Approaching midnight, delaying Demons [Open]

[Hijoshikina Meiryo]

Meiryu knew that she needed to not have these anymore. The nightmares had gotten a little out of hand. They did not happen every night which was a blessing in itself; however the main issue came on the nights they did come. Perhaps once or twice a week she would wake up and never be able to go back to sleep. It made it rather difficult to form a sleep schedule which she was desperate to have since she was now an academy member. The thing was is the dreams sometimes made plenty of sense and other times they were just so randomly vile that nothing made much sense. The nightmares had defiantly been getting worse since her Encounter with Ryuujin; correction Nara-Goddamn-Ryuujin.

His presence and feel had really rocked her core…the issue was that it had also felt so similar to a feeling long ago buried deep within her memory. While she thought it had something to do with that legend she also thought that made very little sense. Many of her demons always came as the standards you might expect but normally her dreams involved her eventually being saved by either her mother, father, or the Kage no Ryu…but ever since that encounter she would seek safety in the Kage no Ryu only to be tormented by it.

She shivered at that thought. While she had a dark hood and cloak, the weather was never very comfortable in Kumo. Add to the fact she was walking through the forest around eleven pm and you had the signs of cold and bitter weather to match the mood she was in. She always needed to go for a walk after one of these dreams; she just could not sit at home and wait out the anxiety. It ravaged at her insides and she felt like the dreams still clung to her…walking with her and stalking her. She was increasingly jumpy and of course she would scream at the stupidest things. So far no one had heard her but eventually someone might…though not many people traveled in this ancient forest, late at night, with the weather not being favorable.

She felt the cold seeping into the cloak and decided to cling it a little closer to her body. Her red school outfit should not have been what she grabbed for under it. She had no idea why she even liked skirts…she knew it was because she wanted to be cute and attractive but to be fair…once everyone knew how bad she was at being a shinobi, that thought would be gone in a heartbeat. She leaned her back on a tree to rest. She was tired and looked ragged. She did not particularly want to fall asleep here nor was it safe. She just wanted to rest her back and legs. Before that, she grabbed rocks and moved some grass and dirt and then set up a small campfire using a match. She wished she had the talent for fire jutsu but so far she had not had a talent for any jutsu.

Once the fire got going the heat from it certainly helped the night, she thanked Raiden or whoever was the deity of weather for it not having any precipitation. Rubbing her hand and holding it up to the fire she felt a little better about her situation. She smiled, loving the feel of fire and the look of fire. Always struggling to hold onto its form and strength but never quite able to become solid and sturdy. Someday Mei hoped she would not relate to a small weak campfire…but today was not a time for that. She clung to be like this fire…and to keep the shadows and the nightmares away. At least for a little while.

 

[Senka]

Through the depths of the night, darkness and silence were one's closest but, ironically, least reliable companions. The stars overhead would paint a carpet of countless colors on an untouchable roof, as the breath of the world would play with anything it could lay its unstoppable hands on. The city was brightly illuminated, counter-intuitively so, considering it was a Ninja village and literally called the village hidden in the clouds. As the occasional sound of nocturnal animals resounded through the night, Senka walked further away from her yet to be defined home and found herself in an area surrounded by trees, on a path leading deeper into the darkness and suppressing silence of an attentively watching forest.

"Don't tell me... I'm lost."

It was a rhetorical question directed at nobody in particular, but there was a certain knowledge within the words that seemed to stem from the premonition that had guided her on this road in the dead of the night. She knew that she would walk this path and she knew it would lead to her getting lost, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"It is what it is..."

Taking off the surgical mask covering her mouth and nose, she breathed in the air of the forest directly, smelling the sweet stench of rotting wood and fallen leaves turning into nourishment for the very earth she treaded. While within the village, she usually kept the mask on, so as to not scare anybody, something she did because she had been told to do so rather than out of courtesy and regard for other people. Now, alone at night, in a forest devoid of any human presence, she did not have to keep the feelings of inconsiderate members of society in mind when she acted, and freely showed her gruesome scars, for nobody to witness.

Senka had been insomniac ever since she had awoken from the makeshift surgery that even today barely held her together. The few times she could actually fall asleep had ended with terrifying visions of her past, her body revisiting all the events that had led up to her literally dying once, at the bottom of the ravine she had been discarded into. She used to wake up violently, every single scar on her body, therefore, her whole body, aching as if it remembered the torment it had experienced that night. The heavy black bags under her eyes were testament to her inability to find peace in sleep, and rest her body without the aid of employing her Chakra. Her mind, however, would remain restless until she finally exacts vengeance on her torturers.

Playing with her hair, which was gradually and irreversibly bleaching out from the tips up, giving her a gradient from blonde to black, the closer it got to the hair's roots, Senka suddenly smelled something burning. She followed her nose and found a young girl, vexingly taller and inarguably soon to blossom into a beautiful maiden, warming herself in front of a fire, in the middle of the forest.

"Well well... what do we have here. I hope you are able to keep that fire under control, I wouldn't want to arrest your crispy remains from inside a charcoal forest."

Senka commented and approached the girl, a smile, stretching her stitches and the definition of the word "smile", on her lips. It was possible that in the fire-induced twilight, the little girl with the brutal scars would appear as nothing but a monster, but she was taking her chances at a possible escalation of the situation over having overlooked a potential perpetrator in the complete obliteration of the Ancient Forest by cremation.

"But don't be scared. For now, just consider this a chance meeting, or a fateful meeting, and tell me your reason for being here this late, considering your apparent age."

She knew that her appearance certainly did not warrant her attitude, but ultimately, she was a registered ANBU and could work her way around unbelieving people in other ways than words alone, if necessitated by the circumstances.


[Topic Entered ; Marked for Training]

 

[Hijoshikina Meiryo]

The warmth of the fire kept away not only the cold of the night but also the fears within her heart. Moving through the flicker flames she could see the very things she feared being burned away. She was comfortable here; a bonfire gave much more to someone on the road then a traditional fire. This one kept her mind at ease and almost allowed her to fall into sleep again. She resisted however for fear of what would traverse into the light and simply for the fact that if she went to sleep the fire may get out of hand. She wanted neither of these thing to intrude on the mood she had finally been able to place herself within.

Her brother was reminded of within the flames…

She admitted that at first when she heard the words, she had thought them to be from inside her own head. It took her only a brief moment to collect herself a bit as the female made her presence known. To be certain of it, fear was not the fire thing that came into the mind of the academy student. Authority seemed to ring for the sentence and as such it put her more on edge. Respect had been something Meiryu had been giving to everyone and yet still she could not shake the fact that someday…well no she had to take that back. It would never happen anyway.

When the female made her presence visible she was given probably the creepiest smile she had ever seen. Despite that it was still a smile. The woven stiches that were given to her seemed cruel…yet apparently they worked out. Mei could not help but feel a need to hold her. Pity was not what she felt, nor fear or respect anymore. A sort of sisterly affection which she wanted to keep this girl from the world and mend those scars, almost like they were a personification of the soul at this point.

She startled herself however, realizing that that was probably the deepest thing she had ever thought of and may very well be the only deep thought she ever had again. With that…maybe this was a chance encounter. Something to be cherished. Why would this female be traversing the dark alone like Mei was? She must not be up to anything bad to approach her like this. One would suspect that a trouble maker would avoid the light and avoid being noticed.

She was asked what she was doing in this forest at the approaching hour of midnight. It made snese to be questioned. Meiryu looked at her and sighed, “Nightmares…bonfires always calm my nerves but starting one in the middle of town would be frowned upon.” She had tried to do that once and it had not ended well for her family. Thankfully though there were no charges and the fire was at least easily remedied.

She shifted a little to take on a more formal position and less relax and motioned for the female to join her. “A tame fire never helped so I come out here when mind is terrified and needs to cool off. It would please me greatly if you would not mind sitting with me, if you might only be able to spar a few minutes.” She would not question the girl with hair of light and dark, for it was not Meiryu’s place to question that of someone.

Her curiosity was strong about the girl’s presence here or the authority she carries but even more so about the stiches and the scars…a question she would never dare vouch for under the pretense of this relationship. The same way she hoped no one would dive deeper into her own scars.

 

[Senka]

The girl's features were clouded and the shadows playing over them from the illumination of the fireplace served to make her appear older than she was. Senka heard the word "nightmares", given as the reason for this girl's lone presence in the depths of the Ancient Forest, and stopped to think about it. The situation appeared similar to her own, and while the younger appearing one had the visible scars to testify for the causes of her cruel past, the fire-starter did seem to have experienced something traumatizing of her own. However, as an ANBU and as a person, Senka did not believe anything she was told, unless it could be verified. Seeing as this girl was so young, there could be no harm done in at least talking to her, while keeping an eye on the fire.

"I have the whole night to spare. But tell me, what is your name? I'm Senka..."

The stitched up girl decided to not give her full name, since there was no point in doing so; it was not the name she had been born with, even if it was the name she had been reborn with. She wondered why this girl did not doubt her authority, but maybe she was a civilian, knowing that people who looked the way Senka did were most certainly Ninja. When asked, the stitched up girl would only respond that she was anything between a Genin and a Jounin, depending on the person inquiring, considering the fact that her identity as an ANBU was to remain hidden, unless she wore her ANBU mask - which, in accordance with her way of conduct as an undercover intelligence agent, she never did.

"Are you here often?"

Even after a year within the village, Senka had not explored all of it yet, and despite her interest in information, she was simply unable to traverse a village this big on her own two feet. In fact, she could feel the strength leaving her body slowly this very moment, as the limit of her activity was nearing; if she wanted to keep up appearances, she would have to spend Chakra from now on.

She did not want to do so, and sat down on a fallen, moss-covered tree across from the young girl, the fireplace between them. Her limbs relaxed and even her neck stopped supporting her head properly, so that she began to look like a broken doll, her head slightly tilted over and her arms hanging from her sides lifelessly. Only her eyes, fixed on the girl's opposite of her, would tell anybody that she was very well alive.

 

[Hijoshikina Meiryo]

Senka…she mouthed it just after she had mentioned that it was her name. It was so Meiryo would not forget it, it was so she would hopefully be able to attach it to her should see her in the village. Senka was unmistakable for obvious reasons however to know someone’s name would be much more difficult as time wore on. Mei simple responded with, “Hijoshikina Meiryo, Cloud Academy student though very fresh.” Fresh was an understatement. She really could not do anything. No Jutsu…no Chakra…no anything. She might as well be a civilian. No that it mattered at her level but she saw already how other students picked this up with greater ease while they got frustrated at her because she could grasp the simplest of things. She could answer questions, quote books, but when it came to performance…

The fire was starting to get too warm for her so she slowly removed her cloak, making sure it was away from the fire. She played with her Blue-black hair and looked towards Senka with the light fire reflected with the embers bouncing off the flame. Her skin just a little pink from the heat. “Not this specific place, but yea this forest is where I come ever few nights, basically whenever I go stir crazy after a nightmare.” She realized that it was usually once a week and sometimes three times a week. Never more or less than that.

When the girl sat down before her Mei had a bit of a startled look to her. Senka reminded her more of a puppet than anything else. Her tones and attitudes really gave nothing away about her disposition, Mei was terrible at reading people but even then there should be something. Senka gave off the impression of not alive physically. Meiryo felt a little uncomfortable, imagining that Senka was like a puppet or something being controlled by someone nearby. Shivers danced along her skin in time with a breeze that would rustle the leaves above them.

Until she could prove something however it was Mei’s job to assume that Senka was indeed herself. If she mistrusted everything and everyone in their village, she would most likely not get very far. “I admit to being at a loss for words, I did not imagine finding anyone, though it is a pleasant thing. I worry that I might be not quite as entertaining as you may have hoped for.” She shifted a little and stretched, giving off a tiny squeak as she reached as for as she could, getting the rust out of the muscles. She did feel better but Senka’s presence was such an oddity that Mei really had no idea what to do.

Mei held out her hand towards the fire and said, “Would you like some cake? I have cake to eat away at the darkness from within. Would it please you?”

 

[Senka]

It had been apparent even before the girl had stated her name and had given away her not-so-notable rank, that she was not a person of position or power. Her freshness could be seen in the fact that she told a stranger her full name, while there was always doubt as to its truthfulness, and that her apparent age fit her position as a member of the academy, yet to graduate even the most basic of training. Furthermore, Senka's ability to discern people made it possible for her to see that there was no lie in her words; the lack of a strong presence in her spirit was painfully visible to the stitched up girl, too.

"I see, that explains why you are so talkative. I assume you haven't learned yet to not expose yourself so easily."

Senka's voice held no judgmental undertone, she simply stated a matter of fact.

"Did you notice that I didn't tell you much to anything about myself? You never questioned under what authority I was asking you about your reason to be here, either."

For reasons unknown she felt like teaching a fellow girl a trick or two for future reference.

"And no, thank you, I don't eat anything that wasn't prepared by Oji-san or myself. Call it paranoid. It's how I survived. Feel free to eat though."

Senka slowly started to move her limbs again, as not to appear too strange to Meiryo, by employing a little Chakra control. From what she could feel in her opposite, the latter lacked proper training to do the same, which could be attributed to her youth or the fact that she had apparently only recently begun her training.

"Whether you're entertaining or not is of little regard, once you start proper training. It's important that you're efficient. The most important thing is to know about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. Then, use your weaknesses to your own advantage."

Slowly, she began to feel more talkative again, as she explained the basics of being a Ninja, the type that was not commonly seen nowadays.

"Did you know that all the people around you being flashy are not really Ninja? Ironic that they are considered to be the best for that, isn't it? Those who can spit out giant fireballs, shoot lightning from their hands and cause earthquakes are more like performers. Even performers can hurt people, but the pointy thing in the darkness, whether that is a sword or a pen, can cause nations to rise and fall."

Even now, she never revealed anything about herself, only her insight into the workings of the world as she had witnessed it. Information warfare was her forte, and while she had no flashy moves like Kurogane, and could not control the elements like the children in the academy with their fancy genetically inherited powers, the pen was in many occasions indeed mightier than the sword.

 

[Hijoshikina Meiryo]

Mei could feel the situation turning…it was not so much the fact as any sort of push or pull; it was more of a fact. This person had notably found many of her flaws already and said them in such a direct tone that it was more so like a lesson. Mei had not actually had her first shinobi class so even claiming she was one was a bit of a stretch. That explains why Mei was so talkative…Mei could have sworn the last two encounters she had with other shinobi, they had claimed her far too quiet. She mentioned how Meiryo must not have learned how to not expose herself yet…but why would she need to do that?

While there was nothing in a sense of emotion in what Senka was saying, there was disapproval. Merely based on what she said after this confirmed Meiryo suspicions. She could feel her back straightening up as if she was in a classroom, yet the lesson did not make much sense to her. She could sense the scolding of why hadn’t she questioned authority or of whom she was speaking to, in other words she was not content with how relaxed Meiryo was.

Even the cake would not appease her! Who said no to cake? According to this girl if she said such a thing she would be killed by poison cake. Though to be fair…being killed by your one true love did seem to be the most romantic ending you could have. She started to nibble at the cake…feeling the rush and waves of the sweet taste…barely able to keep attention.

She was explaining how she needed to be, efficient, powerful, no weaknesses, a weapon. Do not be flashy and get the job done….do it in a way where no one would ever remember Meiryo’s name or her deeds. Mei was decent at knowing when to speak and when to shut up but what came out of her mouth during the speaking part always seemed to never be quite what the adults hoped it would be from a young girl. Licking her lips a bit and shivering at the frosting she decided to give her view.

“While I agree with you that a hidden pen or sword “can” have more influence than a giant fireball, I have to be a little confused on what the lesson here is?” Mei set down the cake and continued, “I know my weakness’ vastly better than I do my strengths but the way you are talking about us is basically being a tool or a weapon…I’ve met quite a few shinobi recently who only care about such things, and that a unsharpened blade is useless.” She was thinking about what Ryuujin had said to her…

She sighed a bit but then decided, “I’d rather not work from the shadows, I am just as afraid of them as my “target” would be. Secondarily, if I ever come to a point where I will not say my name or eat delicious cake then I clearly have taken a wrong step. If I ever come to a point where I am in the woods by a fire and a beautiful individual begins to speak with me but not give herself away…I never want to push people where they do not want to be.”

She gave her a gentle smile. What Senka said was not wrong, but Mei also knew the kind of person she was. “I understand I am not going to be a great shinobi…but I just want to be one. Even if it is the worst shinobi of them all. I will be happy then, even if it only means that I will.” Mei was selfish…at least with this.

[MFT 623]

 

[Senka]

Senka let Meiryo finish her short outburst of counter-opinions, raising an eyebrow at the mention of a beautiful people in the woods, a familiar yet completely opposite scenario of the one they were in at the moment. The stitched up girl was well aware of her physical shortcomings, and while she knew that somewhere out there somebody would like her the way she was, that thought was not necessarily a comforting one.

"See, there you go again. Your little rant was filled with conjecture and well-stretched interpretations."

She finally stated with a sigh.

"While I did say that you exposed a lot of yourself, you did it without a shred of doubt. And rather than a lesson, it's to show you that you are good the way you are, if you can make use of it properly."

Standing up, she rounded the fire and approached the young girl slowly, while continuing to talk.

"Look at me, do I, aside from this-"

She pointed at her stitches.

"-look any special? I sport no glowing red or white pupils, I don't have animal ears, horns, a tail, or wings. I appear like an unsharpened blade."

Senka sat down next to Meiryo, a short distance away.

"Now, what if there was nothing underneath my otherwise not-so-special appearance, either? In the world we live in, how can you tell? For all I know, if you hadn't told me, you could have been the Raikage... and only because I can tell lies from the truth, I know what you told me to be true.

You don't need to work from the shadows, if you don't like them. You can eat delicious cake, as long as you know it's not poisoned - this manifests only in me as paranoia while outside; when I get home, I can have as much cake as I want. You can tell people your real name, as long as that is not the name you use while at work.

Ultimately, a good Ninja is the one who can keep up the illusion of being a good Ninja. Even a powerless person can beat an army of thousands, the approach is just different for everyone."

Senka sighed again.

"Talking so much makes me feel like I might dislocate my jaw or rip open my stitches...

With this, the ball was in Meiryo's court again.


[Marked for Training]

 

[Hijoshikina Meiryo]

Meimei has to admit that tonight was not a night she wanted to go into a lesson about being a shinobi. She was tired, sad, and if not for the gloriousness that was cake…she might not be in the best of spirits. Cake came through for her once again though and she felt the ability to attempt to learn and be polite. What was it going on? Midnight?…One a.m.? She nodded as if to say of course her interpretations and conjectures…what did Senka want her to do? Lie? Mei simply did not have it in her. Her lying face was a dead giveaway. Unless she took some form of course, anyone and everyone could tell that she was lying.

The second sentence lost her because it seemed like a contradiction. She gave an obviously confused look at that but decided best to the let the girl continue before she starts interrupting and asking questions. Meiryo felt that asking a question during the descriptions might not be good because the question may be answered in just a few short sentences later. She brushed a hand through her hair nervously. She could feel herself getting anxious. There was always something weird about Meimei…she was either perfectly still and gone from the world, similar to that of a puppet…or she would be nervous and twitchy. She had to do something or nothing. While this point might seem to make sense it was not applicable to her. She was more like a light switch than anything else.

Meiryo watched her explain, point to her stiches and then walked away. She walked without extra energy. It made Meiryo smile at how perfectly in control she was of herself. She giggled to herself when she mentioned that talking might mess up her face or mouth…but then she worried it might not be a joke and coughed and looked away blushed slightly. That may not have been the best response…Social grace was once again one of the many things she was not terrible good with. She had embarrassed her family quite a few times to be sure…

“I have to admit while you make it sound correct, there are a few points in which to consider why I acted the way I did.” She lifted up a finger for a pause and pulled out a bottle of water, she undid the cap, having a bit of issue opening the darn thing, continuing to having a problem…finally getting it open. She drank from it slowly and allowed the coolness of the wind and the water in her through to chill her from the fire. She put the top back on and then said this, “Everyone I have met so far has been able to sense my weak chakra, so I have no doubt most shinobi can do this and thus would not see me as a threat, no one can dampen their chakra to such pathetically low levels as myself, secondarily if I was Raikage I would have the Raikage guard and be able to say what I want and still be safe, which if you were an assassin would assume they were here as well and not come forward.”

She blinked and then tilted her head slightly and gave a tiny yipped yawn. “Finally the way you move is too precise and controlled. You have an elite feel to you. I feel it would be hard for you to shake back into the regular commoner without having to mentally think about it all the time. Something I feel another of higher skill could sense you faking. That is how I could tell your shinobi authority. I have yet to meet anyone else…even Jounin who move without any loss of energy or precision.” Mei did not want to say it, but she suspected the girl was one of those elite. The shadows of the Clouds.

It made her a little excited but at the same time, she could be totally wrong. She was wrong more often than not. “I know for a fact I am barely going to even be able to become a shinobi. Genin is probably going to be my best, Chuunin tops. I know for a fact I could never get higher than that.” It was a dead confidence. Without Chakra or some type of special ability she was doomed to get run over by those kids who had special abilities. It was a sobering thought…

 

[Senka]

There were several points which Senka would refute as Meiryo explained herself, but she listened to the end. The stitched up girl, again, raised an eyebrow at the mention of Ninja being able to sense or even see Chakra; the only two people she knew were capable of such a feat were Kurogane and Kyokuju Itsuki. She wondered what would make their eyes special, if everybody had the same capabilities, since in a way, they were more like big disclaimers to the fact that they were Ninja.

Then, Senka raised both her eyebrows as Meiryo mentioned how the stitched up girl's movements seemed to waste no energy. The very fact that the latter had to periodically rest spoke otherwise, but there was another side to the appearance she could easily point out. However, she left that part in doubt and picked up a different topic.

"I have to wonder, what makes you think a potential assassin has to hide his presence? The ultimate hiding place is in plain sight. If I wanted to kill somebody, I would walk up to that person with a smile... with my mask on, since otherwise it might be disturbing..."

Senka touched the stitches around the corners of her mouth.

"Genuinely befriend my target, laugh with him, cry with him... and when I'm invited to a sleepover, I would put some slow-working, undetectable poison on both our foods, with different dosages, so that his is lethal and mine allows me to barely survive. Most to all suspicions avoided and I have a heart-rending story to tell my next target."

The stitched up girl waved her hand disparagingly.

"Of course, that's only hypothetical... Oji-san taught me not to do such things... and I know for a fact that it doesn't seem to work this way in this world."

With those words, the little girl looked up with an annoyed expression, as if looking at those responsible for a world devoid of the most basic laws of nature.

"There's one little advice though: Don't set your own limits. Nobody, not even you, know what you can be capable of. Everybody has some potential, some people just have more apparent ones. But as long as you take your time looking, you will find it... sooner or later."

Senka took a twig lying in front of her and threw it into the fire to hear the crackling of the water bursting in the piece of wood.

"And if you can't find it yourself, look for help in others. Maybe you will find a person who is the same as you, only a little further into his life."

 

[Hijoshikina Meiryo]

Mei watched the girl as the light bounced around her, she had a ghastly appearance but at the same time there was nothing horrific about it. She honestly wished this girl did not have her issue with stitching. Would those ever heal or was this just how things turned out for her? Would she really be stuck like that? Meiryo hoped that she would never have to…well wow, she just could not imagine living like this girl. It just seemed hard.

The crackle of the wood caused her to jump a little but the smell of the fire eased her wariness. The girl spoke of how she would get to know someone and then kill them when they got comfortable with her. Meiryo searched the fire and wondered if she could ever do that? Could she really do that? It seemed like it would be hard…she felt like she would come to grow attached to her target. Was Meiryo too sensitive? Was she really following a path that she could handle. She would eventually come to a point where she had to kill someone…

Some of the children in the academy were excited about this, like becoming the next greatest mass murderer was an honor. For the name of the village and all that. Mei imagined that she would be killed just do to the fact that she might not be able to kill.

Meiryo looked at the girl after she tossed the twig into the flames. “Are you such a person? Did you overcome all of you potentials?” She meant it as more of a question then a mocking gesture. She was genuinely curious but she understood there could be some dangerous undertones. Shifting a little she tilted her head and watched the girl closely.

“I am not sure if you are a teacher or just someone passing knowledge along due to boredom? At first you were worried about the forest and now you seem worried about me. It just seems interesting that you would care about a tiny academy student in the forest.” She continued to watch her but felt her eyes getting heavier. Mei was getting relaxed and she could sleep wanted her but she held back for now.

 

[Senka]

Senka was somewhat surprised by the little girl's eloquence, as the latter's appearance suggested that she was not much older than what the former looked like. She also pointed out something that the stitched up girl had been wondering about since a few posts back; why was she so talkative all of a sudden?

"Like I said, nobody knows their own potential, so whether I have surpassed mine or not cannot be judged. I will simply have to improve myself to the very end."

This should give enough food for thought.

"I'm still worried about the forest, and will be, until the fire is put out while I'm still around.

And caring about a tiny academy student is the job of all those in this village who are no longer academy students."

With these words, Senka showed a serene smile full of warmth; with the angle and the fire only half-illuminating her scarred face, it would surely be distorted to look like a sinister and plotting grin.

"It's getting late. The village is, even with all our efforts, not very safe at night, especially depending on where you live. And there are... things... in this forest.

If you wish, I can accompany you back. But I will at least stay until you put out the fire."

Senka was always sleepy, as she was unable to ever rest properly; the nightmares had done their part on her psyche and while she was not necessarily unstable, you could not call her stable either. The dark rings under her eyes had reached their physical limitations and could no longer grow, but the mental fatigue was building up and would until the day she or her killers died, whichever happened first.

The reason she was pointing out the time was that a little girl Meiryo's age was not safe in the village, especially when she was but an academy student with no definite means to protect herself, and a sought-after target for abduction, regardless of her actual proficiency at the Ninja arts.

 

[Hijoshikina Meiryo]

Senka mentioned that the potential was still unknown even to her. She also then that she mentioned she was worried about the fire and would not be leaving till it went out. With classes tomorrow and her being tired she really ought to agree with her and put the fire out. Mei smiled at Senka and when she saw her in the fire her smile flickered a little, attempting to hide the nervousness she felt. It was a little sad but even more it gave her a mosterious appearance. She would probably be seen through but hey, she did not want to hide it and if she felt that bad about she would try to go more of it fixed. She was certain there could be something done.

Senka mentioned things in the forest and Meiryo hopped up quickly, moving to grab her bucket of water and made efforts to put the fire out, hopefully Senka would help out as well. “I agree, we really ought not to be out so late. Silly of me so young and weak to be doing this.” After a few minutes of making sure the fire out, Meiryo reached up and stretched, collecting her things. She felt a little bad and said, “If I did not do well enough you can kill me for it later. Though I imagine you are going to double check the fire.”

Mei put her things on her shoulder and looked through the darkness at Senka. It was not terribly dark due to the moon but it was also not bright. “Do not be a stranger. I hope we can see each other again. Until then be safe for me Senka.” Meiryo waved to the girl and started to make a run home. She did not want to bother Senka with having her follow her home but she also wanted to get out of here. Whatever Senka warned her about made her edgy…and she needed the sleep. Running would hopefully get her tired enough.

[Topic Left]

 

[Senka]

The young girl appeared to be slightly intimidated and at the same time not willing to listen to Senka's lecture, at least no longer. When the stitched up girl mentioned the unaccounted for beasts in the forest, Meiryo jumped up and decided to put out the fire with a bucket of water she had prepared beforehand. Watching her doing so, Senka sighed, before looking up through an occasional opening in the trees at the stars that were visible now that the immediate source of light that had been the fire was gone. The following remark caused a brow to shoot up in response; who spoke of killing among one's own people?

As Meiryo said her farewells and began to ran home, the stitched up girl stayed behind silently and looked down at the extinguished flames of the bonfire. No embers were left and the heat had completely vanished; the young girl had done a good job in weed out any possibilities for a forest fire. However, Senka still shook her head at the carelessness that was leaving behind such obvious signs of a fireplace. Even if she might have appeared overly paranoid, the only way for a Ninja to be successful was to be a phantom.

Standing up, Senka disregarded that last part; a phantom either never appeared in front of people, or disappeared from under people's noses without a trace. The stitched up girl was of the latter type, who would have people question whether she existed at all or was just a figment of their, at that point, possibly demented psyche. That was, until she appeared before people again to finish the job.

She did not have to remove any traces of her own existence; she had made sure not to leave behind any in the first place. With a snicker to herself, she walked in the opposite direction of where Meiryo had disappeared towards, wondering about the fact that she had been lost before meeting the young girl earlier, and the fact that she had not learned about the roads leading in and out of the forest within that short period of time their encounter had taken place in. With a sigh and a smile, Senka shrugged and walked in a random direction, most likely deeper into the forest and in the direction of "being lost even more".


[Topic Left ; Marked for Training]