[ Clan Sakurako ] After a Day of Gate Duty

[Toshi]

Toshi opened the front door of the home. The glass door with the clan symbol on it. He turned and looked to Shi. "I'll give you a tour after your introduction and such." The Genin said to Shi, excited to welcome his new Clan Member. Of course, he'd end up calling him brother, just as he referred to his other clan mates by relative names. "Nao! I've made it back from gate duty! I've brought someone along with me if you have time to come out!" He hoped he wasn't interrupting any of Nao's studies.

He motioned for Shi to follow him in, closing the door behind them. He would make his way over to the living area, passing by the circular stairway that was just to the right. He moved down the two small steps that led to the living area area, and took a seat on the L-shaped couch near the fireplace. "After a long day, such as this one, I usually just sit here and think to myself. Sometimes, I just admire the view out there." He pointed towards the left, where large transparent glass windows gave them a view of the garden outside. "My favorite place to visit our there is the small water pond. There are fish in there too, I named one of them Lucky." Toshi chuckled. He was meditating atop the pond one day when he began to feel nibbles at his feet. It quite tickled the youth.

Feeling rather lazy, he didn't want to go and knock on Nao's door, so he'd await Nao's arrival to the living area.

[ Topic Entered ]

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Even though he had been placed on rest for the day, the sennin simply couldn't sit still. Yet the noises from inside Nao's study could easily be heard. It was a somewhat worried Excursai trying to stop Nao from doing more exercises. "I am not even using chakra!" He had complained about the Contract and a small kibble back and forth went along.

That was, till he heard Toshi. He had been a bit anxious that Toshi had a gate duty, so obviously he had dropped everything and walked at a rather quicker pace towards the living room where he saw Toshi. Some would say it is mother love, father love... Since Toshi had two male role models basically one was either.

Nao's eyes went first over Toshi, to see if the other was hurt or wasn't, when he was satisfied he would smile softly. "Glad you are home..." He said, after all, he had seen the horrors at the gate himself just after bloodshed had happened that day. As he welcomed Toshi home, he would look towards the small child beside Toshi.

"Hello, I am Sazuki Nao. Medical Sennin, Clan owner of Sakurako and proud parent of Toshi." He would formally introduce himself as he would mention the movement of drink. "Anyone wants something to drink..?" He would walk towards the kitchen for himself anyways and wasn't bothered to bring anything with. Xai was still in the study door with arms crossed and one could almost say he was a devilish Kami right now with the glaring daggers towards Nao. If Toshi or Shi would look towards him, he would drop it for a moment to happily wave to them as a Kami could be. Then he would go back to glaring.

Spoiler: image of Nao's clothes

 

[Shishiwakamaru]

Shishiwakamaru was awestruck as he and Toshi approached the Sakurako Clan House. He had never been to this part of Konaha before so it was an extra special occasion. Finely crafted wood spanned the entirety of the complex, showing the dedication and effort put in by those who established it. He had been so enamored by the new experience and prospects of this venture he nearly bumped into Toshi who had paused to push open the glass door leading inside.

"A tour would be amazing, I can't wait to see it all!" Immediately upon entering Toshi would call out for Nao, announcing that he had brought a friend. Quickly following Toshi inside after being beckoned, following closely behind as they ventured further inside. A spiral staircase would be seen, leading to another mysterious floor above. As he stepped down into the living area he continued to be captivated by the new and exciting scene before him.

Toshi would take a seat beside a fireplace upon a couch and began to describe how he liked to just sit and contemplate while looking out into another area that would immediately catch his eye. Rushing over to the glass he pressed his hands and face against the glass as if it might give him a better view of the grounds. "Lucky!" He exclaimed with much enthusiasm. Turning his head towards Toshi he would continue, "You, I mean. Not the fish ha ha ha." Turning back towards the glass he gazed out into the wonderland before him. He never could have dreamed he would find himself somewhere like this, let alone having the possibility of being a resident.

Soon enough he would hear a second, older voice speaking to Toshi, welcoming him home. Quickly spinning around he would see for the first time this Nao. In his head had planned out what he might have said, trying to be prepared as possible. Something like 'Hi, I'm Shishiwakamaru and I want to be your disciple.' or maybe 'Thank you for this opportunity, I'm excited to be here.' But none of that came out when it came right down to it. Instead only silence would escape his lips as his eyes met the ebony visage who had now greeted and gave him his full title and name. Sennin were legendary to shinobi as a whole, it wasn't every day you got to see one, or even meet one. But to be inside their very home, a clan house which he might get to be a part of and possibly even study under him?!?!? He was in shock to say the least.

It wouldn't be until Nao had offered them a drink that his mind finally snapped out of it and caught up. With a quick bow he would introduce himself. "Nara Shishiwakamaru, student, at your service!" Oof... A little late there. His face immediately became flush and red as he blushed with embarrassment. Standing upright he placed a hand behind his head and scratched nervously. "I mean... Yes a drink sounds lovely sir!" Shishiwakamaru was at a loss, he had no clue how to talk to someone of high standing, let alone a sennin. Catching up to the pair he would proceed towards the kitchen, but not before glancing over where Nao had emerged. Someone else was there glaring towards Nao, who then saw Shishiwakamaru staring awkwardly at him. They would smile and wave, but quickly went back to glaring. With an inquisitive tone he would inquire after them. "Who's that and why do they look like they're mad at you?" Probably not his place to ask such things, but his filter had gone offline due to the excitement of it all.


[OOC - MFT - WC 615]

 

[Toshi]

Any day that Toshi saw Nao was a good day. Despite what he'd went through that day, Nao's guidance always carried him a step further. It's what made him a proud member of the clan, and kept him looking forward to whatever was next. After the Sennin introduced himself, Shi seemed to be a little lost in the moment, but he came to and gave his own introduction. He remembered his own introduction to the house. Everything seemed just right, and he remembered the feeling of finding his place within this village. It took a while to get used to, but now he felt at home within the Clan Home. It was great when you were surrounded by the correct people. Maybe Shi would feel the same way when he was settled in.

The boy lazily moved into the kitchen after Shi, contemplating on it for a moment, before actually making his move. He wasn't exactly tired, but the comfort of the couch almost kept him glued to his seat. Toshi chuckled as he heard Shi's question to Nao. The boy waved back to Xai with a smile. He figured Nao had done something that Xai disapproved of, but couldn't argue the Sennin out of. It was a guess, but he figured it would be something along those lines. Toshi wondered how Nao's behavior was in his youth, and if he ever thought that he was going to become a Sennin. Getting the idea to ask, he waited until Shi's question was answered before asking his own.

"Nao?" The brown haired boy would start in a curious tone. "Do you have any stories from your youth that you'd like to share as inspiration to us up and coming shinobi?" He figured such a story would help Shi and himself be motivated, or even inspired, to become a better version of themselves. That, and after a tough day of guard duty, one of Nao's stories would complete what it took to have a great end to a harsh day. That and a cup of tea of course.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

He had gotten finally a name out of the new child. Shishiwakamaru... That would be a name that he would fumble over a few times, there was no denying that one. "Shi-shi-waka-maru." He tried to replicate the name as best as he could on the first try. Just when he was going to grab a glass; he heard the other ask questions about Excursai. 'A-ah." he started a bit awkward, and the Kami knew he would be trying to dodge the question.

"Since Nao-San kindly is refusing treatment at the Byoin... After going through all his chakra ánd tapping into his live source to treat someone in the village... He already had been lying flat for a whole day, hence why that day Keiji probably look worried and kept going back and forth. Not to mention he is not supposed to work out or work at all today which he had been doing." And the tune of Excursai wasn't the nicest at the moment.

"T-this is my Kami contract Excursai; Sai for short. You will most likely see him a lot around here. He is often out here and helping out with things. "Nao would introduce him but also looked like a kid that had been caught what wasn\t allowed.

Toshi's question was heard when he just made drinks. "Hmm... Alright then, but let's sit outside with this nice weather. And we got something to drink along."

After Nao walked outside, he would sit down at the benches near the water. Looking towards the sun for a moment he then would share the drinks and try to find a decent spot to start talking.

"As you may have known already or not Toshi. My first sensei was rather ruthless; his methods of teaching literally did or die. The amount of water I coughed up when I had to learn to water walk... He did not help you get up if you fell through and it wasn't just knee-height water, no this was the river up north in the forest. Then not to mention all the trees I blasted around trying to get my chakra under control in the forbidden forest we trained a genin." He chuckled at it. Then Excursai came along. "I may have a story.." He started to speak and Nao was also a little perked, when sai had stories, there were often from him, but altered him.

"S-sure.." It had Nao puzzled also. "Back in the days; Nao used to be a temporal strider, so sadly he holds no memory of this. Nao was always bedridden in his younger days; the illness he has often kept him from going on missions. Yet this idiot didn't give up, even when he was sick in bed he would continue thinking about how he could help out his team better. "
Sai stopped for a moment before continuing forward.
"Nao liked his team that he was in, then one time when he was on patrol with his team, they were ambushed."
"Oh- I remember that, that is where we beat them! I had the senjutsu! and sadly only my teammate got hurt.."
"Not.. exactly. Back in the day, you were a temporal strider, the different timeline you had before the past you erased the new you."
"Oh..."
"So back on the story... They were ambushed and Nao kept turning the back time over and over again, trying to find ways to save everyone, even the small girl they were excorting. In the end, Nao did 100 ways different till he found the best one. But their benevolent nature of his, made it so he got the one hurt as she single person on the team. He did save them, he just watched all the other timelines. Watched and waited till he found the right path and went for that." He would say and look towards Nao as if he was proud right now.
"Often people think; Action! But sometimes it's better to wait and see. Get a grasp of a situation before you handle it." He would comment and Nao would scratch his cheek, knowing full well that in his life he often had done the other way of acting than a question.

 

[Shishiwakamaru]

Shishiwakamaru would chuckle at Nao. "Yeah, it's a odd name. But it's me hehehe" After listening to the Kami he would give a polite bow when Nao introduced them. "It's an honor to meet you." With a refreshing drink in hand Shishiwakamaru would follow them into the courtyard. He sorta felt like the third wheel in this situation, but only because he really didn't know what to say. Thankfully they would be regaled with a most curious story. With a gleaming sparkle in his eyes he would be on the edge of his seat as he listened. Hearing Sai's final words he would internalize them, trying to learn a most important life lesson. Having come from something, or someone, so angelic it HAD to be important and useful, right? "You're so wise, Sai-san. And Sennin Nao, sir... What is a temporal strider, and how is that possible? To mess with time, that seems unbelievable!" Shishiwakamaru was baffled and astonished to think that someone could be so strong as to manipulate the flow of time. How incredible!


[OOC - Short post, sorry lol]

 

[Toshi]

Toshi knew it wasn't all butterflies and apple pies. To be put in such a situation was something he couldn't imagine. Then to put his own life on the line for his team. It gave the boy quite the life lesson, something he'd hold on to for life. He imagined himself in the same situation, would he really throw himself under the bus for those that fought along his side. He would probably think about Nao's story as he drifted off to sleep. He was also glad that Sai kept Nao sane.

Shi asked further of the time manipulating ability. Though Toshi dwelt on the fact that Nao had a past that he couldn't remember. 'He erased his own past?' The Sennin was indeed an interesting one. There were things that Toshi knew he'd never figure out about Nao, but that was part of being a shinobi, staying... mysterious. He decided he didn't want to know everything, but just enough to learn from his sensei. It seemed fair.

The boy stayed quiet as he listened to Shi and Nao go on. He didn't want to interrupt. On top of that, he was wandering in his own thoughts, redefining his way as a shinobi.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

"Temporal Strider..." He let those words drop as he thought of a way to explain what it was. "Uhm.." He even looked to Sai who seemed to hold up his shoulders to let Nao figure this one out. "well... From the old books, it means the following"

"Temporal Striders are a thing on their own. They have the same growth and age as regular humans... but they are capable of seeing a tear in space and time and interacting with those tears to distort and manipulate the flow of time. In other words; they can manipulate time however they wish. stop, forward, rewind... all those are kinds of things. So they can also use this in battle. As far as the books told; it takes immense amount of chakra to do so. as they cannot willy nilly it... However. If I even used to be one in the past; I am afraid I have no memory of such thing..." He would chuckle a little awkward on this as he honestly had no idea.

 

[Shishiwakamaru]

A perplexed look overtook Shishiwakamaru's face as he listened to the response. He soon realized the concept of this 'Temporal Strider' was far above his competency level and far more complex than he could have ever imagined. The idea in of itself was amazing, it sounded incredibly powerful. To be honest it sounded like something out of a fairy tale book and not actually possible. Shaking his head in an attempt to push away the confusion within his mind he looked to Nao. "That's really incredible, you must truly be skilled to be able to do stuff like that. Whether you remember it or not." Shishi paused a moment as a sheepish look overtook his demeanor. Hesitantly he would begin to ask the most important question he might ever ask in his youth. "Sennin Nao, sir... I don't mean to be rude, and I hope I'm not being too forward in my asking. But Toshi here told me about your medical expertise. And with all the incredible things you've told me about yourself today I was wondering... Will you teach me to be a Med-nin so I can someday be as great as you?!" He might have shouted that last bit, but he couldn't help himself, he was just so nervous and excited at the same time.

 

[Toshi]

"A temporal strider. I'm going to read up on it to see what the past Nao was like." The ANBU hopeful knew Nao was great, but he wondered how the Sennin would use the ability in his youth. Toshi knew for sure that if he failed a test in the Academy, that he would rewind time a few times to get the test right. He even imagined himself going for his ANBU exams, failing the first few times before he used his ability to overcome the difficulties of the test. Such an ability sounded exciting to have. He wondered what other shinobi he'd meet. He wasn't the only one with abilities that could blow someone's mind.

A tour of the place came to Toshi's mind after Shi asked his medical schooling question. Toshi had never been to the Byoin before, but he'd heard a lot about it. Maybe he could visit Nao there one day to see what went on in such a place. From the sound of it, it was rather peaceful and housed many medical resources. The boy wasn't a medical nin, but perhaps he could pick up on a few things from Nao as well. It'd be great to have a few of those medical techniques handy when out in the field. He never knew what kind of scrapes and burns he would receive from the missions he'd go on. He'd also be able to recover a bit quicker from his long training days. "Hey, would could visit you on a day of work in the Byoin!" It sounded exciting to Toshi as he blurted it out. Yet another thing to look forward to. The days were never boring when Nao was around. He'd definitly have to suggest a training session with Nao and Shi. He always grew stronger and wiser after a training session with the Sennin. There was still so much to learn.

After the medical conversation, Toshi would stand up. "Nao-Sensei, could I give Shi a tour of the home? If he's accepted in by you, he'll have to know all about the place and how to get around." The boy truly was excited to have another to train and talk with within the clan. He loved each member that joined. Watching his family grow gave him some kind of emotion that he couldn't contain. It made him feel a bit more confident as a shinobi, and gave him something to fight for.

If allowed, Toshi would eagerly motion for Shi to follow him. "Come on. I've got to show you the in's and out's of this place, the shortcuts to the kitchen, and where some of the other members stay." A great smile stretched across the boy's face. "I can even show you my favorite room, the training room!" Toshi was already piped up for the next training session. The drained feeling he had coming from gate duty seemed to just disappear in thin air as he felt the urge to begin a training session once more. Maybe Shi would join him? "I could even show you to your room. It may be close to mine, so I'll never be far away, unless I'm training. Then you'll have to come to the training area... or I may just be out here." Toshi cupped a hand to his chin, thinking deeply on the matter before whisking away the thoughts. "Either way, I'm sure you'll fit in just right."

If Nao allowed the two to venture off for the tour, Toshi would give a bow to both Nao and Sai before venturing off back into the Clan Home. After a short distance away from the two higher ups, Toshi would look towards Shi, passing through the living room. "Hey, you've still got that book with you?" Toshi whispered. Even though the two moved away from Nao and Sai, the boy's voice stayed low. It was a forbidden arts book after all. The emerald eyed boy figured that Nao might have some information on it, but he wasn't ready to present the book to his Sensei. What if he took it and said the two were too young for such a read? The boy wondered the contents of the book as he thought of the title and the author's name once more.

(( If it's ok, I'm going to try to end it here so Shi can be welcomed into the Clan. We could always continue in another RP if need be. It's up to you two ~ ))

 

[Sazuki Nao]

" I would love for you to visit the Byoin some day Toshi." Nao commented on the words of the young one and listened on further. After that Shi made a comment regards his medcal expertise. " Hmm. That is fine, you will have tons of time to study around in the place and with me if that is what you wish for." he would laugh and Sai would smile. "Past nao often did it to hide his illness and only once he cheated..." Sai spoke happily and you could see Nao was getting embaressed with it. " oi!" Nao shouted out to the kami who laughed. " You let that plant die in the medical exam and were so saddened; then you did restart the time and you later learned you were meant to fail that test." The kami laughed and would eventually duck to avoid a rock that had been thrown.

Nao would later just make a small huff over it when the Kami said bye and poofed in smoke away. " That is fine with me and of course Shishiwakamaru is accepted. We will handle the paperwork later on if that is alright. So you two can keep rascalling over." He would smile towards both of them.

[topic left unless stopped]

 

[Shishiwakamaru]

"Hey, would could visit you on a day of work in the Byoin!" A sudden outburst from Toshi cause Shishiwakamaru's eyes to light up. "Yeah!" Shishi, echoing his new friend. "Please let us come visit you at work, that would be soooo cool!" He had only ever seen one individual performing any sort of medical work, and that was another student friend of his, Shusuke. But it had to be even more incredible to watch the actual medical Sennin at work. Another exciting question had been asked, one which intrigued the young Nara, a tour of this clan house would be the cherry on top of this curious day. "Come on. I've got to show you the in's and out's of this place, the shortcuts to the kitchen, and where some of the other members stay." Shishi popped up quickly from his seated position and trailed after Toshi. The other boy clamored on about showing him the best training spot, even where his new room would be. Truth be told Shishiwakamaru was almost feeling nauseous over the excitement of today's prospects. To think he was ACTUALLY going to be adopted?!~?!~?

While it had not been all that long since the death of his father, the time spent alone with himself felt like an eternity. The gracious hosts of Clan Sakurako had offered Shishi a place in their family with open arms, a love he had not felt in a very, very long time. As they were walking through the house Toshi asked a curious question. "Hey, you've still got that book with you?" Shishi had almost forgotten about the book due to all this excitement, he appreciated the reminder as he had yet to fully look it over. "The what? OH! Yeah, it's right here." Shishiwakamaru would reach into his knapsack and pull out the book, with its holographic banner printed on the cover boldly exclaiming both ‘FORBIDDEN ARTS!!’ and ‘SUPER SECRET!!‘, titled ‘The Art of Puppetry’ ~ by Kiko Myakashi. A treasure Shishi would refer to often in his future training. The young Nara didn't fully understand the dangers that lurked within this book, had he known he might not have let Toshi see it. But the young were often ignorant, and Shishiwakamaru was no exception. He handed the book over to Toshi for him to borrow, read over, even use to train with should he wish. Together they would unlock the mysteries of Kiko's legendary book...

[OOC - Accepting Clan Invite - Leaving topic as well - MFT]

 

[Toshi]

As Shi revealed the book again, Toshi felt compelled to find out what exactly happened back at the gates when the doll appeared. He had many questions, as to who had left the book, was someone behind it all, and why would they even do such a thing? So many questions, but no answers at all. The boy figured he'd put on his detective hat, and what better way to start, by looking up the author of the book? Maybe there was more that the author wrote about.

"Kiko Miyakashi. Never heard of 'em. We've got this library with a lot of books here, I'm sure I can find another book by that author." Toshi didn't know if it was a truth, but judging from the book and material, this author was a shinobi, or studied alongside of shinobi. Shi gave Toshi the book, who'd take it to the library. There were many books on puppeteering there, but it wasn't a read that would interest the ANBU hopeful. There were so many different styles of fighting, reading all of those books would take forever. He'd rather find out about shinobi's abilities during battle. It'd be the last stop on their tour, in which, he'd return the book back to Shi. Puppetry wasn't necessarily his thing, but he'd look it over. Maybe he'd pick something up that he needed later in life?

"I'll show you to the training room first, and after we make it to the library, I'll give you the book back. It really isn't for me to read, I'm just curious as to see if this author wrote any other books on shinobi. Maybe Kiko is some sort of ghost following us around." Toshi chuckled at the thought, but was very serious.

[ MFT | WC: +250 ]
[ Topic Left | Topic Completed ]