Books, like movies in your head! [Open]

[Kirashi Nao]

"Excuse me!" Nao said as she slipped under a man's arm. She was in a hurry, but not enough of one to be rude. She proceeded to weave through the crowded street. She dodged a woman walking dogs, went under some people carrying furniture. The street was a sardine can of people to say the least, but Nao was unwaivered by the amount of people, she was on her way to her favorite bookstore, not any major building, just a door in an alley leading to a wild world of print and paper. She loved the store, it was like her home away from home. The store was like a break from reality, she could trade the smell of Maruishi and the people that occupy it for print and paper. Nao snapped out of her thoughts as she found the alley where the store resided. She made her way down the alley to the metal, dark green door.

"Yaay!" she whispered to herself, she often talked to herself, considering a drastic lack of friends.

She continued into the store and was hit by the intoxicating smell of leather, paper, and (oddly enough) mildew. Nao savored these smells, (even the mildew) they were familiar, comfortable. She looked up at the shelves, many of them were very large compared to her. She made for the fiction section, her favorite type of books, but she also enjoyed nonfiction. She scanned the shelves, searching for an interesting title, author she liked, or just a pretty cover. She stopped on a book titled "I, a Mother Before a Shinobi". Normally, this type of book would be out of a 10 year old's reading skills, but when all you do for 6 years of your life is read and study, you get a little further than most 10 year olds. She slid the book from its place in between two other books by the same author. Clearing the cover of dust, Nao saw a beautiful cover, it was a stain glass window-esque painting of a woman (seemingly a mother) holding a small boy. The boy was wrapped in a red blanket, the mother shedding a tear over him.

'Why is she crying?' thought Nao, inspecting the inside of the book.

She read deeper into the story and discovered the book was a tragedy. It told of a shinobi mother, who in the line of duty, was forced to watch her son be killed by enemy ninja. She had to do so as to not compromise the mission. After the death of her son, she continued her duties as a ninja, although in the shadows, she hunted the ones who took her son from her. She found them eventually, killing them but dying in the process. Her last words were "He is avenged..." Nao watched as the paper got wet as her tears streamed onto the pages. The material in this novel was obviously not meant for a girl of her age of constitution. She slid it back onto the shelf, wiped her tears and contiued to look for another book, hopefully one not so...heavy.

[OOC: Sorry if the topic was kinda dark there for a while, just got really into it. ]

 

[Uka]

[My appologies for the delay but i still don't have internet and as such i am currently typing this up on my phone. It took forever if you were wondering hahahah.]

This place was truly a strange one. Sure Kazeshi had been to bigger cities before, but this was something completely different. There was so many people it was absolutely ridiculous! If he wasn't true to his beliefs then he would have probably shoved many people out of his way, but no he couldn't allow himself to do so no matter how much he wanted to even if it would all be so much easier. 'Tranquil heart, tranquil mind.' The youth thought to himself as he weaved through yet another humongous crowd gathered around a food stall. It was just the same as it had been at the previous one - teans and tens of people for absolutely no reason at all! Didn't these people cook for themselves? Come on now nobody eats that much takeaway, right? Well at least where he was going there would be almost no people at all. For some reason it seemed like at all sorts of places where books could be found people just plain disappeared. It was just like the time he went to the library and there was literally nobody there. Mind boggling for sure.

The instant the boy finally managed to get off of the main avenue and into the alley it was as if a wave of fresh, cold water had just been poured on him. The feeling was absolutely amazing, that much was for sure. As soon as he finally slipped into the small, old shop all the previous tension just completely disappeared from both his mind and body. To him this place was a sanctuary just as much as the temple he had lived in, maybe even more so nowadays. "Oh buying more books, disciple-kun? The old lady behind the counter greeted him as she usually did. Somehow no matter how many times he came here it was as if she just kept repeating the same line over and over again. Maybe it was just that she forgot with the amount of books she was reading. After all every single time he came here she was reading something completely different whether it was a different day or even just a few hours later.

"Possibly madam."<i></i> Kazeshi brought his hands together in as formal a bow as any monk could manage. "Come on in then. That bold head of yours always reflects far too much light the second you open that door." The old woman laughted out loud and the boy couldn't help but chuckle. He had been expecting that one, but no matter how many times he heard it it was still as funny as it had been the very first time he heard it. Kazeshi promptly closed the door and headed off into the humongous rows of books, quickly losing himself in between them. There was just so much knowledge waiting to be unlocked it was absolutely mindboggling and he wasn't going to let any of it go to waste as long as he could avoid that!

How long he had been there was a mystery to him, but he finally came up to the final section in his quest for new books, holding a whopping stack of six books in his left hand, stabilizing it with his right. Going back to the counter and leaving them there would have been so much easier, but also a hassle, so those books were being balanced by sheer willpower more than anything else. What he found there wasn't books, rather a crying girl. Kazeshi reached inside the right pocket of his trousers and took out a neatly-folded white cloth tissue. "Is everything alright?"<i></i> He asked, offering her the tissue.


[I haven't had a chance to post a profile, so please refer to my ocr for his appearance. Thank you for understanding and my appologies for not being able to get this post up yesterday...]

 

[Kirashi Nao]

Nao was caught off guard by the sudden question from the person behind her. The boy was taller than her and bald, which was odd considering he seemed to be around her age. He was holding out a cloth, for her tears, which she'd tried hard to wipe away. The story she'd skimmed through was sad enough that it brought her to crying only at a glance through the novel.

"Yeah...I'm fine." She said not wanting to look weak, she pushed the cloth away, but not rudely. "I just got some dust from these books in my eyes, no big deal." She said wiping the remaining tears and forced the flood to stop.

She sized the boy up, he was broad for his age and as she noted before, bald. Like completely bald, shaved and shiny, it kind of threw her off, she felt like he was years more mature than his age betrayed. He looked like a monk and had the steely composure of a devout follower of a religion Nao didn't happen to know the name of. He held quite a few books, about the same as her weekly (sometimes daily) take, around six. She didn't even here him come in or approach her, though she was highly enveloped in the book. She hated that he'd seen her cry, she needed to keep a strong outer appearance as a future Kunoichi of Iwa. She'd have to keep him quiet, she didn't need all of Maruishi knowing she cried over a book. She looked at him, eyes still red from the crying, no doubt.

"Look...I wasn't crying or anything ok? So don't go telling people I was, alright? If I found out you did I'll find you and....you know, do bad stuff to you!" Nao said trying to sound threatening, but probably coming across more childish than anything.

 

[Uka]

" I see. That is good then."<i></i> Kazeshi noted calmly as he carefully put the handkerchief back into his pocket, making sure not to crumple it if at all possible. That however was proving to be a harder task than he envisioned, considering he was always trying to keep the books from falling over. A few seconds later he finally managed the feat and put it completely out of his mind instead focusing on the girl standing in front of him. It had to be noted that his experience with other people his age was rather, well lacking and especially so with members of the opposite sex. Back at the monastery there had been women sure, but there was absolutely none of them, which were anywhere near his age and that had caused him to be rather inexperienced in the area of interractions. Then again he was inexperienced with it in general. All of this culminated on one small thing - the girl in front of him was an absolute mystery, which he regarded as a learning experience. Kazeshi glanced over to the nearby bookshelves and noted that they were indeed rather dusty, but nowhere near enough where they should cause any real harm to anyone really. Was this some sort of normal reaction or maybe something specific to women his age or rather women who lived in the city? He really needed to make up for the gap in his knowledge just as his father had taught him to do, but that would have to happen at another time. Yes now wasn't the time for anything other than simple observations.

"Is there some particular reason i should feel a need to talk to someone about you expressing your emotions?"<i></i> The youth asked with a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice. The very notion of what Nao was talking about was indeed outlandish to him. Why should he feel a need to discuss something like this with anyone else? Women were indeed strange creatures or was it more women who lived in the city. "Expressing your emotions is something natural afer all and the best way to show others what we are thinking after all. There should be no reason to worry about crying should there?<i></i> Kazeshi added with a smile and placed his free hand on the side of his small pile of books, keeping it straight. It wasn't that he was going to drop any of them, but rather he just didn't know what to do with it. Rather maybe it was him trying to keep himself from asking a question he wanted to and in fact ended up asking. "Is there something strange about my appearance?<i></i> The boy asked earnestly, his gaze not wavering even for a second from how it had been from the very start of the meeting. His habbit of trying to keep eye contact with the person with whom he was talking to at all times might be one of the things he had to learn to not do, but for now that was staying and for who knows how long.

 

[Ryu Hime]

On top of the book shelf was a black ball of fur growing and shrinking slightly in regular intervals. This was Kiki, the black cat, and she was curled up taking a nap. Normally this place was quite quiet with people browsing through books and reading at table. Unfortunately neither was happening at the moment bellow her and the girl and man awoke Kiki from her slumber. Kiki raises a head and blinks a few times before giving an audible yawn. Deciding she was up now she gets on her feet and stretches. Her fore-paws stretch out before her with head low and butt high. There was nothing like a good stretch after a restful sleep. Now to see what was going on. Kiki looks down to see a girl wiping her face holding a single book and a bald man with several books handing the girl some piece of cloth. Unfortunately for the man the tower of literature he was holding was perfect for her means of decent. Kiki leap onto his pile of books and then off towards the neighboring bookshelf. She grabs onto a shelf digging her claws into the wooden surface and then quickly release to fall the rest of the way down. The man’s stack made it so much more safer for her, because now she was hitting the other shelf at a lower spot. True she could easily on her feet from a higher height but this was less likely to topple the other shelf. At this lower point the shelf barely shook. However the bald man would likely find it an annoyance for it was going to become real hard for him to keep that mountain of books balanced.

 

[Kirashi Nao]

Nao was rather put off by the boys responses, they were...odd to say the least. He regarded her like a textbook, studying her and reading into her further as if he was trying to adapt and learn how she worked. She kinda liked it actually, he showed genuine interest in her statements and mannerisms, that's more than she'd gotten from anybody else besides her parents. Nao put it together that this guy hadn't exactly had a whole lot of hand on experience with people, like, at all. He seemed to not know how to respond or interact with people his age all that well, maybe Nao could help him with that. After all, until 3 years ago, she hadn't had any experience with any people, not including doctors or the occasional relative, and still they pitied her rather than communicated, she was used to that, but this boy didn't pity her, or look at her as weak and frail; her mind was made up. She was going to help this guy and gain a friend in the process, it was perfect! Two birds with one stone, as it were. She began confirming her suspicions.

"You...haven't talked with people around your own age much, have you? Neither did I, before a couple years ago that is. I was bedridden until I was six, you see, my bones were very, very weak. I was born with a disease that made them brittle and unable to use. In a sense, we're similar." Nao explained. " And I guess I don't have to worry about you gossiping to anyone, now do I?" Nao felt some relief, though, she didn't like that he saw her cry at all. She couldn't be seen as weak. "I don't believe I caught a name, either. What is it?"

As she waited for a response, she noticed a cat on the upper shelf. Uncurling and stretching, it sort of broke the mood in a funny way. The little black fuzz ball was pretty cute, to say the least. The cat then did something unexpected and jumped down onto the stack of books the boy in front of her was holding. She watched it bounce off the stack and onto the other shelf. Nao smiled and watched to see if the boy would catch the mountain of literature or let it topple, providing comedic relief for her.

 

[Uka]

”I see that is rather unfortunate. Well it is good to see that you are better now.”<i></i> The monk smiled, closing his eyes for a brief second before standing back at attention. It was just that he hated being unaware of his surroundings at all times. His father had taught him to always keep an eye on everything that was happening around himself and those were teachings that weren’t going anywhere fast. Nor did he honestly want them to. ”I did say I was a monk remember. Gossiping is something of absolutely no value to me at all.”<i></i> What Kazeshi said was nothing but the truth. Information such as gossip was mostly useless most of the time, or at least that is what he had been taught. It was always a good idea to keep it in the back of your mind but never consider it as truth even when you know it for a fact. One never knows when any kind of information might come in handy and end up assisting oneself is one way or another, such is the way of life – prepare for the unexpected.

”My sincerest apologies it completely slipped my mind. I am Kugochi Kazeshi, a monk. Might I inquire what your name is?”<i></i> He added just a second before he got completely interrupted. Just right after all his thoughts about how one had to be prepared a cat just randomly appeared out of nowhere. The worst part was Kazeshi hadn’t noticed it at all before it was far too late. His right hand shot up, gripping the top book from the pile and just barely stabilizing it as the furry creature his the floor. ”Well aren’t you a smart little furry critter?”<i></i> The boy noted looking to the top of the bookshelf from where the creature had most-likely jumped from. It was one smart cat to use his stack of books. ”As I was about to say before this furry fellow interrupted me, it is indeed true that I have not had much opportunity to interact with people my age. The monks and other residents of the temple were all of lot older than me.”<i></i> The youth explained with a slight smile before quickly adding. ”What did you mean by such as yourself? Is it due to your prior illness?”<i></i>


[I'm sorry this took me so long. Exam revision for a scientific subject just plain doesn't help creative thought at all.]
[MFT]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Kiki was a little bit surprised for she expected the man to give her a little chase. She wouldn’t mind a good run after a nice cat nap. Not to mention she could use her powers of misfortune to protect herself from harm. She is a black cat after all and they are known for spreading bad luck. One time in the book store someone tried to throw a book at her; she skillfully dodged and the book ended up bouncing back at the thrower. Kiki looked at the book in the girl’s hand and assumed from her tears from earlier it was about the tragedies of the life of being a shinobi. Kiki looks around at the shelves which contained mostly biographies in this section of the store. For a moment her eyes seemed to glow, but most would think it was just a trick of the light. Cat’s eyes do tend to reflect light better than human’s. Sudden with without warning a book mysteriously falls of the shelf and nearly misses Nao. The book was titled ‘How to Make a Girl.' It was about a popular puppet maker that made a set of eight exquisite dolls; dolls she may have seen before.

 

[Kirashi Nao]

Well, the cat didn't manage to make the monk boy drop his books, that would've been pretty funny. Although, this child was a monk, probably had balance a plenty, among other things. She'd heard about monks, incredibly devout to their cause or religion, sometimes Nao wondered if she had a devotion to something like that, perhaps books? Just as she had the thought, a book fell to her side; "How to Make a Girl" it was titled. She picked it up and the cat threw a glance her way. Nao watched the cat scurry to the side, seemingly happy that she found the book, but it seemed almost dissapointed that the boy (er- Kazeshi, that was his name) didn't give chase. When asked for her name by the boy opposite to her, Nao gave it happily:

"Kirashi Nao, at your service!" Nao said happily. "Nice to meet you Kudochi Kazeshi, was it? Hope we can work together in the future. Are you an academy student?" Nao asked.

Nao took the book in both hands, admiring the cover and the beautiful 8 girls it depicted. There was a darker one, styled in red and black, with onyx hair to match. A blonde, Goldilocks looking girl stood next to her, her two ponytails draping to the floor. Followed by a very familiar looking girl...OH! These were the puppets she'd seen in her class at the academy! The third one's name was Suiseki, she'd befriended her during the class. Why did it suddenly fall next to her? Weird... Nao snapped back to reality and heard Kazeshi explain that he hadn't interacted with his peers much.

"I could tell, but you gotta learn sometime right? It was hard for me at first, but you pick up things as you go along, you'll get the hang of it." Nao said. That is honestly how she learned, she took what she got from books and began conversing with kids around the pearl tenements. "And since I didn't explain it better before, I was bedridden until I was 6, it was a rare disease known as 'Osteogenisis Imperfecta'. It basically means, that my bones were incredibly fragile and couldn't be used or developed because I couldn't walk." Nao explained. "It was really hard for me, but then my cousin, Kaoki, came to Maruishi and healed me. I don't know how, but she did. Speaking of which, when did you come to Iwagakure? I've never seen you around before." Nao asked.​

 

[Uka]

That was one very weird cat without any shadow of a doubt. It wasn't as if he had had that many interactions with cats sure, but this one was taking the cake by far. Not only did it seem smarter than normal, but it acted as if everything that was happening had happened on purpose. This was one really weird cat and that is what a monk thinks! It doesn't get much stranger at that point for certain. "It must have been a rather dreadful experience. I honestly cannot comprehend what it must have felt like, but at least it is over."<i></i> Kazeshi noted and smiled. As someone who has been healthy his entire life he couldn't even being to understand what it was like being ill. Heck his father always used to say that he couldn't catch colds because he was an idiot. That sadly seemed more like the truth with every passing day.

'I wonder what he might say now if he was around.' The boy couldn't help but sigh at the thought. Ever since all the disciples of the temple were sent to jail he hadn't really had an opportunity to meet them anymore. For some reason the guards had denied him entry every time he tried to visit and they didn't give him a reason as to why, however Kazeshi had come to his own conclusion quite fast - they didn't want him to keep living in the ''anarchistic'' ways of his family, so they were trying to keep him away. Unfortunately for them this was having a completely opposite effect. All that he felt about the situation was anger, which was slowly but surely kindling his fathers' ideals. It was only a matter of time to see where it all went, but one path was as clear as day. "My apologies I zoned out for a second there. Technically speaking I am not, but I have been forced to attend due to some....circumstances. It is not something I want to pursue, but I have no real choice in the matter really. What about yourself, do you attend the academy?"<i></i> The youth scratched his bald head in a stupid way as he struggled to find a good word to use for his special circumstance. It was probably not many people came across on a daily basis for sure, but hey it was life. "I am from Stone, however I lived at a temple on the outskirts of a nearby mountain, hence why I rarely ventured anywhere. Therefore technically speaking I am rather new around here yes. I assume you have lived here for a long time then?<i></i>

[MFT]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Well it appears as though these two people were not going to provide her with any entertainment. She could stay to gather further information about the two, but they were starting to bore her. With another stretch she goes of to find something that will peak her interest; something worth reporting back to her master.
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