Children at Play [Open!]

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku walked through the woods within the forest of death. The name seemed a memory from a different time considering how peaceful these strolls are. The forest, filled with overgrown trees and legends of gore and death, with folk tales you could hear in the oak district at night of creatures that preyed on those that stayed out too late. Course what most find here on a sunny day is nice shade and a uncomfortably moist atmosphere.

The moisture can’t be good for my cards, he thought to himself as he shuffled the cards in his hands, a habit he picked up when he was younger.

The trees in these woods always perplexed him, even more so then overgrown trees should, he may of preferred his time within the village, he of course had his times in the woods and the trees out there compared to the trees in here … there was something odd.

Riku’s stare at the trees ended abruptly as he heard a rustling in the brush, he spun towards the location and stopped his shuffling of cards, staring at the place he heard the noises. He started to hear the distinct pings of metal tapping in unison with the rustling.

Not an animal, Riku thought to himself.

He prowled along the side of one of the trees, his deck of cards gripped tightly in his hand as he tried to catch a peak from a different angle. His time in the city may not have made him much of a wildlife explorer, but he knew how to sneak. From his view at the trees he finally caught sight of what was causing the noises. A child his age, may older was crouched nearby the bushes, a collection of shuriken by his side, and what seemed to be a bundle of sticks. The area he worked in seemed almost an arena.

Is he trying to set up a practice area, Riku thought to himself, peering at the boy at work.

“Hey there,” Riku said with a smile, moving from his place behind the tree, “Nice shuriken, so are you practicing here?”

He shuffled the cards in his hands as he talked, taking the chance to examine the boy up close. I think he’s someone from my academy …

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

Then as the dog beside the boy as sensed his prescence through it's powerful sense of smell,it then turned at his direction and barked at him numerous times,the boy would hear them as the sound of his canine companion barking as the stranger whilst greeting him has mixed up,he seemed to not hear him,as he had not hear the other boy because of his dog and thinking that it was just some animal of the forest his companion was contiously barking at,he then continues tying the fine,thin string at the roots of the two trees,because it was such a fine rope,it would be hard to notice,making it a perfect tripwire,and as he was done as that,behind the tripwire,he slowly punctures the ground with his shurikens,making their blades point upward,thus making his trap,even more dangerous.

Then,as he was finished with his trap,he then happily shouts "Yes!....my first shuriken trap!...finnaly complete!" He then stood up after celebrating and carefully walking back and standing up,proudly looking at his hand-made trap.

When he was done with the trap and celebrating at it's completion,he then thinks of what to test with his trap,in his mind he had two choicesushing a peice of wood to the trap or a running animal that will trip as it passes the wire

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku watched the pair with degrees of amazement and wariness.

Just who is this guy, Riku thought to himself, his eyes still keenly on the barking dog infront of him. The dog was small but that didn’t mean he wanted to go getting bitten by it.

The boy had called whatever he was making a shuriken trap. It would explain the excessive amount of these things, unless he had an extremely poor aim … Riku snapped to his senses, glancing back towards the boy that was cheering in victory.

“Hello!” Riku shouted, to get above the dogs barking, “You have a dog next to you!”

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

Then his voice's loudness would overcome his dog's barking and finnaly,Kira has hear his calling and turned his head to him,and to stop his dog from barking,he then pats his head and calmy said to his companion "Friend not Foe" as he said those words,his dog calmed and stopped barking.

As he was done calming his dog down he replies to the stranger "Hello there!....Don't worry!...this is my dog!..he won't bite!" As he faced him,the markings of two red fangs on his cheek would instantly tell the person he is a member of the Inuzuka Clan,if he had ever heard of that said clan.

And as he finished replying,he then walks to him and offered him a handshake,then after that he acknowledges his name to the stranger "Hi there,my name is Kiramaru,what's your's?" As he acknowledged his name,he then asks what is the boy's as well.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku stared at the hand being for a moment before collecting his cards into one hand then grabbing hold for a handshake. As he did, he took the chance to examine the boy’s face, noticing the two red fang marks.

Must be one of the clans, Riku thought to himself as he let go of the hand. His eyes glancing towards the shuriken trap, the concept wasn’t a bad idea, he might have to try it out. Riku then gave a smile towards the boy.

“My names Riku. Hideki Riku,” Riku said, “I’m one of the students at the academy. How about you? What are you doing out here?”

As he asked the questions he went back to shuffling the deck of cards in his hands, his eyes switching between him and the dog. Is his clan what lets him order the dog around so well? Riku had never seen such a well behaved dog.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

"Nice to meet you,Riku...yes..I'm one of the students as well and I'm just setting some traps here..just for fun!" He happily replies answering his two question to if he was an academy student and to what he is doing in the Forest of Death.

After answering his question,he also shows his furry canine companion "This is my dog,Katsu and if you are asking what that thing is" He points his finger at the shuriken trap and if he looks a bit more at his finger,it would show a feature,a long sharp nail but he would'nt notice it as his attention would be focused to the trap he made "It's a shuriken trap I made moments ago,pretty simple thing but it's effective,I think so" He said to him and branding his trap as effective but giving a it a bit of some doubts because of how simple it is.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku looked towards the shuriken trap, it seemed simple but … to Riku’s eyes, it seemed cool. Riku looked towards Kiramaru and then to his dog, Katsu.

“Your dog’s pretty behaved,” Riku admitted, a tinge of jealousy in his voice, “So, Kiramaru. If you’re making traps … do you mind if I join in?”

Riku walked over to the trap as he asked, kneeling and looking at how it works. It looked like it worked on pressure, you accidentally apply pressure to the piece of rope, and the shuriken’s get hurled at you.

Awesome, Riku thought with a smile. Placing his deck of cards in his pocket. He’s not sure why he never tried out traps in the past, it seems like everything Riku loves in his card games; planning and tricking. Realising he never listened to Kiramaru’s answer, Riku stood up and spun to him, giving a smile towards the fellow student,

“So, what do you say?” Riku asked, “I’m free today anyway.”

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

"Sure thing!....I also need to test this trap out too as well!!" He replies to him,delighted by the idea of making traps accompanied by someone and as he finished speaking,he then puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out a few more shurikens and also,a peice of ropes for the trap,and as Riku complimented him about his obidient dog,he then explains to him to why the dog is well behaved "My pet dog understands what I say to him and what he says to me,it's an Inuzuka clan thing".

After he pulls out the shurikens and peices of fine rope,he then puts them on the ground,and asked him "So,have you had any experiences making traps before?" wanting to know if he has made any type of trap before,and if so,he might combine their knowledge on making traps to create an effective trap.

"But,before everything else,wanna test out my trap?" he suggest,as he just couldn't wait for the results of his trap to find any flaws that may be fixed and improved
(((Note:the trap does not hurl shurikens,it just trips you onto a bed of shurikens)))

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

As Riku knelt beside the trap, examining how it works, he listened to Kiramaru’s explanation. He’d never heard of the Inuzuka, then again, he didn’t know many of the clans. When his questions turned to him though, asking of his knowledge of traps, Riku hesitated. The explanations forming in his head passing him as he heard him offering the chance to test the trap.

Riku considered the offer of setting off the trap with Inuzuka. He stared at the trap for a few more moments before standing up with a nod.

“Alright,” Riku said with a smile, “Let’s do it!”

To trigger the trap, Riku resorted to using a piece of heavy bark that he managed to pry off a tree with one of the scattered shuriken’s. The trees resisted the shuriken at first when Riku tried, he couldn’t tell whether to blame his own strength or it’s just how these trees are. Maybe both.

Triggering the trap just showed how little Riku knew about traps. The shuriken planted to the ground weren’t linked up to be fired. The trap was designed to toss you at them. Being wrong just made Riku more impressed, even when you see the trap you can still be entirely wrong on how it operates.

“I’ll admit,” Riku said with crossed arms, smile still on his face as he looked at the used trap, “I … don’t know too much about these traps. Though I’m used to similar things back in the village.”

Riku looked back towards Kiramaru after the confession, giving a grin as he walked over to some of the spare shuriken’s, picking them off the ground.

“Suppose the best way to learn is to practice though, right?”

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

"Yeah....as the old saying goes.....practice makes perfect....right?" He also kneels down the ground and picks up one of the shurikens he left scattered on the ground,then after picking it up,he then adjusts to how he holds the shuriken and attempts to throw it at the tree,but he made a huge error:he has not applied enough force that even though it hit the tree and stuck onto it's surface,It would eventually fall as it had not penetrated deep enough that it's weight and the gravity would make it fall onto the ground.

When it fell,Kiramaru was a abit frustrated because his attempt to successfully throw it onto the tree has failed and because of that,he crumpled up his hand and grit his teeth and whispered out of frustration "Darn it!"

Then as he failed,he kneels down and picks up another shuriken and threw it at the tree again,but he also fails again,as he failed yet again he then turns his head to Riku and asks "Wanna make traps or throw shurikens" he grinned at him after giving him a choice of either training to master throwing shurikens or improve their skills in making traps.

As Riku said something about the things he is used to in his village,he then asks him about the things he is used to "What things are you used to in your village are,may I know?" He requests,if he decides to decline his request,it's okay,as privacy is a right and it's not wrong

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku looked towards Kiramaru at the questions, his eyes slowly looking towards the tree again before giving a smile.

“Tell you what, we practice some shuriken’s,” Riku proposed, spinning the shuriken on his finger, “And afterwards we try out some traps.”

With that proposal he gave a wink towards him before gripping his shuriken, tightening his grip and aiming towards the tree. He tossed the shuriken at a spiral, with as much force as he could muster, he’d probably have missed a regular person, but a tree hard to miss when it’s bigger than some homes. The shuriken barely sunk into the tree, even with the force in his shot.

Tough tree, Riku thought with a grunt. He then walked over and grabbed another shuriken, showing it to Kiramaru.

“I … don’t know too much,” Riku explained, “I’ve only been at the academy for a while, but they taught me how to throw these with some force.”

Riku took a slight crouch, pointing the shuriken forward,

“You just kinda have to … know where you’re aiming. Then, if you wanna sink it in, you gotta grip it extra tight when you toss it.”

He poked a few bits of the shuriken infront of Kiramaru, his finger tracing along the inner rim where the sharp edge didn’t factor as much.

“They said if you hold it here-ish, you should be fine.”

Riku then spun the shuriken once on his finger before holding it out of Kiramaru with a smile.

“And about what I do at the village, it ain’t really important. We’ll talk about it later, alright?”

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

"Okay then" he replies,smiling as he picked up the shuriken that Riku had held out to him and tried throwing the way he does,by knowing where his aiming and holding the throwing weapon tighter along the inner rim which does not factor the edge and after that,he looks into his target and took a deep breath before throwing and after that he exhaled and threw the weapon to the tree with as much force he can apply.

As it was spinning through the air and heading towards the tree,and with a loud thud created as the shuriken clashed with the tree,but even though it was applied with as much force that can possibly be applied,it just made a shallow hole into the tree,but it was deep enough that the shuriken would stay onto the tree without any problems,and as it hit,he then asks Riku "Is that how It's done" to know if he performed the throw the correct way he thought of.

As he finished speaking,he then kneels down and picks up another shuriken scattered on the ground and held it the way Riku did and tightly as it should,readying for the next throw.

As they were busy throwing shurikens,Katsu would walk to Kira's side and sits down,and watch them throw the blades,as it can't think of another thing to do than that

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku gave a smile as the shuriken hit the tree, nodding in satisfaction to Kiramaru as he picked up another shuriken himself. He began tossing shuriken at the tree with Kiramaru, attempting to get the shuriken’s lodged deeper into the wood.

“Goodjob,” Riku said with a smile, his eyes towards the tree, “and about what I do at the town. It’s just … tricks.”

He kept his explanation at that for what felt like almost half an hour, anytime the two ran out of shuriken’s they’d just start prying them out of the wood to use again. After awhile of the same actions, Riku glanced back towards Kiramaru.

“The tricks,” He explained, “It’s with the cards. You move the cards fast, and you try and trick the other person. I do other stuff as well, trying to trick people out of yen.”

Riku gave a small laugh as he considered the explanation, how on earth was he supposed to explain this stuff to people? He threw his next shuriken at the tree and in the distraction, managed to move the shuriken a little too much on a curve and had it rebound off the wood.

“Guess that’s enough shuriken practice anyway,” Riku commented with a smirk.

He looked down at Kiramaru’s dog, he called it Katsu. He noticed it just sitting there not making much noise, how long has he been with it? Does all Kiramaru’s clan have dogs like this?

“Doesn’t make you many friends I suppose,” Riku continued, looking back towards Kiramaru, “But anyway, what do you do normally?”

With that question, he began walking over to the triggered trap. If he was going to make his own traps, he’d need to know where to start atleast.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

"Oh...so a gambler then eh?.....much like my mother when she was at my age hehe...." he stared at him smirking,as both him and his mother has a bit something in common.

As he asks to why his dog was so quiet,he then explains "Katsu is the type of to just sit and chill....but if he smells or hears something weird he'd bark endlessly until I tell him that it's not a threat or something else" he then finishes speaking,hoping that Riku now understands his canine kin's behaviour.

For the question about making friends he replies to him "Eh,usually some of the kids are disgusted or scared of dogs and avoid me...I only have about just a few friends...mostly Inuzukas or kids that aren't afraid of dogs" his explanation would instantaneously paint a picture showing that he only has not many but only a few friends.

And for the question of what he usually does ward off boredom or to pass time,he then answers "Exploring parts of the forest or making traps....thats what I usually do..what's your's?" He asks,wanting to know what he does to pass the time and ward off boredom.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku stared at the trap as he listened to Kiramaru, tugging lightly at bits of rope and the sticks that held it all together. It seemed to be basic once you knew what you were aiming to do.

“My spare time is the cards for me,” Riku said with a grin, “It’s got a thrill to it, you know? Getting to mess with people and getting yen for it too.”

He grabbed some of the trap supplies Kiramaru had brought and began trying to set up a trap like the one Kiramaru did. Tying the rope to the sticks and attempting to plant them in the ground beside the shuriken’s.

“The dog isn’t so bad,” Riku assured, tightening one of the ropes, “Seems pretty friendly when it isn’t barking at you.”

As he planted one of the sticks into the ground, the rope got pulled too tightly, tearing out one of the sticks as the rope tore. The stick sailed up and left a cut on Riku’s cheek, the pain making give a small grunt.

“Harder than it looks,” He commented, holding a hand to his bleeding cheek, “Think you can show me the ropes? We’ll call it even for the shuriken.”

He moved backwards and gestured for Kiramaru to set up a trap, rubbing his cheek absentmindedly until the bleeding stopped.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

Kiramaru then walked between to trees with roots that are so large that they reach the ground and as he found the perfect area,he then pulls out the fine rope,he then holds the rope in front of a light source,and what better light source than the sun?,as he held it infront of the sun,it then reflects some of the light,showing that the rope is there,finishing step one.

As he was finished with that part,he then securely ties it on one rope of a tree and walkes to another tree and pulls the rope as it was over the perfect height that it trips most people,he then ties the other end,to test the security of the rope,he then strums it like that of a guitar's string and as he did so,it help up fine and that is step 2 done.

And for the last phase,he then walks around the walks around the place and kneels down,picking up some of the shurikens,and as he reached the perfect amount,about 8 he then walks to where he tied the wire,and carefully walks over it and presses each shurikens onto the ground with their blades exposed,pointing upwards,and as that part of done,he carefully walks back and jumps over the rope,and after that the trap is now complete.

"There...the shuriken bed trap now complete" he said to Riku,wiping some sweat off his forehead as he had to carefully set up things as he made the trap,so it will function the way it should.

And after noticing Riku's bleeding cheek,he then looks at him and asks "Are you okay....do you need band-aid or some disinfectants?" As he asks him,he then pauses for a moment and suggests "How about we go to my place so that we can get your cheek's wound cured?"

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku watched him prepare the trap, jotting down mental notes as he completed each part of the trap.

It seemed easier when you knew what you were doing, Riku thought to himself with a grin. Looking towards Kiramaru when he asked about the wounded cheek.

“Appreciate the concern,” Riku said with a smile, standing up, “But it’s fine. Besides, I want to practice some traps myself.”

Riku walked towards the collection of trap equipment and went to work imitating what he saw Kiramaru do for his own. As he worked, he looked upwards towards the forest top, where the tree tops covered most of the sky. The high branches on some of these trees seemed massive.

“Hey, Kiramaru,” Riku asked, “You think anything lives up there? In the trees, I mean. The branches are so big … something has to be up there.”

He tightened one of the ropes on the trap with a hesitant flinch, giving a smile when it didn’t lash out at him again, the pain on his cheek giving a soft burn as he remembered it. He rubbed it without much thought as he went to grab more supplies.

“One trap down,” Riku said with a smile, holding out a length of rope, “Let’s keep building till we run out of rope then.”

Riku then went to work with another bundle of supplies, a few shuriken trailing out of the bundle in his arms.

 

[Bi-Gomon]

As Kuro took each step, his footsteps loudly resonated through the silent forest before finally stopping. Where is that noise coming from? His face frowned as his ears perked up to find out which direction the noise came from. After doing so, he started to walked towards the source and as the voices started getting louder, just for extra precaution, Kuro climbed up the trees and started running from branch to branch before eventually reaching the target. There they were, 2 Academy Student playing out with rope, which caused Kuro to let out a small snicker. "What are you two doing here in the middle of the forest?" Kuro shouted before his figure appeared behind the two student, his intimidating and pressuring aura unintentionally leaking out of his body. The darkness around the forest shrouded Kuro's face from the 2 being able to see it. "Come on...spill it out" He commanded with his arms crossed over his chest.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku grunted as he pulled on a rope, his head drooping upwards towards the tree tops as he raised a rock, a weight, tied to the rope. He planned to build a snare this time around, see if he can one-up whatever Kiramaru was deciding to build.

“You’re gonna like what I build,” Riku said with a smile, “The apprentice is becoming the master!”

With his eyes raised to the trees, he saw for but a moment a shadow appearing in the distance. The boy leaned his head forward as he tried to squint at whatever it was that he saw, as he did he was surprised by the sudden tone of voice that appeared behind him. The sudden noise made him release the rope, the rock clattered onto the grass bed as the boy spun around.

This isn’t good, Riku thought to himself in panic, staring down the shadowed man that stood in front of them both. He listened to his questions with a gulp, his eyes darting between him and Kiramaru.

Riku heard the dog begin to bark at the man, he spun towards Kiramaru, gesturing with a tinge of panic to make the dog quiet. With the action done, he spun back towards the shadowy figure.

Just what the hell is this guy, Riku wondered, examining the attire of the man. His voice was commanding, probably a shinobi. No point trying to run then … Riku gritted his teeth before walking forward a few steps towards the figure, he just had to keep his cool.

“We’re just two academy students,” Riku said with a smile, “learning the shinobi way out in the wilderness. Till our aim is true and our skills are heightened.”

Riku tried to peer through the shadows covering the man, but he was standing just out of view.

“Who might you be?” Riku inquired, his hand tightening around the deck of cards in his pocket to keep his cool.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

As the figure with unusual power had shouted at them,one of them,kneels down and picks up the shuriken and held it the way he held it while training,and after the figure had finished speaking,he then replies with an aggressive tone "THE REAL QUESTION IS.....WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" he boomerangs his question to him,as even though he has greater power than both of Kira and Riku combined.

And after that,his left hand starts to twitch and while doing so,he grits his teeth and thinks of a plan to lure the stranger onto one of their traps as it seems as it's their only hope to win against the stranger if he was a threat