. We seem to have much in common, Yamauchi-chan. You have been a most unexpected, yet surprisingly welcomed guest."

 

[Shiri]

Rina looked at the bow, somewhat hesitant at first... if it was such an important item to Asagao, she didn't want to ruin it. But eventually she did accept the weapon from him as well as two arrows. Rina pointed to a tree some distance away and started to pull the bow back, taking aim at the tree. There was a several second pause as Rina gauged the strength of the weapon, the distance to her target, and the estimated flight path of the arrow. Once she was sure of the shot, Rina fired the arrow- burying it into the center of the tree trunk. Now she had a mark.

Next, Rina set the second arrow into a firing position; she aimed to hit the same spot the first arrow had landed in- a common display of marksmanship, the calculations were faster this time, shaving a few seconds off the time it took to fire the shot, seconds that would be essential in a real life combat situation. Rina timed the shot with her own breath and let it fly; the time of the second arrow's flight seemed far longer than it actually was- the anticipation excited her. The arrow did hit, several inches away from where the first one was- not a bad shot at all!

But Rina wasn't quite finished yet, with the arrows depleted, she reached into her holster and pulled her pistolbow out with the hand that formerly carried the arrows she had borrowed from Asagao. The light pull required to arm the weapon meant she could easily ready it with a single finger from her off hand (which was still carrying the bow), but the reduced firing power meant she had to aim a bit higher to hit the same spot on the tree and probably with a bit less accuracy. She took a second to aim and let off three bolts in quick succession. The first two bolts landed high, and the third one landed almost a foot low. She took a second to examine her handiwork.

"Want me to go get those, Byakko-san?" Rina said, handing the bow back to Asagao.

 

[Asagao]

Examining the girl as she prepared her shot, Asagao watched her with a curious eye. Her posture seemed solid and her stance was very sure footed, displaying a level of confidence in her ability; he had not expected her to be so sure of herself, for she appeared to be rather timid and shy during their conversation. As she pulled back on the bow, her elbow was straight and her chin raised up with her eyes focused solely on her target. There were a few things he could correct, but overall the girl was surprising him a great deal - he was definitely impressed thus far.

When the shot fired the arrow dug firmly into the tree bark, piercing the wooden foe with a mighty strike; the arrow now stuck out erect from the target, her shot had been fired with accuracy true to any archer, that was plain to see; this girl showed real promise, just as he had hoped she would. The next shot also hit the target with deadly accuracy, but nothing could have prepared the ex-assassin for what was to come next. Reaching into a holster, the young female retrieved some sort of crossbow and fired three bolts in rapid concession. "What do we have here?" He whispered, his eyebrow arching curiously as he rubbed at his chin. He had never seen such a device before. It was strictly forbidden in his training to use such modern advancements. His former mentor and trainer was greatly against such things; Isaka (Asagao"s former mentor) did not approve on any level and any disobedience would not have been tolerated. If Asagao were to take on this girl as a pupil he would not enforce such barbaric standards. Even though he had a great appreciation for the old ways, he would not push his beliefs on any one else potentially limiting or hindering their growth. No, she would learn with whatever weapon she so desired.

"Hmmm?" He looked over at her with a lackadaisical stare, her words pulling him from his thoughts and dropping him back into reality. "Oh no, allow me." He smiled, nodding his head in approval of her fine demonstration of marksmanship. "You know, you have quite the talent, Rina-chan" He called out over his shoulder, as he walked over towards the tree trunk to remove the arrows and bolts. "I was cur...cur..curious!!" his words strained, as he pulled the first arrow free. "If you would be interested in possibly training with me?" He looked back and smiled, before yanking the second arrow free from its fixed position. Removing the three bolts, he collected them all and walked back over to Rina and handed her her ammunition. "There is, of course, no pressure whatsoever...I just see a great deal of potential in you is all." He chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood a bit and remove some of the tension from his sudden offer.