An early bird... [Open]

[Rakujo Yumeko]

As the sun had started to peak over the horizon, there would be people here and there throughout the White Oak Street. One of them was a young girl who was up decently early in the day, even being up slightly earlier than others her age. Even though it was so early, Ritsuko had still taken a shower and gotten dressed prior to leaving as her parents were used to her getting up early. The green haired girl currently wore a white uniform top with a bow that seemed as it had been halfheartedly tied, but it was tied so that it was specifically tied that way. She also wore a blue skirt, though she was glad that she had a pair of dark shorts underneath the skirt as she didn't know if it'd be very windy throughout the day.

Her hair had swayed in the slight breezes as the sun slowly started to rise, with the yellow ribbon in it holding her hair back and even fluttered a bit. She'd move one of her hands to keep out a little bit of her hair out of her face as she'd stop and look around the district, scanning it with her green eyes. The only thing she really had on her was a belt pouch she had been given a few days prior that she had a sandwich wrapped up for a small snack as it'd be a while until lunch time and even longer before she headed home. She looked forward to the rest of the day and slowly made her way through the street after he pause and smile a bit as she walked.

[MFT]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

The day was young and the air was crisp. The sun started to peak over the horizon, shooting off tendrils of visible light into the sky. Kaori had been awake for an hour now, dressed in her Shrine Maiden outfit, sweeping the grounds of the Shrine directly in front of a large bronze dragon statue standing confidently in the courtyard. After she finished sweeping, she looked up at the 'Shrine Guardian' for a moment. The broom was replaced in the storage shed to the side of the courtyard and she began with her morning prayer to the 'Shrine Guardian', praying for a day of prosperity for everyone and even sneaking in a few selfish prayers to make her own life worth living.

After the prayer was done, she clapped her hand a single time and bowed to the 'Shrine Guardian' and turned her back on courtyard and began to walk into the village. She had a little bit of time to kill before she had to get ready for class; so a walk through the village was enough to clear her head. Days at the academy were long due to the drills that 'Coffee-Sensei' had her doing after class. 1,000 proper punches every day after class until she commits the proper movement to muscle memory. It might seem like a huge time-waster, but she felt obligated to do so as it was now one of her duties. This wasn't a duty she was destined to undertake, but it was a duty towards her late friend Mina. To fulfill her final wish in her stead, hoping that if she became a shinobi, she would fulfill Mina's wish to do the same and it would bring a smile upon her face.

Before walking out however, she quickly ran into the house and put on a couple of large red ribbons in her hair, large enough to cover the black horns upon her head. She is still extremely self-conscious about the horns causing her to cover them. After putting the ribbons in her hair, now she felt confident enough to walk out. She had met a boy in the Oak District by the name of Mashiro. He was a nice enough boy, smelled of fish, but he was someone who actually listened to Kaori and paid attention to what she said. He also went to the academy so finding someone her age made the transition into returning to the public eye that much easier.

Finding herself in the Oak District, she found herself walking White Oak Street specifically. Upon this street, she noticed a green haired girl about her age wearing a cute yellow ribbon. The sun continued to work it's way up over the horizon, early enough for vendors to open their doors and turn on their lights for customers to come around. If Mashiro was so easy to talk to, maybe this girl was as well. With a bright smile upon her face, she walked up to the green-haired girl and waved to her. "Hello there! You're up early!"

 

[Yume]

Not far off, along the way to the sister district of the redder variety, Yume yawned with her arms stretching above her head. Pushing her along from behind from time to time, in warning to speed up the pace was her dutiful manager.

"C'mon..." she whined. "Why do I have to work out today... I'm injured aren't I?"

"Funny. I don't see a scar anymore."

"... Oppa, you're a pervert."

"..."

Yume stuck her tongue out at him, before a doppelganger caught her eye. In the distance on the street was a noticeable billboard poster. "Ah, it's already put up, huh?" she mused with a grin. She rummaged around in her handbag for a moment, pulling out a headband with some decently crafted horns and plopped them right on her head.

"Do you really want those demon rumours to circulate even more?" Manager shot her an exasperated look. It was this early in the morning and he was already fed up with her antics.

"Well..." the girl trailed off. It's not like they were wrong. "So are the horns in the shop already? Sweet! Downward pointing ones too?"

He didn't understand how she thought sometimes.

On the poster close off the distance, but close enough to Ritsuko and Kaori to notice pretty easily if they cared, was a promotional poster. Or more accurately, it was a teaser. Yume's blue eyes wore red catlike contacts, as she stared at the public playfully along with the juxtaposition of her bubbles. The horns, while not in a downward hook like Kaori's was noticeable enough to spark conversation once the masses looked. The rumour that her veins ran demon blood to look young was a rumour that perpetually floated around, despite a public denial through interviews and fan meets. The bottom of the poster teased for the summer, hinting of a touring event along with the date. It was happening soon.

Some stalls further into the shopping district had already stocked the horns with Yume's cute logo somewhere on it, in both clip form and headband form. Maybe it was her indirect hand of meddling in a stranger's affairs, for better or for worse. It all really depended on how Kaori looked at it.

Topic entered/left in S-rank runtime: 30 minutes. IT'S HAPPENING PEOPLE. THE TOUR WILL HAPPEN >=|

 

[Murasaki Yoruko]

In another part of Konohagakure, a red-haired man could be seen learning on the rail of a building not far. Wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a red long-sleeved shirt, the red-haired teenager seemed to be deep in thought. If one looked at his eyes they would see the slightest tinge of exhaustion on his face. Pushing off from the rails, he shook his head. He needed to walk around, get to know the village better than he had. It had been only a month or two since he had returned, but he still had yet to learn the layout of this Konoha. With little effort he vaulted over the railing and caught himself on the road, touching his knee to the ground softly before coming to a standing position. Placing his hands in his pockets, he walked around for a few minutes. Eventually Yoruko found himself in the Oak district and noticed a couple of younger looking villagers. Neither of them were Genin yet, if they were to become Shinobi at all. One of them had green hair, wearing a white top and a blue skirt. The other one had purple hair and a Shrine Maiden outfit. A couple of ribbons in the second girl's hair drew attention to her hair, as if purple hair itself wasn't enough.

Yoruko found himself leaning against a wall, he was further down the street from where the two girls were. If they continued walking this direction they would see him. If they decided to engage him in conversation then he might join them. Some social interaction might be good for a change, though he still felt pangs of reservation. He could sense their chakra, both above civilian levels. Probably training in the academy then? Deciding he didn't want to spook them with his permanently active Sharingan he closed his eyes and tried to revert them to being regular eyes. He found the process somewhat annoying ironically. He'd never really cared to deactivate the Sharingan since it took no chakra... And as a result he was having some difficulty. A slight frown would form on his face at this and he allowed the task to take his attention completely.

'Tch... It's been so long since I looked at myself in the mirror and didn't see Sharingan... I can't really remember to be honest.'

[MFT; WC: 392]

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

Today was the day, yes, today Akumi would go out and... well she didn't have a plan. But she will do something! It had been a couple of weeks since Akumi moved into her brother's place. Surprisingly a lot of kids her age, who had become a ninja, lived on their own. She didn't feel like living on her own, not yet anyways.

It didn't take Akumi long to get ready, she brushed, and braided her hair, put on her striped blouse, then a pair of shorts, and finished her look off with some shoes. She was out the door under thirty minutes, due to the fact her father never let her take more than a few minutes to get ready for anything. She kinda let loose a little and took a little bit more time than what she usually did. Today she wasn't going to hide her hands, she wasn't ashamed of her special mouths. So she was not going to hide them. Not like anyone would notice unless she opened her mouths anyways. She always brought her clay pouch, in case she needed to perform emergency art. Of course, she also brought her tools pouch. On her neck was two ninja headbands, one for Iwagakure, and the other for Konoha


Akumi headed to the Oak District. After passing by a U<3ME poster board, she made her way down the road. It looked like the villages' favorite idol was going on tour. That's pretty neat.

Akumi Spotted two girls, Purple and green headed. She also spotted a red headed boy, quite the assortment of colors they have here in leaf. She noted the boy was pretty cute, he seemed separated from the other two though.

Akumi Approached the girls, "Heya, mind if I hang out with you guys?" She had nothing better to do, plus as a transfer, she really didn't know anyone here in this village. She glanced at the boy, maybe he'd join them if she kept looking at him. She knew that she'd confront someone staying at her. She needed to get to know her fellow shinobi, and people if she wanted to claim the ranks. She had the power, she just needed the connections now.

 

[Rakujo Yumeko]

As the green haired girl had made her way through the White Oak Street, hearing vendors to start opening their doors. It didn't take much longer for her to hear someones voice. She'd look around to quickly notice someone with lavender hair and two large red ribbons in her hair on the sides of her head. She'd blink for a moment before seeing that the girl who was a few inches shorter than her had a bright smile on her face, walked up to her and waved. She'd stop moving before turning to face the newcomer, before speaking. "Hi there~ and I am. You are too. I didn't expect to see another kid up as early as me out and about like this." She'd say as she smiled at seeing another kid already.

As neither of the two were speaking, she'd look around, seeing a teaser poster for U<3ME and that it was teasing for the summer, she'd have gone to check it out but she didn't want to be rude to the person that had come up to her and spoke to her. Soon, another girl had joined the two now, though this one had black hair. She had asked if they minded if she hung out with them. "I don't mind, the more the merrier!" She'd say, smiling brightly. Though she'd look around as she had noticed the black haired girl had glanced over at, and seeing a red haired guy wearing a red shirt and black pants. As he was still a ways away, she was about to forget something, but she caught it and looked at the Black haired girl and the lavender haired girl and introducing herself. "I almost forgot, but my name's Ikou Ritsuko. It's great to meet you all!" She'd say, bowing slightly to the two girls.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

As Kaori continued to approach the green-haired girl, the sunlight peeked over the building to show off visible light upon the street, she stopped for a moment to notice a poster. A look of annoyance crossed her face as she saw the horns upon the pop idol that had instructed her the other day. A crow flew over, cawing. The timing was almost comedic. "So that's what she meant about using it in her promo," she said with annoyance cleanly obvious in her voice. But if a pop-idol is the one wearing the horns, maybe she could gain some form of acceptance from people; having them believe she's just 'following the trend'. Who knows, maybe fans everywhere will start wearing horns as accessories. While it does minimize her birth defect, at least it'll let her hide in plain sight; even if it is temporarily.

"Well, at least it's a pretty lady doing it," she said silently for a moment before snapping back to reality for a moment. If she wanted to play off the charade of being a U<3me fan, she would have to wait until at least tomorrow. It would be FAR too convenient for her to do so right at this moment, especially when the paint of the promotional poster was probably still damp. As her eyes diverted from the posted, she noticed a red-haired male leaning on something and then a brunette approaching her. Startled from her sudden arrival, Kaori sat on her heels and let out a little 'eep'. It sounded more like a little squeal than anything else really.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that, heh," she said with a chuckle, slightly embarrassed about being caught off-guard once again. The girl that approached them was yet another cute girl. Why is this village filled with nothing but attractive people? Not that Kaori had any actual preference due to her duties and young age, but it is more pleasant to see attractive people than people lacking-in-aesthetic-appeal. Kaori gave off a smile as she stood up and dusted off her hakama a bit. "Certainly, if you want, I don't have any complaints," she said. When, in actuality, she does have complaints about seeing this many people. All this many people (in her personal life) does is give her anxiety, but for Mina's sake, she needs to just get over it.

Everything was happening so fast! And then the green-haired girl spoke. Her attention moved towards her as she kept a big, warm smile upon her face. "Well, I was actually trying to go to the store to buy something for the Shrine. Since I started to Academy, I figured," she said with a little pause. It wasn't actually her thoughts that made her 'figure' it was something that Mina wanted. "Well, I figured I should make friends with as many people as I can," she said before stepping back, getting to look at Ritsuko, Akumi, and Yoruko, paying theme all equal attention. After moving into proper position, Kaori bowed to all of them. Thankfully, the ribbons remained firm and concealed her horns properly. Wouldn't want complete strangers to see them, who knows how they'd react.

"My name is Tenkawa Kaori! Nice to meet you all!" she shouted out. Her cute and charming demeanor quickly changed when she saw the vendor open up and display horns similar to the ones on the poster and the ones she wore attached to hairbands. A look of devastation crossed her face. She was speechless. She didn't actually expect horns to be in stores! This may be a blessing from the Great Dragon, but it completely caught her off-guard.

 

[Murasaki Yoruko]

Shortly after he had closed his eyes, another chakra signature, far larger than the other two girls approached. She seemed to pause for less than a second upon noticing him and proceeded to address the other two girls. She wished to join them, which he personally didn't have any complaints about. He didn't open his eyes yet, still unsure if the chakra had stopped going to his eyes or not. He listened to one of the girls speak, accepting the newcomer as well as introducing herself by the name of Ritsuko, Ikou. Opening his left eye to see who spoke, it was the green-haired girl who was now bowing that had given her name. She seemed kind enough, even smiling at them. The last time he saw someone smiling was her...

'Sadako...'

His sharingan eye hadn't missed the purple haired girl mumbling to herself, even reading her lips. A quick flicker toward what she was looking at indicated that she had been looking at the poster near him. It was a poster indicative of a local star that was going touring soon. He noted the horns on the poster and a slight smirk lined his face. 'Playing at demonic heritage? Well, it is show-business after all. Not to mention she is rather attractive. Wonder if she's around my age...?' He mused, his open eye flickering back over to the group in time to hear the violet-haired shrine maiden speak of why she had been in the area. Briefly he made eye-contact with her own lavender eyes. Opening his second eye, a pair of sharingan eyes gazed into her own for a terse moment. She paused in her speech and he chalked it up to his own eyes, used to the reaction as he broke eye contact. She wanted to make friends? Well, he supposed a normal academy student would probably want to make friends, they would be comrades-in-arms sooner or later. Kaori as she introduced herself bowed toward all of them; himself included, interestingly enough. Between Kaori and Ikou bowing to all of them himself included he figured he had more than been invited to join them. Then there was the last one to join, the girl with the striped shirt and black hair. For just the slightest moment he didn't see the newcomer but an overlapping of Sadako. His eyes widened for just a second as she stared at him. He was put off slightly, and glanced away toward the ground.

'Idiot, she's not Sadako. Their builds are different and so are their mannerisms... Sadako always had a hunger to those onyx eyes of hers... Plus she'd probably be older than the person in front of me.' He thought, breathing softly he pushed off of the wall swept his gaze along them. He looked to be the tallest of them, and he had a few years on the oldest looking one of them, sweeping into a slight bow of respect he stood up and reached his full height of 5'8".

"I wouldn't mind spending time in your company either, if it's fine with you all. I've actually been meaning to get acquainted with the city's layout... I came here from Iwa. My name is Murasaki, Yoruko." He spoke with a pitch that was just a touch more tenor than it was baritone. He noticed that Kaori seemed shocked about something, but he wasn't too bothered about it right now. Placing a hand on his hip, his three-tomoe'd sharingan revisited upon the newest comer to the group, the one who he had momentarily mistaken for Sadako. His eyes settled on her own for a moment before speaking directly to her. "See something that caught your eye?" He asked mostly as a joke. Internally he cringed, he sucked at social interaction pretty badly. Then again with what his life had been like he would be surprised if he was socially salvageable at all.

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

Akumi was gladly welcomed into the little group. She didn't realize it that they were all younger than her, but not by much it seemed. She was short for her age anyways, which she did have a problem with. After taking a second look, she noticed the purple-haired girl had horns, whether or not if they were real or not, akumi didn't know. It wasn't her place to judge either if they were real. She didn't really care all that much, she was mostly curious of what they put in the water to get all these varieties of hair colors.

"Well, I was actually trying to go to the store to buy something for the Shrine. Since I started to Academy, I figured," "Well, I figured I should make friends with as many people as I can,"

"Oh? you're an academy student?" Akumi asked her thought out loud, she sometimes couldn't contain her thoughts. Or maybe she didn't have much of a filter either. "That's cute!" She stated with a grin, she loved all things cute, and now she believed this girl was adorable. Even cute things can bite though, so Akumi didn't press her luck. The green haired girl was also cute, she seemed like she was straight forward. It was odd that so many kids were out this early... Yet they were Ninja! Of course, they would be awake at this hour. Who knows when the enemy would strike.

"I almost forgot, but my name's Ikou Ritsuko. It's great to meet you all!"

"My name is Tenkawa Kaori! Nice to meet you all!"

The two colorful girls introduced themselves, AKumi smiled, and nodded to them. She placed her left hand on her chest before she spoke. "I am Yumoto AKumi, a genin formerly from Iwagakure, now a part of Konoha." She revealed, then gave a half bow. She was proud of her former village and still was. She was also proud that she was now a part of Konoha.

"I wouldn't mind spending time in your company either, if it's fine with you all. I've actually been meaning to get acquainted with the city's layout... I came here from Iwa. My name is Murasaki, Yoruko."

Soon enough the older male joined them, though AKumi didn't realize her was older until her stood. He was a whole foot taller than her! "Holy bat-monkey, you make me look like a midget!" She blurted out loud after the male joined them. She meant to keep that in her head, but oh well. He was an Uchiha, no wonder he was so cute. Rumor has it they steal girls hearts!

As he spoke directly to her, Akumi looked him in the eye. She wouldn't show that she was afraid of Sharingan! It was such an artist beautiful Dou-Jutsu. "Yes, you caught my eye." She admitted, she was straightforward about it of course. "I gotta say, Yoruko, Your eyes are beautiful!" She asserted with a big grin. Those eyes, the eyes of an Uchiha, they can look right through you. She never thought she'd meet an Uchiha. Though, he had red hair... So that made him even more unique.

 

[Rakujo Yumeko]

The lavender haired girl had stated that she was going to the store to buy something for the shrine, and had stated that she had started the Academy. Ritsuko's eyes had lit up as she had recently enrolled in the academy herself. The girl introduced herself as Tenkawa Kaori, in which she would nod in response. The next person to speak was the guy as he had spoke about having been from Iwa, and following that up by introducing himself as Murasaki Yoruko. The black haired girl had responded to Kaori as she had started that she was in the Academy, and soon introduced herself as Yumoto Akumi, and was a Genin originally from Iwagakure as well.

It was interesting to Ritsuko that both Akumi and Yoruko were both previously from Iwagakure. As she started to think, Akumi started to speak about how the boy made her look like a 'midget' as even the boy was taller than her, as she was taller than the two other girls there. She'd continue to go on with replying to the boy in stating that he had caught her eye and even said that his eyes were beautiful. "Oh! That's the beginning of romance in a manga that I read not too long ago!" Ritsuko had said, blushing ever so slightly as she looked at Akumi. She did know really what to expect from this, but it was such a thing that she'd only expect to see in a manga, but apparently such things were said in life. She didn't know how often such things were said, but as she looked at Yoruko, she noticed they were different, but she didn't know much about things certain people had that others didn't that attributed to Shinobi life as well.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

The store had the exact same horns as her's. It was really quite annoying and she would have to talk to this 'so-called' U<3Me the next time she saw her; the likelihood might be slim-to-none of seeing her ever again (other than buying a ticket to her show) but she may simply ask 'what the heck' anyway. The ribbons that she put in her hair specifically to block the horns were apparently not doing their job; thankfully Kaori didn't notice Akemi looking at her strangely nor did she catch any sideways glances coming from their direction. The taller boy (well, the only boy, rather) made a comment in regards to her seeing something interesting. With a little laugh and a semi-authentic smile, she waved her hand in front of her face. "Oh, it's nothing, please don't worry about it," she simply said before noticing his eyes. They were purple, similar to hers; different at the same time.

"Um, excuse me," she quickly asked as she started to walk up to Yoruko and invaded his space, looking up at him, standing on her tip-toes to look at his eyes. "Those don't happen to be the eyes of the Dragon, would they?" A silly thing to ask. She had genes stretching all the way to the Hyuuga Clan, having a recessive trait of the Byakugan. In her family, having the Byakugan was a trait of 'the chosen of the Dragon Gods', a trait that is used to subjugate those born into the clan with the recessive traits to live a terrible life as the Shrine Maiden. Strangely, it only affected a small portion of the females within the family line. Before she was born, the clan had went several generations without a Shrine Maiden; now that she was born, she had to endure a life of servitude and one of loneliness. She didn't get out much because of this.

"I've never seen Dragon Eyes with that design, though. It's very strange," she commented before Akemi had introduced herself. With a little wave, she ran over to Akemi and grabbed her by her hands and shook her hand. "Hello, miss Akemi! It's very nice to meet you!" she said with enthusiasm. She had enthusiasm for meeting every single one of the people here; but the fact that Yoruko's eyes were a strange texture did intrigue her. She seemed to shake Akemi's hand for a little bit too long as her brain started to process some of the words Akemi said. She paused for a moment as the word 'Iwagakure' was a complete mystery to her. She smiled and the shaking stopped; an obvious look of confusion was seen. There was a strange and awkward moment of silence.

"What's Iwagakure?" she asked. A gentle breeze blew through the group, ruffling her long lavender hair and ribbons concealing her horns. Another strange silence washed over her as a crow fly by, cawing; the sound of the bird sounding like it was calling her an idiot.

Ba-ka~
Ba-kaaaaaa~​

 

[Murasaki Yoruko]

As he had approached and spoke up, Kaori thought he had been speaking to her. He noted it for later though it wasn't terribly important. He would take her wish into consideration before nodding in her general direction. It was truly Akumi's reaction that had left him nonplussed. She had been shocked at the size difference between them. Before, when he had been leaning against the wall he knew he shrunk his height down but it was just comfortable for him. But he'd never heard of a bat-monkey. A couple of blinks went by as he went without saying a word. While the girl in front of him was certainly shorter he wouldn't quite say it was so drastic. He was about to say something when she continued from where she'd left off, going on to say that he had caught her eye. He was used to catching looks from people although they were generally about his eyes, and how they so terrified them. However, it was when she complimented his eyes, calling them beautiful, that a reaction escaped him. He blinked once and his cheeks tinged red slightly. He glanced away, not used to receiving compliments on his Sharingan eyes. People had an inherent fear of them, even without the odd coloration.

"Oh! That's the beginning of romance in a manga that I read not too long ago!"

If Yoruko hadn't been dealing with trying to pin down a blush he would've scoffed at such a word. In reality though, Yoruko felt his cheeks heat up more than they already had, and turned to eye Ritsuko.

"That's-"

But he was cut off by Kaori getting incredibly close to look at his eyes. He felt the urge to step back become nearly overwhelming but instead he stood still, though his muscles went rigid as if trying to hold something back. Anyone who could see or feel chakra would notice it creeping on his person ever so slightly, like an aura. If they were able to see it, they would notice that his Chakra was pitch-black. Ritsuko took that moment to ask if he had the eyes of the dragon. He wasn't sure what a dragon was, but he knew what these eyes were. Taking a moment to consider his answer he shook his head. When she stepped away he felt his lungs relax, as if he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. He debated his next course of action but for now focused on squelching the blush that still had not left his face. He turned to look at Akumi and greeted her properly now that he had managed to cool off and remove the blush from his person.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Akumi, Ritsuko, and Kaori. Iwagakure is the village that a number of the shinobi that now populate Konoha came from. It's a nice place to live."

'Though I would never want to go back to it...' He thought to himself as he glanced back at Akumi. His sharingan eyes rotated lazily, as if he were trying to re-assess the situation he'd found himself in.

The red-haired shinobi had never believed that he'd be flustered so easily, especially after his relationship with Sadako. He'd thought himself beyond the point of being caught off guard but it seemed he was wrong. Finally taking a moment to glance back toward Kaori he would speak as to what the shake of his head meant. "These eyes aren't that of a dragon. They're..." He started but seemed to consider better of what he was going to say. He couldn't make up his mind and the fact that he was still trying to reign in his chakra wasn't helping.

'I'm not used to people getting so close so suddenly, at least not in a non-combat situation...' He thought to himself, frowning slightly.

... Damn it he was being awkward again!

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

"I think all romance manga's start like that...." Akumi commented and crossed her arms. She's read a few romance novels, they're all the same, but with different skins. She shrugged it off, but Yoruko seemed to get flustered over it. That was a bit cute, and it almost made her giggle. She was able to contain her laughter, and things seemed to settle a little bit. The purple haired girl, Kaori, she was quite ambitious, nearly putting her face into the taller males. She asked if those were dragon eyes...

"Those are the eyes of an Uchiha, although a unique offset of the original color. It's a DoJutsu." Akumi said to the girl, she was very interested in the girl, she seemed innocent, maybe they had not gone over the DoJutsu lesson in her school yet.

Akumi flinched as the girl suddenly turned to her, and grabbed her hands, not only did the girl grab her precious hands, her sculpting tools, and were her extra mouths resign, Kaori also misspoke her name! "It's Akumi..." She mumbled, before gently pulling her hands behind her back.

Kaori then asked what was Iwagakure.... "It's a location where I once resigned.... A village in the mountains." She said with a nod, she then looked over at Yoruko, "We're both from the hidden stone village." She stated with a smile. She did not expect to meet someone else from her home village, though she should have expected since a lot of ninjas came here.

"On that note, it is a pleasure to meet all of you, Ritsuko, Yoruko, and Kaori." Akumi stated then gave them all a grin. She couldn't help but think about her hands being touched though, she tasted the other girl's hands. It made Akumi shiver, and almost choke. It was disgusting to her, though the girl would never understand what she just caused for Akumi. Nor would Akumi say out loud what was going through her mind.

 

[Rakujo Yumeko]

The twelve year old soon listened to Kaori as she had asked the guy if his eyes were the 'Eyes of the Dragon' before stating that she had never seen the eyes with the design. She could see the design, she was just a bit confused as to what the girl was talking about when she had brought up 'Eyes of the Dragon'. The girl had said something with enthusiasm and paused for a bit before asking what Iwagakure was. She hadn't entirely learned what it was in the Academy as she had just joined but she had a bit of an idea as to what it was. It wasn't too long after Kaori had asked what she did before the sound of a crow had been heard that sounded suspiciously like someone talking.

It didn't take too long for the guy to blush after her comment, but he would soon say that it was a pleasure to meet her, Kaori and Akumi and even explained to Kaori as to what Iwagakure was. He'd soon start to say that his eyes weren't from a dragon, but he had cut himself off and left them high and dry with what he was going to say. Ritsuko would frown for a quick moment just at the fact he had stopped in the middle of a sentence.

It hadn't been all that long but Akumi would comment on her previous comment of how she comments on the red heads eyes, stating in her opinion that all romance manga start like that. She'd continue with explaining that the guys eyes were those of an Uchiha and that his eye color was unique. Apparently it was a dojutsu. The green haired girl would stand there smiling and blinking a few times before seeing Akumi flinch as Kaori had grabbed her hands as Kaori had misspoke her name.

Akumi was nice enough to state that Iwagakure was a place where they had both been before and that it was a village in the mountains. And soon enough she'd state that it was a pleasure to meet all of them. "Now that we've all introduced ourselves and its so early in the morning does food sound good to anyone or has everyone already eaten?" She'd ask, smiling still as her stomach had started to growl lightly. "S-sorry. I usually get up early, but I normally don't spend enough time home in the morning to eat breakfast, but I normally have a sandwich for around lunch." She'd said before looking at everyone.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

"Eyes of the Uchiha? Why do fans have eyes?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head. She hasn't heard of the Uchiha Clan, but she is quite interested in their eyes. She looked over towards Yoruko for a moment and scowls as she continue to study the boy's eyes. After a brief moment, the scowl turned into a big smile. "I can do something like that too."

"Kaori, you must never show anyone your eyes; your Dragon Eyes. They'll call you a freak! A monster!"​

"But it kinda hurts to do," she explained. She had only recently unlocked the power of the Dragon Eyes, or what others would know as the Byakkugan. Unlike the Byakkugan though, her eyes take on a much different coloration.

Yoruko's blush was still ever-present and she walked up to him and poked his cheek with her finger. "Do you need medicine?" the naive girl asked. "If you need healing, we can do that for you at the Tenkawa Shrine," she explained. She was still in her Shrine Maiden garb with ribbons in her hair to cover as much of her horns as possible.

It wasn't very long after she stopped paying attention to Yoruko did she get corrected by Akumi. It took a brief moment to remember what she called her and she turned towards Akumi and quickly bowed over-and-over in apology. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she'd say with every bow, as if she had the timing and rhythm of the apology committed to muscle memory. After 5 bows, she stood up, feeling all of the blood rush up towards her head. A dizzy look came about little Kaori, stumbling around in a comedic fashion. She shook her head to regain her composure and stood straight up. "Akumi-senpai it is!" Kaori said with a little salute.

Then an explanation was given in regards to the general location of the Village Hidden in Stone with the revelation that the two of these people were Stone Natives. Another tilt of her head. "Why are you people here then?" she asked. Did they lose their home in a rockslide, a meteor strike, or civil war? She was much too young to know of the most recent incident that happened to Leaf, with the clan relocating to a smaller town within Fire Country.

The look of disgust after she had shaken Akumi's hand had flew right over her head. The reason why the simple shaking would disgust the girl was completely foreign to Kaori. Perhaps she had a dislike of being touched, had a phobia of being touched, or felt something when coming into contact with other humans. Perhaps it was just a custom in Stone to react that way. But mouths on a person's hand was completely alien and didn't even register as a thing that was humanly possible, nor did she even notice something different with her hands.

Then the thought of eating something came up. Yes, the idea of food would be beautiful. Her only problem is that she didn't have any money to buy food. Eating something other than the usual stuff she would cook would be lovely, but she knows she'd get lectured for eating something other than what she makes and that she 'lacked discipline to resist temptation' or other non-sense. While she was dedicated to her duty to the Dragon Shrine, she DOES want to have a social life; to rekindle the beauty and love she felt with Mina. To have a friend, a good friend, is something she selfishly desired to help alleviate her loneliness. Separation anxiety struck often when remembering her friend Mina.

It wasn't like anyone could replace Mina; nobody could. However, having friends is something normal children had and not having any friends made her feel like she was different. All because of the mistake of her birth and the genetic 'defects' she was born with. The Dragon Eyes (or others would call it the Byakugan) as well as the horns upon her head outcasted her from society due to her awkward appearance and inability to do anything but tend to the Shrine.

"That would be lovely," Kaori said with a weak smile upon her face. "But I have no way of actually paying for it." She laughed a bit. "So that means I might have to skip out this time around. Sorry."

WC: 723
[MFT]

 

[Murasaki Yoruko]

The conversation shifted from his eyes, and for that Yoruko was grateful. He wasn't used to receiving anything other than negative statements about his eyes, so it was a pleasant change. But nonetheless all of it at once was too much for him to deal with. As Kaori neared and asked if he needed medicine he shook his head, his left hand moving to scratch the back of his head as the redness began fading from his cheeks. She asked why Akumi and himself were no longer in Iwagakure, he wasn't sure what her reason was, but he no longer had any desire to remain in a village where Guro and Ayume had lived. That this had been an opportunity at all was one that he was thankful for. His eyes conveyed a dark feeling as he seemed to space out for a moment, memories flickering back through his mind of that night so long ago.

Discovering the truth about his past, the all-consuming rage that had followed hand in hand with the hopefully temporary crack in his sanity. The brutality he had dealt them, leaving nearly nothing left other than bloodstains on the floor. He'd felt so free, so liberated at the time. However now he only felt a dull flame of hatred for that place that had not been a home. It'd been too long since he'd torn through a group of competent enemies... Remembering it caused a flicker of that craving for battle to come to the surface for a moment but he squelched it as quickly as possible. To anyone watching it would look like he'd remembered a pleasant memory.

That being the case he nearly missed the brief look of disgust and shivering that crossed over the dark-haired girl. Yoruko hadn't seen the handshake but knew that something had happened he'd missed. He shrugged it off mentally and glanced between them and over to Ritsuko, who had suggested they grab a bite to eat. Truth be told he hadn't eaten since he'd awoken that morning and could use some food.

"It'll be my treat. I don't know of any good places though, so suggestions are between you three. I'm fine with anything." He spoke in a casual, almost off-handed fashion. His sharingan laziliy rotated as he shifted glance to the citizens of Konoha that were traversing throughout the visible streets. It was such a large village, it almost felt bigger than Iwagakure. Of course, most of that feeling was due to the fact that Arcadia had been underground, whereas everything seemed pretty visible by comparison.​

[MFT | WC: 430]

 

[Rakujo Yumeko]

Ritsuko had looked at Kaori as she had spoke, confused about eyes of the Uchiha but as she had so recently been accepted into the academy. Towards the end of what Kaori was saying was that she didn't have any way of paying and that she would have sit out from it, but soon after, the man named Yoruko had said that it was his treat but he didn't know many of the food stands. "Well, Ramen isn't much of a breakfast meal so that's out. I'm honestly not too picky, so Kaori, do you have anything in mind." She'd ask, looking at her with a smile.

[Skipping Akumi this round to keep this RP going]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

A smile was made towards Yoruko's way when he said he would cover for the meal. She didn't have much in the way of charity towards her, so this was a good change of pace. It felt that, her not being able to have her own money to feed herself outside of the Shrine, seemed to be a bother towards Yoruko (even if he wouldn't perceive it that way). The moment Yoruko asked what was on the menu, her heart was aflutter. She opened her mouth to mention something about Ichiraku ramen, but Ritsuko's words pierced through the air, saying that it's much too early for ramen. As sad as that was to Kaori, it was the brutal truth. Most ramen vendors wouldn't be open until lunch time anyway. Her knowledge of the restaurants here in Konoha were limited; seeing most just on passing. Some of the restaurants that she remembered may not be open any more, but it was worth the shot.

"Well, there is a canned-ham, eggs, and rice restaurant in the Red Oak District," she mentioned. The restaurant, for all she remembered, was right next to Ichiraku Ramen, a place full of wonderful memories of her childhood friend. The sun peeked over the horizon, shooting thorns of light into the sky. Had it already been that long since the four of these children got together and met one another? "Is everyone okay with that?" she asked with a slightly discomforting smile. Her opinions were never taken seriously, even at the Shrine where obedience to her mother was paramount and her ability to ask questions or make recommendations was an alien concept.

----
[OOC: Feel free to jump in when you get the chance, Aku-chan ^^]

 

[Murasaki Yoruko]

Yoruko saw the smile directed his way, glancing between the two girls that were speaking. He enjoyed ramen noodles as much as the next fellow but having it for breakfast wasn't the best idea. Canned-ham, eggs and rice sounded as both a nutritious and appealing way to start the day. "That sounds good to me. Lead the way, Kaori-chan?" He suggested, following her lead. His hands found their way into his pockets. He noted that the violet-haired girl seemed a touch uncomfortable but wasn't sure why, so he decided to leave it alone for now. As she would undoubtedly lead the way he opened up conversation.

"So, are you two in the Academy? What makes you two desire to be Shinobi?"

[Apologies for the short post]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

"Sure! I heard this place was delicious! They have some really yummy--" she said with a smile upon her face as her words trailed off into silence. She stood still for a moment with her eyes fixated upon another person. She shook her head at the person and mouthed out the word 'no' to them before the man placed his hands out from behind his back. A look of sadness struck her face for a brief moment before her eyes shot down. This man was her brother; her eldest brother. The first in-line to become the keeper of the Shrine. He was groomed and brought up to be the caretaker until Kaori was born. Having been born with her horns and having developed her eyes in early childhood established her as the Shrine's next priestess, absolving him of all responsibility. One would think that her burden would have been a blessing, but he knew of the fate of those born with those horns. A fate that Kaori, herself, was ignorant of. It is because of this that he treats her coldly.

Kaori's face shot upwards towards the group with a smile upon her face. "I... I think maybe next time. It was a pleasure meeting all of you," Kaori said before bowing deeply to the three in attendance. She did hope to meet them all again some day, not liking chance meetings like this to go to waste. "Bye bye," she said with a little wave after the bow and started to shuffle towards the man in the distance. Upon reaching him, Kaori placed her hands upon her lap and bowed to him.

"Mother sent you, didn't she?" she asked with a hint of defeat in her voice.

"I don't know why you would think any differently. You know you don't have the luxury of screwing around like this. Didn't what happen to Mina teach you anything? You know the Great Dragon doesn't take kindly to that and you know that the Great Dragon is jealous," he said in a scolding manner. "Now stand up and walk back to the Shrine. Don't turn to look at them," he said as Kaori's eyes started to look back towards the group that she wanted to become her friends. Doing as her brother said, she started to walk away with him following behind.

"I just want some friends, Taka. It's lonely being the only one at the Shrine," she said, trying to garner sympathy from her brother; perhaps the one that understands her plight the most.

"I understand your feelings, but your duty doesn't call for having friends, you know that."

"Yeah," she said as she continued to walk with her chaperone in tow back towards the Shrine.

[Topic Left, Unless stopped]